Councillor Mary Locke

This morning I woke to and checked the web to find out that top UNISON NEC member and NHS worker, Mary Locke, had been elected as a Labour Councillor for Bournville ward on Birmingham Council.

It was a tough fight since 2 out of the existing 3 ward Councillors are Tory. She beat the Tories by over 300 votes. I went a couple of times to help Mary out with other UNISON activists.

Congratulations to the Bournville Labour team as well, who were organised, friendly and supportive of volunteers who came to help.

This is from her website

"Thank you for electing me as your local councillor

"After a long night at the beautiful Stirchley Baths for the election count, I’m feeling tired but very happy this morning. I’m proud to say my fellow residents of Bournville, Cotteridge and Stirchley have elected me to be their new local councillor!
Thank you for placing your faith in me. As your local councillor I promise to be a strong, local and honest voice for people in all parts of our ward, whether you live in Bournville, Cotteridge or my home neighbourhood of Stirchley.
You can see the full results over on the  Birmingham Newsroom website.

Delivering my priorities

I like to keep in touch with people. Over the course of my campaign I have spoken with thousands of people in all parts of the ward. It is by listening to local people and understanding their concerns that I identified my priorities:

• Well paid jobs and training
• Improved rubbish and recycling collections; tackling litter
• Action on road safety and congestion
• Regeneration of Cotteridge and Stirchley
• More homes to rent and buy

Standing up for local people and our city

Being your councillor is a tough job at the best of times and I do not take my new responsibilities  lightly.

With a Tory government in Westminster, our city has already been harder hit than better off parts of the country. Now, our emergency services and city are on the brink as Birmingham is being forced to make another £98 million in cuts over the next two years.

As your local councillor, I will support Labour’s No More #BrumCuts campaign to secure a fair deal for Birmingham. This will allow us to protect more of the public services we rely on everyday from central government cuts.

Thank you again for voting for me to be your councillor. I look forward to serving you".

Mary Locke for Bournvill Ward, May 5 2016

This picture collage is from last Saturday, when I went to Birmingham to support my UNISON NEC colleague, Mary Locke, who is standing to be a Labour Councillor in Bournville ward, Birmingham next Thursday 5 May.

Mary would make a fantastic Councillor. She is a top trade unionist, hard working, dedicated, sincere and honest. With Mary, what you see and hear is what you get.

Bournville is the home of the famous and iconic chocolate factory. There are currently 2 Tories and one Labour Councillor. The current Labour Councillor is stepping down due to ill health and Mary is hoping to be elected as his replacement.

UNISON NEC members James Anthony and Abiola Kusoro, also came to support her. Mary works for the NHS and half of the two teams out campaigning that day were either nurses, a GP or other NHS staff.

Check out my post on my last visit to support Mary. This time I had to get back to London and missed the post canvass meal.

Mary Locke for Bournville Ward, Super Saturday 23 April

Picture is from last month when UNISON members went out to support Mary Locke, who is standing to be a Labour Councillor in Bournville, Birmingham.

Mary is a UNISON NEC member and NHS worker. She faces a tough fight on May 5. At the moment there are 2 Tories and one Labour Councillor representing the ward. The current Labour Councillor is stepping down due to ill health and she is standing to replace him. Only one seat is up for re-election this year.

The next Super Saturday is on 23 April 2016 meeting outside Bournville Railway Station at 2pm ( this is about 10 minutes train journey from Birmingham New Street.

Check out this post on the last Super Saturday and Mary's blog

All supporters are very welcome.

Mary Locke for Bournville (and Birmingham City Council)

The picture collage is from Saturday when I went to Bournville in Birmingham to help campaign for UNISON NEC member and NHS worker, Mary Locke, who is standing to be a local Ward councillor in the May 5 elections.

Yes, Bournville is the home of the Cadbury's chocolate factory and residents told us how they can sometimes smell the chocolate beans being roasted depending on the wind direction.

Mary is the nicest, most sincere and hard working UNISON rep I have ever met. She will be in my opinion, a brilliant local Councillor.

The ward currently has 2 Tory Councillors and one Labour (who is standing down due to ill health). Only one seat is up for election this year so it will be a straight fight between Mary and her Tory opponent.

Over 20 Labour Party activists turned up to help, including UNISON Vice President, Carole Sewll and the West Midlands Regional Secretary, Ravi Subramanian.

We were carrying out a survey of residents on local issues. It went down very well and I will think of suggesting doing something similar in West Ham. There was some 750 contacts made that day.

I enjoyed chatting to local residents, who by and large, were pleased to be asked their views on local issues. They were not shy in expressing themselves either!  I like coming to Birmingham and have been to see union members here fairly often in recent years and always look forward to it.

Apart from the Chocolate factory, Bournville is famous for being a "model village" built by the original Quaker owners of Cadbury for its workforce. As someone who works in housing I was impressed by the well built family sized homes with decent gardens. There is still no pub in Bournville due to its Quaker tradition.

After the canvass, many of us went for a meal at a local restaurant, which I think is a marvellous way to end such a day. Another thing I will suggest that we adopt in West Ham.

Check out Mary's website https://marylockelabour.wordpress.com/ and contact her to volunteer to help.

Mary Locke for Bournville, Birmingham Council Elections 2016 #NoMoreBrumCuts

This Saturday I will be in Birmingham to support top UNISON NEC member, Mary Locke, who is standing this May to be a Labour Councillor for Bournville Ward.  

Yes, this is where the chocolate is made and the picturesque village of Bournville was created by one George Cadbury

Hospital worker, Mary is one of those people who makes you proud to be part of the Labour movement family and would make an excellent Councillor. 

At the moment the ward has 1 Labour councillor (who is now stepping down due to ill health) and 2 Conservatives. There is only one seat up for election in May.

The main canvass session starts at 2pm, Saturday 12 March 2016  at Bournville Station, Bournville Lane, Birmingham. The station is only 12 minutes from Birmingham New Street.

Buses 45 or 47 from Birmingham or No 11 Outer circle

By car from city (Pershore Road to Bournville Lane)

All welcome to come out on #Labourdoorstep from 2-6pm. If you cannot

The more the merrier.  

 #NoMoreBrumCuts