Vicky Seddon
Election address:
Involved with Charter 88 and then Unlock Democracy since 1992; Ex Chair of Unlock Democracy; Coordinator of “Sheffield for Democracy”.
Asking once more for your vote
Two things have been central campaign issues for me this last year:
The Elections Bill, now the Elections Act 2. The undermining of local democracy
On both issues, Unlock Democracy has played an important role, and has helped me to play my part, both as an individual and with my local group. On the Elections Bill, we have kept our local supporters informed and asked them to contact their MPs (as well as Lords with a local connection) at relevant times and on specific issues.
On local democracy, I was pleased that UD launched the “Turning the Tide” campaign in 2021, following the motion I moved at the 2020 AGM. It produced the “40 Years of Decline” report and asked local councillors to sign the pledge seeking more autonomy and financial independence for local government (see below for links to both). Our local leaders in Sheffield signed up.
We have never lived through such times. Never has there been such a need for strong campaigning to protect and develop our democratic rights. My priorities:
There are many different democracy organisations that focus on different aspects of democracy: we must find ways of working together, to strengthen our impact
The need to demonstrate the significance of democratic issues for other campaigns, whether it is on equalities, climate change, access to health services, challenging economic deprivation: our current inadequate democracy and representation makes it difficult for these campaigns to make progress. Recent legislation makes it worse
We need a written constitution to protect our democracy, to include constitutional status for local government.
If you vote for me, I will be working within UD, and within our Sheffield for Democracy group, to make progress on these issues
Please feel free to contact me on: vickyseddon2012@gmail.com
Links: a) Local Government in England - 40 Years of Decline — Unlock Democracy