Respect campaigns around the county have shown that center right mainstream politics can be challenged from the left. By this morning Respect had won council seats in Preston, Chesterfield and Birmingham and a host of excellent second and third places across England. Counts in other parts of the country are still to be announced. Respect has shown that we do well where we put a socialist argument for better public services and for a planned and collective approach to tackling climate change, poverty and war.

Our candidates and campaigns have presented a positive alternative whilst center right politics has led to low turn outs and a further undermining of the established electoral process.

In Romsey ward, where we stood in Cambridge, the Respect campaign has helped move the political agenda back towards the left by creating a real debate around how we tackle housing, health, education and transport. We have put forward a robust opposition to privatization. We have started a fight back and a platform from which we can gain confidence to mount a real challenge to Gordon Browns Pay freeze and New Labour continuing cuts and marketisation of health and education.

Our 17%, up from 12% last year, has established Respect as a credible force in Cambridge . All of the other parties lost votes to us because we had a clear analysis of how local politics and national and international issues are related. The Labour vote continued to collapse in an area that was once known as Red Romsey, the heart of the local Labour movement. We feel we are begining to rebuilding the links and spirit of trade unionsim in the ward and real socialist principals go down well amoungst a constituency that has a high proportion of public sector workers, council tenants, students and pensioners.

What is significant is that we have picked up votes form across the board - with the exception of the Tories - whos vote stayed static at 11%. The Liberal Democrats are finding that the gains they have made at the expense of Blairism and Iraq have been short lived. They must now look over their slopy shoulders to find us mounting a fight against their complience with New Labour's cuts and privativation and short sited apporach to local government.

Labels: Local Respect