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Parish council by-election - nigel newman (23rd Jun 2006 - 13:59:57) As it will be some days before the Herald is able to publish the result of the by-election, I am extremely happy to be able to give the figures here. Nigel Newman - 594 votes. John Carne - 328 votes. Turnout - 14.89 per cent. Nigel Newman is therefore elected. It was a fantastic night for me at the Millennium Hall where the votes were counted and I am delighted to have been elected by you. I regard it as a victory for the ordinary man and it shows that democracy really can work. Let's hope that others will take heart from this result and be prepared to stand up and be counted when full parish elections are held next year. I would like to thank everyone who supported me. During my canvassing of the village, people made me aware of all kinds of issues from overgrown hedges to blocked drains, broken paving slabs, children's play areas and policing - as well as the problems facing the Scouts and Guides - so it certainly wasn't a one issue campaign. I'm now looking forward to working with other parish councillors and reflecting the views of villagers on all sorts of topics. I would like to thank my supporters who campaigned on my behalf by dropping leaflets through doors, and the East Hants District Council officials for organising polling day. To critics who claim it was all a waste of time and money, I am happy to say that I shall not be claiming any election expenses. Nigel

Re: Parish council by-election - Eneida (23rd Jun 2006 - 14:42:39) Congratulations Nigel!!! I am glad that democracy is alive and well...certainly NOT a waste of money IMO. Would that be called a 'landslide victory' in Liphook terms :D Eneida

Re: Parish council by-election - Andrew Ellis (23rd Jun 2006 - 17:50:32) well done and good luck

Re: Parish council by-election - Steve Read (23rd Jun 2006 - 18:39:30) Well done Nigel, what you have spoken about prior to your election makes sense for a lot of people in this village (Town). Without wishing to stir the pot I think only a 15% turn out says it all regarding the general apathy of a great many residents in Liphook and the feeling towards the local council as a whole. Eneida's landslide looks to me more of a sand castle fallen over although she is correct in Liphook terms it is a landslide. I wish you well and will be watching to see any short or long term changes that you might be able to influence, I just hope you do not get swallowed up into the system. Congrats again.

Re: Parish council by-election - Paul Robinson (23rd Jun 2006 - 19:36:47) Congratulations to Nigel on his election to the Parish Council and more power to his elbow when he makes his contribution through the Parish Council on the issues that he has been made aware of in his canvassing. Hearty congratulations also to Jeremy Austin-Olsen and his team who are organising the fifteenth Liphook Classic Car Rally. As reported in this week's Herald they have pledged all donations to the Liphook Scouts and Guides towards their warchest in their fight against the Parish Council. Now, like it or not, we are all contributing towards the Parsh Council's costs by virtue of our rates and I suppose there is nothing we can do about that but we can even things up by attending the Classic Car Day and swelling the collection. Both candidates pledged to do away with the 'behind closed doors' policy which has been overused by the Parish council in the past, and we look forward to a more open forum where the real facts will be debated and aired and hopefully sanity will be brought to bear in this matter. I am reminded of an old Punch cartoon I once saw of two farmers fighting over a cow. One had the beast by the horns and the other had the tail and both were pulling like mad. In the middle, sat on a stool, sat the lawyer who was milking the cow . . . Think on. Paul Robinson

Re: Parish council by-election - Chris (24th Jun 2006 - 05:33:08) Well done Nigel. However, with a turn-out of just over 14%, I wonder whether one of your long term priorities should be to raise the profile of the campaign so that next time more people bother to participate?

Re: Parish council by-election - John Carne (24th Jun 2006 - 12:21:46) Nigel, It is heartening to see that our new representative has such an interest in the local issues - let's hope you don't get bogged down by complaints from people who aren't prepared to go the small amount further and fix things themselves that they are able to do rather than expecting 'them' to know about minor problems intuitively and fix the problem immediately. One of the interesting facts I learnt on Thursday waiting for the announcement of your well-deserved election was how much is done already by the Parish Council and numerous volunteers. Unfortunately, these are poorly promulgated to parishioners. May I suggest that you press for the successes, and requests for involvement, to be advertised more broadly. How about utilising this Liphook community website with which unfortunately there appears to be little tie-in - even the Parish Council section is months out of date! Hopefully a better informed public will take more of an interest in the village and register this by an improved turn out at next May's PC elections, as well as taking more of an interest in the local activities Congratulations again and all the very best for the future. John Carne

Re: Parish council by-election - Barry Hope (27th Jun 2006 - 10:00:16) To all I would like to congratulate both candidates in the recent by-election for a parish councillor. They both worked very hard and it is a shame we only had one vacancy. Well done Nigel for winning and it was a pleasure to welcome you to your first meeting last night. Although I didn't necessarily agree with some of the assumptions that were made in the run up to the elections, I think it is important that democracy has been given a chance. I am sure it was a great opportunity for both candidates to become better informed about what the council is all about and who we are. We as a council thoroughly support the democratic process and welcome anyone who wants to take part in it. Unfortunately, and all too often, it seems that the only time we have any members of the public attending the many meetings we hold is when there is a major issue in the media. There is a lot more happening on a daily basis and all members of the community are welcome to drop in to the parish office to ask questions and to get information on any subject. The only information we can't pass on is that which is subject to confidentiality due to a range of reasons (legal, personal, contractual etc) and we are bound by law to comply with this as are all councils. I can assure you that we only hold exempt meetings to discuss items that cannot be discussed in open public session when we absolutely have to. We do not do this purely to hide anything from people. It is all too easy for people to get an impression of the council based on a one sided viewpoint. I would strongly recommend that, before judging the council, you come in to the parish office and find out the facts on any topic and to discover for yourself just how many issues we have to deal with. That way a balanced and informed view can be made. There are so many local issues that the council have to debate and make decisions about and many different views are expressed by different councillors. We do not always agree, but at the end of the day any decision is always based on the facts, reasoned and sound debate and using the process of democracy to enable us to reach a majority decision. Above all, there is a strong desire within all of us to achieve the best for ALL sections of the community as a whole, no-matter what age or background, interests or lifestyles. This is sometimes a very difficult and often thankless task and yes, sometimes we do have to endure criticism, but that is a price we pay for taking a keen interest in the village and one that we are all prepared to pay to get things done. So please, if you really want to make a difference in the village, come and see us, ask questions, find out what happens, discover the facts and even, dare I suggest it, volunteer to help the many groups and societies in the village who do so much to make Liphook what it is, a really great place to live and work in. Best wishes to you all Barry Hope Chair Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council.

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