Assessing the local election in Medway: did CRAG achieve anything?

The Chatham Regeneration Action Group (CRAG), alongside Kent Reliance Building Society (KRBS), provided a clear message to voters in the run-up to the local elections: “Don’t Vote Tory”.

Mike Lazenby of KRBS denied that it was Party Political, but all key Conservative wards, including Rainham Central, were targeted by CRAG’s leaflets, directing people how to vote tactically against the Conservatives. This in itself made the local press sceptical of the local businessman, but they still provided great coverage to the cause.

Under the leaflet header “help get Medway moving”, they explain the Council is to blame for everything from the road improvements accross Medway to the “disastrous” two-way system in Chatham. On the back, they list 21 of 22 wards (excluding Gillingham North, where Tim Butcher, Rifat Chishti and Phil Plaistowe did fantastically considering the fact that they were fighting a losing battle in a Labour-Liberal fight) and which party to vote for tactically to prevent the Conservatives from winning:

Gillingham South – Liberal. The Gillingham Lib Dems won this Liberal stronghold, but Labour overtook the Conservatives based on the 2003 poll, pushing the Conservatives into third place. There is nothing to suggest that this had anything to do with CRAG, but the Conservatives could have had their last clinging of hope to win this site stolen for many years.

Rainham North – Liberal. David Carr and Vaughan Hewett stole the seats off former Liberal mayor Ken Webber and local Whip Richard Guichard after campaigning from people throughout the association, myself included on one day.

Watling – Liberal. There is nothing to suggest that CRAG’s influence stole the second seat off the Conservatives in this previously Liberal-Conservative split ward. The Gillingham Lib Dem’s online spin-machine certainly played a part, however, although they have removed the news page since the election.

Rainham Central – Liberal. CRAG’s leaflet pushing (as I discovered whilst leafleting myself and seeing their unmistakable purple-and-black-on-white leaflet on someone’s mat as our leaflet dropped on top of it) failed to influence the vote. Conversely, the gap between the Conservatives and the Liberals in this ward has widened to make it one of the safest seats in Medway.

Rainham South – Liberal. Very few people believed that the Conservatives could have lost this seat regardless of what influences may have been on the back-burner. I am unsure whether or not CRAG targeted this seat, but whether they did or not, this ward was held by the Conservatives.

Hempstead and Wigmore – Liberal. Ironically, the two Labour Candidates polled greater than the Liberals in this seat, but still fell around 600 votes short of the two Independents who stood to rattle things up. Despite them and CRAG’s campaign, the Chambers had no problems in polling over 1400 votes each.

Twydall – Labour. Here in my home ward of Twydall, we heard nothing from Labour until I went away. We received nothing from CRAG, nothing from the Tories, nothing from UKIP (who were apparently using Scouts to deliver their leaflets) and nothing from the BNP. However, UKIP and the BNP delivered elsewhere in the Ward but I’ve heard nothing from people here about CRAG. Regardless, there was more chance of Gordon Brown calling a General Election when he takes over on 27th June than Labour losing this seat. And it was right.

As you can see, I have only considered the wards within my Constituency, but with only two seats actually lost, the Conservatives gained more seats in Medway than CRAG would have liked. The photograph of Diane Turner, CRAG ringleader, at the count shows her annoyance.

I could conclude this assessment and state that CRAG failed in it’s objectives – after all, the Conservatives have an increased hold over the council – but they managed to win a battle in the run-up to the elections.

As I reported earlier on this blog, the Conservative Cabinet agreed to re-open the Sir John Hawkin’s flyover to normal traffic – one of CRAG’s demands, supposedly pledged by all opposition parties in writing. It was a single-issue campaign, which very rarely succeed anyway.

They claimed the Conservatives don’t listen, they claimed their campaign was not political, but on May 3rd the public had their say. They said that they wanted a Conservative Council – with an increased turnout and an increased majority.

And at the end of the day it is the public the Council serves. It is the public that matters.