I bet you never saw that coming!

Well what an amazing few days we have just witnessed.  I'm happy to admit I went into the general election thinking Labour would hold its own.  I wasn't expecting the huge losses predicted at the start of the campaign but equally I wasn't expecting another 30 new Labour MPs, one of whom is the new MP for Reading East Matt Rodda! Jeremy Corbyn had had an excellent campaign and when I read our manifesto my heart soared - it was excellent.  Filled with hope for a fairer future.  I was a steward at the rally he held in Reading and the turnout was amazing and so encouraging.

On election day I was running the Battle ward committee rooms, which something I've done for many years.  I was entering the gate data we had (the info we get when people at the gate of polling stations ask for your polling card number).  This shows us how many of our promise had voted.  It was clear something was very different from the beginning.  I was receiving a lot more data to input than is usual. By the end of the day I had huge piles of gate slips and an achy right hand!

By 10pm I was tired and looking forward to some sleep but the exit poll put any ideas of a peaceful evening to one side so I headed off to the count.  The voting samples I took looked excellent in Battle and pretty good even in some of the West Berkshire wards.  As the results came in from across the country it was apparent the exit polls were pretty accurate.  This meant we were in with a real chance of winning the two Reading seats.

At 3.30am the Reading West results were announced.  We didn't win but we did reduce Alok Sharma's majority to 2876. Around 4am a real buzz was being felt and rumours flew we had won Reading East.  The candidates were told the result and headed to the stage for the announcement.  It was amazing.  Matt Rodda had not only won the Reading East seat but did so comfortably with a 3759 lead.

It's now clear Reading West is a winnable seat and I will do all I can to ensure the the next time we have a general election (some saying it could be the autumn!) we return Reading West to Labour.

Will Reading MP's vote against the 'Granny Tax'?

When Reading West Conservatives election leaflet dropped through my door I was quite surprised one of the headlines on the front page was 'Protecting our pensioners'.  Despite not mentioning the fact they took away free travel from pensioners before 9.30 am when they were in coalition control of the Council, they also failed to mention the 'granny tax' proposed in the budget.  This will mean 40% of pensioners will be paying more tax then expected.  

The following from the BBC explains what pensioners are likely to lose: 'Figures from HMRC show that, taking inflation into account, this will leave 4.41 million people worse off than they would have expected, by an average of £83 a year in 2013-14. 

People due to turn 65 after 5 April 2013 will miss out on an average of £285 compared with what they expected in 2013-14. The biggest loss is £322 that year.'

That's a lot of money to lose when you are on a fixed income, especially with inflation higher than expected and the cost of  living increasing.

Reading & District Labour Party Media Release 

16 April 2012

Jo Lovelock : Wilson and Sharma should vote against the granny tax this Thursday
 

The Labour Party is forcing a vote in the House of Commons this Thursday against George Osborne’s ‘granny tax’ and Labour Leader Jo Lovelock says Rob Wilson and Alok Sharma know their constituents agree with Labour on this issue and should vote to stop the tax going through.

“Pensioners have had a raw deal under this Government,” she says, “but with the tax raid on them announced in the recent Budget, George Osborne is making tough times even tougher for older people. Everybody I have spoken to is appalled by the fact that millionaires will be getting a tax break while 4.4 million pensioners lose out, and I am sure both Reading’s MPs have been getting that message loud and clear from their constituents.

“To members of the public I would say it is not too late to tell the MPs your views, and I would urge you to email robwilsonmp@parliament.uk or alok.sharma.mp@parliament.uk as appropriate.

“If Reading’s Conservative MPs back the Government on Thursday, they will be saying that they are only in tune with the super-rich, not the people who have worked all their lives and were hoping for a comfortable old age, and their families.  I urge them to do the right thing for once.”