{"id":84,"date":"2019-05-05T13:48:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T13:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/?p=84"},"modified":"2019-05-05T13:48:35","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T13:48:35","slug":"we-won-thank-you-for-your-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/?p=84","title":{"rendered":"WE WON – THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Firstly, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to every single one of you that voted for me on May 2nd<\/sup>. I have been incredibly touched by your congratulatory e.mails, messages, tweets, likes and very kind comments so thank you for taking the time to get in touch. I said many times on the doorstep that we expected it would be very close and in the end just 211 votes separated the top three candidates. As a result my first ever count was a very nerve-wracking experience indeed and I\u2019m relieved we knew the result so early in the day as many other wards took much longer. An Independent win in Biggleswade South represents a swing of over 52% away from the Conservatives and that is a huge achievement that was only possible with all of your support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Foster \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Conservative \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1,180 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elected <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgina Marie Gale \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Labour\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0602 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael North \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Conservative\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 969 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duncan Strachan \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0UKIP\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0453 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian Vaughan \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Labour \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0588 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayley Whitaker \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Independent \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1,072 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elected <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timothy Woodward        Independent\n                    577<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall the turnout was higher in Biggleswade South (34.4%) than\nin the North (29.0%). Added to this the number of spoiled ballot papers was\nmuch lower in Biggleswade South (30) compared to Biggleswade North (140) which\nmost likely reflects the very active campaigning in the South and the frustration\nof voters in the North who only had Labour or Conservative candidates to vote\nfor.  I know that many of you contacted\nme who didn\u2019t feel you could vote with such limited options and I hope that my\nvictory will inspire an Independent to stand for Biggleswade North next time\naround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what now? I have an induction day as a new councillor on\nMay 13th<\/sup> and it\u2019s going to take a similar amount of time to be\nallocated to different sub-committees. However, if you know me at all, you may\nalready have guessed that I\u2019ve already started work and you\u2019ll be hearing from\nme shortly about Stratton School farm. You can expect me to be accessible, open\nand eager to listen to your concerns and help wherever possible. I will be keeping\nyou informed of everything I\u2019m doing and what\u2019s happening at Central Beds through\nregular posts on FB and newsletters that you\u2019ll be able to sign up for shortly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So thank you all once again for every single vote! To those\nof you who talked to your friends about me or put posters up I am so grateful\nfor everything you\u2019ve done \u2013 our work paid off. I have a small team of helpers that\npopped leaflets through doors and they were simply fantastic. My husband, Matt,\nwas amazingly supportive – he\u2019s a very fast leaflet distributor, taxi service\nand cook and I am indebted to him for being the best support anyone could wish\nfor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I truly look forward to working with people in the community\ngoing forward so please do get in touch with any concerns, I want to hear them.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firstly, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to every single one of you that voted for me on May 2nd. I have been incredibly touched by your congratulatory e.mails, messages, tweets, likes and very kind comments so thank you for taking the time to get in touch. I said many times on the doorstep that we expected it would be very close and in the end just 211 votes separated the top three candidates. As a result my first ever count was a very nerve-wracking experience indeed and I\u2019m relieved we knew the result so early in the day as many other wards took much longer. An Independent win in Biggleswade South represents a swing of over 52% away from the Conservatives and that is a huge achievement that was only possible with all of your support. The results were: Mark Foster \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Conservative \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1,180 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elected Georgina Marie Gale \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Labour\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0602 Michael North \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Conservative\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 969 Duncan Strachan \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0UKIP\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0453 Julian Vaughan \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Labour \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0588 Hayley Whitaker \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Independent \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1,072 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elected Timothy Woodward        Independent                     577 Overall the turnout was higher in Biggleswade South (34.4%) than in the North (29.0%). Added to this the number of spoiled ballot papers was much lower in Biggleswade South (30) compared to Biggleswade North (140) which most likely reflects the very active campaigning in the South and the frustration of voters in the North who only had Labour or Conservative candidates to vote for.  I know that many of you contacted me who didn\u2019t feel you could vote with such limited options and I hope that my victory will inspire an Independent to stand for Biggleswade North next time around. So what now? I have an induction day as a new councillor on May 13th and it\u2019s going to take a similar amount of time to be allocated to different sub-committees. However, if you know me at all, you may already have guessed that I\u2019ve already started work and you\u2019ll be hearing from me shortly about Stratton School farm. You can expect me to be accessible, open and eager to listen to your concerns and help wherever possible. I will be keeping you informed of everything I\u2019m doing and what\u2019s happening at Central Beds through regular posts on FB and newsletters that you\u2019ll be able to sign up for shortly. So thank you all once again for every single vote! To those of you who talked to your friends about me or put posters up I am so grateful for everything you\u2019ve done \u2013 our work paid off. I have a small team of helpers that popped leaflets through doors and they were simply fantastic. My husband, Matt, was amazingly supportive – he\u2019s a very fast leaflet distributor, taxi service and cook and I am indebted to him for being the best support anyone could wish for. I truly look forward to working with people in the community going forward so please do get in touch with any concerns, I want to hear them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85,"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions\/85"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhayleywhitaker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}