Little piece on the front page of the Hebden Bridge Times this week on a campaign I’m pursuing - Getting Mytholmroyd and Cragg Vale recognised in the Royal Mail postcode database.

This is not a call for the unilateral declaration of independence of the Royd and Cragg, just making sure our post goes to the right place.

My address is :
10 Cleveley Gardens
Mytholmroyd
Hebden Bridge
HX7 5JE

not:
10 Cleveley Gardens
Hebden Bridge
HX7 5JE

Hebden Bridge is a wonderful place with wonderful people - I just don’t live there.

This was originally posted to www.johnbm.com

Questions are being asked by some members of the Calder Valley Labour Party over the selection of Cherie Blair’s stepmother, Stephanie Booth, as their parliamentary candidate.

In an article in the Yorkshire Post members of the Calder branch of the Labour Party are alleging postal voting irregularities including that Mrs. Booth’s supporters directly helped party members to fill in their postal voting papers.

Of the votes 95 cast for Mrs. Booth in the selection, 73 were postal votes.

Of the 52 votes cast for Cllr. Susan Press, 17 were postal votes.

The other votes were made in person at the hustings on April 9th.

Effectively; the selection of Steph Booth was a done deal before the hustings began.

It could be that Mrs. Booth fought a better all-round campaign or, as suggested by some local Labour Party members, it could be a little more sinister.

This latest episode comes on the back of the Labour Party NEC’s ousting of the previous Labour candidate, Janet Oosthuysen, for receiving a police caution for scratching an ex-partner’s car. Janet narrowly beat Steph Booth by a handful of votes last July.

This could well be a space that needs to be watched.

This was originally posted to www.johnbm.com

Last night the Calder Valley Labour Party selected Stephanie Booth to represent the party at the next General Election. Steph Booth beat local Hebden Royd Mayor, Susan Press, by 95 votes to 52.

This is second time lucky for Mrs. Booth having been previously beaten for the PPC by local town councillor Janet Oosthuysen by just five votes.

Janet went on to be vetoed by the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee in January following revelations that she had received a police caution for damaging her ex-partner’s car.

It is widely rumoured and believed in the Calder Valley that close supporters of Steph Booth briefed the press with these and other revelations in what was ultimately a successful attempt to unseat Janet and install Mrs. Booth.

It looks like the Steph Booth faction got their way in the end but will the Labour Party unite behind Steph Booth - We’ll see!!!

Hat tip to the fallen (this blog also makes interesting reading for a view of internal machinations of the Labour Party): http://grimmerupnorth.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-lost.html

This was originally posted to www.johnbm.com

Liberal Democrats were last night celebrating passing the Hebden Royd Town Council budget with no increase in the council’s tax.

Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr. Christine Bampton-Smith said “This is an excellent budget for the whole of Hebden Royd with no increase for tax payers. We have renewed our commitment to working with Calderdale in improving Central Street in Hebden Bridge by increasing the amount available for the project and we have earmarked large sums for rest of the parish.”

In seconding the budget, Deputy Mayor and Liberal Democrat, Cllr. John Beacroft-Mitchell said “I am particularly pleased we have secured significant amounts of money for public spaces in Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale and Brearley.”
In times of recession and hardship it is doubly important that councils make their money work hard for the benefit of all residents and businesses.”
This budget will build on the successes of previous years and show that we are a council that gets things done and does it efficiently.”

Nearly £10,000 has been put in the budget to work with Royd Regeneration to improve the memorial gardens in Mytholmroyd and further £9,000 has been approved for public spaces in Cragg Vale and Brearley. The council’s environmental renaissance budget of £20,000 has also been split equally between the six wards of the parish.

The council continues to support local community groups and projects with a grants pot of £55,000.