Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service have released the following footage of what happens when a Christmas tree catches fire. It’s a shocking video and well worth a look. Please be careful with your Christmas tree and have a safe and happy Christmas!
Archive for December, 2008 Page 2 of 4
This morning I attended the meeting of the Planning Panel to discuss the Peel Holdings proposal for a Racecourse and Forest Park on the land south of Boothstown and west of Worsley Village. I’m very pleased that the Planning Panel listened to local residents and decided that it was “minded to refuse” the application, which is now being passed to the Planning Inspectorate for a Public Enquiry and a final decision.
The decision was made on two grounds – inappropriate development on Green Belt land and effect on the local highways. The developers were unable to satisfy the Planning Panel that there were the exceptional circumstances which are a requirement for development on Green Belt, and they were unable to persuade the Panel that there would not be a detrimental impact on traffic and highways in the local area.
Junction 13 of the M60 and the approach roads (Walkden Road, Leigh Road and Worsley Road) operate well above capacity in peak periods for most of the year, and the impact of this new development would cause chaos not just in Worsley and Boothstown but also into Walkden and Eccles.
The application will now go forward to the Inquiry for a final decision, but today’s decision means that Salford City Council is formally opposed to the proposal. The Inquiry will be next year sometime – the date is yet to be confirmed – but residents who wish to comment on the proposals need to do so before next Wednesday (December 24th – yes Christmas Eve). You can find full details on how to comment on the Council website.
Lucy Powell is the Prospective Labour Candidate for the Manchester Withington constituency. She writes an occasional blog for the Guardian website and regularly manages to put her foot in it. During the Crewe & Nantwich by-election she decided to help the Labour cause by slagging off Bentley, who are of course a major local employer in Crewe. Now following the TIF referendum result, she’s managed another gaffe, implying that the majority of voters in Greater Manchester are stupid. Here’s the key paragraph:
We simply didn’t win the argument. Even after a big public information campaign, the basic facts of the proposed scheme just didn’t get through. It was a complex set of proposals, which were not readily understood. There remains much confusion and misunderstanding about them.
The implication here is clear – if people had understood the proposals they would have voted yes. So Lucy Powell is saying clearly that the good people of Greater Manchester are stupid. Bravo Lucy – typical of the patronising attitude that Labour takes to the people who elect them around these parts.
Lucy’s comment are, of course, arrant self-serving nonsense. Over £3m of taxpayers’ money was spent on a huge propaganda publicity campaign, not to mention the countless thousands spent by the YES campaign, and yet when the vote comes back a resounding NO our Labour representatives blame ignorance on the part of the voters. There has been a stubborn refusal from Lucy and her Labour colleagues to accept any responsibility for the result.
I’m delighted that Chris Hoy won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He is a truly inspiring athlete, a superb example to young people and a current Salford resident to boot! Well done Chris.
I spent yesterday in York having a marvellous time at the University of York Conservative Christmas Dinner and unsurprisingly did not have time to blog. I must thank all the UYCUA Committee for putting on another excellent event – they never disappoint!
Anyway, a day late, here’s my regular Sunday round-up of ten blog posts which caught my eye this week…
- David Ottewell trawls through some of the TIF referendum detail.
- Mike Smithson gets a tip wrong – now there’s a novelty!
- Iain Dale muses about a February General Election – will Gordon cut and run?
- Labour PPC Lucy Powell thinks the people of Greater Manchester are stupid. She really does have a talent for major gaffes – anyone else remember her slagging off Bentley during the Crewe & Nantwich campaign.
- Cllr Susan Williams welcomes the Congestion Charge “No” vote.
- David Nuttall shares his thoughts on the TIF referendum.
- Cllr Antony Little debates the pros and cons of campaigning in midwinter!
- FOWS flag up the new timetable. Having tried to get home from Manchester this evening all I can say is that there are one or two teething troubles!
- Mary Macleod comments on an interesting parks initiative in London.
- Ian Lewis notes the lack of consultation from Labour-led Wirral Council. It seems they have taken a leaf out of Salford Labour’s book!
In the weeks leading up to the Congestion Charge referendum, Salford Conservatives distributed thousands of newsletters explaining what we thought of the Congestion Charge and TIF bid, and urging local residents to vote no when they received their ballot papers. I would have liked to have delivered many more but late November and early December are far from ideal for campaigning. I know that Conservative colleagues in neighbouring boroughs like Wigan and Trafford were engaged in a similar exercise.
Salford Labour and Labour-controlled Salford City Council were supportive of the TIF bid, so where were the Labour leaflets urging local residents to vote in favour? If Labour thought this bid was so good for Salford, why did they not get their hands dirty and get out on the doorsteps to argue for a yes vote rather than stay in the ivory towers of the Civic Centre?
The TIF bid was a bad deal for Salford and I am delighted that it has been rejected by such a decisive margin. I would imagine that the Yes campaign are desperately disappointed that their Labour colleagues have shown such political cowardice in the face of a difficult vote. Over the coming months I will waste no time reminding local residents that this was a Labour plan, because the Salford Labour Party haven’t had the guts to actually go out and tell people that themselves.
I’ve spent the morning at the MICC in Manchester City Centre, and I’ve just left after hearing the returning officer announce that Labour’s Congestion Charge Tax has been soundly defeated by huge margins in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. Lord Peter Smith, the leader of Wigan Council, gave a particularly ungracious speech afterwards. The results are as follows:
Bolton – 78.93% voted no (turnout 48.8%)
Bury – 79.44% voted no (turnout 57.4%)
Manchester – 72.17% voted no (turnout 46.1%)
Oldham – 79.68% voted no (turnout 54.5%)
Rochdale - 78.06% voted no (turnout 50.8%)
Salford – 84.45% voted no (turnout 57.0%)
Stockport – 81.15% voted no (turnout 59.0%)
Tameside – 83.58% voted no (turnout 60.7%)
Trafford – 80.34% voted no (turnout 63.6%)
Wigan – 73.86% voted no (turnout 45.3%)
So all-in-all a thoroughly emphatic rejection, and I am particularly pleased that local residents in Salford gave the Congestion Charge the strongest thumbs-down. More analysis soon!
So the referendum is over, and the votes will be tallied up in the morning. I’ve got a ticket for the count, so I may try to live blog tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Over at Vote UK various contributors do a very nice line in coloured maps showing the political make-up of a particular area. I thought I’d have a bash for Salford – just for fun – and these are the results. The first map is the wards of Salford according to who won them at the local elections in 2008, and the second map adds in some pastel shades to give a vague indication of marginality (lighter shade = more marginal). The colours should be fairly clear, but just in case of any confusion; red for Labour, blue for Conservative, yellow for Liberal Democrat and green for Community Action. These are just for fun, and I’m sure I’m not the only person reading this blog who takes an interest in these sort of maps, so enjoy.
How To Spot Whether Labour Are Planning A February Election
There’s been some speculation over the last few days about the possibility of a General Election in early 2009. I don’t buy it personally – I expect Brown to cling on until the bitter end of his term – but as Conservatives we are of course ready to kick this rotten Labour Government out whenever the time comes. I do, however, have a simple rule of thumb to figure out whether Labour are considering an election in February or March.
If you have a sitting Labour MP who is seeking re-election, and you receive a “Parliamentary report” from them in January or February, then Labour are considering a snap poll.
These reports, which by coincidence just happen to be done in bright red and yellow, are supposedly neutral and are paid for in full by the taxpayer. Barbara Keeley MP sent her 2007 newsletter out at the height of the election speculation. Why use Labour Party funds to promote your candidate when you can use public money to do it?