Conservatives campaign against Boundary Changes
| October 10, 2011 | Filled under Campaigns, Hedon, Holderness, Hull, Politics |
Graham Stuart MP and Cllr Mike Bryan
“KEEPING HOLDERNESS TOGETHER” was the theme of Graham Stuart MP’s Street Surgery in Hedon over the weekend.
Beverley and Holderness MP, Graham Stuart, was out in Hedon’s Market Place on Saturday morning to listen to any concerns that residents wished to raise with him. However, the MP and fellow Conservative activists were also using the opportunity to campaign against proposed boundary changes.
The Boundary Commission for England has recommended that South West Holderness should become part of the Kingston upon Hull East parliamentary constituency at the next General Election (see HU12 article: Parliamentary area to be broken up…).
Graham Stuart says “…this would be a terrible mistake and Hedon, Preston, Paull, Thorngumbald, and the rest of Southwest Holderness must remain part of a constituency which includes other parts of Holderness.”
People can attend public hearings on the Boundary Commission proposals at the City Hall, Hull on Monday 24th October and Tuesday 25th October 2011 to air their views on this issue.
What are your views on this issue?
[...] RESPONSE TO THE ARTICLE published yesterday Conservatives campaign against Boundary Changes John Dennis, Ward Councillor for South West Holderness, has hit out at a decision by Hedon Town [...]
IS HEDON TOWN COUNCIL LETTING ITS RESIDENTS DOWN?
The proposal to include Hedon and the local villages within a “stretched” version of the East Hull Constituency is seriously flawed on several counts, which I set out in my previous comments to the Hedon Blog a few weeks ago.
I had asked for the matter to be discussed in committee on 22nd. September at the Hedon Town Council and I e-mailed members with my thoughts before the meeting as I was unable to attend that evening due to being away on holiday.
Upon my return I am told, to my absolute amazement, that Hedon Town Council has made a decision NOT to become involved in the consultation process!
I think it my duty to make the residents of the town and the surrounding villages aware of this.
This, to me, is not a party political matter, it is wholly a COMMUNITY issue; it’s about whether the residents of this Ward, which comprises entirely rural communities, would be disadvantaged by being lumped together with the entirely urban wards within the city of Hull; it’s about whether any member of parliament, of whatever political pursuasion, could ever do justice to the task of representing the people of S.W.Holderness, whilst juggling with the many and varied issues raised by the 60,000 residents of those wards within the city. I would put these questions no matter which political party a prospective M.P. for East Hull belonged to.
A further concern of mine, and to many people to whom I have spoken, is that this change may lead eventually to the ward being swallowed up by Hull just as Sutton was back in the 70′s. So much for nine hundred years of history and tradition that we Hedon people are rightly so proud of!
I make no apology for wishing to retain the constituency boundary as it presently exists. I believe that South West Holderness is, and should always be, in every sense, part of the greater area of Holderness. It is, and should remain truly rural.
As a newly elected Ward Member for the area this is all new territory to me. In the election campaign I promised “to protect, preserve and promote the interests” of the residents of the ward, and I believe that’s exactly what I am trying to do and what the vast majority of those residents would expect of me, and the rest of their elected representatives, both on the town and county councils. The feelings of many of the local people are being shown on your Hedon Blog Poll on this issue, which is running at about 4 to1 against the changes.
For our Town Council to be seen to be sitting on the fence on such a major issue ignoring 80 per cent of those people who voted for them, will appall those voters. I urge those residents to make representations to the Town Hall without delay. A response to this Blog item, a letter to the Town Clerk or an email through me will suffice.
The Town Council cannot re-visit their decision for 6 months unless new information comes to light. Perhaps demands from a significant number of the people who voted for them will count as ‘new information’. The consultation process ends in early December, so please act now and ask your family and friends to do so too.
It goes without saying that everyone concerned about these changes should submit their comments directly to the Boundary Commission, using the contact details provided by the Hedon Blog. I acknowledge ofcourse that there may be some residents who think the boundary change will be to the advantage of the ward – their voices should be heard too.
I hope the Town Council’s decision to do absolutely nothing doesn’t come back to haunt us all in the future.
Ward Councillor for South West Holderness, John Dennis