Blocked gullies have been reported in the Holgate area

It would probably be true to say that the Council by election taking place in the Holgate ward tomorrow – following the resignation of local Labour Councillor Sonja Crisp – has failed to excite much interest in the City. The election result will make no practical difference to the balance of power on the York Council and “all out” elections are little more than a year away.

So local issues have understandably preoccupied local campaigners.

Labour will be delighted to see the chaos that has descended on the Tory party leadership at both local and national level. The publicity has diverted attention away from the fact that 3 of the 15 Labour Councillors elected in 2015 have subsequently resigned. 30% is an unprecedented rate of attrition.

The Conservatives disappointed many observers by quietly dropping their colourful, and Portuguese born, Holgate spokesman preferring a youthful former University student instead. He is the only candidate who doesn’t claim to be local to Holgate.

Good work by the LibDem team saw flooding reduced at the the Holly Bank Grove access to Hob Moor

Labour’s Kallum Taylor struggles with an unfortunate legacy. Labour’s current team of 3 Councillors have hardly set the ward on fire with their actions. Chunks of money delegated to be spent in the area remain in the Council’s coffers while, in the absence of regular inspections of public service standards, parts of the ward now look distinctly run down. Taylor blundered by claiming “I use the same services, shops and streets as everyone else in Holgate, and am affected by the same local problems”. He’s only been living in the ward for a few weeks since moving into the area from Fulford Road. That may mean that the cashiers at Iceland and Aldi will be seekingr counselling, but it did look like an opportunistic comment.

Had he said that he had moved into the ward so that he could monitor the standard of public services in the area each day, then he would have had more credibility.

Still, he is apparently the goalkeeper for Poppleton football club – skills that may come in handy when trying to avoid own goals from the John – “run railways via a worker cooperative” – McDonnell section of his party.

In most elections, since Local Government reorganisation, the battle for Holgate has been between Labour and the LibDems. This pattern was interrupted in 2015 when local and parliamentary elections took place on the same day. National issues were uppermost in people’s minds. This also led to a much higher turnout at 66%.

Given the time of year, a turnout of little more than half that percentage can be expected to vote tomorrow.

Labour have been criticised for not opposing the closure of Acomb Police Station

Perennial Green Party Candidate Andreas Heinemeyer, makes up the quartet of hopefuls. His previous election attempts have so far failed to induce exhaustion in those employed to count the votes

The LibDem candidate is the only woman in the field. With emancipation reaching its centenary this month, it would be fitting if Emma Keef saw off the boy’s club.

She is likely to win or lose based on the effectiveness of her campaign in the Lindsey Avenue and Leeman Road areas. The previous LibDem win in 2003 owed a lot to the votes of Council tenants and those living in the terraced areas

Emma Keef will at least expect to raise the LibDem vote back to its usual level of about 30%.  With Labour hoping for 40%, the difference may be down to tactical voting and differential turnouts.

The result should be known at about 11:00pm

…. but what makes a good, local Councillor?

The by election to fill the vacancy left by Cllr Crisp will take place in 4 weeks’ time. The middle of winter is rarely a good time to hold an election. Historically, turnouts have often dropped below 30%. Details of the election timetable can be found by clicking here

How motivated electors will be, given that the result won’t make any real difference to the balance of power on the York Council, remains to be seen. All out elections are due in May 2019 in any event.

But having a locally active representative can make a real difference to the quality of life in a local community. Retiring Councillor Crisp says, “I have been a part of a very productive and dedicated team of three Labour Councillors for Holgate Ward and am proud of the things we have been able to achieve for residents.”

Let’s look at the evidence?

How good have Holgate’s Councillors been with communications?

Effective local Councillors will use a wide range of channels to communication with residents.  These range from more traditional formats such as noticeboards, through hand delivered newsletters to social media.

Holgate noticeboard not updated for months

Sadly, the Holgate Councillors fail the noticeboard test. The one in Leeman Road clearly hasn’t been updated for months.

Can residents remember getting newsletters through their letterbox? Political propaganda perhaps, but not local news.

Similarly, on social media, you will look in vain for a dedicated twitter account, Facebook page or web page devoted to the Holgate Ward.  Even the Labour Party’s web site offers only brief biographies, but it urges voters to read it’s “Holgate Blog”  The last entry was made on 25^th April 2015 – just 7 days before the last Council elections.

Labour Holgate Blog not updated since April 2015

The Council’s own Holgate web page has no local news items

Only one – very modest  – scheme has been put forward for funding from the Housing Estate improvement programme this year (£100 for some keypads).  Other wards have applied for thousands to be invested locally from this fund.

We’ll take a further look at campaigning in a future article.