Can this be an answer to previous posting/blog
When election times come around and the inevitable analysis aftermath is conducted  we all  do try to understand the why and wherefore of local community results more than national . So here goes with our opinions and reasons for the local of local elections – our own Parish Council elections ( which should occur every 4 years.
This year we did NOT have the routine election to decide on the make-up of the BJ Parish Council , Why? Because there was only 11 nominations for 11 places – 9 existing members + 2 new nominees ( this actually means that the majority of our 2011 Parish Councillors have NEVER been elected, - 2 nominated  un-opposed and the majority of the remainder being co-opted earlier  )
Why is it that our community apparently has little or no interest in the choosing and running of our Parish Council ?
One reasoned answer may be that  BJ has a community consisting of White Collar workers, Upper Management and Professionals , Self employed,  Business executives , and Upper End Earners etc. This coupled with the fact that  50% of the BJ population are Over 50 yr old ( actually more than half of these are also Over 60),  plus.. 35% aged between 35 and 50 yr old. The majority of BJ within these sectors being high value home owners with only a few Local Authority Households .
The recent local elections resulted in  - 46% voting Conservatives. 27% voting Liberal and only approx 20% voting Labour, - a significant statement made by the community
These facts infer that the vast majority of the adult BJ population have experienced and come through difficult times before, Food rationing “Yes really”, with miners strikes, industrial redundancies/closures, devaluations , economic crisis situations, foot and mouth epidemics, spend and bust, inflated house prices etc., etc . Â
One result of these experiences probably is why the majority of our community can and do fend for themselves - they have the confidence and capability to manage their own affairs and use their social time without the intrusion of a – A Parish Council - which contributes little to their individual lifestyle –  It is also worth noting that  situations  such as opposing the “Mineral Extraction “ , the Bus Plug and the initiative for Flood Defences were actually community/resident lead
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