Democracy Club website helps us to hold candidates to account, and stimulate public engagement in the campaigns for local and national elections. Big job… lots of small tasks. The website helps residents to track and contact candidates, create local issue lists and track the responses from candidates.

Check out Brent Central, Brent North and Hampstead and Kilburn at the DemocracyClub website and join in.

well tomorrow is the day when Brent will select its councillors. I’ve heard many a rumour (and started a few) and seen many a bun thrown. Could I call Mapesbury, Queen’s Park or Brondesbury now? And the others in Brent East? Could I tell you have the council will look by Friday?

If you are into political betting then you’ll have seen the odds offered by one bookmaker. Here’s the Lib Dems story, bouyed as odds on them winning the council are slashed.

I do have a few thoughts – but its probably just subliminal psychic channelling; my prayers.

Want to see what I can do with a spreadsheet program? Coming right up…..

One sure-fire way of demonstrating that you have some skill with a computer is to generate a barchart from some data in a spreadsheet program like Calc (in openoffice) or a program from Microsoft. Both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives have got someone on their team that would pass a European Computer Driving License test no problem.

Both parties have proved that you can prove anything with stats.

Brent last elected its Councillors in 2002: long before the Iraq war, two (three?) Tory leaders ago, pre-Brown/Blue=Green, before Sarah Teather was elected to Brent East in 2003, before she was returned again in 2005 with an increased majority, before a Conservative and a Labour Councillor defected to the Liberal Democrats….
Brent Conservatives point out that in 2002 the Lib Dems came third. They do this as they believe that Team Orange are essentially a vote splitting party and that a Lib Dem vote lets in Labour by the back door. While Labour havn’t got any spreadsheet skills are not publishing pretty graphs (yet), their position is the same: Vote Orange, Get Blue.

yet 2003 and 2005 have shown the people of Brent East that they can Vote Orange and Get Orange. Will Mapesbury, Queen’s Park, Brondesbury and the other wards of Brent do the same on May the 4th?

The by-election of 2003 was caused by the death of the member of Parliament for Brent East, Paul Daisley of the Labour Party. The by-election to fill his seat was held on September 13, and was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather.

The turnout by electors at this election was 36.42%

More information on the 2003 Brent East by-election from wikipedia.