Welcome to the Taunton Deane CLP rolling blog and newsletter

Welcome to Points Left - The Taunton Deane Constituency Labour Party (CLP) public blog and newsletter.  Points Left forms part of a renewed effort by Taunton CLP to create an open online presence that is accessible to both members and the wider public within the constituency.  It will be used to provide up-to-date information on the activities of the CLP, such as upcoming meetings and campaigning as we build up to the local elections in May 2011.  It will also contain posts on events and debate within the wider Labour movement.
 

Following the election defeat in May this is a testing time for the Labour Party nationally as it seeks to oppose the damaging and reckless cuts agenda of the Conservative & Liberal Democrat coalition.  However with adversity also comes an opportunity for renewal and reflection.  The election of our new leader Ed Miliband represents a rare opportunity to chart a bold new direction for the Party as it re-engages with its membership and seeks to reclaim the progressive centre ground of British politics from the coalition government.  For all members, new and old, this is a great time to express the views and values that are important to you as we forge an effective new platform, under Ed's leadership, on which to fight the next general election. 

Locally we are faced with Conservative administrations at Taunton Deane and at Somerset County Council both intent on making damaging reductions to services, axing jobs and taking millions of pounds out of the local economy.  You may recently have heard of the savage cuts programme announced by the Leader of Somerset County Council, which will create large scale redundancies and damage local businesses in Taunton, driven by the blind belief in the virtues of minimal government and low taxation regardless of the havoc it causes.  The Tories know their programme will be hard to absorb in Somerset and will therefore attempt to create a narrative that these are Labour cuts and they had no other choice.  Our challenge over the coming months will be to hold them to account and ensure that they are made to fully own the cuts and their consequences.     

For their part the Liberal Democrats have in the past year lost control of Taunton Deane Borough Council due to a lack of internal party discipline and handed control to the Tories.  At County level the decisions they made in power, such as the Southwest One contract with IBM, have given cover for the agenda of the Tories.  They have since mounted an ineffective opposition to the Tories programme and have focused instead on protecting their legacy rather than the real jobs of ordinary working people and the services they provide.  Combined with their partnership in the Coalition nationally this leaves them exposed to the question - why did I vote Lib Dem?   

We face a tough fight locally to make inroads on Taunton Deane at the next local elections in May 2011 but there has rarely been a better time to gain seats and with your help we can mount an effective challenge next year.  It is essential that we make the case against both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats and that their failure to protect the most vulnerable does not go unpunished at the ballot box.