BRIDGWATER
LABOUR PARTY
Since
formation at the turn of the Century the Bridgwater Labour
Party has been the leading political force in the town with
the strong backing from Trades Unions in what is essentially
a traditional working class community.
During the 19th and early 20th
century the town swung backward and forward between Tory
and Liberal with little difference between them. By the
1920s Labour had entered the contest and were neck and neck
with the Liberals.
In 1938 both parties stood down to support Independent
‘Popular Front’ candidate Vernon Bartlett who took the seat
from the Tories and kept it from them until 1951 when he
retired from politics.
From
the 1950’s the Tories kept the Bridgwater seat in Parliament
(the constituency stretched across Exmoor to the Devon border
and therefore included a vast expanse of rural Somerset)
with Labour in a close second place almost providing upsets
in the late 50s and early 60s.
From the 40’s onwards the Labour party ran the Borough
council with a strong and disciplined majority only to be
smashed by the Tory reforms of 1973 when Bridgwater’s ancient
Borough status was ended and the town submerged into the
new Tory controlled Sedgemoor-which included Tory parishes
stretching up to Burnham and Cheddar.
During the 1980’s the Labour party’s move to the
left was accompanied by right wingers splitting off to form
the SDP and joining up with the Liberals-who ultimately
didn’t want them as they had been increasing in their own
popularity during the 70’s. By 1983 the SDP/Liberals had
overtaken Labour as 2nd party in the Bridgwater
Constituency and also started winning seats on Council.
During the mid 80‘s the Bridgwater Labour Party
supported the Miners strike and the anti-nuclear policy
of the party nationally with members working in co-operation
with non-party socialists helping to organise May Day rallies,
solidarity campaigns , collecting food for striking Welsh
miners and sending members to support the Wapping picket
lines against Rupert Murdoch.
1987
was a disastrous year for Labour as old party stalwarts
rejected the anti-nuclear policies and stood under the banner
of ‘Traditional Labour’ against the official party splitting
the Labour vote and reducing the representation to it’s
lowest ever.
The late 80’s
saw the party moving back to the centre ground of Politics
with a spate of resignations from the party by some left
wing councillors and members claiming the Party was abandoning
Socialism.
The Anti Poll Tax campaign from 1989 saw the election
of Brian Smedley as Sedgemoor councillor on a Labour party
ticket but with an active public role in the Anti Poll Tax
Union. In 1990 Left winger Ken Livingstone visited Bridgwater
as guest of the Anti-Poll Tax Union and led a march through
the town.
In 1991 support for the Labour Party increased as
hatred of the Tories and particularly their Poll tax saw
the number of Labour seats treble from 4 to 12. Labour
councillors included Czech/Slovak friendship society Chairman
Mac McCausland and secretary Brian Smedley.
In 1995 the Labour and Liberal council seats outnumbered
the Tories by one and a deal was struck allowing a Lib/Lab
‘arrangement’ to control the Council with a sharing out
of Committee chairs to keep the Tories out.
In 1999 disaster struck the Liberals who were wiped
out in the May election from 12 down to 2 seats and although
the Labour representation went up-regaining traditional
heartlands lost since the 1970s-such as Highbridge-the Tories
retook Sedgemoor.
The current leader of Sedgemoor Labour Group is Cllr
Roger Lavers. The
Secretary of the Constituency party is Cllr Kath Pearce
and the Mayor of Bridgwater is Labour Councillor Adrian
Moore
Sedgemoor
wards currently held by Labour
Hamp;-John Turner, Brian Smedley, Kath
Pearce
Sydenham;-Sandy Buchanan, Mick & Jenny
Briscombe
Victoria;- Roger Lavers, Ken
Richards
Eastover;- Adrian Moore,
Julian Taylor
Bower;- Dave Busby, Bill
Monteith. Bryan Gillard
Highbridge;- Derrick Cooper,
Jean Whitehouse
Woolavington;- Christine Lavers
SEDGEMOOR
DISTRICT COUNCIL ELECTIONS for 2003 are scheduled for
May 1st. With Labour controlling 16 Seats they are best
placed to challenge the Tory controlled Sedgemoor
Dictatorship (the Liberals were smashed back to 2 seats at
the last election)
Also
this time will be the first BRIDGWATER TOWN COUNCIL
elections for over 30 years!!!
Bridgwater
Labour Party
controls all 4 wards on the Somerset County
Council-Dave Loveridge (North) Pat Parker (South),Adrian
Moore (West) Dave Busby (East)
Bridgwater Labour Party is based at Unity House,
Dampiet street,Bridgwater
The
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for the last general election
was Cllr Bill Monteith who
led the succesful campaign against the county liberals schemes
to merge Sedgemoor manor schools recently. Bill is a computer
expert and a rock drummer and vocalist in recent years and was a long
standing rail worker and qualified ferry driver.
The election was the closest yet with long standing
Tory incumbant Tom King finally standing down and in
a 3-cornered fight the new Tory Ian Liddel Grainger (359th
in line to the throne apparently) winning– the local liberals
tried to convince people as usual that they had the best
chance of winning here but they haven’t so far as they can’t
crack the working class bedrock of Bridgwater. In fact every
year since the early 80s Labour has clawed back more and
more votes and with a good candidate could
eventually take
the seat!!!
Watch this space
