Category: Election

Might May Make It?

Theresa May faces a vote of no-confidence by Tory MPs this evening. 48 MPs signed a letter that triggered the vote, but there has to be a majority (158 votes will clinch it) to force her out. That is seeming unlikely given today’s  high level of condemnation of the Tory party self-indulgent infighting. If she wins she’s safe from any other confidence motion for a year.

If, however, she loses then there will be a leadership election and she will not be allowed to compete. There’s no timetable as yet for an election, but given that it has to include constituencies and Christmas is about to arrive, a decision before mid January seems unlikely. And then there’s the question of who to replace her? There’s no obvious contender given the appalling quality of the individuals in the Cabinet these days. Would they be from the Brexiteer right wing or from the Remainer centre / left of the party? Some are saying a Remainer would stand no chance in the face of UKIP entrants who now seem to dominate the Conservative Party. But if it was a Brexiter, what hope is there? The EC has said there is no chance of renegotiating the withdrawal agreement so the only option seems to be to crash out of the EU with all the damage and chaos that that entails – the Trumpian approach. Unless of course the opposition pulls something out of the bag and forces an election (very unlikely) or a second referendum (more possible, but no telling where it will take us).

In the likelihood that May wins this evening it may, depending on her majority, give her the strength to face down the hard exit right wing in her party and even seek more common ground with the remainers. Although the ERG will have the ability to vote against the withdrawal agreement as and when it comes back to the Commons she could seek to strike a ‘national interest’ alliance in the centre to counter-balance any ERG rebels.

What I hope is that she wins the confidence vote but the withdrawal agreement is voted down and that we then have a second referendum that results in a Remain win and the subsequent fall of the Conservative government. Labour then get elected (alone or in coalition) on a platform of EU reform, from within. Of course, the rest of Europe may not welcome us back given our appalling behaviour over the last 2-3 years so we’ll have to work hard at repairing bridges.

What I fear is that May will win the confidence vote but will somehow manage to bring the DUP and enough of the Tory right wing on board to get the withdrawal agreement passed. That will mean we leave the EU on 29 March, which will be a tragic day, just with less damage than the crash and burn exit. There’s no telling what sort of future relationship we will have with the EU, but we will have lost our citizenship and our freedom to live, work and study anywhere in Europe. That will be a huge loss that will impact on future generations for years and years to come.

Why I’m standing in the Somerset County elections

I’ve decided to stand for the Green Party in this year’s Somerset County Council elections on 4th May.

Green Party Logo

I’m not standing where I live but in another electoral division, Bishops Hull and Taunton West. That may seem strange, but here’s the reasoning.

If I was standing in Wiveliscombe (the Upper Tone division), where I live, I would want to stand to win. But that brings two challenges. Firstly, Wiveliscombe has a strong tradition of electing independent councillors and, at District level, Steve Ross and Eddie Gaines have done a good job.  In the last County elections in 2013 Steve stood as an independent candidate and came close to winning. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of competing with or taking votes from him this time around.  The second reason was that I was far from convinced I wanted to be a Councillor. In these troubled times I want to make a difference, I want to try to change the course we’re on. But the demands of being a Councillor that start with endless induction (that takes place at weekends) and continues with either daytime meetings (cost to my business) or evening meetings (cost to my family) was too high to bear.

So if I don’t want to be a Councillor, why stand in Bishops Hull and Taunton West? The answer lies in our electoral system. So often I have found that I haven’t been able to vote for the party I support because no one has offered to stand. So even in the polling station I’m looking, at best, for second best. We don’t have a sensible electoral system where you vote for a party that puts its best candidates into the alloted number of seats. Instead we rely upon each party finding members to stand in as many divisions as possible in the hope that some of them get elected. It’s crazy, and it doesn’t lead to a balanced representative democracy. But it’s what we’ve got. So I decided to offer to stand as a paper candidate in Bishops Hull and Taunton West so that local people would at least have the choice and opportunity to vote Green.

I’m standing for the Green Party because that’s what I’ve belonged to for many years (I first joined in 1981) and it best reflects my views. I don’t agree with it all and I get endless stick from friends who are Labour Party members. But the environment needs more prominence in our decision making and the Green Party offers the best way of achieving that.

This is my election statement:

Election Statement of Julian Mellor

As Green Party candidate for Bishops Hull and Taunton West I am standing, first and foremost, in opposition to Brexit.

I’ve been living near Taunton with my family for the last 13 years. I started my career working as a Chartered Surveyor before moving into planning and economic development, eventually setting up my own consultancy in 2002. Most of my work is with community organisations in the South West, helping them improve the facilities in their local areas.

I have always believed that environmental issues need to be given much more prominence in our decision making but also that people’s rights must be respected. Withdrawal from the EU presents a massive challenge to environmental protection, tackling climate change, preserving workers' and consumers' rights and creating a society that benefits and protects everyone not just the privileged

Brexit and austerity go hand in hand, and both will damage our local services: social care, education, heritage etc. I will urge Somerset to fight Brexit and austerity. Instead of isolation, uncertainty and risk we need to work with, not apart from, our partners in mainland Europe to ensure that our environment, services and children have a better more secure future.

There won’t be any leaflets or door-knocking on my behalf. If I’m invited to take part in a hustings I’ll turn up. And if anyone writes I’ll reply. But otherwise this is it. Vote Green, Vote Mellor!

You’ll be able to click here for the results.  And finally, as I don’t expect to have a chance to say it on the day, thank you to Craig and Hannah who proposed and seconded me, to Chantel, Matthew, Vanessa, Natasha, Helena, Mrs Brown, Polly and Roy who nominated me and to John my agent. Top dogs!