HOW I WILL BE VOTING ON 5th MAY AND WHY

GET INVOLVED IN EPPING'S FAMILY FUN RUN - 10th JULY

This is certainly not the first time I have used this blog to support the fantastic work of the Rhys Daniels Trust; a charity which has very deep roots in our town. Once again, the Trust will host to an annual 5 mile family fun run, which will begin at Epping Sports Centre in Hemnall Street at 11am on Sunday 10th July, before following a well trodden route through the beautiful Epping Forest.

Last year, over 100 runners of all ages and all abilities took part in the run. Participants walked, jogged and ran, at their own pace. To enter, the charity has a £10 advance entry fee or a £15 entry fee on the day. All money raised with go towards the 'Home-from-Home' appeal. The Trust are not only looking for entrants for the race, but they are also looking for volunteers who are willing to act as marshals on the day. To contact the Trust, please click here. To add this event on Facebook, please click here. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on 10th July.

WHY I BELIEVE TODAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR POLITICS...!!

Well, the answer for me is actually two-fold. My day begun by hearing that the BNP in Epping Forest are unable to find a single candidate to stand for election this year. It was just 4 years ago that the BNP had 7 District Councillors and fielding candidates in Epping, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois and Loughton. Now their support structure has come tumbling down around them and not a moment too soon in my opinion. For me, the BNPs "stronghold" in Epping Forest was absolute nonsense. The old socialist vote, coupled with apathetic voters who were frustrated with the government's inability to get a grasp on the country's immigration and asylum issues created a protest vote which very dangerously gave a racist party a form of credibility and a public platform. As a Councillor, I always wanted the residents who had voted for these BNP Councillors to come to Council meetings and witness first-hand how utterly atrocious they were at making any valid points at all on behalf of local residents. For me, the whole point of being a local Councillor is to try and make a difference and help local people with the issues they face. It was very clear the BNP Councillors had no such interest! I will never forget the BNP Group Leader, Pat Richardson denounced attacking a local Muslim's home by suggesting, "Firebombing is not a British method. A brick through the window is a British method, but firebombing is not a way of showing displeasure." Sometimes you actually don't need a picture to say a thousand words. Let's sincerely hope this is the end of the BNP in our community for good.

The second piece of news I enjoyed today was listening to the Prime Minister, David Cameron talk about the need for Council's to back-off and allow groups of residents to host street parties in celebration of the Royal Wedding should they wish to do so. He actually said: "These pen pushers and busybodies are completely wrong. They have no right to stop you from having a party. Let me put it like this: I am the Prime Minister and I am telling you if you want to have a street party, you go ahead and have one. To those councils that are asking small groups of neighbours for licences, insurance and other bureaucracy my message is clear: Don't interfere, don't get in the way and don't make problems where there are none. Let people get on and have fun. And my message to everyone who wants to have a street party is: I'm having one and I want you to go ahead and have one too. The truth is that this is a great chance for communities to come together and celebrate." That one speech is actually 100% David Cameron. That hasn't been penned by a staff of Prime Ministerial writers, that is David speaking from his heart and standing up for what he truly believes to be right and knowing that he hasn't been swallowed up by the system gives me hope that other great things can still come from the government.

His words actually have an enormous effect nationwide. Day in, day out, ideas for brilliant community events have to be shelved because of the legislative requirements associated with them. Health and safety laws really have caused this country more trouble than they were worth, in my opinion. In Epping, to erect our Christmas Lights in the High Street requires more documentation that most residents would believe. Something so simple, which is carried out by generous volunteers has become so onerous, costly and so tainted. Something which was so wonderful to be part of has really lost it's sparkle. If we can stand up with the support of the Prime Minister behind us, perhaps we can say "enough is enough". Who knows what we are capable of in the future. Perhaps some of that Great British spirit may well reappear!