I'm sure you have seen the election results by now! We were absolutely thrilled. I came a very, VERY close second with 925 votes to Councillor Dan Putty's 1000. Thank you, so much, for your support; I could not have done it without you.

It was a shame to get so close and not win but we have definitively proved that with twice the number of Labour's votes I am the most viable candidate to beat the Tories at next year's election, and getting that share that in just two election cycles with a party of our size and newness is a huge achievement. So, we are now getting straight back to work, and I need your help!

1. If you can spare a small one-off or regular donation, please give to our fundraising link here. If everyone that voted for me gave £2, our entire 2024 campaign would be fully funded!
2. If you voted for me, please reply and tell me. The more data we have, the more we can target those people who we have not yet reached.
3. Can you leaflet the houses in your own street occasionally? Then I could turn all my volunteers to canvassing instead, which is what *really* makes the difference! Larger streets can be broken up into sections. Just half an hour a couple times a year to leaflet only your immediate neighbours could help so much!
4. Are you having any street parties or BBQs this summer, or might some people down your road be open to having a cuppa or a drink and a chat one evening or weekend? The more conversations I can have, the harder I can work for you because I better understand your issues. Can you get on the neighbourhood WhatsApp and see if anyone's curious and up for a group chat with me over the summer?!

With enough people giving a small sum or half an hour, I can turn all the energy I spend leafleting and fundraising to campaigning on your issues and holding your representatives to account!

Other things we're doing in the coming few weeks:

I'll be helping to run the Greener Basingstoke stall in The Malls in town on Saturday between 10am and 2pm. Do pop along, say hi and chat about green issues if you're in town!

I will be helping to represent the Patient Participation Group (PPG) at Beggarwood surgery in a meeting with the surgery team next Wednesday. If you have issues you'd like brought to the table, please contact me about them before then. Please also fill out this 1 minute survey the PPG has set up so we can take the results back to the surgery staff; the more data we have, the more we can push for better.

Our branch will be meeting to discuss the campaign before we start planning what's next and as residents who have engaged with us, your feedback would be really valuable. You can reach me here with any thoughts or, if you would like to attend the Zoom call next Monday 15th at 7:30pm and meet some of the team, do let me know and I'll send a link.

With the election done we'll be turning our eyes to what local issues we need to focus on next. We have a whole heap of plans, but we always want to hear from residents on their issues in the ward or the wider town - get in touch and let us know!

As soon as our plans are finalised for the coming months, I'll be in touch with all the things we're doing and places you can catch me. Please do help with some of the above small asks if you can - I know that together, we are going to take this massive upwards trajectory and do better for Hatch Warren and Beggarwood!

Best wishes always,