[September 2022]
St Faiths and Emsworth Labour Party have selected our candidates for the local elections in May 2023.
Gillian Harris has been selected to stand in St Faiths and Steve Bilbe will be standing in Emsworth.
Phil Munday says “I am delighted that Gillian has been chosen as our candidate for the next election. She has worked tirelessly alongside me to raise issues and support residents in St Faiths. She will be an excellent Councillor.”
Gillian explains:
“I grew up in Waterlooville and Rowlands Castle, going to school in Cowplain and Purbrook. I moved away to university in Aberystwyth and it was 40 years before I came back!
My current role is Head of Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service. I have always worked in the public sector and have a good working knowledge of local government.
My family live locally so I returned to live in St Faiths as a first step towards retirement. I
have learnt more about the issues that face residents through working with and supporting Phil Munday for the past two years.
Equality, social justice and environmental issues are close to my heart. We need to improve recycling in the Borough, with kerbside collection of glass and more types of plastic being acceptable in our recycling bins. Sewage in Langstone Harbour, trees with preservation orders being pruned so much that they can’t survive, and the replacement of fallen trees all need addressing. To get people out of their cars, public transport must be far cheaper and more accessible than it is now.
With the current energy and cost-of-living crisis, the overwhelming need is to support residents and tenants through what is going to be a very difficult winter. HBC needs to immediately increase its support for food banks, create warm places and increase its provision of housing at truly affordable rents for individuals and families who find themselves in difficulty.
In the longer term, we also need to look for local ways in which we can generate renewable energy – solar panels, wind turbines and tidal power schemes – to contribute to the national grid.
And finally, with currently 35 conservative councillors out of 38, the council has fallen into secretive ways, and we need a larger opposition to press for more open and accountable local government, better communication with residents and effective scrutiny of decisions.”
▶️ Gillian is on Facebook as Gillian Harris – St Faiths
