Ashdotman: Daily Reflections

Why I’m Voting Conservative in Bexley: And Why It Matters for Our Borough Local elections might not grab national headlines, but they have a huge impact on our everyday lives, our streets, schools, roads, and public services. This year, I’ve decided to vote Conservative in Bexley, and I want to explain why in a clear and practical way. Some residents may feel tempted to vote for Reform or the Greens in certain wards. I understand that desire. People want change and they want results. But in Bexley, splitting the vote between multiple parties can unintentionally help extremes gain control. Under the first-past-the-post system, even well-intentioned votes can have unintended consequences if they divide the electorate. The bigger question is this. Do we want a council that is more polarised and extreme, with Reform and the Greens constantly clashing, or do we want sensible, practical politics? I’m not talking about perfect politics, that doesn’t exist, but a level of certainty and stabi...

Looking beyond media caricatures to ask whether Zack Polanski’s politics are genuinely dangerous, or simply deeply unrealistic. I found myself going through old messages between me and Zack Polanski. To be clear from the outset, these are not messages for public consumption, nor would I ever share them. They were private conversations that took place while Zack and I were members of the same party, the Liberal Democrats, and continued just after he left to join the Greens. It was a time when we were both enthusiastic, restless, and searching for change. We both wanted something better and were trying to work out what that actually looked like. Zack eventually removed me as a friend because of my pro-Israeli stance. I do not think he fully understood why that position mattered to me or why I believed it needed to be voiced. If you genuinely support a two-state solution, you must be both pro-Palestinian and pro-Zionist. You cannot logically support a two-state solution while rejecting ...