A recent poll here at PARWICH.ORG, although only attracting a small number of responses, indicates nearly 40% of people were still undecided on who to vote for. Since then the final list of candidates in Derbyshire Dales for the May 6th General Election has been announced. We have a choice between seven:
- Ian Guiver (UK Independence Party) – Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire
- Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative Party) – Quarndon, Derby
- Joe Naitta (Liberal Democrats) – Mickleover, Derby
- Josh Stockwell (Green Party) – Wirksworth, Derbyshire
- Colin Swindell (Labour Party) – Elton, Derbyshire
- Nick The Flying Brick (Official Monster Raving Loony Party) – Kirk Ireton, Derbyshire
- Amila Y’mech (Humanity) – Atlow, Derbyshire
The polling station in Parwich is to be at the Sycamore Inn this time, with Janet receiving her official training at Matlock Town Hall this afternoon. (Click here for the full list of Derbyshire Dales polling stations.)
So far there seem only to be posters up locally for the sitting MP, Patrick McLoughlin, in and around the village, which might suggest it remains a safe Conservative seat. I have received leaflets for the Conservatives, Labour, Liberals and UKIP so far.
More about each candidate:
Ian Guiver (UK Independence Party) – Aged 43 years, he lives in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire. Born in Essex, he was educated at Southend-on-Sea Grammar School and read History at York University. Moving to Derbyshire in 1999, he is married with two children and is the MD of a small business.
His stated local priorities are cleaning up politics and sorting out Derbyshire Dales’ public finances.
Some web Links:
- UKIP Candidates
- UKIP Party Derbyshire Dales
- Your Next MP
- Matlock Mercury
- Ashbourne News Telegraph
- Derbyshire Evening Telegraph
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative Party) – The sitting MP, he lives in Quarndon, Derby (although this was his second home for the purpose of expenses). He was born in 1957 in Staffordshire, and educated at Cardinal Griffin Roman Catholic School and then at Staffordshire College of Agriculture. He worked initially in coal mining and was a member of the NUM, becoming MP for West Derbyshire in 1986. Having held various posts in Government and opposition, he is currently the Opposition Chief Whip. He is married with two children.
His stated local priorities include supporting local action such as the successful opposition to the closure of the Maternity Unit at Darley Dale, regular contact with constituents and supporting voluntary groups. The local issues he highlights include the National Park, farming, tourism, quarrying, concerns about local employment, affordable housing and provision of rural broadband.
Some web links:
- Conservative Parliamentary Candidates
- Wikipedia
- They Work For You (including his Parliamentary voting record)
- Your Next MP
- Matlock Mercury
- Ashbourne News Telegraph
- Derbyshire Evening Telegraph
(Note: He spotted and contacted PARWICH.ORG with a month or so of our official launch with his best wishes, and has responded promptly when we have contacted him.)
Joe Naitta (Liberal Democrats) – Living in Mickleover, Derby, Joe Naitta is married with two children. Currently working for the Derbyshire Association for the Blind, he has twenty years of experience in business and also served in the Army. He is also an active Derby Councillor, currently cabinet member for Leisure and Culture. Aged 46 years, he is also a qualified UEFA football coach and Football Assocation Tutor.
So far we have not found his local priorities (rather than national issues) in the party’s publicity or web info.
Some web links:
- Liberal Candidates
- Your Next MP
- Matlock Mercury
- Ashbourne News Telegraph
- Derbyshire Evening Telegraph
Josh Stockwell (Green Party) – He is 45 and has two children. He has lived in Wirksworth, where he is a self-employed joiner and cabinet maker, for 15 years. Stockwell first stood as a Green Party candidate in the 1980s in Nottingham and he has subsequently stood in several city, town, district and county council elections. In 2007 he was elected to Wirksworth town council, where he sits on the planning and environment committee. He is also a community governor at the local junior school, where he volunteers as a classroom assistant for one day a week.
Josh Stockwell’s campaign leaflet online raises national rather than local issues, though the party as a whole does stress the need for local action.
Some web links:
- The Greens are coming
- The Derbyshire Green Party
- Your Next MP
- Matlock Mercury
- Ashbourne News Telegraph
- Derbyshire Evening Telegraph
Colin Swindell (Labour Party) – Colin is 27 years old and lives in Elton. His family have been farming in Derbyshire for hundreds of years and have links to Parwich going back to at least the 1600s (both his father’s brother and sister live in Parwich). Educated at Highfields School in Matlock, he is currently working as a retail manager in Bakewell and studying for an Open University Degree in Social Science.
He is active in the local community as a youth club leader, as a managing trustee on the local sports and recreational field, and as Vice-Chair of his Parish Council.
He was the first ever Labour District Councillor for Winster and South Darley Ward, and at last year’s County Council elections he increased the Labour share for our ward when Labour generally polled low elsewhere.
His local priorities include protecting the local economy, sustaining our communities, promoting more affordable housing, supporting farming and the environment and engaging with young people.
Some web links:
- Labour Candidates
- Derbyshire Dales Labour Party
- YouTube (speaking to Labour Party Conference)
- Your Next MP
- Matlock Mercury
- Ashbourne News Telegraph
- Derbyshire Evening Telegraph
(Note: Colin has been supportive of PARWICH.ORG, picking up our posts on last year”s local elections and responding fully on local issues when we contacted him as a County Council candidate.)
Nick The Flying Brick aka Nick Delves (Official Monster Raving Loony Party) – He is Treasurer for the Party and their official Shadow Minister for the abolition of gravity. An ancestor was sold to Riber Zoo and exhibited in the primate enclosure.
His local priorities include moving the House of Commons to Chatsworth House, and introducing piranha to the Henmore. (Presumably this would result in their spread to the Parwich and Bletch brooks?) Riber Castle would be converted to a UFO space port, and the abolition of gravity would allow the diversion of the A6 some 5,000 feet upwards.
Some web links:
- His own site
- The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Wikipedia
- Your Next MP
- The flyingbrick.de
- You Tube Ghost adventures, without the flying brick clip
Amila Y’mech (Humanity) – lives in Atlow, Derbyshire. He is the 59 year-old founder of the Humanity Party, and its sole parliamentary candidate.
He was previously the West Midlands regional development officer for the National Union of Students, and garage representative for the TGWU. He has worked as a bus and truck driver, and as a designer and builder of geodesic domes. He is a therapist, a musician and a writer.
The Humanity Party believes that conflicts between people are never resolved through violence. They would abolish all weapons (manufacture, trade and use); set a maximum income of 10 times the national minimum wage; abolish the application of interest in financial transactions; create a massive expansion in public transport; introduce a sabbatical year after every ten years worked; reduce the working week to 30 hours. The candidate has no stated priorities which are specifically local.
Some web links:
PARWICH.ORG 
One thing that surprised me about our poll is that only 2 people (9%) stated that they wouldn’t be voting for any of the candidates. Can we really expect a 91% turnout on polling day?
We have now updated this post with full details for the Humanity Party candidate; these were missing when it was first published.