York students active in local politics
Lib Dem candidate, Tom Spencer. Image Credit: Alexander Prowse
A large number of current students were running in the York Council elections. Many students were running to gain experience of political campaigning and representation, such as Lizzie Beardsley in the Guildhall ward.
In the University dominated Heslington ward, second-year Caleb Wooding ran as the Green candidate. Despite losing to David Levene, he was satisfied with 449 votes.
He later commented: “It’s great that we’ve increased our vote share on an increased turnout on campus. Students got the opportunity to vote Green and we achieved a pretty good second place. This puts us in a strong position for next time.”
Wooding was also firmly for encouraging other students to attempt election, “I’ll definitely think about running again, and encourage anyone who can to run for elected office.”
This view was echoed by Josh Allen, a first-year History student and Liberal Democrat candidate. “It would have been nice to win, but realistically I’m happy with my performance, I would definitely consider running again.”
Tom Spencer, a second-year Politics and International Relations student, was standing for the Liberal Democrats in the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward. This had previously been a Liberal Democrat stronghold, however two of the three Councillors elected were Labour. Spencer gained a very respectable 1065 votes, something he was very proud of: “I’m very happy by achieving that number of votes on a 50 per cent turnout.”
Dean Knapper, a second year Politics and International Relations student, stood alongside fellow second year Jim Whiteside. Both students were representing the Liberal Democrats in Fishergate, a notoriously low Lib Dem vote.
Eventually the Green party held Fishergate, with Knapper and Whiteside not that surprised. Knapper, with 257 votes to his name, later jovially commented, “I’m glad that the Greens won, my aim was to beat James and I’ve done that by 35 votes.”
It seems that whilst no current students won their ward, all unanimously enjoyed the experience. Whilst these students were trying to make a difference, other who voted contrived to achieve the opposite. One glaring statistic was the high number of spoilt ballots in the Heslington ward.
Over 75 ballots were spoilt, which provided amusement for the crowd. “Maybe these students aren’t as clever as they make out” one activist commented. The spoilt ballots were intentional, a source of venting anger at certain parties rather than effectively using their vote.
It was a resounding victory for the Labour party. James Alexander, local Labour leader, stated he was “elated” with the results. “York deserves better, and the hard work starts here”.
Alexander also commented on the future of the Liberal Democrat leader: “Nick Clegg should consider whether he remains leader of the party.”
Loading ...