Vote Labour, vote Aftab Razaq in Whalley Range today

Today is election day. The Whalley Range Labour candidate, Aftab Razaq, says “A vote for Labour is a vote for a strong council in Manchester which can stand up to the Tory government in Westminster. I hope you will support me, and my fellow Labour candidates across the city today – but whoever you support, for the sake of our democracy please remember to vote!”

More information about how to vote, including returning a postal vote if you haven’t sent it back yet, can be found in yesterday’s post.

Thursday is Election Day – vote for Aftab RAZAQ

Tomorrow – Thursday 5 May – is local election day across Manchester and much of the country. The Labour candidate in Whalley Range ward is Aftab Razaq – a vote for Aftab is a vote for a strong Labour council in Manchester standing up to the Conservative government in Westminster. Remember:

  • Polling stations are open from 7am in the morning until 10pm at night
  • You don’t need your polling card or any ID in order to vote – just go to your polling station and give your name and address
  • If you don’t know your polling station, visit manchester.gov.uk/pollingstations
  • If you’re a postal voter and you haven’t returned your postal vote yet, you can complete it now and take it to any polling station in Manchester on election day before 10pm

Postal voters – you can return your ballot straight away

Electors in Manchester who have chosen to vote by post started receiving their postal vote packs this week. These ballot papers can be completed and returned to the Elections Officer straight away – there’s no need to wait until nearer election day on Thursday 5 May.

Councillor Aftab Razaq is the Labour Party candidate for Whalley Range ward. He says “I always encourage my friends and family to complete their postal votes and post them back as soon as they receive them – that way they don’t lose the paperwork, or just forget to vote.”

Improving safety and reducing pollution outside schools

Aftab joins volunteers at the recent temporary closure on Springbridge Rd

At their full meeting earlier today, Manchester City councillors discussed and agreed a range of measures to do more to enable children (and their parents) to walk or cycle safely to and from school, reducing car usage together with the problems of parking, pollution and accidental danger which come with the ‘school run’.

Whalley Range Labour councillor Aftab Razaq spoke at the meeting. He noted the contribution of local schools and volunteers, including the Whalley Range WalkRide and Climate Action groups, in organising temporary street closures outside several Whalley Range schools in recent weeks. “When the roads are closed to non-essential traffic, even just for one day, it allows parents and pupils to see for themselves all the potential benefits of fewer cars” he says.

You can watch Aftab’s speech in Council here.

Night time clock-watching in Alex Park!

Bano and Aftab at the ‘Switch-on’ event

On October 21, the Friends of Alexandra Park held a lovely “Big Light Switch-on” event at dusk, to celebrate the installation of two beautiful new clocks (back lit with LED lighting) in the ‘tower’ of Chorlton Lodge. This is the second ‘Legacy Project’ to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Park (although because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the original plans to mark this milestone during the year have inevitably had to be scaled back).

Councillor Aftab Razaq, who attended the event with Councillor Muqaddasah Bano, says “We are so lucky to have this group of dedicated volunteers and supporters who help to look after Alex Park all year round, improving facilities in and promoting the heritage of the ‘People’s Park’ at the heart of our ward. As always, they deserve great thanks from us all”.

The Friends welcome visitors to their Information Point in Chorlton Lodge (near the Claremont Road entrance to the Park) which is open every Wednesday and Friday beween 11am and 2pm, and on the first Sunday of the month between 12 noon and 2pm. They also have calendars, Christmas cards and other goodies on sale, perfect for stocking fillers. For more information, see their Facebook page.