59 votes for a clear anti cuts candidate in a Tory stronghold

59 was the number of votes I gained this Thursday 2nd of May. In a county council election. Although this doesn’t sound huge and I’m in no way making it out to be I am quite impressed with this myself. Seeing as I only stood last minute as a paper candidate which means you just appear as a name on the ballot paper nothing else no leafleting or stalls or anything is actually pretty good I think. This is more people than I know and shows that even in tory stronghold like Ware North a part rural area to the north a genuine anti cuts message can be heard loud and clear and people will react to this. Up until the election I was saying in my head seeing as I’d done no work for the election due to helping other candidates in neighbouring Harlow in Essex I’d do well to get 20 given the anti party feeling and the poor turnouts. So 59 while still not much more is a decent vote I would say given the lack of media coverage and all the other factors working against an anti cuts voice in the UK. Other notable results were in Harlow West ward we gained 270 (3.5%) Which again looking at the percentage isn’t huge but as a vote is a decent one for us standing in Harlow for the first time. In Doncaster we were standing for mayor and gained just shy of 2000 votes this again is laying down an important marker for future battles and elections to come. We must remember as Marxists that elections and bourgeois elections as they are that are the lowest form of class struggle you can put a lot of work in and get little reward back. But for myself and others just standing and providing that alternative is important to us and is sign things are changing ever so slowly. I will no doubt blog on the incredible rise of the UKIP vote in these elections and what it means to us the working class in time. But for now thank you to all who backed me and TUSC in these elections. It’s a start and if we did not stand who would be providing that anti cuts anti privatisation alternative it certainly wouldn’t be the labour party! You can find out more and follow TUSC results as they come in on www.tusc.org.uk