READING Labour says it is the only party to have Reading-based residents standing in every seat for this year’s local elections.
All 48 council seats are up for grabs on Thursday, May 5, due to changes to boundaries.
Each ward has three seats, and votes will be asked to vote for three candidates.
Labour says that from its opposition, the Conservatives are standing candidates who live outside the borough boundaries – a Conservative candidate in Abbey ward lives in Oxford City, while a Conservative candidate in Park ward lives in Wokingham Borough and a Conservative candidate in Church ward lives in Sonning, also in Wokingham Borough.
And it says that the Green party and Liberal Democrats are not fielding 48 candidates – Greens say that it is focusing on quality rather than quantity.
Cllr Jason Brock, Leader of Reading Borough Council and Labour candidate in Southcote, said: “I’m so incredibly proud that we have such a diverse panel of candidates for this year’s election – the first all-out contest in Reading for 18 years.
“We have more black and ethnic minority background candidates than ever before. And our candidates come from all walks of life – from a carpenter to a hospitality worker, and from a radiation protection specialist to a former Royal Navy officer.
“Every single Labour candidate is a resident of our town and, collectively, our candidates reflect the diversity of Reading and its communities.”
He added: “In fact, Labour is the only party to have local Reading residents standing in every contest. The Tories are having to drag in candidates from Oxford and Wokingham, while the Greens and Lib Dems simply can’t find enough candidates.
“It seems that the Greens have struggled to find people to even subscribe the nomination papers, as two of their candidates have had to propose themselves.”
Green councillor Rob White, a candidate in Green-stronghold Park, said: “Greens are focusing on quality not quantity. At the last local elections in Reading the only party to gain a councillor was the Green Party and Labour lost a councillor because they don’t listen. Green councillors and candidates across the town will keep campaigning for a fairer, more affordable, greener town.”
And the Group Leader of Reading Borough Council’s Conservative Councillors, Cllr Clarence Mitchell, was equally dismissive of Labour’s claims.
“Labour are clearly already rattled by the strength and diversity of our candidates and have only succeeded in making themselves look pretty desperate,” he said.
We are fielding a full slate of the strongest possible candidates entirely in the interests of Reading; every one of them is absolutely qualified to stand up for, and utterly committed to, the future prosperity and well-being of our town.
“All of our candidates will be putting Reading first in all they say and do with one aim: to make Reading an even better place to live for everyone by getting rid of this tired administration once and for all.”
He added: “Reading East Conservative Association also takes in three Wokingham Borough wards so we have potential local candidates to choose from there as well, as long as they qualify to stand within the RBC area, which all of ours do.
“So this attempted smear just demonstrates that Labour are not only incapable of looking at a map, but that they are, once again, prepared to stoop to the same old cliched political attacks; tactics that voters see through instantly and are frankly not worthy of a once-proud Labour Party.”
And he also said: “Two of our three candidates who Labour are attacking are highly experienced campaigners who have stood for council before so I really don’t know what Labour are trying to achieve – apart from making themselves foolish.
“The criteria we have for all our Conservative candidates is simple: That they put Reading’s interests first at all times and that they are more than capable of replacing this miserable administration as soon as possible.”
Cllr Brock said: “The election on Thursday 5th May is an important one, and it’s already clear that only Labour are representative of Reading.
“Even more strikingly, only by voting Labour can you guarantee that all your votes will go to candidates who actually live in Reading.
“Our candidates ask for your vote so that Labour can continue its plans to invest in Reading’s services and facilities and work to build a future where everyone can share in our town’s success.”
The Liberal Democrats were invited to comment, but did not respond.
