If this is your first WE For HWB, you can read archived issues here.

Election news
The candidates for the 4th May Local Elections were announced this week so we now formally know who is standing. The Conservative incumbent, Dan Putty, plus paper candidates from Labour and the Liberal Democrats are running alongside me.

This is excellent news because three of the parties who ran last year - the Green Party and both Independents - have not only stood down but have actually endorsed MY candidacy! This is because they agree on our local objectives and want to work together, but also because they recognise that I have a real shot at winning the seat!

Last year for example, if I had gotten my own vote share (410) and the Basingstoke and Deane Independents (360) I would have won the election outright. We have a real chance in May to win the first ever Women's Equality Borough Council seat in the UK.

I have organised a hustings on 15th April at 3pm at Hatch Warren Community Centre and invited all candidates to answer residents' questions alongside me. If you're unsure who to vote for, this is a great opportunity to submit questions and weigh everyone's answers. See here for details on how to submit questions and booking a seat. And if you can't attend on the day, we'll be videoing the whole thing and putting it on our YouTube channel for you to view before polling day!

As you can imagine, the couple of months before the election are mainly all about canvassing and leafleting; working hard to connect with HWB residents to engage with their issues and give them an opportunity to scrutinise my candidacy. Last Sunday we even had the Leader of the Women's Equality Party, Mandy Reid, canvassing alongside us for the day! If you have missed me and my team when we knocked on your door or would like to set up a time convenient to you for us to pop over and have a chat, please do reply and let me know when suits you. I'm here anytime to listen and learn.

I'll also be holding a final pre-election 'Ask Me Anything' session at the Holly Blue pub on Thursday 20th April - pop along and say hi with any burning questions you might have, or to tell me about the local issues that matter to you!

If you have signed up to this newsletter, chances are you already appreciate the work WE have done or are interested in equality, so I won't give you the hard election sell. But I will say that I have appreciated your support so much in these last sixteen months of continuous work in Hatch Warren and Beggarwood, that I hope very much to be able to continue to work for you as your Borough Councillor, and if you are willing to trust me with your precious vote, I will not let you down.

Best wishes to you and yours,

Stacy Hart
WE Basingstoke Branch Leader