Will the Tories lose more seats in Mid Devon? – Owl

Councillors in Tiverton have been warned they may face prosecution. Clerk, John Vanderwolfe reminded members of Purdah rules in a recent email. The rules state that councillors must also not use the council’s own social media accounts or blog platforms during this time.

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com 

Purdah rules also means local authorities should not publish any material which, in whole, or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. The council can still issue media releases on factual matters provided that these do not identify individual councillors or groups of councillors.

Councillors are still free to respond to enquiries received from the media in a personal capacity. Individual councillors can issue their own statements, write letters to the local newspaper(s) for publication, contact the media directly or say what they like in a personal capacity, but must not use council resources to do so.

In an email to members, John Vanderwolfe said: “Please note that the use of social media for political or election purposes during the period known as Purdah is illegal, and indeed could result in prosecution. Leaflets are permitted providing they contain the required information on them about who is publishing and printing the material.

“Unfortunately, I have already received a complaint that one of you has allegedly broken the purdah code, and on viewing the Facebook item I actually agree with them. Whilst there are grey areas the best policy is not to put anything like that on social media until after the election.

“I know that many of you do keep within the guidelines, so this message is a reminder, but a warning to those who have broken the guidelines to exercise more care.”

The widespread revulsion surrounding the wholesale discharge of sewage into our rivers and onto our beaches every time it rains is obviously getting to Simon Jupp. 

Again he goes into print trying to shift the blame onto the water companies. Despite voting down the Lords amendment placing a legal requirement on water companies to demonstrate progressive reductions in harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage. Simon claims  this Conservative government has brought in the toughest ever crackdown on sewage spills, But these have been criticised as being too weak, and are being challenged in the Court. 

The watered down scheme Simon thinks is so good, gives water companies a deadline of 2035 to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into bathing water and areas of ecological importance, and until 2050 to stop dumping sewage elsewhere. 

He also re-announces that Sidmouth and Tipton St John are set to receive a share of £70 million from SWW’s own coffers for infrastructure upgrades to help improve bathing water quality by reducing storm overflows.

Fact check

Owl has already looked into this funding. 

According to OFWAT, the immediate funding is being taken forward as part of the Ofwat/Defra “accelerated infrastructure delivery project for English Water companies” funded through the “transition expenditure process”. 

Owl’s take on all this bureaucratic gobbledygook is that the accelerated costs will be financed initially by the taxpayer, with the water companies paying on the “never never” over a period ending in 2030.

The question then arises as to how the water companies levy their customers and/or shareholders to provide the payback. The only explanation Owl can find talks about setting an appropriate “time value of money” so that  companies are not financially incentivised to delay making investment.

These projects have not been chosen on the basis of any priority but because they are the (only) local ones that Ofwat considers to be “oven ready” (to coin a phrase).

It’s all smoke and mirrors to Owl.

Tim Farron

“The Conservatives are responsible for this sewage crisis after allowing water companies to dump sewage in our rivers for years. They need to take responsibility for fixing it. The public shouldn’t be forced to pay the price with our rivers and coasts ruined for generations to come.” – Tim Farron

Tory local election Pledge 3 Standing up for our environment. You have told us how important  protecting green spaces and the natural environment is to you. We will make this a priority for this Council.

We must do all we can to protect our countryside, rivers and coastline

Simon Jupp www.devonlive.com (Extract of relevant paragraph)

….We must do all we can to protect our countryside, rivers and coastline. I live close to the sea in Sidmouth and have relentlessly campaigned for investment in our water infrastructure. In the last few weeks, I was delighted to see multi-million-pound plans to upgrade Sidmouth and Tipton St John’s sewage system unveiled by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

Back in February, I led a debate on the performance of South West Water in Parliament. Whilst this Conservative government has brought in the toughest ever crackdown on sewage spills, it is simply unacceptable that we pay the highest sewerage bills in the country but still witness an all too frequent use of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). They are supposed to be available in an emergency, not used whenever the system can’t cope due to a lack of investment. South West Water should upgrade their systems instead of rewarding bonuses.

The Environment Act and Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan backs this up, introduced to ensure that water companies face strict limits on when they can use storm overflows. WaterFit Live, a new website from South West Water, is useful tool to help monitor the use of these CSOs across our shores so we can hold failing companies to account. It currently shares information about water quality in our area but sadly won’t provide real-time data until later this year.

Sidmouth and Tipton St John are set to receive a share of £70 million from SWW’s own coffers for infrastructure upgrades to help improve bathing water quality by reducing storm overflows. On top of this, £3.1 million is also being invested at the Axminster-Kilmington water treatment site which will help reduce nutrient pollution to further protect East Devon’s waterways. I also want to see investment in Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton. I won’t stop my calls for change until South West Water clean up their act and our water…..

Plans to plant a new woodland have been cancelled after local councillors discovered a field was so saturated with sewage the soil could be too toxic for the trees.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com 

The woodland was to have been planted in a council-owned field located by Otterspool Road in Romiley, Greater Manchester. Officials hoped the woodland would improve the environment, provide green space and encourage wildlife habitats.

However, Stockport councillors have learned the land is unsuitable for tree planting because of sewage discharges leaching into the ground. They were told the resulting soil contamination would make it hard to plant the trees, so they had decided to cancel the woodland.

Assessments are being done by United Utilities and council officials to find out the scale of the problem, but the council said it had decided there were too many risks to human health, including workers having to dig into raw sewage to plant trees, and there were worries the contaminants would prevent the trees growing.

This is a fresh blow to attempts by local councils to create green spaces to improve local areas in the face of funding cuts and battles to keep existing spaces open.

Raw sewage contains many problematic elements, including heavy metals that can be toxic to plants, and nutrients that can disturb ecosystems.

According to Environment Agency data, United Utilities discharged sewage at Otterspool Road 135 times last year, which amounted to 40 days of sewage flowing.

The water company was found to be the most polluting in the country last year. One of United Utilities’ pipes spilled sewage into the River Ellen, near the Lake District, for nearly 7,000 hours in 2022. Environment Agency data also showed that 10 of the country’s 20 pipes that spilled the most sewage in 2022 were owned by United Utilities, which provides water to the north-west and the Lake District.

Sewage leaks have also been reported in a nearby field when local waterways flooded. Pictures show sanitary products and other toilet waste strewn across the field.

Local officials have asked ministers to visit the field to see the devastating impact of the pollution.

Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Bredbury Green and Romiley, said: “This is a devastating blow for the local community in Stockport. The council was working hard to deliver a new woodland for local people and wildlife to enjoy, however this environmental scandal has cancelled the project.

“United Utilities owe local people an apology. Their destruction of our environment cannot go on any longer. We already knew our local rivers were being pumped full of sewage, but now it is our green land.

“I want a minister to visit this field and see first-hand the destruction caused. Rather than a new woodland, we are left with an open sewer.”

The Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron, who is also the Lib Dem’s environment spokesperson, added: “This is a scandal. United Utilities are ruining our region’s environment, from the Lake District to Stockport’s green fields.

“Conservative ministers are sitting on their hands whilst these environmental scandals take place. Meanwhile, United Utilities reward their execs with multimillion-pound bonuses. Frankly, the whole thing stinks.”

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “An issue on our network caused flooding from a manhole, affecting a small section of a field in Stockport which we are cleaning and repair work is being programmed.”

Richard Sharp’s future as chairman of the BBC looks increasingly in doubt ahead of a potentially “damning” report into his appointment.

Henry Zeffman, Alex Farber www.thetimes.co.uk

The former Goldman Sachs banker was summoned earlier this month to see Adam Heppinstall KC, the barrister who is conducting an investigation into the appointment process on behalf of the Commons’ public appointments committee.

Heppinstall, who was asked to oversee the investigation in early February, is expected to publish his findings within the next few days, having already shared some of the material with Sharp.

One individual familiar with the content of the report said that the findings were “damning”, adding: “When it’s all laid out clearly, it exposes just how extraordinary the whole episode is.”

Rishi Sunak last month declined to say he had confidence in Sharp’s chairmanship, instead saying he was waiting for Heppinstall’s review to conclude.

Though Sharp was appointed BBC chairman under Boris Johnson’s government, he has known Sunak for many years too. Sharp is understood to have seen some of the report’s early findings, which have set out several discoveries “including some unwelcome elements”.

Sharp was Sunak’s boss when the future prime minister was a junior banker at Goldman Sachs. During the pandemic Sunak hired Sharp as an unpaid adviser on the government’s economic response.

A number of individuals who have previously criticised Sharp reiterated their concerns. The SNP MP John Nicolson, who was part of the cross-party select committee which accused Sharp of making “significant errors of judgment” in failing to declare his role in helping facilitate an £800,000 loan to Johnson, said he expected the report to be “grim”.

“Richard Sharp has clung on as BBC chair in desperate and unseemly fashion,” Nicolson said. “He should have resigned with a semblance of dignity after the Commons culture and media committee report. He must now go.”

Philippa Childs, head of the broadcasting union Bectu, added: “His position is untenable and his resignation is long overdue, no question. Richard Sharp’s presence as chairman continues to damage the BBC’s reputation on a daily basis.”

Pledge 1 of the local Tory election leaflet says they “will protect and invest in the services our communities expect and make sure every penny is spent wisely”.

How can anyone believe that when Tory County Hall is on the verge of bankruptcy?

Ask yourself: who delivers “Value for money”? 

The non-Tory EDDC who raised council tax by 3% and balanced the books.

The Tory County who raised council tax by 5%, can’t mend potholes and faces bankruptcy.

Or Tory Alison Hernandez, who spends twice as much of your council tax as EDDC and went off the scale with a 6% rise for Devon and Cornwall Police?

New county council review warns of ‘serious’ failures of governance

Ollie Heptinstall www.northdevongazette.co.uk

 Devon County Council is set to agree an in-depth review to address ‘serious’ failures in its governance.

A report due to be presented to the council’s procedures committee next week says the authority ‘finds itself in a very different operating context and the need for a review of priorities is required’.

Describing the council’s internal position as ‘very challenging’. It cites failing children’s services and budget sustainability as two major factors, whilst accepting there is ‘concern from stakeholders regarding confidence in the council to address these challenges’.

Devon’s children’s services, which excludes Plymouth and Torbay, are rated inadequate, with the government threatening intervention unless there are signs of improvement. This could involve the council being stripped of its responsibilities.

Westminster has already issued the council with an improvement notice, adding in December that it was ‘extremely concerned’ about its children’s services. A commissioner has been appointed to oversee improvement.

The report also warns there is a ‘material threat of a s114 notice’ – an effective declaration of bankruptcy – due to a growing overspend on caring for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Councils across the country have been told by the government to put their overspends into separate ring-fenced accounts while it develops a new funding model – an arrangement recently extended to 2026.

Since 2020, Devon’s total running overspend on the SEND service – effectively debt – has risen to around £127 million, a figure projected to increase to £153 million by March 2024. The amount is more than the county has in reserves.

The report adds: “Linked to these formal situations and serious concerns, external assessment bodies such as Ofsted have reported in their monitoring issues relating to corporate governance and declared that there has been little or no improvement in services for three years since the last inspection.

“These are serious, material, well evidenced failures of the county council’s governance.”

It says long-serving council leader John Hart (Conservative, Bickleigh and Wembury) and new chief executive Donna Manson have therefore agreed the ‘urgent need for a review of corporate governance as a priority’.

This will be in conjunction with the work to improve children’s services, overseen by the commissioner appointed by a government minister and an SEND improvement board.

The governance review aims to put in place ‘effective scrutiny arrangements’ to help members and officers ‘understand and respect’ their roles, and to develop a culture where staff are ’empowered to constructively challenge and improve ways of working’.

It also seeks to develop and deepen relationships with the council’s partners, ensure it has an ‘absolute focus’ on residents and customers, and to maintain ‘political stability’.

The report adds: “The proposed review seeks to rigorously examine and modify recent expenditure and to significantly improve governance to mitigate the current situation now facing the council.”

It goes on to state, in light of recent management changes and the pandemic: “This is an opportune time to consider … future governance arrangements, making the necessary improvements as expected by the minister, the DFE, the commissioner and the SEND improvement board.”

The ‘root and branch’ review will be split into two phases, each lasting six months. It will be led by a cross-party working group of the procedures committee, which exists to review the council’s constitution and how it functions.

“Strong, trusted governance is essential if the county council is to continue to be a credible and authoritative democratically accountable champion for the people and communities of Devon,” the report adds.

Councillors will decide whether to go ahead with the review on Tuesday, April 25. Its decision will then need to be ratified by the authority’s ruling cabinet.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just released housing data from the 2021 census for England and Wales compared with 2011.

This seems to have provoked a frenzy of similar local media reports across the country, including our own. All seem to take the same quote from the Institute for Policy Research. This picks up on an increase of 8% in the number of unoccupied houses in England to argue that the Government should look again at policies to curb or control holiday homes, short-term lets, and empty homes; and to build millions more homes.

Although the ONS comparison shows an increase in unoccupied dwelling in the “South West”. There has been little change within Devon. 

In Devon the picture is one of greater variations between districts than over time. 

The highest unoccupied rates in Devon are in North Devon (12%) and South Hams (15%). These coincide with those districts reporting greatest  problems with housing affordability. Second homes are likely to be a factor but not the only one. The unoccupied rate for East Devon is 8%. Second Homes in East Devon amount to 4% so can only account for half of the unoccupied total.

Caveat: Census 2021 was carried out during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some people, for example overseas students or those privately renting, may have moved back in with family members leaving more unoccupied dwellings. [Seems to affected the Exeter numbers].

Nationally, the pattern of highest unoccupied rates fall perhaps where you might expect them to: in the tourist hotspots, and around the coast.

The lack of affordable homes is a major concern. It is a complex subject and Owl will address this in greater depth later, laying out the  historic failure of Tory administrations at local and national level to deliver the affordable housing we need.

This will be a challenge to the Tory election pledge 4 claim: “We will work to ensure that there are sufficient affordable homes that our community requires” given that unfettered development has been their driving philosophy for a couple of decades.

Meanwhile, Owl thinks it a bit of a stretch to argue from these figures that our problems will be solved by building millions more houses. 

NATURE IN CRISIS  – Letter in the Times – www.thetimes.co.uk

Sir, Wild Isles and the “David Attenborough” effect helped Britain to fall back in love with the nature on our doorstep. But nature is in crisis, and we need collective action to protect and restore it, including a “crisis response” for nature from the government — which is failing to act with the urgency and scale needed.

The government’s new water plan will allow intensive farms to continue to pollute our water and choke the life out of our beautiful English rivers. And its painfully low investment in farm payments in England will not help farmers to put in place what is needed. Meanwhile, our environmental protections are threatened by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

We know the public are worried about nature and that there is a demand for change: any party that wants to win the next general election must increase its ambition and action on nature at home and abroad, including investing in the power of nature to fight climate change and turning rhetoric to reality on Cop15 ambitions. Only then can we hope to heed Sir David’s wake-up call and save our wild isles.

Hilary McGrady, director-general, National Trust; Beccy Speight, CEO, RSPB; Tanya Steele, CEO, WWF (UK)

“This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.”

Opposition parties have called on Downing Street to provide answers over Rishi Sunak’s family financial interests as the Guardian discovered that previous ministerial registers made no mention of his wife’s stake in a childcare firm, even though it began in 2019.

Peter Walker www.theguardian.com 

The prime minister could be ordered to apologise to the House of Commons if an inquiry announced on Monday into his declarations about the investment finds he breached the code of conduct for MPs.

Companies House records show Akshata Murty first took a stake in Koru Kids, one of six childcare companies that stand to benefit from a policy announcement in last month’s budget, in March 2019, when she held 20,000 shares in the firm.

While the register of ministerial interests has not been updated for nearly a year following the resignation of Boris Johnson’s adviser on interests, the six registers published since March 2019, when Murty took the stake, have no mention of it.

The first of these does not refer to Murty at all, while the five subsequent versions, the last of which was published in May 2022, says only that Sunak’s wife “owns a venture capitalist investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Ltd”.

The records for Koru Kids show Murty owns the shares in her name, not that of the investment company. The most recent records show she still has 20,000 shares.

Downing Street has said it cannot comment while the inquiry is under way, beyond reiterating that the shareholding had been “transparently declared as a ministerial interest”.

Unlike the parallel register of MPs’ interests, not every interest declared by ministers to the relevant civil service head of their department is publicly listed, as it is up to the adviser on ministers’ interests, who is now Laurie Magnus, to decide whether this is necessary.

It is therefore possible that Sunak declared the shareholding in Koru Kids but that Mangus’s predecessors, Christopher Geidt and Alex Allan, who between them held the role until June last year, thought it did not need to be published.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Rishi Sunak should have declared his financial interests as a minister, chancellor and prime minister, as is required by his own ministerial code. But with no list of interests for nearly a year, his failure to come clean on what he declared gives the impression he’s got something to hide.

“He could clear it up by simply saying when and how he has declared these potential conflicts of interest and whether steps have been taken to manage them in line with the code.”

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, called for the rules to be changed and for Sunak to provide clarity.

“Rishi Sunak needs to come before parliament and explain why this wasn’t featured in the previous registers of ministerial interests,” she said. “It is absurd that the rules mean that government ministers can currently get away with publicly declaring less than a backbench MP.

“We need a total overhaul of the system, to ensure that the ministerial register of interests is regularly published and has more rigorous standards. The public has a right to know.”

One difficulty for Sunak is that as part of his inquiry, the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, is expected to look into whether the prime minister should have declared the interest when questioned by a committee of MPs last month, where the rules are stricter than for registering interests.

Appearing before the liaison committee on 28 March, Sunak was asked by the Labour MP Catherine McKinnell about a proposed pilot scheme to incentivise people to become childminders, with Koru Kids among six private childcare providers involved.

When McKinnell asked Sunak whether he had anything to declare in relation to the scheme, he replied: “No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way.”

The MPs’ code of conduct states that not only must members be “open and frank” in declaring interests, but mentioning a declaration without explaining what it is “will not suffice on its own”.

If Greenberg finds Sunak should have been more open with the liaison committee, there is the option of “rectification”, where he admits fault and amends the record.

However, if the prime minister refuses this, or if Greenberg decides he has not been properly transparent, Sunak’s case could be referred to the standards committee, made up of MPs and lay members, for punishment.

A suspension from the Commons seems very unlikely – of 66 MPs suspended since 1949, only one had this happen because of a non-declaration of interests, the Conservative MP John Browne in 1990. But it is possible Sunak could be ordered to apologise.

actions.goodlawproject.org

Over a year of hard work has paid off today. The High Court has ruled that the Government’s operation of a fast-track VIP lane for awarding lucrative PPE contracts to those with political connections was unlawful. 

In a challenge brought by Good Law Project and EveryDoctor to the behind closed door VIP lane worth billions of pounds, the Court found:

“the Claimants have established that operation of the High Priority Lane was in breach of the obligation of equal treatment… the illegality is marked by this judgment.” (§512)

The Judge agreed the VIP lane conferred preferential treatment on bids: it sped up the process, which meant offers were considered sooner in a process where timing was critical, and VIPs’ hands were held through the process. She said: 

“offers that were introduced through the Senior Referrers received earlier consideration at the outset of the process. The High Priority Lane Team was better resourced and able to respond to such offers on the same day that they arrived”. (§395)

The Court found the Government allocated offers to the VIP lane on a “flawed basis” (§396) and did not properly prioritise bids: 

“there is evidence that opportunities were treated as high priority even where there were no objectively justifiable grounds for expediting the offer.” (§383).

The Court noted that the overwhelming majority by value of the product supplied by Pestfix and Ayanda could not be used in the NHS. 

An independent investigation by the BBC has also revealed issues with the product supplied by Clandeboye which were not disclosed to the High Court. Good Law Project believes that the Government misled the Court and is in correspondence with lawyers for the Secretary of State.

The Judge found that, even though Pestfix and Ayanda received unlawful preferential treatment via the VIP lane, they would likely have been awarded contracts anyway. The Judge also refused to allow publication of how much money was wasted by the Government’s failure to carry out technical assurance on the PPE supplied by Pestfix and Ayanda. Good Law Project is considering the wider implications of these aspects of the ruling and next steps.

We first revealed the red carpet-to-riches VIP lane for those with political connections in October 2020. Since then, we have fought to reveal details of those who benefited, and at whose request – while the Government fought to conceal them.

Never again should any Government treat a public health crisis as an opportunity to enrich its associates and donors at public expense.

Thank you for your trust in us, and your continued support of this case over 18 long months. Without you, this simply wouldn’t have been possible.

We also want to express our deep gratitude to our expert legal team on this case: Rook Irwin Sweeney and Jason Coppel QC, Patrick Halliday and Zac Sammour of 11KBW. They have worked tirelessly on this case and we hugely appreciate their efforts.

You can read the full judgment from the High Court here.

New hosepipe ban as map shows areas affected

[Not us yet]

Large areas of Devon will be hit by a hosepipe ban from next week despite weeks of heavy rain across the county. Last summer’s drought is being blamed for the continuing low water levels in some reservoirs across Devon and Cornwall.

Guy Henderson www.devonlive.com

Water levels at the huge Roadford reservoir are currently at just 66 per cent full, and all parts of the county served by Roadford will see the hosepipe ban come into force at a minute past midnight on Tuesday April 25. South West Water took out a full-page advertisement in our sister paper the Western Morning News today to announce the news.

The ban is on hosepipes, sprinklers and automatic irrigation systems, and covers watering gardens, washing cars and filling ponds, paddling pools and fountains. Householders will not be able to use hosepipes to clean walls, windows, paths or patios, but they can use buckets and watering cans instead, as long as they don’t use hosepipes to fill them.

There are exceptions for health and safety reasons, for commercial gardens and for filling and maintaining certain pools, including those used for medical treatment.

A spokesman for South West Water said: “Our region remains officially in drought and a hosepipe ban has been in place for Cornwall and a small part of North Devon since August 2022. To further ensure our reservoir levels’ recovery, and in accordance with our drought plan, we will be introducing a Temporary Use Ban throughout other parts of Devon on April 25.

The area in pink – served by Roadford – is subject to the hosepipe ban

“The South West Water region is still seeing the impact of last year’s exceptionally dry weather and reservoir levels are lower than normal for this time of year. South West Water is acting now to protect water resources and the environment, to help rivers and reservoirs to recharge ahead of the summer months.”

SWW says reservoir levels are recovering across the two counties, but remain lower than this time last year. At Roadford – between Okehampton and Launceston – the water level is at 66 per cent, whereas at this time last year it was 96 per cent. Colliford, on Bodmin Moor, is at 60 per cent, as opposed to 79 percent in April 2022. Wimbleball on Exmoor, however, is 100 per cent full, as are the Kennick, Tottiford and Trenchford reservoirs on Dartmoor.

The spokesman continued: “Our customers’ actions to save water really are making an extraordinary difference to the rate of this recovery. We continue to work closely with the National Drought Group and all relevant agencies to ensure comprehensive plans are in place to manage water resources throughout 2023.

“You really are making an extraordinary difference. We are grateful to all our customers and communities for their efforts in reducing daily water usage over the drought period.

“We must ask you to keep saving water where you can, so that our water resources can recover sufficiently for the spring and summer ahead.”

The most regrettable – indeed dangerous – consequence of the government’s “living with Covid” approach is that it leaves the country so poorly prepared for the next pandemic, or indeed a recrudescence of Covid, such as via the Arcturus coronavirus subvariant that is now emerging.

Editorial www.independent.co.uk 

As our package of reports highlights, there is worrying evidence that the authorities are taking unacceptable risks with public health. Sad to say, it is as if Britain has learned nothing from the initial response to the coronavirus crisis in the spring of 2020. Have we really learned so little, and forgotten so much?

While the return to normality – thanks to the combined efforts of the NHS, the public compliance with the emergency lockdowns and the vaccines – is obviously welcome, Covid has not gone away. Far from it.

People are still being hospitalised, even as milder variants have come into circulation, and new strains, variants and subvariants will continue to evolve. Some may be less damaging to human health than previous ones but some may be more so, either because they are more infectious or more inherently lethal, more vaccine evasive, or any combination of those factors.

In the case of the Arcturus subvariant of Omicron, also known as subvariant XBB.1.16, it seems the issue is one of infectivity and of pathogenicity – that is to say, its capacity to harm a larger number of individuals, and each one more severely.

Virologists have told The Independent that the Arcturus variant is responsible for a surge of 10,000 new Covid cases a day in India: it could easily become the dominant strain in the UK. Even if the effects on mortality were relatively small, the arrival of Arcturus could well mean an increase in hundreds of cases per day, with corresponding incremental pressure on the NHS.

What of future variants? The next virus, zoonotic or otherwise? Perhaps that will be even more infectious and more lethal than its predecessors. The recent concerns about avian flu should remind all concerned that the intrusion of humans and their livestock into the habitats of wild animals, most notably in “wet” markets, is a constant threat to human life as well as to agriculture.

Are the Department of Health and Social Care, the devolved administrations and the UK Health Security Agency doing all that is required to monitor the situation and prepare for the worst? On that, there is some cause for concern. The fact is that a pandemic on the scale of the recent Covid outbreaks may not necessarily be a once-in-a-generation or once-a-century event. In fact, the next one could come much sooner, and be even more devastating. We are underprepared.

According to some of the most respected experts in the field, the UK has moved too rapidly to dismantle the infrastructure that was eventually built up, at enormous cost, during the pandemic.

Some would say the world has been through many such scares in recent decades, and nothing came of them – but that is partly because vigilance and rapid actions prevented a more widespread outbreak. The coronavirus also demonstrates that the experts aren’t always “crying wolf”.

Yet, despite recent traumas, the government has decided to disband tracking systems, including the Covid survey, and mothball testing labs. It also intends to sell off the UK Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre – before it had even opened. It seems a long time now since Boris Johnson was championing the UK’s world-leading work on Covid vaccines as a symbol of Global Britain’s scientific prowess.

Overlaying all of this is the inescapable fact that the NHS is in an even more vulnerable position than it was three years ago. Today there is also a disturbing wave of wild misinformation on social media about the lockdowns being unnecessary, the Covid vaccines being unsafe, and even that the entire pandemic was merely some exercise in mass control, even though the mass control has been all but abandoned. Such absurd conspiracy theories are being put around with scant effort to contest them. Again, this is a further risk to public health.

To all of this, ministers may simply shrug and plead lack of funds. The public services, including the NHS, have to contend with a formidable range of more immediate challenges than the inchoate possibilities of a new pandemic. This is patently true, but we have only to reflect on the vast cost – at least £400bn – of the last pandemic to Britain to understand the force of the old medical adage about prevention being better than cure.

The Liberal Democrats have called for an investigation after accusing the Prime Minister of flouting purdah rules by making a policy announcement in the run-up to local elections.

Nina Lloyd www.independent.co.uk 

Christine Jardine MP said she is “deeply concerned” that the move breaches the Government’s own guidance on the pre-election period of sensitivity.

Purdah rules restrict what communications activity can take place in the weeks before polling day.

Government resources cannot be used for party political campaigning and particular care is meant to be taken in the run-up to an election to ensure the impartiality of the civil service.

In a letter addressed to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case on Monday, Ms Jardine called for an investigation to be opened “immediately” into the Government’s “maths to 18” announcement.

The plans, outlined in a speech by Rishi Sunak at a north London college, would see all pupils studying the subject in some form up to the age of 18.

“I am highly concerned that this announcement is breaching purdah rules. As you will be aware, we are now in the pre-election ‘purdah’ period, which began on Thursday 13 April in relation to local elections in England,” the Lib Dem’s Cabinet Office spokesperson wrote.

“Today’s announcement on mathematics has been fully supported by Government resources, including a Downing Street press release. Education is also clearly an area of relevant importance to local authorities and, accordingly, a local election campaign.

“I am therefore very concerned that the purdah rules have been breached by the Government in regards to this announcement.

“I therefore urge you to open an investigation as to whether this announcement breached purdah rules. If concerns were expressed by officials, were they ignored by Conservative ministers?”

Labour MP Angela Eagle also hit out in a tweet: “This (Government) completely ignores all the purdah rules”.

Purdah rules apply to new policy announcements but the Lib Dems had issued a statement hours earlier describing Monday’s pledge as a “rehashed” plan.

Other critics including Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, accused Mr Sunak of “reannouncing” a “vague and poorly thought-out policy” first set out in January.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters the Government ensured that announcements were within the rules.

“We are aware of the rules that guide local election purdah and abide by them,” the spokesman said.

Probe comes after questions over Sunak’s wife’s stake in a childcare business set to benefit from Budget announcements.

The list of ministerial interests is long overdue for publication, having not been updated for almost 12 months. In February, Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden promised the Commons it would come before next month. I.e. Before the Local elections – better hurry up – Owl

“This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.” Rishi Sunak

John Johnston www.politico.eu

LONDON — Rishi Sunak is being investigated for a potential breach of the MP code of conduct amid scrutiny of his wife’s stake in a childcare firm that received a boost in last month’s Budget.

The parliamentary standards commissioner — tasked with policing MP behavior — announced Monday that it had opened an investigation under paragraph six of the code, which says MPs “must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest” they hold.

Although the watchdog does not detail the specific interest under investigation, the prime minister has recently faced questions over his wife Akshata Murty’s stake in childcare business Koru Kids following a £4bn boost for the sector in last month’s Budget.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Monday: “We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest.”

 Sunak wrote to the House of Commons liaison committee earlier this month saying his interest in the firm had been declared in the yet-to-be-published list of ministerial interests. It is not currently listed in the separate register of interests filled out by each MP.

The list of ministerial interests is long overdue for publication, having not been updated for almost 12 months. In February, Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden promised the Commons it would come before next month.

 In the committee letter, written on 4 April, Sunak noted “media interest” in his wife’s “minority stake” in the firm, adding: “I would like to clarify for the parliamentary record that this interest has rightly been declared to the Cabinet Office.”

 He added: “The latest list of ministerial interests will be published shortly by the independent adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus.”

Koru Kids is expected to benefit from new incentive payments of £600 for childminders joining the profession, a sum which doubles if they have signed up through an agency.

 The firm, which is one of six agencies listed on the government’s website, praised the “great” new incentive on their own site, adding childminders would receive double if they “come through an agency like Koru Kids who offer community, training and ongoing support.”

News of the probe was seized on by Labour, with Deputy Leader Angela Rayner saying of the register of ministers’ interests: “If Rishi Sunak has got nothing to hide, he should commit to publishing the register before May’s elections so the public can see for themselves.”

Labour’s Keir Starmer has faced his own recent brush with the MP code of conduct.

Last summer the standards commissioner found that the opposition leader failed to declare eight interests on time. The watchdog concluded that the breaches were “minor and/or inadvertent, and that there was no deliberate attempt to mislead.”

Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting.

• Erection of a detached garage and conversion of existing garage to ancillary accommodation including an extension to front. Wickets Upton Pyne Devon EX5 5JARef. No: 23/0758/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed replacement access steps and removal of flower bed Ashton Court Hotel 5-6 Louisa Terrace Exmouth Devon EX8 2AQRef. No: 23/0753/LBC | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed replacement access steps and removal of flower bed Ashton Court Hotel 5-6 Louisa Terrace Exmouth Devon EX8 2AQRef. No: 23/0752/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• County matter application for the creation of a new 1.5km stretch of shared use trail from Shercroft Close, running parallel with the railway and business centres, to Mosshayne Lane, linking Cranbrook to Exeter. The scheme involves a 3.5m wide pathway with a section of boardwalk and a bridge over the River Clyst at Land between Mosshayne Lane, Exeter and Shercroft Close, BroadclystLand Between Mosshayne Lane And Station Road / Shercroft Close BroadclystRef. No: 23/0737/CM | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a boundary screen. Magnolia Cottage Coburg Road Sidmouth Devon EX10 8NFRef. No: 23/0743/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• To alter the existing dwelling to form a larger modern dwelling and outbuildings.Summer Haye St Johns Road Exmouth EX8 5EFRef. No: 23/0731/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Apr 2023 | Status: Withdrawn
• The construction of a Youth Football Facility, including clubhouse, parking, storage and football pitches to suit all age groups. Land North Of Honiton Golf Course Northleigh Hill Road HonitonRef. No: 23/0735/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement windows to front elevation 34 High Street Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6LQRef. No: 23/0732/FUL | Validated: Tue 04 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed New Field Access Underhill Barn Southleigh Colyton EX24 6SARef. No: 23/0729/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing orangery and replacement of associated veranda including provision of balustrade, alterations to ground floor fenestration, replacement of existing attached rear garage to form utility room and link porch (Variation of works covered by extant full planning permission reference 22/0446/FUL) 11B Marine Parade Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6NSRef. No: 23/0723/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of lawfulness for the conversion of the existing garage to provide a bedroom and ensuite, utility and garden store.2 Webbers Close Whimple EX5 2SQRef. No: 23/0715/CPL | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Approved
• Variation of condition no. 2 (approved planning permission 22/1526/FUL (single storey rear extension and conversion of roof space to habitable use to include two front dormers and one rear dormer) to allow amendments to approved drawings 4 Westview Close Whimple Devon EX5 2TWRef. No: 23/0722/VAR | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey garage to front. Land At Crammer Broadhembury EX14 3LNRef. No: 23/0714/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The provision of single unit mobile home (not operational development) within the garden of the lawful dwelling house for use as additional accommodation by family members as part of one household (not a material change of use).Abbots Cottage Combe Raleigh EX14 4TQRef. No: 23/0726/CPL | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a single storey extension to the front, single storey extension to the side to form porch and a two-storey extension to the rear 3B Salterton Road Exmouth EX8 2BWRef. No: 23/0721/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The erection of a single storey rear extension and installation of new front porch with balcony created above. 27 Foxholes Hill Exmouth Devon EX8 2DGRef. No: 23/0707/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Creation of new access track to existing dwelling. The Grange Higher Metcombe Devon EX11 1SHRef. No: 23/0709/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey extension on east elevation. 23 Dukes Way Axminster Devon EX13 5QPRef. No: 23/0701/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of the first floor of 114-116 Honiton High Street to two residential flats First Floor 114 – 116 High Street Honiton EX14 1JPRef. No: 23/0705/PDMA | Validated: Tue 04 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed infill development of three static caravans with their associated services and parking spaces within the Haven Devon Cliffs Holiday Park Devon Cliffs Holiday Centre Sandy Bay Exmouth Devon EX8 5BTRef. No: 23/0692/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed infill development of six static caravans with their associated services and parking spaces within the Haven Devon Cliffs Holiday Park. Devon Cliffs Holiday Centre Sandy Bay Exmouth Devon EX8 5BTRef. No: 23/0693/FUL | Validated: Thu 06 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a summer house to side. Erection of 6ft fence to north and east of pedestrian access gate on east side. Construction of wooden access steps from footpath to adjacent garden. Land Adjacent 4 Cheese Lane Sidmouth Devon EX10 8QYRef. No: 23/0684/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Sycamore: crown reduction of less than 2m, and crown raise by 1.5m above the garden of 23, Major Terrace 5 Major Terrace Seaton EX12 2RFRef. No: 23/0682/TRE | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Install an external staircase to give an access to the flat above Flat 28 The Strand Exmouth Devon EX8 1AQRef. No: 23/0686/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of roof space to habitable use to include front flat roof dormer and single storey rear extension with roof terrace. 42 Springfield Road Exmouth Devon EX8 3JYRef. No: 23/0665/FUL | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey rear extension. 1 Laurel Rise Exmouth EX8 4RTRef. No: 23/0629/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of 2 No existing Septic Tanks with 2 No. Treatment Plants Sector Hall Sector Lane Axminster Devon EX13 5RZRef. No: 23/0591/FUL | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Install 6no. solar PV panels on rear northwest elevation of the annex and 4no. on rear southeast elevation of main dwelling Ferndale The Strand Lympstone EX8 5JSRef. No: 23/0563/LBC | Validated: Wed 05 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The Environment Agency is proposing the installation of a new radar river level monitoring box on the eastern elevation of Weycroft Bridge to replace the current river level monitoring station on north bank of the River Axe to the east of Weycroft Bridge, providing a more reliable alert to flooding risk. The radar arm will be a stand alone box, mounted on the bridge and can be painted any colour to better blend in Weycroft Bridge Weycroft AxminsterRef. No: 23/0403/LBC | Validated: Mon 03 Apr 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

Tories could lose over 1,000 seats in local elections, party chair warns

Greg Hands was seen with notes made in blue ink on his hand in Sunday’s broadcast interviews as he defended the record of Rishi Sunak’s government ahead of the 4 May polls.

Adam Forrest www.independent.co.uk

The Conservatives are on course to lose more than 1,000 seats in May’s local elections, the party’s under-pressure chairman has said.

Greg Hands referred several times to a forecast by elections experts Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of Tory seat losses of around 1,000 – with Labour set to make around 700 gains.

The cabinet chairman told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “The independent expectations are that the Conservatives will lose more than 1,000 seats and that Labour need to make big gains.”

Accused by stand-in host Sir Trevor Phillips of trying to “massage expectations”, Mr Hands said: “That is what the expectation is out there, but I’ve been up and down the country and the Conservatives are fighting really hard.”

Asked by Sir Trevor whether he could lose his job if the results are dire, Mr Hands said: “Well let’s see Trevor, but what I would say is that those are the independent predictions from the most credible academic sources.”

Mr Hands was seen with notes made in blue ink on his hand in Sunday’s broadcast interviews as he defended the record of Rishi Sunak’s government ahead of the 4 May polls.

Labour mocked the Tory cabinet minister after he was spotted with notes penned on his palm, tweeting: “Hands hands hands notes to Labour research team.”

The prospect of prolonged NHS strikes could derail Mr Sunak’s hopes of limiting local election damage, warned the Liberal Democrats – who said it would be “the most salient issue on the doorstep for 2019 Tory voters”.

A Lib Dem source said Mr Hands’ admission of defeat at the 4 May elections shows that the Tories “have already thrown in the towel before a single vote has been cast”.

They added: “Rishi Sunak is facing a blue wall bloodbath as people who voted Conservative all their life say never again, and turn to the Liberal Democrats instead.”

Anti-Tory tactical voting could see heavy local election losses for Mr Sunak’s party, top polling gurus have said. Election experts told The Independent the electorate had become increasingly “sophisticated” in switching between Labour or the Lib Dems.

Mr Hands insisted the government is “still working very hard in delivering” the PM’s priorities – halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, stopping boats carrying migrants across the Channel, and reducing hospital waits.

But the Tory chair admitted that a wave of strikes “haven’t helped” with the vow to bring down NHS waiting lists, which stand at a record high of 7.2 million people.

Mr Sunak is “personally involved” in trying to tackle NHS backlogs, Mr Hands said when pressed on how he will achieve that in the face of strikes.

He insisted the government is “definitely not giving up” on the PM’s pledge – arguing it has “budged” in the pay dispute with nursing unions.

Suella Braverman is doing a “brilliant job,” Mr Hands insisted as he was confronted on the record on tackling illegal immigration – pointing to figures suggesting 83 per cent of the public believe the government is handling immigration badly.

“I’ve already outlined how we’re getting to grips with the job, and how we are passing the legislation, how we are coming to these agreements with key allies, but sometimes these things will take time,” Mr Hands told Sky News.

He added: “And that is why, for example, we are starting returns to Albania, we are getting to grips with this and Suella is right on top of it.”

Pressed on Mr Sunak’s pledge on halving inflation, which has gone up since he made it, Mr Hands replied that “nobody has said that it’s going to be easy to tame inflation” as he blamed higher energy prices driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Pressed on the UK’s economy showing no growth in February, the Tory chairman said: “Well, in February it was not one of the better results but January grew by 0.3 per cent … Overall, under this Conservative government we’ve got a record to be proud of on growth.”

Asked whether zero growth was something to be proud of, Mr Hands conceded that “we would like to see much stronger growth”.

So this comment from Tim posted yesterday provides a quick briefing for non-Tory candidates:

It is worth remembering the fiasco around the closure of local hospitals caused by Tory County Councillor Randall Johnson, then local MP Swire, and then Health Sec Matt Hancock.

It was acknowledged by Swire’s wife Sasha that Swire himself was only moved to get involved with Ottery hospital “to piss off Claire Wright” according to his wife’s published diary.

Too little has changed, Randall Johnson is still chair of Devon CC’s Health and Scrutiny Committee and contributing to the Tory lie that the NHS is safe in Tory hands.

May I suggest readers do a search on her name in this website, here’s is one of many results for starters. https://eastdevonwatch.org/2018/10/04/__trashed-7/

Setting aside Ms Hernandez’s typo gaffes and being serious for a moment.

Alison Hernandez signed this oath of impartiality on taking office after being re-elected, pledging to serve ALL the people of Devon and Cornwall:

This is what the government said when they set up the new role of commissioner:

“The swearing of an oath will be an important symbol of this impartiality, emphasising both the significance of this new role in local communities and that commissioners are there to serve the people, not a political party or any one section of their electorate.” See here

The commissioner must not only be impartial but be seen to be impartial.

Despite this, Alison Hernandez appears to see no conflict in adding her clearly partisan statement to the leaflet East Devon Conservatives recently distributed to residents in which they publicise their six election pledges, directly below the pledge from Conservative Group Leader Phil Skinner.

In this she omits to mention Richard Foord (LibDem) MP, the other East Devon MP, only that she will work closely with Simon Jupp MP and Conservatives in East Devon.

Does this exclude working closely with any non-Tory East Devon District Council?

Her statement, apparently made as Police and Crime Commissioner, comes at a sensitive time when we are still trying to find out why the police took so long to investigate John Humphreys and why his eventual arrest and formal charging was kept a closely guarded secret so that he continued as a councillor, with all the access to children that gave him.

In August 2021 Humphreys was jailed for sexually assaulting boys. He had been arrested in 2016 and continued as a district councillor until 2019.

Maybe Owl needs to take an eye test (can you still get them these days?).

An eagle-eyed correspondent has just spotted a third mistake in the Tory Pledges:

Our “Commissionaire” whose mission is to “improve asses” is now called “HerMandez”.

With so many mistakes in such a small section of the leaflet, Owl’s advice is to take no notice of any of it.

Maybe it was intended as an April Fool.

Remember it was the Tories who got rid of most of the local cottage hospitals – Owl 

Michael Savage www.theguardian.com

A prolonged NHS crisis stoked by further strikes risks derailing Rishi Sunak’s local election plans amid Tory concern that the prime minister is already facing pressure over flagship pledges on health and the economy.

The prime minister will head to the south-east this week as he attempts to shore up Tory heartland seats where traditional supporters had been put off by the chaos of the Johnson and Truss regimes. However, opposition parties have reported findings that the NHS remains the most salient issue among soft Tory voters.

The decision by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to reject the government’s pay offer and announce further strike action, together with the threat of coordinated strikes by junior doctors, has heaped new pressure on Sunak’s pledge to reduce waiting lists by the end of the year.

It has also handed Labour and the Lib Dems a boost ahead of a huge set of local elections in England that represents Sunak’s first electoral test since entering Downing Street. “The RCN rejecting the nursing pay deal and the likelihood of further junior doctor strikes is bad news for the government, which had been making good progress in restoring a semblance of order after the chaos of the Johnson and Truss regimes,” said a former Tory minister. “There is a political imperative to put the strikes in the rearview mirror.”

According to an Opinium poll earlier this year, the most important of Sunak’s “five priorities” to the public is cutting NHS waiting lists. Cutting national debt is more of a “nice-to-have”, while 25% said new laws on small boats crossing the Channel were not a priority.

Campaigners in the so-called blue wall seats – where affluent, liberal Tory voters have been drifting away from the party – have already reported their surprise at finding that the NHS has emerged as the main concern on the doorstep rather than more familiar issues in the seats, such as tax cuts.

“The NHS is the most salient issue on the doorstep for 2019 Tory voters, and now their failure to manage it will be on the front of newspapers day in, day out,” said a senior Lib Dem source. “My personal view is that the reason they keep going for immigration/asylum seekers is that they basically think anything is better than the story being the NHS.”

It comes at a time when most Tory MPs have been pleasantly surprised by the progress Sunak has made since becoming prime minister, which has seen him adopt cutting NHS waiting times as one of his five “priorities for 2023”. Yet the vague NHS pledge is suddenly looking harder to achieve than was initially believed.

Sunak’s team is acutely aware of the importance of improving the NHS over this year. James Forsyth, his political secretary, has long believed that a prolonged NHS crisis is likely to be a greater problem for the hopes of the party than high energy bills and the cost of living.

Some senior Tories are hoping that public support for nurses will turn as the strikes continue. “I am not sure that public sympathy will continue as a reasonable package for nurses was rejected,” said one former cabinet minister. “People are starting to realise that strikes inhibit economic growth, too. I think that the PM’s pledges look much more ambitious than perhaps was realised earlier this year, but that is a good thing.”

While the target of cutting waiting times is vague, the events of the last week have made the task far harder, according to senior NHS figures. “We cannot overlook the consequences of this week’s strike action,” said Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, pointing to the number of outpatient appointments and operations rescheduled, estimated at between 250,000 and 330,000.

“A huge amount of effort has gone into cancelling and then finding new dates for these appointments. With a waiting list already over the 7m mark and an understaffed workforce, these extra cancellations will only further delay progress in getting the waiting list down. Longer term, many are mindful about how they will recover lost ground when it comes to the backlog, and they are always concerned for the health of patients who have had operations and appointments pushed back.”

It is not the only one of Sunak’s five pledges to be under pressure this spring, despite the fact that the list was seen as easy for the government to achieve. Recent economic data has also put pressure on the promise to get “national debt falling”. Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, was only just meeting his very loose fiscal targets.

“What’s notable about the current target, to have debt falling in five years’ time, is just how loose it is compared with previous targets,” he said, “and that, despite this, the government is still only meeting it by a hair’s breadth.”

Local Tories are pledging to cut car parking charges rather than fix the potholes. It’s all a matter of priorities.

Devon roads are in a state of “managed decline”.

Something Cllr John Hart, leader of Devon County Council, said in the context of flooding seems to apply more generally: “Self-help is going to be the order of the day.”

 Another Tory readers might remember, Norman Tebbit, once exhorted people to “get on your bike”. In Devon that needs revising to “get on your horse”.

www.change.org

I believe that local, county and national government have A DUTY OF CARE  to all road users in England.
Motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists are being put in harm’s way every day by the extraordinary amount of potholes in our roads. Some of them are not only wide but very deep and I consider them to be dangerous.

The run down state of the roads is causing damage to vehicles every day. Your vehicles. Who pays for the new tyres and tracking to be realigned? Will government/council be the ones responsible for any accident that might have been caused by a driver swerving to avoid a pothole? After all, it is their fault that it is still there. Their responsibility. Is the government responsible for our physical well being if there is an accident directly relating to the state of the roads that are owned/maintained by them? What if you all sent your garage bills to your county council? 

The extra money allocated by government will not begin to solve this problem nationally. 

I believe that all levels of council and government are responsible in some way for funding or fixing. They need to step up to the duty of care they have to us as residents of England. 

Please sign the petition. Share it to everyone. Don’t be the one that always moans and does nothing to help change things. Please, make them start to take notice and listen to our road using residents and the passengers they carry. Our roads are a disgrace. 

Thank you!
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