Councillor for Monument Ward, Newcastle upon Tyne 2018-2026.
I didn’t stand for council this year. I’m just as convinced as I’ve always been about the importance of local government and local democracy.
The difference this time is that I knew I couldn’t offer people the change that is needed. And I wasn’t willing to ask people for their votes if I didn’t think that I could make things better for them.
To have a real impact in politics you have to be part of a team – and my team wasn’t ready. I’ve joined Your Party because it offers a genuine opportunity for a socialist approach to government focused on standing up for residents; fighting to protect services; supporting communities; and rejecting racism.
We’re a new party, however, and we haven’t had the time to work with communities in Newcastle on a plan for our city. So that’s what I’m going to be focusing on over the next year.
It was a privilege to represent Monument Ward over the last 8 years. Thank you for having me as one of your councillors.
What does Newcastle need?
On May 7 Newcastle City Council had ‘all-out’ elections – which means every seat in the council was contested. The Labour Party, which has held the council since 2011, had already lost its majority and is now down to two councilllors. There are three indepdendent councillors but the rest are held by the Liberal Democrats (25), the Greens (24 although one is currently suspended) and Reform (24). They all claim they could do the best job of running Newcastle.
The first step to doing better is knowing what the problems are – with the city and with the way it is currently run.
It’s a big topic and one I find the major parties avoid. They tend to pick one or two issues and make promises about those.
I think we can only change things when we fully understand them. I originally set up this site so that I could tell people about the council and my work as a councillor. I’ve shared what I’ve learned from my time as a councillor on two new pages: What’s wrong with Newcastle and What’s wrong with Newcastle City Council
I’ll be adding more pages on specific issues. If anyone has any suggestions for what I should cover, please get in touch.
Jane For Monument 