Senior county councillor steps down

By Jenni Dixon

A SENIOR Conservative county councillor is giving up his seat to concentrate on fighting the General Election.

Peter Aldous, county councillor for Halesworth and deputy leader of the Conservative group on Suffolk County Council, is stepping down to focus all his campaigning efforts on trying to oust Waveney Labour MP, Bob Blizzard.

Mr Aldous, who is also finance spokesman for the Conservative group, felt it would be difficult to run two campaigns effectively at the same time.

“It is likely the two elections will be on the same day. I was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Waveney and I am duty-bound to give that my best shot. I would rather concentrate all my efforts on one,” he said.

The 43-year-old, who has lived in the Halesworth area for 34 years, added he had enjoyed representing the town at county council level, but was relishing his new challenge.

“I am a relatively local person and I do regard this area as a great place to live and I would like to improve this area for those who live and work here,” said Mr Aldous.

He first experienced a taste of local politics while Waveney district councillor for Blything between 1999 and 2002 and was elected as county councillor in 2001.

Wendy Mawer, who stepped into Mr Aldous' shoes as district councillor, is now hoping to follow in his footsteps again after being selected as the Conservative county council candidate for Halesworth.

The 62-year-old, who has lived in Halesworth for 35 years, hopes to hold both district and county seats in May.

“I feel within the rural areas we don't get the right amount of provision and I feel that as a district councillor I have tried to raise the profile of rural areas,” she said.

Mr Aldous will be up against Mr Blizzard, Liberal Democrat Nick Bromley, the Green Party's Graham Elliott, and Brian Aylett from the UK Independence Party at the General Election.

jenni.dixon@eadt.co.uk