|
|
Cameron tells councils to open up ---
02 Jul 2009
David Cameron has told council leaders they need to be more open about how they spend public money, urging a "new era of Google government".
Cameron tells councils to open up
|
 RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Milburn to Stand Down ---
27 Jun 2009
It comes as quite a surprise to find out our elusive local MP has done the honourable thing and jumped ship, I am sure there will be many more of his colleagues in Westminister following suit.
Still he has his other 5 jobs to fall back on so the bailiffs wont be knocking on the front door just yet.
The funniest comment is from Nick Wallis, Labour Blogger and Darlington Councillor, "The end of an era, but as the Chair John Williams reminded us, change happens. Fortunately, the Party in Darlington remains in robustly rude health, and is spoiling for the next General Election".
Think Nick needs to take off his "rose tinted" glasses along the red nose he is still sporting on his blog, the Labour Party locally and nationally have nothing to laugh about!
The sad truth is they are a party in demise and its a brave person who chooses to take the poison challice to represent the Labour party in Darlington at the next general election.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Burtree Lane ---
19 Jun 2009
Following complaints from residents, two issues have been identified with Burtree Lane -
Speeding traffic (all types of vehicles)
Heavy Goods Vehicles using Burtree Lane as a “rat run”
People living in the area have raised concerns about safety from both speeding traffic and the high number of HGVs that use the road.
It has been suggested that a Traffic Restriction Order would be appropriate to be put in place to stop HGVs using Burtree Lane other than for access for deliveries and a petition has been raised asking the Council and Durham Police to place an order on Burtree Lane in order to protect residents living in that area.
If you would like to sign the petition please ring us on 382276 or
Mail us at -
gill.cartwright@darlington.gov.uk or mike.cartwright@darlington.gov.uk
confirming your pledge for support.
Ban on HGVs
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
My Day ---
16 Jun 2009
Today has been a health related day for me, not unusal you think as I am a nurse, however the meetings I have attended today were not work related, but my experience as a nurse does help when discussing health topics.
My day started with a meeting of the Health and Well-being Scrutiny committee and the agenda can be viewed here Agenda 16th June 2009.
Then, I went onto a meeting with the Alzheimers Society in Newcastle, this was my first meeting with the group, although we do support them with a monthly donation. My role is to support the charity both in terms of fund raising and raising awareness of Alzheimers. So my interest is purely personal not political or professional even.
Both Mike and I have blogged in the past about Mikes Nana who has Alzheimers and resides in a EMI unit in Hartlepool. Anyone you speak with who has a relative who suffers with this disease will tell you that the current system leaves a lot to be desired.
The Alzheimers society raises awareness, research, campaigns and provides information and help to suffers and their families. I met some amazing people today who spend a lot of their time raising awareness by talking to groups, professionals and organisations, as well of those people dedicating their time and love to looking after relatives at home. This is a 24/7 job which requires patience, sense of humour and a dedication that only those who undertake this role can possibly understand. You can contact the society for help, information or to donate by clicking the link below -
Alzheimers society
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Race for Life ---
15 Jun 2009
On Sunday at the South Park we did the Race for Life again and as usual we were amongst the walkers! Our team consisted of myself, Lauren, Jen, baby Jess (9 months) and Daisy the dog, it was another blistering hot day, just like last year. We set off in the last group which consisted of the prams and the dog walkers, we managed to do a bit of overtaking, which is no easy task with a pram and dog who keeps trying to lick everyones feet and play with all the other dogs!
The menfolk were a great help shouting encouragement from the shade with ice-creams in their hands!
It is a very emotional event and I cant help but read the signs people wear explaining why they take part and it always upsets me to see how many women loose their children and partners/husbands to this dreadful disease. There are tears but there is also laughter all in aid of a good charity.
The event raised nearly 200K and our team total was in the region of £200.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Swine flu goes Pandemic ---
11 Jun 2009
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global flu pandemic after holding an emergency meeting.
WHO Declares Swine Flu Pandemic
I guess that means another weekend on call!
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Euro Results ---
08 Jun 2009
The results from the Euro election from Darlington were -
Conservatives 6775
Labour 4739
UKIP 3783
Lib Dems 3480
BNP 1779
Greens 1446
English Democrats 534
Socialist Labour 357
No 2 EU 270
Christians 264
Pro Democracy 108
Jury Team 97
It this had been a general, then our PPC Edward would have been returned and Mr Milburn would be out of work, did I say work, I mean the once a month he has to programme Darlington into his sat nav in order to find us! However he always seems to find his way to our ward for some reason, we are very honoured of course and he would always be welcome for a cup of Nescafe!
This was similar to the results of the local elections in 2007 when the Conservatives polled more votes than Labour but gained less seats resulting in Labour maintaining control.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Labour Party Buried Alive ---
07 Jun 2009
Interesting take on Caroline Flint in the Daily Mail by Suzanne Moore.
Some interesting phrases like "cabinet not fit for purpose" and "The Labour Party can be buried alive with its eyes wide open", sends a shiver down the spine...
Power crazed men destroying Labour
Nadine Dorries blog has some interesting gossip on the relationship between Flint and Blears
Nadine Dorries MP
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Euro Results ---
06 Jun 2009
Results tomorrow
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Brown Accused of Sexism ---
06 Jun 2009
Caroline Flint claims "Senior female figures were regarded as "little more than window dressing" by the prime minister"
Flint in sexism row
A very cleverly executed piece of work by Ms Flint and Hazel Blears to create the most collateral damage to Brown and the elections of course.
Quote of the day. At the D-Day landing celebrations Brown called Omaha beach Ombama beach.
Heard Susan Boyle rang to see how he is....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Blue, Blue, Electric Blue ---
05 Jun 2009
LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS
Councillors Councils
Party +/- Total +/- Total
CON +208 1295 +6 27
LD -12 430 -1 1
LAB -228 146 -4 0
OTH +25 149 0 0
NOC - - -1 4
29 of 34 councils officially declared.
The country has turned blue, Labour has lost 228 councillors. A complete wipeout even in the Labour heartlands.
My favourite quote is from Harriet Harman ""We have to understand and learn the lessons",
learn what lessons, that the public have no trust in your party and that you should call a general election.
Why put off the inevitable, Labour are history, salvage some pride and let the country decide, more respect will be gained.
The Euro results should be interesting....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Labour almost total wipeout in North Yorkshire! ---
05 Jun 2009
The Conservatives have strengthened their hold on North Yorkshire County Council, taking 48 of the 72 seats available, on a day that saw Labour representation in the county almost wiped out.
The Tories took a net gain of seven seats in County Hall, most of them from Labour candidates and now have a majority of 24 seats.
The leader of the Conservative group, John Weighell (Bedale), was delighted with the result. "We’re thrilled that the Conservatives will once again be in control of the county council for the next four years," he said. "It’s been a very difficult election campaign but we feel the quality of service we offered has stayed in people’s minds." Coun Weighell admitted that the Conservative’s gains were partly down to events in Westminster. "There’s no point in saying it hasn’t had an effect- it’s what people on the street wanted to talk about and it’s showed in demolition of Labour," he added. Labour now just have one seat in the council, down from seven, with Brian Marshall from the Selby Barlby ward keeping hold of his seat.
The leader of the Labour group, Steve Shaw-Wright, lost his seat in the Selby Barlby ward. In the Scarborough district the Labour incumbents lost out to independent candidates across the board, losing four seats, while the Conservatives also lost a seat to an independent candidate- there are now 11 independent councillors in the council as a whole.
Coun Marshall, the only Labour candidate to keep his seat on the county council, has blamed the fallout over the MP’s expenses scandal and Gordon Brown’s fight for survival for Labour’s terrible showing. "When anything happens in Parliament it’s us in the county councils that suffer," he said. "We work our socks off all year but it doesn’t seem to matter. "I will still do what I can in County Hall but it will be harder not having my colleagues with me."
The Liberal Democrats have not performed as well as they might have hoped, losing four seats to the Tories. Group leader for the Lib Dems, Bill Hoult (Knaresborough) was disappointed about the results for his party. "We’ve lost some good candidates," he said. "But when you look at how high the Conservatives are in the polls we thought they might have done even better, so it’s not all bad news."
I cant help thinking what would have happened if we had had local election elections in Darlington this year, I wonder who the last Labour person standing would have been on our council?
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Milburn Plots ---
04 Jun 2009
James Purnell quits, the body count is now 3, who next?
Milburn is named as one of the ringleaders in a plot to get rid of Brown
Milburn Plots
The next few days may see another change to the political landscape, I hope Brown does not go but I cant see him staying, his position has become untenable.
The first local election results will come in tomorrow but the Euro results wont be in until Sunday.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Highland Fling ---
23 May 2009
We have just come back from a very pleasant stay in the Scottish Highlands, in a little place called Nairn, near Inverness. This was our first trip that far up, having previously only been as far as Edinburgh.
The hotel had an amazing view from the Conservatory over the Moray Firth, the beach was just through the hotel garden and you could sit in the swimming pool and look out to sea!
It was amazing how the colour of the sky and the sea changed depending on the weather and the time of day, the sea went from grey, to green to various shades of blue. You can watch the weather fronts coming in and one minute it can be raining hard and the next sunny!
There are golf courses everywhere and there are 25 within a hours drive of our hotel, we dont play but guests in our hotel were there for the golf. Many hotels in Scotland also cater for "well behaved dogs" but unfortunately Daisy does fit that criteria!
The food in the hotel was mediocore to say the least and "rustic chips" were in fact frozen chips and the salad was a little limp. We ate out the following two nights and found a "Harry Ramsdens" in Inverness.
We had a trip out to Loch Ness and didnt see the monster but see wild deer and fighter planes from one of the near RAF bases of Lossiemouth or Kinloss flying very low across the loch.
Talking of aircraft we saw Sea king helicopters, an Apache helicopter, a Nimrod taking off from Kinloss and various fighter planes. A plane spotters dream!
At the nearby nature reserve of Spey there were Dolphins, Ospreys and seals. We did see the Ospreys but the Dolphins and seals had been spotted earlier that day.
We drove along the Moray Firth Coastal trail and ended up at the Baxters soup factory where we had a fabulous afternoon tea of sandwiches, clotted cream scones, pancakes, carrot cake, shortbread, meringue and various other cakes and pastries. I always make sure I have my five a day on holiday, cake, desert, sweets, chocolate and ice cream!!
We purchased some soups, biscuits and old fashioned sweets from the shop as presents.
The scenery in the highlands is spectacular, as are the coastal areas. Scotland is just so clean and there are toilets everywhere, in tiny fishing villages, where there arnt any shops, you will find a public toilet. Everyone is so friendly and helpful.
We finished off by having a picnic on the beach at North Berwick on the way home.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Double Standards ---
15 May 2009
Imagine my surprise and amusement when I read on Councillor Nick Wallis blog "I've spent 3 days now campaigning with Labour's John Harrison, North Tyneside's elected Mayor"
There must be some mistake, it must another Nick Wallis because our Nick Wallis in Darlington does not favour elected Mayors. If you check his blog there are 39 articles about elected Mayors and not one of them of says anything positive, yet here he is campaigning with the Labour chappy in North Tyneside, obviously John Harrison does not read Nicks blog, maybe as well!
The way I look at, OK let him go out campaigning but dont be stupid to blog about and show yourself himself for the unprincipled person he really is.
A classic example of how Labour are unable to stick to a principle let alone stick with decisions they make.
Keep up the good work, there must be many more so called principles to change when the wind blows in another direction....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Message from Cameron ---
07 May 2009
Labour's Government is falling apart in front of our eyes. The scandals behind the scenes. Humiliating defeats in Parliament. U-turn after U-turn. Cabinet Ministers mocking the Prime Minister. And behind this political pantomime there is no policy, no direction, no vision.
We urgently need change. That's why this year's local elections are so important. We launched our campaign this week with a strong, clear message: a vote for the Conservatives won't just get you more for less - a cleaner, greener, safer place to live for fewer taxpayer pounds. It will also give you the chance to show Gordon Brown just how sick, tired and disappointed you are with his Government.
We've been spreading this message all over the country: Newcastle, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Exeter, Plymouth. I love getting on the road and meeting people. It also gives us a chance to do more Cameron Directs - townhall-style events where people can come along, stick up their hand and ask me anything they like. They don't pull their punches and that's just how I like it.
The end of the week has been dominated by expenses stories - and I expect there will be many more over the coming months, from all parties. I understand why people are angry about this. That's why as soon as the problems arose I was first out of the blocks, making sure that our MPs and MEPs set out clearly how they spend public money. This is just the first step to a cleaner, more open system. Slowly and surely we're going to re-build the trust between politicians and the people they serve.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| The Age of Aquarious ---
27 Apr 2009
I would like to discuss on a comment left on one of my blog articles about Labours dirty tricks electioneering tactics used both nationally and locally. As mentioned in my response, on the night of the count in 2007 our house was “egged”, I have no idea whom may have been responsible for this childish act; however, one thing I am certain of is the motivation for the act was most definitely political.
Move one a year to the Crewe-Nantwich by-election in May 2008. The country was beginning to slide into recession and the future was looking uncertain. Labour was sliding in the opinion poles. The seat was a traditional Labour stronghold.
Labour HQ, thought, instead of expanding on an already strong Labour base vote, we will call the Tory candidate a “toff”, that’s bound to win us more votes!
It seems as if the whole country except the Labour party could see what was coming, the country was not in the mood for Labour dirty tricks tactics. I remember a taxi driver being interviewed and asking what he thought of the Tory candidate being called a “toff”. His response was that he didn’t care what his background was as long as he was up to the job.
Move on another year and the country is a terrible recession that is going to take until 2032 to sort out. The government has allowed the banks to allow us to get into debt beyond our means; the Government has borrowed for its lavish spending spree. Where was prudence when needed?,when Prudence should have saving in the good days to pay for the rainy days, Prudence was clearly off duty on holiday!
No wonder personal debt is high, when the Government themselves have not exactly been a role model of sensible spending, therefore sending out the message if its good enough them its good enough for us!
Cameron’s speech at the Spring “stressed Britain needs “a complete change of direction” to deal with the new “age of austerity” in his 2009 Spring Forum speech.
He said the “age of irresponsibility” was coming to an end and we need to take “incredibly tough decisions” on taxation, spending and borrowing to tackle Labour’s Debt Crisis”.
Thats exactly what people are having to do with their spending so it has come as a relief for the Politicians to thinking the same way.
The country is nervous, edgy, jobs are being lost, houses repossessed and times are hard. Government debt is so high we only dare utter the amount in utter disbelief.
Tony Blair was the architect of "Nu Labour" and Gordon Brown is the undertaker.
On a different note, I was reading tonight, Cherie Blair’s book and just got to the point where Tony became PM. Ironically it was whilst Tony was making a speech in Stockton that Cherie realised that actually he was going to win the election.
I wonder if Sam Cameron has had that moment of realisation because a new era is dawning, the feeling is almost tangible, a kind of hope and expectation that Cameron et al can save the country for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. And they can of course!
That’s how immense the task is working today to secure the future. It is the same at local level but more about that another time….
Back to Labour dirty tricks, to conclude, I am trying to decide if Labour will use Draper/McBride smear tactics during the elections next year, surely they must have learnt their lesson but this is the Labour Party we are talking about....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Sign up if You Want brown to Resign ---
24 Apr 2009
It was launched today on the No 10 site, already it has got thousands of signatures.
Sign and spread the word.
We Call on Gordon Brown to Resign
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Economy Faces a Decade of Pain ---
23 Apr 2009
The UK is facing "two parliaments of pain" following the "breathtaking" damage to the economy, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned.
The government must close a £90bn hole to bring the budget into balance, the independent think-tank said.
Who are we going to believe an independent body or the "Alistair in Wonderland" Chancellor?
For interesting gossip from inside Westminister read Nadine Dorries blog.
Nadine Dorries MP
There is a link to PMQs yesterday, where all her colleagues stayed in their seats to allow her a question to the PM asking him to apologise for the awful "smeargate affair"
She says "Thank goodness I am a member of a party which appreciates and encourages intellectual debate and discourse; which relishes the opportunity to take an idea apart and which supports its own, as I discovered yesterday as I was lifted to my feet by the cheers of my colleagues"
So say all of us....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Britain cannot afford another five years of Labour ---
22 Apr 2009
Conservative response to the budget-
"This is a Dishonest Budget. From tonight, Britain’s families are facing higher taxes to pay for Labour's Debt Crisis.
After a decade of economic mistakes, Gordon Brown is saddling this country with over £1 trillion of debt.
Britain cannot afford another five years of Labour.
The Budget revealed today: tax rises of £1000 on every family in Britain; tax rises on everyone earning over £19,000; tax rises on all new jobs; higher taxes for motorists and responsible drinkers.
The Labour Government was also forced to admit that Britain faces:
The longest recession since the war
The fastest rise in unemployment on record
Every child born already owing £22,500 in national debt
A national debt that will double to £1.4 trillion
Like all Labour governments in history, New Labour has run out of money.
If the Conservatives had given this Budget, we would have got a grip on government spending, and used the savings from cutting waste to introduce real help now for families and pensioners:
Freezing council tax for two years, worth over £200 for the typical family
Abolishing income tax on savings for all basic rate taxpayers, worth up to £7,200 a year
Raising the income tax threshold for pensioners, worth up to £400 a year
Help for the unemployed to upskill and reskill during the recession - and tax breaks for companies who create new jobs
Conservatives will tackle Labour’s Debt Crisis and deliver economic change for Britain"
It is interesting talking to ex-labour voters, they are certain that they dont have a choice at the next election, they simply CAN NOT vote for Labour. It is that simple, no choice or debate, they just cant force themselves to tick the box. The attitude is that under a Conservative Government things just couldnt get any worse than they already are, these are reluctant Conservative voters who are willing to give us a chance, respect to them.
They wont be let down.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Smeargate: The Plot Thickens ---
19 Apr 2009
ED BALLS, the schools secretary, used Damian McBride, the disgraced spin doctor, to smear ministerial rivals and advance his own ambitions, a Downing Street whistleblower has claimed.
In an explosive new twist to the e-mail affair, a No 10 insider has revealed that Balls was the mastermind behind a “dark arts” operation by McBride to undermine colleagues.
He claims the education secretary is running a destabilising “shadow operation” inside Downing Street to clear his path for the party leadership if Labour loses the next election.
The insider said: “There is now an operation within an operation at No 10 and it answers to Ed Balls.”
This whole affair is like a pass the parcel at a Birthday Party, each time another layer is opened more lurid details are revealed but it is only a matter of time the "real" prize in the centre will opened. There will be a Labour MP or even the PM in the centre of this parcel!
It is interesting watching the Labour Government "implode" Yes I do believe things are that serious, this kind of unprecidented behaviour can only end in "red" tears.
We are witnessing a story that will be recorded in the Political History books and me thinks that we are only a couple of chapters into this story....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
If you go Down to the Marsh Today! ---
18 Apr 2009
 A NEW ranger service which has been launched to be the public face of Darlington's parks and nature reserves was put on its toes with its first customer - botanist David Bellamy.
Darlington Borough Council's park rangers will speak to the public and friends' groups to encourage use of the town's green spaces.
They will also take on board comments, suggestions and complaints to enhance parks and nature reserves.
The service, which is similar to the council's Street Scene team, has partly arisen from the council's award of beacon status for its work to manage the parks and also Darlington Partnership's Perfectly Placed document.
Mr Bellamy returned to South Park yesterday nearly 40 years to the day after his first visit on the way to his then new job at the University of Durham.
He also visited Drinkfield Marsh as there was a childrens activity session on, arranged by the new Park Rangers. He very kindly agrees to pics and we have some of him in the reeds, the pose for which he is famous!
He is probably one of Britains most famous Botanists and is also an author, broadcaster and environmental campaigner.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Pensions & Savings National Action Day - 18th April ---
18 Apr 2009
Today we have been campaigning for the following to be included in the budget proposals -
Abolishing income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers
Raising the pensioners personal allowance by £2,000 to £11,490
Despite freezing weather conditions we managed to collect many signatures. What I always find interesting about this type of activity is that it provides an insight into what people think and how they are feeling.
The electorate are certainly not happy bunnies at the moment. People are worried about their jobs, mortgages, education, care for the elderly, NHS and pensions and are concerned about this Governments ability to govern. It is the latter that it most interesting, these comments are not typical of what we normally hear. People will always express their opinion on issues or policies but to question to the actual competency of a Government to do its job is a new phenomena and demonstrates the lack of faith people have.
My favourite quote is from an elderly lady approaching 80 who said "they have just given me a pension increase of 25p per week, its an insult, I am going to send it back and suggest they give it to Jacqui Smith to boost her husbands entertainment budget"!
A very positive day which provided much food for thought....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| The Week the World Went Mad ---
17 Apr 2009
Well not quite the whole world but this country at least.
We have seen Labour Party spin docs trying to smear Tory MPs, The PM saying "I know nothing" and today we uttered the "S" with as much sincerity as Eskimo thanking you for the ice you have just given him as a present!.
Damian Green, Tory MP has found out that he will not face charges for doing his job. This is the first time an opposition MP has been arrested for doing his job since Britain became a Democracy. Theres the key word, "democracy" is being very quickly eroded by this Sham of a PM who no one voted for!
And finally a Nurse is struck off for secretly filming for the BBC to reveal the neglect of elderly patients at a hospital has been struck off for misconduct. Struck off, this woman should be congratulated for highlighting this terrible neglect. Every nurse in this country should be outraged that Margaret Haywood has been treat in this way. She clearly believed what she was doing right and I agree with her....
The message is quite clear for anyone else who was thinking about exposing neglect and ill treatment of elderly people, if you do you will be punished.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Camerons Reflects on this Week Events ---
17 Apr 2009
I think it's been a pretty defining week in the history of this Government.
It started with all that nonsense over Easter when it emerged that while people up and down the country were worried about their jobs, homes and futures, one of the Prime Minister's main advisers was busy cooking up lies to spread about me, my colleagues and our families. After five days, the Prime Minister finally took full responsibility and said sorry. But, in many ways, that's the easy part. The hard part is what comes next - addressing the culture of spin and smear in Downing Street. As anyone who works in an office knows, it's the boss who sets the culture - so Gordon Brown's got to ask himself some serious questions.
And it ended with the Director of Public Prosecutions chucking out the charges against Damian Green. Let's be clear what happened here. An Opposition MP was arrested, and he and his family put through hell, for simply doing his job. It was wrong. He's been vindicated. And the Home Secretary's got to ask herself some serious questions.
Taken together, these episodes demonstrate clearly the need for change. Not, as Gordon Brown would have it, change in some advisers' code or a review into police operations. But a change in leadership at the very top. This lot have been in power far too long - they're out of touch, forgotten who they're serving, what they're in power for and how they're meant to behave. To bring some integrity back to Downing Street, the only answer is an election and a change of government.
But this week hasn't been all about politics. I visited Stafford Hospital on Tuesday - that's the place which had really unacceptable standards of care. It was incredibly moving to meet victims and their friends and family. And though it was little consolation to them, I outlined how the Conservatives would help stop another Stafford from happening again by having an information revolution so hospital failings are exposed quicker.
I'm sure there'll be as much to write about next week - it's the Budget.
He described this week as a defining week in the history of this Government, in my last blog I was a bit more blunt describing the events of this week as the "week the world went mad"!
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| The Saga Continues ---
16 Apr 2009
More questions than answers.
Did Gordon Brown know of the these plans to smear the Conservatives, given McBride was his closest aide? I find it hard to believe that he knew nothing given his obsession with micro-management.
He will never admit that he knew but what has happened to McBride, is he down the local job centre signing on? What has he been given to keep his silence or will we see a kiss and tell story in the press next week?
Who funds Labourlist and why is Draper still the editor, sack him Gordon now.
I have to admit that this whole incident deeply disturbs me and has sunk the Labour Party to an all time low, Tony Blair must be cringing.
Tony liked his "Nu Labour" spin but this is not spin, it is downright deceitful lies, damn lies of the worst kind. Number 10 should have been thinking about ways to win votes back at the election not about how to win an election by discrediting the opposition.
They forgot (if they ever knew) the first rule of politics concentrate on your own greatness.
These people run our country, that fact alone should be causing every person in this country to have sleepless nights....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Alan Milburns Reaction to Drapergate ---
14 Apr 2009
Even our very own Alan Milburn has dubbed the affair as "morally unacceptable".
Hopefully this will be the end of Gordon as his own MPs are ashamed, yes ashamed.
The mails are 100% untrue, slanderous and therefore libellous. Damian McBride is the political and press adviser to Gordon Brown. He is his right hand man and has been since the Treasury days.He was paid for by the tax payer.
The whole affair smacks of how desperate Gordon Brown is to hold onto power and clearly demonstrates that he know he is working his "notice" period.
Maybe his P45 is in the post as I speak given the reaction of his own MPs!
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| McPoison and Drippy Draper ---
13 Apr 2009
Question: How much further can this Labour Governement sink to?
Answer: There are no boundaries.
I should have been shocked to read about the disgusting McBride and Draper affair but the emotion I felt that of utter disgust. Gordon Brown and his cronies are not fit to govern this country, he has no mandate and no scruples.
January 13th and the banks are in the process of being bailed out, thousands of workers face redunancy.
However, Damian McBride, Downing Street’s head of strategy and planning, had other things on his mind. He was bent on a smear campaign against the Tories on a proposed new website, Red Rag.
“Gents, a few ideas I have been working on for Red Rag,” he wrote, by way of introduction to the plan he was about to send to Derek Draper, his old friend and Labour blogger. “For ease, I’ve written all the below as I’d write them for the site.”
Copying in Charlie Whelan, Gordon Brown’s former spin doctor, McBride, who was paid by the taxpayer, set out four possible stories to ensure the new Labour website got off to a flying start.
He described the first – about a gay Tory MP promoting his companion’s business interests in the Commons – as a “solid investigative story”, suggesting that it “may be a good one to use early”.
The other three, he admits, “are gossipy and mainly intended to destabilise the Tories”.
If the smear campaign being hatched by McBride had gone ahead, it would have set the scene for one of the dirtiest general election campaigns in recent history.
However, in a twist that would prove terminal for McBride, the e-mails fell into the hands of Paul Staines, the right-wing Westminster blogger known as “Guido Fawkes”. Yesterday copies of the e-mails were seen by The Sunday Times.
McBride’s ideas are set out under a series of headings, the first relating to a gay Tory MP. He suggests Red Rag circulates a story that the individual is “routinely using his position in the House of Commons to offer free publicity” to a large high street company for which the MP’s boyfriend works. McBride alleges that the Tory MP “has never once declared his close personal relationship” with the store executive and lists a series of occasions on which the MP appears to have used Commons facilities to promote the company; praised the firm in Commons debates and put down parliamentary motions that could be favourable to it.
McBride’s second suggestion is to challenge David Cameron, the Conservative leader, to publish his “full financial and medical records”, and to spread gossip that he may have suffered from a sexually transmitted disease.
The slur appears to be based on nothing more than Cameron’s admission that, when he was a student, he once attended a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. But McBride suggests “inserting [a] picture of Dr Christian Jessen”, who appears on the Channel 4 programme Embarrassing Bodies. There is no suggestion that the two men know each other.
Headlined “George’s photo album”, McBride’s third idea was to alarm the Conservatives by falsely hinting at the existence of embarrassing photographs of George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, from his university days.
DAMIAN McBRIDE
Known as “McPoison” in the corridors of power, McBride was one of the prime minister's most trusted allies. The magazine PR Week put him in the top 10 of the country’s spin doctors with the likes of Matthew Freud and Max Clifford.
He started out as a Treasury civil servant but became Gordon Brown’s political adviser while his mentor was still chancellor.
Credited with masterminding a guerrilla war to get his man into No 10, McBride, 34, was at the heart of an operation to crush all opposition to Brown’s succession. When Brown became prime minister, McBride became his official political spokesman, one of the most powerful positions in Downing Street.
Despite his high-profile new role, he proved reluctant to abandon the shadowy tactics he used to such great effect before his boss came to power, and continued to brief contacts over long lunches.
His enemies thought he was finished following the arrival at Downing Street of Stephen Carter, the former lobbyist, as Brown’s strategy chief. The appointment sparked a turf war. When Carter left months later, he was seen as the victim of a campaign by the cabal of Brown’s “long marchers” at No 10.
Carter’s departure was a pyrrhic victory for McBride, who was simultaneously moved to a backroom role as director of strategy and planning. It followed disquiet among Labour MPs at his tactics.
DEREK DRAPER
Draper is a flamboyant northerner with a talent for self-promotion. He was a top Labour spin doctor until he was embroiled in a lobbying scandal in 1998, the year after Labour came to power.
He was caught on tape boasting to an undercover reporter that he could sell access to government ministers. “There are 17 people who count,” he said. “To say that I am intimate with every one of them is the understatement of the century.”
He first rose to prominence as a bag carrier to Peter Mandelson, a job he did alongside editing a left-wing magazine and writing a newspaper column. He lost all three jobs when the lobbygate scandal broke.
Mandelson said of his friend at the time: “He has a fine intelligence, but sometimes I am afraid he misuses that intelligence. He gets above himself."
A year later Draper was sacked from his job as political commentator at Talk Radio after calling one of its phone-line programmes and claiming he was in a brothel in Amsterdam. He subsequently had a breakdown. After a spell at the Priory, he retrained as a psychotherapist and started writing self-help books.
He remained out of the political limelight until a year ago, when he returned to the Labour fold on a new mission to establish a political blog. As a psychotherapist, he would be well qualified to smear an innocent woman about her mental health. He is married to Kate Garraway, a GMTV presenter.
Gordon Brown has tonight written letters to David Cameron and all other Tory MPs slurred in the smear campaign orchestrated by his senior aide Damian McBride.
On Feburary 6th Derek Draper made a bizarre attempt to become the blogosphere's Mr Popular by following every single one of Iain Dales Twitter followers.
I received a mail from a friend warning me and sure enough there he was, very quickly blocked from following me on Twitter and closely followed by the 1900 or so other Tories he was following.
It occurred to me yesterday that this act may have had an ulterior motive given the current turn of events or perhaps im just getting very very cynical when it comes to Labour.
One thing is for sure leadership comes from the top so it follows that once the "rot" has set in at the top it will be filtered down the food chain to local level..
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Happy Easter ---
12 Apr 2009
Wishing everyone a Happy and relaxing Easter.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| A Stone Lighter ---
09 Apr 2009
I have not blogged for a few weeks about my dieting and weekly weigh-in sessions, I bet some of you thought I had given up!
There has not been much to report to be honest, progress for whatever reason seems to have been very slow and the past month has seen just 1/2 pound per week with the exception of last week which saw 1.5LBs disappear. This in itself seems bizarre given a Birthday, a Christening, 2 takeaways and half a bag of Thorntons toffee! I can remember weeks when I have not cheated at all and either gained weight or stayed the same. You can never tell what will happen when you step onto those scales!
However, I have today reached my stone award, it has taken since Christmas but I have got there eventually and it has given me the impetus to get through Easter unscathed, I hope but as I speak there is a rather large Heroes egg begging to be eaten!
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Some Good Ward News ---
31 Mar 2009
Two pieces of good news for Harrowgate Hill this week and it is only Tuesday!
New schools could be built at Hurworth, Longfield and Branksome four years early if Darlington Borough Council are successful in bringing their bid for funding forward under the Building Schools for the Future scheme.
And
1m for improvements to footpaths in North Road, Bank Top, Central, Harrowgate Hill and Cockerton West.
Both of these were to be discussed tonight at 5PM when the Cabinet meets.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Full Council ---
27 Mar 2009
I have to admit to chuckling to myself last night in the Council Chamber when John Williams uttered those words that "Labour Councillors have a free vote". Free vote and Labour Councillor in the same sentence dont go!
For a milli-second I got excited thinking we could have a rebel vote on our hands here and this might fulfil my lifetime ambition of observing a Labour Councillor vote against their own group.
Crushed, I watched as John Williams raised his hand closely followed by the rest of the red sheep in the flock. I find it hard to believe that not one Labour Councillor disagreed with the motion, by the law of averages at least one of them should have said NO.
At least one of them must realise that given the current climate being de-selected by the loosing team would not be such a bad idea, it is a short walk across the Chamber you know!
My quote of the night was John Williams "there has never been a problem therefore no need for a motion". Now, that is just your opinion, if there was not a problem then why was a motion being raised?
I was surprised by the lack of intelligent debate from the Labour group, it is the job of any Councillor in that Chamber to challenge and highlight issues, move them onto the agenda and then debate the issue. This is how change is achieved in local authority. Local Government is a constantly changing and evolving animal and in ten years time will look different to what it does now. This process is ongoing and achieved by those involved both elected members and Officers. Members should be able to feel comfortable raising issues and in return receive intelligent comment and debate to allow a conclusion to be drawn. All this is in the best interest of the people we represent and should be welcomed by all. It is possible to not agree with an issue but offer reasoned comment to the debate and be gracious and respectful to the person highlighting the issue. This is professional and common courtesy.
Why do they feel the need to personalise issues, this stifles intelligent debate by involving the heart instead of mind.
Be pragmatic, detached and rationalise.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Putting Patient safety First ---
23 Mar 2009
Andrew Lansley has set out a five-point plan to avoid a repeat of the tragic events at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
The Shadow Health Secretary stressed the need to put patient safety first, and outlined measures to end box-ticking and give patients the power to hold failing hospitals to account.
He promised, "A Conservative Government would give patients a real say over services at their local hospitals so that they can demand changes if they are necessary."
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Alan Milburn, The Invisible MP ---
22 Mar 2009
I was interested in a story in the Echo yesterday about Alan Milburn welcoming students to Westminister.
The students toured Parliament with him and enjoyed the an hour of questions and answers.
My daughter went on the same trip last year and he was nowhere to be seen, busy, otherwise engaged or whatever! This was a shame because Lauren had prepared some rather challenging questions for him as the ever young budding Tory, she was keen to practice her Political prowess!
Now I know my eyesight is not what it used to be but I can not see Alan Milburn on the picture in the Echo yesterday. But he if he is on it, in the words from the famous movie "when Im wrong I say Im wrong" (which movie was that from???)
The old ones are the best and I still smile when people say to me Alan Milburn "who is he?"...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Scores on the Doors ---
22 Mar 2009
Scores on the Doors is a web site detailing the food hygiene ratings for food premises in the Borough all 913 of them, so if you would like to know the rating of your local takeaway, favourite restaurant, click the link, you may be surprised....
Scores on the Doors
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Grass Cutting ---
19 Mar 2009
The grass cutting schedule commences on 23rd March, please contact us is you are experiencing any problems.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Glebe Road School Site ---
16 Mar 2009
On Tuesday last week two horses appeared in the one of the Glebe Road School sites, the Councils locks had been broken to gain access to the site. The men had provided a sign on the gate with a Mobile telephone number, inviting people to contact them.
This was reported to us by residents living in Glebe Road and the wider area.
Estates contacted the men to discuss a number of issues.
An Estates Officer was present on Saturday when the horses were removed from the field by their owner.
The site was then again made secure.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| More Wasted Labour Money ---
15 Mar 2009
It seems that the Labour Government and the Labour Council in Darlington have the same flaw in common.
They like to spend money to make them look as if they are taking action, it ticks the boxes. A good analogy is giving a tablet to treat the symptoms instead of treating the cause. It makes them feel good, look what we doing!. Measuring outcomes and effectiveness, nah it makes them feel good to be taking action, the thought process ends there.
So it comes as no surprise that Ministers have wasted public money in their attempts to tackle health inequalities, MPs say.
The House of Commons' Health Committee said the government should have been more careful in designing and piloting projects in England.
The MPs highlighted a series of schemes, including Sure Start, which had failed to have much of an impact.
Done with good intention no doubt, but they really should be more careful with taxpayers money. Time to get rid of the sticking plasters and show some real leadership and critical thinking, sadly this will not happend until Brown and Co are given their P45s by the country...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Sorry seems to be the Hardest Word ---
06 Mar 2009
In his speech to Congress, Gordon Brown yet again bottled out of saying sorry for taking Britain to the brink of bankruptcy.
So we have set up www.sorryfromgordon.com where you can write an apology note from Gordon Brown and send it on to everyone you think the Prime Minister should say sorry to.
Jeremy Hunt, our Spokesman for Online Campaigning, said, "If Gordon Brown is struggling to spit the words out, hopefully our online viral will give him a few ideas."
Sorry from Gordon
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Prescription Charges ---
05 Mar 2009
The BMA has accused the government of supporting an "outdated" system in England which can harms patients' health of many because, it says, charging can put people off paying for the medication they need.
PRESCRIPTION CHARGES
England: £7.10
Scotland: Phased out by 2011
Wales: No charge since 2007
Northern Ireland: £3 from January 2009, phased out by April 2010.
A spot the difference competition!
It is fair to say that we are being ripped off in England under a Labour Government.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Weight Loss Update ---
04 Mar 2009
I have not blogged for a couple of weeks about my weekly weigh-ins, simply because every time I have remembered that I have not done it I am not near to a computer!
I lost 1.5lbs and then last week put a pound on. I had been eating healthily and could not understand where the gain had come from, until I checked with my "Syn Book" and discovered that the yoghurt drink and dried cranberries I had had for breakfast had cost me 30 Syns. For those of you not familar with the Slimming World System, you are allowed 5-15 Syns per day, so my breakfast alone has cost me 2-3 days worth!
However, after a very careful week where I made sure everything that I ate was allowed, I have lost 4lb this week and was releived, as I was loosing heart slightly.
Total weight loss now 11lb.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Gordon Brown Open Letter ---
02 Mar 2009
Find attached an excellent letter pointing out Gordons shortfalls (it is a long letter!) and demanding his resignation. The author wishes for this letter to be distributed to as many readers as possible via the internet, so please forward to like minded people.
S T E V E N K A T I R A I
B E L L A M O U R , L O N G H O R S L E Y , M O R P E T H ,
N O R T H U M B E R L A N D N E 6 5 8 R B
e - m a i l - S t e v e n @ k a t i r a i . c o m
The Right Honourable
Gordon Brown MP
10 Downing Street,
London
SW1A 2AA
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Prime Minister
An open letter demanding your resignation.
Your position is untenable and, I as a citizen of Great Briton demand your
instant resignation.
You are unelected, have no popular mandate and lack the moral authority
to be Prime Minister. Your terms as Chancellor and Prime Minister have
been a total disaster for this nation and your attempt to cling on to power
at all costs show a complete contempt for this nation and displays your
absolute vanity and thirst for political power.
I list below some of the mistakes made by you during your time in public
office. If as a director of a limited company you had made similar mistakes
you would be subject to criminal prosecution and banned from being a
company director. As a Government minister the standards exercised
should be significantly higher than those exercised by a company director,
you have failed to maintain those standards and are unfit for public office.
Banking Supervision: You transferred responsibility for banking
supervision to the Financial Services Authority from the Bank of
England so directly laying the seeds of the current banking crisis.
Banking Crisis: The initial response to the Northern Rock crisis was so
slow as to be glacial and ultimately led to the damage done to the
whole banking sector. A strong Prime Minister would have provided
depositors with a guarantee that their deposits were safe and the
bank run would have stopped. Ultimately the same guarantee would
have ensured that the HBOS and RBS debacle would not have been
so severe.
Criminal Negligence: The entire UK banking crisis has been caused by
a lack of supervision under the regulatory regime set up by you, any
man of honour would have resigned upon seeing the damage caused.
You however have tried to blame everyone else and accept no
responsibility. You are criminally negligent.
Vanity: You have used the banking crisis to attempt to advance your
personal standing and political career at the expense of the nation.
Lack of Judgment: You have made three serious errors of judgment
in your appointment of advisers on the current financial crisis.
1. Your choice of banker to compile a report on ideas for improving
public health was Sir Derek Wanless. a Northern Rock director when
it imploded in 2007.
2. You appointed Sir James Crosby, the former HBOS CEO, to the board
of the FSA who then had to resign after becoming embroiled in the
row over failings of risk management at HBOS.
3. It now also appears that Glen Moreno will be forced out of his job, as
chairman of UK Financial Investments Ltd, the company set up to
oversee the government’s stake in the bailed-out banks, because of
his links with a Liechtenstein trust accused of tax evasion.
You Fantasize: By clinging to the idea that, thanks to your genius British
citizens are far better placed than competitors to handle this crisis. The
following two facts demonstrate that this is a fantasy:-
1. The Office for National Statistics' revelation that while the number of
foreign workers getting jobs in the UK continues to grow (up by
175,000 to 2.4 million last year), domestic unemployment is rising
sharply.
2. According to Business Monitor International, a research company
specialising in country risk, "Britain is facing an unprecedented fall in
its economic world ranking… from 12th place in 2007 to 21st in
2010". "Despite enjoying 11 years of growth between 1997 and
2007, the UK ran a budget deficit of 1.7 per cent of GDP over this
period, fuelling a fiscal time bomb. Faced with the financial burden of
bailing out the banking sector and kick-starting the economy, the
budget deficit will swell to an unsustainable 9.3 per cent of GDP in
2009."
Public spending: Your 2000 Spending Review presaged a major
expansion of government spending, without any significant benefit to
public services, directly leading to the UK being in the worst shape of
any industrialised nation to weather the current financial crisis.
You have colluded in hiding the full extent of public borrowing by using
PFI initiatives to hide the borrowings off balance sheet. PFI is the most
expensive and inefficient form of finance possible, and you have
saddled the country with a debt that you cannot even quantify. Jeremy
Pocklington, leader of the Treasury’s corporate and private finance
team, could only give a rough estimate to Richard Bacon that the total
liabilities, but not debt, from the vast majority of PFIs, but not all, from
2006-07 to 2032-33, but not beyond, is £157.9bn. That is not only
astounding but unbelievable.
Public sector Employment: The office for national Statistics shows
Public sector employment was 5,846,000 (20.4 per cent of all in
employment) in June 2005, 680,000 (13.2 per cent) higher than in June
1998, whereas from 1998 to 2005 private sector employment only rose
by 1,241,000 (5.7 per cent). This growth is unsustainable and wrong.
Growth: An OECD report shows UK economic growth averaged 2.7%
between 1997 and 2006, lower than in any other English
speaking country.
Gold sales: Between 1999 and 2002 you sold 60% of the UK's gold
reserves at $275 an ounce, close to a 20-year low, a disastrous foray into
international asset management.
Your spectrum auctions gathered £22.5 billion for the government
which caused a severe recession in the telecoms development industry
leading to the direct loss of 30,000 UK jobs. Two auctions were run in
the USA, the first being cancelled and re-run (for less revenue) due to
damage caused to the industry. The Americans realised their mistake
and tried to rectify it. The British and German chancellors copied the
North American first auction; which had failed. To copy a failed
economic model is normally considered a serious error of judgement.
Your East Coast Mainline franchise auction led directly to the demise of
GNER, an excellent company, which was replaced by National Express
who offer East Coast mainline users a significantly poorer service. Your
duty was not only to maximise revenues, you also had a duty to the
shareholders, employees and customers which you completely failed.
Anti-poverty: The Centre for Policy Studies found that the poorest fifth
of households, which accounted for 6.8% of all taxes in 1996–7,
accounted for 6.9% of all taxes paid in 2004-5. Meanwhile, their share
of state benefit payouts dropped from 28.1% to 27.1% over the same
period.
Tax: According to the OECD UK taxation has increased from a 39.3%
share of gross domestic product in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, going to a
higher level than Germany. This increase has mainly been attributed to
active government policy, and not simply to the growing economy.
You pledged to not increase the basic or higher rates of income tax
however in all but your final budget, you only increased the tax
thresholds in line with inflation, rather than earnings, resulting in fiscal
drag.
You abolished the 10% tax band so that you could reduce the basic rate
from 22% to 20%, to make it look like you were decreasing taxes.
However in fact it led to increased tax for 5 million people, and, left
those earning under £18,000 as the biggest losers.
Pensions: Your changes in 1997 in the way corporation tax is collected,
directly led to the taxation of dividends on stock investments held
within pensions, thus lowering pension returns and contributing to the
demise of most of the final salary pension funds in the UK.
This act alone has single handedly damaged the pension of every
person with a pension in the UK but also saddled UK corporations with
a an ever growing pension liability, so much so that many companies
futures are imperilled by these debts.
Falsehoods: You used the Laura Spence Affair to beat up Oxford and
Cambridge about their admissions procedures, Lord Jenkins, then
Oxford Chancellor and himself a former Labour Chancellor of the
Exchequer, said "nearly every fact you used was false.
Inappropriate links: Given the finding that the government did not
carry a proper public consultation on the use of nuclear power in its
2006 Energy Review, your brother Andrew’s is links to one of the main
nuclear lobbyists, EDF Energy could be construed as inappropriate.
The father-in-law of your closest adviser Ed Balls, Tony Cooper (father
of the Labour minister Yvette Cooper) has close links with the nuclear
industry. Cooper was described as an "articulate, persuasive and wellinformed
advocate of nuclear power over the last ten years" by the
Nuclear Industry Association on his appointment as Chairman of the
British Nuclear Industry Forum in June 2002.
IraqWar: You supported British involvement in the Iraq War against the
wishes of the UK population and helped to justify that involvement by
publishing false intelligence. This war has directly increased the odds of
terrorist attacks on British subjects and the financial cost has had a
significantly detrimental effect on the British economy.
Military Covenant: You have not adhered to the 'military covenant',
leading to a significant decline in the moral of the armed forces due to
poor housing, lack of equipment and adequate healthcare provisions.
The lack of equipment has directly led to an increase in the loss of lives,
and serious injuries, compounded by a lack care following serious
injury.
The 15% VAT Rate: introduced to counter the effects of recession
demonstrated a total naivety and breathtaking stupidity. Far from
digging the nation out of a hole, it has saddled the country with a huge
unsustainable debt.
No one should benefit from failure: You have on numerous occasions
stated that no one should benefit from failure, however your tenure as
chancellor was universally recognised as a failure, but you were
rewarded with the Premiership and had the gall to accept.
There will be no more Boom & Bust: In your hubris you made a
statement that was patently untrue, and counter to any economic
theory. You either knew that statement to be untrue and lied or if you
believed it then you clearly demonstrated your foolishness and proved
that you were unfit for office.
The UK is in a better position than any other developed country: this
again is completely untrue, we have more than double the debt per
head of population than any other country in Europe.
Public Services: You have destroyed Public Services by a raft of
inappropriate targets, which have led to resources being wasted by the
attempts to meet those targets.
Surveillance society: You have presided over and led to the creation of
a surveillance society in which any perceived wrongdoing is used as a
pretext to pass oppressive laws. You and your predecessor have both
single headedly succeeded in making the UK an unpleasant place to live
in.
These are but a small sample of your failings any of which make you unfit
for public office and for which you should immediately resign. You sir are a
fraud and I am forwarding this letter to as many people as I can, via the
internet in an effort to shame you into accepting your failures.
Yours faithfully
Steven Katirai
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Ba Ba Red Sheep, Again! ---
26 Feb 2009
I realised tonight sat in the Council Chamber that I must be getting old, as it does not seem like a year since we were sat there listening to the same old Labour outpourings of flawed logic.
But he were again, there were some highlights of the evening for me -
Councillor Swainston (Lib Dems) asked the Mayor (Councillor Haszeldine) which hat he had on whilst making comments about the amendment that our group tried to move, his Labour hat or his Chair of Scrutiny hat?
Councillor Jenny Chapman (Labour Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement) saying how it winds her up when people say that the consultation the council undertakes is purely a ticky box exercise. She speaks passionately and clearly beleives what shes says, its just that, well, we dont.
Keep up the good work Jenny, nothing wrong with living in your own world especailly if its better than the real one the rest of us live in!
Residents in my ward have expressed disapproval of how one Talking Together Event was conducted. The tax payers foot the bill for these sessions of self promotion, sorry, I mean consultation events.
Councillor Dixon (Lab Deputy Leader) was allowed as usual to stand up and make random statements in the middle of Councillor Barkers (LIb Dem) speech, why is he is allowed to behave like this and not told to sit down?
Residents of Darlington will be pleased to know that Councillor Williams deemed missing the final of Master Chef of more importance than debating the level of council tax that we should be paying in this town. I think that sums up his level of interest and committment.
Councillor Williams(Lab Leader) saying that he did not know that our group was made up of Conservative and Independent Councillors! Freedom of speech and autonomous thinking are not qualities recognised by the Labour Party. This ability is somehow removed when they sign up, maybe an injection or a tablet?
What amazes me is how robustly the Labour Whip is yielded, I would have imagined that there would be one rebel.
The amendment was lost, of course, even though the Lib Dems voted with us.
I have this hope that one day one of the red sheep of the Labour group will see common sense and make a decision for themselves and vote with the sensible option and not just how they are told to vote. I may be an old lady before this sight is beheld in the council chamber but I live in hope. My life would be complete...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Jade Goody now Mrs Tweed ---
23 Feb 2009
There has been a lot of discussion around the media coverage that has surrounded Jades illness.
According to BBC Tees today, one in five women in Darlington are failing to take up the invitation from their GP for cervical screening. It's estimated that screening for cervical cancer using the smear test saves up to 6,000 lives a year in the UK.
Reports today claim that the uptake for smear tests has increased thanks to Jades highlighting of the issue.
I have spoken to several friends recently who have now decided that it would be prudent to have this simple procedure.
I am presuming therefore, that she will be responsible for the saving of many lives across the country and we may begin to see women coming forward telling their stories that they were prompted by her illness to be screened which resulted in an early diagnosis. That is a positive legacy that Jades family can be proud of.
Whatever we think, the fact remains that if she chooses to spend her last days of her life in front of the camera, it is beacuse that is what she wants. It is important that she has her last wishes and who are we to critise that.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Another Labour U-Turn ---
20 Feb 2009
The general public at large have lost faith in Politicians because they tell you one thing and then do another, or change their mind.
So, it come as no surprise that fellow blogger, Labour Councillor Nick Wallis has changed his mind about the need for supported bus services in Harrowgate Hill.
A couple of months ago he was critising us and the wider Tory group in Darlingon for wanting to support these bus services. Now he supports the council to provide the services. Contrary.
Read Nicks blog article
We have from day one supported the need for this service and have encouraged the council to do so, this council spends half a million pounds on supported bus services and so why should some of this not be spent in Harrowgate Hill in area that has low car ownership and ageing population?
We have campaigned for 8 months and the evidence of our work is as follows -
• We have had meetings with Arriva and local residents.
• We have delivered bus survey forms to residents in the affected areas.
• We petitioned the Council and Arriva
• We have raised this issue twice at Full Council meetings
• We have raised this issue four times at Cabinet meetings.
• We tabled a report to Scrutiny Committee highlighting the issues for residents and evidence that this service is needed.
Nick comments that the Labour people "have worked hard on this issue together with local residents". If thats the case, let us see the evidence of EXACTLY what they have done, not just a sound bite. Shall I translate "working hard" in Labour terms means doing nothing but turning up a photo call and a few quotes. Labour spin doctoring..
Four times I presented in front of the Cabinet and the third visit, I was asked by the Leader of the Council John Williams, why do I keep coming back with the same subject when they have said NO in no uncertain terms.
I pointed out to his at next Full Council meeting that "It is quite simple, part our ward does not have a bus service, they need a bus service and it is our job as ward councillors to make sure they get what they need, maybe Councillor Williams is not familiar with this phenomena of fighting for want people need"
As ward councillors we are pleased that a service has been restored and a final thanks to all the residents who have campaigned, signed petitions, commented to Arriva, commented to the council, commented to us, filled in bus survey forms, completed questionnaires, held meetings and attended Talking Together Events.
It is the community effort and spirit that has made the council change their mind and provide this much needed service.
Thanks for all the phone calls and messages of appreciation from people living in that area.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Save the Great British Pub ---
20 Feb 2009
Jeremy Hunt has urged communities to get behind their local pub at the launch of a campaign to Save the Great British Pub.
Faced with steep tax rises and increasing regulation, the future of many pubs is under threat, with nearly six a day closing.
Jeremy, the Shadow Culture Secretary, stressed the importance of British pubs, describing them as “a critical part of our heritage” and “hubs for local communities”.
And he attacked Labour for punishing responsible drinkers and landlords:
“With massive tax hikes and heavy-handed regulation, all Labour will succeed in doing is closing down more pubs. This has to stop. We should be proud of our brewers and proud of our pub industry and do what we can to support it - which is why today we are launching this campaign.”
Mark Prisk, the Shadow Business Minister, added, “Pubs are often small, family-run businesses - not only are they the social heart of their communities, they also provide jobs, and support the British brewing industry. Now, in the face of great adversity, we must do all we can to save our local pub.”
I could not agree more, as a successful pub campaigner.
And what would I do without the White Horse when I too tired to cook a meal. The smell when getting out of the car after a hard day at work is just so alluring..
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Vibrant Local Democracy ---
17 Feb 2009
David Cameron is publishing the Party’s new consultative green paper on localism. This is an exciting opportunity as it sets out clear and detailed ways in which we can give local representatives the real power they need to be able to serve their communities.
As a ward councillor, I welcome these plans and hope soon for a General Election.
• Letting councils choose their own organisational structure, such as returning to the Committee system if you wish.
• But building on the success of the London Mayor, giving citizens in the large cities of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Wakefield, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, with the opportunity to choose whether to have an elected mayor, through a mayoral referendums. The referendums would take place on the same day to ignite a national public debate.
• Abolishing Comprehensive Area Assessment – which looks to be just as burdensome as its predecessor, and further curtailing the number of central targets imposed on councils.
• Empowering citizens, not Whitehall, to ensure value for money by requiring more detailed information on local (and central) government expenditure to be published online.
• Continuing the work of the Lifting the Burdens Task Force to identify unnecessary burdens, and putting its recommendations into practice.
• Ending all forced unitary amalgamations of local authorities which have not already gone ahead – such as cancelling those planned in Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon.
• Abolishing Labour’s new Infrastructure Planning Commission quango.
• Scrapping the Standards Board and repealing the flawed ‘pre-determination’ rules that prevent councillors from standing up for constituents’ views on local issues.
• Abandoning plans to regionalise local fire services, while providing new measures to enhance resilience in the case of a national emergency.
Gordon Brown’s target-driven, top-down government has hindered strong local economies and discouraged civic pride. We will bring councillors and their constituents closer to the levers of power. This will start to restore the trust that has been lost in our political system under Labour.
I think the simple conclusion to the above is less bearucracy, end of quangos and devolution of power to ward councillor level.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Subsidised Bus Routes in Harrowgate Hill ---
16 Feb 2009
Following a long campaign by us and residents in the ward, the Economy and Environment Scrutiny Committee have agreed today to recommend to Cabinet to subsidise the 6A/6B route for evenings and a new route to service the loop of Mayfair/Laburnam/Glebe Road, after this service was stopped on 20th July last year.
As ward councillors we have alongside local residents been campaigning to have this route restored since it was stopped in July last year.
To achieve this we have done the following -
We have had meetings with Arriva and local residents.
We have delivered bus survey forms to residents in the affected areas.
We have brought up this issue twice at full council.
We have presented to the Cabinet three times in an attempt to restore the route.
Today, at Scrutiny Committee, we tabled a report highlighting the issues for residents and evidence that this service is needed.
We would like to thank all members of the committee for the positive response to our paper and we are grateful that they have made the recommendation, thanks in particular to the Chair Councillor Stella Robson for her understanding of the issues faced by these residents.
Lets hope Cabinet agree with us all that these subsidies should go ahead.
A final thanks to all the residents who have campaigned, signed petitions, commented to Arriva, commented to the council, commented to us, filled in bus survey forms, completed questionnaires, held meetings and attended Talking Together Events.
It is the community effort and spirit that has allowed this issue to progress to the current stage.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| A Message from David Cameron ---
12 Feb 2009
"This morning we learnt that Sir James Crosby had resigned from his position as Deputy Chairman of the City watchdog - the Financial Services Authority. This was because of an allegation made about his time as Chief Executive of HBOS. A former employee claims Sir James Crosby sacked him for saying that the bank was taking on too much risk.
Why is all this so important? For three reasons. First, because it raises questions about Gordon Brown's judgement. Sir James Crosby is one of his trusted economic advisers and the man he put in place to oversee the regulation of our banks. The turn of events now shows Gordon Brown's misjudgement in putting him in such an important role.
Second, it raises questions about Gordon Brown's character. In the House of Commons today, I asked the Prime Minister to apologise for getting this judgement call wrong. But, as ever, he refused. Be it for claiming to end boom or bust, failing to regulate our banks, or now this, the Prime Minister is simply unable to admit when he's got things wrong - so I don't believe he can be the man to put things right.
And third, it raises questions about the way this Government works. The immediate events leading up to Sir James Crosby's resignation are still not clear. Was it his decision? Or was he pushed in order to make life easier for the Government? Whatever happened, I suspect this will not be the last of the resignations we see to save this Government's political skin"
Pass this message onto family and friends.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Judgement Day ---
12 Feb 2009
Today was the day of reckoning following my week of glutony in Edinburgh.
The trip started with fish and chips, coffee and cake in Alnwick and ended with a Cadburys easter egg in the car on the way home and finally concluded with smothered chicken,a stack of Amercian pancakes with Maple syrup in the White Horse!
I was pleased to discover tonight that I had only put on a pound, which is nothing short of a miracle, Mike was wagering that I would have put on the half stone that I had lost!
Total loss is now 7lb and back on the wagon after my temporary fall from grace.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Cameron urges faith in capitalism ---
10 Feb 2009
Conservative leader David Cameron has said people's "faith in capitalism and free enterprise" must be restored despite the global downturn.
The foundations of the economy have been "shaken", creating a need for more emphasis on re-training amid "mass unemployment", he added.
Mr Cameron promised his party would restore Job Clubs and encourage family-friendly working.
Labour accused the Tories of setting out a "direct copy" of its policies.
'Top-down targets'
Speaking at the Social Enterprise Coalition conference in Birmingham, Mr Cameron accused the government of stifling the training system based on out-of-date assumptions of a growing economy in which only a hardcore of unskilled people could not find work.
He called for greater flexibility for people looking for new skills and to attract new providers into the system to deliver training courses.
Mr Cameron confirmed Tory plans to abolish the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), create a £100m fund to help young people who are "not in employment, education or training" and establish a £100 million Adult and Community Learning Fund to provide advice on qualifications and courses.
He said a Tory administration would revive the Job Clubs which helped bring people seeking work together in the last recession and would help employers create 100,000 new apprenticeships a year.
'Shrinking'
Mr Cameron said: "Today, our training system is based on the assumption of a growing economy, the need to focus on a hardcore of people who lack skills and getting companies to increase the skills of those who are already in work.
"And this system is delivered by big bureaucracy and top-down targets.
"But the whole scene has changed. Our economy is now shrinking. And there isn't just a hardcore of people not in work, education or training - we're in an era of mass unemployment.
"We must do all that we can to help those who have been laid off to get back into work as soon as possible."
He also said: "These are times of great anxiety. The foundations of our economy have been shaken - and with it our faith in capitalism and free enterprise.
"The foundations of our society have been fractured and with that has come crime, anti-social behaviour, and family breakdown, poverty, and alienation, and mistrust - in fact, all the things about our society we want to change."
Mr Cameron added: "Change won't be easy - it never is. But it's absolutely necessary - particularly at this time."
But a spokeswoman for Skills Secretary John Denham said of Mr Cameron: "Having failed to own up to his own policies, he is now repeating his own announcements.
"These policies, first set out in July last year, are a direct copy of existing government policy.
"For example, he says he will abolish the LSC when a bill to do just that is already going through Parliament. And a clearing house for apprenticeships and a new careers service for adults are already being set up."
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Back from Edinburgh ---
08 Feb 2009
We have been in Edinburgh for a couple of days and came back on Friday night. We had a very nice meal in The White Horse with family to celebrate Mikes birthday (I wont say how old).
The White Horse certainly does not seem to have been hit by the credit crunch as we struggled to find a table, this is good news. The refurbishment is stylish and comfortable, the food is reasonably priced and very good, we can recommend the desserts, any of them, we have tryed them all and have never been disappointed!
Going onto another subject, family members had been into Darlington town centre and commented on the cleanliness and lack of litter. This is a double edged sword really, because although it is nice to have a clean town centre that visitors comment on, at what expense is this to the rest of the Town in terms of deployment of staff?
The other comment was about bus chaos and I quote "you take your life into your hands crossing the road" and went on to say it is dangerous and why has it been set up that way?
Indeed why had it been set up that way?, do we really want visitors to the town to think that Darlingtons bus stop arrangements are a danger to the public?
Perhaps, it is time that those responsible tried taking to residents and visitors in the town centre and talking action before the inevitable happens.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Dementia Strategy ---
08 Feb 2009
I celebrate the launch this week of the National Dementia Strategy, it is long overdue, we have had the National Services Frameworks for other long term conditions such as Diabetes, stroke etc but Dementia always seemed to the one issue the Government seemed reluctant to tackle. Maybe because of its sensitive nature or is it the fact that a lot of people (I include health care professionals here) still beleive that it is an inevitable part of growing older.
Having had personal as well as professional experience in this field, it is a fair, if not somewhat harsh analysis that Dementia care is somewhat of a postcode lottery. It is only those with a strong voice or those with family members who have a strong voice that even seem to get a diagnosis let alone the right treatment. No, you say, not under a Labour Government.
My personal recomendations are that every person of a certain age (the age would be defined by evidence) should be given a screening, this could be a quick memory test performed by any trained Health Care Professional and a referal if appropraite to a Consultant, who would then assess for the suitability of a symtom progression slowing drug such as Aricept. Aricept has been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimers symptoms and improves cognition. It has been shown in clinical trials to benefit patients at all stages of the disease. I cant understand why NICE would not approve the drug for early onset, the only explanation must be cost and the Government purse strings!
From my own personal experience a family member was not advanced enough to receive the drug then within a month too advanced. We have never been provided with a rationale for this decision despite several attempts at questioning.
The second recomendation I would make is that Care Homes should have a high ratio of staff to residents in an EMI unit. Patients need constant supervision, can be demanding and need patience and time to be encouraged to maintain their independence,to be encouraged to continue to make decisions for themselves such as what they would like to wear and what they would like to eat. This all requires high numbers of staff to enable quality care to be delivered to residents in a home-like environment.
Time will tell if this new strategy is going to have serious impact on Dementia care in this country, I remain optimistic...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Maths Taskforce ---
02 Feb 2009
"Under Labour we have fallen to 24th in the World at Maths, behind countries such as Canada and Korea"
David Cameron and Michael Gove have launched a new Maths Taskforce to be led by Carol Vorderman and examine how to make maths teaching in Britain’s state schools as good as anywhere else in the world.
Under Labour, more than three and a half million children have left school without at least a ‘C’ in maths GSCE – and nearly half of all eleven-year-olds leave primary school without basic numeracy skills.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Weekly Weigh In ---
01 Feb 2009
Forgot to mention that I have lost another pound this week, when I got weighed.
A couple of hearty lunches this week have slowed the loss down, but I did enjoy!
Total Loss 8lbs
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Fuel Poverty ---
01 Feb 2009
According to its own estimates the Government is not on course to meet its targets to eradicate fuel poverty. In 2000 Conservative MP David Amess steered the ground-breaking Warm Homes & Energy Conservation Act into law. The Act required Government to eradicate fuel poverty in vulnerable households by 2010 and the rest of the sector by 2016, but the High Court recently ruled that these targets were in fact discretionary. This was a bitter blow, not least to the 4.5 million older people who (according to a recent Help the Aged survey) plan to live in one room this winter to save on fuel bills.
But, if passed, a new Bill will reinstate the duty in David Amess’s Act to end fuel poverty. Without it, the Government will simply be let off the hook. They have been repeatedly censured by their own Fuel Poverty Advisory Group for their failure to take sufficient action.
The Fuel Poverty Bill is being promoted by the Fuel Poverty Coalition, which includes Consumer Focus, Help the Aged, the Association for the Conservation of Energy, Friends of the Earth and others. While David Heath, the Bill’s principal sponsor, is a Lib Dem MP, it is being co-sponsored by Conservative MPs David Amess, John Gummer, Peter Bottomley and Peter Ainsworth.
The Bill requires the energy efficiency standards of all fuel poor homes to be brought up to the standards enjoyed by new homes. It will also require energy suppliers to provide a social tariff to vulnerable customers in the short term.
The Bill will be debated in Parliament on Friday 20 March – and it is essential that 100 MPs attend, so that we can close the debate and ensure that the Bill obtains a Second Reading. I would therefore urge you to write to your local MP and ask for their commitment to attend on 20th March. And please ask any of your friends and family with an interest in this issue to take this up with their MP as well.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Burtree Lane and Trevone Way ---
30 Jan 2009
We have received complaints from residents that this roundabout is dangerous as cars travelling on Burtree Lane are unaware that there is a roundabout there and fail to slow down to give way.
We have had reports of accidents there which have not been reported to the Police as insurance details were exchanged at the scene of the accidents
We have contacted the council who have confirmed that they will conduct an informal safety audit and report back to us.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Full Council "Talking Together Question" ---
30 Jan 2009
Last night at Full Council I asked the following question of Jenny Chapman, Portfolio Holder for Communities and Engagement -
"I quote from DBC website “*Please note there wasn't enough time to discuss questions 7, 9 and 10. The answers for these questions are the answers that were prepared by the panel and have been sent to the people who tabled the questions”
Why were these answers sent to the people who tabled them and not published on the website in the wider public interest?
Is it true that these unanswered questions were relating to issues with bus services in my ward Harrowgate Hill? Obviously if the all the information had been published I would know the answer to that"
Councillor Chapman responsed that at future events residents will not be required to table questions before the event but that questions will be taken from the floor
Today, I received the following information -
Talking Together Talk Time session: 20th November, 2008 Central Hall, Dolphin Centre
Approximately 25 people attended the event.
A number of key points and inferences stood out from the debate:
• Arriva are perceived to be holding the Council to ransom. They appear to have removed some popular routes.
• From the point of view of economic development there is a paradox in the fact that it is quicker for some residents of the borough to get to Richmond for shopping by bus than it is to get to Darlington town centre.
• There is confusion over the public’s perception of how subsidy is paid to Arriva and clarification was sought over ticketing arrangements.
• Some residents of Harrowgate Hill are desperate for additional opportunities for bus travel and are unsure about the implications of new legislation about how councils can intervene in bus travel arrangements.
• The potential loss of public transport provision for rural parts of the borough would have a critical negative impact on some Darlington residents of all ages. Let’s not lose the rural bus services that were protected last year.
• The number 18 bus goes through Middleton St George the wrong way. The Council are paying for a service that is not what is required.
• Local people wish to be informed of changes to bus routes and timetables as early as possible before the changes are implemented rather than the extremely short notice of changes made to services in July 2008. It was noted that such changes need to be registered with the Traffic Commissioner eight weeks before implementation.
• There is public interest in the precise amount of subsidy paid to Arriva by the Council.
• Are there ways of ensuring commercial viability for some bus routes through the provision of smaller buses?
• Some members of the public feel that the forthcoming Transport Act should bring the Council the power to kick Arriva out and run buses itself.
Online comments:
To date there has been just one comment relating to the number 3 bus service from Mowden to Morton Palms via the town centre. It is a plea for no change to scheduling, a criticism of Arriva management and praise for some of the bus drivers.
Talking Together – informal approaches to Economy and Environment Scrutiny Committee representatives in one-to-one discussion
Just one point was raised. There are no timetables on the bus shelters and the drivers are not helpful.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Full Council "Supported Bus Services" ---
30 Jan 2009
I asked the following questions and made comments to Councillor David Lyonette, Portfolio Holder for Transport -
Here I am again, highlighting the same problem of lack of bus service to our ward, Councillor Williams keeps asking me at Cabinet, why I keep coming back with the same issue. It is quite simple, part our ward does not have a bus service, they need a bus service and it is our job as ward councillors to make sure they get what they need, maybe Councillor Williams is not familiar with this phenomena of fighting for want people need!
I would like to ask Councillor Lyonette why there has not been a proposal recommended for a subsidised bus route to this affected part of our ward?
The evidence is there to support the need for a service-
• This area has a low percentage of car ownership and an ageing population.
• The nearest bus stop for some residents is more than the recommended 300m, therefore not complying with council policy.
• The bus survey conducted before Christmas had an excellent response rate of 156 completed forms from Harrowgate Hill. Some residents stating that they are “desperate for a bus service”
Which leads me to the next question, what further evidence can we supply to Councillor Lyonette to support this need?
This issue is not going to disappear without an appropriate resolution.
We welcome the news that Economy and Environment Scrutiny are to carry out further investigations into the issue through a Task and Finish exercise. We would welcome the opportunity to participate in this process and will be able to provide more evidence to the committee.
We as ward Councillors will continue to raise this issue persistently until a solution is found and to achieve this we are willing to work council officers, Arriva, Councillor Lyonette and Councillor Robson through the Scrutiny process.
The answer was that this issue will be investigated by Scrutiny committee on 12th Febuary at 9.30am.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Tory Lead up Again ---
25 Jan 2009
A new ComRes survey has the Conservatives up to 43% (up 2%); Labour down to 28% (-4%) and the LibDems on 16% (+1%).
Keep up the good work Gordon, you are sleeping walking into an election defeat.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Labour Peers Enquiry ---
25 Jan 2009
"LABOUR peers are prepared to accept fees of up to £120,000 a year to amend laws in the House of Lords on behalf of business clients, a Sunday Times investigation has found.
Four peers — including two former ministers — offered to help undercover reporters posing as lobbyists obtain an amendment in return for cash.
Two of the peers were secretly recorded telling the reporters they had previously secured changes to bills going through parliament to help their clients"
Wonder if they will get the same treatment as Damian Green, this should be interesting...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Bus Service Update ---
23 Jan 2009
Arriva have issued the following update -
Harrowgate Hill Area Issues
We have been involved in discussions with a number of local groups and local councillors with regard to issues involving our bus services in the Harrowgate Hill area. The main issues raised are the lack of availability of seats and the frequency of the services travelling down North Road plus the lack of services to Mayfair, Laburnum and Glebe Roads.
Mayfair, Laburnum & Glebe Roads
The situation regarding Mayfair, Laburnum & Glebe Roads is a simple one as our services don’t have time to access the streets due to the level of traffic using Salters Lane and the difficulty of making some of the vehicle manoeuvres. If the situation can be improved with greater
bus priority then we would be able to serve this area commercially. The changes we would require to speed the journeys up would be a box junction at the entrance to Mayfair Road and traffic lights at the junction of Salters Lane and Glebe Road. These improvements are a minimum standard that would aid the movements of our buses and make the journeys faster and safer. Ideally, we would also need improvements to the road surface on Glebe Road as well as the introduction of bus stops as we need to move away from Hail and Ride as we introduce more low floor buses into service in Darlington. The media have reported a slightly different story and we would prefer people to know our true position.
Future Change – 3rd May 2009
We are planning to change some of our commercially operated services at the same time as Darlington Borough Council plan to review their supported bus services. One of the changes will be to re-introduce service 26 to provide the link between the Town Centre and Harrowgate Farm via Longfield Road. This service will run every 30 minutes during the day Monday to Saturday and hourly on evenings and Sundays. This will then see services 6a/b run via North Road which will improve the number of services we have between the Town Centre and Harrowgate Hill roundabout which will solve our capacity issues. The 6a/b will continue to run half-hourly during the day on Monday to Saturday with an hourly Sunday daytime service. Service 8 will also be retimed to improve the co-ordination of services on North Road to further improve the number of seats available on this key corridor.
My response -
"My feeling about the lack of service to Mayfair/Laburam/Glebe Road have been well documented. I remain deeply disappointed by the failure of the council and Arriva to resolve this problem.
Although the proposed changes to the 6a and 6b are welcomed and may improve the quality of service for some residents. The fact remains that the loop of Mayfair Road, Laburnam and Glebe Road previously serviced by the number 23 remains with out any bus service. Having had meetings with the council and Arriva re this issue it seems that both parties are not interested in the problems faced by residents since this service was stopped in July last year. I have offered a proposal to Arriva that would offer residents an hourly service and this was declined with no sound rationale and this disappoints me. These residents need a service and as ward councillors Mike and I will continue to lobby to resolve the situation and have a bus service restored”
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Townhall Treasure Hunt ---
22 Jan 2009
Today, the children of Harrowgate Hill Primary school took part in a Townhall Treasure Hunt.
They took part in activites such as Democracy Blockbusters, Treasure Hunt and Build Your Own Councillor. They had a tour of the council chamber, met the Mayor and Mayoral Support Officer and were able to ask questions.
Sadly due to other committments, I missed this part of the proceedings but by all accounts the children enjoyed themselves and more importantly learnt some basics of what Councillors do and what happens at the Townhall in a fun way and interactive way.
The children were also presented with an activity booklet which contains information about Councillors, the Council and elections, and provides children with an insight as to the history and role of the Council.
I think it is important for children to have an insight into local democracy, even at a young age they can begin to learn and hopefully by the time they are ready to vote at 18, they will be well informed,interested and realise that their vote is important and be interested in what happens in their local community.
This is an excellent initiative from the council supported by the competent Paul Dalton, who is clearly passionate and enthusiatic about enagaging the young people of Darlington in local democracy
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Weekly Weigh In ---
22 Jan 2009
The weekly trip to Slimming World revealed that I had lost another 3lb this week.
I was pleased after a difficult weekend of watching the family eating crisps and cream eggs.
Total weight loss 7lb
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Bin Tax Shame ---
21 Jan 2009
Labour Ministers must repeal bin tax laws as Gordon Brown is humiliated
No councils want to take part in Gordon Brown’s plans to hit families with new taxes
In a major victory for the Conservative Party campaign against new bin taxes, Labour Ministers were today humiliated into admitting that no councils have bid to become a pilot to introduce the new taxes. Today was the deadline for councils to bid to become the first to introduce them. The Government had planned to introduce the taxes in five councils, before rolling out the taxes nationwide without any vote in Parliament.
Environment Minister Jane Kennedy has today admitted: "No local authorities have expressed an interest in piloting a scheme at this time" (Press Association, 21.01.09).
Conservatives are demanding that the specific bin tax legislation, which received Royal Assent in November, is repealed to kill off the taxes completely. The Party has consistently campaigned against the new taxes since Labour first floated the plans.
Liberal Democrats supported Labour’s bin tax plans.
Caroline Spelman, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, said:
"Bin taxes are now dead in the water. This is a major snub for Gordon Brown and his Labour Ministers. The bin tax laws should now be repealed and taken off the statute book. These unpopular new taxes would harm the environment by fuelling fly-tipping and backyard burning, and hike tax bills for struggling families."
No surprises there, another short-sighted Labour plan binned.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Message from David Cameron ---
20 Jan 2009
"I've made some important changes to the Shadow Cabinet today.
The most significant change is that Ken Clarke has agreed to join George Osborne's economic team as Shadow Business Secretary.
Ken helped bring us out of the last recession and left Gordon Brown a golden economic legacy. He hasn't been in the Shadow Cabinet since then but now, as you can see from this video, he's ready to put in place the policies to bring us out of this recession.
I've also appointed Eric Pickles to be the new Party Chairman. Eric ran Bradford Council in the 80s and has amassed a huge amount of experience in campaigning and local government - I know he will make an excellent Chairman.
Chris Grayling will be the new Shadow Home Secretary. Chris is a very able politician and I look forward to him using his talents to highlight the importance of combating crime and rebuilding confidence in the police force.
Another change is that we'll see Mark Francois joining the Shadow Cabinet for the first time. Having done an excellent job as Shadow Europe Minister Mark is well-placed to prepare us for the European elections coming up in June, and to fend off any resurrection of the idea of joining the Euro.
With these and the other appointments I'm confident that we have the strongest possible team, ready to take the country forward".
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Another Darlington Institution Down the Plughole ---
20 Jan 2009
We have received many phone calls from residents in our ward concerned by the proposals to close the Mayors charity Shop.
The plans do raise more questions than answers and the following questions and comments are after discussions with concerned residents -
1. Have Darlington Council suggested that “The Mayors Social Fund” be dismantled ?
2. If this is not the case, how else can funds, realistically be raised?
3. What justification would there be for diminishing the fund when its work has been so greatly appreciated?
4. If the council does not want to use money from its budget to refurbish present premises, what alternatives could be explored?
5. Could an alternative solution be to relocate to another shop?
6. Could systems be put in place to protect the fund in the future?
In the current economic climate the shop provides a valued service for people.
There is no shortage of volunteers to run the shop.
The revenue raised from the shop that funds local causes is significant.
It seems shortsighted to close the shop without consultation and looking at alternative solutions.
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater..
Another valued Darlington institution to disappear without thought...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| First Week Weigh In ---
18 Jan 2009
I am pleased to announce that I have lost 4lbs in my first week of my healthy eating plan. The weekends are the worst when all the family are munching on chocolate, crisps and snacks and of course the odd glass of wine (not the kids of course)
This weekend, I have had an overwhelming urge for chocolate and cake, but I have not succombed as yet. The night is still young of course and I will have to keep busy. The thing is when you know you cant have something you crave for it! Have you noticed when trying to loose weight you become obsessed with food as soon as you have eaten you are planning your next meal.
Total loss 4lb.
My heart and circulation system will thank me and I should be able to fit into a fab dress for Laurens 18th Birthday Party in May
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
ID Cards - Labour's Bad IDea ---
18 Jan 2009
Labour’s plan to introduce ID cards will cost billions of pounds but will not make us safer and could expose the public to an even greater risk of identity fraud.
ID cards are a very bad IDea – and you can call on the Government to scrap them by signing our petition today.
ID cards will not make us safer:
They do not prevent terrorist attacks – ID cards are compulsory in Spain, but that did not stop the Madrid bombings in 2004
They will not prevent illegal immigration, as foreign visitors will not have to have an ID card unless they plan to stay for more than three months
They won’t prevent human trafficking – only a dedicated Border Police Force can enforce proper checks on people entering and leaving the country
ID cards are a waste of money:
Everybody will have to pay £93 to get one – this is the official estimated price for a combined ID card and passport package
Implementing the scheme will cost up to £20 billion of taxpayers’ money, according to estimates from the London School of Economics
A recipe for disaster:
We’ve had data loss after data loss from this incompetent Government.
The personal details of 25 million individuals, and the bank details of 15 million people, were lost by HM Revenue and Customs
The DVLA lost the details of 3 million learner drivers
The names, addresses and expected release dates of every prisoner in England and Wales were on an unencrypted memory stick that went missing
The introduction of ID cards will see almost 30 separate pieces of personal information about you - including your name, date of birth, previous addresses, photograph, signature, fingerprints and other biometric details – stored in one place.
The potential for another data loss disaster is huge – and that is why it’s vital that everyone who is opposed to ID cards joins our campaign today.
We will scrap the ID cards scheme, and use some of the savings to build more prison places, provide more drug rehabilitation for those in custody and create a dedicated Border Police Force.
ID Cards Petition
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Duncan slams Vadera's comment ---
15 Jan 2009
Alan Duncan has condemned Labour Minister Shriti Vadera for saying we are already seeing "the green shoots of economic recovery".
The Shadow Business Secretary said, "Shriti Vadera's comments go to show how out of touch and insensitive Gordon Brown's ministers are."
Business experts have stressed our economy is deteriorating at a frightening rate:
The British Chambers of Commerce survey results were the worst since they began in 1989
The British Retail Consortium found that retail sales in December were the worst since they began collecting figures in 1995
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research showed that the UK economy's performance in the last three months of 2008 was the worst in 28 years.
The latest export figures show Britain's trade deficit is at a record high of £8.3 billion.
Data from Equifax showed that the number of business failures in 2008 was 18.2% higher than in 2007.
Alan said Baroness Vadera's comment showed "her unsuitability for addressing the difficulties that the victims of Gordon Brown's recession are facing."
Staying positive is always a good thing in the current economic climate, but the comments were insensitive and lacked insight. There is a difference between remaining and positive and just well downright delusion, me thinks the Baroness was suffering from the latter, this is a well recorded phenominum amongst Labour MPs and Local Councillors for that matter...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Councillor Wallis is Missing ---
13 Jan 2009
Fellow, regular blogging colleague Labour Councillor Nick Wallis seems to have dropped off the radar. He has not posted since 24th December 2008, which is unusual for Nick as he is usually a fairly regular blogger, most of it is Nu Labour spin of course but neverless the "spin" is churned out a regular basis!
Could it be because he is bunkered up in the Town Hall with his fellow Portfolio Holders trying to sort the FIVE million pound budget deficit. Wouldnt you just love to be a fly on the wall, all that head scratching and wondering how earth they ended up in this position. It will be a group mantra, "its not our fault its because of the credit crunch". Say it long and you will start to beleive, might help you sleep at night.
Is it really a prudent council that relys on the sale of land to fund a budget, given the current downturn in the market for sale of land. Where was plan B, forgotten about, just like the traffic lights on the Eastern Transport Corridor!
Nicely bringing me on to the next subject of overspends, ETC and Pedestrian Heart. Thats where the reserves have gone, on bad housekeeping. Boom and bust, spend while the going is good, who needs to save for a rainy day, not this council. We will worry about that when it happens, well, breaking news, it has happened!
What are they going to do?
I seem to remember the alternative budget suggested by the Conservative Group last year was treat with much mirth and dismissed without thought. All to crys from the leader of "well, we won the election, not you"
Yes, thats right, which makes this your mess to sort out.
It might be worth pointing out that in two years time we, the Conservative Group are going to inherit a right old finiancial mess from the outgoing Labour council.
Still, good news Conservative Councils have a good repuation for low council tax, front line services, clean and green communities.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Slimming World ---
08 Jan 2009
With the Christmas cake eaten and the Quality Street tin diminishing, I have finally plucked up the courage to join Slimming World as one of my New Years resolutions. I knew I had put on some weight but I was not prepared for the reading on the scales when I stepped onto them. My weight was significantly more than I had expected it to be, it was very much a gulp moment.
However, on reflection, on a positive note at least I am now doing something about, the only way as they say is up, in this case down!
As a qualified Nurse I know what I should be eating, whats good and whats bad for me, the problem lies with motivation not knowledge. The only way I have ever been able to acheive weight loss is through the support that comes from a group.
I chose Slimming World because I have lost weight before through their programme of food optimising.
The master-stroke of genius that makes Food Optimising fast, effective and so easy is Free Food. Free Food offers hundreds of choices of completely Free Foods no weighing, no calculating, no estimating, no counting and not a point or a unit in sight. So you are never hungry, which is why most people give up dieting.
You can have sensible amounts of your favourite foods as long as you count them as syns, of which you are allowed 5-15 per day. You can save up your syns for weekends, so you can still enjoy socialising and eat treats at the weekend. Thats how I tend to operate, save my syns for a good weekend!
I will keep you updated on my progress, my first weigh in is next Thursday.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| New Years Resolutions ---
07 Jan 2009
Alongside the rest of the population, I always make New Years Resolutions, some of which I stick with, some of which I dont. Here they are -
1. To loose weight once the last of the Christmas cake has been eaten.
2. To do more exercise.
3. To stop buying as much processed food and cook more.
4. To bake.
5. To be more organised.
6. To economise.
Most importantly to live life to the full, treat other as you would like to be treat yourself, dont put off until tomorrow what you can do today, be patient and kind, realise your dreams and ambitions and
SMILE
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Covert Plans to Build Bail Hostels ---
07 Jan 2009
Ministers have signed a deal with a private company to build 200 hostels to house bailed offenders, those released on home curfew with electronic tags and people awaiting trial.
The leaked memo advises local authorities that councillors and residents will not be advised of plans to build a hostel until they have been approved.
Even if they find out about the plans, councils have no rights to object to hostels unless they breach housing and planning rules.
Has this Government gone mad, how on earth does it think that it is going to get away avoiding public consultation, they seem to conveniently forget about human rights when it suits them.
Councillors and residents have a right to comment on any proposed plans for their communities. This corrodes even further a local councillors ability to represent the people who elected them, this time by central government.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Help the Hospice ---
16 Dec 2008
St Teresa's Hospice is having a Christmas fundraising event at Lingfield Point in Darlington on Saturday, December 20. The event joins local choirs and musicians from Durham and Tees Valley all volunteering their services in aid of St Teresa's.
There is a fabulous hamper that was donated by the lottery winners Paul and Sue Watson from Cockerton who won £1.2 million in January 2007. The hamper will form the centrepiece of a grand raffle to be drawn at a Christmas fundraising event. I purchased some tickets at £2 each.
The hospice relies heavily on support from local people and organisations and donations of clothes and bric-a-brac can be left at the Meadow in Lingfield House at Lingfield Point.
I have today delivered 7 bags of clothes and toys that the children have grown out of to the Meadow. There is a tree and you can write a personal message on a decoration for a loved one to go on the tree.
Please contact us if you have anything to donate and we will collect and deliver it to Lingfield Point for you.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Santa Attack ---
14 Dec 2008
Our giant 8 foot Santa in the front garden was attacked last night, we got up this morning to find him face down on the mud! Someone who had probably had a drink or two thought it would be funny.
Not to worry he has received some first aid from the North Pole and is again in all his glory making people smile.
The greatest sight I have seen in a while was one day this week when there was a bit of a wind up and Santa looks like he was waiving,a bus of very young school children went past and so see there faces smiling and waiving back vigorously at Santa made my day.
To the Santa attacker, we have your footprint and we know what size shoe you take!
It would be a shame to disappoint all of the kiddies that pass our house every day if Santa were to suffer anymore drunken shenanigans.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| North Yorks Youngsters to miss out ---
08 Dec 2008
MILLIONS of children will enjoy free swimming in town hall pools from next April - but not in North Yorkshire or Darlington.
Despite 60% of councils across the country scrapping charges for the under 16s from April next year, Only one of the eight local authorities in North Yorks - the City of York - has signed up to the government’s scheme to scrap pool charges for under-16s.
This is despite comments from its own Government Ministers. Baroness Morgan, the children’s minister, said maintaining charges was an obstacle to the government’s aim of “every child being able to swim, where they want, when they want”.
And the Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: “Swimming is fun and has universal appeal - and yet charges can deter people. 2009 is the year to get your trunks on!”
Not if you live in North Yorks or Darlington, Andy....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Supported Bus Services ---
04 Dec 2008
Evidence about travel needs for bus services that are funded by the Council has been collected from the several sources. A report was taken to Cabinet on Tuesday night with recommendations for the tendering of contracts that complement commercially operated bus routes.
Despite 21% (156) of the replies were from residents in Harrowgate Hill as well as comments from residents at the “Talking Together” event on the 20th November stating that “some residents of Harrowgate Hill are desperate for additional opportunities for bus travel”.
The Cabinet have again ignored feedback from residents of the ward and have not even recommended to tender for a bus service to Mayfair Road, Laburnam Road and Glebe Road.
Despite the evidence of
1. 156 replies to the bus survey from the ward (21% of the overall response).
2. Feedback at the Talking Together Event.
3. Petitions.
4. Complaints to Arriva by residents.
5. Many residents in this area live 420m from the nearest bus stop which is 120m more than the guideline in the councils bus strategy, breaching their own policy.
6. Reports from people traveling on the 6a and 6b buses that they are stood idle for 20 minutes in every hour, which does not make commercical sense and would allow the time to re-route the buses down Mayfair Road to collect these passengers.
Despite my attempts to convince the Cabinet that the elderly people who live in this part of the ward, many of whom have health related issues that does not allow them to walk very far, really do need this service. My pleas were ignored and I was asked by John Williams why I keep coming back to Cabinet with this same issue. The answer is quite simple, these residents need this service and it is my role as their ward councillor to be their voice.
On a wider town issue I also presented a piece of work given to me by a resident that listed all of the streets/areas of the town that no longer serviced by a bus route. This has been distributed to all councillors, Alan Milburn MP, the Northern Echo and senior officer within the council. It asks more questions than it answers.
1. Why have the council allowed Arriva to downgrade the bus service in this town to such a degree?
2. What is our MP going to do about this issue now it has been brought ot his attention?
3. Why recently when Alan Milburn had a meeting in our ward with residents about the buses were we not invited as ward councillors. As MP for the town he should be inclusive with all elected members of the council in the best interests of residents of the town.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Xmas Tree Time ---
28 Nov 2008
We decided that for the first time ever we were going to put the tree up in November, a bit of sparkle and tinsel does not go amiss given the current economic climate.
Our previous colour scheme for the past 10 years has been silver and lilac, so I decided it was time for a change and that our tree should be more victorian in style in keeping with the period of the house. So I have been avidly purchasing new tree ornaments in red and silver.
However, I am seriously lacking in tree decoration skills and always think that everyone elses tree always looks much better than ours and in reality that is the case. So this year with great expectations we all set out to decorate the tree, the end result is half decent, the journey to get this done was frought with squabbling,huffing and puffing. We just couldnt get it to look "right", three sets of lights later, eureka. It is all in the lights...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| The Joys of Christmas Shopping ---
24 Nov 2008
Having just spent the last week on holiday, I used the time wisely to get some Christmas shopping done. I love the browsing all the Chrismasy gifts and the shop windows, well, lets face it what woman dosnt like shopping, its in our genetic makeup!
However, the one issue I have is parking, in particular disabled parking. I took Mum to Teesside Park because the shops all have disabled bays outside, which is perfect for someone who cant walk very far and we work our way around the park starting at one end using the bays outside each shop. However, we arrived at 10.30am and after 20 minutes of "kerb crawling" could not get parked outside Argos or M&S. It is one of Mums few pleasures in life shopping at M&S and it was the special occasion of buying the Christmas cake and pudding. As not to be disappointed we proceeded onto Redcar, where we got parked outside the M&S on the sea front.
The difference between the two locations is that Redcar front is patrolled by Traffic Wardens and if you park there without a disabled badge you will be ticketed, they are fairly rigorous with their patrols. Parking is a big problem at this time of year at Teesside Park and it makes my blood boil to watch able bodied people parking in a bay to nip into Argos for a catalogue when we can not get parked within walking distance. It is a lack of thought for other people and an example selfish behaviour often seen in our society today.
So it would make sense for the disabled bays to be patrolled at this time of year and for a friendly "move on" given to people not eligible to park there. Then, everyone old and young can have a fantastic Christmas shopping experience.
Rant over, for now...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Did You Know ---
08 Nov 2008
Did you know that pet owners visit their GP 30% less than people who do not have a pet. Having a pet also lowers your levels of stress.
Children who have pet animals at home have stronger immune systems and are less likely to take days off school sick, a study suggests.
We are just getting our house put back together again after a year of Daisys chewing....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Penalty Ends for Topping Up Care ---
04 Nov 2008
Thousands of patients will learn today that they can pay for the latest drugs to "top up" care from the NHS.
Ministers are expected to announce that there is no legal reason why patients should forfeit their free NHS treatment if they pay for extra drugs, despite accusations that this contradicts the founding principles of a publicly funded health service.
So therefore logically if "there are no legal reason why patients should forfeit their free NHS treatment if they pay for extra drugs", does this mean that the NHS has acted illegally by denying these patients NHS treatment? Are they leaving themselves open to a legal challenges by patients who had previously had to sell their worldly goods to fund their treatment?
NHS guidelines state that patients should not mix and match public and private treatments in the same "episode of care", but at least 30 hospitals in England allow patients to do this. This shows no constiency of application of the policy and a postcode lottery for receiving care.
Some will welcome this decision and others will be concerned that this will cause a two tier health system. But, those patients and their families affected by cancer dont care about the politics involved, all they are interested in is survival or extending their lives, its is as simple as that, they would sell their house and all their worldly goods in order to live, its a basic human survival instinct.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Sleet and Rain in Norfolk ---
02 Nov 2008
Having returned from a cold week of rain and sleet in Norfolk. Actually we had a couple of quite sunny days, when I say sunny, I mean winter sun not the kind of humid heat that would be available in hotter climes!
What a strange week in terms of news. I noticed before going away that there was a notable sense of looming financial diaster in conversations with friends and colleagues. Some people going as far as to say that they had stopped watching the news because it was all doom and gloom. So imagine my surprise that the hot news topic for last week was the Ross/Brand episode. I am not going to comment on the rights or wrongs of the situation, that has been done in every office, home and shop in the country.
What I find hard to beleive is the amount of press and TV coverage this has been given.
But perhaps the truth is that this has been a welcome break from the harsh reality of the country being in financial meltdown. This could be why it has been given so much consideration by people because it has given them something else to think about other than the cost of gas, electricty, petrol, mortgage and xmas presents.
Gordon must be clapping his hands, it has taken the heat off him for a small while...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Ben and Jerry ---
24 Oct 2008
As regular readers know my blog can sometimes be described as a bit random (I like to think ecletic), flitting between Politics, local issues, nursing, family and the plain old boring. So, as not to let the reputation down, I have decided to blog today about ice cream, but not just any old ice cream, Ben and Jerrys taste heaven.
The story goes like this....
Back in ’66, in a school gym class, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield found they hated running but loved food. Years later in ’78, Ben had been fired from a series of McJobs while Jerry had failed for the second time to get into medical school. So, armed with a $5 correspondence course in ice cream making, they opened their first scoop shop in a dilapidated gas station in Burlington, Vermont.
They soon became popular in the local community for the finest all natural ice cream. Ben had no sense of taste so he relied on what he called ‘mouth feel’, so big chunks of chocolate, fruit and nut became their signature. While they disagreed at times over the chunk size, they did agree that they wanted to enjoy themselves – as Jerry put it ‘if it’s not fun, why do it?’.
In the early days the boys were pretty bad at book-keeping. After two months they closed the store and hung a sign that said ‘we’re closed to figure out whether we’re making any money’. And they weren’t. But they learned a lot and by 1979, began wholesaling pints of ice cream out of Ben’s VW campervan. The rest, as they say, is history.
Flavours include -
Strawberry cheesecake
Bohemian Rhapsody
Caramel Chew Chew
Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Phish food
Fossil Fuel
Half Baked
Cookie Dough
Chunky Monkey
Vanilla Toffee Crunch
Vanilla
Cherry Glacia
New flavours, Jamacian Me Crazy, Mango Berry Swirl and Baked Alaska
My all time favourite is Cookie Dough, which is Vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate cookie dough, closely followed by Bohemian Rhapsody, which is Vanilla ice cream with fudge brownies and raspberry swirls. The kids favourite is cookie dough and Mike likes choclate fudge brownie.
Why the sudden interest in ice cream I hear you say, well because although this ice cream is a taste sensation, at £3.75 for a 500ml tub is works out as a expensive luxury.
But the other night I got a text from Lauren saying that Morrisons have a half price offer, you would have thought she had won the lottery. Since then I have had regular trips to Morrison to stock up.
There was a shocked silence when the first tub came out of the freezer and I got four bowls out to share one 500ml tub. The kids can manage a whole tub each, Mike can eat half a tub but three scoops is my limit.
Dont tell anyone but there are two tubs hidden behind the frozen chips in the freezer...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| The Golden Hour ---
23 Oct 2008
Last night was the first in a new series following the Great North Air Ambulance as they rescue critically injured patients from some of the most remote parts of Britain's landscape. The clock is ticking for all three teams as they strive to reach and treat their patients within the first sixty minutes of their accident - the Golden Hour.
Last nights episode highlighted the fact that getting medical assistance to people within 60 minutes can make a big difference to their chances of survival.
The Golden Hour is defined as the time period of one hour in which the lives of a majority of critically injured trauma patients can be saved if definitive surgical intervention is provided. Only 60 minutes from the moment of injury to notify the police; dispatch an ambulance to the scene; transport the victim to a hospital; summon the appropriate surgical and support staff; and perform the necessary life-saving surgery
The episode was fairly graphic showing people trapped in mangled vehicles screaming with pain. It certainly highlighted the responsiveness and professionalism of the services involved.
Having been involved in a major RTA sometime ago, it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and a slight quesy feeling in the pit of my stomach watching these programmes. The marked difference was that my accident was in Cyprus about 20 years ago and the emergency services available can only be described as basic. I am told that the ambulance took 20 minutes to arrive and I use the term ambulance loosely, it was in fact a transit van!
No fire service in attendance,the ambulance drivers just stratched their heads as to how to get me out, it was thanks to a British Tourist who nipped into a factory opposite to get a crow bar to prise the car door off.
There was no spinal board or ten man lift to get me out, they just grabbed me under the arms and tryed to drag, until I became conscious and started screaming, my leg had done a 180 degree turn as I had complete mid shaft femur break. I then panicked because I realised what had happened and I did not want to go to the local hospital as I had heard too many horror stories. Someone recognised me and came with me in the ambulance to make sure they took to the military base, this was no time to worry about offending the locals that I did not want to go to their hospital!
No fluids or Morphine just a bandage and a quick dash to the Akroteri RAF base where they took me into theatre.
Thought that might cheer you up...
But the programme last night highlighted the need to get major traumas and other conditions such as heart attack and stroke to a hospital quickly.
The National Services Framework (NSF) standard is that people suffering from a heart attack should receive thrombolytic therapy within 60 minutes of calling for professional help. Evidence shows that the risk of mortality is reduced by early administration of the drugs.
The National Service Framework (NSF) standard is that anyone with a suspected stroke is taken immediately by ambulance to a hospital with a specialist stroke unit which provides thrombolysis (a clot busting drug) within 3 hours or other treatment that can minimise the effects of a stroke.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Youth Champion for Darlington ---
20 Oct 2008
Congratulations to Councillor Chris McEwan who is the portfolio holder for Children's Services in winning the "Im a Councillor" event. He is now crowned King of the Jungle and is the Youth Champion for Darlington.
The young people came up with some interesting ideas and discussion and it is up to Chris now to move this forward.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| By-election Part 2 ---
17 Oct 2008
Having read some fairly "strong" comments from fellow bloggers Nick Wallis, Mike Barker and Peter Barron, as well as the front page headlines of the Northern Echo screaming out "ludicrous", I would like to highlight a few issues about councillors acheiving work life balance. This is not intended to defend Steve Jones but merely highlight some of the issues involved.
The Local Government Information Unit offers a publication "Promoting Councillor Diversity". This publication offers suggestions on how councils can encourage a greater range of people to consider standing for public office.
It says "At present the figures speak for themselves. Councillors are predominately male, middle aged, white and middle-class. To continue to be legitimately considered as the voice of local people, councils need to address how a more diverse range of people can become councillors. If they do not, councils risk being thought of as remote, unrepresentative and failing to take up the breadth of talent among under-represented groups"
I do firmly beleive in this philosophy, it is important that a council has elected members who are able to reflect the views of their residents and understand the issues that affect their lives.
Therefore, the council is made up of members with a varying age range and this enables diversity, but will mean that some members have jobs and families and this brings about a work life balance challenge.
There is a statutory obligation for employers to give councillors time off for council duties unpaid. Certainly, the NHS has a policy allowing up to 28 days per year. The problem is fufilling this operationally. My own circumstances working within a team are that there is a minimal number of nurses required to maintain patient care and this clearly makes it very difficult to take time off without comprising the patients and my colleagues. But, I do have the flexibilty to swap days off with colleagues and this generosity allows me to fulfill my council duties as well as maintaining professional standards.
I can imagine many scenerios, small businesses for example that may have only a small number of employees which could result in a detrimental effect to the viability of the business allowing employees time off for council duties.
Diversity comes with its challenges and I would just like to provide some balance to the debate.
There is always two sides to a story.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| By-election Gossip ---
16 Oct 2008
The by-election in North Road could turn out to be an interesting proposition and will certainly help with the Winter blues.
I sometimes wonder if I am the only person that struggles to get out bed at this time of the year. I dread the alarm going off and reguarly turn the alarm off and go back to sleep, as happened this morning, resulting in spending the day looking and feeling like you have just rolled out of bed!
According to my fellow blogger, Labour councillor Nick Wallis, our predecessor John Vasey has been dusted down and brought of the closet by Labour to stand in North Road. I'm quite surprised, I thought John would have waited for a safe Labour seat, not that any seat is safe for Labour given the recent bye-election history.
Fellow Lib Dem blogger Mike Barker, reports on his blog that Steve Jones wife has collected a nomination form from the Town Hall. How on earth does Mike find this information out, he is better informed than MI5. Mike shouldnt you be busy selling flapjacks and soya milk?
Given my recent premature departure from the Big Councillor house, Nick thinks that this "may not be good news for the Conservatives' long-term prospects in the town". He has got a good imagination, so he has. Keep thinking positive Nick, while Rome burns and all that!
He has also described myself and colleague Kate Davies as "two of the most aggressive younger councillors amongst the Tories' 2007 intake".
I think he may have got a bit confused between aggressive and challenging. It is the job of the opposition to challenge decisions made by the controlling group. Thought Nick might have known that given his 17 years in politics compared to us "newbies"
Aggressive, now thats what you call John Williams at Cabinet when you ask a simple question that does not suit.
But he does describe me as being young so given my big birthday this year, I have to thank him.
Keep blogging Nick, it has better effect than any SAD light box....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Fuel Bill Shock ---
14 Oct 2008
We received our duel fuel bill today and what a shock it was.
Although we are actually in credit, they have estimated our useage for the next 18 months and included the price increase. This has resulted in a massive monthly payment.
The problem is we have an old house which is not particulary fuel efficient and we have a central heating system that should be in retirement. The heating system really is bad, you can come in from work and wonder if the heating is on at all.
We have decided at a family meeting tonight that we need to make all efforts to save as much as possible and make sure that we switch everything off before going to bed.
This is going to be a real problem for many families this winter and the Government needs to step in and make sure it offers help to those that need it.
My concern as a District Nurse is that many of the elderly people are going to have to make a choice between eating or heating and this is an intolerable situation.
On a lighter note Kieran is already making big efforts saving money on the bathing and washing clothes front.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Eviction ---
13 Oct 2008
"Councillor Gill Cartwright, please leave the big councillor house you have been evicted"
Sadly, I have the honour of being the first councillor evicted in the local democracy event "Im a Councillor".
I have enjoyed taking part and enjoyed talking to the young people at Hurworth School on Friday. After my initial nerves I got into the flow of things. I was aked some interesting questions and as result have more insight into what it is young people want and think.
I took part because I beleive that it is important to promote democracy amongst young people and I do beleive that sometimes young people get a raw deal when it comes to peoples attitudes.
On the Im a Councillor web site, I have a big evicted sticker across my photo....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Credit Crunch Hits Darlington Council ---
07 Oct 2008
It has been reported in the Echo today that the council is expected to be 1.8 million pound in the red at the end of the year. They are struggling to sell off £10 million of assets and Officers are blaming the credit crunch for the collapse of two significant deals as they look to balance the books.
The sites of the former Beaumont Hill and Springfield primary schools remain unsold and make up the majority of the £10m.
With little likelihood of the deals being resurrected before March 2009, the council is already planning for life without the money.
Council hit by financial crisis
Better start saving up now to pay next years council tax bill
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Holwood Grove and Harrowgate Farm ---
07 Oct 2008
I was please to see today that the piece of land in Holmwood Grove at the back of Ashleigh House has been cleared at OUR request.
The flower beds around the Tintagel area on Harrowgate Farm have been weeded and the shrubs pruned.
A big THANKYOU to the Streetscene team.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Im a Councillor Event ---
06 Oct 2008
I'm a Councillor is a web event which breaks down barriers and gets councillors and young people talking. And it's fun!
Young People - get engaged with local democracy
Councillors - find out about how young people feel, their concerns and enthusiasms
Teachers - get a ready-made, memorable way to teach citizenship, where the work is all done for them
For the two weeks of the event, young people use web technology they feel comfortable with, to 'meet' local councillors from their area. They ask questions and have live chats with councillors, and then vote for their favourite to become 'youth champion' for the area.
IAC brings people together, gives young people a voice and teaches them about local democracy, in a fun and memorable way!
This year's event will run 6th - 17th October 2008.
IAC is the centrepiece of Local Democracy Week, part of the LGA's campaign to make local democracy relevant and useful to young people.
The event started today and already we have had questions about anti-social behaviour, CCTV, feminism and what it is councillors do.
There are 3 Labour Councillors, 1 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservative councillors taking part in the event. We will be visiting schools, taking part in question time events and generally engaging with the younger members of our community.
The only downside is the photo on page 2 of the Echo of me holding a blow up crocadile, it would not have been so bad if it had been just in the Darlington section but it has gone regional, much to the amusement of my work colleagues and no doubt some of the patients will have seen it as well.
The price to pay to promote democracy….
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Tory Tony ---
01 Oct 2008
Having been blighted all week with the most dreadful toothache imaginable I took myself off to the Dentist yesterday. So, feeling sorry for myself yesterday afternoon I took to the couch armed with the duvet and a hot water bottle, fortunately the only postive from this that I was able to watch David Camerons key note speech.
It was as expected a sober speech and I personally beleive that this was the right approach. It would have been dangerous to give a "its all Labours fault speech, people are worried enough about their personal finances and would not have appreciated a blame rant. I think that people listening would have appreciated his confidence and plans for how he is going to get the country back on his feet, he demonstrated passion and understanding.
He spoke like a Prime Minister in waiting and dare I say it he has the same charisma and energy that Tony Blair had, a Tory Tony Blair.
I like Sams emerald dress, you never see Sarah Browns wardrobe discussed in the Sunday Times Style magazine...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Local Petitions and Calls for Action ---
16 Sep 2008
"The Government wants to breathe new life into local democracy. That means giving local elected members the space to show a new lead, less red tape and more freedom to spend money on local priorites. But it also means giving local people new opportunites to set the agenda for themselves, to have their say about local services and get things done on issues they care about.
They have taken big steps towards "devolution to the doorstep" in recent years.
In the "The Governance of Britain" the Prime Minister launched a national conversation about renewing local democracy and in October an "Action Plan for Community Empowerment" was published. The above consultations takes forward one of the committments in the plan, to look carefully at the idea of placing a duty on local authorities to respond constructively to the petitions they receive".
Hazel Blears (secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) is considering providing a legislative framework for dealing with local petitions.
Local Petitions and Call for Action Consultation
This gives advice for anyone who is considering starting a petition.
Local Petitions and Call for Action Summary of Responses
This gives the summary of responses and list of consultees
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Seizing the Future ---
15 Sep 2008
As readers are probably aware the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have been reviewing services provided, in a review called "Seizing the Future".
The consultation with the public will take place in October and I will publish dates and times of events and the process for giving feedback to the trust.
As always I welcome comments from residents after the consultation has begun.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Special Delivery ---
12 Sep 2008
 We are please to announce the safe arrival of first niece Jessica Lucy, 9 4oz, born yesterday by c-section at North Tees.
It was an incredibly emotional day all round as the procdeure was delayed slightly which left Mike and I sending text messages every 10 minutes. When the news finally came through that everything had gone to plan, there were tears of relief.
We had a fantastic hour and a half last night cuddling the baby and didnt leave until we had to. Hopefully they should be home tomorrow, so the rest of the family will be able to see her.
She is absolutely gorgeous, you forget how small they are when they are first born.
We are looking forward to babysitting....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Cabinet Meeting ---
10 Sep 2008
I attended the meeting of the Labour Cabinet to hand in the petition signed by 350 residents to have the bus routes reinstated to Harrowgate Farm and Mayfair Road.
The comment forms filled in by residents telling us of how these changes have affected their working, social and everyday life were given to the leader of the council John Williams.
I was told by Councillor Williams that is not them we should be petitioning but Arriva. This is a smoke screen created by the Labour group and the Labour MP Alan Milburn.
If Arriva are telling us that this is not commercially viable for them to run these routes.Then the council has “a duty of care” to provide services to the affected areas. Council taxpayers pay to have services provided and at the moment the authority is not acheiving this in Harrowgate Hill.
I asked the question -
When are the proposals to subsidise the routes to the 5 affected areas of the town going to be considered by the Cabinet as the officers report has suggested?
There seemed to be some trouble understanding this question, it seemed to me to be a simple question.
The recommendation was made by officers in the report to cabinet and i wanted to know on behalf of residents when these proposals were to be put before cabinet?
I was attending the meeting on behalf of residents in my role as elected member for the ward. I look forward to receiving the response to the petition and hope that the time and effort involved by residents is taken into consideration and acted upon accordingly.
The message is loud and clear but are the council going to listen? Or turn their back on the needs of Darlington residents?
Are they going to be the “listening council” or the “deaf council”
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Drinkfield Marsh ---
31 Aug 2008
A quick drizzly walk with Daisy tonight and we were please to notice that the pier on the marsh has been repaired.
We noticed a couple of weeks ago that 6 planks had been removed from the pier making it unsafe, we reported this to the countryside team.
We also noticed that one of the traffic lights on Burtree Lane is leaning to one side, clearly it has been the victim of a collision. This has been reported to the highways department.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| "Speaking for Myself" ---
27 Aug 2008
I have been meaning to blog for a while about the Cherie Blair book "Speaking for Myself".
After all the media hype, i decided to go out and buy it several months ago. I am about half way through it.
The book starts with the anecdote that when leaving Downing Street for the last time a year ago, she called to the press as she got into the government car: "Bye, I won't miss you." Then, as her book relates: "'You can't resist it, can you?' Tony said through clenched teeth as the door closed behind me. 'For God's sake, you're supposed to be dignified, you're supposed to be gracious'." That story embodies Cheries personality.
The book is an interesting read, I was not aware of her upbringing.
She is very open and frank about her childhood and does not shy away from the details of her fathers abandonment of their family. However, there is always a fine line over which not to tread and as much as I admire frankness, the details of Leos conception crossed that line!
She is an excellent Barrister and is clearly passionate about Politics. She adores her husband and her children.
A Socialist and a self proclaimed Feminist, I cant help but like her.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Drug Rationing ---
26 Aug 2008
Britain's top cancer consultants have accused the government’s drugs rationing body of ignoring the plight of patients forced to sell their cars and remortgage their houses to pay for cancer treatments freely available in Europe.
Twenty-six professors blame the severe restrictions imposed by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) on its failure to “get its sums right”.
Nice refuses, on grounds of cost, to recommend some drugs for patients with advanced kidney cancer. The consultants, who include the directors of oncology at Britain’s two biggest cancer hospitals, the Royal Marsden in London and Christie hospital in Manchester, claim there is enough money in the NHS to pay for the drugs.
Their letter to The Sunday Times states: “We now spend similar amounts to Europe on health generally and cancer care in particular, but less than two thirds of the European average on cancer drugs. It just can’t be that everybody else around the world is wrong about access to innovative cancer care and the NHS right in rationing it so severely.” They say: “The time has come for a radical change in how the NHS makes rationing decisions for cancer.”
As a nurse, I understand the desperate plight of these patients, who will sell everything they own in order to buy themselves that bit of extra time with their loved ones.
Why are these drugs so expensive in the first place. I am well aware that Pharmaceutical companies have to make a profit, that is what running a business is all about. But, just how big should these profits be? Is it morally wrong that patients are denied vital treatment because of the desire of these companies to make big profits. I am not saying that this is the case, however, the figures would be an interesting viewing.
NICE provide national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health. But the funds to provide these treatments are not limitless.
So, when 26 Doctors are publically critising the system, then surely it is time that the Politicans, Medics, NICE and the Drug companies sat around a table and sorted this issue out and end the suffering of these patients.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Well Done Longfield ---
21 Aug 2008
The most improved results came from Longfield School, which went from 53 per cent to 73 per cent of pupils gaining five A* to C grades.
I was driving down Longfield Road this morning and saw many happy faces all with their mobile phones, clearly telling their families the good news. I must admit it brought a smile to my face to see young people clearly excited at their well deserved exam results.
Well done to Headteacher Keith Cotgrave, all the staff, students and their families.
Longfield begins its 40th year celebrations with the best ever exam results.
I myself was a pupil at Longfield from 1979-1984. Those of you are good at Maths will be able to work out my age......
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| I-Pod, Wash With Care ---
20 Aug 2008
Whilst getting into my car yesterday morning ready for work, I had a horrible moment when I was unable to locate my beloved I-Pod.
There were 2 options -
1. It was still in my wardrobe.
2. I had left it in my uniform pocket and it had been washed.
A quick phonecall home revealed that option 2 was indeed the case!
To make matters worse, my colleagues at work found it funny as did Mikes Colleagues when I rang him to tell him. So, I was in a decidely bad mood, not receiving any sympathy from anyone as to the loss of my beloved companion.
You see, my Pod is an important possession as I spend a lot of time in the car and listening to music is a pleasure. Anyone who spends a lot of time in their car will relate to this. The music i play reflects my mood and indeed has an influence on it.
My music collection is somewhat elecletic, I have 80s music (Adam and the Ants, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran), Motown, Classic, Rock, Relaxation and Pop Music (Kylie, Sugababes, Coldplay, The Ting Tings, Duffy) In fact there is not much music that I dont like.
Amazingly, last night, I turned it on and it fired up. A testament to the technology and a stroke of luck to be sure.
However, at luchtime Mike had been out and bought me a shiny new 80GB Pod from Currys. Overwhelmed by his kindness, he spoilt the moment by explaining that it was only because he could not stand my complaining!
So, I now have lots of free space to download even more music and there is is a rumour that Spandau Ballet are getting back together.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Bus Wars! ---
14 Aug 2008
Sadly, in Todays Echo we have been critised by our esteemed Labour Cabinet colleague Councillor Nick Wallis.
The move to suddenly challenge Arrivas decision to cut vital bus routes is another fine example of a reactive response instead of a proactive approach by the Labour Group.
They knew about the changes in April but chose not to act.
Hartlepool Borough council reacted quickly and responsibly when their residents were suffering through lack of a bus service to the Headland. So, therefore are Hartlepool Council being a soft touch by susidising this Stagecoach bus service or are they responding to the needs of its residents and prioritizing needs? You decide.
In terms of the accusation that “the Tories are fast becoming the party with apparently limitless cash to fund their pet projects”. Is Councillor Wallis suggesting that free travel before 9.30am for pensioners and vital bus services are pet projects? It would appear so. We consider them vital services that allow people to lead an independent life.
We know that residents in our ward do not think that even basic services are being provided and these cuts to bus services has caused much anger and distress to residents and their families. This Labour council has lost touch with the people it represents and makes decisions without even considering or perhaps even caring about the effects it will have on the people of this town.
It may be a cliché but we do care and we will challenge and continue to challenge decisions that we believe have a detrimental effect on the lives of the people we represent.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Another Proud Day ---
14 Aug 2008
Today was exam result day and as i was off work Lauren wanted me to go with her. I must admit that i didnt have a problem getting out of bed this morning, usually it takes a couple of snoozes on the alarm before i can force myself out bed. I have never been a morning person, I have always stayed tucked up under several duvets until the very last minute, leaving the minimum amount of time to get ready.
But this morning i was awake early. I think that I was more nervous than she was. It never ceases to amaze me how much confidence young people have nowadays, i was incredibly shy at her age (really).
I have to admit to feeling slightly nauseous walking through the doors of the college, as in my day exam results were posted to your home (just as well in my case, thats another story for another day). The atmosphere was, i can only describe as emotional as some students were hugging and clearly pleased with their results and others were in tears clearly suffering from massive disappointment.
The funny part was Lauren got her results but we could not understand what she had got, so there was a moment of panic until we found her form tutor who informed us that she had 4 As. Hugs and kisses all round and i had to swallow hard to stop the tears coming.
She has acheived Law, Sociology, Psychology and Politics at A/S level and is next year going on to take A Level Law, Sociology and psychology.
Well done, Lauren and all of the other students who got their results today....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Media Whores ---
11 Aug 2008
Following an article in todays echo about the continuing saga in Harrowgate Hill of lack of buses to two areas of the ward, we have been accused by fellow blogger Labour Councillor Nick Wallis of being media whores!
nick wallis blog
My response on his blog is -
"Media whore or representing the people? You decide!
The council has a duty of care to provide a service for its residents and as your leader was quick to point at full council, Arriva is a commercial organisation which means there to make a profit. And yes John I do understand what commercial means!
In fact, it was the Cabinet report that noted that five areas in the town would be affected by the commercial decision by Arriva to change the routes and it was recommended in the cabinet report that the council should consider subsidising routes to service these affected areas. All we are simply doing is to try and make sure that these proposals are put to Cabinet sooner rather later or alternative proposals.
But it is a bit naive to even suggest that Arriva (commercial organisation) is going to put services into these areas out of the goodness of their hearts. The decision by Arriva was based on patronage figures that the council have not seen. We have to take their word for it that these routes were not commercially viable? Perhaps they may turn out to be not so commercially unviable as first thought.
As for sending a dubious message to the Post Office and Arriva, it is not them you are serving, it is Darlington residents, for whom you need to provide a service, not worry about being thought of as a soft touch by organisations. It is a shame that you did not worry as much about your reputation with the people of Darlington because you might react quicker to problems like these, as our neighbouring authority Hartlepool has.
It is a bit funny to find a Labour Councillor giving advice on how to inspire long-run confidence amongst the public given the current state of affairs with the country and the lack of confidence within the Labour Party in its leader. It you dont mind, i might just continue to do what i was elected to do and represent the people!"
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Weekly Roundup ---
10 Aug 2008
Apologies to anyone who came to our ward surgery on Tuesday night to find Longfield School locked. We were there for 6pm but found the school locked, even though it had been booked through Democratic Services. Some quick thinking was called for and we held it at home.Thanks to the 4 people who attended and the phone calls we received.
Tintagel - We have asked for the landscaped areas around Tintagel to be litter picked and weeds removed from the beds.
Longfield Road - The issue with Motorbikes has been reported to the Police and anti-social behaviour team.
Holmwood Grove - We asked for a clear up of the backlane in the triangle of Holmwood Grove, North Road and Mayfair Road a couple of weeks ago, which was done the next day. When Mike and i checked the area on Wednesday night we found a similar situation. Streetscene came the next day and cleared the area up again, residents are going to monitor the situation. The Streetcare team has also been asked to remove the paint from the cobbles.
There has been incidents of anti-social behaviour reported in this backlane and this has been reported to the Police and ASB team to deal with.
The piece of land in Holmwood Grove between the end house and the back of Ashleigh House, after some investiagtion does belong to the council and we have been promised the area will tidied up by the end of August. Again residents will monitor and report back to us.
Glebe Road and Longfield Backlane - Potholes have been reported which have been forwarded to Highways Department.
Grass Cutting - Issues with grass cutting have been reported to Streetscene and we are awaiting a response.
Bus Services Changes - We are still receiving comments from residents and will feed these back to the council. We have been told that the situation will be reviewed. More later...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Hectic Harrowgate Hill ---
31 Jul 2008
I am quickly blogging to say sorry for not having had time to blog recently!
We have been on holiday and before that i was at the Arts Centre being Laurens dresser!
I have only had one evening at home in the last three weeks.
We have attended two consultations in the ward this week, one was the Bellway consultation for the proposals for the Beaumont Hill site and tonight we have been to the Banks consultation for the wind farm proposed at Moor House Farm, near Darlington. The land is about three miles east of Barmpton, Brafferton and Little Stainton.
We have information about the wind farm proposal if anyone wishes to contact us. We have asked Bellway homes for information and a set of plans to be sent to us.
As always, i welcome comments from residents about both of these proposals and will be presenting your comments to the planning committee.
Going back to our holidays, the weather was glorious and food plentiful. We had two full days on the beach and went to the airshow at Lowestoft, where we finally saw the Vulcan fly. We had travelled to Wiltshire for the Fairford Air Tattoo which was unfortunately cancelled due to the good old British weather. Mike is a sponsor for the Vulcan to the sky project and i am sure that he will publish some of the photos on his blog. The video footage is not very good as i was in charge of the camera!
It is thanks to Aunty Jen and uncle Dave for taking care of Daisy, we cant report that she behaved herself because she didnt!
We have a good amount of casework in the ward at the moment as well as the issue with the lack of bus service in the ward.
Full of busy....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| MPs Expenses Published ---
16 Jul 2008
The Conservatives have published in full the expenses claimed by all our Front Bench MPs for the last three months.
This comes as part of David Cameron's continued efforts to bring greater openness to the issue of MPs' expenses and allowances.
The information published includes a comprehensive list of staff and their positions, an indication of any family members employed, and a breakdown of office running costs and expenditure incurred by staying away from their main home.
David said:
"Politicians need to do everything they can to regain the trust of the British people, and transparency has a key part to play in that process. We must show that we're spending taxpayers money sensibly and correctly."
And he stressed:
"We are the first party to demand this information from our members, and our MPs are voluntarily revealing a much more detailed breakdown of their expenses than official rules require them to. I'm glad that we're leading the way."
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Shall We Dance ---
16 Jul 2008
The Tyzack Academy are performing "Shall We Dance"
Dates:
16/07/2008 to 19/07/2008
Venue:
Arts Centre
Prices:
£5.50
£7.00
I can personally recommend. I attended the dress rehearsal last night as Lauren has been dancing with the Tyzack Academy for a number of years now. Dance show week is always exciting and extremely exhausting, although this year i have taken this week off as holiday. The Tyzack Academy teaches youngsters to dance in Harrowgate Hill Methodist Church in Lowson Street and a lot of the youngsters live locally.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Not Connected to the Community ---
10 Jul 2008
I attended the meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday night and delivered the following speech -
"I would like to thank the Labour Cabinet for finally doing the right thing by giving pensioners in Darlington free travel before 9:30 a.m.
However, there is also a however, I would like to put it to you that the only reason you have made this U-turn is because of pressure on you have received from the Conservative group and other organisations in Darlington. Or perhaps the decision was prompted by your leader Gordon Browns spectacular U-turn on the 10p tax.
Concessionary travel should have been a top priority when you were putting your budget together. The fact is you tried to make savings by using our pensioners as soft targets. It was a shortsighted decision by a Labour Cabinet who clearly do not understand or care about the needs of elderly and disabled residents of Darlington. If the sums had been correct in the first place, then the amount of money needed could have been found more easily by making savings elsewhere. You place so much importance on the talking together events when in fact it was the opposition group who listened to residents and acted on their behalf to challenge this bad decision.
Thanks to the Labour government's current credit crunch people are having to cut back and prioritise their own needs within their own budget. Residents of Darlington expect the council to behave in the same way by prioritising their needs and spending their money wisely on essential services. There are tough times ahead and this council needs to demonstrate to the people of Darlington that they have the ability to manage council services effectively when money is short. Sadly your original decision certainly failed to reflect that you have this skill
You the Labour Cabinet are out of touch with the people of Darlington, how people think and feel and what they want".
The Labour group are not connected to communities.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| The Mysterious Consultation ---
09 Jul 2008
From yesterdays Echo "A spokeswoman for Darlington Borough Council said: "We were consulted on the new routes, which were drawn up following residents' consultation and other information, including ticket sales"
Residents are outraged because they are telling us that they have not been consulted. If they had been consulted then they have said that we need to maintain the service to all areas.
"The council supports Services 6a and 6b in the evenings and Sundays to allow a route into Harrowgate Farm." Not good enough, we need a full service.
An evidence gathering mission is ahead as well as getting support from local residents.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Henley by-election ---
27 Jun 2008
Results of the by-election
John Howell: Conservative 19,796
Stephen Kearney: Lib Dems 9,680
Mark Stevenson: Green 1,321
Timothy Rait: BNP 1,243
Richard McKenzie: Labour 1,066
Chris Adams: UKIP 843
The results speak volumes.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Debate Over Free Bus Travel ---
26 Jun 2008
My fellow blogger Nick Wallis claims that "The Council has been listening to the views of pensioners, for example at Talking Together events, and this announcement is the result" and then more alarmingly accuses the Tories of spin. Theres more spin in that statement than the magic roundabout!
The cost of providing free travel before 9.30am for concessionary pass holders was stated in the January cabinet report as being £300,000 based on current travel patterns. The council is now claiming that figure is only £200,000 but the figure will not be confirmed until the July cabinet report is produced. This makes the original estimate over a third higher that the current figure being bandied about by the council. If the sums had been correct (or even close) in the first place then the amount of money needed could have been more easily found by making savings elsewhere.
The only reason that the Labour council has made a U-turn decision on providing free travel before 9:30 a.m. is because of the pressure it received from Mike and I, the Conservative group, as well as other organisations such as the Cycling Campaign Group, the Pensioners Forum and the protest that had been organised by angry pensioners who were still working. Let us not be naive, if no pressure had been put on John Williams about this matter, then all pensioners in Darlington would still be paying for their travel before 9.30am.
There is interesting debate between myself and Nick on the Echo web site
Council changes mind on bus concession
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| CSA ---
26 Jun 2008
I am currently doing a piece of work looking at the Child Support Agencys policies and procedures. I am going to produce a report highlighting some interesting loopholes and systematic failings within the system. This will then be used to lobby for change.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who is currently having issues with the system and would be willing to provide advice on individual cases to identify possible maladministration as well as highlighting more potential system failings.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Our Bus Journey ---
17 Jun 2008
 This morning myself, Edward Legard, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Echo reporter Will Roberts and 2 local pensioners boarded the 9.28am number 21 Arriva bus at Whinbush Way.
We had met at 9.15am in Asda car park and observed 2 buses stop on both sides of Whinbush Way, one with 2 passengers and the other was empty. The purpose of todays exercise was see first hand the overcrowding on the buses after 9.30am as a result of the councils bad decision to stop free travel for pensioners before 9.30am. By the time we reached Haughton Road, it was standing room only. I stood up to give my seat to one of the pensioners boarding the bus.
The conditions are appalling with elderly people with walking sticks and shopping bags having to hang onto the straps in an attempt to remain upright.
Edward and I spoke to most of the pass holders on the bus asking them how this change had affected their lives.
One lady said “pensioners are up with the larks and they like to go about their business early”. Others were telling us that they had had to pay for travel to doctors and hospital appointments out of an already dwindling pension with food prices going up.
Another lady told me that her 86 year old Grandad had to walk to early GP appointments because he could not afford the bus fare.
Another told of embarrassment at getting on a bus at 9.27am, forgetting they could not use the pass and not having enough money to pay the fare.
We also met an ex Spitfire Pilot who had served Queen and Country. He told us that he had tried to get on an empty bus at 9.28am to be told he would have to wait for the next one or pay. This is total madness buses running empty whilst other are overcrowded and dangerous. I am sure that the Arriva bus drivers are experiencing frustration at having to turn pensioners away for the sake of a couple of minutes. But that is the fault of the council not Arriva or the drivers.
One lady travelling with us is a pensioner who is still working and travels to work and back home before 9.30am, therefore is unable to use her pass and has to buy a weekly pass from her wages.
The atmosphere on the bus was jovial and everyone appreciated our efforts to try to reverse this decision.
One passenger said “I wish John Williams would get on this bus so he could see first hand what it is like”
If you stand as I did last week on Tubwell Row and watch the buses coming in, before 9.30am most have a handful of passengers, some empty. From approx 9.40am until 10.15am the buses start arriving with standing room only.
Essentially this council has put a curfew on pensioners for the sake of £15 per year per passholder. Is this really how we should be treating the most vulnerable members of our society? It is shameful when money is being wasted by overspending on capital projects such as the Eastern Transport Corridor.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Some Sense at Last ---
12 Jun 2008
I left the following comment on Friday night on the blog of Nick Wallis, Labour Cabinet Member, in response to a challenge asking where i would fund the free travel for pensioners before 9.30am from -
"It has never been the job of the opposition to offer funding suggestions as they are always ridiculed in the chamber.
However, since you ask. How about scrapping the plans to refurbish the council chamber, that would provide the first 100K.
I agree with encouraging the public into the chamber, Mike and i have encouraged this during conversations with people. However, for whatever reason, there is no current overwhelming demand, therefore no need to provide extra seating. When money is short, there is a need to prioritise. We all apply this to theory to our own home life, we dont get a new kitchen if the roof is leaking etc.
So i say when there is a demand for this, that is the time to be looking to address that need and allocating money.
But refurbishing the chamber in the hope that this attracts people to enter seems a short sighted decision when our pensioners are suffering."
Imagine my surprise when i opened the Echo today to discover that Councillor John Williams, the leader of Darlington Borough Council, has said plans for a major refurbishment of the authority's chamber would be too costly.
Coincidence?
He said
"We have other, more pressing priorities so I will be recommending to my colleagues that we look at ways in which we can improve the chamber, for the public, without incurring major costs."
Absolutely agree. So theres the first £100,000 todays the "unconfirmed figure" of £300,000 that is required to give our pensioners free travel before 9.30am.
Right lets find the rest?....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
New on-line book of remembrance ---
10 Jun 2008
IT is now possible to view an on-line, digital version of the Book of Remembrance from Darlington Crematorium.
To give greater access to the Books of Remembrance Darlington Council has a digital version to view on its website at online book of remembrance
The original Books of Remembrance remain on display at the Crematorium, displayed behind glass. Any visitors can view the books displaying the entries for that day.
The Remembrance Room, situated to the rear of the Crematorium on Carmel Road North is open from 9am to 5pm each day.
For those who do not have access to the on-line versions, or who cannot visit the Crematorium on the date relevant to their loved one’s entry in the books, a special appointment can be made to view them at a time when they are available.
For more information, contact the Crematorium office on (01325) 388576.
I have tryed it and it is very easy to use. What a great idea for relatives who live out of town or find it difficult to be able to get to the crematoruim for anniversaries.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Walk for Life ---
08 Jun 2008
The day of the race was finally here and what a scorcher.
We were up unusually early for a Sunday but still i could not get myself organised and ended up coming back to the house for my sun hat.
As we approached the South Park we came across hundreds of women dressed in pink, some in fancy dress (i was offered a chicken outfit by a colleague at work but graciously declined!)
Mikes taxi dropped us off and he went to look for somewhere to park, no easy task.
We met up with others and joined in the warm up. I was ready for a sit down after just the warm up.
There were approx four thousand women taking part and the atmosphere was one of fun although everyone taking part were there for their own reasons. There was a minutes silence to reflect on personal thoughts which was very emotional.
We were off, Lauren was close to the front with the "runners" and i was closer to the back with the "walkers". We did our first lap to discover that someone was already coming up to the finish! I think it was about 20 mins for the winner.
We chatted our way round the course, enjoying the atmosphere, it was very hot.
I knew we werent doing too well when they started to fold up the course ribbon behind us and tidy up!
Lauren finished in 40 minutes and must have been in the first few hundred. However, i finished in approx 1 hour 15 mins (i think) and was definitely in the last few hundred.
However, whether you were first or last it is the taking part that is important, raising money for a good cause.
The marshals were great, clapping, cheering and offering words of encouragement.
We met up with Mike and Daisy for an ice cream. The battery on Mikes camera had run out so he did not get many pictures, which is a shame.
The old knees are playing up tonight and i have sunburn to my shoulders but it was a great experience.
But i wont be feeling so chipper in the morning when i am hobbling out of bed for work.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Daisys Diary ---
06 Jun 2008
I have not blogged for a while about Daisys antics, so i thought that i would remedy that situation.
She is now 8 months and starting to settle down, thank goodness.
She has developed a habit of stealing the ball from other dogs whilst on the beach, even though she has her own. Much to the panic of the other owners
She ran into a game of football on Redcar beach and burst it. As i turned round i watched Mike slip the lead into his pocket and pretend she wasnt with him! It was moi who had to go and apologise, luckily they had a spare ball so it did not ruin the match.
But generally she is much better behaved and calmer. But she still steals socks from the laundry basket and does her Andrex puppy act by stealing toilet rolls.
She loves cuddles though and trys to sit on your knee all 20kg+ of her....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Race for Life ---
05 Jun 2008
Many thanks for the continued support for the race on Sunday.
It has been great to have cross party support.
Please keep the sponsorship coming, i will update the off-line sponsors during the weekend.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Bus Fare Increase ---
03 Jun 2008
As you all know the cost of fuel is continuing to rise and there is no immediate prospect of it reducing significantly in the short term.
Therefore Arriva is increasing the price of their single tickets from Saturday 14 June. This will be the first general increase on single fares for over 14 months and they are planning to keep the increase to a minimum by reintroducing 5p values.
Darlington Borough will be affected as follows:
Fares currently 90 pence will be 95 pence
Fares currently £1.20 will be £1.25 (unless they increased from £1.10 to £1.20 under the fares restructuring 30 March 2008)
Mike Cartwright (Harrowgate Hill Ward Councillor) said
“As a motorist I have seen my own fuel costs increase significantly under this Labour Government, so it comes as no surprise that the public transport providers are feeling the pinch”
“Unfortunately though I fear this latest announcement may affect once again some of the most vulnerable people in our society – the elderly. Having already lost their free early morning bus travel, this is yet another blow for any pensioners”
“Just this morning, we received a telephone call from one of our residents to say that a recent 8.00am GP appointment had cost him £5 in bus fares from his already stretched pension. With the rising cost of food and this new price increase in bus travel we are likely to witness our elderly residents suffer even more hardship.”
“So much for John Williams recent announcement and promise to ‘negotiate’ with Arriva to try to arrange a discount for our pensioners. Perhaps his time would be better spent contacting his Labour colleague Gordon Brown and ‘negotiating’ a reduction in fuel duty and funding for free pensioner bus travel”
Gill Cartwright (Harrowgate Hill Ward Councillor) said
“It would be wrong to blame Arriva for this latest increase. With ever increasing costs, they clearly have no choice but to put up the cost of fares. In my opinion the blame should be laid firmly at the door of Number 10 Downing Street and it’s current occupant Gordon Brown for allowing this countries economy to spiral out of control. “
“It is also time that the Labour controlled Council in Darlington acknowledges the bad decision it has made in withdrawing free early morning bus travel from pensioners and finally listen to the people of this town as opposed to just paying lip service”
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Back From Holidays ---
27 May 2008
We are back from our jollies, a week on the Norfolk coast. The weather was great although a little windy, the food was fab. There is a little restaurant in Sheringham called Crofers that offer local produce and all the deserts are home made. In Cromer we favour the Lifeboat Cafe on the promenade that is about 500 yards from the cottage we stay in. They do a great full english but i prefer the veggie breaky. Fish and chips from Harry Ramsdens in Great Yarmouth after a visit to the sea life centre.
Norwich has all the high street brands that you would expect to find and i had a blow out in Lush buying far too many bath bombs as usual. Coffee in Starbucks and Millies banana and fudge cookies added to the atmosphere of over indulgence.
To add to that home made fudge, biscuits, chocolate, ice-cream and Mikes morning trip to the local bakery for scones and bread.
We did visit lots of local attractions and hired a boat for the afternoon with a picnic of course of local Cromer crab. We did not just spend our time eating as the above impression gives.
Norfolk is a beautiful county and so relaxed. Normal life seems like a million miles away.
I guess it is time to get back to my erm healthy diet that i normally favour....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Post Office Closures ---
13 May 2008
NOT one of the 37 post office branches in the region fighting closure plans has survived a cost-cutting cull, it has been revealed.
Post Office Limited has this morning announced its final decision on the future of branches in Cleveland, South Durham and Richmond.
All 37 of those earmarked for closure since February are to be shut despite protests in many communities during six weeks of public consultation which ended in March.
During the consultation period, Post Office bosses said they received around 2,590 responses and attended 22 meetings with customers and their representatives to understand their concerns and to ensure that all information provided by them formed part of the final decision regarding each affected branch.
So, all the consultation was simply an exercise in lip service. No surprises there. Do they really think people are pacified because they are allowed to give their opinion.
However, Redcar and Cleveland Council Leader is working with the Chief Executive to mitigate the effect of the closures by utilising mobile One Stop Shop and any proposals via LEGI (Local Enterprise Growth Initiative) if appropriate.
Council Leader George Dunning said "We believe the Post Office's decision fails to recognise the valuable roles these offices play in community life. We are committed to exploring ways in which our services can be delivered from these offices and we will be talking directly to the Post Office to investigate ways of reopening Post Office services with some degree of financial support for the Council."
But Redcar and Cleveland also provide free travel before 9.30am because clearly they care about their pensioners. I noted from todays Echo that Darlington Council has been branded as the most mean in the area.
I hope our council leader in Darlington is going to recognise the valuable role that the Post Offices play in our community and seek to investigate some alternative proposals.
Watch this space....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Please Gordon, Stay ---
12 May 2008
Gordon Brown has "tempers of an indescribable nature" according to the rebel backbencher Frank Field, who has become the first Labour MP to predict that the Prime Minister will not be in place at the next election.
In an astonishingly outspoken attack, Mr Field said that the public could see Mr Brown was unhappy and asserted the election would be held on the last possible date in 2010.
This prompted immediate denials from Downing Street, who insisted Mr Brown would still be in place at the next election.
Asked whether Mr Brown was confident that he would lead Labour into the next election, the spokesman added: "Of course he is."
Thats great news, we dont want you to go Gordon.
Because who better to lead the Conservatives into the next general election success......
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Florries Birthday ---
12 May 2008
National Nurses Week is May 6-12. Not just this year, but every year, regardless of the days of the week upon which those dates fall. May 6 is the official nurse recognition day, with student nurse day on May 8 and school nurse day on May 9 in 2003. (This recognition day was previously observed during january and, unlike the others, is not a fixed date.) The week draws attention to and celebrate the contributions that nurses and nursing make to the community. The full week of recognition culminates on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, May 12.
Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820, and named after the city of her birth. Her wealthy parents were in Florence as part of a tour of Europe. In 1837, Nightingale felt that God was calling her to do some work but wasn't sure what that work should be. She began to develop an interest in nursing, but her parents continued it to be a profession inappropriate to a woman of her class and background, and would not allow her to train as a nurse. They expected her to make a good marriage and live a conventional upper class woman's life.
Nightingale's parents eventually relented and in 1851, she went to Kaiserwerth in Germany for three months nursing training. This enabled her to become superintendent of a hospital for gentlewomen in Harley Street, in 1853. The following year, the Crimean War began and soon reports in the newspapers were describing the desperate lack of proper medical facilities for wounded British soldiers at the front. Sidney Herbert, the war minister, already knew Nightingale, and asked her to oversee a team of nurses in the military hospitals in Turkey. In November 1854, she arrived in Scutari in Turkey. With her nurses, she greatly improved the conditions and substantially reduced the mortality rate
She returned to England in 1856. In 1860 she established the Nightingale Training School for nurses at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Once the nurses were trained, they were sent to hospitals all over Britain, where they introduced the ideas they had learnt, and established nursing training on the Nightingale model. Nightingale's theories, published in 'Notes on Nursing' (1860), were hugely influential and her concerns for sanitation, military health and hospital planning established practices which are still in existence today. She died on 13 August 1910.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Dish the Dirt on Dog Fouling ---
07 May 2008
RESPONSIBLE pet owners are being asked to help stamp out dog fouling in Darlington.
Darlington Council is launching a new campaign called Dish The Dirt, encouraging residents to report people who persistently allow their dogs foul in public places.
The Council’s Uniformed Wardens can only fine dog owners if they see an offence being committed and so they are asking residents to give them tip-offs of where dog fouling is happening.
A hotline and e-mail address have been set up so people can report details, including location, time and a description, of anyone who fails to clean up after their dog.
The Council’s Uniformed Wardens will use the information, which can be given anonymously, to try to catch and fine irresponsible dog owners.
Bill Dixon, Darlington Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services and Community Safety, said: “Dog fouling is not only unattractive, it a real health hazard and can spoil residents’ enjoyment of parts of the Borough.
“Our wardens are committed to catching and fining people but they need help to know where and when persistent offenders are.
“We know there are many responsible dog owners and residents who want to see an end to dog fouling in our streets and parks and I hope they will give us the information we need to catch offenders.”
Posters advertising the hotline and e-mail address are being put on dog bins around the Borough and wardens will hand out information cards to dog walkers and other people they meet.
People failing to clean up after their dog can be given an on-the-spot fine of £50.
This is an issue we have been highlighting for a number of months now.
Clearly, us raising the issue at Full Council has inspired some action and this campaign has been actioned.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Local Round Up ---
06 May 2008
Heres a local round up from the local election results from Thursday.
Chester-le-street. IT was a good night for the Conservatives as they won three of the 14 seats up for grabs in Chester-le-Street.
Hartlepool. LABOUR has lost control of Hartlepool. The authority is now no overall control.
Durham City. The Lib Dems have done particularly well in Durham City, where they run the district council. They have won 15 of their 23 seats in Durham City.
Teesdale. CONSERVATIVES in Teesdale claimed a victory after winning five of the six seats up for grabs on the new unitary council.
Easington. WHILE the Labour Party was clearly relieved at securing 19 of the 24 seats in the Easington constituency there were some notable casualties.
Wear Valley.Conservative Becky Brunskill was elected in Willington.
Labour has taken control of the new County Durham unitary authority, but it has gone backwards in both Sunderland and Hartlepool.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Boris for Mayor ---
06 May 2008
Boris Johnson has been elected Mayor of London. He received 1,168,738 first and second preference votes compared with Ken Livingstone's 1,028,966.
Its time for a change and the people of London certainly agreed.
In his victory speech, he said the election had been good for politics and good for London.
He paid tribute to his main opponents, Brian Paddick and Mr. Livingstone, describing the latter as "a very considerable public servant" who had "earned the thanks and admiration of millions of Londoners."
Boris promised to work "flat out" to cut crime, improve transport, protect green spaces and, most of all, to repay the confidence of everyone who voted for him.
He finished by saying, "Let's get cracking tomorrow; and let's have a drink tonight."
We certainly did that Boris, cheers.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Cash Cow ---
06 May 2008
Thanks to the Town Liar for finding this article in the Times.
In the article about "waste crime", Darlington gets a mention as it has issued 285 fines worth £22,410 to people for leaving their bins out on the wrong day. It has also prosecuted 65 people for failing to pay the fines, more than any other council questioned.
However, it was with disappointment that i noted that during the period, January 2007 to December 2007, only one Fixed Penalty Notice was issued for dog fouling within the Harrowgate Hill Ward, which was on 23 November 2007 in Myrtle Gardens.
I know the problems related to issuing penalities for dog fouling as the wardens have to witness the incident. But, playing devils advocate, it has been suggested to us by residents that fining for waste crime seems a quick win way to make money. Enforcing dog fouling issues would be more time intensive and would certainly not bring the same monetary gain.
I am not suggesting that leaving rubbish out at the wrong time should be ignored because it shouldnt, but perhaps a "light touch" approach would be more appropriate?
What causes more nuisance a bin put out too early or the masses and masses of dog waste that resides in our communities?
We have never received compliants about the latter but have in respect to dog fouling.
Eric Pickles, the shadow local government spokesman, has accused the councils of seeking to turn rubbish collection into a cash cow by creating trivial offences. “It’s testing the public’s patience to the limit,” he said.
Read the full article and you decide.
a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3822641.ece" target="_blank">Thousands fined for bin sins
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Parliamentary Projection ---
02 May 2008
Parliamentary projections based on the results from the local election if there had been a general election shows -
Labour 174 seats
Conservative 401 seats
Lib Dems 47 seats
GIVING THE TORIES A MAJORITY OF 152 seats and David Cameron the key to NO 10....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Worst Election Results for Labour for 40 Years ---
02 May 2008
The last time Labour did this badly in a local election, the Beatles were in the charts and Flower Power was all the rage.
Gordon could do with a bit of Love!
100 0f 159 councils declared.
Conservatives gain 147 seats and Labour loose 162 seats.
More analysis later and a local review.
David Cameron was clearly resisting the urge to jump up and down when interviewed this morning. He was clearly suffering from an overload and caffeine and adrenaline!
And who can blame him.
Mike nearly crashed the car on the way to work when he discovered that Labour had lost overal control in his home town of Hartlepool.
It seems the local elections in Darlington were a year too early...
If Boris wins in London it will change the political landscape of the whole country.
GO BORIS
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Sponsorship ---
30 Apr 2008
We have reached 18% of our target for the Race for Life on the 8th June.
So please keep the sponsorship coming every little helps. Cancer is a subject that has touched us all.
I am taking part for all my family, friends and patients.
Past, present and future.
For those that made it
For those who didnt
For those who are currently battling the disease
Cancer Research appreciates your support.
Thank you.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Burtree Lane Traffic Lights ---
29 Apr 2008
The issue has been raised that approx only 4 cars are able to exit from Burtree Lane onto North before the lights turn back to red.
We raised this issue with the highways department at the Town Hall.
These signals operate on their own rather than under SCOOT control. The SCOOT system works by controlling traffic from one signal set to the next. Where vehicles enter from major routes either side of the main route, they are counted in by loops in the carriageway. The Burtree and Mayfair Rd signals are not connected to the system as they are separated from it by the Salters Lane roundabout which is uncontrolled.
The green time for vehicles on Burtree lane varies from 7 seconds minimum to 18 seconds maximum depending on time of day and the number of vehicles approaching the signals. Provided that a steady stream of vehicles is detected, the green time will run to its maximum. However if a vehicle in the stream hangs back a bit, a 'gap' will be detected and the green phase will be brought to a close. This may be the reason that only four cars got out. The controller is to be checked out for faults.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Rave at Longfield ---
28 Apr 2008
On Friday night i attended the Max-E-Mize rave at Longfield School.
The event was well attended with approx 70 young people enjoying the music, dancing the night away with their glow sticks and whistles.
It was great to see the young people enjoying themselves and i did not see signs of trouble, everyone was to busy having fun.
Shame the DJ (sorry MC) did not have any ABBA.....
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Deja Vue ---
25 Apr 2008
THE £1.9m overspend on a town's new link road was caused by a number of management errors by a council, an independent report has revealed.
It is reminiscant of the Pedestrian Heart overspend, it is astounding that lessons were not learnt from that debacle.
How much of tax payers money has to be wasted before an end is put to this poor project management culture that clearly exists. However, i am afraid that the buck has to stop not with the officers but the portfolio holder. The tax payers deserve an explanation, not a reassurrance that it wont happen again, we have heard that before.
An apology would be a good start.
Nearly 2 million wasted and the pensioners can not travel free before 9.30am.
Shame there are not local elections next week in Darlington. What a gift that would be...
To read the full story
1.9m overspend
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
Naughty Nick ---
25 Apr 2008
It seems that the Lib Dems have shifted blame from the current portfolio holder to the predecessor of the portfolio, Nick Wallis for the overspend of the Estern Transport Corridor.
It has been suggested that Nick was removed from the portfolio because they knew there were going significant problems resulting from the management of the project. It did seem a strange decision at the time to move from transport to health!
However, Nick tells us that is baloney, so thats alright.
So therefore, tell us Nick was the rationale behind the switch?....
Another Councillor Blamed
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Princess Road/Scotts Terrace/ Old Harrowgate Hill School Site ---
23 Apr 2008
Princess Road- We have received complaints about the bad state of repair to the footpath and road in Princess Road. We have contacted Highways Department and the good news is that the work will be done later this year.
Old Harrowgate Hill School - We have reported the problem with youngsters underage drinking to the anti social behaviour team and our Police beat team. We have reported the site not being secured to buildings control.
Scotts Terrace - Fly tipping/dog fouling. I have this morning spoken to our Streetscene Team Leader who confirms that they are waiting for a delivery (3-4 weeks) of dog waste bins to mount on poles and he will make sure that are allocated to Scotts Terrace. Any problems with dog fouling, fly tipping etc should be reported to Streetscene and if persistent we will ask the Environmental Warden to investigate.
Scotts Terrace - Blocking of access to Scotts Terrace. I have spoken to highways safety and they will assign an officer to look at the site and investigate the most appropriate course of action signage/road marking etc. In the short term we have contacted our beat team to encourage the owners of businesses to discourage customers from parking there and display signs in their shops.
Please continue to contact us fly tipping, dog fouling, road issues, pavement issues and any other problems you are experiencing including bus pass problems. We are receiving enquiries about bus passes from across the town.
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Early Bird Bus Pass ---
22 Apr 2008
Some interesting discussion took place today at the Talking Together Event at the Dolphin Centre reference bus passes.
In Darlington if you're over 60 or eligible disabled, from April 1st 2008 you can enjoy free travel on local buses anywhere in England from 9.30am until 11pm Monday to Friday, all day on weekends and bank holidays. In other words the National Travel Scheme.
It was pointed out that East Riding council provided an “Early Bird Pass” to enable pass holders to travel before 9.30am at an annual cost of £15. So, i decided to do some investigation and found the following information on East Riding Council news -
The government will on April 1 introduce the English National Travel Concession Pass, which will entitle cardholders to free local travel anywhere in England and will replace the existing pass system which operates in the East Riding.
However, the national pass does not allow free travel before 9.30am and after 11pm on week days, and East Riding of Yorkshire Council is introducing the Early Bird pass for travel outside these hours.
The Early Bird pass can used be on all local bus services running wholly within the East Riding and Hull.
It can also be used on all “through” services between the East Riding and Doncaster, Malton, Hull, Pontefract, Scarborough, Selby and York, providing the journey starts or finishes in the East Riding.
Through services are those on which passengers do not have to changes buses and the number of the service does not change during the journey.
The pass can also be used on the local bus service between Goole and Scunthorpe and journeys wholly within Hull.
The Early Bird Pass can only be used before 9.30am and after 11pm on weekdays. Between 9.30am and 11pm, on weekends and on bank holidays, people should use their English National Travel Concession Pass.
The Early Bird Pass is not valid on bus services over the Humber Bridge.
Councillor Symon Fraser, the council’s portfolio holder for public transport, said: “The Early Bird Pass Scheme continues to offer the benefits of extended travel to East Riding residents.
“The government's statutory scheme does not really fit well with transport needs in our rural area, so the enhancements offered through this East Riding Early Bird pass will be very useful to our residents."
The Early Bird pass is available for a subsidised rate of £15 and can be bought from any of the council’s customer service centres or branch, travelling and mobile libraries.
It is valid for 12 months.
Applicants need to provide proof of eligibility (your old green or red bus pass will be acceptable) and a passport size photograph.
People with red and green bus passes will no longer be able to use them after the new national scheme comes into force on April 1.
For more information on the Early Bird Pass or the English National Travel Concession Pass, call the council’s customer service network on (01482) 393939.
How refreshing for that a council recognises that the National Travel Scheme does not meet the transport needs of its community.
I think the message from talking together was clear the council needs to listen together and review this decision promptly...
|
RSS |
_____________________________________________________________________
|
|
| Bed Bugs ---
21 Apr 2008
| | |
