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NEXT Thursday is local elections day, a very important occasion for the town but one which, no doubt, will be ignored by a large section of people entitled to vote. Early indications are the turnout could be as low as 25 per cent, which is shocking. The people elected will be making key decisions affecting Hastings and St Leonards. People tend to moan about various subjects - be it wheelie bins, dog mess, council tax or whatever - now is the chance to have your vote. If you waste your vote, don't then moan. My guess is that, once again, it will all be very tight, and that is a problem that Hastings has suffered from in recent years. No one party really dominates the political scene, and the balance of power tends to swing from one party to another, or indeed no overall power at all for any one party. That only leads to very little being done. That has certainly been the case in the past. What will happen next Thursday? There is no doubt that Labour are very unpopular nationally - and they deserve to be. Post Office closures have been bad news, Brown has hardly been a hit with the public, and the abolition of the 10 pence tax rate from April 1 is a dead cert disaster for them. It would therefore follow that Labour will struggle next week. That may be the case, but don't count on it. The Tories have hardly impressed with their handling of the borough council over the past two years - pretty average I would say. The LibDems don't appear to be making much of an impact, although Margaret Williams may give Peter Pragnell a good run in the Conquest ward. And then we have the BNP who are contesting four seats - some may well be surprised at the number of votes they pick up. My prediction - the Tories will retain overall control.

I SAID last week that our MP Michael Foster has become somewhat agitated in recent weeks, and he admits that, times are tough for him and Labour. The latest furore - the abolition of the 10 pence tax rate - is, of course, self-inflicted and indeed was announced by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor. Wednesday's climbdown was very embarrassing. Michael knows only too well that he must soon start making crucial decisions, or he will risk being dumped by his electorate at the next general election. On the issue of Post Offices, he fought to save them locally, but hey this was a government policy, so its okay opposing them, but then perhaps he should have stood up against his party and voted against the closures in Parliament.
Now we have the 10 pence tax rate abolition. Michael says it is wrong, and changes must be made, which it now looks like there will be, but on this Michael I think the people are looking to you to oppose it and say, no Gordon this is not good enough. Michael, you have been warned, the public are on your case and they want a clear message from you.
Words are fine, action is what will save you your seat.