Cllr Doc Anand represents Gosforth Ward on Newcastle City Council.
I am enormously proud to have been elected as the first Conservative Councillor in Newcastle since 1992 and even more proud to have broken this 32 year dry spell in the community I call home, Gosforth.
As a retired GP who served the local community for over 30 years, Gosforth has a special place in my heart.
Having stood in Gosforth consecutively since 2021, I was able to secure significant increases in my vote each year which eventually brought me to where I am now – overturning the majority in a Lib Dem stronghold to be one of few Conservative gains in the country and duly elected as Councillor Doc Anand.
Since elected, many people have been asking me what the secret recipe is to my electoral success. The answer is quite simple – nothing substitutes hard work. I was able to put the phrase ‘working hard all year round, not just during election time’ into practice with my actions, not words, to deliver consistently on the priorities of Gosforth residents.
From potholes and graffiti to more complex issues on our High Street and beyond – no issue was too big or too small. If it mattered to Gosforth, it mattered to me.
When residents told me they wanted the orange plastic bollards removed from our High Street, I was quick to wear my fancy dress traffic cone costume and put the graft in on the doors to collect almost 1,000 handwritten signatures against the bollards; helping to secure their eventual removal. By applying a super personalised and localised ‘think outside of the box’ style approach to my campaign such as my petition method, I have been able to raise great awareness and attention to the Gosforth patch resulting in progress and results delivered across the board.
For me, I believe in getting the basics right. And that means having your bins taken out on time, your potholes filled and ensuring you can be proud of the place you call home whilst relying on your public services to be there when you need them.
It’s all about community. Over my tenure as a candidate, I have done my utmost to knock on as many doors as possible and not just collate the data and give people the same old canvass script, but to go the extra mile and build relationships with people on the doorstep to gain a greater understanding of Gosforth and the people’s issues. These relationships with locals act as the glue that keeps any campaign together – this is not just my win, it’s also Gosforth’s.
Over the last few years, I have been blessed to be surrounded by a totally laser-focused and tenacious team who share my ethos of working your socks off until the job is done – no matter the job. Behind the scenes of this campaign machine were hours and hours of late evenings folding leaflets and following-up casework until the sun came back up again. Never resting until the growth and progress were evident in Gosforth through our work.
There are actually almost 50 years between myself (aged 77) and my Campaign Manager Scott Jewitt (aged 28). With me every step of the way, never giving up, never giving in and pushing me to walk approx 1,500,000 steps throughout the course of this year’s campaign – he has been superhuman in his efforts to elect me and has been integral in making electoral history in our home of Newcastle. His solid words of ‘keep going’ remained at the centre of our campaign. No matter the odds, or how loud the doubters shout, just keep at it.
The journey to being elected hasn’t been easy. Every campaign is an emotional roller coaster. In September 2022, the local media reported on the near-fatal collision I was in when a large haulage truck hit my car as I was leaving my home. This resulted in my car being spun 180 degrees and flung across the street. Luckily, the emergency services were able to rescue me from my car and I suffered no serious injuries. I had just survived a near-fatal accident, now I was in the fight of my life to win Gosforth.
Shortcuts do not exist in politics or campaigning. If you want to really make an impact then you have to work hard. Trust and respect is not just given on the doorstep or in the community, it is earned. Hard work, loyalty to my area and a strong team were my tools – look at the end product we have been able to build.
Many people tell me we have made history, I say it is just the start. This is just the trailer – wait for the movie!
For those of you up and down the country who may be flagging in motivation or hope – look at my result as your inspiration. This is what can be achieved by grafting, grafting, grafting. Focus on the positives, care about your community, work as hard as you can for the people you want to serve and most importantly – keep going.
The post Doc Anand: Downhearted at our prospects? I’ve just been elected the first Conservative councillor in Newcastle for 32 years. appeared first on Conservative Home.
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Author: Doc Anand
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