Politics
Heckmondwike lies within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. It hit the headlines in 2003 when it elected a member of the British National Party as its councillor. The councillor in question, David Exley, was elected after the then-serving councillor, Tim Crowther, left the Labour Party to run as an independent. In 2004 Cllr. Exley was re-elected with an increased majority. Then in 2006 a second BNP candidate, Roger Roberts, was elected with a majority of over 700. Roberts, a security guard, had also served as Councillor for the Conservative Party. Before defecting to the BNP in 2005 he had managed to come 10th out of 11 in an election in Heckmondwike. In May 2007, Heckmondwike's third councillor, David Sheard (Labour), was returned with a 644 majority. The Heckmondwike electoral ward also includes the Millbridge, Flush and Norristhorpe areas of neighbouring Liversedge that are south of the A62 road. In the May 2008 local elections, Cllr. Exley lost his seat, as voters in Heckmondwike elected a second Labour candidate, Steve Hall, with a majority of 195 votes. In May 2010, the other BNP representative, Cllr. Roger Roberts, lost his seat to Labour candidate Viv Kendrick, after coming third in the poll behind a very strong surge from Robert Thornton of the Conservatives. This left the BNP with no councillors on Kirklees Council, and the Heckmondwike ward represented by three Labour members. In 2011 David Sheard was elected with a majority of 2590.
The people of Heckmondwike have a high sense of civic pride; recent reports by the Boundary Commission have talked of a "fierce independence" in the town, which makes it hard to link to any constituency..
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Famous quotes containing the word politics:
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