Local elections are fast approaching in England’s most northerly county with voters in Northumberland going to the polls on the 1 May. As ever, a north/south divide exists, whether locally or nationally, with the most northerly town in England often forgotten about. Now, local election hopeful for Berwick North, Simon Dixon, is setting out to change that.
Who is Simon Dixon?
Originally born in West Yorkshire, Simon Dixon works for USDAW as an organising officer, working with retailers throughout Northumberland to create positive union awareness throughout all the workplaces that he covers. Simon joined the Labour Party because of his belief in stronger workers’ rights. He believes that all working people, across all political parties, have their ground roots in the Labour Party. “The working man’s roots are the Labour Party.”
Simon Dixon is contesting Berwick North for Labour; the most northerly council ward in England. Labour increased its support in the area drastically at the previous local elections; jumping from 56 votes (3.8%) in 2017 to 377 votes (26.1%) in 2021, coming within touching distance of winning the seat. Simon Dixon is facing incumbent Conservative councillor Catherine Seymour at the election.
Being seen and heard
Simon Dixon’s first priority upon being elected is to ensure that the residents of Berwick North know who he is. For him, it isn’t just to make sure that his constituents are able to get in touch with him and voice their issues, but also that he gets in touch with them and is constantly updating them about where they and their issues are going next. Simon is standing on a platform of being more involved, taking the messages to Morpeth and going out to where the decisions are made and making sure that changes to make things better for Berwick are implemented there.
Simon Dixon has big plans for Berwick to see long-term improvements. “Putting spades in the ground for the school” was an immediate issue when asked about this, making sure that Northumberland County Council support and deliver improvements to Berwick Academy and make it up to date for its pupils. Simon also plans to work on bringing “proper, long-term, good-paid jobs” to the town with proper contracts that are not dependent on seasonal contracts as well as improving public transport in the area to help bring people from the outlying villages into Berwick.
Dirty politics
Responding to a question about disillusionment in politics, which saw the lowest turnout in a general election since 2001 last year, Simon hit out at “dirty politics” with a view to stay away from it, keep his election campaign on the positive side and listen to residents on their local issues and deliver on them proactively.
With 1 May almost around the corner, all is to play for in the local elections. In Berwick-upon-Tweed, a town often forgotten by the powerhouses that lie to its south, Simon Dixon hopes to become the first Labour councillor for England’s most northerly ward. But for the people of Berwick, it will not be whether or not the town has a representative of a different political party as their councillor, it will be whether their voices are heard and their issues are taken seriously that really matters.
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