Meet the Labour Candidates standing in this week's local elections

 Kathy Pearce (standing for Town & District)

 

Kathy was born in Bridgwater has always lived in the town, attending Blake School. She joined the Labour Party at  the age of 16 and has been a Councillor for 16 years, firstly in Hamp and the last four years in Westover.

During the last four years she has been busy working with local residents on a large range of issues, including housing and green spaces.  She has also chaired the West Street Residents’ Association and campaigned to protect the Brewery Field from the Tesco development.

Kathy lives in the Westover Ward, is a member of Unison and manages a special educational needs' information and advice service supporting families and children.

 Brian Smedley (standing for Town and District)

Brian has lived in Bridgwater for most of his life and has been a Sedgemoor District Councillor since 1990 representing Victoria and then Hamp. In 2011 he was elected town and district councillor for Westover where he lives.

Brian works as an International Links Organiser, a driver and a musician and has a long history of Community action in Bridgwater from running theatre groups and rock concerts at the Art Centre to setting up Britain’s first Czech twinning link.

Brian is the Secretary of both Town & District Labour Groups and the Chairman of the influential Corporate Scrutiny Committee which keeps an eye on Sedgemoor District Council’s policy making!

Brian is a member of Unite the Union, Bridgwater Trades Council and Bridgwater Forward. He is also the Chairman of the Town Council’s Community Assets Panel and, as a local historian, takes a keen interest in Bridgwater’s heritage. He runs the Westover web www.westoverward.co.uk

 

FAIRFAX WARD

Alex Glassford (District Fairfax and town Fairfax East)

Alex has been an active Fairfax ward councillor for the past 4 years. He has represented the interests of his ward in all areas. He is also director of homes in sedgemoor

Alex wants to continue to work towards building a community  in his ward which he believes needs a residents association. He also wants to ensure that young people still have places to go in spite of huge cutbacks

Alex was treasurer of the Railway Club for 6 years and has been the chairman of the GWRSa (Exeter area) for the past 8 years and is now a trustee and committee member.

Alex was born in Scotland and lived in Bridgwater for 33 years. He worked for NHS for 10 years in management and for 14 years as a general manager at Paragon laundry in Bridgwater.

 

Graham Granter (District Fairfax and town Fairfax West)

Graham has been a councillor for 12 years representing Sydenham and then Fairfax wards. Formerly a Stop Steward at Cellophane for 25 years with the T&GWU he was also the  Landlord of the Mansion House for 13 years.

Graham is the Chairman of Sydenham Community Centre and was heavily involved when the Labour town council stepped in when Sedgemoor District Council withdrew funding, helping to set up a trust to run it.

Graham’s is very proactive on the estate  where his work involves general day-to-day helping people with their problems, issues with social housing and working to get more money into the ward

Graham has lived in the town for most of his life, has been Mayor of Bridgwater on 2 occasions and is married to Kay  with 3 grown up children,7 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.   .

 

Reg Winslow (Fairfax district)

Reg was born in 1946 in Hackney and worked on the London Underground, in factories and as a carpenter and a  photographer. In recent years Reg worked in the environment department of Sedgemoor District Council.

Reg says “I grew up in fairly tough times, however there was a brilliant (and relatively new) NHS and a council house-building programme these two important things alone made our lives considerably better, two vital services I think should be preserved and improved. This shows how critical it is to have affordable homes available through social housing” 

Reg says “  As a local councillor I cannot change the world but will do my best to look after local people’s interests. I care about people, I am a person that you can call on to help when you have a problem, and I will do my best to get a satisfactory outcome wherever possible. 

 

HAMP WARD

 

Wes Hinckes (standing for Hamp in district and Wyndham for town)

Wes is 42 and lives in Old Taunton Rd, Bridgwater which has been his family home for over 18 years. He is an experienced businessman and qualified coach including 10 years as a Director of a Digital Consultancy in London. 

Wes is committed to local citizen action and the ability of everyday people to organise and shape their community. Last year he was selected to participate in a week long British Council event which brought Active Citizens together from around the globe.

Within Bridgwater Wes is applying his skills with Unite the Community. Unite are Great Britain's largest union and this initiative brings a range of benefits to people out of work, including access to Unite's legal helpline, debt counselling and assistance on claiming benefits. 

He also attends and participates in meetings with the local TUC, Bridgwater Forward, and The Civic Society.

His sister Rosie is severely autistic and in residential care, giving him a lifetime of understanding of disability and social care. He is passionate about advocacy and giving a voice to those who may not be heard. He is also a founding trustee of a children’s brain tumour charity

Adrian Moore (standing for Hamp town and district)

Adrian was born and educated on Hamp and still has many of his family living on the estate.

Adrian has previously served as a District ,County and Town Councillor for many years including 3 times  Mayor . He is an active carnivalite and knows how important carnival is to our town.

Adrian has been councillor for Hamp for the past 4 years and is  working hard to rejuvenate the area including the new  play and gym equipment on Mansfield Park and the road improvements on Rhode Lane. 

Adrian is involved with Neighbourhood Watch and regularly attending meetings. He is especially concerned with keeping the area clean and tidy, preventing cold callers etc

 

DUNWEAR WARD

Diogo Rodrigues (standing for Dunwear district and Dunwear north for town)

25 years old , born on the Portuguese island of Madeira, brought up in London. Worked in the restaurant industry in Southend and as an English teacher in an orphanage in Cambodia before settling in Bridgwater.   

 He went to school in Southend and went on to gain qualifications in Tourism Management and Access to Teaching and gained a lot of experience working in his parents’ restaurant. 

Moved  to Bridgwater after having fallen in love with the area after visiting it so many times.

A member of the Labour Party for four years . Diogo says “ I believe that it is the only party which stands up for hard-working people who want a fairer society in which everyone has a decent chance to prosper.”

 

Leigh Redman (standing for Dunwear district and Dunwear South for town)

 Leigh Redman is the sitting Councillor for Dunwear and has lived in Bridgwater all his life, attending Sydenham School, currently working part-time for a local Electrical firm to allow time to complete council business.

Leigh served as a Retained FireFighter at Bridgwater Fire station for over 20  years until forced to leave following a life changing accident. He is a Union Rep for Unite sitting on the area activist committee and is a member of Bridgwater Trades council, Chairman of the Eastover Community & Sports Trust and many other community organisations

Leigh lives in Bridgwater with his Wife Tracey and Daughter Holly.

Leigh has fought for the ward on many issues. He was able to get the bus passing through the estate reinstated when County cut the service, he was instrumental in forcing the County council to extend the youth club held  at Rollercoaster and recently chaired the town council group that commissioned the new youth club securing the provision in Sydenham for years to come.

Leigh is a hard working local Councillor, putting community first.

If elected Leigh will fight for all that reside in Dunwear ward.

 

 

EASTOVER WARD

Moira Brown (standing for town and district)

Moira Brown lives in Bridgwater, and is married with three sons. She has worked in education for most of her career. Most recently she has been a university lecturer.  She still continues to work on a part time basis.

Moira puts her strong Labour roots down to her upbringing in Scotland. ‘When I was growing up in Glasgow, everyone was a Labour supporter. There was a strong sense of community and the Labour Party seemed to best represent us and who we were. My view has not changed. The Labour  Party is the party of working people, their lives and their aspirations.’ 

Moira would like to represent the people of Eastover ward in the forthcoming election.

Moira says, ‘I look forward to the challenge and rewards of representing Eastover. There has been much talk of regeneration and increased resources, but, how will these be delivered and managed? Can we really rely on the Tories in Sedgemoor to have the interests of Eastover at heart? One has only got to see the traffic congestion, rampant house building and lack of leisure facilities for young people and families to see the neglect that Bridgwater as a whole is subject to.  Eastover needs a representative who will work for the people who live there, not in spite of them, or against them.’  

 

Dave Loveridge (standing for town and district)

 

Dave is Somerset born and bred. He has been a County councillor since 1989, and a town and district councillor since the formation of the new town council in 2002. Everybody knows and respects Dave.

Dave’s proudest achievements – At a basic level it is seeing the satisfaction of people who come up and say ‘Thanks Dave’  when he’s been able to solve a problem for one of his ward residents. On a wider level it is helping to get the Eastover Supplementary Planning Documents to include Eastover into the official town centre. Before  this, the town centre effectively ended at the town bridge as far as the District Council was concerned.

 

VICTORIA WARD

Mick Lerry (standing for town, district and as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate)

Before being elected as a Labour Councillor, Mick had worked in a secondary school in Bridgwater since 1976. Since his election in 2011, he has made sure that the Multi Use Games Area was built in Victoria Park and that extra play equipment and seating has also been provided in Victoria Park, Crowpill Park and the play area at Linham Road. Mick has also organised the internal decoration of the Changing Rooms at Victoria Park.

 

He is a member of the Victoria Park Community Centre Board and has supported the provision of the new parking area and the internal room improvements. He has helped to establish the Job Club and the Digital Inclusion project at the Community Centre. He is a member of St George’s Hall Management Committee and he has obtained grants to install the new heating boiler. He has secured funding for the Bowls Club, Homestart and the Activities Week for children. He has made sure that the Elderly Luncheon Club could continue at the Community Centre when Ivy House closed. He has also secured funding for the Cycle Club at the Park, and the Children's' Centre at St George's Hall.

 

Mick has taken on casework for residents who faced problems, such as grass cutting, flooding in Victoria Park, litter picking, benefit issues and Decent Homes. Regular surgeries have also been held and newsletters delivered to constituents. Mick has always been accessible for residents within the Ward.

 

Siobhan Wilson (standing for town and district)

 'Siobhan Wilson has lived in Bridgwater for several years. After gaining an English degree she became a researcher working for two Labour MPs – Audrey Wise and Alice Mahon.

Siobhan has worked locally as the manager of Somerset Film at the Engine Room, on the High Street in Bridgwater and was a volunteer press officer for  Bridgwater Civic Society . Siobhan says she loves the ‘talent, energy and commitment of the people of Bridgwater’.

As the Mother of three year-old twins Siobhan understands the pressures on working mums and believes that more women should get involved in local politics to make the changes needed.'

  
 

PURITON AND WOOLAVINGTON WARD

Richard Hampson (standing for District)

I’m Richard Hampson, and I’m your Labour candidate for Woolavington & Puriton. Born in Bridgwater and educated at Doctor Morgan’s, I now live in Bason Bridge.

I started out working for Bridgwater Rural District Council in 1957, going on to serve as a Local Government Administrator in West London for many years. Now retired, my wife and I returned to Somerset, where I took up the post as  North Petherton’s part-time Town Clerk.

As a former Bursar of a state school in Lancashire, and a governor of  a local school in Bridgwater, I am committed to ensuring our schools are well-funded, and that teachers and pupils are supported by local government.

I’m also interested in highways issues, particularly safe traffic management and road maintenance, and would also push for the increase in traffic caused by the construction of Hinkley C to be effectively monitored.

Having managed a local government budget of over £5m, I am passionate about maintaining high-quality public services for the people of Somerset – something threatened by the Conservatives running the County Council, and the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition running the country.

I have a keen interest in services for the elderly which have suffered so much under this Government and County Council.  I am currently Chair of a charity working in this field which is suffering financial difficulty because of funding cutbacks and  will be campaigning to restore funding for services to the elderly.

 

 

QUANTOCK WARD

Phil King (standing for District)

Philip was brought up in Somerset and went to school in Bridgwater, Wiveliscombe and Taunton before training and working in Taunton as a nurse. Following university and post graduate studies Philip had a successful career in the NHS in London, going on to work as a Barrister and legal academic specialising in healthcare, equality and discrimination cases. He returned to Somerset in 2008 and settled in Over Stowey, three miles away from where he grew up. He was Director of Nursing at Somerset Partnership before working as Director of Regulation at the Care Quality Commission. He now works as a healthcare and legal consultant.

 

Philip is committed to the local community. He is concerned with the environment, local services, transport and infrastructure, and in particular access to services for those in rural poverty and older people. Equally he will promote the cause of young people to remain part of a sustainable community through opportunities for training, development and employment.

 

WYNDHAM WARD

Liz Leavy (standing for Town and District)

Liz has lived in the Bridgwater area  for the last 40 years . She has spent most of her working life as a teacher at local schools and currently works as a relief assistant at Bridgwater Library    She has three children and four grandchildren .

 Liz is involved in the local Credit Union , the Museum and the Arts Centre.  In her spare time she enjoys reading and gardening.                             

Liz  Says “Sedgemoor has been run by the Conservatives for too long and it's time for a change. Labour needs to win in places like Wyndham to have the strength to make the changes needed locally and to fight for a decent life for all working people.”

Dr Caroline Wilkins (Standing for Wyndham district and Fairfax East for town)

Caroline grew up and went to school in  Bridgwater. She is a  registered carer and member of an NHS patient’s focus group.

Caroline wants to play a part in bringing local projects to fruition . Caroline says “I’m standing because I wish to contribute towards the positive changes that will happen with a future Labour party in government.”

 

NORTH PETHERTON

 

Marion Denham (Standing for town and district)

Marion retired after 25 years as a Sedgemoor Lifeline officer working with elderly and disabled people in the North Petherton Area. She is Sedgemoor born and bred, and has lived in North Petherton  for 35 years. Marion has grown up children and grand children locally. Although retired she remains committed to supporting elderly people as a volunteer. She is also a volunteer at the North Petherton Community Primary School .

Marion is very aware of the impact of the ConLib Coalition and Tory Cuts. She is also very concerned about the lack of consultation by the council on the EDF proposals for Hinkley Point and how this will effect North Petherton and Stockmoor.  

Marion is a councillor on the North Petherton Town Council and is working to develop the BMX track in Parkersfield.

Marion says “ I want to serve all the people in North Petherton, Stockmoor  and the surrounding communities. When elected I will always be available to come and visit and discuss any issues. “

 

Prospective candidates can email their profiles and 150 word biographies to us at newsdesk@bridgwatermercury.co.uk