Wednesday 17 November 2010
Labour opens up a five-point lead over the Tories
Three polls have come out recently indicating a Labour lead. This is the first time we've had consecutive polls from different polling companies all indicating a consistent Labour lead. The latest from YouGov indicates a 5 point Labour lead over the Tories (42% to 37% with LD on 10%). The significant point is that it may indicate a softening of Tory support that has up til now remained content with the programme announced by the coalition government. The Lib Dems have been bouncing along in the low teens and even lower for a while now.
Friday 12 November 2010
UNISON march and rally - Report
Kathy Pearce of Bridgwater CLP has produced a good write up of last Saturday's rally and march. For those of you who were unable to attend please follow the link to read her take on the event.
It's posted on the Bridgwater CLP's blog and there are also other articles posted there if you want to make yourselves aquainted with the issues up the M5.
It's posted on the Bridgwater CLP's blog and there are also other articles posted there if you want to make yourselves aquainted with the issues up the M5.
Thursday 11 November 2010
Somerset County Council approves £43m of budget cuts
Much as I may have felt this was largely a foregone conclusion there was still something rather ghastly about the actual event itself.
The BBC reports it here.
I have some sympathy for the arts in Somerset who are having a 100% cut in budget, and which has been well covered locally and even managed a segment on Newsnight last night, which is well worth a viewing. The main revelation from that was that Ken Maddock used to be into amateur dramatics, even appearing in a performance of Waiting for Godot. The mind boggles.
But this was all a smokescreen to the main event which was the massive, wholesale slashing of services in Somerset. No area will remain untouched with Childrens and Young Peoples Directorate taking a massive 65-75% cut in budget. Highways maintenance is taking a 50% cut with an extra 90,000 potholes predicted over three years and a £200 million maintenance bombshell to be made up in the future by another adminstration presumably when Ken and his clique have cleared off back to Mendip. Every area of civic life is being damaged by these ill judged, panic led measures all because Ken Maddock is too boneheaded to accept additional debt at a time of falling tax revenue as a necessary evil. That they are being taken a full month ahead of the final settlement by central government makes it difficult to fathom the haste. Maybe they are in hurry because they just have to make sure they get the redundancy notices out for staff for Christmas Day. Unfortunately that's not a joke and is in fact the timetable released by UNISON for the redundancy notices for staff at SCC.
When the full effect of the national cuts is felt there will be some in Somerset who will disproportionally hit. Ken Maddock and the Chief Executive, Sheila Wheeler, make great play on protecting the vulnerable but it is difficult to see how this achievable in any meaningful sense against the overall backdrop of a cross the board reduction in services. The Cabinet have already been told they are in breach of breach of equalities and human rights legislation with their proposals for adult social care to little effect.
There is more to come with another meeting on the 22nd December to decide a further £30 million of cuts and this may present the best opportunity for a reversal for the Cabinet. This meeting will deal with the capital borrowing and there are Tory councilors who are opposed to this extra cut.
It's not over yet and regardless of the outcome of the next meeting it is absolutely vital for us to oppose the Tories and their idealogically driven cuts in every arena we can. They need to be held to account and to take resposibility for the choices they have made.
The BBC reports it here.
I have some sympathy for the arts in Somerset who are having a 100% cut in budget, and which has been well covered locally and even managed a segment on Newsnight last night, which is well worth a viewing. The main revelation from that was that Ken Maddock used to be into amateur dramatics, even appearing in a performance of Waiting for Godot. The mind boggles.
But this was all a smokescreen to the main event which was the massive, wholesale slashing of services in Somerset. No area will remain untouched with Childrens and Young Peoples Directorate taking a massive 65-75% cut in budget. Highways maintenance is taking a 50% cut with an extra 90,000 potholes predicted over three years and a £200 million maintenance bombshell to be made up in the future by another adminstration presumably when Ken and his clique have cleared off back to Mendip. Every area of civic life is being damaged by these ill judged, panic led measures all because Ken Maddock is too boneheaded to accept additional debt at a time of falling tax revenue as a necessary evil. That they are being taken a full month ahead of the final settlement by central government makes it difficult to fathom the haste. Maybe they are in hurry because they just have to make sure they get the redundancy notices out for staff for Christmas Day. Unfortunately that's not a joke and is in fact the timetable released by UNISON for the redundancy notices for staff at SCC.
When the full effect of the national cuts is felt there will be some in Somerset who will disproportionally hit. Ken Maddock and the Chief Executive, Sheila Wheeler, make great play on protecting the vulnerable but it is difficult to see how this achievable in any meaningful sense against the overall backdrop of a cross the board reduction in services. The Cabinet have already been told they are in breach of breach of equalities and human rights legislation with their proposals for adult social care to little effect.
There is more to come with another meeting on the 22nd December to decide a further £30 million of cuts and this may present the best opportunity for a reversal for the Cabinet. This meeting will deal with the capital borrowing and there are Tory councilors who are opposed to this extra cut.
It's not over yet and regardless of the outcome of the next meeting it is absolutely vital for us to oppose the Tories and their idealogically driven cuts in every arena we can. They need to be held to account and to take resposibility for the choices they have made.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Speech to the TUC Rally outside County Hall, Saturday 6th November 2010
Good afternoon friends. Thank you so much for inviting me here to speak to you today. I am particularly grateful for the invite because I can tell you-as a young person I have reason to be here today. My name is Rob Thompson and I am a second year student at Richard Huish Sixth Form College here in Taunton. Next year I hope to go to university.
But I have a problem. I have a big problem. I have a problem with David Cameron. I have a problem with Nick Clegg. I have a problem with the deepest cuts to public spending since 1918. I have a problem with Jeremy Browne the MP for Taunton Deane. My problem is this.
During the general election campaign of this year, the Politics Society at Richard Huish invited the four candidates for Taunton Deane to a hustings. In front of a hall packed full of first time voters, Jeremy Browne did what almost all of his fellow Lib Dem MPs did; he categorically pledged to vote against any, any, rise in tuition fees. To all of those young people, voting for the first time, Mr Browne broke his promise. It has become the norm for the Coalition to attempt to disguise their vicious and ideological cuts in a cloak of progressiveness. Yet cuts that begin by directly disadvantaging the young and their families are anything but progressive. When will this Coalition realise that there are young people in this country who live in difficult circumstances and who fear the prospect of going to University because of the immense cost of doing so?
Comrades, it is simply not right that young people are now terrified of university because of the debt they will be burdened with on graduation. It is not right that teenagers are being turned away from university because they just cannot cope with the idea of £30,000 - £40,000 worth of debt. It is not right that students will be forced to choose an institution because it charges the cheapest fees instead of choosing a university that is right for them. And it is simply not right that ministers who benefitted so much from the fundamental right to a free education can now turn away so many of my generation with such catastrophic costs.
We are not the ones who should be paying the price. Not us. Not students and young children, not the elderly, not the poor and vulnerable of Taunton or Somerset, not the poor the entire length and breadth of the country. Who should be paying the price? I’ll tell you who should be paying the price. The rich bankers who live abroad so they don’t have to pay their tax to contribute to our beloved NHS or the education of young people or the welfare programmes that offer hope to millions of people. They should be the ones paying the price, not us.
Who says we are all in it together? George Osborne whose £4million trust fund is stored offshore so that he doesn’t pay the tax on it? David Cameron who said that his wife Samantha is really a very unconventional Tory Prime Minister’s wife because, wait for it, she went to day school!! Nick Clegg who thought that the state pension was £30 a week? An amount that would devastate elderly people. We’re not all in this together. It doesn’t take much to work out who’s in and who’s out.
Time and time again it is the poor that have paid the price. And indeed now they are joined by the middle classes as well. But comrades, this time we will not stand by. We will not stand by whilst families are forced from their homes, whilst students are burdened with debts they cannot repay and whilst stability and security is snatched from ordinary people.
Let the word go out here today; that there is an alternative. There is an alternative that speaks up for ordinary people. There is an alternative that provides hope for those in and out of work and there is an alternative that safeguards the future and does not keep us in the past.
I appreciate the fact that Cllr Ross Henley and other Lib Dems are here today but until they disassociate themselves from their parliamentary colleagues, until they condemn the actions of their MP Jeremy Browne, only then will we believe the local Lib Dems again. Are the local Lib Dems with their national government colleagues or not? Are they with the Tories or are they with us? Because I can assure them that Lib Dem promises will never be believed again. Not here. Not now. Not after thousands of people voted against the cuts here in Taunton and across Somerset. Our so called Liberal MPs have abandoned the progressive platforms they were elected upon and we will punish them for it. Never again shall we believe the Lib Dems, never again will we allow them to disown the British electorate and never again will we talk of the importance of tactical voting because it simply doesn’t work. This government must and will be confined to the history books.
I am sorry if all I seem to you is an angry teenager. But I have reason to be angry. I am angry because I live in a society where I feel compelled to take to the streets to fight for my generation. I am angry because my friends voted for a candidate who they believed was progressive but who turned out to be anything but and I am angry because my government are taking retrograde steps to an unjust society.
John F Kennedy said in his inauguration speech in 1961; “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” I believe as a society our first duty is to our neighbours, whoever they may be. And for me, speaking as a young person, that includes students of whatever background. The first duty of a government is to safeguard the future of our country, of which our students are a vital part. This coalition government is thinking too much about their own personal political gains, about the attraction of a little red ministerial box or a posh ministerial car. What they should be thinking and worrying about is where we will be in the future. Because if my generation are abandoned by their government, there will be no future for us. And I fear the future. I fear the recurring impact that this Coalition’s prejudices will have upon my country and upon my friends.
So in conclusion comrades, thank you for your support today. Thank you for all you have done, all you are doing and all you will do in the future to work for the rights and the freedoms of ordinary people. And remember this; in 2010 the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrat Party abandoned the most promising generation of young people in the entire history of our nation and it is up to us therefore, to ensure that that generation is given the future that they deserve. Thank you.
But I have a problem. I have a big problem. I have a problem with David Cameron. I have a problem with Nick Clegg. I have a problem with the deepest cuts to public spending since 1918. I have a problem with Jeremy Browne the MP for Taunton Deane. My problem is this.
During the general election campaign of this year, the Politics Society at Richard Huish invited the four candidates for Taunton Deane to a hustings. In front of a hall packed full of first time voters, Jeremy Browne did what almost all of his fellow Lib Dem MPs did; he categorically pledged to vote against any, any, rise in tuition fees. To all of those young people, voting for the first time, Mr Browne broke his promise. It has become the norm for the Coalition to attempt to disguise their vicious and ideological cuts in a cloak of progressiveness. Yet cuts that begin by directly disadvantaging the young and their families are anything but progressive. When will this Coalition realise that there are young people in this country who live in difficult circumstances and who fear the prospect of going to University because of the immense cost of doing so?
Comrades, it is simply not right that young people are now terrified of university because of the debt they will be burdened with on graduation. It is not right that teenagers are being turned away from university because they just cannot cope with the idea of £30,000 - £40,000 worth of debt. It is not right that students will be forced to choose an institution because it charges the cheapest fees instead of choosing a university that is right for them. And it is simply not right that ministers who benefitted so much from the fundamental right to a free education can now turn away so many of my generation with such catastrophic costs.
We are not the ones who should be paying the price. Not us. Not students and young children, not the elderly, not the poor and vulnerable of Taunton or Somerset, not the poor the entire length and breadth of the country. Who should be paying the price? I’ll tell you who should be paying the price. The rich bankers who live abroad so they don’t have to pay their tax to contribute to our beloved NHS or the education of young people or the welfare programmes that offer hope to millions of people. They should be the ones paying the price, not us.
Who says we are all in it together? George Osborne whose £4million trust fund is stored offshore so that he doesn’t pay the tax on it? David Cameron who said that his wife Samantha is really a very unconventional Tory Prime Minister’s wife because, wait for it, she went to day school!! Nick Clegg who thought that the state pension was £30 a week? An amount that would devastate elderly people. We’re not all in this together. It doesn’t take much to work out who’s in and who’s out.
Time and time again it is the poor that have paid the price. And indeed now they are joined by the middle classes as well. But comrades, this time we will not stand by. We will not stand by whilst families are forced from their homes, whilst students are burdened with debts they cannot repay and whilst stability and security is snatched from ordinary people.
Let the word go out here today; that there is an alternative. There is an alternative that speaks up for ordinary people. There is an alternative that provides hope for those in and out of work and there is an alternative that safeguards the future and does not keep us in the past.
I appreciate the fact that Cllr Ross Henley and other Lib Dems are here today but until they disassociate themselves from their parliamentary colleagues, until they condemn the actions of their MP Jeremy Browne, only then will we believe the local Lib Dems again. Are the local Lib Dems with their national government colleagues or not? Are they with the Tories or are they with us? Because I can assure them that Lib Dem promises will never be believed again. Not here. Not now. Not after thousands of people voted against the cuts here in Taunton and across Somerset. Our so called Liberal MPs have abandoned the progressive platforms they were elected upon and we will punish them for it. Never again shall we believe the Lib Dems, never again will we allow them to disown the British electorate and never again will we talk of the importance of tactical voting because it simply doesn’t work. This government must and will be confined to the history books.
I am sorry if all I seem to you is an angry teenager. But I have reason to be angry. I am angry because I live in a society where I feel compelled to take to the streets to fight for my generation. I am angry because my friends voted for a candidate who they believed was progressive but who turned out to be anything but and I am angry because my government are taking retrograde steps to an unjust society.
John F Kennedy said in his inauguration speech in 1961; “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” I believe as a society our first duty is to our neighbours, whoever they may be. And for me, speaking as a young person, that includes students of whatever background. The first duty of a government is to safeguard the future of our country, of which our students are a vital part. This coalition government is thinking too much about their own personal political gains, about the attraction of a little red ministerial box or a posh ministerial car. What they should be thinking and worrying about is where we will be in the future. Because if my generation are abandoned by their government, there will be no future for us. And I fear the future. I fear the recurring impact that this Coalition’s prejudices will have upon my country and upon my friends.
So in conclusion comrades, thank you for your support today. Thank you for all you have done, all you are doing and all you will do in the future to work for the rights and the freedoms of ordinary people. And remember this; in 2010 the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrat Party abandoned the most promising generation of young people in the entire history of our nation and it is up to us therefore, to ensure that that generation is given the future that they deserve. Thank you.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
“A New Generation”
"Let the message go out; a new generation has taken charge of Labour." Thus Ed Miliband heralded the beginning of a new era and paved the foundations of a new path to power. It was a privilege to attend my first Labour Party Conference in September. It was a historic moment, where we rallied around our new leader and began the fightback against the regressive, ideological and draconian ConDem government. I believe Ed Miliband is the right man to lead our party back into government because he recognises the need for our party to change in order to win back votes, he understands the very real impact that the public spending cuts will have upon ordinary families and households and finally, as Neil Kinnock said, he has the ability to inspire, a quality that is desperately needed to bring about a new politics.
Robert F Kennedy once wrote: "Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth-not a time of life, but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of
courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."
The new generation is not about age or ability or even style. The new generation is all about change. A political party is nothing if it constantly remains the same. A political party must be transformative all of the time. It must be radical, without being extreme, it must be understanding without being patronising, it must be uplifting without leaving anyone behind and most of all, it must be open to others, not a club, but a community.
If the Labour Party is to inspire Britain once again, it must be proud of its heritage, humble about its mistakes and ready to embrace itself as a radical movement for change acting for the 21st Century.
So I am very proud to be a member of the Labour Party as we enter our new era , an era where we as a party may recognise both the successes and the disappointments of the past but remain optimistic and hopeful about the future of our movement and our country as a whole.
Robert F Kennedy once wrote: "Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth-not a time of life, but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of
courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."
The new generation is not about age or ability or even style. The new generation is all about change. A political party is nothing if it constantly remains the same. A political party must be transformative all of the time. It must be radical, without being extreme, it must be understanding without being patronising, it must be uplifting without leaving anyone behind and most of all, it must be open to others, not a club, but a community.
If the Labour Party is to inspire Britain once again, it must be proud of its heritage, humble about its mistakes and ready to embrace itself as a radical movement for change acting for the 21st Century.
So I am very proud to be a member of the Labour Party as we enter our new era , an era where we as a party may recognise both the successes and the disappointments of the past but remain optimistic and hopeful about the future of our movement and our country as a whole.
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Local media response to the Comprehensive Spending Review
For those of you who are interested there's an article in This is Somerset about the Cabinet Member for Enironment at SCC, Anthony Trollope-Bellew, resigning. He's open about the reasons and about how irresponsible the cuts to the highways budget are. So congratulations to Ken Maddock for doing something so daft he's managed to get me agreeing with Anthony Trollope-Bellew.
This is Somerset: http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Cuts-willlead-road-deaths/article-2788998-detail/article.html
Also a piece in BBC Somerset. Of note two other councillors seem to have gone as well (Stephen Martin-Scott & William Wallace). Not sure as to the reasons but Ken Maddock is trying to spin it as a savings decision, with it leaving just five cabinet members left. There is more to it and may indicate some fracturing in the Tory group.
This is Somerset: http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Cuts-willlead-road-deaths/article-2788998-detail/article.html
Also a piece in BBC Somerset. Of note two other councillors seem to have gone as well (Stephen Martin-Scott & William Wallace). Not sure as to the reasons but Ken Maddock is trying to spin it as a savings decision, with it leaving just five cabinet members left. There is more to it and may indicate some fracturing in the Tory group.
BBC Somerset: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-11597481
Some more in the County Gazette, which I think is more than went in yesterday's print edition. The question I'd ask is where are the Lib Dems? Do they even have an opinion on this as I haven't seen a remark/quote from them in weeks?
UNISON march and rally - 6th November
The local branch of UNISON are holding a rally and march on 6th November in opposition to the cuts at Somerset County Council. The rally will be held at 10.30am in French Weir with the march at 11.00am.
This needs to be publicised at widely as possible to try and get a good turnout to show the Conservative group the level of opposition in Taunton and Somerset to the cuts they are proposing.
I will be writing a fuller post on the Comprehensive Spending Review and the actual cuts in Somerset soon but for the moment here is a link to the letter that the Chief Exec at SCC sent out to all staff. Here is the UNISON response.
More after the break.
This needs to be publicised at widely as possible to try and get a good turnout to show the Conservative group the level of opposition in Taunton and Somerset to the cuts they are proposing.
I will be writing a fuller post on the Comprehensive Spending Review and the actual cuts in Somerset soon but for the moment here is a link to the letter that the Chief Exec at SCC sent out to all staff. Here is the UNISON response.
More after the break.
Friday 1 October 2010
Southwest One makes pre-tax loss of £16.5 million
As I mentioned at the bottom of my last post Southwest One has posted a pre-tax loss of £16.5 million. This is not good news and as much as I think that Southwest One was never a good idea at any point I would rather it didn't start losing money hand over fist as I'm a little vague about how losses are distributed. SW One is 75% owned by IBM with the remaining 25% split between SCC, Taunton Deane and Avon & Somerset Constabulary. Both Taunton Deane & SCC seem to be suggesting they will not be directly paying for mistakes/losses by SW One which is probably technically correct. I'm sure the truth is somewhat more complicated. SCC had the following to say:
Somerset council said it would not cost extra money as it was a fixed contract.Note the Not necessarily ours. Well that's alleviated all my concerns then - good job David. I suppose if the worst happens you can always suggest selling County Hall again.
David Huxtable, the councillor responsible for resources at the county council, said: "I don't have any concerns or fears about the ability of the company to deliver our services because we made sure we partnered with huge international business and I have security in that.
"We asked people to bid to run our services at less cost to us and that's what they did.
"It may be that they over or under bid for the contract but I feel that is their problem, and not necessarily ours."
Thursday 30 September 2010
Taunton Deane charged £15k for 'widespread' accounting failures relating to SW One
BBC Somerset are reporting that Taunton Deane have been charged an additional £15k by the Audit Commission for widespread failures relating to the Southwest One contract. SCC are also due to receive a "charge" for the same reason; the fee has yet to be decided. I've included the main body of the report below the break along with some thoughts on Southwest One.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Strangely familiar
As much as I was attempting to follow our new leader's speech intently I kept finding my eyes strangely drawn to a spot just above his shoulder.
Well done to Rob for finding the best position in the hall to maximise his exposure! Not sure about the view from that spot but I think I could live with an hour of looking at the back of Ed's head. I hope Rob enjoyed it; he certainly seemed to be nodding/clapping etc at the appropriate moments
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