County election apathy

While Blair, Hague, Kennedy and their running mates dominate national news to the exclusion of almost everything else, hundreds of other candidates are out door-knocking in Bucks trying to get people interested in local affairs.

Some people say that holding the two elections on the same day is not a good thing for local politics, even though more people vote as a result.

For example David Coe, who used to be Independent group leader at County Hall until he lost his seat to Conservative Bob Woollard four years ago, said having the two elections together meant more people would follow the party line.

"The last general elections didn't do me any good," he said.

He is trying to tell people they do not have to vote the same way in both elections but he said people were full of Blair and Hague and had to be jolted into an awareness of county issues. If pushed they mentioned the roads, he said.

"But there are very few who make any substantial criticisms which are not related to national party issues. The two elections should not be held on the same day."

Mr Coe backed set election dates for national as well as local government.

Conservative David Shakespeare, council leader in the last administration, said having two elections on the same day meant more people voted in the county poll, but in spite of that he preferred them to be kept separate.

Election day, June 7, should actually be the county council's big day but Mr Shakespeare said the public thought it was the general election onto which the county vote has been tagged.

Conservatives rule the roost at County Hall and although the opposition parties hope to win more seats, they are not expecting to overthrow the large Conservative majority on the 54-seat council. At present there are 38 Conservatives, 10 Lib Dems, five Labour, and one Independent member.

Opposition membership is confined to the towns. The five Labour members all represent High Wycombe seats, with the Tories holding the other two. All six Aylesbury seats are held by Lib Dems, with the party's other four members coming from Marlow, Amersham, Chesham and Stokenchurch.

Tories, who totally dominate the rural areas, say they will not be losing any seats and want to increase their numbers to 40 or more by picking up Stokenchurch, where Liberal Alf Plumridge is retiring, one of the Aylesbury seats and seats in High Wycombe and Chesham.

Both Labour and the Lib Dems have their eyes on Wooburn, held by Conservative Mike Appleyard, the county council's cabinet member for schools, who has a majority of 212, while in Chesham West, Labour and Conservatives both think the 105 majority of Lib Dem group leader Pam Crawford can be overthrown.

Labour also think Stokenchurch is winnable by them and they can take Cressex and Frogmoor in High Wycombe from the Conservatives.

The party is also looking to Aylesbury, whose large estates should be a natural hunting ground for Labour, but where it has not had a look in for years.

The Lib Dems hope to take another seat in Chesham.

So what are the local candidates finding as they knock on people's doors? They are getting polite and friendly receptions and all say they are doing well.

The one issue that does get people going is the one we reported in the Free Press last month the state of the roads.

Labour group leader Trevor Fowler, defending a 943 majority at Oakridge and Tinkers Wood in High Wycombe, said: "There was a good feeling about education. Most people can see improvements, with more teachers and classroom assistants."

His party's manifesto includes getting rid of grammar schools but Mr Fowler admitted he had to raise the subject with voters, rather than the other way round.

But people did complain about the state of the roads and the bus services and he said money could be found for both.

When a bus company decided to withdraw services it was the responsibility of the county council to see what the effect would be on the community and if it was damaging to find ways of keeping them open, Mr Fowler said.

Mrs Crawford, who has no intention of losing her seat to either of the other main parties, said she was gaining support from both sides and would stand on her record and her hard work.

She said: "Top of the agenda at county level is roads. I find it wherever you go it's roads on estates and roads in villages.

"People are prepared to pay more if that is what it means."

Mrs Crawford said she would not have spent an extra £500,000 this year on helping the local economy. Bucks did not need it, she said. The money could go on road maintenance as could money saved on bureaucracy.

Mr Shakespeare, standing in former chairman Ken Ross's seat of Flackwell Heath (majority 1,775), said the people he had spoken to did not seem to have any major problems with the county council though there were local issues like parking outside schools and bus services for older people.

He said the council was spending an extra £1.75 million this year on maintenance and there would be more in years to come.