The Greens have selected local resident Pippa Judd to stand as the candidate for the Suffolk County Council by-election caused by the recent resignation of County Councillor, Paul Farmer. The election will be held on Thursday 11 November.
Pippa lives with Ray and their baby daughter, Iona in the heart of Tower Division; on Victoria Street. Pippa is now based at home having previously been a manager of a counselling service for families. She has also worked in the NHS and for the charity, Age Concern.
Commenting on her selection, Pippa said:
" Like all mothers my daughter's future is vitally important to me. Standing as a Green candidate gives me the opportunity to play my part in creating that future for all of us.
It is not just about paying off the financial debt we leave for our children but the social and environmental debt too. For a secure future it's important that everyone has access to good and reliable services such as social care, health and education - and if elected to the County Council I would commit myself to working hard towards this".
This Thursday (14th October) at 11.30am Pippa plans to meet with parents, and their children, to discuss the plans by Suffolk County Council to outsource all of its services to listen to their views. The meeting will take place at Bury St Edmunds Library café area. Current Green Councillor for the Tower division, Mark Ereira-Guyer, will accompany her.
Mark added: "Having won one of the seats last year for the Greens, we will be all working very hard as a team to get Pippa elected. The council urgently needs younger people, especially women, coming forward with new ideas and fresh perspectives – Pippa is leading the way".
· In the Suffolk County Council elections of June 2009 here in the Tower Division the Conservative and Green topped the poll. Two councillors were elected to represent the 16,000 people living in the area. Paul Farmer, the Conservative has stood aside for health reasons and this has resulted in the by-election on Thursday 11 November.
· Last year's result was as follows:
Conservative 2042
Green 1924
Independent 1846
Labour 645
Liberal Democrats 641
· The Greens key election theme is centred on the plans for outsourcing services by the County Council, as shown by the main story to feature in election communications:
What are they doing to our County
Council ? If it moves, outsource it?
Libraries, old peoples homes, school crossing attendants – and any other Suffolk county council service you can name. These are planned for being outsourced in the next three years.
Suffolk County Council is planning a strategy, which says 'if it moves, outsource it'. The idea is that they become a 'virtual authority' employing only a few hundred people to monitor the contracts that will have been let to a mixture of private and voluntary sector providers. But does the Conservative-controlled Council have a mandate for this monumental and full-scale change? This is your chance to tell them.
This by election is the biggest electoral test in the UK since the General election in May. It provides over 16,000 people in Bury St Edmunds with a unique opportunity to give the Council leadership here in Suffolk their verdict on its outsourcing proposals.
The timetable for implementation is too tight, the risks too great and we need to get it right, whilst dealing effectively with the deficit in public finances.
Greens believe that the proposals to outsource ALL council services to charities, teams of volunteers and the private sector need active public support to work.
• Understanding to replace public incomprehension
• A new level of public "ownership" of our county council
• Public service ethos to balance private interests
This is Suffolk's last chance to rein in a runaway dash towards becoming a completely outsourced 'virtual council'.
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