How to make a real difference when you go to vote tomorrow

No this is not advice on which candidate or party to support.

Lets face it there are no majorities of ONE. So you make a personal decision when you vote.

……..but why not take a little extra time on your way to the polling station and take a look around.

Is your neighbourhood in good order?

  • Are the street lights working?
  • Is there litter on the streets?
  • Are there potholes on the paths and roads?
  • Are there signs of graffiti or vandalism?
  • Are the street signs legible?
  • Are trees and hedges trimmed?
  • Have the litter bins been emptied and the salt bins filled?

All little things but together, if well maintained, they can make a noticeable difference to a neighbourhood.

Just make a note of a defect and this time report it for attention yourself. Don’t expect someone else to do it for you.

Take control of your neighbourhood*.

Pubic service issues can be reported via this link (click) or by Email to ycc@york.gov.uk

It doesn’t matter if there is some duplication. Most outstanding problems are a result of residents assuming that someone else will report them. The Council are generally pretty good at dealing with day to day issues but only if they know about them.

Then next week irrespective of whether your candidate has won or not you will at least get a sense of satisfaction when a small local issue is rectified.

*Not sure if that sounds Borisonian or Marxist but either way

York High school film encourages people to vote

City of York Council has launched a video campaign with students from two local schools to encourage young people to register to vote in the upcoming Council elections which take place on Thursday 2nd May.

Students aged 14-15 from Millthorpe School and York High School were tasked with creating marketing campaigns to increase voter registration and engage young people in York.

The students created the concept for both videos, in addition to writing their own scripts and recording the initial presentations of the campaign, following the Project Dare workshops held at West Offices.

Two groups were invited back to shoot their winning campaigns from the four groups taking part. The videos will be shared by City of York Council until the last day of voter registration (12 April), with participants and partners encouraged to share on their own social media channels.

The videos encourage students and young people to take part in the democratic process by registering to vote, a message the council are keen to support.

Both videos will be available on the council’s social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube from Wednesday 20 February 2019.

To view the videos, visit City of York Council YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/cityofyorkcouncil

The council aims to give everyone within the city the opportunity to have their say in local democratic decisions with rolling registration continuing until 12 April 2019.

The Project Dare workshop and voting campaign was put together with York Cares and National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) as a part of student participation in Project Dare; a two day workshop held at west Offices in 2018.

Project Dare is run by York Cares and aims to inspire young people aged 11-16 about possible future careers motivating them to aim higher and work towards qualifications in school. They do this by working with local employees to set the young people real world challenges whilst showcasing different types of employment across the city.

The project has been funded by the National Collaborative Outreach Programme, a government initiative which aims to increase the number of young people from under-represented groups in higher education by 2020.

Statement on postal votes by York election returning officer

 “Following the delivery last week of 17,500 postal votes across York, we’ve had returned and are processing over 77% of these already.

This means we’re on track to see a much higher return for postal votes than in any other previous election.

“Should any residents have not received their postal vote and have not already contacted the council about this, they should contact electoral.services@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551 550 to speak to the team, so that we can look into what has happened and seek to find a solution in time for them to vote.

Our customer centre reception and telephone service is staying open to 7pm tonight to ensure maximum opportunity for residents to get in touch.

“Residents who have received their postal vote can post this by 4pm in a York post box, hand deliver it to the – Returning Officer at West Offices, Station Rise, York – during office hours or hand deliver it to any polling station in their constituency on polling day up to 10pm.

“I’d also like to reassure any residents who have not yet received their ballot paper or who no longer have their ballot paper for any reason, but are registered to vote, that they can still vote at any polling station in their constituency on polling day tomorrow”.

Small mercies

The Council has announced supplementary funding for wards judged to be “deprived”. The amounts are tiny compared to the levels allocated to Ward Committees when the Liberal Democrats were in power.

Behind closed doors logo

Until 2011 a ward like Westfield could expect to receive around £60,000 a year. It was spent following a ballot of local residents priorities.

The amounts allocated are:
Westfield – £3,326
Clifton – £3,311
Heworth – £3,354
Hull Road – £2,609
Guildhall – £2,200

No indication has been given as to how the money will be spent athough an injection into dealing with weed growth, potholes and litter won’t be amiss.

The decision was taken at a “behind closed doors” meeting.