THE FINAL CURTAIN?

it does feel a bit strange not knowing what I will be doing one week from today. I know that this can happen in just about any job, but it is an odd feeling and on top of that knowing that your immediate future does not in any way lie in your own hands. I am in a very fortunate situation in that I have leave of absence from my university teaching job. I like it and if I have to return, it is not a hardship.

The final run up to the elections has been tense. Insults have started to fly, accusations and insinuations made about various candidates. I am not sure whether to be flattered or insulted that so far no one from any of the other parties has taken a dig at me.

Many people have been very kind and expressed that the lack of international support has been disappointing. I can put my hand on my heart and say that this is not about me, and whether I gain a seat or not.

My sadness is about the internationals who may lose the only direct representation they have ever had on the council. It has been four difficult years of trying to move things forward, and I would hate to see things returning to how they were before.

Now, I am not being pessimistic here. In 2019, there were only around 3,000 international residents registered to vote, and less than 1,000 actually turned up at the polling stations so we could still get more people out there on the 28th than in the last elections.

This is my first experience of elections as a standing local politician and

There is also a debate going on about whether opposition councillors should receive a salary, albeit at 50 per cent of the full councillor’s salary. All I can say is that without this during the last four years, I would not have been able to dedicate my time to working for the International Community. I’m not a typical politician, don’t follow the accepted way of doing things and to be a bit corny ‘I did it my way’.