Archive for July, 2008

AGMA Doesn’t Have Any Money

Published on July 31, 2008 in Manchester. 0 Comments

There’s an article in this week’s Advertiser about the congestion charge referendum, speculating that the £150000 cost of the referendum might be picked up by Council taxpayers.

There’s no “might” about it. AGMA doesn’t have any money. The Government is unlikely to step in - and of course that is taxpayers’ money anyway. That just leaves the local Council taxpayer.

Of course, the cost of the referendum is dwarfed by the dire propaganda being published about the TIF bid at the moment. That biased rubbish is costing £3 million of your money and mine. Now there’s a real scandal.

Good Money After Bad

Published on July 30, 2008 in Walkden. 1 Comment

Walking up towards Walkden town centre earlier today, I noticed that someone has clattered into the fencing on the corner of Park Road and Walkden Road/Memorial Road again.

This seems to happen once every few weeks, as local residents and traders will testify. However, every time the fence is damaged, Urban Vision come along and repair it.

I don’t know how many times it has been “fixed” now, but rather than look for a solution to the problem, the Council is forking out thousands of pounds - good money after bad - to “fix” the fence repeatedly.

Summer Showers

Published on July 29, 2008 in Walkden. 0 Comments

I’ve just got back from a spot of light early evening leafleting in the sunshine. Well, it was supposed to be sunshine - instead I got as far as Blakefield Drive, the heavens opened and I got soaked. The (minor) perils of being a local Councillor.

Our summer Walkden South newsletter is about half delivered now, local residents should be receiving one through their letterbox in the next week if they haven’t had it already. As always our newsletters are paid for and delivered free by local volunteers and not by the taxpayer or the trade unions.

My Top Ten Political Blogs

Published on July 28, 2008 in Miscellaneous and Site News. 3 Comments

I’ve finalised the list of my top ten political blogs for Iain Dale’s Guide To Political Blogging 2008-9. So here we go:

1. PoliticalBetting
2. ConservativeHome
3. David Ottewell
4. Iain Dale
5. UK Polling Report
6. Guido Fawkes
7. David Jones MP
8. Antony Little
9. WebCameron
10. Coffee House

This is of course a snapshot in time - ask me again next week and I’ll probably have changed my mind completely. This list is based almost entirely on how likely I am to read them, which I think is as good a measure as any. It does not, of course, imply any endorsement of what they may say!

Congestion Charge Referendum

Published on July 28, 2008 in Manchester. 1 Comment

I’m delighted that local residents will have the opportunity to vote on the congestion charge.

Conservatives in Salford has always backed a public vote on the plans, and the referendum represents an astonishing u-turn on behalf of the Labour Party in Greater Manchester. Most Labour Groups vehementely opposed a referendum, but as soon as Sir Richard Leese changed his mind they all flocked like sheep to back the new line.

Of concern still is the obscene amount of public money being spent on propaganda. A referendum might mean that Labour get to spend the same amount of taxpayers’ money again on “yes” literature. I’d prefer that no public funding was spent on referendum campaigning but if it has to be, then it should be fairly balanced.

Manchester Climate Forum - Congestion Charge Debate

Published on July 27, 2008 in Manchester. 0 Comments

On Thursday evening, the Manchester Climate Forum are hosting an interesting debate entitled “the 3 billion quid question” about the TIF bid and congestion charging. You can find out more information here.

Panellists include representatives from the Greater Manchester Momentum Group, United City, Clean Air Now and the Campaign for Free Public Transport. There’s also a Councillor from GMPTA speaking in a personal capacity. Unsurprisingly, given that the Manchester Labour Group - and Sir Richard Leese in particular - seem to think they have a devine right to speak for the whole of Greater Manchester (and the Manchester Evening News is happy to give them that platform) this is a Manchester Labour Councillor.

The meeting will run from 7.30pm to 9.20pm at the Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester. It’s free and open to all, although I understand that there may be a collection tin to contribute towards organisation costs.

A Good Week To Be A Burglar

Published on July 26, 2008 in Manchester and National Comment. 3 Comments

Iain Dale has an interesting post about the policing of Party Conferences. The costs do seem to be obscene, and I’m not looking forward to most of City Centre Manchester being fenced off again - as happened two years ago when the Labour Conference last came to town. Of more concern to local residents, however, is the effect that these Conferences have on local policing.

When Manchester last held a major political Conference (the aforementioned Labour Conference in September 2006) I asked in Council about the effect the Conference policing would have on neighbourhood policing. I was assured that it would not have an impact - only for many of our officers (including the neighbourhood inspector) to be dragged into Manchester to preside over the Conference. I remember we had a community meeting that at which the police were due to give an update to local residents and not one officer was available to attend even for half an hour to talk to residents. The assurances were worthless and residents lost their local police officers to fortress MICC. Definitely a good week to be a burglar.

I hope things are better planned for the Labour Conference this year and of course the Conservative Conference in autumn 2009.

Some Reflections On Glasgow East

Published on July 24, 2008 in National Comment. 3 Comments

Today the good residents of Glasgow East constituency go to the polls to elect a new MP following the abrupt resignation of their Labour MP David Marshall. I visited the area last weekend to do some campaigning for our excellent Conservative candidate Davena Rankin, and I thought I’d post one or two reflections on my time there.

I was born in Lanark and lived in the Lanarkshire town of Carluke until I was eight years old, I was a relatively frequent visitor to Glasgow when I was a small boy. Despite this, other than passing swiftly through on a train (below ground in any case!) or in a car I’ve never had cause to visit the east end of Glasgow.

(That said, by strange coincidence, I was a Primary School classmate of the SNP Councillor for Calton and Parkhead who I’ve just discovered has a blog too. I’ve not yet decided whether there’s room on my blogroll for a Scottish Nationalist - perhaps if she asks nicely!)

I spent two days in Glasgow East - on the first day in Tollcross and Parkhead, and on the second day in the Shettleston area. Even within that short period of time I saw plenty of contrasts - from the old Georgian tenements in Tollcross through well-kept housing near Shettleston train station to a gleaming new estate just to the west of Celtic Park. However the concrete tenements and flats that resulted from Glasgow’s post-war planning and expansion are scattered across the constituency. The high-rise flats and big made-to-order estates like Easterhouse (which is in the constituency) and Castlemilk (which isn’t) have borne the brunt of the criticism over the years, but the influence of that style of building is evident across the whole area. The contrast between the new build in Parkhead (mostly houses with front doors) and the old tenements they had replaced was astonishing.

Fraser Nelson from the Spectator has written eloquently (see also here and the video below) about some of the problems facing Glasgow East. At the heart of my old classmate’s Calton ward, the life expectancy for an adult male is just 54. 85% of residents live in flats or tenements. Just 44% of those of working age actually work.

I’m under no illusions that Davena Rankin will be elected as the next MP for the area this evening, I am heartened that the Conservative Party are listening to local residents there. For decades, no-one has listened to them - Labour have admitted that they have no canvass data in one of their safest constituencies in the entire country. David Marshall probably never knocked on a door.

I’ll leave you with Fraser Nelson’s film for the Daily Politics. Something to think about:

City Reds Win Super League Franchise

Published on July 22, 2008 in Salford. 1 Comment

I was delighted to read this morning that Salford City Reds have been successful in their application for a license to play in the Super League from next season. It’s a huge boost for the club and for the City as a whole. Well done!

Guide To Political Blogs 2008-9

Published on July 21, 2008 in National Comment and Site News. 1 Comment

Iain Dale is once again running his guide to political blogging, this time under the banner of his Total Politics venture.

As usual there’s a public vote for the top 100 political blogs - you can find more information here but this is how you vote:

We’re asking for your votes to decide the Top 100 UK Political Blogs. Simply email your Top Ten (ranked from 1 to 10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com. If you have a blog, please encourage your readers to do the same. I’ll then compile the Top 100 from those that you send in. Just order them from 1 to 10. Your top blog gets 10 points and your tenth gets 1 point.

The deadline for submitting your Top 10 is Friday August 15th. Please type Top 10 in the subject line. Or you can of course leave your Top 10 in the Comments on this post.

Once all the entries are in a lucky dip draw will take place and the winner will be sent £100 worth of political books!

The rules are simple:

1. Please only vote once
2. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible
3. Votes must be cast before Friday 15 August
4. Blogs chosen must be listed in the Total Politics Blog Directory.
5. You must send a list of TEN blogs, ranked. Any entry containing fewer than ten blogs will not count.
6. You must give a name

So, once again, the email address to send your TOP TEN BLOGS to is… toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com