Election update

Just weeks before crucial elections the Labour party in Andover has already given up the fight.

In the by-election for the vacant Anna ward borough council seat they haven’t bothered to nominate a candidate, leaving the election a three way contest between the Lib Dem candidate Tony Evans, a Tory and a UKIP candidate. This follows previous poor performances by Andover Labour in the 2009 county elections they came 4th with just 6% of votes cast and in the 2007 borough elections when they fielded just 5 candidates for 15 seats and gained less that 10% of the vote.

This poor performance confirms what we have all known for years that a vote for the Labour party in Andover and Test Valley is a wasted vote. In Andover voters have a simple choice - the current Tory administration or the Liberal Democrats.

The Labour party’s position is even more questionable when you consider that Labour party members, including their parliamentary candidate are standing under a “non political” banner for the Andover town (parish) council. Far better to be honest about your political allegiences and let the electorate decide whether you are fit for office. Perhaps they already know what would happen if they stood under a Labour banner.