Lewes CLP new year social 2024 - Lewes Constituency Labour Party

Thank you to all Lewes CLP members for making the New Year Get-Together on Saturday 20th January at the Malling Centre a triumph! Your energy and enthusiasm lit up the night.

A big thank you goes to our guest speakers Helena Dollimore for Hastings and Rye and Paul Richards Labour & Co-operative candidate for Sussex PCC for bringing to light why we need a Labour government and Police commissioner!

A brief summary of the event mainly can be stated as a fun, relaxed social with other Labour members. People enjoyed the Malling centre bar and the lovely free nibbles provided by some members.

Helena focused on the importance of Labour winning Hastings and Rye as a route to forming a strong and clear Labour government. She focused on local topics in Hastings and Rye where schools are underperforming and hospitals are on the brink, detailing a very specific story when an ambulance did not arrive for a severely injured individual. Despite her issues being specific to her area, I think we, and the rest of the country, can reflect and see the same issues where we live. Lewes CLP is paired with Helena and her campaign in the general election (date unknown – hurry up Rishi!). Members are encouraged to help canvass Helena to victory and those willing signed up on the evening. If you would like to help, please contact Helena and her team via her website: https://www.helenadollimore.com/

Paul Richards, Labour and Co-operative candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), took centre stage next and voiced his support for Helena in the general election. He then focused on his campaign, which takes him all over Sussex. Some short videos are attached to help summarise his policies to win on 2nd May.

Paul Richards on tackling crime in Sussex

Paul Richards on supporting victims of crime

Paul Richards on shoplifting

A final thank you must go to Ros Brewer and all the others (Tessa Bain, Geraldine Pass, Joy Mercer and any others I have forgotten to mention!) who helped organise the event. Ros has written a fun little story about the event through her tired feet which hints when the next social will be! Enjoy and see you at the next Labour event:

Left foot: “Why the hell did she think it was a good idea to hold a get together in the first place? We could’ve just stayed home, her writing up meeting notes and not got all worn out.”

Right foot: “I feel your pain, it wasn’t one of her upstairs’ best ideas to think she had to do some of the cooking too, what with all the traipsing about shopping and then cooking! Doing all the organising was enough surely. I don’t know about you, but I’m really fed up. I need a foot massage now!”

Left: “But they’re not open, it’s night time.”

Right: “Well, she kept us going for 16 hours straight so we’d better make her suffer.

Left: “I know what we’ll do, she won’t like us being hot and sore, so we’ll keep her awake for hours. And we could even stay hot and bothered for the next few days.”

Right “Well I just hope your idea works. I don’t want her doing this again. But I’ve heard whispers from upstairs that she’s already hatching a plan for the summer.”

Left: “Oh god, no. But we’ll be another 6 months older…”