On Thursday, we’ll be voting in the county council elections. In the Evesham South division, where I live, we have a candidate from the BNP – the only one from that party in our area.

I’m confident that the BNP candidate will come bottom of the poll, which is precisely where he belongs. But I think it’s important to make sure that he comes bottom by as big a margin as possible. So, even if you weren’t planning to vote this time – maybe because you feel that the result is a foregone conclusion, or you’re not really interested in local politics, or you feel that none of the candidates represents your view – I want to encourage you to vote anyway.

I’ll be voting for our Conservative candidate, Bob Banks, who is seeking re-election as councillor for Evesham South and has a track record in serving the town well. But even if you’d prefer to see a different party represented in County Hall, I’d encourage you to vote for your candidate. In the 2009 county elections, Evesham North West had a BNP candidate who got 16% of the vote. I want to see that figure drastically reduced this time here in Evesham South. But to do that means supporters of all the mainstream parties making their way to the polling stations on 2nd May.

So let’s make it clear that racism has no place here in Evesham. No matter who you vote for, make sure that you vote.

The full list of candidates in Evesham South is:

Bob Banks, Conservative
Julie Anne Haines, Liberal Democrats
Liam Murphy Hartland, British National Party
Alan Titus, Labour