Kildare woman tops the poll to win seat in UK elections
A County Kildare woman has finished ahead of the field to win a seat on a local council in the UK
Sinead Walsh, originally from Kill, ran for the Liberal Democrats won a seat on Haywards Heath Town Council, in the south of England, near Gatwick.
The UK operates a “first past the post” voting system which means votes are non transferable and it is considerably less complicated than the proportional representation (PR) method deployed in this country.
Ms Walsh was one of two Lib Dem candidates when she took 1003 votes, topping the poll in the Lucastes and Bolnore Ward.
She was immediately followed by her Lib Dem colleague Paul Lucraft (973).
The third person elected, Allan Murray (790), represents the Green Party.
The elections were a washout for the Conservative Party and none of their three candidates were elected to HHTC.
Just over 4900 people were entitled to vote and the turnout was 36.6%.
“It was the first time I have stood for election and to be honest I was surprised I got elected but also thrilled as it confirms that the national trend is away from the Tories. This area has historically been a Tory stronghold,” said Ms Walsh, who lived in The Gables.
“While out canvassing voters raised local issues like pot holes but also access to see a GP, which is very difficult everywhere in the UK . We are paying record high business and personal taxes but our public services are a mess and one issue which has accelerated this decline has been Brexit.
“Trade with the EU has seen a considerable decline and overall GDP is down an estimated 4% because of it . We would be paying lower taxes and have more staff in our hospitals and care homes if we had not left the EU . We know it was won on lies, clever slogans and dirty money to name but a few.”
Fellow pro EU activist Peter Benson originally from Dublin Road, Naas, and now living in south London says he was cock a hoop when hearing the news from Sinead . Both have been actively protesting against Brexit and the Tory party outside parliament over many years where the two met .
“Getting the time to protest has been challenging in recent months as work commitments for both of us have been heavy but we remain firmly committed to getting the Tories out and the return of the UK back into Europe remains our number one priority,” he said.
He added: “Sinead has a bigger local platform now to spread her pro-EU message, one which is getting more and more support in the UK national polling, as people see the damage that Brexit is doing to the Uk economy and local communities . Its adding to the cost of living especially in food prices and has caused higher interest rates and continues to cause big queues at the borders.”
Mr Benson is very active in the campaign to overturn Brexit.
“In the years to come perhaps instead of protesting outside the gates of Parliament I may be going inside to hear Sinead speak there. This first election success for Sinead could be one of many to come.”