'Ville Views

TDC Planning Cmte Feb 2012

2012-02-16T09:20:00.000Z

Short and sharp Planning Committee meeting last night so this will be a brief recap rather than an actual report. I do feel like I'm short-changing you guys on this so Ill try to get another blog done later today to make up for it. We shall see.

- Richborough Power Station's alternative condition wording accepted.
- Chambers Wall Farm refused unanimously after a little discussion.
-Solar panels at Thanet Crematorium and Council Offices approved.
-Embassy Hotel, Cliftonville approved without debate.

The only one with a serious debate was Bramble Lane. As I said before, it comes with planning history including appeals and Inspector reports, so there was arguments both ways. There were concerns about side issues relating to this, but they didn't really count as part of the application themselves. Eventually it was approved on Chairman's second vote.

On public speaking, if doing a speech for the Committee its really important to stick to planning reasons and to have prepared something beforehand. Basically you get three minutes to speak. There's a clock on the Chairman's bench and once the red light hits you have 30 seconds left. You cannot defer to let other speakers go first and respond later.

The Three Towers Part II

2012-02-14T14:28:00.002Z

An easier Planning agenda this Wednesday. First up is the site inspection at Chambers Wall Farm.

The formerEmbassy Hotel in Cliftonville is perhaps the star item of the evening withproposals to overhaul the building, turning it into 2 4-bedroom properties aspart of the Housing Intervention project. Getting rid of the front extensionand most of the rear one is a very good idea and this looks a strongapplication.

Bramble Lane comes up next with a bit of planning history to it and this is for retrospective consent. Its a self contained plot but its in the countryside so is against the Local Plan. I think I'm missing something here. Recommendation to approve.

A couple of applications for solar panels this time round aswell, one for the Council Offices and one for the Thanet Crematorium. For theCouncil Offices one its an approval recommendation but for the latter it needsto go to public consultation so it’s a defer and delegate jobbie with approvalattached.

Second to last is Richborough Power Station for a second showing. This is about the specific issue of at what point the blast can be stopped, in case of an electricity issue. A number of Councillorstook the view that the relevant parties needed to get together to sort it outbetween themselves and to come back once they had. Well, they did, and the Committee now has new wording for that condition. If only they had done that before the last time this was considered...

Rounding things off is a report on enforcement decisions.

Labour U-Turn on Runaways

2012-02-10T21:26:00.003Z

The minutes for theCabinet meeting last week have finally been published (a week’s wait?). Everythinggot passed as expected, except one.

You might rememberfrom previous posts about Labour making a push on runaways, getting a motionpassed at Full Council back in December asking Cabinet to set up a MembersWorking Group to look into this. Well, the result: Labour changed it's mind and wentwith the Officer's recommendation to attend the Local Children's Trust Board and confirm it is the best thing to work though.

Having been at theFull Council meeting that passed that original motion, I remember Cllr ChrisWells making it very clear that duplicating already existing work was a bad idea. Thesame advice would have been given at that Cabinet meeting. Given Cllr Iris Johnston is both Cabinet Member and the Member who put the original motion, it begs the question of why she put the motion in the first place. She was determined to push with this in December...

That said, better late than never.

Snow Problem

2012-02-10T12:43:00.003Z

Some photos of Poet'sCorner where the hoped-for rubbish collection (Monday) did not happen. This wouldn’t bea problem if they had wheelie bins but because of the location (very small pavement)they can't and while I don’t blame the Council for that, I do have a problem in thatthe nearby St Peters Footpath is clear of ice along with the road part (themajority) of Poet’s Corner.

A TDC press release now says this rubbish wont be collected till next week. I really don’t understand the problem here. Poet’s Corner is light traffic wise and while perhaps the pavement itself is icy, the road is easily walkable. Park a van at the St Peters Footpath end and get the guys to walk it up the road…

While its great to see the ivy cleared thanks to the local street cleaner, the rubbish keeps appearing there along with Milton Square (collection on Tuesdays). Again, the roads round there are clear. A mattress remains on the YMCA side and has been there for about two weeks now. Incidentally, that dumpster has been flung open for about the same period and its a horrible eyesore.

St Johns Road (Thursday) is amongst the photos. The rubbish there has been an issue for a while now and the spilled rubbish was there well before that snow.

Running On Fumes

2012-01-30T00:21:00.001Z

Easing back a bit on the blogging recently and this is likely to last for a couple of weeks. Looks like everyone else is doing similarly...

Cabinet (2nd Feb) agenda out:

First up is the “Still Running 3” item about runaways, wherethe report says that using what’s already there is a better option to settingup a new Working Party. I agree with that recommendation. Specifically relatingto looked after children, there are already a number of different Groupsinvolved with this and an extra one isn’t likely to improve things. I’m not sayingthat TDC shouldn’t be looking to help where it can but that when it does, ithas to be focused. I commented nearly 3 years ago on this and proposed the relevantCabinet Member being involved in an “overwatch” role. Looking back at it, whileI don’t think it was an awful idea, it doesn’t quite fit in with the Council’sown position. The Cabinet Member (in this case Cllr Iris Johnston) shouldreally be ensuring that there are sufficient facilities for those needing help,working with the KCC counterpart to ensure the delivery of services ismaintained properly.

Next is the scheduling of consideration of the half hourfree parking in Birchington. I touched on this during the Full Council previewlast month. Discussion dates can now be pencilled in for Overview (March 6^th),Cabinet (29^th March) and Full Council (19^th April) andthe new set up will take effect on the 4^th June.

The Statement of Community Involvement comes up afterwardswith a consultation to come there.

On the issue of consultation and in particular Manston, it’sclear the report places serious doubts on the evidence produced to supportnight flights. As much as consultation was promised, if it’s clear that it’snot going to happen, consulting on it is a pointless thing to do and a waste ofresources and Labour might as well have simply returned to sender.

On the pre-determination rules which caused the Labour Groupsuch trouble that they changed their policy to one of free choice before makingit clear that their manifesto was the choice all along, those have now changed. Basically as long as a Councillor declares themselves open minded, eventhough they are blatantly biased, its cool.

Hartsdown is next and the final decision on the leases. Ifthe item lasts longer than 10 minutes, it'll be too long…

Budget Monitoring Report and a look at previous Overviewrecommendations, which might get a little debate but unlikely to be anythingserious. A look at progress against the Interim Corporate Plan too which isworth a look at then the press and public get the boot…

...because an intriguingdiscussion about a Housing Intervention programme for Margate Central andCliftonville West comes last which is a big thing for the two wards and with serious implications for both TDC and KCC. I will come back to this when Ive had a bit more time to mull this over.

Sadly I cant make this meeting, nor the Full Council meetinglater in the month so there wont be a results show, but Im sure we’ll hearplenty about it Friday morning regardless!

Sparrow Castle/Cowper Road, Margate

2012-01-21T12:35:00.000Z

I regularly walk around Margate specifically to see how street cleaning and rubbish collection is going and I'm becoming more concerned at the increasing frequency of dumped rubbish in the Cowper Road/Sparrow Castle area. Given the YMCA building is not in use, it’s become a dumping site now, so much so that in the car park there is a TDC Enviro-Crime sticker informingpeople that it's being investigated. It was put there months ago... The two wheelie bins and the handful of black sacks to the left of them in the first shot were put out two days ago.

The FixMyStreet website has numerous complaints of rubbish being left on Sparrow Castle (its been a problem for years). A local businessman back in July had to sort it out himself.

The broken glass has returned to the Lord Byron Alleyway, strewn along the right hand side of the following photo:

...and the unbeatable black sack has returned to Dane Park.

Labouring over Budget, Conservative Scrutiny

2012-01-20T10:31:00.001Z

Labour got its Budget, the Conservativesgot their way over Ian Driver's lost seat and Margate FC fans got a serious caseof arse ache… Good to see Tony Flaig standing sentry in the Chamber last night.Always nice to have fellow bloggers appearing. Even better to see a full house in the Chamber.

The public gallery was the vast majorityMargate FC fans so logic would dictate that Margate FCs lease item shouldreally come first. Instead the agenda was followed strictly and the fans had towait considerable time before their time came. I see no reason why mercycouldn’t have been shown there and the item bunged up the agenda, after the A&Eitem. We knew the Budget was going to take a good while anyway.

First up the A&E presentation fromStuart Bain. There was concern from Members about the distance and how thiswould impact upon the effective treatment of those patients being rushed toAshford. Best question was the sobering one from Cllr M Tomlinson askingwhether he would have survived his cardiac arrest years ago with this newsystem.

That one done with general agreement aboutit, we moved onto the meat of the meet starting with the Leader’s Report, ornot, as it was withdrawn from the agenda. Chair Cllr Doug Clark decided that asthis was an Extraordinary Council meeting, it wasn’t necessary.

Then onto the Budget debate. This debatedragged on for an hour and 40 minutes so bear with me. First up the startingstatements which were in essence the same speeches I’ve heard in past meetings.The Red Rose had her say about how money should be used to help the mostvulnerable and brought in a bunch of documents including a 2001 anti-povertystrategy, the Portas report and others (Iris?) for others to read though throwing them on the table in front was a tad overly-dramatic.

Hart made a truly grandstanding speech. Veryold style Labour speaking directly to his own Group rather than theConservatives, including a comment that people were being “hoodwinked by theBig Society game”. This I will definitely come back to in a future blog. CllrsHarrison, Fenner and Poole continued this Socialist theme as expected withattacks over “Tory bankers” and comments about whether private or public moneywas better.

The Conservatives in response argued that thereis real concern about “top-slicing” and therefore the money should be kept as areserve in order to fill a possible funding gap. Cllr Gideon again made a verygood point that civic pride isn’t always about fundraising. The Conservativesproposed an amendment to go back to the original budget. Labour tried to haveit thrown out as they didn’t have the document on them even though they had tohave read it at some point when coming up with their own changes to it.Eventually the Chief Exec listed the differences of which every single one had alreadybeen talked about in previous debates.

The amendment wasdefeated and the meeting was to move onto the next item until another amendmentwas proposed to redirect the £185,000 being used from the New Homes Bonus fundto go towards services for vulnerable people, unemployed and wider community.This one didn’t really have much traction and was defeated after some sharpdebate, revolved around advice given on whether the NHB could be used to payfor someone to be employed. Cllr Wise being accused of recording the meeting onhis phone by Cllr Poole. In fact he was looking for a message relating to thattopic. Yes, that was the sort of behaviour last night…

Some comments weremade regarding the subsidising of EKO. I missed that section, so I hope aCouncillor will fill me in obviously bearing in mind the rules about restrictedinfo. Along with that I’d love to know what NHB money had already been spent bythe Conservatives [19 Hawley Square bought from Orbit for £75k - living nearby, I definitely agree with that decision. Difference is that the money can be recouped with its eventual sale].

In the end Labour gottheir Budget passed, and the Margate FC fans were able to have their moment. Alot of debate over who/what was to blame for the delay in dealing with theleases. We’ve seen the arguments online so I won’t bore you with them. MargateFC’s press release gives the results which now return to Cabinet (as thedecision makers) for final sign off. It was stated during the meeting that anoffer had been made to Cllr Binks to work with the Labour leadership in helpingwith this. Whether this cross party working is a sign of the future, it remainsto be seen.

I know fans reallywant to see the 125 year lease, seeing that without it the development cannotgo ahead. I’ve said before and I still think it’s the case that once a firstlease is granted and the thing built, it’s extremely unlikely that TDC would refusea lease again on the site. That’s why I think that the length of the lease isperhaps a red herring.

The final item of whatto do with a problem like Ian. Labour proposed as expected to lose a Member inLicensing, the Conservatives proposed Overview and Scrutiny. Cllr King made thebest contribution as you’d expect from the OSP Chair, arguing that given Labourhas the Chair of the Council and the Cabinet, the Opposition should have thelead on Scrutiny to balance it. This was supplemented by Cllr Bayford’s pointthat it should be an “effective watchdog”. Cllr Johnston made the point thatvoting is all too often along Party lines, which while true, is not exactlygroundbreaking political analysis. When it came to the vote, there was surprisewhen Labour failed to get a majority of the Independents to back them. TheConservatives now have a 7-6-1 lead on Overview which spices things up,providing a counter-weight to the Cabinet.

I’d be remissed if Ididn’t talk about Cllr Worrow, an issue I’ve deliberately avoided comment onrecently. With John’s blog disappearing along with what was said about the NTCAand its membership, what was said in the past month is just that. I fullyunderstand that this may well be a lull before another storm and if itre-emerges I will deal with it then. I hope readers will respect what I say andtreat Worrow as they would any other Councillor. What’s done is done.

Fuse In Mouth (updated)

2012-01-18T23:13:00.002Z

Richborough Power Station, as you'd expect, took most of the time to decide upon during tonight's Planning meeting with a lot of debate over howto reconcile UK Power Networks concerns regarding the electricity supply to theapplicants wish to demolish the site. Cllr Dark's relatively simple condition was passed unanimously to make the demolition happen between March and November.

The second one wasrather more difficult to find agreement on, the issue being how soon before the demolition could it be stopped in case of say an outage. Cllr Everitt tried 2 hours warning which didn’tmake it, deemed to be unreasonable and unenforceable by the Officers, and I think supported by only three other members (Cllrs Dark, Matterface and Gibson?) and controversially perhaps needed Cllr Dark to second the amendment after Cllr Campbell withdrew from seconding it originally, after hearing advice from the Officers and checking the report. Instead Cllr Campbell's 24 hours got the support of the Committee andthe planning consent as a whole was granted unanimously with those two additional conditions.

Next up, Western Esplanade, Broadstairs, wasgranted consent pretty safely with some debate over whether this would be ablot on the landscape or not. Cllr Dark argued it was too close to theneighbour, which is actually a fair point as it is very close to the boundary but then again so is the current building. Most speakers were supportive of itwith Cllr Gregory admitting he had his concerns about it at first but had been wrong aboutthis sort of thing before and was happy to support it. Cllr Matterface had herconcerns about the size of the development compared to the previous consent ithad (a very different building though). It passed with support of all but Cllrs Gibson, Alexandrou, Dark, Everitt and Matterface.

Onto the Barretts application, where on thepreview blog I put my foot in it by saying it was unsuitable for PilgrimsHospice. The recommendation was rejected unanimously and instead was approvedwith a condition that this is personal to the applicant, to stop the danger ofcreating a precedent in the area. Happy to take it back.

On the remaining items, Chambers Wall Farmhas gone to a site visit and the Ryder Avenue duo passed without debate.
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To update the preview for the Full Council meeting tonight, a late addition to the tail-end of the agenda is a change to the Council Committees in light of Cllr Ian Driver's decision to leave the Labour Group. Those who've asked whether it's genuine have had their answer with a big fat yes. Labour has to lose one Member from a Committee and the choice open to Members is that it be either Licensing or Overview and Scrutiny, leaving the Conservatives with a seat more than Labour in whichever one is picked.

I would imagine Labour would name a replacement in Overview and Scrutiny rather than lose a Member on that politically useful Committee. I could be wrong though. Details in the review tomorrow morning.

Cake Today Or Cake Tomorrow?

2012-01-17T21:27:00.001Z

Last month's Full Council meeting saw Labourtake the reins at Cecil Square. 6 weeks on and we are back to approve (or not) the Budget along with a few other important issues. Kick off 7pm on Thursday.

First up is a presentation from StuartBain, the Chief Exec of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, onthe proposed transporting of patients with life-threatening emergencies fromThanet to Ashford. Hopefully the Councillors will have some questions preppedand we will see some more fleshing out of what’s behind the move, other thanthe obvious...

Next up is the Leader’s Report whichusually throws up a row of some sort. I doubt this will be much different. Heck, it’ll probably be worse now the Conservatives have more Councillors than Labour..

Continuing the theme of rowing, the Budgetcomes up. As you will all have seen theres been a battle over the events budgetand floral grants, which eventually saw Cllr Driver leaving the Labour Group.So this really matters and its really important the right decision is made. Therelevant bits of the reports are the following:

“New Homes Bonus – TheCouncil will receive £536k of New Homes

Bonus in 2012/13 and each of thefollowing five years. It will also receive

additional sums for any further newhomes built. It is proposed that some of

this funding is used to cover theevents budget (£165k) and floral grants

(£20k). However, it is expected thatfuture allocations of Formula Grant

may be top-sliced to fund the rewardof the New Homes Bonus and it is

therefore possible that this fundingmay be needed in future years to offset

this reduction. If there isinsufficient New Homes Bonus funding to meet the

cost of events and floral grants infuture years, then these budgets will be

removed.” (page 16)

“There is no suretyaround future allocations of the New Homes Bonus as the

Formula Grant may be top-sliced infuture years to fund the New Homes Bonus

scheme – the impact on Thanet of anytop-slicing is unclear at this stage. There

is therefore some concern over usingthis funding to support the budget over the

medium term. There must be a clearunderstanding that if the funding is not

available, then the events and floral grants budgets willbe removed.” (page 31)

So we know this pot of money isn’t going tobe around for long. Even Cllr Rick Everitt conceded that this funding may notbe around for long. Add the very real possibility of going intorecession again (some argue this has already happened) and I would suspect thatwhat we are to receive this year is about all we will receive.

While Labour has tried to play theConservative position as OTT austerity, Neil Hornus straightforwardlyargued at Overview on this that it was about being prudent with the money theCouncil has and I agree with him. Its not about depriving Thanet of the ability toattract people. Cllr Martin Wise made the point that the New Homes Bonus wasconsidered by them a “safety net”. The Conservatives on the other hand are arguing that Labour at the first time of asking is throwing money around and putting at risk financial stability. Seeing how the economic news gets gloomierby the day, the decisions having to be made now are ones that normally would berejected out of hand. I’d rather we hung onto the money for this financial yearuntil there is more certainty about the economic picture and in particular thefunding the Council can rely on. There are tough decisions to be made andsacrifices are being considered, but isn’t that what we elect them to do?

In the report it is noted that for thefirst two months of this coming financial year, the current car parking feeswill remain. Proposals are expected before Full Council on the 19^thApril with changes taking effect from 1^st June.

Once that one’s put to bed, Hartsdown Park,with the Cabinet’s recommendations. There’s been a lot of talk about this onetoo. Going into the meeting the expectation was of a compromise, which did indeed appear. During the Cabinet meeting it was said that the Conservatives wereagainst granting leases, but I rather doubt that’s the case. Certainly there’sbeen nothing in the public to back that up. What will happen? I would imagineit’ll pass though of course the Independent Group will decide this one. Therecommendations were the following:

“1. Area A - Recommended the extension of the current lease from 10 to 24 years;

2. Area B - Recommended refusal of granting a lease for anextended area for a football pitch as this is too intrusive in Hartsdown Park;

3. Area C - Recommended the removal of this area from theproposal or at most grant a small extension to the current car park in linewith the plan that has been circulated. This would require the developers toseek an alteration to the current planning condition on parking provision;

4. Area D - Recommended agreement to the development of alease within the current football ground area for the construction of a hotelin line with the approved planning application, but to negotiate the reductionin the lease period required to the absolute minimum necessary. The developerswill need to provide specific financial information that demonstrates the needfor the required lease period for which they have asked;

5. Area E - Recommended the extension of the lease for thecurrent five-a-side pitches and car park from 15 to 24 years, to coincide intiming with the main ground lease.”

Im sure the public gallery will be full so best get in early.

Planning Committee 18th Jan (Preview)

2012-01-15T20:35:00.000Z

Before hitting the preview itself, thereare some changes to a couple of Committees. CllrsHart and Poole have been replaced by Cllrs Matterface and Alexandrou onPlanning and Cllr Johnston is replaced by Cllr W Scobie on Governance andAudit. Cllr Shirley Tomlinson continues to sit in for Cllr Goodwin on Planning.

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Some big ticket items on the Planning agenda for this coming Wednesday. But first, a site visit in Beacon Road to deal with.There was some debate about it so this one could go either way. Therecommendation was to approve.

Richborough Power Station’s possibledemolition comes up next. The impact on the environment through deposits withinthe towers is a key consideration here. Dover District Council is looking intothis one but only on the point of Highways. Luke Edwards of Thanet Waves has blogged about this. Recommendation to approve subjectto safeguarding conditions.

Western Esplanade, Broadstairs follows,with plans for a three storey building of 5 flats. It comes before Planningbecause it comes onto previously undeveloped land. The biggest concern seems tobe one of the access from Waldron Road but KCC raised no objection on that. Anambitious application, its up for approval.

A couple of applications in near-neighbouringsites at Ryder Avenue, Westgate, then we are onto the refusals starting with the Barrett site on Tivoli Road, Margate. Brought to Planning by Cllr Lodge-Pritchard, the proposal is forit to be used by Pilgrims Hospice for retail and storage. In theory a great idea,problem is that it’s a warehouse in an industrial area… Its just not suitable.

Chambers Wall Farm, St Nicholas-on-Wade isthe next one, brought up by Cllr Mike Roberts. I don’t know the area (readersgot any opinions?) so I'm running off the report, it’s a proposed conversion ofthe barn but due to the flood risk and seeming to be unsuitable for the area, theOfficer reckons refusal.

At this point a motion is planned to bootout the public and press because the Westwood Estate is up last with proposedchanges to the Section 106 Agreement and that includes some exempt info. As we know the economic downturn has hit everyone hard and the Council has already been approached with a plan to amend the planning consent for this area with regard to the scheduling of construction which I recall came before Planning a couple of months ago. This one is more about the financial contributions and sizing of the buildings themselves, so well worth a read of the agenda papers on that item.

More King's Men

2012-01-13T20:16:00.000Z

Obviously the news has been doing therounds that Cllr Ian Driver has quit the Labour Group to join the Independents.It’s been clear for some time that he’s not been entirely comfortable in the LabourGroup, so while for others this is a huge surprise, for me it wasn’t. A sign ofthis is the reaction he was getting at Overview over the Budget motion onTuesday evening, backed by Tory Cllr Jo Gideon but being slammed by formerLabour colleagues over Labour’s amendment to the Budget regarding floral grantsand events budget. I say well done to him for walking and hope he finds it abit better for him with the Indies.

This will lead to the inevitable discussionover whether a by-election should result. I’ve always thought there should bebut more recently I’ve changed my mind. Unless there’s a really good reason fora by-election, it’s frankly not worth the hassle. The Council doesn’t have theresources anyway, not to mention that if a Cllr changes allegiance, their cardwill be marked and remembered for the next election.

Originally I was planning not to visit the next topic but it would seem odd not to comment, given the subject has brought so much attention to the blog.

The next big story of the week has been Cllr John Worrow getting pickedfor the new role of TDC Equality and Diversity Champion, which is quite a mouthful. It would be churlishnot to say well done to him for getting the gig, though I would love to knowthe process behind his appointment. I hope thisjob will be treated properly, rather than being used as justification tocontinue his pointless campaign against North Thanet Conservatives over the supposed homophobia within the Party.

Budgeting Scrutiny

2012-01-11T22:27:00.002Z

A very important Overview & Scrutinymeeting held last night with some food for thought.

The RNLI presentation highlighted theproblems that the RNLI was having getting to the water at the moment due tolocal traffic blocking access. It also outlined its future plans. The Panelpassed a motion calling on the relevant Cabinet Member to discuss the problems on access to the water with KCC and to report back.

Next up was a controversial discussionabout EKO. Controversial for a couple of reasons. Firstly there was debateabout whether all this information should be “restricted” and thus notavailable for the public to read (I made a point about this in my last post).Basically the argument in favour of restriction is that EKO is a joint ventureand therefore TDC cannot unilaterally release the information without theagreement of KCC. For all the talk of the public need to see this restrictedinformation, as the only person in the public gallery during that item, I didn’tfeel that strongly about its release. This sort of information will come out inits own time and as was pointed out very clearly, the information put to Memberswere not the final version. Cllr Ian Driver raised some eyebrows by predictingthe information would make its way to the press “by tomorrow morning” though made it clear he wasn't saying he was about to leak restricted information.

The more important issue brought up wasover the future of EKO itself. Labour Members questioned whether there should be afuture for EKO given the apparent lack of results for the substantialinvestment poured into it. The Membership Agreement comes up forreview after 5 years. A motion was put (this wording is subject to change asthe minutes are published) to say that the review should be brought forward,with a view towards TDC withdrawing from it, to “disinvest” as one Cllr put it.It was a 7-7 split with the Chair voting with the motion. This one has a longway to go…

The budget debate carried on very much asit did during the Cabinet meeting. There was some more explanation as to wherethe money is coming from and what is expected for the future which I founduseful in framing the debate that’s been taking place. I’m not going to say toomuch more right now as I want to dedicate a post to it next week. That said, wehad perhaps a little too enlightening a comment by Cllr Driver that “nothingturns me on more than a nice floral display”.

The motion for a Working Group about Electoral Registration was passed but with a reduced membership from 7 members to 5 instead. One point that came outof this was that the use of time through the meeting had been too heavy duringthe EKO and budget debates which meant that very little time was left todiscuss the remainder of the agenda. I agree. It did seem to be at times a oneMember meeting and that however entertaining that Member was, there were toomany speeches rather than questions.

The discussion about Individual CabinetMember Decisions aka Urgent Decisions barely happened, which is a shame becausethere is a real debate to be had about this. A Working Group was rejected infavour of a comprehensive report. Good call.

There are a lot of Working Groups alreadyin existence and there needs to be proper consideration of alternative forms ofscrutiny other than a Working Group. The heavy workload on those in Scrutinyhas meant that there was little real choice about having one and for examplewith Urgent Decisions, the motion they took was in effect the only one reallyavailable.

Next meetingsare Planning Committee and Full Council next week. Im hoping to do previews for both. We will see...

Overview & Scrutiny Panel 10th Jan

2012-01-09T08:30:00.002Z

Quick preview for Tuesday evening’sOverview and Scrutiny Panel meeting. Plenty for Members to consider so shouldbe an interesting one and with enough items to provide some moments of spice. Looks like a full house is expected, which is always nice to see.

A few presentations taking place with theRNLI commenting on the possible relocation of the Lifeboat House to the Main Sands fromthe Rendezvous.

Next up is Matt Hyland from East Kent Opportunities, though thepublic agenda pack is a little empty when it comes to information on this. Halfthe reports being put together are confidential and the rest will be part ofthe presentation.

Then we have the Budget, with Cllr RickEveritt doing the talk and consideration of the past years performance. Lookingat the Panel’s membership and what was said at the Cabinet meeting last week,it’ll be interesting to hear what Members have to say.

Next up is theestablishment of (deep breath) an Electoral

Registration ProcessReview Working Party. Be warned readers, to protect myself against the threatof RSI, I will only use the shorthand ERPRWP in future… Basically this followson from Cllr Will Scobies online analysis about missing voters and aims to giveadvice to the Electoral Registration Officer when it is due to report back on 1^stMay.

Then we have considerationof Individual Cabinet Member Decisions. This follows on from the decision overLeslie Hotel in Cliftonville. The Ward Councillors (Cllrs Hart, Aldred andClark) felt they weren’t properly consulted about it and Members felt similarly.It’s a fair cop. There’s always been a bit of fuzziness about this. Thesolution could be to place restrictions on the use of this process but theLeslie Hotel one I recall was a decision which had to be made with some hastebecause of the area. Perhaps we will hear some more info about the process atthe meeting tomorrow. It’s possible we will have another Working Party to lookinto this, and no, I’m not going to print the name. Perhaps we can have aWorking Party into the stupidly long names for these things…

We finish up with somehousekeeping items on things like a report on the work programme and theForward Plan.

Dear TDC Councillors...

2012-01-04T22:11:00.000Z

“The Campaigner” – Cllr John Worrow - revealedlast night that the author of the Facebook comment referring to “backs against the wall know what I mean” was Cllr Goodwin. This comment was published some time ago and originally the full message was published by Cllr Worrow (therewas nothing offensive in that missing part) in his “Cllr Goodwin NAMED” post.

Cllr Goodwin is one of the firstCouncillors I met way back in 2003 and I’ve not one bad word to say about him.He is the sort of Councillor I hoped to be when I stood for Salmestone Wardback in 2007 and if I’m lucky, he’s the sort of politician I might be down theline.

He is also extremely ill.

Cllr Worrow has crossed a line in doingthis. At least before this, those accused could defend themselves and show thathe was wrong. In this case, Cllr Goodwin isn’t able to. There are few rules in politics but one of them is that you NEVER attack someone who is unable torespond. Cllr Worrow makes it sound like he’s being generous to Cllr Goodwin,but all he's doing is dragging this out for his own benefit.

I’ve made it clear from the outset that Iwon’t tolerate homophobia, or any other form of discrimination, in theConservative Party. If I come across it, I will expose it and rout it out alongwith anyone peddling those outdated views. There’s no place for it anymore. Anyonecoming across this, please let me know (details are on the profile).

Cllr Simon Moores and I have both been attackedfor apparently being homophobic, but no evidence has ever appeared to justifythis. Cllr Worrow threatened me with both a solicitor and the police (within the space of 4 hours) justbefore Christmas.

I think it’s a disgrace thatsomeone can call themselves a Thanet District Councillor but treat otherMembers with such disrespect. Add to that the bullying of a member of thepublic and you have a member who brings the Council into disrepute.

Every Councillor must ask themselveswhether they think it’s acceptable that a Member of their Council behaves likethis. Labour, Conservative, Independent, I don’t care what colours you carry,surely this is NOT something we want to see.

Save Dreamland Campaign

2012-01-02T14:06:00.001Z

Out on a walk round Margate to see howthings as far as rubbish collection and streetcleaning were going (more on that soon) and made a pass by the High Street,where Labour Councillors and supporters are eagerly collecting signatures for apetition on Dreamland which can be found here.

I’m happy to support the petition and Iencourage readers to go meet Will Scobie’s team to sign up. He is providing updates on his blog. This really is an issue where we should all, regardless of political allegiance, be in agreement.

For those of you who want to read the Statement of Case being put by the Council in this upcoming Inquiry, it can be found here

Leasing Into 2012

2012-01-01T19:33:00.000Z

This coming Thursday sees some big issuescome before the Cabinet.

First up is the Budget. There have beenchanges since the last form of the Budget appeared, particularly in the feessection. Given so much of this report is going over my head, I’m going to givea pass on it this time round and come back to it when it comes before "Extraordinay" Full Councilon the 19^th. It’s not like the Cabinet is going to vote it down…

The Pierremont Park development has had arocky road so far but looks to be getting there. I haven’t followed the storyparticularly closely but given only 10 responses came in for the consultationon this – and even then some of those comments are a little pushing it - youhave to wonder if there’s really such a problem with it. I say give them thelease and wish them the best of luck.

Similarly with Margate FC, this has had a lessthan straightforward course, understandable perhaps. I touched on this a couple of weeks ago (last paragraph - Ed) and I still feel the same. This item isn’t being treated quite thesame as Pierremont as there are different parts here and so different lengthsof leases could be granted for different sections. Along with that, there is noofficer’s recommendation, which basically leaves it up to the Cabinet to decidefor itself.

Fort Road Hotel rounds things off, where its been a bit disappointing really. A few options on the table. Compulsory Purchase Order maybe? Looking at a Margate Building Preservation Trust could be a better option leaving aside a CPO. Hopefully 2012 will bode well for that building.

Cllr John Worrow’s campaign on allegedhomophobia by North Thanet Conservatives continues unabated. The reference toMargate West has been removed re. the Facebook comments, but the news that he’sbeen offered legal advice by an "organisation" has been added (or maybe not looking at it now). If it’sthe same guy he went to about “Mucho Worrow”, he might want a second opinion…

The fact is, we all have stuff posted onFacebook which might be seen to be rude or offensive, if someone was really lookingto be offended. Even a comment like “a boy like you likes Kate bush? lol ;) xx”could be seen as stereotyping, even though it’s really quite harmless. A senseof humour in politics is important, especially so if you are high profile.

Anywho, welcome to 2012, readers. HopefullyI’ll have enough inspiration to post round the year. Don't forget to buckle up. 2012 is going to bea fun ride!

Dear Readers...

2011-12-26T18:48:00.000Z

There has been heated debate regarding CllrJohn Worrow in the past handful of days here on Ville Views. As Ive reportedand as was updated by him, the threat of legal action hangs over this blog withregard to the “Mucho Worrow” blog entry and the comments after. I published ahousekeeping post to make it clear what I would and would not allow and I amthankful to those who have supported my stance.

I have tried, away from the blog, todiscuss with him the situation in an effort to avoid the threat and to improverelations. I have been reasonable with him and tried to find common ground. Ithought this had been found until I asked him to withdraw his threat of legalaction against me. He responded with an implied claim of harassment against him.

I must make it absolutely clear to everyonereading this that there is no basis to this claim as I have made no threatstowards him or acted in any way which would be seen as harassing him.

It’s possible that legal action will be taken,though I don’t believe it to be the case. I defend my right to hold politiciansto account, whether it be comfortable for them or not. I have stayed within thelaw while doing so and I have not done anything which could reasonably be seenas improper.

I still believe that despite this thetension can be resolved and better relations can be built. The housekeepingrules remain as they are and I ask those commenting to be respectful of others whatevertheir argument. Calling people “bigots”, while not offensive, is something I’dlike to see less of. Prove it through the argument itself not the name calling,please.

Housekeeping

2011-12-23T20:41:00.000Z

I enjoy writing this blog and I hope you allenjoy reading it. I have one of the loosest editorial controls on the blogdeliberately because I want this blog to be open to everyone to contribute asthey wish, whether they agree with what I say or not.

Once readers get upset about comments, itcan easily escalate as we’ve seen and I’m not interested in that sort ofattention. I have other things I want to be blogging about, like the streetcleaning issue in Margate Central or following the latest twists and turns inthe Margate Seafront Saga. As we know the budget is coming soon and I’m definitelygoing to be putting aside blogging time for that one. Another thing I want toexplore in my blogs is the reform of local government which affects all of us,linking to the Big Society idea.

Mulling over what’s been posted here in thepast day, I again make it clear I will not amend my post and will not deletethe comments. One comment made reference to the taking of legal advice andoffsite there’s been talk of further action. I understand why it might beconsidered but it’s wholly unnecessary. Such talk should stop. I hope upon properreflection that the author of that comment will come to the same conclusion.

I will not tolerate offensive posts andwill delete them if I feel they’ve overstepped the mark. I have no patience fordiscrimination on this blog whatever the type. However I will not be pushedinto deleting things without very good reasons. I won’t be neutered.

Mucho Worrow

2011-12-22T17:33:00.001Z

The blogspherehas been pretty active with a lot of talk and back and forth action thereforethis blog is quite a bit longer than originally planned.

While it’sunderstandable that the ousted Conservative Group will feel annoyed at what’shappened, the fact is that it is now the Opposition and the sooner they adjustto this new situation the better. The talk on other blogs started off as banterbut as the debate post the car parking press release showed, it’s now spillingover into the sort of thing which I’ve complained about in the Council Chamber.This baiting of people is childish and needs to end. It does no one any goodapart from Labour who can sit back and enjoy the spectacle. The Conservative pressrelease was fairly light on detail and looking at the resultant debate morefacts are needed, so we should really wait to see how Labour’s plans liealongside its updated budget plans due soon.

Did CllrWorrow ask for a Cabinet position? Does it really matter? The tone of thedenouncing has been OTT and the critics should save their energies for the realbattles ahead. Cllr Worrow has rolled his dice and done what he feels is in hisbest interests. I don’t know him that well but I think it was a big mistake,short term gain for long term mistrust.

Despitewhat I have said above about saving energies, he posted an entry on his blog accusingthe North Thanet Conservative Association of supporting a homophobic Councillor.This entry has since been deleted but the allegation was made nonetheless. Now,I’ve met my fair share of Thanet Cllrs and spoken to most of North Thanet’sTories. I know Cllr Worrow will come across this blog. I want to know whichCllr he is talking about and which people in the Association supported him. IfCllr Worrow is unable or unwilling to name these people, then he should withdrawhis accusations. Given he has now set up a Facebook Group “Thanet Campaign Against Homophobia In Politics!" which originally included racism in its title, clearly he has not dropped hisallegation, therefore I want to see him come clean about who he is talking about.If what he was talking about is right, he should have no fear in naming thesepeople.

The newsemerging today of Flybe’s decision to stop flights from Manston will definitelyrequire some attention from Councillors. With less operators using the airport,more doubts are placed on the requirement of night flights. As Labour hasalready stated that it will implement its manifesto commitments from earlierthis year, this news is surely another nail in the coffin of night flights.Some serious thought is now needed as to the airports future.

There aregenuine debates to be had about the change of administration that have nothingto do with Cllr Worrow (really!!). I didn’t report it in the Hart’s Changespost but Cllr Jo Gideon made a very strong point about the fact that the fundingstreams are being directed to encourage growth rather than to simply spend ondeprivation. This debate saw the biggest difference in thinking between Labourand the Conservatives and is something that is worth mulling over. Anothersimilar debate will spring up relating to the reform of the Business Ratesregime to allow some local adjustment. These are debates which actually domatter to locals and I hope more attention is paid to these issues rather thanthe actions of one Councillor.

Earliertoday Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members made their way to Hartsdown Park aspart of consideration of leases for the Margate FC plans. I really don’t understandwhat the problem is. A Council would have to be mad to refuse a lease, so thedebate is over the length of it. Again the length matters little because nocouncil would grant a lease for say 25 years but not renew it once that periodends. To the fans this sounds like another barrier being put in front of themand on a base level it’s strange. The Council granted planning consent fordevelopment without a sniff of trouble but might refuse a lease? Really??

Keeping Margate Central Clean IV

2011-12-16T17:24:00.000Z

As readers will know, back in August Iemailed the Council about a number of concerns I had regarding street cleaning,particularly in the south of Margate Central. Eventually most of them weredealt with and I praised the Council for their work. One of the ones not dealtwith by the Council when I was blogging about them at the time is the following, outside Central Studios on Park Place (photo taken in August).

Well, the great news is that its beencleared, by who I don’t know, but all the junks been got rid of and the weeds atthe end cleared away completely. A really good job done.

As an update to a couple of those Ive had abig issue with in the Milton/Byron Avenues area, here are a couple of photos taken yesterday. I hope Cllr Alan Poole as new Cabinet Member for Environmental Services will take appropriate action to ensure a lid is kept on it since they are such hotspots. As I said with Cllr Moores, I completelyunderstand there are constraints on the ability of the Council to act and thebudget is of course stretched. However there is a duty for the Council to act.Seeing as fancy new “footpath” signs have appeared, this point is underlined.

I'll defnitely be blogging about this again.

The Twilight Zone

2011-12-15T10:01:00.001Z

A curiousPlanning Meeting last night. To get the headline out of the way, thePlanning Committee decided that their mind was not changed by the upgradedlisting of the Scenic Railway and that they would have accepted the change tothe scheduled timing of the works. But that only tells part of the story...

First up we’ve had some changes in theCommittee Membership with Cllrs Hart and Poole replaced by Cllrs Nicholson andDavid Green, though both attended the meeting. Certainly no dumbing down on the Labour side then.

There was criticism of the two mock-ups of theproposed store showing one, the height of the development in scale to theScenic Railway, including the 4m height difference between the two (arguingthat Arlington should have been in the image) and second, the image of thestore without the hotel section (arguing that the positioning of the storebeing behind Dreamland Cinema was wrong). While I normally agree with thatCouncillor and have great respect for him, I must disagree with bothcriticisms. Arlington is off to the right in the first image so doesn’t reallycount and as the plans show, the store would creep behind the left side of theDreamland building.

Harvey Patterson spent his time discussinga letter of objection from Richard Buxton Solicitors, though the worddismissing might be more appropriate. Normally I’d defend his advice givingbecause he’s usually right on the money but seemed to be off his game lastnight and a little more agitated than normal. He criticised the publication of the letter online. I read the letteronline pretty much as soon as it was published and I have no issue with itappearing online. There’s definitely a public interest and the Members of theCommittee should be aware of it.

To reiterate what I said in the preview,this Public Inquiry came only because of the referral to Full Council which wasin itself necessary given the legal complications that were appearing. I hear from elsewhere that in fact this Public Inquiry was merely a threat topush the Committee into accepting the application and to ease its process, andthat once that approval was given the Public Inquiry would be dropped. We shallsee if that is the case in due course.

A Councillor made a comment that the letterto Cllr Poole from June (see “Pooleing Around”) was inaccurate in itsdescription of that meeting’s vote as being decided on the Chair’s casting voteand that instead it was a normal vote. Sorry but that’s not true, it was a 7-7tie and the Chair’s casting vote decided it. The letter was right.

Im not really one for attacking my own side but I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t name Conservative Cllr Binks who spokeagainst the development back in June (words along the lines of “I cannotsupport this application”) but voted in favour, much to the surprise of those watchingthe meeting who had done the maths and expected the motion to be defeated. Hermind had not changed last night and neither had her vote in favour of thedevelopment.

As readers will know, I support theArlington development and want to see it do well, but that I believe theArlington House works must be done prior to the store construction since theresident’s needs should come first, especially when residents are highlyconcerned about Freshwater’s willingness to adhere to its obligations towardsits tenants. I don’t agree with the second vote taken last night. As thereports and the advice given last night made abundantly clear, Freshwaterdidn’t really have a particularly good reason other than “minimisingdisturbance”, in itself not very convincing. In fact during the debate it was made clear that they would be satisfied with the current schedule, so Im unsure as to why a change should be necessary...

Discussion of Ramsgate Sport Centre's proposed extension seemed to focus on the possible increase of confrontations that might be caused between pedestrians and cyclists by shortening the footpath following behind Paradise Avenue from a width of 3 metres to 2 to allow for more shrubbery. I kid you not... An amendment was made to avoid that and it passed.

Cllr Nicholson’s comment of “a step intothe Twilight Zone” pretty much summed the meeting up, indeed the last meetingof the year.

Here It Comes Again

2011-12-12T08:27:00.001Z

This coming Wednesday sees the Arlington Tesco’s issue comebefore Planning Committee as part of the Public Inquiry process. Theapplication has come to Public Inquiry because the application took too long togo through the system and therefore the applicant is claimingnon-determination. This meeting is to decide on how the Planning Committeestands in relation to two aspects, firstly the upgrading of the Scenic Railway’slisted status and second, the timing of the works themselves. The report forthis can be found here.

The last time this application came before Planning those werethe two aspects being decided on, but was referred to Full Council on groundsof “transparency and accountability”. I agree with the decision the Committeecame to. As the report makes clear, the relevant Manager was not authorised totake into account, under delegated powers, the upgraded listed status of theScenic Railway, therefore this had to come before the Planning Committee, evenif it didn’t change anything in the Committee’s mind. As for the second problem, of the timing ofthe works, the proposal was at Freshwaters insistence not the Councils. Add tothat the talk of the possible listing of the site and referral to Full Councilseemed a good decision. Even with the current political set-up and consideringthe possibility that the application could eventually have been voted down, Istill back that vote. In any case that vote is basically void and it’s up tothe Planning Inspectorate now.

As for the application as a whole, I’ve not really published asettled argument, basically because I’ve struggled to come to one. On balance, Isupport the application and see it to be the best opportunity for redevelopmentof the site. I know there was an alternative scheme proposed but given thecurrent economic situation, I’m not convinced on it, and that’s a shame. Yes,there’s going to be an impact on businesses nearby and there will be parkingissues, but given that anything built on this site would attract high numbersof traffic and given the awkward location, it’s going to be the case prettymuch whatever is put there. There’s doubt at whether Freshwater will act honestlywith the residents of Arlington House, but that’s more to do with theassociated legal agreements than the main plans and can be dealt with by theCouncil Officers.

I know other bloggers have commented that they would havepreferred to see a smaller proposed store and I agree. The reality is it’s noton the cards. We must consider the application as a whole and be careful not tolose this chance of fully redeveloping the site.

Pooleing Around

2011-12-09T21:21:00.001Z

As readers will know Ive blogged a couple of times about “negativingconditions” in planning applications, firstly in relation to Arlington where CllrPoole (now Deputy Council Leader) proposed an amendment to a condition whichwould have meant deliveries would be banned between 11pm and 7am, and secondlyin relation to the China Gateway application, where he proposed a conditionbanning the use of HGVs on the site between 11pm and 7am. Both times, themotions were refused as they were deemed to be negativing ones, that they wouldbe unreasonable to the applicant. Both times he made it clear he disagreed withthe legal advice and felt that they were legitimate conditions to make.

I commented after the China Gateway meeting, held on the 16th November that Councillorsshould have been aware of the rules on this after the first time it came up orfound out for themselves how things stood. Cllr Everitt, newly appointedCabinet Member for Performance, made a point during debate of the China Gatewayapplication that the advice should be sent out to Committee Members so thatthey know in advance how the rules apply. Strange, because they weresent the advice in June!

The Arlington application was deferred to the Secretary ofState on the 15^th June 2011 after Cllr Poole’s motion was declined.He objected to it strongly enough to write a letter of complaint about it thenext day. The day after that (17^th June) Cllr Poole received aletter from Harvey Patterson, Corporate & Regulatory Services Manager,which provided in some detail the reasons behind the decision not to proceedwith the motion. Reading the letter, I recognise the reference to Circular11/95, as I commented on that document when I blogged about the China Gateway application.On the bottom it shows the letter was cc’d to the Chair and Members of thePlanning Committee, which would have included both Cllrs Everitt and Poole andindeed the new Council Leader Clive Hart.

The letter can be found here

Now, why did they make such a fuss at the 16^thNovember Planning meeting when they had already been made aware of the legalbasis for the refusal to proceed with negativing motions way back in June?

Hart's Changes

2011-12-09T01:30:00.001Z

So, we have a Labour administration in TDC, something new forme, since I came to politics proper just after the 2003 elections. Congratulationsto the new Council Leader Cllr Clive Hart and Deputy Leader Cllr Alan Poole. Arevealing meeting, showing a snapshot of what the next 3 1/2 years has instore. Change has definitely come to Thanet, that’s for sure. Whether it’s whatis in Thanet’s best interests or not, well, that’s another matter entirely, but weshall see in due course. Strange sat with bloggers extraordinaire Luke Edwardsand Tony Flaig. Even stranger for a Tory Councillor to point us out during themeeting. You’re welcome, I guess!

A lot of shouting across the Chamber again, with multiple interventionsby the same Members who have points of information, clarification, or obfuscation...prettymuch whatever puts off real debate. I’ve seen it in the past and complainedabout it before with relation to Scrutiny and nothing has changed. From the sounds ofthings the audio system is ready to roll and we might expect recordings of themeetings to be placed online. I completely support this. I hope readers willlook out for these recordings to listen out for how their elected Councillorsspeak. Is this the sort of thing YOU want to see? PM Questions on Wednesdayafternoons is understandable but this is our local Council.

In the past I’ve avoided naming and shaming but this sort ofthing needs to stop. It makes the Council look awful and if their residents sawthis they wouldn’t approve. It’s childish and wholly inappropriate. I’m talkingboth about Conservatives and Labour here. Labour Councillor Peter Campbell of Central HarbourWard shouting at a Council Officer that the decision not to debate the motion on night flights during the July Full Council meeting was “corruption”was way out of line. He had no right to make that claim and no evidence at all.

What sort of change can we expect? Well, a motion were passedto set up a Members Working Group to work out how bad the issue of runaways is.This is an issue I personally care about, so when I see duplication of roles orfunctions, I don’t like it much. I want to see clarity, where the system isstreamlined enough for there to be efficient and quality input. I will definitely be blogging about this inthe future.

John Worrow got his wish with his proposed free half hour carparking scheme. I don’t agree with this idea given how every High Street willwant their version of this and the budget is stretched enough. At least itbrought some light relief to Members who had been having an ideological battleover the future budget and who was or was not to blame for it. Pretty mucheveryone had a good laugh at Cllr Worrow, so at least there’s agreement on thatissue…

Balancing Boundaries (updated)

2011-11-18T14:06:00.001Z

Reading through the Gazette I came across a letter by CllrsFenner and Poole relating to the Boundary Commission’s review of Parliamentaryseats. I could have sworn I’d heard it before and yep, I had. It was publishedon Thanet Press Release’s website on the 6^th November. Todays letteris the same statement, therefore Im assuming that their view has not changedand they are sticking to what they said before. Their proposal is:

“the inclusion of the Margate Wards of Westbrook and Garlingeand keeping Salmestone in the proposed new constituency of Margate &Ramsgate”

OK. Lets look at the proposed boundaries for Herne Bay andMargate & Ramsgate. What doesn’t ring true with the quote? Yep, Salmestoneis ALREADY part of the proposed Margate & Ramsgate seat.

The letter makes mention of the “whole Margate community”and that it "must" be included in the Margate/Ramsgate seat. Given the oldMargate boundaries included Westgate as well this proposal falls because theseat would be too large to meet the Boundary Commission's criteria, even if Sandwich was moved to the Herne Bay seat. Labourmakes criticisms that Margate "must not be split" and yet Labour knows thatthey have to accept the splitting of Margate. One Labour Councillor in Margate has publicly accepted this as being the case.

Of course if Labour is serious about the “whole Margate community” being part of Margate/Ramsgate, would they please suggest whichRamsgate ward they would drop, so that the residents can make their ownfeelings known.

The reason why they made this press release? They wereattacking Laura Sandys for making public her view that she would prefer to keepLittle Stour and Ashstone in the Margate/Ramsgate seat at maybe the expense ofSalmestone. Odd, since this is a public consultation. Just because she has saidthis does not mean the proposed seats are automatically changed. It’s based on ALLthe information that gets sent to the Review not just the resident MP’s. Everyoneis entitled to their opinion, whether the Labour leadership agrees with it ornot.

The Maths (update 18:20):

The proposed Herne Bay seat contains 78,999 voters compared to Margate/Ramsgate with 74,173. According to last years District elections the key wards have the following electorates:

Westbrook 3059
Garlinge 3453
Sandwich 5600
Westgate On Sea 5079

If Westbrook and Garlinge are exchanged for Sandwich, Herne Bay will have 78,087 voters and Margate/Ramsgate will have 75,085 voters. If Westgate moves from Herne Bay to Margate/Ramsgate, Herne Bay will have 73,008 voters compared to Margate/Ramsgate's 80,164.

Looking at the "rules", a constituency needs to have between 72,810 and 80,473 voters (5% either side of 76,641-the electoral quota). While the final figures fit with this, there are two reasons why I wouldn't advocate the Westgate switch. Firstly each constituency needs to have similar numbers of electors and with such a large difference in voters it defeats the purpose of the review. Secondly Cllr Will Scobie posted analysis on the apparent loss of 1,400 voters from Margate Central and Cliftonville West wards in the last four years therefore there should be a reluctance to push towards the upper limit. With this being the case its best that Westgate stay with Herne Bay seat, even if that means splitting Margate.

I hope the above might shed some light onto the maths involved. While I would be delighted to fit Westgate in the proposed Margate/Ramsgate seat, the above doesn't justify the move.

Reasonably Unreasonable

2011-11-17T14:58:00.001Z

Firstly, a big thanks to everyone who reads this blog. Whilemy total blog views may be half what other blogs get each month, I’m gratefulto all of you who spend a little of your time reading whatever I churn out. Nowonto the business…

-------------------------------------------------

Planning Committee meetings sometimes throw up controversialmoments where the advice given disagrees with what the Members feel. A recentexample of this is the debate over “negative conditions”. Earlier this year wehad the Arlington Tesco’s application before the Committee and a proposedamendment was made that deliveries couldn’t happen late at night. While it wasn’tsuprising that we were told that Tesco’s couldn’t accept such an amendment, itwas suprising that the amendment couldn’t even be voted on. Some Members wereclearly not happy with the lack of information about this and it was noted inthe minutes for that meeting that Cllr Poole did not agree with this.

Well, it happened again last night during consideration ofthe China Gateway application, and the Member proposing the amendment, CllrPoole! The proposal was that HGVs would not be allowed on Sundays and BankHolidays. Again, we were told that it was a negativing amendment and therefore couldn’tbe accepted. This time round the Officers quoted from the legal guidance which commented on this very issue.

Looking at the guidance, the issue here isn’t that theCommittee is making a condition. It can argue quite rightly that a conditionlike that is legal for them to make. However, the developer couldn’t accept itbecause it would be seen as unreasonable. In this case its described as “undulyrestrictive” and would make the Committee ultra vires. To quote the fullpassage (Circular 11/95):

“A conditionmay be unreasonable because it is unduly restrictive. Although a condition mayin principle impose a continuing restriction on the use of land (provided thatthere are good planning reasons for that restriction), such a condition shouldnot be imposed if the restriction effectively nullifies the benefit of thepermission. For example, it would normally be reasonable to restrict the hoursduring which an industrial use may be carried on if the use of the premisesoutside these hours would affect the amenities of the neighbourhood, but itwould be unreasonable to do so to such an extent as to make it impossible forthe occupier to run the business properly. If it appears that a permissioncould be given only subject to conditions that would be likely to be heldunreasonable by the courts then it will be necessary to refuse permissionaltogether.”

Cllr Everitt made a comment that this legal advice should have been made available to Members before. I would say in reply that given this happened before with Arlington that Members should have had the sense to Google it months ago if only for their own information were this to appear again...

Ultimately the amendment went no further and the discussioncontinued. An amendment was made allowing the Committee to oversee aspects of the Legal Agreement.

I should tag onto the end here that the Localism Act receivedRoyal Assent earlier this week. That means that hopefully soon we can saygoodbye to the predetermination rules which have caused the Labour Group somany issues over Manston Night Flights. The DCLG says we should know by nextmonth(ish) when the major steps come into force.

Sensitive Much?

2011-11-09T21:37:00.002Z

"The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them." G.K. Chesterton

-------------------------------

The world of politics is a strange one, ever-changing. It makes people do funny things, which in the clear light of day shouldn’t happen. Perhaps it’s the excitement of it that gets to their heads. Some of the behaviour in the Council Chamber is definitely down to that.

As everyone and his/her dog knows, Cllrs Hart, Aldred and Clark brought up what was to them a rising problem of crime and their fears of vigilantism with the press and written a letter to the Police. OK, it’s not a new problem (I moved out of the area about 2 ½ years ago after being assaulted at my last home in Warwick Road) but they mean well and it is a genuine issue. They want the credit and it’s understandable they want the hat-tip for bringing it up, especially as Cllr Simon Moores has been discussing the problems in Westgate on his own blog recently. In the Gazette it’s made clear that there’s a planned increase in police provision in the area.

Thanet South MP Laura Sandys posts an article about going out with the local police and made comment on said problem which is a little firmer than it should have been. It’s an unfortunate error but not critical. Now if the Group of Councillors were new to the world of politics they would be really hurt and immediately write a further statement making it clear that the comment was wrong. They would make sure they got as much attention by demanding a retraction of the comment and an apology. Throwing in comments about their own high standing and how this has been brought up by a local resident who has suggested vigilantism as a possible action would bolster this statement.

Of course as we know, they are not new to the world of politics. Cllr Hart is the Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Clark is Chairman of the Council and Cllr Aldred is now into her third term as Ward Councillor. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a slur on their reputations which are firmly established and a short statement making it clear that the comment wasn’t correct would be enough. To demand a retraction and an apology is absurd and desperate.

Matthew Munson: A Name to Note

2011-10-21T13:58:00.000+01:00

For those in Thanet who enjoy a bit of reading, especially science fiction, Broadstairs resident and all-round good guy Matthew Munson has just published his debut novel, Fall From Grace, which can be ordered on Amazon in either Paperback or Kindle.

"A debut novel by Matthew Munson, 'Fall From Grace' follows the lives of three friends who find themselves somehow caught in middle of the wars in Heaven which started over two thousand years ago. Paul, an ex-priest, feels his life is passing him by since he left his calling, and the increasing frequency of his dreams doesn’t help. He can’t even shake the feeling after talks with Joseph, his best friend and sceptic extraordinaire. Joseph’s sister Lauren is happy with her new post as a psychologist at the local university, but just wishes her long-suffered mental absences would stop. As their true identities are revealed, Paul, Joseph and Lauren must venture to the Heavenly Ruling Chamber to come face to face with not only the Almighty himself, but with those who started the rebellion over two millennia ago."

Matthew runs the blog Life From The Front - Dispatches From Viking Bay which talks not only about his writing but also about Deaf and Dyspraxia awareness.

Keeping Margate Central Clean III (updated)

2011-08-11T21:05:00.004+01:00

Over the past week Ive commented on problem areas for waste and street cleaning needing Council action. By and large they've all been solved. Grosvenor Place looks much better now. Addington Road's rubbish has been collected, though I notice its returned through some fixtures. The one for me which has not been solved yet is the broken glass down the alleyway between Byron Avenue and Dane Park brought up here. The Council to its credit cleared away the weeds away Wednesday and this much waste was left at Dane Park opposite the alleyway and for that I thank the Council:

While Im genuinely grateful to the Council for clearing it away, the glass remains. The complaint has been on FixMyStreet since 16th June.

That is why, tomorrow morning, I will be in that alleyway clearing that glass away. Anyone who wants to help out is more than welcome to join in.

Update 12/08/11:

After 4 hours work, most of the glass has been removed along with a lot of other general dirt. It needs a check by the local street cleaner to get the rest and the dog dirt, and the Council will need to collect the sacks of debris, but the alleyway is looking the best it has done for a while and I know from the comments of passers-by that they agree.

The area including Byron Avenue, Milton Avenue, Poet's Corner and Cowper Road needs careful watching. Residents say they've complained to the Council directly but they are dissatisfied with the result. There is a serious communication issue here. That alleyway along with the alleyway bisecting it running along the back of Byron Avenue shouldn't have gotten that bad before action was needed.

After checking the rest of the ward, its definitely this area along with Grosvenor Place, Princes Crescent (junction by Spread Eagle pub) along with the bit of Addington Road mentioned in previous posts which are most of concern. The closer you get to the seafront, the lesser the problem generally becomes. Understandable though since obviously the seafront will get precedence.

I commented in the past about the increased use of seagull-proof bags and I know they are being used in a property in Hawley Square. I ask that the Council look to provide all residents at Hawley Square with seagull-proof bags as soon as can be afforded along with other similar properties. They are proving successful and Hawley Square has a bit of a problem with waste being targeted by the local wildlife and the use of wheelie bins is inappropriate.

Once the issues I've raised about dog fouling and the bits of glass still remaining in the alleyway are dealt with, the FMS complaint will be fixed. In future, any problems I come across will go through the FMS website, not through this blog, though residents are of course welcome to comment here about any issues they have, if they prefer. As we now know, the relevant TDC Cabinet Member is aware of the website and I know he will ensure the information from it is fed into the cleaning schedule. I don't want to be posting articles critical of the Council but if I have to, I will.

With any luck, this is the end of it and a more positive tone will appear soon...

Keeping Margate Central Clean II

2011-08-10T00:40:00.001+01:00

To update from last weeks blog, the rubbish from the house I photo'd at Addington Road has been cleared, but the rubbish from the house immediately to the left is still there.

The following are pictures taken this evening.

A hotspot at Shakespeare Road,first brought up on FixMyStreet on 2nd October 2008, then 1st March 2009, 12th April 2009 and 15 April 2009. I have no doubt the problems continued but residents gave up on the website.

The following is Poet's Corner highlighted on FixMyStreet recently by a resident and on my last blog.

Given the collection was Monday, a sight like this was a suprise.

Cowper Road, just round the corner from Shakespeare Road.

Before moving on from this part of Margate, I had a good chat with a resident about the way street cleaning and rubbish collection was handled. They felt that while it was good to see a street cleaner on their road, the first in a while, they didnt finish the road and left a little pile of dirt where they stopped... They think the scheduling of the street cleaner could be better for the area. There are little bits of broken glass strewn along Milton Avenue, where kids were playing. They weren't impressed with the way the alleyways were cleaned. This is a complaint that has been brought up before on FixMyStreet.

Grosvenor Place. Im pleased to see the other end was cleared up where the wind sucks the rubbish down the road though I wonder whether it'll last.

There are still problems to deal with. As a half time status, only a minority of the items on my list sent to the Council have been dealt with. Hopefully the pictures above will encourage action...

Keeping Margate Central Clean?

2011-08-05T22:17:00.010+01:00

One of the most visible ways in which this Council acts is through rubbish collection and street cleaning. This May saw more wheelie bins and seagull-proof bags hitting Thanet streets.

FixMyStreet highlights problems like dumped rubbish, broken glass, abandoned vehicles and other problems which make an area look awful. It doesnt seen to be regularly updated though as to whether these complaints are being acted upon, so I had a look at the areas brought up to see how bad it was. Its clear the website isnt up to date and these complaints haven't been followed up.

Locals will of course recognise this alleyway, leading from Byron Avenue to Dane Park. Broken glass dumped rubbish is typical for this alley along with heavily broken up pavement as well. Once you come out, you see a couple of black sacks sat across the road.

Rubbish bags picked up but clearly a street cleaner hasnt been down Poet's Corner. A complaint has been on FixMyStreet for over 2 weeks.

This bit of Addington Road has a frequent problem with rubbish like this.

A check on the TDC website shows that collection for a lot of this wont be until Monday and in the worst case such as the Addington Road photo, Thursday.

Where are the Ward Councillors who should be showing leadership of their community in demanding action? These problems have been there for some time now and the complaints are there on the FMS website, yet so many of them remain unanswered. Local residents say they contact the Council and yet it persists. How can they have confidence in a Council which to them, isnt performing one of its key jobs?

Refuse collection and street cleaning may not be pretty, but it matters...

Rambling through Ramsgate

2011-07-26T17:45:00.001+01:00

A frequent complaint by those in Ramsgate that it's overlooked in favour of Margate, particularly when it comes to major projects such as the Turner Contemporary. I paid a visit toRamsgate this morning to see if that was the case. The simple answer is Ramsgate does perfectly well without it and can do better...

A Harbour which any town would want and which puts Margate's to shame. A Promenade kept tidy and with wonderful views going South. The redevelopment at the Main Sands will complete the regeneration of that area after the sad demise of the Pleasurama. If good use can be made of the former Casino, that would be the cherry on the top. A good High Street which is much busier than Margate's. A raft of good restaurants to choose from. Ellington Park looked gorgeous. Ramsgate should take great pride in what it has to offer.

Ramsgate has to stop comparing itself to Margate. Such a negative approach does the town no favours. Instead it should embrace change and look positively to channel it in the manner best suited for itself. The people best placed to improve Ramsgate are already there. The Councillors - Town, District and County - are elected for a purpose, to improve their wards for the residents. Its up to them first and foremost to lead this change.

The people though have a role to play, demanding more from their Councillors. They should be pushing Councillors to be positive and instead of saying "We dont like this" or "This isnt appropriate" should be coming up with alternatives. This is where community groups come to the fore, supporting Councillors and offering their own ideas and contributions.

Ramsgate must find the confidence to embrace change rather than seeing it as a threat. Change can be difficult and certainly its not always smooth, but it works in the end.

Margate FC and Sainsburys

2011-07-19T15:36:00.002+01:00

Two big items of business at tomorrow’s Planning Committee meeting. First is the redevelopment of Hartsdown Park. Approval should be routine seeing as the proposal is an improvement to the previous one which received Full Council's unanimous support back in 2006. There has been controversy round this for a few reasons such as the refusal to grant a Section 73 amendment, which coupled with subsequent discussions on the blogs and the Conservative manifesto pledge that any new applications or leases would require fresh public consultation led to fans questioning TDC’s support of the club. Personally I think the manifesto pledge was unnecessary. Public consultation goes without saying but the pledge sounded like barrier building. I hope this meeting will help to draw a line under all that so that the fans can focus on the action on the pitch rather than off it.

Second big item of business is an application by Sainsburys to create a scheme of development with its current site, and land behind it, including Group Antolin up to the Saga roundabout. Its enormous and in all honesty Ive not had the time to read the report fully but Im sure the local blogsphere will keep an eye on the application.

TDC Full Council (updated)

2011-07-15T13:52:00.007+01:00

Another Council meeting last night with negativity clouding most speeches.

First up, there was unanimity over live animal exports. Despite the motion being proposed by Cllr Fenner, it was Cllr Driver who has been the driving force (pun not intended) behind this after setting up the public meeting in Ramsgate and summing up well what the Chamber felt.

Night flights was rather different. The proposed motion (the recommendations of the last Airport Working Party) was seen as invalid because it was deemed to be ‘pre-determination’. The incoming Localism Bill will scrap this rule, but as the moment the rule still stands. Labour’s motion is pre-determination, especially when considered alongside Labour’s manifesto pledges on Manston. Last night Cllrs Hart and Fenner both referred to the importance of the Labour manifesto, something Cllr David Green has also done on his own blog. The manifesto pledge is very clear. Labour doesn’t want night flights and would rule them out. Labour's already decided how they would act were a night flight proposal to appear. It is what it is.

During this debate very heated comments were made by Members, the vast majority coming from Labour. One Member made extremely serious allegations. They know who they are and they know what they said. They should either withdraw those comments or go through the proper process. It should not be aired in the Council Chamber.

This will continue while Labour Leader Cllr Clive Hart fails to keep control of his group. By calling last nights behaviour “robust debate” he only justifies it. Its not good enough to just dismiss it. Ive been to enough meetings to know how normal last night is, but it doesn’t change the fact that its unacceptable.

Thanet is changing. Things dont have to be the way they are, nor should they be. We must strive to change Thanet, transforming its prospects and boosting its profile. Last nights behaviour undermines this by showing Thanet at its worst.

Change must come to the Council Chamber.

Update (17:50):

Cllr Hart has made a statement on Margate Architecture's blog detailing his outrage at the night flights debate last night. Ive already mentioned the rule of 'pre-determination' above which fully explains the reason why the motion was denied. The meeting was adjourned for 10 minutes to allow Members time to read the legal advice and they asked questions afterwards for over 10 minutes on top of a 15 minute adjournment from the previous agenda item on live exports. Cllr Hart's comment that the motion is in keeping with the manifesto pledge only further undermines his case.

Cllr David Green has said on his blog that the motion from last night was not because Overview and Scrutiny deferred consideration of the Airport Working Party's recommendations until the next meeting. Cllr Hart states that actually it is the reason. So who's right, Cllr Hart or Cllr Green? Labour's entire policy on Manston is untenable..

Cllr Hart now calls the debate "intense" rather than "robust". Will he go the whole hog and just admit that his Members behaved appallingly and that one of them made a serious allegation and will withdraw it at the soonest opportunity?

A Tale of Two Towns

2011-07-08T17:37:00.000+01:00

If ever there was a town with two sides, Margate is it. The Old Town, now the New Town, reinvigorated by the opening of the Turner Contemporary and a number of other businesses around the Harbour now sees countless tourists coming to Margate, something which years ago would have been unthinkable. The Margate Museum is opening with the fantastic support of local volunteers. Congratulations to the Friends of Margate Museum on their success.

The Old Town is what was Dreamland and Arlington Square. Back in the day, they were bustling with huge crowds. The Pride of Margate, mere relics. Faced with proposals of redevelopment, it's opposed by local residents because of a lack of trust in those proposing it, possible heavy traffic and noise and because the main store is going to be a Tesco's.

Looking back at the New Town, those reasons are exactly the ones raised with the Turner Contemporary and look what happened. It’s a complete turnaround and even those who had doubts about it now preach of what a great success its become. Locals working there speak of the enormous change and what benefits it will bring to Margate. Margate Football Club is looking to build a new stadium which will contribute to a vibrant Margate seafront and community spirit, not to mention helping to bring tourism to the town.

The proposals for the rebuilding of Arlington Square are well known and the arguments are as well versed. I don't doubt their sincerity or the strength of opinion in the Labour ranks through their two Ward Councillors that the plans need to be carefully scrutinised but we must not put the cart before the horse. Central Government has approved (Ed-not approved but allowed to be taken locally) the plans and now we can look forward to it coming back to Council to make it a reality.

Change is fuelling the regeneration of a town which has for too long been looked upon with derision. But the town mustn't be complacent. Instead we must strive to improve it further so that Arlington Square and Dreamland is once again the Pride of Margate and earning Margate the envy of Thanet.

Going deaf?

2011-06-23T21:15:00.006+01:00

The TDC Cabinet meeting tonight was short but sweet. Only one question for me remains. Did Cllr Clive Hart support TDC in passing the Article 4 Direction on HMOs? He spent so long making the point that this was necessary only because the Government changed the rules on this that I couldnt make out whether he actually supported it or not...

On another point, I've been to 6 meetings at TDC this current political year and in at least half of them there have been problems with the microphone system in the Council Chamber and the system's been abandoned in two of them. At first you could just laugh it off as gremlins but its a serious problem now and it stopped being funny a while back. It is very hard to hear Members sat near the Chairs bench from the public gallery. The reason for the problem is well known so why is it taking so long to sort it out?

Arlington Tesco's approved...sort of

2011-06-17T14:16:00.004+01:00

The Planning Committee approved the outline application to build a Tesco's, a car park and associated shops at Arlington on Wednesday evening. Although it didnt. It took a few attempts to explain to Members that TDC cannot decide on granting planning consent by itself because the Tescos is too large for them to call it. Instead it has to be referred to the Secretary of State, but that TDC gives its recommendation. All delightfully complicated.

The three speakers against the application were very good and stuck to planning issues in their speeches. Far too often I see speakers talking about non planning issues which basically cant be considered by the committee. If you are to speak against an application, your chances are vastly increased by speaking on planning grounds.

An amendment was proposed to refuse night time deliveries. It was explained that such an amendment could not be accepted even if a majority of Members agreed because it was considered unacceptable to the applicant. It did sound absurd but clearly its a red line for the applicant.

It was always going to be close and when a Conservative Member spoke against the application it seemed the application could be refused. When it came down to the vote though, it was a 7-7 split which makes me wonder if that Member voted with their speech (I was in the spillover room so couldnt see). The tiebreaker is the Chairs vote which is by convention to vote with the officer's recommendation. It now comes before the Secretary of State.

Comment was made during the debate that "You're not helping yourselves" and a dismissive wave made towards the public gallery when they booed a comment made by a Member. I don't blame the residents for being upset at the plans and for booing. Its a monster of an application which will lead to huge disruption to their homes and they are worried that promises made to them will either be bodged or simply forgotten. One resident walked out of the meeting in frustration after making some choice comments about the officers which I couldn't possibly repeat here.

My feeling is that if we weren't in such a dire economic situation, the residents scheme would be more attractive. But you have to deal with what you have, not with what you want. As with Iris Johnston and others, I hope it comes before Full Council for detailed consideration and that continued public consultation takes place as there are still a lot of questions to answer.

Arlington Square is the sorriest sight in Thanet and the residents support its redevelopment - but change needs to work with the residents, not against them.

Labour move on night flights

2011-06-10T18:06:00.005+01:00

The Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 31st May discussed night flights and the recommendations arising from the Airport Working Party [AWP]. The minutes from the AWPs last meeting was not immediately available at the start of the meeting. The issue appeared of there being a number of new members and whether it would be right to debate the report from the AWP with those new members not having had the time to consider it. After a split vote, the Chair, Cllr King decided after some time not to proceed with it that night and to bring it back at the next meeting.

Labour was not happy at all because they wanted the AWPs recommendations brought up with Cabinet, something they had said just before the meeting started. Shouts of "Disgrace" were made by more than one Labour member. Now a resolution has been tabled for the next Council meeting by Cllrs Clive Hart and Alan Poole with the recommendations of the AWP the proposed motion.

Scrutiny needs to be done properly on this issue and that includes due process as to scrutiny. The Chair had decided to consider the AWPs recommendations at the next meeting and that for some members of Overview and Scrutiny isnt good enough, so theyve gone round it straight to Full Council. I dont agree with that tactic and suspect that was the plan all along.

The Scrutiny process should be followed through to allow the Cabinet to make an informed decision on a Night Flight Policy and thus conduct a proper public consultation. Labour want to pre-empt this process by stonewalling night flights.

Tescos for Arlington?

2011-06-10T12:47:00.004+01:00

This coming Wednesday evening sees the Planning Committee considering an application from Tescos to build a new store at the foot of Arlington House with a car park and works to the local roads to boot. The plans can be found at UK Planning here. The report prepared for the Planning Committee is here.

So how do you feel about the plans?

Scrutiny

2011-06-05T19:44:00.004+01:00

Big News Margate reported earlier this week on the recent Kent Cabinet Scrutiny meeting and the debate over the Ofsted inspections last year. The webcast makes it clear that the pledged 'post mortem' report isnt going to be provided.

Its also clear that the Peter Connelly tragedy and the ripple effect of increased demands on social services was a major factor in the negative reports from Ofsted and no one holds that against the Council. Two years ago on this blog Cllr Chris Wells commented on the impact it would have. Kent hasnt suffered alone either with authorities across the country hit by increasing demand.

The key issue here is that while its valid to say that its best to just move on and get on with the job in hand, those who have a job to scrutinise need to do so as a matter of public interest. Its not about being party political or wanting to apportion blame. Its about accountability. By spending time considering the causes of the current problems will help to avoid them in the future.

A visit to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee brought up a similar issue over Manston. Yes, its easy to just say it'll be alright and to trust those making the decisions but public confidence can only be maintained if proper scrutiny is able to take place. Local residents still may not be happy simply because the flights will cause disruption to them, and I understand that, but at least no one will say that the proposals hadnt been looked at in detail prior to the decisions being made.

Gifts, promises and confessions

2010-05-22T09:30:00.002+01:00

At the TDC AGM held earlier this month the Opposition were given the pick of Overview and Scrutiny Chair, under the pretense of working in a more friendly atmosphere. Whether it'll last is a matter for debate but given TDC elections on May 5th next year, Im not optimistic.

We see in election literature often enough "I/We will work with others to...", a pledge which in the cold light of practical politics goes out the window pretty quickly. I should know since 3 years ago I used that very language when talking about the proposed Westwood development. Of course I wasnt successful, perhaps thats an indication why. You will hear that a lot more in months to come though.

Labour, shunted into opposition by the coalition, is still shell shocked by whats happened. This is most clear when you look at the immediate actions of the former Cabinet members now standing for the leadership and their comments on how wrong the Iraq war was. Such an admission is not enough as their keeping quiet led to the invasion. Their journey is only just beginning and they shouldnt assume that admitting guilt over Iraq will absolve them of 13 years of abusing the trust of the public.

Results are in...

2010-05-07T09:32:00.001+01:00

Thanet North held by Roger Gale with a modest increase to the Conservative vote but a severe drop in Labour support, just 828 votes ahead of the LIb Dems. As I commented elsewhere, the candidate was the wrong one for the area. It was obvious early on, a candidate no one had heard of making very little comment and what looked like a half-hearted campaign.

Thanet South was won by Laura Sandys with a strong 7617 majority. Labours vote dropped by around 2000 and an increased turnout worked in her favour.

In a slight non-Thanet deviation, it was good to see Charles Elphicke see off Gwyn Prosser in Dover last night. He will make a great MP.

Nationally its looking like a hung Palriament with the Conservatives as clearly the biggest single party. There is talk that Labour is looking for a coalition with the LIb Dems, the cost being electoral reform. That would be a bad thing for the country. A decision over electoral reform shouldnt be a bargaining chip to be offered in exchange for retaining the keys to Downing Street.

Thanet MPs split on Gurkhas

2009-04-30T11:19:00.003+01:00

Last night the Government was defeated on a Lib Dem led motion on Gurkhas right to settle in this country. As I posted last time, its a disgrace that the Government wont grant the right to settlement, which is their dues after their own sacrifices for this country. The Governments argument is basically on costs, claiming it would cost upwards of £1bn. If those numbers exist, then publish them. A number of times the question was asked of how such a figure was arrived at but no answer was given to it.

Roger Gale voted in favour of the motion while Stephen Ladyman voted against.

Playing games with Gurkhas...again

2009-04-24T14:45:00.004+01:00

How dare the Government mess the Gurkhas around. The Gurkhas lay their lives down on the line and for what? So the Government can screw them over with immigration rules?

The new criteria are (they need to meet one of the following):

-Three years continuous residence in the UK during or after service
-Close family in the UK
-A bravery award of level one to three
-Service of 20 years or more in the Gurkha brigade
-Chronic or long-term medical condition caused or aggravated by service

Each and every one of them simply by being there has shown more than enough bravery to meet that requirement. Quoting the Gurkha Justice Campaign, "The Government decision of 25th April 2009 on Gurkha settlement rights is yet another huge betrayal of the Gurkhas who have served our country".

Invitation to Tim Garbutt

2009-03-14T17:20:00.004Z

As local bloggers may have noticed, Tim Garbutt and I have been debating his emerging policy platform for the next General Election as Independent Green candidate for South Thanet on his blog. Weve gone over policies such as the viability of him as MP sacking the "Gang of Four", the strength of a corporate manslaughter prosecution against Thanet District Council and the ability he would have to interfere in planning decisions made by TDC and reverse those decisions he personally disagreed with.

After the first post I made on his blog questioning his policies, he put into effect a moderating rule, which is very typical in light of anonymous flaming attacks we see on local blogs. However recently my comments havent appeared at all. A glitch Im sure. To make up for this and to continue our debate on his policies, I invite him to comment on my own blog, safe in the knowledge that posts wont disappear.

Id like to know under which laws he will enact many of his policies. If such powers are available then surely he can quote them. I invite him to explain how he will create a "County Senate", its composition and how it will operate. How will the new organisation fit in with the rest of local government?

Does he think it fair that men who are democratically elected to TDC should be sacked to make it fairer for women candidates not elected? Does he feel that someones demographics should matter or is it more a case of their ability to perform that should matter? Bearing in mind that age goes both ways, is he indicating that he would sack older Councillors to make sure that younger candidates are allowed a free ticket to the Council Chamber? In short I am asking, does he believe in meritocracy?

He may not wish to respond to these questions, but Im sure that the residents of South Thanet would be interested in his answers. Looking at the local papers he isnt able to conduct surgeries and his email address is out of action. He refuses to go to Council meetings so the ability to talk to him directly about his policies is limited. So come on Tim Garbutt...what's the worst that can happen?

Children in care bashabout

2009-02-16T16:29:00.008Z

With local elections on the way, you could bet on a political row to spice things up. This time its about children in care and the apparent lack of action in the years since the publication of the report into children in care in Thanet way back in 2005. The report was scathing about it and described a community at "tipping point". In response to Cllr Chris Well's comments on the situation and calling for more action not words in this weeks Kent on Sunday, fellow County Cllr Clive Hart has taken offence, accusing him of jumping on the issue for political purposes and claiming the credit for himself (something I havent really noticed despite living in Cliftonville for not far off 3 years).

My concern is that with this turning into a "who was there first" argument, the serious issue behind it will be lost. I remember just before the report was published being shown the preface to it and told that "finally we can do something about it". Since then its fair to say not an awful lot has been done. As I have said in previous posts here, these are very vulnerable people with futures dependent on the provision they receive.

Its all well and good highlighting the issue and complaining about the lack of action but what exactly can be done? Laura Sandys has spoken about appealing to London boroughs and the Mayor of Landon not to send more our way and yet I doubt little will change by asking nicely. Some have indicated that sending them back to their previous local authorities will deal with the problem. It may well be out of sight and thus perhaps out of mind but you would have washed your hands of it without actually dealing with the actual problem. If the children are in Thanet then surely we have a duty of care to ensure the best interests of the child are taken at all times.

I'd like to know who is ensuring that the children in care in Thanet are actually building a future. Is it not possible for a TDC Cabinet member to add to their responsibiliities an overwatch function for children in care? On this issue I would suggest the Cabinet member for Community Services, in this case Cllr Zita Wiltshire. As far as I know this is done solely at County level, which doesnt help much given KCC interest appears to stall when they get to Canterbury. Surely this is something where TDC can step in and work more effectively with KCC to improve things.

The numbers entering the care system are increasing substantially since Baby P and it is absolutely essential that a proper strategy be in place. Many in Thanet may not like the children in care being here, but here they are and we must do all we can to provide for them. The cost of failure is simply too high to just ignore our responsibilities.

Endcliffe Hotel Enforcement Notice?

2009-02-03T18:04:00.006Z

The Planning Committee came across a tough decision at last month's meeting regarding the Endcliffe Hotel in Cliftonville. It was granted planning consent to be rebuilt for housing after it was burned down in 2005, but hasnt been rebuilt according to the plans approved by the Council in 2006 and as the owner, claiming financial problems, has refused to put in a fresh planning application (the Council would be minded to refuse the current building if proposed for a fresh application). Therefore Officers are recommending that an Enforcement Notice be served insisting upon demolition and rebuilding according to the approved plans as no changes would alleviate the problems in the eyes of the Officers.

The Committee chose to do a Site Visit to the property to see it for themselves and therefore to decide at the next meeting on 18th February on whether to issue an Enforcement Notice. Its a very tough call to make. It is very much out of keeping with the adjacent buildings, looking very bland sadly like so many other developments, without any character (we're not expecting masterpieces of architecture, but we surely expect buildings that fit in nicely and show quality) and certainly does not look like the approved plans. Its also obvious that there are people living in the property. It is apparent that conditions of the original planning consent have been breached.

There are questions for the Council to answer as to why the building was allowed to be built as far as it did before the Council noticed. Hopefully this will mean that the Council sharpens up its monitoring operations.

Reckless caution or moral hazard?

2008-12-02T09:12:00.002Z

A new term has entered the political lexicon in recent days, describing the reluctance of banks to lend money at levels previously seen. Such "reckless caution" is said to be causing further economic problems by stunting consumer spending, one of the key drivers of the economy in the past decade, now replaced by the Government advancing its own spending programme in an effort to stimulate the economy. But is it reckless?

The banks get told on the one hand that theyve been stupid with their policy of lending to anyone and everyone at rates which were clearly unacceptable and yet when the banks take the action they believe to be right, that of removing the drip of credit to protect themselves for the future, they get criticised for it accused of endangering the economy. I disagree that such action is recklessly cautious. If the banks do not take the action they are doing will we ever learn the lessons that the banks have, that such lending is unsustainable and was based upon us borrowing against hopes of continuing growth?

Moral hazard is a key principle we must never forget in relation to this credit crunch. Banks do learn from their mistakes and are rightly arguing that the action they are taking will be of long term benefit to the country, even if such benefits arent noticed now, which is why I warn against heavy government interference as is to be promoted in the Queens Speech. Banks will never lend in that way again so such action by the Government is effectively pointless.

The principle of moral hazard applies to us as much as it applies to the banks. We are credit junkies and we need to learn that we helped cause this by taking the credit when it was offered and to now wean ourselves off, even if it takes longer to recover from the recession.

No excuse for a witch-hunt

2008-11-26T08:49:00.006Z

With a number of inquiries underway to work out how to avoid a repeat of the horrific Baby P case and the recent case in Brighton on the news, a warning will be made today by the Chairwoman of the LGA about the risk of causing damage to the system in an effort to improve it.

“If we don’t work hard to maintain an objective and balanced approach, we’ll find the numbers of children entering care rising sharply, with some children who are objectively better off staying with their families unable, any longer, to do so, as the system becomes unreasonably risk-averse."

This is a key problem with the reaction to this case. Its understandable that the argument will be made that the problem with Baby P was that he wasnt taken into care soon enough and that lead to his death and therefore more children should be taken into care thereby stopping any future cases like this. Of course such an argument assumes the very worst of the parents and the very best of the care system. As Newsnight reported last week and will be reporting again in the coming months, care leavers have a whole range of situations and not many of them come out of the system ready for the wider world. Higher rates of mental illness, criminality and poor educational qualifications therefore leading to a restriction on their ability to find work are well known trends related to this.

While its easy to say "put those who might be at risk in care", there are serious issues with that. Is the care system able to take them? Will we not run the risk of overburdening social workers who are already being used as scapegoats for the Baby P case, when they will be criticised whatever happens? They get accused of either breaking up families or keeping children in abusive families. Its an incredibly hard decision to make for a social worker as to what to recommend unless its obvious which course to take. They make decisions that will affect the people involved for the rest of their lives and I for one applaud them for the work they do. They dont get given the credit they are due.

Does the care system have the capacity to provide an environment for them which is both safe but allows them to prepare for the future when they inevitably leave the system? Do we have the foster carers and interested prospective adoptive parents or will they spend their time effectively in limbo stuck in some care home? Placing a child into the care system means removing them from an entire family.

Its absolutely essential we not make a knee jerk reaction while the issue is hot then forget about the issue amongst the economic crisis. We are at serious risk of causing more problems than we solve and the lives of so many vulnerable children are at risk here and we must be wary of overreacting.

Economists criticise Government economic plans

2008-10-27T09:07:00.003Z

The debate over how to bring economic recovery continues with a letter to the Sunday Telegraph signed by 16 leading economists with the following :

"SIR - Further to your interview with Alistair Darling (October 19), we would like to dissent from the attempt to use a public works programme to spend the country's way out of recession. It is misguided for the government to believe that it knows how much specific sectors of the economy need to shrink and which will shrink "too rapidly" in a recession. Thus the government cannot know how to use an expansion in expenditure that would not risk seriously misallocating resources.
Furthermore, public expenditure has already risen very rapidly in recent years, and a further large rise would take the role of the State in many parts of the economy to such a dominant position that it would stunt the private sector's recovery once recession is past.

Occasional economic slowdowns are natural and necessary features of a market economy. Insofar as they are to be managed at all, the best tool is monetary and not fiscal policy. It is inevitable that government expenditure and debt naturally rise in a recession but planned rises in government spending are misguided and discredited as a tool of economic management.

If it is believed that this recession has features that demand more active fiscal policy, which is highly disputable, taxes should be cut. This would allow the market to determine which parts of the economy shrink and which flourish to replace them."

The Chair of the Commons Finance Committee John McFall has argued for tax cuts saying "There is a need for a focused approach, to reduce the tax burden of the lowest paid working people. Now is the time for further reform of tax allowances to take millions of low-paid people out of income tax altogether, and benefit many millions more basic-rate taxpayers."

One of the main features of this downturn is that it has been caused by easy credit and loose spending by not only the people (easy credit kept the economy ticking over through consumer expenditure) but also by the Government when it spent so profligantly. We all had a hand in this and the Government must not try to spend its way out of this.

TDC China Gateway vote

2008-10-14T09:52:00.003+01:00

The always excellent ThanetOnline has a breakdown of which way the Thanet District Councillors voted on the recent decision to grant planning consent for the China Gateway development. If you dont know which Councillors are yours, check here.

Ministers abandon 42 days after Lords humiliation

2008-10-14T08:30:00.002+01:00

As reported yesterday the Government were under tremendous pressure about what to do with the Counter Terrorism Bill if it were as expected defeated by the House of Lords. We got our answer after the Lords voted with a massive 191 vote majority against the Counter Terrorism Bill last night with a raft of prominent Labour Lords revolting against the party line.

Jacqui Smith made a statement to the Commons soon after the vote saying that the 42 day proposal will be removed from the Bill and will be set aside in a separate Bill to be introduced "should the worst happen". This brings back memories of the Patriot Act in the US, where no one read the Bill when it went through Congress but shoved it through at a time of national emergency because the political imperative forced them to do so. Parliamentarians must be wary of this tactic and the Government should just bury it and move on avoiding this underhand manner of enacting bad legislation which wouldnt pass otherwise.

In other Lords news, the Immigration (Discharged Gurkhas) Bill [HL] received its Third Reading and will now move to the Commons for discussion. The Bill is a very simple one, the amendment of the current Immigration rules to allow former Gurkhas indefinite leave to enter and remain in the UK whenever they were discharged. I hope our local MPs will support the Bill in its passage through the Commons.

Counter-Terrorism Bill Lords vote today

2008-10-13T08:54:00.003+01:00

Today is big for Brown for reasons other than the bailout of the banks. The Counter-Terrorism Bill comes before the Lords and is expected to be rejected heavily. That will lead to the process restarting with the Commons and Lords voting a second time. Should the Lords refuse a second time, Brown could invoke the Parliament Act to force the Bill onto the statute books. The BBC has reported that is unlikely and if Brown had any sense he would abandon the Bill if today it falls. He wont get it through without the Parliament Act as thats been used too many times by Labour.

Unemployment

2008-10-09T08:34:00.002+01:00

Yesterday in the Commons, Roger Gale spoke about unemployment and other associated problems in Thanet such as looked after children. He spoke out against the proposed closure of the Whitstable JobCentre as it will put extra pressure upon the Herne Bay branch and attacked the legislation surrounding empty property rates, an issue highlighted in the past by Laura Sandys:

"As the Minister knows, Thanet has suffered historically from the highest levels of unemployment and social deprivation in the south-east—among the highest levels in the country. The reasons are not hard to find. Thanet has suffered from an enormous amount of immigration. During the 1980s, the immigration came from around the United Kingdom in what was known as the “dole on sea” syndrome: the unemployed came to the seaside to live on the dole in hotels and guest houses, and Thanet took more than its fair share. That contributed to its unemployed base."

"Thanet has also been the dumping ground for cared-for children from London boroughs and, shamefully, from some of the home counties as well. Those young people have grown up. Very many of them have been damaged and found it extremely hard to find employment of any kind, so we are used to unemployment in Thanet."

It is clear as day that we are in recession, with retail and manufacturing already proven to be shrinking. The credit crunch isnt finished at all despite the package announced yesterday and there is a lot more pain to come. The Government must take a wider view rather than concentrating solely on the banking crisis, which while important in itself, is not the only problem. Unemployment will inevitably increase and the Government must recognise that more must be done to lessen the pain of that. The point about children in care is a pertinent one as these are people who require state support as a pre-requisite rather than it being a voluntary option they take up.

Libertarianism

2008-10-03T09:42:00.003+01:00

David Cameron made a significant speech the other day at the Conservative Conference where he spoke for over an hour on a range of subjects. It was well delivered but one point really grates. He commented on political philosophies and in particular libertarianism saying "But freedom can too easily turn into the idea that we all have the right to do whatever we want, regardless of the effect on others. That is libertarian, not Conservative - and it is certainly not me".

Libertarianism is not that. While there are a number of forms of libertarianism around, as there are with say socialism or liberalism, the one he was rejecting is right wing libertarianism where people should be free to live their lives as they wish, so long as they do not interfere with the ability of anyone else to be free. Libertarianism exists on the point of voluntary choices and that coercion, whether individual or state backed, is wholly contrary to this belief. Being a libertarian doesnt mean that I do whatever I want and to hell with you lot. Thats anarchism. David Cameron is being wholly disingenuous about this and while its understandable why he does this, he really does need to engage brain before speaking like he did. The public may not care too much, but to the core Tory vote it will matter as its a matter of belief. This is even worse since he derides libertarianism even though he said a while back that he was an "instinctive libertarian" and at Conference preached so much libertarian thought about government getting off peoples backs and allowing the people to be free.

Libertarianism isnt a free for all. It is based upon individual responsibility and real financial prudence. Cameron's efforts to triangulate himself between the hardcore socialists and the extreme anarchists to appear moderate is a bad strategy and misrepresents those he rejects of his own party.

Gateway Grumble

2008-09-06T09:52:00.002+01:00

Why is it that when you need a member of staff to help with a computer problem upstairs at the Thanet Gateway/Margate Library, theres never one around? This has been a problem for a while now. It doesnt affect me usually since Im a dab hand with computers, but for others who are using the Gateway for looking for a job or a course on the internet they need help sometimes.

Could the Council please consider employing another member of staff for the upstairs to help specifically with IT? I know theres a member of staff sometimes, but once on a Thursday really isnt enough.

Wheelie bins coming to Cliftonville West

2008-08-08T09:36:00.002+01:00

A bunch of leaflets from the Council came through my letterbox in the past few days, including one about wheelie bins. It seems that Cliftonville West's turn has come for them and they shall be arriving in September/October with the new service to start in November.

Cliftonville West is a difficult case with regards to this since a lot of the properties are terraced. I understand that Eastcliff has similar problems as Ward Cllr David Green has commented in the past. I was quite happy with the blue recycling bags and black normal waste system that we have at the moment and dont really see the point in changing now.

Dane Park

2008-08-05T09:56:00.004+01:00

An awful lot has changed at Dane Park with a new playground, a hard court and some work currently being done to the Cecil Square end of the park to open up the view. The fountain has become a giant flowerpot (above) and has recently been given a makeover.

What do you think about the look of Dane Park now? Do you have any suggestions for further improvements?

MIchael Gove and lads mags

2008-08-04T09:24:00.005+01:00

A little moan to start the week is about the Shadow Cabinet Minister for Children, Schools and Families, Michael Gove who is to do a speech about lads mags and the "hedonism" connected with it.

"I believe we need to ask tough questions about the instant-hit hedonism celebrated by the modern men's magazines targeted at younger males. Titles such as Nuts and Zoo paint a picture of women as permanently, lasciviously, uncomplicatedly available. We should ask those who make profits out of revelling in, or encouraging, selfish irresponsibility among young men what they think they're doing."

While I see what he says, it would be nice for him to at least once in this Parliament to speak out on the issue of children in care, an issue he would have direct responsibility for were the Conservatives to win the next election. It annoys me greatly that an issue of such importance does not get any airing in public.

Victoria Traffic Lights Part II

2008-07-31T13:48:00.003+01:00

Now that Kent Highways have removed their equipment, local residents are left with the finished Victoria Traffic Lights. The works were designed to improve traffic flows and make it easier for pedestrians to get around the junction without risking safety. Has that been acheived?

Well, yes and no. For sure adjusting the traffic light system to create a three step traffic flow system has sped up the traffic flows and there seem to be less tailbacks generally, with one exception where traffic builds up going from Westwood Cross though nobody expected that tailback to be solved.

However, cars are still perfectly able to turn right off (upper) College Road onto Ramsgate Road, something which has caused an awful lot of trouble for pedestrians and led to a raft of near misses. Only by sheer luck has worse been avoided. Where the traffic flows have been adjusted at Beatrice Road, there are now effectively two differently moving lanes to be crossed in one go. It means that traffic turning left and going straight ahead goes first then immediately after they stop, the cars turning right from the same road go. This can catch pedestrians off balance and caught me out yesterday. Ive already heard complaints about this.

While a proper pedestrian crossing has been made at the Victoria Pub-Victoria Parade crossing, there is not one for those going from the pub to Andrew and Jills. This is a key crossing for school pupils and has been a dangerous crossing for many years, especially since the Victoria Pub sits on a blind corner.

I and many local residents were under the impression that islands were to be placed on the two main crossing points across Ramsgate Road in order to make it easier for pedestrians to cross it safely. These have not appeared and I wonder why such an impression was put around if they werent to appear. In my honest opinion I do not believe that local concerns have been dealt with properly and that however easy it might be for traffic flows, safety for pedestrians must be put in balance and that has not happened with these works. I believe more work will need to be conducted to make this junction safer.

SNP in shock win in Glasgow East

2008-07-25T10:06:00.003+01:00

In another by-election loss, this time in formerly safe as houses Glasgow East, Labour was beaten by 365 votes by the SNP last night in a healthy 42% turnout. The by-election was called by the resignation (officially on health grounds but there are questions over his expenses) of David Marshall. The swing was a stonking 22.54%. The Conservatives came third with the Lib Dems trailing in fourth.

Labour desperately needed to win this by-election just to hold steady so this is a serious blow. The result seems to be more a case of the SNP being liked rather than Labour being hated. Next for Gordon Brown is a chat with the Unions who will want promises in exchange for financial support. Labour is mired in debt and a General Election campaign simply cant be financed right now. He needs the Unions and yet he cant give them everything as itll be another blow to his authority after a raft of u-turns and changed decisions over taxation and public finances.

And with a long summer recess, the talking backstage will only grow...

Purnell the Policy Pincher

2008-07-22T09:19:00.006+01:00

The Government has been leaking over the past weekend its new welfare policy and has finally released them which aim to ensure that those claiming benefits are actually those who need them. With so many claiming benefits for disability without being disabled, and with large numbers just too bone idle to get a job, there is plenty of people to target. The policy sounds pretty good and theres one reason why it does. Because the Conservatives announced the very same policy back in January. The entire policy is lifted almost verbatim from the Conservative policy document "Work for Welfare". Its strange that the Government announces such policies because when the Conservatives published the policy, Labour attacked it as uncosted and unworkable...

James Purnell, Secretary for Work and Pensions, is lauded by some analysts to be a potential Prime Minister, though seeing how quickly David Miliband's light was snuffed out when he started making moves, Purnell may not have long to promote himself. The problem is that Labour has a history of stealing Tory policies, then screwing up the implementation.

If all Labour can do is steal Tory policies, then is might as well go and call the next election now. This Labour Government is finished.

Nash Road, Margate

2008-07-21T09:47:00.004+01:00

The above is the Coffin Corner end of Nash Road, which appears to have a serious problem with the school run traffic and with some parking overnight on it. Local residents have brought the issue up with me recently saying how terrible it looks compared to the rest of the road. Lister Road had a similar problem with hospital users and with a small fence put up stopped it. Perhaps that could be used again?

On another local issue, is Manyweather looking to apply again for planning consent to build on the disused railway? I understand consent was refused in October last year and the time before that it was resoundedly thrown out despite support from former Cllr Charlie Young but I spotted a Manyweather van on site last week, so perhaps they are going yet again. Interesting to see the site has been cleared up a bit.

The Passing of Prudence

2008-07-18T09:51:00.003+01:00

According to the press and confirmed by the Treasury, talks are underway to reform the fundamental fiscal rules to allow more government borrowing. At the moment public finances are stretched an awful lot and are in serious risk of breaking the rules altogether (it can be argued that these rules have already been broken, and I would agree, but strictly speaking they havent).

The Government seems to ignore the fact that it is simply spending too much money. Its spending binge in the last handful of years has been paid for by the surplus of years before that and then by borrowing even though the clouds were coming in. Allowing itself another line of credit is going to lead to a further weakening of public finances because at some point, that borrowing will have to be paid for and itll have to come out of future tax receipts for example. The coming Pre Budget report is going to be even more important now. The Government must realise that borrowing so much money to fund such profligance is irresponsible and tighten its own belts before asking for more.

Right to Know

2008-07-18T09:41:00.003+01:00

As part of the Conservative response to the expenses mess, David Cameron ordered all Conservative MPs to declare their spending. These declarations were made public this week. Roger Gale's expenses declaration can be found here (page 13).

Stephen Ladyman has declared his expenses on his website here.

Victoria Traffic Lights

2008-07-17T13:46:00.005+01:00

Following Tony Flaig's comments on Kent Highways I think now is the time to have a good old moan about the traffic lights round where I work, namely the Victoria Road Traffic Lights and the work Kent Highways has been doing.

The Victoria Traffic Lights have had some serious problems with pedestrian safety and confusion over traffic flows being the key. Traffic regularly ignored the signs saying that you cant turn right when coming down College Road onto Ramsgate Road, meaning that cars turn right while pedestrians are crossing, leading to a number of near misses and only through sheer luck has there not been any run downs.

The plans indicated that there would be a number of improvements installed such as more islands to allow safe crossing and a MOVA traffic light system that would be able to adjust its traffic settings as it learns the traffic flows. All laudible for sure. Unfortunately it seems that problems have been found during the works and delays have appeared. So serious have the problems been that a dozen Highways workers descended on the junction on Sunday morning last week to get the work moving again. Rumours are that someone gave a metaphorical boot up the backside of some workers.

Poor laying on the pavement has meant that there could well be some complaints in the future by one business which appears to have had part of its forecourt tarmaced over and drains seem to have had the same treatment. More recently a pedestrian island has appeared between the already existing island outside the former Victoria Dry Cleaners and the non-shop corner. This seems to be a mistake on first glances because I dont recall there ever being any particular safety issues with those crossings, save those that the pedestrians made for themselves by risking an early crossing. It seems to me that maybe Highways has made a terrible mistake and put a crossing where its not needed. I understand that islands were to be placed between the non shop corner and the Victoria Parade and between the Victoria Pub and the former Golden Carp Fish Bar. They were the crossings that were required most but have not yet appeared. The temporary traffic lights have also been poorly placed leading to safety issues at key crossing points for pedestrians.

Local residents have been very patient indeed waiting for these works and hope that this will come out. But Kent Highways really needs to consider its scheduling of works so that the work gets done efficiently and properly. I know its not easy for those carrying out the works and I sympathise with them, but it needs doing and it needs doing properly.

Jacqui Smith U-turn over knife crime

2008-07-15T09:58:00.003+01:00

Looks like an attempt to grab the public mood over knife crime has gone belly up. Jacqui Smith had been trailing through the past weekend sending those caught with knives to A and E units to see stab victims to show them what they have done. It was made pretty clear this was an idea that was strongly considered and not just blue skies thinking. In fact she was on Sky News confirming that was her view. Yet yesterday in Parliament she denied she ever proposed such an idea. Its bad enough that she along with her Ministerial colleagues frequently leak policy to the press before they come to Parliament, despite Gordon Brown having claimed a year ago that this would not happen under his Premiership, but to leak it and confirm on TV then to deny in Parliament ever doing it is misleading Parliament.

This is an example of soundboarding which Labour does a lot, where it leaks to the press and if the media generally go along with it, it goes in the policy document. If its panned, its out and theyve lost little public face. In this case, it was panned. She had two chances to restate her point and she flat out agreed with the media both times over the policy. To blame it for reporting something she later confirms catagorically seems rather silly. Its another U-turn that turned into a triple somersault and landing on the roof for Brown's Government.

Bribing electorates...

2008-07-10T13:57:00.002+01:00

A White Paper (pdf) from the Department for Communities has a bunch of ideas cobbled together to "pass power into the hands of local communities. We want to generate vibrant local democracy in every part of the country, and to give real control over local decisions and services to a wider pool of active citizens.". A couple of thoughts.

1. "We will introduce a right of appeal where a community’s proposal for a local council is denied by the local authority." So senior Councils have no proper right to refuse. The Government clearly wants as many Councils as far down as possible with the idea being that itll give more representation and better governance. What itll actually lead to is a bureaucratic spaghetti bolognese leading to confusion and waste of public resources. In local government, less is more.

2. "We will give councils the power to provide modest incentives for voting – perhaps an entry into a prize draw – as a way of engaging people.". If people dont want to vote, then they dont want to vote. The idea that there should be a prize draw for those who choose to exercise the right to vote is disgusting. Its a low level bribe.

3. The Widdicombe rules should remain and local Labour should come out and say that they disagree with Hazel Blears. Council officers should never be councillors. THey must remain distinct roles.

A lot of the plans here will require more public spending, unless this is another example of the Government ordering Councils to do more with less... Public spending must be severely restrained in this difficult economic climate and the idea that we should spend money on incentives to encourage the public to vote or to have more advisors is not the right way to use such scarce resources.

Cocaine

2008-07-09T09:50:00.004+01:00

In the press last week and the local news last night it was reported the marketing of a Red Bull type drink called Cocaine, which is 3 and a half times stronger than Red Bull and will appear on the market soon.

I feel awkward about the sale of Red Bull to young people so this Cocaine really worries me. If Red Bull can affect a person like me, than its going to affect small children even more. I strongly believe its a dangerous thing to sell such drinks to young children and that traders in Thanet need to consider the safety of those who are buying the products. While there is no law banning or restricting the sale of Red Bull for example, a voluntary restriction to over 16s would ensure that the very young do not get hold of it and potentially risk their health. It has been banned abroad because of such health dangers.

Shops may prefer not to follow my advice and thats their choice, but should something bad happen soon after the kids drink that stuff, then they can expect to be held accountable for it. Traders must be wary of the goods they sell.

Margate Gateway and Privacy

2008-07-08T10:01:00.004+01:00

I use the Thanet Gateway/Margate Library every day and know as well as anyone about how its changed since it was rejigged.

There is a serious lack of privacy for those with personal matters to deal with. Anyone can overhear the conversations of people talking about Council Tax or Housing Benefit and the person being served must feel awkward talking about their problems in full view divulging very sensitive information about themselves. The waiting space is again in public view just round the corner from the front door leading to some surely feeling as if theyve done something wrong, left to wait in public judgement like some petty criminal. This is wholly unfair.

The whole point of the reshuffle was so make it easier for those with problems with the Council to be served, but to my mind it has only served to cram it in a Library which has since become more noisy (uncontrollable children not being watched properly) and used more like a Jobcentre.

I strongly urge the Council to review this set up and if necessary close the building to re-organise it to ensure more privacy for those with Council matters. I say this having initially backed the idea of these changes as long as it worked. However this has not happened.

Mad World

2008-07-08T09:39:00.004+01:00

The Daily Mail has written about a National Children's Bureau report on Young People and Racism, where it says that young children who dislike foreign food are racist and that they must be specifically condemned. Anyone who objects to this is also racist apparently. The NCB receives about £12million a year in public funding. I say we abolish the NCB and put the funding into paying the police their proper pay. The NCB were behind the smacking ban.

This is exactly the reason why I abhor this equality nonsense. Its overblown guff that punishes people for being normal. Babies cannot be racist. Because of people such as the NCB there must be equality reviews and risk assessments for all, creating non jobs.

Finance Bill votes

2008-07-03T13:42:00.005+01:00

Stephen Ladyman has spoken of how retrospective green taxation isnt fair on the motorist as there is no way to avoid such penalties saying "a 'green' tax that you cannot avoid by changing your behaviour is not a 'green' tax, it's just a tax. in future, changes to excise duty aimed at encouraging people to drive cleaner cars should never bite on vehicles already on the road but always to new vehicles." He was quoted in PMQs with the first sentence. The final vote a while back The final votes on the Finance Bill putting into the law some of the things he spoke out against were held last night. If he really mean what he had said he would have voted against the Government plans and in favour of the relevant Tory amendments such as New Clause 3.

Instead he voted in favour of the Government every single time last night and against the Tory amendments, reinforcing the image that he will speak out against his Government in public to please his local voters and get a few headlines but when it comes to the crunch, wont have the cahones to even abstain from the things he has spoken out against. Of course he hopes no one notices and that it'll pass, particularly past Spring 2010. As with the Counter-Terrorism Bill he has spoken out against the plans and yet voted in favour of the legislation without a single abstention to his name.

As has been said before, Stephen Ladyman has only rebelled on the most exceptional of occasions, an unquestioning yes-man for Labour. And for what? Does he expect to be "appropriately rewarded"?

No Means No

2008-06-19T09:22:00.004+01:00

I dont really enjoy discussing Europe, mostly because the debate that ensues is so entirely predictable. However the current situation regarding the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty demands comment.

"The Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Italian Republic. This Treaty shall enter into force on 1 January 2009, provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited, or failing that, on the first day of the month following the deposit of the instrument of ratification by the last signatory State to take this step." (Treaty of Lisbon)

The above being accurate, why on earth is it that ratification is still going ahead in the other countries? It is clear from the above that the Treaty cannot come into force now as Ireland has basically vetoed the Treaty. Irrelevant of the pros and cons of the Treaty itself or of the reasons why they voted the way they did, the Irish voted No dealing a lethal blow to the Treaty and the EU coming up with alternate ways of getting the provisions of the rejected Treaty in through the back door is nothing less than a slap to the face of the voters.

Dear Alistair...

2008-06-17T09:39:00.003+01:00

Everyone hates getting spam. Letters you dont want which waste your time and their money, and the only people benefitting being the recycling lobby. Annual inflation has gone up by 3.3% and as it is now 1% above the target of 2%, the Governor of the Bank of England must write a letter to Alistair Darling about it to explain what is to be done to control price rises. Gordon Brown received one in April last year. It is expected there will be a couple of more these. Annual inflation has increased by 0.8% in the last two months alone.

Its a difficult situation because with with house prices falling the BoE has been under pressure to cut interest rates, but balanced against that is the danger of higher inflation leading to a worse impact on the wider economy. They have to wait for the worst to pass inflation wise first before they cut rates. In the meantime theres political damage for the Government.

Local sights

2008-06-13T11:12:00.004+01:00

1. Do the police do walks through Dane Park as part of their beats? Last night (around 9.15pm) 4 children were messing about at the redone up playground (not the former tennis court) and sitting on the basketball hoops after climbing up the frame and swearing like troopers at each other. The hoops remain but thats only because they werent heavy enough to dislodge them

2. What were the 19 changes the Council reportedly made to the traffic works at the Victoria Traffic Lights and how late on were they made? It has been said that there will be islands placed between the Victoria Parade and the opposite houses and between the Victoria Pub and Andrew and Jills. Are the islands still to go ahead? It has been quoted that the works will be finished by the end of July. My maths isnt that good but even I can work out that when the second set of dated signs went up, the works were seemingly two weeks behind schedule. Are the works really due to finish by the end of July or is this the time they wish they will finish by? The works are causing serious traffic problems and with the temporary traffic lights moved further away from the junction it's highly unsafe for pedestrians. The temporary traffic lights also run for far longer than before leading to large build ups in traffic.

3. Another sign of trouble on Margate Seafront with the Clock Tower Newsagents up for sale.

42 days passes

2008-06-12T13:25:00.005+01:00

So as everyone knows by now, the Government won the vote on Counter Terrorism by a majority of 9, all of which are Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party MPs.

Roger Gale voted no on all votes whilst Stephen Ladyman voted in favour on all votes.

As Ive said before, the Bill is wrong for a number of reasons. The most important reason to me against the Bill is how Parliament is to be used, in effect acting like a court does, but the judges being made up of the very people who voted the law through. The legislature should never be in this proximity to the judiciary and that is a serious breach of the rule of the separation of powers. The weaker the split between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, the worse it is. They must be distinct from each other to avoid abuse of such powers.

UPDATE David Davis has resigned as Shadow Home Secretary and MP to force a by-election on the issue of 42 days and against the attack on civil liberties that has occured under Labour. He will be fighting as an Independent, without the backing of CCHQ but with the support of his Association. The man's got balls and I applaud him. He is a good man and will hopefully win the by-election.

Six Thanet schools facing closure

2008-06-10T09:50:00.004+01:00

Six Thanet schools are part of a Government drive to improve low GCSE scores. St Georges, Hartsdown, Charles Dickens, Hereson, King Ethelberts and the Marlowe Academy score below 30% % 5 A*-C GCSEs and so will have to come up with an rescue plan within 50 days. The 638 schools will have 3 years to meet the 30% target.

My understanding is that schools with low GCSE scores would already be trying to work out what needs to be done well before such an ultimatum is given. Any competent Governing Body would already have started the process of an Improvement Plan in light of their results. They are already under tremendous bureaucratic pressure and this will only intensify this further. The Marlowe Academy is in a rather difficult situation since it has little choice but to do as best as it can without any certainty that it can possibly meet the Government targets. There are a raft of reasons why a school may be having trouble meeting the Government targets and as we can see with the Marlowe, its extremely difficult to shake off the problems. Given the Marlowe Academy is still settling in, its rather harsh to already judge it as failing and to threaten it with closure.

This seems to be a bit of a desperate attempt to look like they are doing something, without any serious consideration of the underlying problems.

42 days slammed

2008-06-05T10:00:00.004+01:00

The Joint Human Rights Parliamentary Select Committee has reported back its findings on the 42 days plans by the Government and gives nothing less than a damning report. It slams the proposed 42 day pre-charge detention saying "we remain firmly of the view that the Government has not made out its case for changing the law to extend the maximum period of precharge detention to 42 days. Our clear recommendation therefore remains the deletion of the relevant provisions from the Bill, as we recommended in our last report."

The report is about as bad as it can get, smashing the Governments proposals to pieces with extremely little for the Government to grab in its defense. Of course the Government will flat out ignore the report as it has done before and bulldose it through Parliament. The report criticises the safeguards pledged by the Government and states clearly that it is in breach of Article 5 of the ECHR (right to liberty). It also criticises the use of Parliament in the process of extending the period of precharge detention, as of course the courts would have to restrict what Parliament would hear.

As Ive said before, this is an appalling piece of legislation which will lead to a number of defeats in the courts straight off the bat. My legal background isnt particularly strong but I know enough about the law to know this Bill would be a nightmare to defend in the courts. I know that Roger Gale will vote against the plans and rightly so. I hope Stephen Ladyman will do the right thing and join him in the No Lobby. I dont expect he will, but I hope he will see through the smoke and mirrors of Jacqui Smith's new safeguards and reject this Bill. After being quoted by Cameron at PMQs yesterday, Stephen Ladyman's list of allies has shrunk somewhat and he should revert to sticking up for the people he serves. Gordon Brown wont save him now.

Communication

2008-05-31T09:28:00.003+01:00

One of the key messages Labour has pushed in recent times is that it is a "listening government" and that it "understands" public concerns, especially since the 10p tax mess.

To my mind there are 4 levels of political communication between the Government of the day and the people it serves:

Hearing- receiving information but no action taken in response.
Acknowledging - receiving information. Incorrect action taken in response.
Listening - receiving information and taking correct action in response.
Understanding - anticipating immediate concerns and acting correctly to deal with them.

Communication levels are directly linked to trust, albeit with trust being a longer term reflection of communication levels. If a Government cannot communicate and respond to concerns correctly, it cannot be trusted, therefore affecting their electoral prospects in the future.

The issue of the 10p tax band is a textbook example of the above in practice. I believe the 10p tax furore will be seen in the future as the critical moment when the facade of Understanding was smashed and replaced with Acknowledging. When the change was initially announced, adverse reaction was received but was deemed not serious enough to take action (Hearing). When the reaction got particularly loud in this Spring, only then did the Government take action. In my opinion the action is in effect a deferal of the problem because come April next year, the compensation as it exists now, will no longer apply, typical of Acknowledging rather than Listening. Were the Government to find permanent compensation for those who lost out it would be Listening. It would not mean the Government would retain trust but it would do the most to make up for the initial mistake of not Understanding. Such a breach of a key tenet of Labour philosophy (a pledge of Understanding the concerns of the working poor and the volunerable) shows a breakdown of communication and as polls since have shown, as drop in levels of trust.

Consultations and reveiews do not necessarily mean high levels of communication. As with the previous example, if correct action is not taken, it is an example of Acknowledging, not Listening. Frequent use of such methods of communication will lead to lower levels of communication as it would exhibit lack of Understanding and initiative.

While Oppositions cannot take action as Governments do, they still have to respond and the appropriateness of their responses can be judged according to the same scale. They are measured on the communication levels through polls and elections and with the Conservatives riding high at present, it can be infered that communication levels are good. That is not to say that the Conservatives have avoided low levels of communication. The internal policy debate over Grammar Schools hurt their rating on communication by confusing the public and showing disunity to the public, something which is noted and in itself forms part of the judgement the public make at election time.

Whoever can communicate their ideas and approach best and exhibit Understanding will form the next Government.

Crewe goes blue

2008-05-23T09:48:00.004+01:00

It had been expected for some time after the problems Labour have made for themselves and the rest of the country and indeed it came to fruition, with Crewe and Nantwich being won by the Conservatives with a 17% swing from Labour to the Conservatives, reversing Labours previously safe 7000 vote majority. Given that Crewe and Nantwich was the 165th target seat for the Conservatives, Im sure there are 164 MPs feeling a little more under the weather, including South Thanet's Stephen Ladyman, with a tiny majority of 664. Apparently Labour is "solidly behind" Brown. I bet they are...all wielding knives.

Abortion changes through the back door

2008-05-17T10:12:00.002+01:00

One of the most controversial issues in politics and a very topical one at present in the Westminster village (and Eastenders too) is that of abortion. A campaign is fighting to lower the limit for abortion to 20 weeks led by Conservative MP Nadine Dorries.

Firstly I disagree wholly with the manner in which the issue was brought up. The issue has been tagged onto the consideration of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (a controversial Bill in its own right) even though there are no clauses that directly change the law on abortion. Such a Trojan Horse tactic demeans the issue. Any changes made to the abortion law should be made through a separate Bill after full consideration of both Houses of Parliament and plenty of pre-legislative scrutiny. The issue is far too important to just tag on like this.

The basis of my view on abortion is essentially that it is the woman’s choice to make. I have no right to dictate if and when a woman can have an abortion as I will never have to make such a decision. However any changes to be made to abortion law would have to be made purely on the basis of substantial empirical evidence. Photographs of babies moving in the womb in my opinion aren’t good enough. I understand that DVDs of foetuses post abortion have been sent out to those seen as pro-abortion, a disgusting thing to do. Emotion must be removed from the debate. We need to follow the evidence. If such evidence exists showing the survival rates of premature births then there surely would be a case for a change to the limit. At present I am not persuaded that such a change is necessary. Those who support abortion aren’t child murderers with no understanding of the pain the foetuses suffer and those who are against abortion aren’t necessarily religious nutters stuck in the medieval ages forcing wayward parents to take children to full term as punishment for the sin of procreation. The woman making the choice very often will suffer psychological scarring and the decision to have an abortion will change their lives forever.

I propose just one amendment to bring the legislation up to date that surely couldn’t be that disagreeable. Those with minor disabilities such as cleft palate or hair lip can be aborted as late as 39 weeks at present. It seems strange that the rules should be completely different for those who have slight, almost cosmetic problems which surgery can routinely solve, whilst normal babies have tighter restrictions. I propose that the limit on abortion for those with minor disabilities should be brought into line with that of the normal abortion limit. It is a shame that David Cameron does not agree and has spoken publicly saying he believes that abortion should continue to be allowed for those with minor disabilities up to 39 weeks whilst favouring a cut of the normal limit to 21 or 22 weeks.

Abortion isn’t an issue that can treated lightly and I’m sure that the senior politicians who have publicly commented on the issue do not treat it as such. Any change that occurs must happen on the basis of evidence, not emotion, and should take as long as necessary to be done properly. Rushing to change abortion law will lead to a horrible situation that no one wants.

Drafting for salvation

2008-05-15T14:10:00.001+01:00

Yesterday Gordon Brown announced the draft legislation programme, in essence the Government’s proposed legislation for the next Parliamentary session that will be kicked off with the Queen’s Speech in November. Last year the draft legislation programme was announced in July. It is a bag of the last remaining scraps that could be cobbled together. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…

The Government has pushed this forward deliberately to attempt to build up some good momentum after the disaster of recent weeks and to try and save the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. We are so far away from November Brown could easily have delayed this by a few months without any harm being done to the programme or slowdown in public involvement in the process. It could have something to do with a critical report from the Parliamentary Select Committee for Public Appointments out yesterday, which said “It is not appropriate that Prime Ministers should be able to alter the structure of the civil service departments on a whim, and we do not understand why they should ever need to do so”. There was a radical change in the structure of Government departments when Brown came to power and done against a lot of frustration at the lack of scrutiny over such plans.

As with every Queen’s Speech under Labour, there is a raft of legislation to go before Parliament in this coming session. If this draft programme becomes the programme proper, as it probably will, there will be Whip driven processes restricting the length of time Bills can be debated and scrutinised for, leading for poorly written and inadequate legislation which will have to be revisited at a later date, taking more time away from holding members of the Government of the day to account for their policies or spending more time scrutinising the legislation that requires more time. Given that one such bill is designed to replace 10 pieces of immigration legislation, surely lesser issues can be put off to allow further debate on that and some of the other key pieces of legislation? Another Bill, the Equality Bill, will act to allow ‘equality of opportunity’ (a concept I will come back to in more detail at a later time) and to tackle discrimination in the workplace.

More legislation doesn’t mean better legislation. It means the complete opposite. As we’ve seen from the various defeats the Government has had in the courts over issues of immigration and terrorism, the Government needs to realise that by allowing more scrutiny of Bills going through Parliament, the law can be improved over and above what the Government itself wants. Just because the Opposition proposes an amendment, it doesn’t automatically make it a bad idea.

Once a con, always a con

2008-05-14T13:41:00.004+01:00

Yesterday saw a volte-face by Brown and Darling as they increased the personal tax allowance by £600 to alleviate the problems caused by Gordon Brown’s last Budget as Chancellor. Alistair Darling has said that economics allows such a set of changes. Don’t be fooled for one second.

This was a wholly political move. A by-election in Crewe and Nantwich is coming just days away and Labour is facing defeat. Frank Field had a lot of support in his campaign to find compensation for the 10p losers, with the threat of losing its Finance Bill, which would lead to political crisis. Darling had already said that compensation would be explained at the Pre-Budget Report, but that’s not for months so the timing of this is obviously political, not that the Government will admit it. This is the same Government who said that the 10p band abolition wasn’t that bad and that no one was losing out (even Stephen Ladyman played that line).

The package is to cost £2.7 billion and paid for through increasing borrowing, which will lead to borrowing forecasts going out of the window. Labour has said for over a decade that it would borrow only to invest. This mini Budget will mean that rule is obliterated as this borrowing is not to invest as the rule intended. Labour has enjoyed deriding Conservative proposals on changes to taxes and government spending as being irresponsible or unfunded upfront changes. With the changes announced yesterday, Labour no longer has the right to accuse the Conservatives of making unfunded tax cuts and trying to make political capital out of it.

Labour has found a short-term response to a more long-term problem. Out of a Budget of over £550 billion, the Chancellor couldn’t find the money to redirect to the increase to the personal tax allowance, an increase which will count for this financial year only. Come next year the personal tax allowance will be cut back, leading to increased tax bills for all. This is a one year con by the Government, the same trick pulled off with the one year Council Tax rebate for pensioners before the General Election of 2005.

As I’ve proposed before, a radical cut back on the waste in Government spending would allow for a solid and permanent reduction in taxation on the working poor, without damaging frontline public services. But did Darling want to go anywhere near that strategy? Of course not. The strategy utilised by Labour through this apparent giveaway is to distract the public from its anger over the initial policy in order to get some stability. But in doing so, they’ve just bottled up more trouble for next year. The public know they can’t trust Labour and that there is always small print to watch out for, as ever Labour doesn’t let down on that regard.

This story has one moral. Don’t Trust Labour.

Doubting direct democracy

2008-05-13T10:22:00.001+01:00

As part of the post election analysis, a number of senior Labour figures have commented in the papers. Hazel Blears is one such Cabinet Minister, coming up with some ideas for getting back on track in last weekends papers.

She preaches the mantra of direct democracy and ideas related to it like holding cabinet meetings in community centres and talking to the people. Such a series of ideas are silly since for one they aren’t genuinely meant.

I’m rather sceptical about direct democracy. I can understand the arguments in favour of mayors, but I disagree that having elected police commissioners will be of significant benefit to the community. Yes, it’ll mean that the winner of the election can be held to account against their promises, but unless there is full turnout, or at least a majority turnout, the commissioner will be selected by a very small number of people. Furthermore, the police commissioner will be spending more time doing public relations rather than dealing with crime. The police already get involved with communities, for example in nearby Salmestone Ward through PACT. Surely the point of a police force is to police communities, rather than constantly having to explain itself. As long as the selection procedure is rigorous, what is the point of a directly elected police commissioner? There is also the risk of having too many elections for too many things.

Hazel Blears talks about the use of petitions and how action can be in effect forced upon local authorities and even Parliament if enough signatures are received. The idea could have some going for it but on the other hand it could lead to some atrocious legislation coming before Parliament. I don’t agree with a recall mechanism for MPs, as proposed by Blears where for example if say 20% of the electorate agree, an MP can be forced to be re-elected, a situation which would mean highly marginal seats would be in constant election time.

Holding cabinet meetings outside of Downing Street is a non-starter and will never see the light of day. I’m certain the idea has already been dismissed by Gordon Brown. It would be a security nightmare and the public should have nothing to do with it. It’s an impossible gesture.

As for greater openness with the public and listening to what the public have to say, I don’t trust them for a second. They’ve been in Government for 11 years and they didn’t need to talk to the public to realise that abolishing the 10p band was a seriously bad idea. If power gets passed down, it gets passed down with conditions and restrictions upon the use of such powers, under the pretence of ensuring that abuse of such powers do not occur. Passing down power very often doesn’t actually happen.

I don’t think the problem is one of not listening, as the Government has had a ream of inquiries, white papers, consultations, the Big Conversation, green papers, Commissions etc while in office. Their problem is one of competent action. They talk so much about radical action to deal with serious problems, but the implementation is often so shoddy, it spoils the point of taking action in the first place.

Loner

2008-05-13T10:01:00.002+01:00

Frank Field is one of a handful of Labour MPs I pay attention to, others being Gisela Stuart (spoke very eloquently on Europe earlier this year), John McFall (Labour Chair of Treasury Committee who took no prisoners over the Northern Rock collapse) and the late Gwyneth Dunwoody. He has been the key Labour MP pressing for compensation over the 10p band and he is the only reason open revolt hasn’t occurred, having held back the angry MPs before the local elections from ripping down the doors at 10 Downing Street. He talks a lot of sense and honestly believed Brown was being genuine about compensation and has rightly spoken out against any breach of the promise. If Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling fail to find adequate compensation, a case could be made for a vote of no confidence, this issue being at the heart of Labour thinking.

So what does Brown do? Try to ensure that this compensation is as comprehensive and reaches as many people as possible and to keep in touch with MPs to ensure that they do not lose faith, or alternatively send out an underling to attack Frank Field as a loner and to doubt whether his “intentions were honourable” regarding the campaign? Yes readers, he went for option number 2 as Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears attacked Frank Field. Normally such attacks by them pass without trouble, but this attack could lead to serious problems because Frank Field is respected by backbenchers. Calling Frank Field a loner over an issue like compensation for those losing out from the abolition of 10p band could bounce back badly since he isn’t the only one unhappy on the issue. Discipline in the Labour Party cannot and must not be established through ganging up on those with differing views. That leads to dictatorship of the Party and to certain defeat at the next General Election, should Brown make it. It’ll keep Labour out of Government for over a decade. Frank Field is a good man and doesnt deserve this treatment.

UPDATE: This morning Alistair Darling briefed the Cabinet on some of the compensation plans. As Ive said before, I am very sceptical that the compensation offered wouold be good enough. Itll lead to more people joining the Governments welfare state and having to go to HMRC like Oliver Twist.

Counting thrice

2008-05-09T09:17:00.004+01:00

As I’ve commented before, further discussion of the Mayoral Ball incident isn’t necessary as the Standards Board had decided to take no further action. It implied that the parties concerned should sort it out between themselves, as grown ups do.

Both sides have had their fill over this incident, which I remind readers, occurred over a year ago, and I assumed that after the open letters from Cllrs Hart and Watkins which made serious separate unsubstantiated allegations about Cllr Ezekiel, that would be it and normality could be restored with Labour returning back to looking at the issues facing Thanet residents. Last nights Annual Council Meeting proved I was wrong.

Cllr David Green led a Labour challenge to Cllr Ezekiel’s re-election as Leader of the Council on the basis of his behaviour at the said incident. If the challenge was made on the basis of policy, of if Cllr Ezekiel's behaviour was sufficiently bad for the Standards Board to recommend action should be taken against him, I might be minded to agree with Cllr Green. Unfortunately this was not the case. He had to be interrupted at one point by the Chairman of the Council and reminded that the incident was a matter for the Standards Board who had come to a final decision.

If Cllr Clark for example feels so seriously about Cllr Ezekiel’s behaviour that he is unsatisfied by the decision by the Standards Board he should launch a lawsuit for defamation of character. Since this does not seem to be forthcoming, I hope Cllr Clark will speak to his colleagues and try to persuade them to back down their campaign. Cllr Green does not appear to have been involved in the incident at the time and when challenging Cllr Ezekiel’s re-election last night seemed rather reluctant about doing so, perhaps as if he didn’t really want to do it. I’ve not known Cllr Green to be reluctant before so such behaviour is highly unusual.

Some may consider my comments in the past on this issue an example of my Tory bias, a view I do not agree with. Cllr Ezekiel’s behaviour, if what the Standards Board has said is accurate, was unprofessional and shouldn’t have happened. I don’t consider it cause for the sack though. He had an election three weeks later and was re-elected. Does Cllr David Green disagree with the decision of the voters of Cliftonville East? A sincere apology is good enough for me. If there is a repeat of this, then further action could be justified.

There have been three attempts to revisit the incident since the Standards Board made their final decisions, three attempts too many. Labour, while making these moves, have ignored the issues mattering to Thanet residents, showing that their priorities are askew. I would like to see Labour explain what their alternative plans for regeneration and tourism in Margate are or how their financial proposals add up. They proposed a 2.1% council tax increase, obviously funded by cutting the staff budget by 10%, which indeed would raise more money than needed for the Council Tax cut itself, but since the £2.3m would not just suddenly appear out of thin air, Id like to know when the council tax shortage would be paid off and how the cutting of staff would be dealt with. How would housing policy be different under Labour?

Id like to see a positive local Labour, with ideas on how to improve Thanet, without any pretence to gaining political advantage, or being cynical about it and just criticising ad nauseum without a coherent strategy. I say this as serious advice to local Labour. Stick to the core issues, ignore peripheral ones, show the residents what Labour stands for and how it would improve Thanet. Move on from the distractions of some time ago and get back on track.

Catching a break

2008-05-08T09:29:00.001+01:00

If Gordon Brown thought that an announcement on cannabis will blow off the press and MPs wanting to continue its highlighting of Labour screw ups, it seems to be failing. New Labour architect Peter Mandelson has come out saying that scrapping the band was “a very big mistake”. Along with this the Mail has been fanning the flames over reform of abortion laws (I personally disagree that an issue as serious as abortion reform should be tagged onto the current HFE Bill which some are trying to) and Labour’s Scottish leader Wendy Alexander (International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander’s sister) tactical mistake in calling the SNP’s bluff over a referendum on independence. Newsnight also had a story last night about poor security at airports and how foreign workers do not require a CRB check to work airside (the relevant Minister did not like having to answer the questions). Labour’s only saving grace has been making the right call on cannabis, a decision they should never have made.

The SNP bluff was a strange situation because Wendy Alexander has operated completely independently of the rest of the Party and caught everyone off guard making an apparent U-turn on Labour’s previous refusal to support a referendum without even asking Gordon Brown for support. She made it very clear that she would now support a referendum immediately to sort the issue out, arguing that the SNP is delaying its pledge to hold a referendum, even though the delay will be till 2011, so still within the current Scottish Parliamentary term. She has clearly tried to jump the gun to pin the SNP down on anything to gain some initiative, but has been caught and knocked back badly. This is not the first time she’s been in trouble, having been caught taking an illegal Party donation. Brown did not give her his full support on the referendum issue so it seems she has some explaining to do. Furthermore, he seemed to have a different view on what she said to what everyone else seems to have heard

David Miliband desperately tried to avoid talking about his obvious leadership ambitions on Newsnight, even though he’s been doing speeches outside his own brief, a clear signal of intention. He cowered back into his seat and got very defensive. If he isn’t harbouring ambitions to be the next Labour leader then I’m Brad Pitt…

Reviewing reviews

2008-05-05T09:42:00.003+01:00

While the public were out voting on Thursday and giving the Government a pounding at the ballot box for the abolition of the 10p tax rate, Ivan Lewis (Minister for Health) published a list of 7 Common Core Principles to Support Self Care. Apparently “The principles aim to help health and social care services enable people to have better control over and responsibility for their own health and well-being, working in partnership with health and social care professionals. The Common Core Principles are intended to support self care in its broadest sense by helping staff across health and social care develop the skills needed to provide people with access to appropriate training, information and support networks. They are aimed at, but not limited to, staff supporting individuals living with a long term condition or with complex needs”.

The 7 principles are:
* Ensure individuals are able to make informed choices to manage their self care needs
* Communicate effectively to enable individuals to assess their needs, and develop and gain confidence to self care
* Support and enable individuals to access appropriate information to manage their self care needs
* Support and enable individuals to develop skills in self care
* Support and enable individuals to use technology to support self care
* Advise individuals how to access support networks and participate in the planning, development and evaluation of services
* Support and enable risk management and risk taking to maximise independence and choice

So, the Government spent all that time, holding a consultation and doing the White Paper and their final list is the above?! This is an example of the waste which occured regularly in all departments. Is it really the case that social care workers at present don’t take the interests of the patients as the core issue and dont communicate effectively with the patients to let them know what choices they have? Was this consultation really necessary? Reviews like the above just waste time and resources and distract those on the frontline from doing their jobs. The list could have been rustled up pretty quickly by anyone with common sense.

This is symptomatic of a bigger problem for the Government inherent in its core thinking. It tries to do everything for everyone and in doing so becomes a controlling State. The Government protests that it is an enabling or empowering one which acts to help the most disadvantaged and most needy, but the Government is very slow to trust professionals, thus these reviews and this governing by committee style which leads to very slow action. While Im not advocating a return to sofa Government, there are times for reviews and there are times for action. The above example is perhaps a minor one but it’s a case in point on this.

Of course Governments should listen to public reaction, which it gets through its support base in the Party and press commentary which plays a key role as opinion leaders, but the first role of a Government is to act on the basis of its key principles and policies as set out in their manifestos or other documents. This dithering and delays before taking even common sense decisions just damages the Government.

Taxing alternatives

2008-05-02T09:13:00.004+01:00

A short while ago I posted an article proposing a solution to the abolition of the 10p tax rate of abolishing tax credits and investing all savings into boosting the personal tax allowance substantially. Cllr David Green has proposed his own alternative solution to the abolition of the 10p rate, through a 7p increase on the 40p upper income tax band and giving the personal tax allowance a modest increase, or alternatively a lesser increase on the upper income tax band and an increase on capital gains tax.

The key flaw is that it is the ideologist rather than the more sensible and thoughtful part in Cllr David Green driving the policy, retaining high spending and high taxation, aimed directly at the ‘rich’, whose crime has been simply to have more money than the ‘poor’. Why should the Government punish those earning over £36,000 simply for earning a fair salary? I suspect he is falling into the same trap as Brown did by abolishing the 10p rate in the first place. He thought it’d be OK because of tax credits without having the foresight that there were so many who do not and cannot claim them. Taxing the rich is as ever a blunt instrument that will bludgeon everyone in that tax band, not just those City bosses who make up a tiny proportion of that section of Britain. He argues that the tax increase “won’t much damage the wider economy”, an argument that given the current financial climate could be seen to be optimistic. Lower incomes will get their tax relief but will have to spend that on paying off their own domestic bills or the credit cards such is the high cost of living. Those on higher incomes may well be able to cough up the taxes but they will have the same problems as those on lower incomes. It also ignores the economic rule known as the Laffer Curve where above a certain level, kicking up taxes can actually lead to lower tax revenues. Everyone is finding it hard, not just the poor and it is wrong to ignore those on middle earnings.

A key issue ignored is that of high levels of spending requiring such high taxation in the first place. We need effective public services and they need to be funded by the taxpayer, but that investment must be targeted where it is needed, rather than sprayed everywhere without consideration of the potential damage being caused by such profligacy. The Government plans on spending £618 billion of taxpayer’s money on the various departments in this financial year, with an eye wateringly high £169 billion on social protection. That’s over 27% of all Government spending going on benefits and other such spending and the equivalent of spending on defence, education, transport, housing and the environment combined. A radical spending review and sensible cutting back on the fat in public spending could lead to tens of billions freed up to allow changes to reinvigorate the economy. Furthermore, such changes can be made without hurting frontline public services.

Where is the ambition? An increase to the personal tax allowance of £1200 will undo some of the damage caused by Labour and will pay off some of the money the Treasury has stealthily taken from them through fiscal drag but effectively its just putting things the way they were and for some it will take a long time to get full recompense. In the meantime, Labour has blown the extra tax revenue already and has moved onto eating heavily into borrowing.

Cllr Green’s idea is based upon a flawed and outdated political concept and does nothing to tackle the frittering away of billions of taxpayers money by this Government. Back to the drawing board

Count to 10...

2008-04-29T09:38:00.000+01:00

The Standard Board has spoken and made its decisions. Those who entered into that process need to stop seeking alternative restitution and move on. By posting open letters on the local blogs, they seem to be making the point that they were never going to trust to the Board and that they were always going to go for this unsavoury manner of getting their own back which indicates a lack of respect to the institutions that they involve themselves with. The open letters (which make some rather serious allegations of their own not discussed by the Board) is the first black mark against Labour on this issue, who should have plenty on their plate already trying to regain their losses from last year and holding the Council to account. I for one would like to know how they would improve Thanet.

I don’t care who started it. It must end now. I’ll be thoroughly disappointed if any Councillor tries making a smart arse remark about this pathetic incident, one that has received far more attention than it deserves. Some closer to the action on this one may well think I’ve no clue what I’m talking about and will ignore me as is their choice. However, as anyone who has ever gone for public office and seen the sharp end will know, once an incident has gotten to this point, to push further undermines the initial argument and just erodes your position. Best to be the first to pull from the fire and to receive small injuries, than to ignore advice to do so and burn yourself irreparably.

So the question is, who is going to be adult about it and move on?

Tories in Sunshine?

2008-04-28T09:37:00.001+01:00

With Labour stumbling from crisis to crisis, attention is turning to the Conservatives with many pointing out the key weakness of a lack of narrative or sense of purpose about what they want to do. Its definitely not their only problem though.

Firstly they have a problem with policies. Not so much that they don’t have any, because they actually have a number of them. Their problem is that they need to communicate them clearer to the public so that the voters know straight away the aims of the Conservatives. Political anoraks like me know the policies but I would bet the average person in a pub couldn’t name 5 specific policies. Thought needs to be given to the policies as a package, which they seemed to be doing through the idea of social responsibility. However that idea seems to have been dumbed down in favour of the horribly clunky phrase “post-bureaucratic age”.

Disappointingly in some areas of policy there has been no announcement of the existence of a Conservative policy at all, for example looked after children is shadowed by Michael Gove who has never mentioned the issue in Parliament and has not brought the issue up with his team in order to discuss the Conservative position. I understand there is a review on the issue but if its anything like its report on social workers some time ago, there wont be a lot of coverage of it or discussion at any point afterwards.

Secondly, they lack depth in numbers of frontbenchers good enough to be able to be effective Cabinet Ministers. This has become very plain to see with those pushed to appear on TV and has also been evident in exchanges in Parliament. Cameron understandably doesn’t want to have to reshuffle his team but too few are on top of their briefs and have been very quiet outside of Parliament leading to very high ‘Don’t Know’ figures in ConservativeHome.com surveys.

There seems to be a distinct lack of drive and energy. While Labour looks like it is losing the will to lead the country, the Conservatives don’t seem to be gunning for it, seemingly happy to wait. Tortoise tactics may well work, but given how quickly the political tide can turn, the Conservatives really need to seize the moment and explain to the public why they should give their support. Being not Labour really isn’t enough.

Self-inflicted crises still occur, from the grammar school policy farce, arguments over tax to the leadership’s policy of undermining of local Associations through preferring equality over meritocracy with regards to MEP and Parliamentary candidate selection. Cameron and Osborne’s attack on Brown and Darling over the 10p tax rate faltered when the response came “So what would you do?” helping Brown avoid a case of happy slapping at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. This is linked to the first problem. The Conservatives have had plenty of time to consider what they would do and to come up with a solid package of their own in response, but it seems at present they are more than happy to complain and shout about how bad it is but with pledged tax cuts for those who would be impacted by IHT (a number falling due to the house price falls) and those with shares, the message about helping the poor is compromised.

The chances of a Conservative victory at the next General Election are certainly on the up but there are serious questions of credibility as a Government-in-waiting hanging over them.

Time Flies...

2008-04-25T14:05:00.000+01:00

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of moving to Cliftonville. It’s certainly been a change of scene but the community has been far more friendly and welcoming than I expected. One of the things that showed that despite the unsightly appearance of parts of Cliftonville, generally the area was nice and the people well meaning, was sitting on the steps of the house currently being rebuilt on the corner of Surrey Road with a tenant of the Leslie Hotel, drinking beer and chatting about the area.

A consultation is doing the rounds regarding development in Cliftonville. Anyone who hasn’t already done so, please give your views to TDC. The consultation can be found pretty easily on the Council website. It seems a pretty solid report, though aspects of it could be improved. Given the serious issues Cliftonville faces, I would prefer it if a tighter line was taken for the time being.

Double Whammy

2008-04-23T09:09:00.002+01:00

The arguments over the 10p income tax band continue with Brown begging Labour MPs to hold firm. You know when it’s serious when Denis McShane (former Europe Minister and Labour hardcore loyalist) is in front of TV cameras to fly the flag for Brown. It looks bad inside the Commons Chamber and it looks bad outside it.

“Fiscal drag” is an issue linked to this. In short, it’s where increases in wages are greater than increases in the personal tax allowance. The personal tax allowance is automatically linked to the Government’s preferred inflation figure (around 2.5%). Wages have increased by somewhere closer to 4%. Due to this imbalance, many peoples incomes will increase above the personal tax allowance limit and will end up paying tax for the first time, or will end up paying more in tax, even though they are working the same number of hours. The National Minimum Wage is a case in point, having increased way above inflation since its creation.

The brilliant thing as far as the Treasury is concerned is that it gets more tax revenue without having to actively tax for it and therefore having to point out how and why the public is suddenly paying more tax, leading to such outrage as we are seeing from many low paid workers and Labour MPs. It’s part of the reason why the problems with the wider public finances has held back as long as it has. The bad thing is that the Government forgot that the economic cycle cannot be abolished. At some point there has to be a downturn and the Government needs to have sound finances to ensure they can ride it out. Their high spending has left public finances in a less than pristine state, particularly dangerous if the downturn is delayed.

The Government has realised this but only as the credit crunch slammed into the American housing market and has found itself rushing to restrain public sector workers wage increases, with multi-year deals at a mid-2% increase. The Unions though aren’t happy, giving the Government another problem since Labour needs the Unions onside in light of a General Election in the next two years.

Fiscal drag has been of enormous benefit to the Treasury, giving it billions of pounds it could have used to balance the books. Removing the 10p band simply makes the problem of fiscal drag worse by beating the low paid again.
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Stephen Ladyman MP has commented on the “fuss” saying “it is wrong that even this small group should be worse off” and that he will be bringing his concerns of this group to the Chancellor. Will he explain why he didn’t bring these concerns up before and instead voted in favour of the changes without question when they came through Parliament last year?

Budget Blowback

2008-04-21T09:36:00.000+01:00

The big news story this past weekend is surely the angst of Labour MPs directed at Gordon Brown over the abolition of the 10p starter income tax band. 6 Parliamentary aides have expressed serious anxiety at the change (one of which has to be persuaded by Brown not to resign over the issue) and even David Blunkett has spoken out. Brown is said to be angry that this flared up while he was in America, as if public objection to Government policy should only be shown while he is in the country. Downing Street has made it clear there are no concessions to be given such as increased tax credits despite (Treasury busybody) Angela Eagle’s comments to “watch this space”. Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling has said that he cannot re-write the Budget but that in future budgets it might be possible, which for me doesn’t exactly sound like reassurance for those who lose out as a result of the changes.

The thinking behind the policy is that it pays for a tax cut for Middle England who get a 2p cut in their income tax. It also gets the added benefit of giving the pensioners a one time only increase on their winter fuel payments. Unfortunately it has the side effect of doubling tax on the lowest paid. The Government has argued that the band abolition isn’t that bad since those who lose out immediately can offset it with tax credits. All fine and dandy you’d think. Well that would be true, if you are in a position to claim them. Not everyone earning below a certain level of income can claim them. People like me for example. I have no children and work less than 30 hours a week, therefore I don’t qualify.

I don’t consider myself a burden upon the country. If anything the Government must surely make a profit on me since I barely use public services. Ive used health services twice in the last 5 years and both times were blood donations. I do not rely on welfare of any kind and I follow the rules, however stupid they may well appear and yet I have to pay double income tax so that the middle earners can keep more of their money. What gives?

There is an easy solution to this, which has been around for sometime, recommended by Lord Forsyth in a report for the Conservatives a couple of years ago and which is sensible, cutting back heavily on administration and streamlining the tax system hugely. Abolish tax credits and kick the personal tax allowance up substantially, immediately removing the poor from the tax system. There is little logic in demanding more tax revenue from the poor, only to give it back to them in the form of tax credits, which many who can claim do not. Just cut out the middle man and let the poor keep their own money. Economically, increasing taxation at the present economic situation isn’t sound since it will slow public spending, one of the constants that has kept the economy afloat when other economies have stuttered worse.

The abolition of the 10p band is completely against Labour’s principle of helping the poor and I hope local Labour will come out and admit that the changes will leave many poor residents out of pocket. Preaching about tax credits and the national minimum wage is using the two schemes as a smokescreen and is a terrible way to treat the public who deserve honesty at this time.

Gwyneth Dunwoody

2008-04-18T10:30:00.000+01:00

Last night Gwyneth Dunwoody, Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, died aged 77. She was Chair of the Commons Select Committee for Transport and entered Parliament in 1966.

It’s a terrible loss to Parliament. Even I as a small 'c' conservative blogger recognise her honesty in debate irrelevant of her own Party’s line and will miss her speeches. Her speech from the debate on scheduling of the Commons ratification of the Lisbon Treaty only a few months ago was one of the best speeches Ive ever seen. She spoke brilliantly about the changes that had happened to Parliament over the years and how what might appear to be side issues or trivialities, can actually be really important and that the processes of Parliament should not be undermined. I don’t usually have much time for Labour MPs, but for her I always paid attention.

There aren’t many MPs in Parliament like her, putting people before Party. She will be missed.

42 Days Later

2008-04-14T10:23:00.000+01:00

In the News of the World the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith spoke out at the threat terrorism makes towards Britain and in effect asking for parliamentary support for the Counter Terrorism Bill currently before the Commons. The most contentious clause enables suspects to be held for 42 days without charge, well above any other comparable country and above the current 28 day limit brought in not that long ago.

Given recent court cases which have gone against the Government with regards to control orders and pre-charge detention (Lotfi Raissi’s life was torn apart and he was physically attacked and yet he was completely innocent of all accusations), you’d think that the Government would ensure that the legislation was watertight. Sadly it appears they will just bulldoze it through without amendment. This Government has a long and undistinguished history of this.

Lets be in no doubt, if there is a substantial case for such powers the opposition would be far lesser, but as the Second Reading of the Bill showed, the case is very small indeed with key players outside of the Westminster village rejecting the need for such powers. The Director of Public Prosecutions, who would have to approve the 42 day detention order, has been on record to say that there isn’t really a case for it. As David Davis, Shadow Home Secretary has said, “if the 28-day point is reached, and a policeman has a reasonable suspicion and expects to find the evidence in the 42-day period that the right hon. Lady wants, he can charge”. There is no explanation as to where the 42 days power has come from. Why 42?

The Government has assured MPs that Parliament will have to approve each 42 day extension, within 30 days of a request. That’s not much of an assurance if Parliament must meet at some point during that 30 day period, while someone languishes in a cell, without a charge to their name and that Parliament will not be privy to the full details of the case (understandable really, but its still a farce). An extension can be granted upon “reasonable suspicion”. So no proper evidence of a crime, just a thought that maybe the person has done something illegal? The burden of proof is far too low and available to abuse. Parliament having to deal with such a process would also mean the divide between the legislature and the judiciary being broken. This provision is a worrying idea which destroys key parts of our unwritten constitution and will allow abuse by the Governing party.

A part of the Government’s case has been the argument known as the “Armageddon Defence”, that is if Armageddon is to come surely we need all powers at hand just in case we need them. Which is why the Government has the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Its bringing up an extreme example to justify heavy actions. A desperate attempt to get support that is more of a sixth form debating tactic rather than parliamentary debating.

It has been a complaint long held by many brilliant MPs on both sides of the Commons that legislative scrutiny has rescinded in the past decade. When the Government get the First reading done, they already have the schedule for the progress of the Bill prepared so that they know exactly when the Bill will be debated and when the guillotine drops on them. The process leads to bad legislation.

As I have outlined, parts of this Bill will have a dramatic impact on this country and all with good intentions, but as anyone will point out, some of the worst horrors on the planet have been done with good intentions borne in mind.

Death of Dreamland

2008-04-08T09:18:00.000+01:00

Margate needs as much help as possible with Westwood sucking the life out of the High Street and Northdown Road. The fire at Dreamland has dealt a crushing blow to any hopes of a recovery for the town. I don’t care who was responsible for the fire itself though Im sure readers have a good idea of who they think would be in the frame. The fact is that the Scenic Railway has been severely damaged and with it Margate itself.

It’s now a free for all as far as housing development at Dreamland is concerned. The Scenic Railway and its Listed status was the only obstacle. Unless the Scenic Railway can be rebuilt to the way it was, the Local Plan barrier to full development on the site no longer has any force.

Margate is dying. All the good things from Margate I remember from my childhood are fast disappearing with no substantial replacement. What is left for children in Margate today and why is so little being done to sort it out?

Albion Bookshop closure

2008-04-03T15:29:00.000+01:00

As numerous other blogs have noted, Margate isn’t what it used to be. The Council struggles to find a solution to this to what appears to be little effect, unless you own a café... Yesterday saw the announcement that the Albion Bookshop in Cliftonville is to close by the end of the year. A stalwart of Northdown Road having been there for over 50 years, it has suffered from the “pressures of harsh economic reality” and the end is nigh. It’s very disappointing to see such notices up in the windows, to see another established business having to close and another blow on an already battered area which needs as much help as possible.

I really like the Albion Bookshop, just about the only shop in Thanet selling a decent range of chess books. A number of chess books I own have been bought from there and I wonder where I will have to go now. Friendly staff, always up for a chat with a large range of books and perfectly happy to help if the customer has any queries or problems. One of the few shops in Clifonville I use, but not for much longer.

UPDATE:

Today (Saturday 5th April) EDJ Greengrocers on Northdown Road closes to move to Nash Farm near Westwood Cross. Another loss to Cliftonville...

Out of sight, out of mind?

2008-04-03T15:27:00.000+01:00

A consultation is to soon begin on plans to force retailers to conceal displays of cigarettes in an attempt to cut under age sales of cigarettes. The idea was thrown around last year so this looks like they are going for it.

The idea though is pointless and will not deal with the problem. Legislation on this bans the purchase of alcohol for a third party who is underage. However with regard to cigarettes, such proxy sales are perfectly legal. If children want them all they have to do is ask an adult, maybe the parents, to get them and that’s it. The idea is banning public display of cigarettes to cut cigarette use is going to do nothing to deal with the real issue. Lord Darzi, Minister for Health has said that the Government will not be changing the law to clear this up as it would be “unenforceable”. Trading Standards surely could have an extended role to check proxy sales. Simply getting shops to have to find extra space for cigarettes to hide them would lead to extra burden, logistically and in cost as well. Small shops are under enough stress as it is with the Treasury pounding them again and again for more money (the Budget has a number of such instances) and the result of the policy will be that shops will cut down the number of brands they sell, leading to a cut in tax revenue for the Treasury. If access to cigarettes is such a problem, why not just ban the sale of tobacco products completely?

Furthermore, if cigarettes are a product so harmful that it should be removed from view, where does it stop? Logically speaking, alcohol should be removed from view, and so must all other age restricted goods, such as some computer games, DVDs and CDs with Parental Warnings attached to them. Top shelf magazines will have to be removed from view and so must anything else which could, in the long term, be harmful to children through obesity, such as sweets, crisps, cakes and soft drinks. Newspapers with adult content can damage children psychologically and encourage delinquent behaviour and therefore should be removed from view. Scratchcards and other National Lottery equipment will have to be removed from view as well.

Of course perhaps Im exaggerating and in reality theres no chance of the above happening. But if the Government are starting with cigarettes, what else is next and where does it end?

Post Office closures

2008-03-22T10:12:00.001Z

Earlier this week a long debate was held in the House of Commons regarding the programme to close over a thousand post offices countrywide. The Conservative motion to halt the programme of closures was defeated by just 20 votes. A number of Ministers campaigned publicly against the proposed closures in their constituencies and yet voted in favour of them in the Commons.

Stephen Ladyman voted against the Conservative motion while Roger Gale voted in favour.