In the 2017 General Election the legendary musician, Billy Bragg, campaigned for tactical voting with a group that promoted voting Green on the Isle of Wight.
Following that election, which saw Island Labour with a 5,000 vote lead on the Green Party, the Labour’s IW chair says Billy “agreed he owed Island Labour for his honest mistake”.
Here’s the result
Billy has now delivered for the IW party with this special message to voters.
You can watch the message below, but for those without sound on their computers, he says,
“In 2017 you voted Labour into second place behind the Tories on the Isle of Wight. That was a great start but now’s the time to finish the job, because the only realistic alternative on the Island, in fact right across the country, is the Labour Party.
“In 2018 Island Labour joined me on the People’s Walk for Wildlife and what an amazing day that was, and I know you’re right behind the campaign for a Wilder Future, and proud that the Island became a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but imagine what could happen if you help kick start Labour’s green revolution. And with a manifesto like ours we know it will be a complete life changer for people up and down this country, especially on the Isle of Wight.
“So please make sure that you vote for Richard Quigley for Labour on December 12th and help us turn the Wight red.
“A vote for Labour is a vote for real change.”
Quigley: “He made an honest mistake in 2017”
Richard Quigley, the prospective parliamentary candidate for Labour Party told OnTheWight,
“Billy Bragg is a legend. He made an honest mistake in 2017, along with a lot of people, who were led to believe that Labour wouldn’t be the main challengers to the Tories here.
“However, after the election results clearly showed Labour are the only alternative to the Tories on the Island, he contacted us and offered to help make sure that this time round, everyone knows that only Labour can unseat the Tories here.”
Have you registered to vote?
In another connection between music and politics, the rapper Stomzy is credited with causing a 315,000 spike in registrations to vote – with 104,300 of those being 18 to 24-year-olds – after posting on Twitter and Instagram last night (Monday) urging “every single person” who saw the message to register to vote.
Deadlines and more information
In the 2017 election there were over 35,000 non-voters on the Isle of Wight.
The last chance to register as an elector and be able to vote in this election is 11.59 tonight (Tuesday 26th November 2019). More information.
Proxy Votes: The last date to apply for a proxy vote for this election is 5pm on Wednesday 4th December 2019. More information.
Find out more information about the 2019 General Election on the council’s Website.
