Category Archives: Democracy

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18 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, DUP, Sleaze, Spin, Transparency

“Tory minister changes law retrospectively – to hide name of DUP donor”

“If this wasn’t such a serious matter, the thought of a retrospective law being changed retrospectively would be quite amusing. But it isn’t, because it is about so-called “dark money” that was funnelled to the Tories’ new playmates the DUP.

Last year, that party paid for a £282,000 advert promoting the Leave campaign in The Metro newspaper, a free publication that doesn’t even reach the DUP’s constituents – using cash from a £435,000 donation from the Constitutional Research Council (CRC). This group is chaired by Richard Cook, a former Scottish Conservative Party vice-chairman and businessman. This is all public knowledge.

But the original source of the cash is a mystery – and will continue to be, despite the provisions of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.

The Act received Royal Assent on March 13, 2014 and became law on May 5, 2016. Part of its scope was to end a rule allowing donors contributing £7,500 or more to parties in Northern Ireland to remain secret – as the purpose of that rule was to protect those funding political parties from becoming potential targets for terrorists during the Troubles.

As enacted by Parliament, the date from which party donors should expect their names to be released was January 1, 2014 – prior to the date in which it was passed, meaning that it was intended as a retrospective Act.

But Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire announced earlier this month that he was making a (retrospective) change and the amendment would only apply from 1 July 2017. So the period of the exemption has been shifted forward by three and a half years and now covers two general elections, two Northern Irish Assembly elections – and the EU referendum campaign for which the DUP received all of that Scottish money to spend on English newspaper adverts.

Mr Brokenshire said he “did not believe it right to impose retrospective regulations on people who donated in accordance with the rules as set out in law at the time”.

In the case of the DUP donation, this is nonsense as the law at the time made it perfectly clear that the identity of any donors would have to be published.

And Mr Brokenshire did this while claiming to be a champion of “full transparency”!

Now, This Writer is not one to go bandying unfounded accusations around, but I think we can all accept the following:

The decision to hide the original of the DUP’s donated cash casts suspicion on the Conservatives, the DUP and on Mr Brokenshire himself – and the stain won’t wash out until satisfactor answers are provided.

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2017/07/17/tory-minister-changes-law-retrospectively-to-hide-name-of-dup-donor/

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17 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Minority Government, Scrutiny, Sleaze, Spin, Transparency

“Tory MPs Stop Public Submitting Petitions To Government Until At Least September”

“Members of the public are unable to submit any petitions to Parliament this summer thanks to Tory MPs.

Conservative backbenchers are delaying elections to Parliamentary committees until September – including the one which runs the petition website.

No new petitions have been allowed since Parliament broke up for the election on May 3, and all those open at the time were closed.

Mark Hunt, Communications Director at the charity Meningitis Now, is frustrated this vital tool for the public to put pressure on MPs is unavailable.

The charity helped sign up more than 823,000 people to a petition calling for the meningitis B vaccine to be given to all children after two-year-old Faye Burdett died just 11 days after contracting the illness.

Hunt said: “For us, the e-petition provided an open and transparent process for challenging government thinking around a topical and genuine issue, and whilst the petition didn’t succeed in its stated aim, it made the process of democracy more open and transparent.

“Having witnessed and been part of the e-petition process and the way that it gave the general public the chance to express its views, it would seem to be a retrograde step to postpone or deny them this opportunity even in the short term.”

The elections to parliamentary committees are organised by the Tories backbench 1922 Committee – but that body only held its own vote today on who should fill the officer positions needed to run the elections.

Should the Tories wish, they could hold the parliamentary committee elections before the summer recess – which starts on Thursday – but it has been reported the whips office are delaying the process.

Tory MP Julian Lewis – re-elected chair of the Defence Select Committee – last week resorted to asking Commons Speaker John Bercow for his help in moving the process along.

Bercow replied: “If memory serves me correctly, what the officers of the 1922 Committee usually do in respect of their party—perhaps something similar operates in other parties—is simply oversee the count.

“Whether the officers of the 1922 Committee have or have not been elected is not a matter for the Chair—that is a party matter—but, frankly, overseeing the count does not require Einsteinian qualities; it is a pretty prosaic task.

“I do not think it would be right to say that the resources of the House could be made available in what is essentially the oversight of a matter undertaken by parties.

“However, it would seem to be perfectly feasible, if my colleagues, the Deputy Speakers, were so willing, that they and I could volunteer our services to oversee the count, if the House thought that that would be helpful.

“My basic point stands: do colleagues want these Committees to be set up sooner rather than later?

“If they do not, that is a pity, but if they do, those of us who are of good will and can be relied upon to conduct the count perfectly fairly, would, I suspect, be very happy to offer our services.

Labour MP Helen Jones was re-elected chairman of the Petitions Committee last week, and spoke of her frustration that the system is in limbo.

She said: “The petitions site had to close when Parliament stopped unexpectedly for the general election. I know that this has been frustrating for many people.

“The site will open again once the new Petitions Committee is set up, so it’s essential that the Committee is established as soon as possible.

“This isn’t something that I can control, but I’ll be doing everything I can make sure that petitioners don’t have to wait longer than is absolutely necessary.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tory-mps-petitions-government_uk_596ce991e4b0e983c057e8e8?

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17 Jul 2017

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Accountability, DCC, Democracy, Police (local)

“Devon crime commissioner faces another no- confidence vote”

Interesting that she could be voted in by only 22.8% of the Devon and Cornwall electorate (and only just over half of them voted for her) yet she can only be removed by the Home Secretary – not even by the Panel that is supposed to oversee her work, yet cannot stop her appointing any deputy she wants.

Democracy – go whistle!

“Members of Devon County Council, meeting this next week, are to debate whether to ask the Home Secretary to remove Devon and Cornwall’s Police Commissioner from office.

Liberal Democrat councillor Alistair Dewhirst will propose a vote of no confidence in Alison Hernandez at the meeting of the full council on Thursday, July 20.

If approved by the Conservative-controlled council, this would be another major setback for Ms Hernandez, who ran for office as a Conservative. The county council is being asked to agree that Ms Hernandez is “unfit and unsuitable for her job”.

“Devon County Council is extremely alarmed at the proposal by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, to drastically reduce the number of PCSOs, the eyes and ears of the force,” Cllr Dewhirst will propose.”

At a recent consultation by South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership, Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators, parish, town and borough councillors, district councillors and county councillors described the proposed changes as ‘dangerous’.

“Members are hearing reports from constituents of massive increases in low-level crime in our towns, villages and rural areas.”Additionally there is a general concern that the Police and Crime Commissioner is unfit and unsuitable for her job after making tactless comments about being ‘really interested’ in licensed firearm owners being allowed to act during terrorist incidents.

“We endorse Deputy Chief Constable Paul Netherton’s view that ‘Under no circumstances would we want members of the public to army themselves with firearms’.”

Cllr Dewhirst calls the vigilante idea “a crass and inadequate response to mounting concerns about police cuts”. He will say Ms Hernandez’s proposal to appoint a deputy Police and Crime Commissioner “is an appointment that is just not needed in these cash-strapped times”.

His motion says the Home Secretary should use “whatever powers may be available to remove Ms Hernandez from office allowing Devon and Cornwall Police to continue the fight against crime at all levels. and that Members of Devon County Council show their lack of support for the Police and Crime Commissioner by voting “No Confidence” in her office’.

The Police and Crime Commissioner has faced a barrage of opposition since her election last year.Last week Earlier this month Ms Hernandez put on hold plans to appoint a deputy after opposition from the panel that oversees her work.

The police and crime panel – made up of councillors and appointed members from across Devon and Cornwall – voted not to confirm Torbay councillor Mark Kingscote in the role.

Earlier, Ms Hernandez faced investigation over election expenses in her former role as agent for Torbay MP Kevin Foster and was only cleared shortly before the general election. Days after the election, she sparked controversy when she appeared to suggest members of the public might arm themselves against a terrorist incident.

She insisted later her remarks, on a BBC Radio Cornwall phone-in had been misinterpreted.Last month Plymouth City Council passed a vote of no confidence in Ms Hernandez for what it said were “stupid and dangerous comments”, and agreed to write to the Home Secretary asking her to the crime czar from office.

The office of the Police and Crime Commissioner declined to comment on Friday.”

Read more at http://www.devonlive.com/devon-crime-commissioner-faces-another-no-confidence-vote/story-30443664-detail/story.html

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12 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Asset sweating, Coastal communities, Consultation, Democracy, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Sidmouth Port Royal plans – improvement or defacement?

From Save our Sidmouth:

“Sidmouth seafront: improved or defaced by councils’ Port Royal plans? NOW is the time to make your views known

East Devon District Council (EDDC) and Sidmouth Town Council (STC) have progressed their joint Port Royal Scoping Study, to produce a single option for public consultation. As suggested in our most recent posts, the redevelopment proposed has caused controversy, with heavy criticism on planning grounds and on unsuitability. Various letters to the press have been copied to SOS, and will be posted on this website, for your information.

Two new web pages describe the situation, and include thought-provoking photomontages:

http://drillhall.rescue.historic-sidmouth.uk/port-royal-regeneration-consultation

and

http://drillhall.rescue.historic-sidmouth.uk/port-royal-regeneration-consultation-photomontages

Local resident, Mary Walden-Thill, warns, ”The first meeting of Sidmouth Town Council after the Survey closes, is on the 14th of August. It is very likely that they will make their decision on the redevelopment at this meeting. Once the decision is made the ‘gateway’ closes and it will be extremely difficult to reconsider, it may even require a legal appeal.” (
The Terms are very clear … see:

http://drillhall.rescue.historic-sidmouth.uk/scoping-exercise

Many agree with her that there seems ”no reason why the area could not be improved without resorting to a huge block containing apartments”, and are questioning why the consultation only offers one option.

NOW is the time to let your Councillor representative(s) know your views, by

a.contacting them directly . STC contact details from the council website are listed below, for your convenience.

and

b. completing the brief public consultation survey still open online until 5pm on 31st July 2017, at this link
http://eastdevon.gov.uk/port-royal-consultation/

Sidmouth Town Councillors
Chairman IAN MCKENZIE-EDWARDS, Sidford Ward, ijsmck_ed@hotmail.co.uk
Deputy Chairman John Dyson, South Ward, jdyson@eastdevon.gov.uk
Ian Barlow, Salcombe Regis Ward, wootans@aol.com
David Barratt, Salcombe Regis Ward, davidbarratt@btinternet.com
Sheila Kerridge, West Ward, martin.kerridge@btinternet.com
Jack Brokenshire, Sidford Ward, patandjack42@hotmail.co.uk
Louise Cole, West Ward, louisecolesidmouthtowncouncil@outlook.com
Kelvin Dent, South Ward, kelvinrdent@gmail.com
Michael Earthey, North Ward, michael.earthey@tesco.net
John Hollick, Sidbury Ward, john.hollick@uwclub.net
Stuart Hughes, North Ward, stuart.hughes@devon.gov.uk
Gareth Jones, Sidbury Ward, tgjones46@gmail.com
Marc Kilsbie, East Ward, marc-sidmouthtc@hotmail.com
Dawn Manley, North Ward, dawn.manleytownc@gmail.com
Frances Newth, East Ward, fnewth@icloud.com
Simon Pollentine, Primley Ward, simon_sheelagh_simon@tiscali.co.uk
John Rayson, West Ward, johnwrayson@btinternet.com
Jeff Turner, Primley Ward, jeffreyturner391@btinternet.com
Paul Wright, South Ward, paul_wright_sidmouth_town_council@hotmail.com

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11 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Local Enterprise Partnership, Torbay

Torbay Mayor expelled from Tory group but won’t resign

Owl says: “Massive changes on the horizon … LEP …” – seems there are a lot of things we are not being told about … and Mayor Oliver is obviously making his own post-2019 plans … wonder if his plans coincide with other people’s plans …

“I was elected by 20,000 voters not 20 councillors” is Torbay Mayor Gordon Oliver’s response to calls from his Tory colleagues to step down.

Though he has also been expelled from the Tory group on the council on Monday night and the resign call is going to the next full council meeting, the Tory veteran says there is too important work to be done before the next election in 2019 for him to resign.

With the council facing a black hole in its budget, the increasing pressures on adults and children’s services, and uncertainty over future Government funding and the prospect of increased partnership working with neighbouring authorities – particularly on major services like adults and children’s – Mayor Oliver says he intends to stay on until the next election.

The Tory group said in a statement after its meeting: “The Conservative Group on Torbay Council voted by a majority of over two thirds to expel the mayor from the group.

“A motion bringing forward a vote of no confidence in the elected mayor (endorsed by a majority of the Conservative Group) has already been submitted and will be brought to council for debate on July 20.

“It is regrettable that the group has seen the need to take this action, however it is their strong belief that the mayor has failed to carry out fully his duties in serving the best interests of the people of Torbay.

“The motion is very detailed, running to four pages, and will be is available on the council website when the agenda for the council meeting is published.”

Mayor Oliver said he would listen to the debate on the motion at full council but said: “At the moment I am just sitting and smiling and have no additional things to say about the motion.

“I was elected by 20,000 people not 20 councillors. I will listen to the members of the group and what they have to say. But my responsibility is to the people who supported my election.”

In response to the referendum last year which said the majority wanted a cabinet and leader system in the council, Mayor Oliver said : “By statute, the mayoral system finishes in April 2019. I’m not going anywhere.

“From now on you will see gradual change which is inevitable from a unitary council working on its own to something different. The budgetary pressures will decide how local government will be run in Torbay in future.

“While the mayoral system remains, until the next council election 2019, the structure will remain the same but there will be discussions this autumn as to how the changes will take place beyond that. The council will decide its future in discussion with its immediate neighbours and the wishes of our MPs.”

The major services would be run in partnership, such as children’s, adults and waste. Some changes could be made fairly swiftly he said.

A consultant’s report on possible changes should be published in September.

“Things will not be the same as they are now,” he said. “We have to see this as a challenge, and like all challenges there are benefits which flow from it. I see a dramatic change to create long term financial and political stability beyond 2019.”

At the same time progress is being made on the devolution of power to Devon and Somerset and the 17 districts, he said.

He said essentially Torbay was too small to succeed as a unitary. “It needs long term partnerships and arrangements. There have been various small scale agreements on services already with Teignbridge and Devon we are looking at some with Plymouth at the moment which have been beneficial to us all. But they are mainly backroom functions. These are massive changes on the horizon and we need to keep stability in the next two years and it’s important Government sees us being stable because of the huge responsibilities we have for example for the care of children and adult health.”

http://www.devonlive.com/i-m-going-nowhere-says-torbay-mayor-facing-resignation-call-from-his-own-tory-colleagues/story-30434779-detail/story.html

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11 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Local Enterprise Partnership, Scrutiny, Somerset, Torbay

What can you do when an elected mayor upsets his (party) councillors?

Not much, it transpires.

Gordon Oliver, elected Mayor of Torbay and highly enthusiastic member of our Local Enterprise Partnership, has been upsetting most if not all of his councillors, who are finding it very difficult to do anything about it.

He got the job in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015. However, within the year, a public referendum had been organised on whether Torbay should have a Mayor was organised, and it was decided that, from 2019, the council would revert back to a Leader and Cabinet arrangement. Nothing could be done earlier than that.

Should the Local Enterprise Partnership ever be correctly constituted, as things currently stand, we would be forced to participate in an election for a Mayor of Somerset and Devon who would have a great deal of direct control over the two counties, deciding most things himself or herself and needing only votes from hand-picked colleagues to force through his or her decisions.

This is a situation similar to that where we were forced to accept a Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner, when only 22.8% of registered voters bothered to turn out and we ended up with Alison Hernandez, a former Torbay councillor. Who now wants to employ her mate as her Deputy. And who can, if she goes against the wishes of our Police and Crime Panel, do so – and again there is nothing they or we can do about it until new elections in 2020.

And where is her mate from? Torbay! And who is a Torbay councillor. Who has been chair of planning there for several years.

Quite a little power block now built up from there. Must be something in the water.

http://www.devonlive.com/tory-colleagues-call-on-torbay-mayor-to-resign/story-30432407-detail/story.html

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7 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Police (local), Transparency

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Full audio and video of Police and Crime Panel meeting that refused Hernandez deputy

The full audio and video of the webcast where Hernandez is told that they don’t want her deputy is here but – unfortunately they can inly RECOMMEND that she does not appoint her pal but there is NOTHING they can do to stop her doing so:

http://www.devonlive.com/watch-the-moment-a-panel-rejects-devon-and-cornwall-crime-czar-s-deputy/story-30428868-detail/story.html

A few highlights with approximate timings (have to refer to some councillors by first names as this is what is used in video and labels not readable)

First – awful chairing! Meandering and did not keep councillors to agenda – at the middle point two rural councillors used the opportunity to talk about their wishes for rural policing, which had nothing at all to do with the agenda item – some 10 minutes wasted there with no intervention from chair.

Second: At around 46 minutes, the panel went into closed session and 10 minutes later reconvened to say they were not recommending her pal’s appointment and would send a letter to her on the next working day explaining why. This is totally undemocratic and non-transparent and to be deplored. She and they will almost certainly hide behind “personal information” not to reveal the contents of the letter.

Other highlights:

Hernandez wants a deputy because other areas, particularly Dorset has one and she needs to be at Westminster a lot.
9 min 50

Kingscote’s personal speech was embarrassing – any junior PR person could have written it and he stumbled over many parts of it. Hernandez takes good care of him, pouring him water and being very solicitous of him. Used the word “passion” an awful lot!

Tom Wright (East Devon) brings up am embarrassing tweet that Kingscote is said to have made on Twitter which, according to Express and Echo report, was about lesbians. Kingscote says it was wrong, apologises and says he will use “appropriate grammar” in future.
14mins approx

Cornwall councillor Chris ?Batters finally deals with the elephant in the room: says the appointment smacks of nepotism – power concentrated in one small corner of Torbay. Says Hernandez is there to “sell” Kingscote to them. Commissioner responds that they are not related, taking the word ‘nepotism’ literally.

Hernandez says she considered 2 other people, both councillors, one Tory, one Lib Dem but Kingscote was best.
Approx 38 min 20

After the break for private session, Croad (Chairman) says panel does not accept he is qualified for the job.

Next move: Hernandez – over to you – accept PCP recommendation or employ your pal.

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5 Jul 2017

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Accountability, DCC, Democracy, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Scrutiny, Sustainability, Transparency

Councillors turn on head of NHS: claim too much top-down cost-cutting and secrecy

“Councils have turned on the NHS over “secretive, opaque and top-down” reforms that they say will fail patients.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, has staked his tenure on co-ordinating care more effectively and has said that local authorities are crucial to the process because they oversee public health and social care for the elderly.

However, only a fifth of councils think the plans will succeed amid widespread complaints that they have been shut out of the process by the NHS, according to a survey by the Local Government Association.

Not one councillor who responded said they had been very involved in drawing up plans and nine out of ten said the process had been driven from Whitehall rather than locally. Cultural clashes with a “command and control” NHS that did not trust elected councillors meant that more local authorities believed the process was harming social care than helping it.

Mr Stevens has created 44 “sustainability and transformation partnerships” (STPs) where hospitals and GPs are meant to plan with councils on how to improve care and help close a £22 billion black hole in the NHS budget. However, four out of five councillors said the system was not fit for purpose and criticised the NHS for prioritising cost-cutting and closing hospital units over preventing illness.

Izzi Seccombe of the Local Government Association said: “Many councillors have been disappointed by the unilateral top-down approach of the NHS in some of the STP areas. As our survey results show, the majority of local politicians who responded feel excluded from the planning process. If local politicians and communities are not engaged then we have serious doubt over whether STPs will deliver.”

Half the 152 councils with social care responsibilities responded to the survey and 81 councillors with responsibility for health contributed. “The way in which the STP has been handled (top down, secretive, lack of engagement) has harmed relationships between the council and some NHS colleagues,” one said.

The NHS simply does not understand the decision-making of local government
Another said: “It is entirely driven from the top, via budget pressures. The process has been overly secretive and opaque. It has got in the way of closer working between councils and health.”

Councillors criticised STPs as “complex and full of jargon”, saying “the NHS simply does not understand the decision-making of local government”.

Ms Seccombe said that in a centralised NHS, managers often did not want to share information with party political councils accountable to local voters, saying that the process was “trying to mix oil and water”.

Chris Ham, chief executive of the King’s Fund think tank, said: “This survey suggests worrying numbers of council leaders are still frustrated by the process and lacking in confidence in their local plan. A huge effort is now needed to make up lost ground.”

A spokesman for NHS England said: “By creating STPs we have issued a massive open invitation to those parts of local government willing to join forces, while recognising that local politics can sometimes make this harder. The fact that public satisfaction is more than twice as high for the NHS as it is for social care underlines the real pressure on councils. It should serve as a wake-up call to every part of the country about the importance of joint working.”

Source: The Times (paywall)

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5 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, DUP, East Devon Tories, Hugo Swire

Swire defends Tory/DUP deal – calls May and Foster a ‘feminist coalition’ and says Foster ‘a good woman’ who even drinks alcohol

Owl says: there is loads more of this twaddle on his website if you can bear to read it. If you voted for him, really you need to work out why.

“Sir Hugo Swire has defended the controversial Tory deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and called party leader Arlene Foster a “thoroughly decent woman”.

… Swire, the MP for East Devon and a junior minister in Northern Ireland under the first Cameron Government, says the DUP will “lie low” on issues such as same sex marriage.

He has hailed the parliamentary arithmetic of the minority government for allowing the emergence a new “feminist coalition” on women’s rights.

… He said he “knows and likes” First Minister Arlene Foster well and has urged people to give the deal a chance.

“I would count her as a friend as I do many of her colleagues,” Mr Swire added.

“The DUP under her is now much more socially progressive. It no longer represents the bigoted and sectarian Anti-Catholic sentiments of the Rev Ian Paisley. Arlene is not even a member of the Orange Order.

“In Belfast the DUP is increasingly reflective of the population that votes for it, which includes thousands of non-churchgoing Protestants. Arlene is an Anglican like Theresa May and a Lawyer, she has Catholic and gay friends and drinks alcohol. I have shared a glass or two with her myself over the years. She is patriotic and pro-monarchy like most Conservatives. She sees her place within the United Kingdom as her key to survival. She is a thoroughly decent woman.”

http://www.devonlive.com/mp-hugo-swire-says-dup-deal-could-allow-feminist-coalition-on-reproductive-freedoms/story-30425308-detail/story.html

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5 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, EDDC, Scrutiny, Spin, Transparency

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Local authorities must submit to robust scrutiny says Communities Secretary

… conveniently forgetting that it has always been his job to ensure that this happens!

“Local government needs to open up and raise its game, Sajid Javid has told the Local Government Association’s annual conference.

Delivering a keynote address to the gathering in Birmingham yesterday, Javid highlighted the “serious failings” that emerged in the aftermath of the Grenfell tower fire in west London and said he wanted to reflect on what had gone wrong in local government.

“If the events of the past few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that we have to raise our game,” he said. “The ties that bind local government to local communities have not snapped. But if we don’t act now, such a time may one day be upon us.”

Councils would not be able to rebuild and reinforce trust with local communities if they hid away from public scrutiny.

“If people are going to trust their elected representatives, they have to see them working in the harsh light of the public eye, not in comforting shadows behind closed doors.

“Not only must democracy exist, it must be seen to exist. It can’t be about decisions made in private meeting rooms… local government must show it is for the people – not just of the people.” …”

Words – so much easier than action, as we well know in East Devon.

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5 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Hugo Swire

If only Swire stood up for East Devon in Parliament the way he does for Northern Ireland

Question in Parliament 3 July 2017:

“Is it not the simple truth that, whereas the Democratic Unionist party has managed to obtain £1 billion from the Treasury to spend on the people of Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin—Gerry Adams and those at Connolly House who are refusing to re-form the Executive—will be in no position to ensure that their constituents receive an equal share of that money, because there will be no Sinn Féin Minister in the Executive, and the money will be spent either by Ministers in this place or by civil servants in Northern Ireland?”

3 July
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2017-07-03a.898.7&s=speaker%3A11265#g905.5

Perhaps if he substituted “Local Enterprise Partnership” for DUP, Hinkley C for Northern Ireland and ” people of East Devon” for ” people of East Devon” for “their constituents” we might feel we had value for money from our MP – an MP who doesn’t think his post is even a full time job:

https://www.hugoswire.org.uk/news/blog-greed-george-osborne

Less time hitting back at the woman who fired him and more of his – one of his many jobs – time on us, perhaps.

Has he forgotten that he is no longer a Minister – when he said he couldn’t talk about East Devon constituency in Parliament – and isn’t it time he remembered he is just an ordinary constituency MP?

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2 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Hugo Swire

Swire backs Hammond for PM: says he’s “an homme serieux” and has “bottom”

Owl says: bottoms are obviously a particular interest for Swire:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11946721/David-Cameron-caught-on-camera-giving-minister-slap-on-bottom-at-State-banquet.html

… “There is a sense that, in the present febrile climate, whoever is the next leader must be highly experienced. Davis qualifies; so does Hammond, who before his present job was foreign secretary and defence secretary, and who has belatedly displayed a mind of his own since May was hobbled.

Hugo Swire, a minister of state under Hammond in the Foreign Office, said of him: “He’s got bottom. He was very good to work for. He is an homme sérieux. I liked him very much and he would calm things down.” …

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/06/humbling-theresa-may

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1 Jul 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Devolution, Local Enterprise Partnership, Spin, Transparency

A northern Tory councillor and his view on devolved power

“Tomorrow I’ll be toddling across to Leeds where, among other momentous matters, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority with consider whether to change its name to Leeds City Region Combined Authority. This has caused a ripple of disgruntlement in my city as people ask quite why this decision is being taken now and whether it marks the end of Bradford’s separate and individual identity.

I don’t like the proposal. Mostly this is because it is totally unnecessary. We’re told by officers that the current brand (essentially ‘West Yorkshire’) is confusing because there’s another brand – ‘Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership’ – within the purview of the combined authority and having two brands might be confusing for high-powered, multi-million pound wielding international business folk wanting to invest. That and all the others are named after cities (well Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool at least but not Birmingham and Bristol).

The report tells us that the basis for the change results from ‘comprehensive research’:

“…benchmarking the WYCA against other combined authorities nationally or internationally, an audit of existing communications activity by the organisation, and substantial engagement with audiences including elected members, local authority chief executives, private sector business leaders, central government officials, partner organisations and WYCA employees.”

Sounds good – just the sort of paragraph I’d have put into a client presentation about research when I didn’t have any budget. What we have here is a series of chats with existing connections such as members of the LEP, political leaders (but not opposition leaders) in the West Yorkshire councils and senior officials who we work with. There’s no script, no presentation of findings, no suggestion that we’ve done anything other than ask the opinion of a few people who we already know.

In the grand scale of things all this probably doesn’t matter much. Except that, for us in Bradford at least, we’ll begin to recognise that plenty of decisions previously made by councillors here in Bradford are now made somewhere else (Leeds) by a different organisation. This – as councillors on Bradford’s area committees have discovered – includes mundane and very local stuff like whether or not to put speed bumps on a street in Cullingworth.

What annoys me most about this stuff is that we are gradually replacing accountable political decision-making with technocratic, officer-led decisions. So us councillors, for example, get pressure to put in speed cameras but have precisely zero say in whether and where such cameras are actually installed. Somewhere in the documentation of the soon-to-be Leeds City Region Combined Authority there’ll be a line of budget referring to the West Yorkshire Casulaty Reduction Partnership. That is what ‘member decision-making’ means most of the time these days.

So to return to the name change. I’ll be opposed because it’s unnecessary nd divisive. But when it goes through (I love that they’re planning an extensive ‘member engagement’ after they’ve made the decision) it will at least be a reminder that most of the big investment decisions out there are being made on the basis of Heseltine’s ‘functional economic geography’ rather than using the democratically-elected local councils we all know and love. OK, not love- that’s going too far – but you know what I mean.”

http://theviewfromcullingworth.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/so-is-bradford-part-of-leeds-on.html

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1 Jul 2017

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Swire blocks Twitter followers he doesn’t like

Owl is proud to confirm that it has never, ever followed Swire on Twitter – for the simple reason it wouldn’t follow Mr Swire anywhere. Nor has Owl ever used Twitter to comment on Swire – finding East Devon Watch a more congenial platform from which to observe and comment on this rather tiresome person.

“An MP has been accused of disregarding his constituents after blocking online followers.

Sir Hugo Swire has apparently begun a purge of Twitter followers following a threat to “drain the swamp” of “vile” opposition after a bitter election battle.

Marketing and business student Sam Gosling, from Sidbury, tweeted the MP earlier this month to complain that wages were not keeping pace with inflation.

His post came in response to figures showing the South West has the highest employment rate of all the UK regions, which had been posted by Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish.

He said the statistics could hardly be good news for workers when “everyone’s getting poorer”.

Swire, who held onto his East Devon seat at the General Election with a reduced majority, responded by blocking the account, preventing him from following, viewing or commenting on posts.

The crackdown follows the Conservative’s angry claim in the aftermath of his victory that he and his family had received “vile” abuse on social media during the campaign.

Echoing Donald Trump, he said he was “taking time out to drain the swamp” of the “vile comments” of independent opponent Claire Wright and “her not so charming followers”.

Mr Gosling said he was “frankly appalled” at having been blocked by his own MP. “I’ve never tweeted or messaged him in any other way that could be deemed offensive,” he told Devon Live. “My last tweet to him was about understanding that unemployment has fallen but wages are going down.

“My mum, a midwife, has been losing wages in real terms for several years. I once asked him as well how he has represented East Devon whilst always voting along party lines.”

Swire, whose Twitter feed states that he does not reply to tweets, was criticised during the election campaign for not attending hustings events.

After his victory he said he was a “straight” fighter but now it was “time to call out” the people who had abused and in some cases libelled him.

Mr Gosling says blocking people it is just an easy way to “ignore and disregard the constituents you supposedly represent”.

“In terms of democracy this is shocking,” he added. “Hugo Swire is supposedly my MP and believes it is okay to totally disregard me as one of his constituents.

“I don’t understand if he thinks that blocking me will mean I won’t voice my opinion in some attempt to silence the people that disagree with him.

“I have felt left behind and excluded by my MP being a student from a working class family but this is a whole new level.

“I want to know why he didn’t turn up to the hustings. I want to know how he represents East Devon? I want to know why he feels it is okay to fail to engage in debate. I want answers but I’m worried that I’ll never get them from my MP as he fails to recognise democracy.”

Devon Live contacted Sir Hugo’s office for comment but the MP refuses to respond to enquiries from Devon Live or the Express and Echo.

His wife and personal assistant, Sasha, suggested that the former Foreign Office minister’s contribution to the Queen’s speech may of more interest than “the blocking of a few abusive tweets”.

Swire, who, before the opening of Parliamented attend two Vin D’Honneur receptions for new ambassador of Paraguay and new High Commissioner of Kingdom of Lesotho, called on the Government to use Budleigh Salterton and its high propertion of elderly people as a model for how Britain’s population will look in 2050.

He said it was now “incumbent on the Government to have a frank and honest consultation on how we fund and provide social care for the most vulnerable in our society” and made two offers.

Firstly, he said East Devon would act as a “the guinea pig for getting social care right in this country”.

Secondly, he called on the Government to build on the Dilnot report, which called for a £35,000 cap on care costs in 2011.

“We should leave nothing off the table, but a cross-party group should steer the Government forwards on this matter,” he added.

“Those are my two offers. As a humble Back Bencher, I will work with other Back Benchers to get social care right in this country, and I offer up Devon, particularly East Devon, as the guinea pig or template for trying to get a social care system that is properly integrated with the rest of the NHS.

“If we get it right there, we will get it right across the nation, and everyone, including our electorates, will be enormously grateful to us.”

http://www.devonlive.com/8203-blocked-the-twitter-users-who-criticised-tory-mp-hugo-swire/story-30417795-detail/story.html

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People banned from attending Grenfell Tower meeting were just ‘ people who like doing that sort of thing’ says councillor

“A Tory Kensington and Chelsea councillor has claimed protesters who stormed Kensington Town Hall days after the Grenfell Tower fire ‘weren’t the local community’ but ‘people who like doing that sort of thing’.

Catherine Faulks was defending the council’s attempts to hold a cabinet meeting on the disaster on Thursday in private, initially citing public order concerns, and described press attempts to report on it by obtaining a High Court order as ‘a very clever stunt’.

The council cancelled the meeting after journalists were allowed to attend, claiming it would ‘prejudice’ the forthcoming public inquiry.

Ms Faulks told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The reason we had given primarily to have the meeting in private was that we were worried there was a public order issue which had been already demonstrated by the invasion that happened at the council – which, by the way, when you say we weren’t affected, the whole council chamber had to be evacuated for the whole afternoon on the Friday after the tragedy.’ “

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4656656/Kensington-councillor-DEFENDS-decision-meet-secret.html

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29 Jun 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Inequality, Sleaze

Tory MP hates that social media is available to all – then retweets a picture of a pink penis!

“After a tumultuous day of U-turns and PR disasters in Parliament yesterday, Theresa May probably thought things couldn’t get much worse.

However, one of her Tory MPs has just gone and said something on social media that a huge section of Britain will find highly offensive.

In typical sneering Tory fashion, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, Gary Streeter, in a heated exchange with journalist Paul Mason, said:

“This is why i (sic) hate social media. It gives a voice to people who dont (sic) deserve one”.

Yes, you read that right. A Conservative MP doesn’t think ordinary people deserve to have a voice.

In a further display of how little this particular Tory MP understands about the real world, he promptly proceeded to retweet one of the numerous responses to his elitist outburst – a response which just so happened to be a GIF of a pink penis running through a forest.

One can only imagine the thought process that an elected representative must go through when deciding that retweeting a set of galloping gonads is a good idea.

To Mr Streeter’s peculiar retweet, another Twitter user replied:

“Gary… you retweet a penis running through a forest but won’t answer a polite question from one of your constituents… #confused”

We have contacted Gary Streeter for comment on his elitist comments, but presumably his head is still firmly inserted up his own backside, because he has not as yet had the good grace to respond.”

http://evolvepolitics.com/sneering-tory-mp-says-hates-social-media-gives-voice-people-dont-deserve-one/

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29 Jun 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Sidmouth ward councillor not told about advanced development plans

“A leading Sidmouth councillor has said she is ‘alarmed’ after illustrations as to how Sidmouth seafront could look as part of plans to redevelop the Port Royal area of the town have were revealed.

Consultants are carrying out a scoping study to assess the feasibility of redevelopment of the area on behalf of Sidmouth Town and East Devon District Councils who are the major landowners of the site.

Plans were put on show on Monday and Tuesday at consultation events at Kennaway House in Sidmouth and revealed that the seafront could get up to 30 flats that stand five storeys high.

But Cllr Cathy Gardner, who represents Sidmouth on East Devon District Council and is also the leader of the East Devon Alliance, said she was very surprised on Monday when she saw a five storey block of flats revealed on the consultation boards.

Cllr Gardner said: “We are concerned and I was alarmed at what I saw. At this early stage of the consultation, we expected to see a review of what the limitations of the site are and what would be possible.

“What we certainly did not expect to see what a five storey flats building included in the consultation board.

“I am alarmed that we are looking at five storey building within this area of the seafront. There will be a lot of discussion over the next month about this and I am sure we will get a lot of comments about what people want, but this is not what we expected.”

She said that everyone accepts that the Port Royal area of the town, which includes The Ham, the riverside, the car park, fishing compound, the public toilets, the Drill Hall, the sailing club and the lifeboat station, does need something doing to it, but said that it should be something more in keeping with the town.

She added although it is a consultation exercise, it had the feel of something that was fait accompli, particularly as questionnaires as part of the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan survey asks residents their views about Port Royal area of the town are currently out with residents to fill in.

She added: “I am told that feedback from this will be taken into account, but it does seem to be putting the cart before the horse.”

The consultation boards say: “The existing lifeboat station and sailing club need to have a waterfront location for operational reasons, but there are no obvious technical reasons that would prevent the lifeboat station, sailing club, Drill Hall and toilet block from being demolished with an alternative development provided on that part of the Study Area.”

Under potential development opportunities, the boards say: “The development could comprise a building of between 3 and 5 storeys. It could be a single building incorporating various uses including a new lifeboat station, a multifunction unit that could incorporate the sailing club, other water related clubs already operating, public toilets and wider community use. Space could also be created for a café and restaurant. These could occupy the ground floor and first floor of the building.

“Up to thirty residential apartments with potential to be of various sizes could form part of this development occupying the second, third and fourth floors.

The illustrations on this board are only intended to give an impression of the scale and size of a building on the site and how it might appear in relation to other buildings nearby. It is not a proposal for how the building will look

“Pedestrianisation ofthe Esplanade from its junction with Ham Lane running eastwards towards Salcombe Hill would create an opportunity for a vibrant, active frontage to the new development on the allocated site where people can use the space free of traffic whilst maintaining access for emergency vehicles, e.g. lifeboat.

“An access road from Ham Lane could be created to provide additional pedestrian access through the site along with access for service vehicles, access to sailing club storage and some water users.”

The Ham and East Street car parks have also been included in the scoping study area, but as they are within a high risk flood zone, further discussion will be required with both the Environment Agency and East Devon District Council planning department before any proposals can be taken forward.

Consultants will use the feedback to produce a set of recommendations that balance community expectations with what is achievable in the area.

These recommendations are expected to be considered by Sidmouth Town Council and East Devon District Council later in the year.

You can fill in the survey here https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=14984725150…”

http://www.devonlive.com/leading-councillors-says-she-was-alarmed-by-sidmouth-seafront-redevelopment-plansrevealed/story-30416690-detail/story.html

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29 Jun 2017

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No secret cabinet meeting for Grenfell Tower council

“A judge has ordered a London council to lift a ban on the media reporting on the first meeting of councillors to discuss the Grenfell Tower disaster, after a legal challenge by the Guardian and other media groups.

Downing Street had expressed concern after survivors of the fire and members of the media were barred from the Kensington and Chelsea council cabinet meeting on Thursday evening which was to hear a report about the blaze.

The council had opted to hold a private cabinet meeting to hear an oral report about the fire, citing the potential for disorder, and previous threats against staff. Such meetings are usually open to the public.

The meeting was to be led by the council’s Conservative leader, Nicholas Paget-Brown, who has been widely criticised in the wake of the fire.

However, a court application by the Guardian and five other media groups saw the high court order the council to admit members of the media with press cards.

Downing Street had said it wanted all parties involved in the fire aftermath “to be as open and transparent as possible, both with residents and the wider public, to ensure full confidence in the response effort”.

A spokeswoman said: “We would encourage everyone involved to respect this wherever possible.”

Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, the shadow communities secretary, had also urged the council to reconsider. “In order to deliver a response that survivors, residents and the wider public can trust, there is no room for anything less than complete transparency,” he said.

The decision to bar survivors and the wider public from the meeting followed protests two days after the fire, in which at least 79 people died, when angry residents stormed the town hall.

The council said the decision to exclude the public was made in accordance with its own standing orders “which are confirmed in common law”.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/29/grenfell-survivors-barred-from-council-meeting-about-fire

Er, seems the council’s legal officer might not be quite up to scratch – Owl thinks that common law is that made by case law and the judge just made the appropriate case law!

Take note EDDC!

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Swire offers his constituents up as health care guinea pigs – who voted for that?

Did you vote for this, Tory voter?

“Queens Speech Contribution (Hansard)

Thursday, 29 June, 2017
Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con)

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Rother Valley (Sir Kevin Barron), who made some extraordinarily sensible points. May I take this opportunity to associate myself, on behalf of my constituents in East Devon, with the earlier tributes paid to the victims of Grenfell Tower and the terrorist attacks? I also pay tribute to the extraordinary work of the emergency services and to NHS staff for their incredible efforts.

In the 2017 Gracious Speech, the only mention of social care, to which I will dedicate my speech, was:

“My Ministers will work to improve social care and will bring forward proposals for consultation.”

That is in line with the revised section of the 2017 Conservative manifesto, but no more details have been announced about the Green Paper or when it will be published. When it is published and goes out to consultation, it is vital that elderly people, who do not always have access to the internet, are given fair chance to respond and to put their views forward.

I, too, believe that the recent election showed how worried people are about their future healthcare needs. While the system needs to be fixed, it is incumbent on the Government to have a frank and honest consultation on how we fund and provide social care for the most vulnerable in our society. The issue has been kicked into the long grass for too long, so I have two offers to make to the Government this afternoon.

Over 850,000 people in the United Kingdom are living with dementia—equivalent to the entire population of Devon—and that number is expected to double in the next 20 years. Over 12,000 people in Devon are living with dementia, 4,500 of whom are in East Devon. The number of over-65s in Devon will increase from 195,000 in 2015 to 264,400 in 2030—an increase of 35.5%. Seventeen per cent. of the UK population is over the age of 65, compared with 24% of the Devon population. Some 2.38% of the population is over the age of 85, compared with 6.25% of the population of Budleigh Salterton in my constituency. In other words, with those ageing demographics, the rest of England will look like Budleigh Salterton in 2050. East Devon has over 6,500 people over the age of 85 and about 40,000 over the age of 65, so my offer to the Government is this: if we want to get long-term social care right nationally, look at what the country will look like in 2050, which is what towns such as Budleigh Salterton look like now. If we get it right in Devon, “we will get it right across the country. As a Devon MP, I am offering— I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) will also agree—to act as the guinea pig for getting social care right in this country. That is offer No. 1.

[Offer No. 2 goes on to suggest a cross-party group to talk about the future of health care.]

Those are my two offers. As a humble Back Bencher, I will work with other Back Benchers to get social care right in this country, and I offer up Devon, particularly East Devon, as the guinea pig or template for trying to get a social care system that is properly integrated with the rest of the NHS. If we get it right there, we will get it right across the nation, and everyone, including our electorates, will be enormously grateful to us.”

https://hugoswire-admin.conservativewebsites.org.uk/news/queens-speech-contribution-hansard