Who we are

The Bingham Branch of Newark Constituency Labour Party covers the southern part of the constituency that falls within Rushcliffe Borough Council in the southeast of Nottinghamshire. It contains the town of Bingham, the second largest in the constituency, and covers the borough electoral wards of Bingham West, Bingham East, Thoroton (containing the villages of Barnstone, Elton on the Hill, Flawborough, Flintham, Granby cum Sutton, Hawksworth, Orston, Shelton, Sibthorpe, and Thoroton), Cranmer (containing the villages of Aslockton, Car Colston, Scarrington, Screveton and Whatton-in-the-Vale) and part of East Bridgford ward (containing the villages of East Bridgeford and Kneeton).

The Nottinghamshire County Council Electoral Divisions of Bingham East and Bingham West is shared between Bingham branch and the Cotgrave branch of Rushcliffe Constituency Labour Party.

Local campaigns

This part of Nottinghamshire is rural and prosperous and yet has a number of challenges caused by a rapid expansion of housing and population with woefully inadequate investment in services and infrastructure on the part of the local Conservative administration. Bingham is set to grow by 30% in the next few years yet roads, schools, buses, leisure facilities and health services are insufficient to meet this need. Private developers have been let off social and environmental conditions in order to meet national housing targets. Yet housing is a problem too, as there is a clear lack of affordable homes for young people and more long-standing residents. Because of the inward pressure and desirability of Bingham as a place to live, house values continue to skyrocket, which prices many local people out of the market. A lack of affordable housing – for rent or to buy – means many people are forced to move out of the area, away from friends and family.

As with many other rural areas, our roads are in a terrible state, suffering from chronic underinvestment for a number of years. Increasing extreme weather patterns, coupled with more traffic – particular heavy construction traffic – has done untold damage to roads and verges impacting conservation areas. The damage to roads and the lack of public transport can also increase isolation and loneliness. Much of the social housing in the villages of Bingham branch is for elderly people who live alone, yet have to rely on buses that arrive once or twice per day.

Bingham Labour is leading the fight against turning our area into a set of car-led soulless dormitory settlements for wealthy commuters. We want to retain the traditional character of our town and villages, invest in roads and public transport, keep shops, pubs and play areas open, and support vibrant local communities with housing and amenities for all. Although Bingham Labour has no representatives on Rushcliffe Borough Council, we are getting closer: in the 2019 local elections we came within 23 votes in Bingham West ward and 61 votes in Cranmer ward. Bingham Labour does have elected representatives on Bingham Town Council and on a number of Parish Councils in the area and will continue to fight for all the residents of Bingham and its surrounding villages.

How you can get involved

We are always happy to welcome new and returning members at meetings or on the doorstep! Branch meetings are organised via email, and we typically meet on the third Thursday of each month. (If you think you aren’t receiving emails from us, please get in touch!)

Branch Officers

Chair: Chris Grocock

Secretary: Tony Wallace

Treasurer: Allen Ashmore

Women’s Officer: Georgia Elms

Youth Officer: Matthew Watson

Get in touch

You can contact our Branch Secretary via email at binghambranch.nwrkclp1@gmail.com. You can also find our Facebook page @binghamlabour.