Wed Apr 6, 2016, 03:50 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

I am standing as a candidate in Bristol City Council's election

I will be the Wessex Regionalist candidate for Eastville ward. Please feel free to send good vibes my way.

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28 replies	Author	Time	Post
I am standing as a candidate in Bristol City Council's election (Original post)	nxylas	Apr 2016	OP
Mazel tov!	shenmue	Apr 2016	#1
Thanks n/t	nxylas	Apr 2016	#2
Good luck!	LeftishBrit	Apr 2016	#3
You can see my campaign website here	nxylas	Apr 2016	#4
Good luck.	Ken Burch	Apr 2016	#5
Yes and yes	nxylas	Apr 2016	#6
Is there any association with Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels; or just that you both come from the same	LeftishBrit	Apr 2016	#7
Hardy is widely credited with reviving the name Wessex	nxylas	Apr 2016	#8
It seems quite parochial.	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#9
I think there's a pretty comprehensive list of policies on the main website	nxylas	Apr 2016	#18
It would be nice to know	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#20
For more affordable housing and free school meals	nxylas	Apr 2016	#22
That's what people want their councillors to talk about.	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#23
I've been a bit lax about blogging	nxylas	Apr 2016	#24
Stick to what can be done.	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#25
That's true of elected councillors	nxylas	Apr 2016	#27
If someone is having problems with the council.	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#28
Pardon me for asking...	T_i_B	Apr 2016	#10
It means that parish and town councils shouldn't just be rubber stamps for Westminster	nxylas	Apr 2016	#19
But can that happen....	T_i_B	Apr 2016	#26
What about Academies?	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#11
Can local councillors do much to stop Acadamies being imposed?	T_i_B	Apr 2016	#12
If LAs oppose acadamisation across the board it could put the government on the back foot.	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#13
I can see the difficulties in that....	T_i_B	Apr 2016	#14
Yes, though but	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#15
Ultimately it's the pupils who are affected most	T_i_B	Apr 2016	#16
Well yes.	Bad Dog	Apr 2016	#17
The second one	nxylas	Apr 2016	#21

Response to nxylas (Original post)

Wed Apr 6, 2016, 03:51 PM

shenmue (38,437 posts)

1. Mazel tov!

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Response to shenmue (Reply #1)

Wed Apr 6, 2016, 04:12 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

2. Thanks n/t

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Response to nxylas (Original post)

Wed Apr 6, 2016, 04:27 PM

LeftishBrit (40,873 posts)

3. Good luck!

What is your party platform?

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Response to LeftishBrit (Reply #3)

Wed Apr 6, 2016, 04:32 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

4. You can see my campaign website here

http://wr4eastville.weebly.com

There's a link to the main party website for further information.

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Response to nxylas (Original post)

Wed Apr 6, 2016, 08:46 PM

Ken Burch (50,254 posts)

5. Good luck.

(On a totally unrelated note) Your icon(which takes on a somewhat different meaning in the context of this question, obviously)is an Orthodox cross. Is that your actual spiritual home? If so, Greek, Russian, or some other national communion?

And are you ok with us calling you by your first name, now that we know what it is?

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Response to Ken Burch (Reply #5)

Thu Apr 7, 2016, 04:18 AM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

6. Yes and yes

I was baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church, though having been born in England, my true spiritual home is the distinctively English Orthodoxy of people like Fr Andrew Phillips and (although he is American) Heiromonk Aidan Keller.

And I can't remember why I didn't use my full name as my DU name. I think it's just that some internet forums don't allow spaces in screen names, so I kind of got into the habit of using my first initial followed by my surname.

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Response to nxylas (Original post)

Thu Apr 7, 2016, 01:30 PM

LeftishBrit (40,873 posts)

7. Is there any association with Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels; or just that you both come from the same

area?

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Response to LeftishBrit (Reply #7)

Thu Apr 7, 2016, 01:40 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

8. Hardy is widely credited with reviving the name Wessex

Although his contribution is perhaps overstated, as there are examples of its being used to describe the present-day area, rather than the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, that predate him. William Barnes and Charles Kingsley both used it in that context before Hardy's first use of the name.

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Response to nxylas (Original post)

Thu Apr 7, 2016, 03:13 PM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

9. It seems quite parochial.

Then again, it is the city council, but where do you stand on bread and butter issues like social housing, public transport, free school meals, that sort of thing?

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #9)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 04:48 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

18. I think there's a pretty comprehensive list of policies on the main website

For the mini-manifesto, I tried to tie everything back to the main policy of an assembly for Wessex, and decentralisation in general, as that's what sets us apart from other parties. I remember during the last mayoral election, there were a lot of leaflets from other small party and independent candidates, all saying more or less the same things about the issues you mention. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to imagineer the narrative, as Stewart Pearson would say.

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Response to nxylas (Reply #18)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 04:56 PM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

20. It would be nice to know

where you stand. I think a Wessex Assembly is pretty low on most people's list of priorities.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #20)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 05:24 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

22. For more affordable housing and free school meals

I specifically mention public transport on my campaign site. I think there's substantial agreement about these issues from most candidates, which is why I didn't devote a lot of space to them.

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Response to nxylas (Reply #22)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 05:57 PM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

23. That's what people want their councillors to talk about.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #23)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 06:53 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

24. I've been a bit lax about blogging

I intend to blog more as the campaign progresses, and will try to talk about a wider range of issues. Bear in mind that I've never run for office before, so I'm learning on the job.

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Response to nxylas (Reply #24)

Sat Apr 9, 2016, 01:57 AM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

25. Stick to what can be done.

Like fixing the pot hole at the end of the road. You can't be local enough.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #25)

Sat Apr 9, 2016, 03:14 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

27. That's true of elected councillors

I'm still not entirely convinced that it's something to build a campaign around. After all, can you imagine anyone arguing that the pothole should stay? I think it's taken as a given that potholes and broken streetlights fall within the remit of a councillor, whoever gets elected. Elections are supposed to highlight the differences between the candidates.

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Response to nxylas (Reply #27)

Sat Apr 9, 2016, 05:19 PM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

28. If someone is having problems with the council.

You're going to want to be the one they want to contact.

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Response to nxylas (Original post)

Thu Apr 7, 2016, 03:19 PM

T_i_B (14,708 posts)

10. Pardon me for asking...

But what's meant on the party website by "restoring sovereign power to the Parishes"?

I'd ask about Bristol as well, but I'm sure you can fill us in on the elected mayor, the Bag O'Cats (a pub I really want to visit) and the chances of Bristol Rugby Club choking in the playoffs for the umpteenth time!

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Response to T_i_B (Reply #10)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 04:55 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

19. It means that parish and town councils shouldn't just be rubber stamps for Westminster

It doesn't mean that each parish should be a sovereign nation, with its own army and currency. It just means that they should have enough power to be able to stand up to higher levels of government when they try to impose decisions on them against the will of the community.

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Response to nxylas (Reply #19)

Sat Apr 9, 2016, 04:53 AM

T_i_B (14,708 posts)

26. But can that happen....

Last edited Sat Apr 9, 2016, 05:38 AM - Edit history (1)

....without a major change in attitude from ministers in government? I can't speak for the rest of the country, but where I am local politics has become increasingly dominated by the whims of Gideon Osbourne and company. Most notably with the whole "Northern Powerhouse" bumph, which is looking more and more like a total dog's breakfast.

There's also the whole matter of how powers are divvied up between County Councils and smaller councils to consider as well.

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Response to nxylas (Original post)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 05:48 AM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

11. What about Academies?

For or against? Is it giving power to individual schools or centralising power with no local accountability?

I know what I think.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #11)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 07:52 AM

T_i_B (14,708 posts)

12. Can local councillors do much to stop Acadamies being imposed?

I'm not sure that they can do much about the current wave of Academisation.

Although a far greater gripe for me is council candidates who prattle on about immigration. Not an issue that your local town council is able to resolve so what's the point?

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Response to T_i_B (Reply #12)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 08:04 AM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

13. If LAs oppose acadamisation across the board it could put the government on the back foot.

It is a subject that someone running for council should have an answer to. I live in Wessex so I do have an interest. I can't see me voting anything other than Labour mind you.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #13)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 12:54 PM

T_i_B (14,708 posts)

14. I can see the difficulties in that....

...even getting neighbouring Labour councils to work together to oppose it might be a challenge. The current academization is a nationwide problem and I would suggest needs a nationwide campaign to oppose it.

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Response to T_i_B (Reply #14)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 03:06 PM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

15. Yes, though but

it's the Local Authorities who are the ones affected. Even some Tory councils are against it.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #15)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 03:17 PM

T_i_B (14,708 posts)

16. Ultimately it's the pupils who are affected most

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Response to T_i_B (Reply #16)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 03:20 PM

Bad Dog (2,025 posts)

17. Well yes.

I'm not going to argue with that.

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Response to Bad Dog (Reply #11)

Fri Apr 8, 2016, 05:05 PM

nxylas (6,440 posts)

21. The second one

Coincidencentally, I just added a paragraph about academies to the website a couple of days ago. Like many things this government does, it's ostensibly based on principles that I instinctively support, but I don't trust it, because it's the Tories. There will be much talk in public about restoring power to parents, and much manoeuvring behind the scenes to allow Dave's chums from Eton, Oxford and the Dead Pigs Society to make a fat profit off them.

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United Kingdom (Group)

I am standing as a candidate in Bristol City Council's election

1. Mazel tov!

2. Thanks n/t

3. Good luck!

4. You can see my campaign website here

5. Good luck.

6. Yes and yes

7. Is there any association with Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels; or just that you both come from the same

8. Hardy is widely credited with reviving the name Wessex

9. It seems quite parochial.

18. I think there's a pretty comprehensive list of policies on the main website

20. It would be nice to know

22. For more affordable housing and free school meals

23. That's what people want their councillors to talk about.

24. I've been a bit lax about blogging

25. Stick to what can be done.

27. That's true of *elected* councillors

28. If someone is having problems with the council.

10. Pardon me for asking...

19. It means that parish and town councils shouldn't just be rubber stamps for Westminster

26. But can that happen....

11. What about Academies?

12. Can local councillors do much to stop Acadamies being imposed?

13. If LAs oppose acadamisation across the board it could put the government on the back foot.

14. I can see the difficulties in that....

15. Yes, though but

16. Ultimately it's the pupils who are affected most

17. Well yes.

21. The second one

27. That's true of elected councillors