So the elections are over and you the people of Crawley have once more voted in a Labour council, with an increased majority.  Many thanks to residents for the renewed mandate to myself and my Labour colleagues locally in last week’s Borough elections.  It was a day that saw us win a ward, Pound Hill North, for the first time in 28 years from the Conservatives, as well as running them very close in two others.  Thank you for putting your trust in us, we will work hard for everyone whether you voted for us or another party.  This result will allow us to move forward and plan with certainty, even more than we were able to do so this past year.

But victory celebrations were slightly marred by the news that the Government’s insistence on photo ID being supplied meant 375 people were turned away.  Of those, only 208 returned to cast their vote.

Even one voter losing their right to vote would be unacceptable, but 167 is a scandal.  That figure, of course, does not include the many people who knew about the new ID requirements, didn’t have any of them and so just didn’t try to go down at all.  We certainly met a few saying that knocking up in Crawley on polling day, and I suspect that was only scratching the surface.  For anyone who doubts it, the number of recorded instances of electoral fraud in this country and certainly in Crawley is vanishingly small.  But if hundreds were denied here, you can rest assured that figure will mount up across the country and I suspect that it will have disproportionately impacted particular parts of the community that don’t necessarily have passports or drivers’ licences.

This set of elections across the local area were a devastating blow for the Tories, who have been hammered by the terrible reputation of their national dysfunctional Government.  But I don’t want readers to think it is unfair and it has nothing to do with the “Local Conservatives”.  It has everything to do with them, they are the ones who went out and knocked on the doors and got the leaflets out to promote those running our country.  Politics can be brutal,  but on this occasion I have little sympathy.

Looking across Sussex, the Tories have been laid low.  It was a good election for Labour, with wins in Crawley, Worthing and Brighton and Hove and large increases of councillors in Arun, Rother and Lewes, with Wealden getting its first Labour councillors in 50 years.

The Tories have been thrown out of power in Chichester, Horsham and Mid Sussex districts – a day I never thought at one point I would see.  Voters in Sussex are disgusted with this Government and have shown it clearly.  I believe we need a General Election more than ever, so that they can finish the job.

Cllr Michael Jones

Leader, Crawley Borough Council