Category Archives: General Election

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8 Jun 2016

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Hugo Swire

Hugo Swire – you don’t have to be smart to be a minister, just in a safe seat

Interesting how many old-Etonians were parachuted into safe seats, including our own Hugo Swire. But it isn’t looking quite so safe at the moment. What on EARTH would Swire DO if he was just a constituency MP (or possibly not an MP at all). No wonder he rants at Independents – more of a threat now than ever before!

“Voters elect their members of parliament (MPs) in general elections, but a large majority of MPs have very little to do with the day-to-day governing of the country. It is rather the ministers in government, as selected by the victorious party leaders, who do. Hence there is an obvious link between the general elections and government formation with regard to who selects ministers.

In a recent study with Elad Klein, we show that there is another—albeit a less obvious—connection in terms of who gets selected as ministers; MPs in electorally safe seats are more likely to become ministers.

This is based on an analysis whether the constituency results from the elections to the House of Commons over the period 1992–2015 influenced the likelihood of MPs being selected as ministers in the United Kingdom (UK).

The House of Commons provides the perfect case to assess the electoral connection of ministerial selection due to the single-member districts, large government size, and the relatively decentralised candidate selection process in the UK.

Electoral safety affects the ministerial selection because elections are a constraint over the preferences of MPs and their parties. MPs need to stay in the parliament by being re-elected to be able to pursue other goals, including attaining promotion to government ranks. On the other hand, party leaders need to maximise the number of their MPs in order to stay in the government to achieve their policy ideals.

Electoral constraints differ with the marginality of seats for each MP in Westminster systems. In single-member districts, it is comparatively clear to members and to their leaders how electorally safe their parliamentary seats are.

As the electoral marginality of a seat increases, or in other words as the number of votes separating success from failure to secure a seat decreases, re-election becomes the dominant motivation.

Our results show that there is indeed a positive relationship between MPs electoral safety and their probability of securing a ministerial office. …

… For an MP with 5% electoral safety, which is often considered as marginal, the probability of becoming a minister is one in 10. In contrast, a 35% majority more than doubles this probability for MPs.

http://www.democraticaudit.com/?p=22300

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6 Jun 2016

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Democracy, EU Referendum, General Election

Fixed term parliaments – a headache for the EU referendum

“What do fixed term Parliaments mean?

The new rules require a PM with a Commons majority to call the next general election on a five year fixed timetable.

However, should the PM resign or lose a no-confidence vote, the process to be followed is still unclear. The monarch could ask another member of the largest party to try to form a government. But if they too declined, conceivably the Leader of the Opposition could be asked to and might seek to form a minority government without any immediate dissolution.

To dissolve Parliament early a vote of two thirds of MPs is needed, which would normally require that (most) MPs from both the government and the main opposition should support the motion.”

How effective is Parliament in controlling UK government and representing citizens?

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1 Jun 2016

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Accountability, Electoral Commission, General Election, Voting

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Election expenses scandal – latest update from Channel 4

“… The new revelations come as the Conservative Party take the unprecedented step of trying to oppose a court extension to the police investigation into whether it correctly declared the money they spent in South Thanet. That hearing itself was in a closed court session not open to the public or press.

The Conservative Party bought in James Laddie QC, one of the country’s top lawyers, to attend the closed session at Folkestone Magistrates Court on Tuesday May 24. …

… News
Channel 4 News understands that there are 18 police forces up and down the country that have been given or are seeking an extension to the time limit relating to election expenses.

The Conservative party is currently only attempting to block in South Thanet an extension to the legal time limit that the local police force has to investigate election returns.

Today, new evidence obtained by Channel 4 News reveals that an important battlebus visit on election day to South Thanet, up to a dozen promotional videos made for the local candidate, and a conference room used by a minister to campaign on local issues for the candidate appear to have never been declared.

Get caught up – and read the full story of Election Expenses Exposed here.
The Conservative Party told Channel 4 News: “The Party always took the view that our national Battlebus, a highly-publicised campaign activity, was part of the National Return, and declared it as such. All spending has been correctly recorded in accordance with the law.”

Beat Farage
In the South Thanet contest, UKIP Nigel Farage was defeated by the now Conservative MP Craig Mackinley – by 2,800 votes. He was assisted by tens of thousands of pounds of spending that appears to have been used to help local campaigning – enough to take him beyond the £15,000 cap.

The new revelations come as the Conservative Party take the unprecedented step of trying to oppose a court extension to the police investigation into whether it correctly declared the money they spent in South Thanet. That hearing itself was in a closed court session not open to the public or press.

The Conservative Party bought in James Laddie QC, one of the country’s top lawyers, to attend the closed session at Folkestone Magistrates Court on Tuesday May 24.

Battlebus – final stop
Channel 4 News understands that on 7 May – election day itself – was the biggest campaigning day for the Mackinlay campaign. Staff and activists on the bus appear to have taken part in local campaigning to get out the vote for Craig Mackinlay. He tweeted: “Thanks to @MrMark Clarke and his @roadtrip2015 #battlebus2015 — 60 people on the way to lead charge in #SouthThanet.”

We can reveal that none of the £400 costs incurred by this Battlebus visit appear to have been declared.

Team 2015
Channel 4 News has also obtained evidence of repeated visits by bus loads of Team 2015 activists who appear to have campaigned for Craig Mackinlay MP. These include visits on 4 April, 9 April, April 11 and 12, and 26 April.

We have obtained video footage of the Team 2015 visit on 9 April which shows the then-party’s chairman Grant Shapps encouraging the activists to campaign for the local candidate Craig Mackinlay, who thanks the activists for supporting him.

None of the costs incurred on these Team 2015 visits appear to be on Mr Mackinlay’s candidate spending return, despite clear guidance from the Electoral Commission that the costs of campaigning for the candidate must be declared by them in order to promote fairness.

Links to Conservative party headquarters
In the Broadstairs campaign office – the campaign schedule was photographed by Emily Ashton, from Buzzfeed.

It stated that on the 9 April, the Transport Minister John Hayes MP visited Manston Airport which was at the time considered a major local issue in South Thanet. It was not a matter considered to be of national significance.

Channel 4 News has obtained evidence that a conference room was booked at the airport Holiday Inn hotel for a Conservative Party event on April 9. The booking was made in the name of CCHQ staffer Marion Little OBE.

None of the costs associated with this event appear to have been declared in the South Thanet election spending return. Nor does it appear to have been declared nationally.

This appears to fit into a pattern of apparently undeclared spending involving senior figures at CCHQ that has been identified by Channel 4 News in previous investigations.

The Electoral Commission is already investigating three by-elections in 2014, which took place in a “regulated period” when all spending should have been declared.

In those by-elections and in South Thanet, Channel 4 News obtained hotel receipts in Newark, Clacton, Rochester totalling some 770 nights of accommodation which were booked under Marion Little’s name and home address.

We have also identified some £4,000 of bookings made by Ms Little at the Premier Inn in Margate.

The law says any money spent promoting the local candidate must be declared by the candidate and their agent on their local spending return. Failure to declare is a criminal offence.

The hearing on whether Kent Police will be given a time extension – already granted to 18 police forces up and down the country – is due to take place on Wednesday next week. …”

http://www.channel4.com/news/new-expenses-scandal-emerges-as-tories-fight-police-in-court

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27 May 2016

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Accountability, Electoral Commission, General Election, Voting

Calderdale Tory Association has accounts seized

The chair of the Calderdale Conservatives Association has resigned after growing internal controversy over its accounts being submitted to the Electoral Commission.

A sourced leaked the resignation emails to Political Scrapbook this morning.

In an email sent yesterday afternoon by Charles Moran, ex-chair of the CVCA, said he was resigning after a “breakdown in relations” with the MP and two officers of the Association.

But the main reason for his resignation seems to be launch of a criminal investigation into financial irregularities at the Association.

An email from Councillor Rob Holden, Deputy Chair of the Calder Valley Conservatives, leaked to Political Scrapbook, says that West Yorkshire police seized the accounts in connection with their enquiries.

West Yorkshire Police released a statement to Political Scrapbook this afternoon:

“Police in Calderdale have been made aware of an allegation of financial irregularity. A criminal investigation has now been launched to examine this allegation, and is its early stages.”

In a phone conversation with Political Scrapbook this afternoon, deputy chair cllr Rob Holden confirmed the resignation and the email. He added:

“All I can say right now is that West Yorkshire police have mine and the Association’s full cooperation.
The blog Impolite Conversation claims that Craig Whittaker MP’s office is to be investigated next, but we could not confirm that.”

The emails below give more insight into why the chair resigned, and why West Yorkshire Police is now investigating.

More on this developing story soon…

LEAKED EMAILS

———-

Subject: Resignation CVCA
Sent: 26 May 2016 14:03
From: Charles Moran
To: Rob Holden, Jasbir Singh
Cc:
Dear Rob

It is with regret that I am writing to you to tender my resignation as Chairman of CVCA as of today’s date.

As you are aware, it has taken some time to get to the bottom of the Association’s finances, a task you requested be carried out last October.

Whilst there are still outstanding issues with the accounts I have submitted to the Electoral Commission,it is a best estimate and I have also copied it to Andy Stedman at Compliance.

The reason I have been unable to accurately finalise the accounts is as a result of missing records that have been requested from the Treasurer on several occasions and have not been supplied.

Attached to this email is a copy of a Chartered Accountant’s report which states that the accounts are not being kept as they should be. There are issues regarding the recording of cash receipts, lack of cash recording with no receipts issued for payments received, missing invoices and a lack of authorisation for expenditure. Clearly the Executive has a responsibility to correct these shortcomings.

You will also be aware of the toxic nature of my tenure as Chairman, due to the breakdown in relations with the MP and two officers of the Association. This situation is unacceptable and steps need to be taken to separate the Parliamentary Party from the Voluntary Party.

The fact that the MP is able to not only access the Association’s funds without authority from the Chairman or the Executive is a matter of grave concern. The Constitution is clear that all funds are controlled by the Association and its Executive, the fact that two officers are able to withdraw funds without authority is clearly in breach of the rules.

The fact that I, as Chairman, am not on the mandate and neither are you, the Deputy Fund Raising and Membership, is also a matter which I consider to be unacceptable.

Whilst it has been difficult for me as Chairman for the past year, I can’t help feeling disappointed that once again we have failed to take outright control of Calderdale Council, largely as a result of resources being diverted to a safe seat at the expense of target seats. We lost one of the target seats by less than a100 votes.

Above attached is a schedule of missing information, Chartered Accountant’s report and a copy of the estimated accounts that have been sent to Compliance and the Electoral Commission. Would you mind ensuring that these documents together with my email to you are circulated with the AGM calling notice to all members when you decide to call it please?

Regards

Charles

———-

Subject: FW: Resignation CVCA
Sent: 26 May 2016 14:27
From: Rob Holden
To: Brighouse Campaign Centre
Cc:

Dear member.

I am writing to you further to receiving the resignation of Mr Charles Moran as Chairman of the Calder Valley Conservative Association. I feel saddened that he has felt the need to stand down but thoroughly understand his reasons following his extremely poor treatment by certain members of the Association. The accounts (albeit incomplete) have finally been filed with the Electoral Commission.

Attached are the findings of the financial review that I requested back in October 2015 and I have to say that they do not make great reading as far as record keeping and propriety are concerned.

Yesterday the accounts of the Association were seized by the Police in connection with enquiries they are currently undertaking; the officer from the fraud and financial irregularities team has been assured that they will receive the ongoing co-operation of the Association with their investigation.

I am currently in discussions with the Area Chairman regarding the next steps concerning the AGM etc. and as soon as possible I will provide everyone with an update.

I would like to thank Charles for the considerable contribution that he has made to both the Association and the party as a whole and hope that now the financial review has been completed, lessons will be learned and we can move the Association forward.

Kindest regards

Councillor Rob Holden
Deputy Chairman, Calder Valley Conservatives.

https://politicalscrapbook.net/2016/05/calderdale-conservatives-chair-resigns-after-police-investigation-over-election-expenses-emails-leaked/

Further information on MP and missing invoices here:

http://www.impoliteconversation.co.uk/police-seize-calder-valley-conservative-association-accounts

Local Lib Dems view:
http://calderdalelibdems.focusteam.org/2016/05/27/grave-concern-following-the-seizure-of-calderdale-conservatives-accounts-by-the-police-and-the-resignation-of-the-chair-of-the-conservative-association/

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26 May 2016

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Democracy, General Election, Hugo Swire, Lobbying, Transparency, Voting

A snap election?

The Conservatives have raked in nearly £9 million than Labour in donations in the past 12 months – amid mounting speculation there could be a snap general election. …

… According to the official data, most of the Tories’ money came from companies and wealthy individuals.

They include a £569,300 cheque from telecommunications firm Lycamobile, £150,610 from Sun Mark Ltd, more than £500,000 from former stockbroker Alexander Fraser, and £333,000 from Tory peer Lord Glendonbrook.

The Conservatives also received £554,000 from the National Conservative Draws Society – a weekly fundraising prize draw for party members.

Trade union Unite were Labour’s largest single donors, giving the party around £3.5 million in the past year. They were followed by the GMB, who donated £2.7 million.

In total, the main unions gave the party £11.4 million in 2015/16.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/news/75456/tories-rake-millions-more-labour-amid-early

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22 May 2016

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Accountability, General Election, Voting

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David Cameron admits election expense “mistakes”

“David Cameron appeared to acknowledge that some expenses may not have been declared in compliance with the letter of the law. …

… Asked if Lord Feldman would have to resign, Mr Cameron told ITV’s Peston on Sunday programme: ‘Well, I don’t believe we have done anything wrong. If there were mis-declarations or things left out we have to put those in place, but I’m confident we can answer all the questions that are being put to us.’

An investigation by Channel Four News and the Daily Mail has revealed concerns about whether the accommodation costs of activists bussed around the country by the Tories to campaign in key constituencies were recorded properly.
In many cases, expenses appear to have been recorded as national expenses, or not recorded at all, rather than added to the costs in the constituencies where the campaigning took place.

Deliberate breach of spending limits by individual candidates – usually around £15,000 – is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or even a one-year jail term.
Any MP found guilty would be barred automatically from holding public office for three years, triggering a new election. In theory, the Conservatives could lose their 12-seat majority if cases are proved. …”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3603526/David-Cameron-hints-time-Tory-chairman-mis-declared-left-vital-General-Election-expenses-SNP-calls-Met-Police-investigate.html

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22 May 2016

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Accountability, General Election, Transparency, Voting

28 Conservative MPs now under investigation for election fraud

“10 police forces are now investigating whether the Tories breached election spending by failing to record accommodation costs for activists”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/scottish-national-party-call-for-met-police-to-investigate-tory-election-fraud-a7042396.html

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15 May 2016

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Democracy, General Election, Independent Councillors

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BBC castigated for poor coverage of non-mainstream parties and independents

Extract from letter to BBC:

… “It is deeply insulting that parties such as the Monster Raving Loony Party have been given television interviews instead. Even the Abolish Assembly party which is not constructive have been offered the opportunity.

We know that unfair coverage of this kind and the deliberate exclusion of Independent Candidates has a negative impact on the debate and adversely influence the actual election. It is essential for the sake of democracy that all candidates have the opportunity to appear at all hustings and in the media.” …

http://www.local.gov.uk/documents/330211/1064611/Letter+to+Ric+Bailey/aacc9676-04a2-4c6b-9888-67e10e4e5ae1

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15 May 2016

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East Devon Tories, General Election, Voting

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A long but fascinating (and chilling) article about how the Conservative Party set about winning the general election:

http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2015/06/the-computers-that-crashed-and-the-campaign-that-didnt-the-story-of-the-tory-stealth-operation-that-outwitted-labour.html

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20 Apr 2016

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Accountability, Claire Wright, Corruption, General Election, Independent Councillors, Voting

“Britain’s two-party political system isn’t working” – more Independents needed says former Conservative spin master

“Voters are disillusioned with a malfunctioning democracy. The system must change so independent candidates have a fair chance of election:

It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s clear that people are looking for a new kind of politics that goes beyond traditional party lines: a politics first and foremost of engagement and transparency, not reducible to the old left-right divide. …

… Change is long overdue. In the 1950s, politics was simpler. Workers voted Labour, the middle class and the wealthy voted Conservative. About 90% of votes went to one of these two parties. But by 2015, the combined total had dropped to just over two-thirds. Voters today are searching for new options beyond the two-party model. …

… In today’s age of nearly unlimited information, our world views are nuanced and sophisticated, but our creaking democratic processes struggle to reflect this. Where do you go if you are a Conservative on the economy, a Green on the environment, Labour on social justice, Liberal Democrat on human rights? That is not an unusual combination. But Westminster politics still pushes a false, binary simplicity. …

… Even if an independent candidate does get on the ballot, it’s next to impossible for voters to discover that there might be someone outside the two-party system who genuinely matches their views. …

… In today’s age of nearly unlimited information, our world views are nuanced and sophisticated, but our creaking democratic processes struggle to reflect this. Where do you go if you are a Conservative on the economy, a Green on the environment, Labour on social justice, Liberal Democrat on human rights? That is not an unusual combination. But Westminster politics still pushes a false, binary simplicity.

This is where the corruption comes in, because the principal barrier to a more open and diverse politics in the UK is money. Thankfully, it plays a far lesser role in Britain than America – where money from fundraising Super Pacs dominates campaigning. But even here, you need cash to stand for office, to run a campaign, to get elected. Who can afford to do that? Only the centralised party organisations. And where do they get their money? The same old sectoral interests – the financial industry on the right and the unions on left. …

… Even if an independent candidate does get on the ballot, it’s next to impossible for voters to discover that there might be someone outside the two-party system who genuinely matches their views. …

… If we’re ever going to see the kind of modern, responsive and open-minded politics that people are crying out for, we have to break the grip of the party machines and get more independent, and independent-minded, candidates elected to office, at every level of government. But such candidates face enormous obstacles. Only parties have the muscle to win most elections, and party insiders control candidate selections tightly.

The barriers to political participation must be removed and the stranglehold of the big party machines broken, so that the power can be taken out of the hands of the insiders, the moneyed interests and the Westminster power brokers – and put where it belongs: in the hands of the people.

http://gu.com/p/4tezd

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4 Feb 2016

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General Election

A Devon MP is too busy opening law offices in Dubai and Mumbai to remember to declare £400,000 of income

A former member of the House of Commons Standards Board, he will only have to apologise. And how the heck does he have time to be an MP. Let’s hope the people of Torridge learn in time for the next election.


“A Conservative MP who failed to declare more than £400,000 of outside earnings will only have to apologise to the Commons after Parliament’s Standards Committee decided not to formally punish him for the breach.

In a judgement that will increase criticism over the body, Geoffrey Cox QC will be asked to make an apology, but no formal action will be taken.
The Standards Committee found that Geoffrey Cox QC had committed a “serious” breach of rules, although it accepted he had not “intended to hide” the payments for hundreds of hours of legal work. …

… Earlier in 2015 it emerged that Cox declared earnings of £820,000 from outside work and second jobs — 12 times the annual MP wage.
According to the latest register of members’ financial interests, Mr Cox received £325,000 on June 15 and 16 this year for 500 hours of work carried out between June 2014 and March 2015.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/conservative-mps-expenses/12140118/Tory-MP-Geoffrey-Cox-will-only-have-to-apologise-after-failing-to-declare-hundreds-of-thousands-of-pounds.html

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14 Aug 2015

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East Devon Electoral/Returning Officer, EDDC, Electoral Commission, General Election, Mark Williams CEO EDDC, Transparency, Voting

Pickles article on election fraud

Sir Eric Pickles, who is launching the biggest-ever investigation into electoral fraud in Britain, warns in an article for The Daily Telegraph that the authorities are “turning a blind eye to criminal conduct”.


By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor7:35PM BST 12 Aug 2015
Electoral fraud is being ignored in the same way that child sex abuse allegations have been because politically correct police forces and councils fear offending ethnic minorities, the Government’s anti-corruption tsar says today.
Sir Eric Pickles, who is launching the biggest-ever investigation into electoral fraud in Britain, warns in an article for The Daily Telegraph that the authorities are “turning a blind eye to criminal conduct”.
It comes after Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London, was earlier this year removed from office after he was found guilty of electoral fraud.
Sir Eric compares the lack of action on allegations of electoral fraud to the scandal of local authorities and police forces ignoring claims of child sex abuse in towns across Britain.
Many of those allegations concerned Asian gangs targeting vulnerable young girls.
The law must always be “applied equally and fairly to everyone”, Sir Eric warns.
“In Tower Hamlets, police and council staff failed to tackle intimidation – often in foreign languages – both inside and outside polling stations,” Mr Pickles writes.
“Just as we have seen with child sexual exploitation in places like Rochdale and Rotherham, institutionalised political correctness can lead to the state turning a blind eye to criminal conduct. But the law must be applied equally and fairly to everyone.
“Integration and good community relations are undermined by the failure to do so.”
He adds: “The problems go deep – despite years of warnings of misconduct in Tower Hamlets, the state watchdogs gave the borough’s electoral system a gold-star rating for integrity in inspection reports. We still have a series of tick-box inspections of town hall returning officers that are as ineffectual and useless as those once practised by the now-abolished Audit Commission.”
Sir Eric, who was Communities and Local Government Secretary until David Cameron’s last reshuffle, said that the Government is “no longer prepared to turn a blind eye to Britain’s modern day rotten boroughs”.
His review will report by the end of the year and will examine what steps are necessary to stop voter registration fraud and error, postal voting fraud, impersonation, intimidation and bribery.
Sir Eric raises concerns that the London mayoral elections next year could be mired by voter fraud.
“Despite the fact there are London elections next year, a sizeable minority of those voters signed up in Tower Hamlets remain unverified and could be fakes,” he writes.
“In Hackney, the situation is even worse, with almost a quarter of the electorate unverified and potentially non-existent. We urgently need to clean up these registers. Across the country, electors from abroad are not properly checked to ensure that they qualify to vote when they register.
“Fraudulent registration is frequently tied to illegal immigration, as illegal migrants sign up to make it easier to get credit or a mobile phone. Such illegality feeds through to further crimes, such as benefit and housing fraud.”
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, earlier this year set up a major inquiry into child abuse following revelations about the crimes committed by Jimmy Savile as well as disclosures about abuse in Derby, Oxford and towns across Britain.
There were also a series of allegations about a Westminster paedophile ring.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11799673/Eric-Pickles-Political-correct-officials-ignoring-electoral-fraud-just-like-sex-abuse.html

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12 Aug 2015

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East Devon Electoral/Returning Officer, EDDC Monitoring Officer, Electoral Commission, General Election, Mark Williams CEO EDDC

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Is our Electoral and Returning Officer Teflon coated?

It would seem so.

East Devon Election and Returning Officer Mark Williams (also CEO of East Devon District Council) rather grudgingly admitted that “things had gone wrong” at the last election but said it would not happen again in this newspaper article published today:

image

No mention of the fact that he was hauled in to a Parliamentary Committee to explain why he “lost” 6,000 voters (answer: because he thought his idea of telephoning missing voters was better than the government’s guidance of visiting them), was particularly noted by the Electoral Commission for not following those guidelines, or why East Devon was one of only SEVEN councils out of more than 400 to have made MULTIPLE mistakes. OR that he has been doing the job for years but still doesn’t seem to have got it quite right.

If it were a junior officer or councillor who had not been considered up-to-scratch (particularly an Independent Councillor) would he or she had got off so lightly?

Teflon-coated?

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31 Jul 2015

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Austerity cuts, Devolution, East Devon Tories, General Election, Hugo Swire, Lib Dem (local), Police (local), Rural communities

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Is it time the West Country had its own party!

Is the West Country being best served by either Conservative or Labour or Liberal Democrat national parties? Should we be following the SNP by attempting to look after ourselves after being overlooked and penalised in just about every major area of life?

A correspondent writes:

NHS
The decision was taken by the NHS CCG last Thursday to axe beds from both Ottery and Axminster hospitals, together with the minor injuries units at Seaton and Sidmouth.

An article in The Times in June 2015[1] reports that ‘patients in the countryside are left at a “severe disadvantage” by an NHS funding system that is skewed towards cities.’ It further states, ‘There’s diminishing availability of district nurses not because there are fewer of them but because they can do less if they travel further.’

Perhaps a report[2] by The King’s Fund, April 2013, entitled “Improving the allocation of health resources in England” can throw some light on the matter.

1. Oxford and London are “relatively over-funded compared with the rest of England”.

2. ‘In the mid-1990s, a decision was taken not to apply an updated weighting for need across all services, in particular not applying it to community health services.’

3. ‘The materially more significant political motivation is that all political parties have abided by the unwritten rule that no area should receive a real-terms cut in NHS funding as a result of resource allocation decisions. The political fallout from this would be immense and no party has had the courage to take such decisions.’

Education

Another important area where Devon receives insufficient funding relates to education. An article in the Western Morning News (WMN) of 13th March 2014, was headed ‘Westcountry schools get £23m extra next year to tackle under-funding.[3]

‘Education Minister and Somerset MP David Laws announces the money, available for 2015/16 was the “biggest step towards fairer schools funding in a decade”.’ The article later states, ‘The hand-out will act as a “bridge” until a new formula is developed to be introduced after the election in 2016, Mr Laws said.’

‘The South West in particular has been a long-standing loser. Devon sits sixth from bottom in a national league table of 150 education authorities in terms of funding.’

Rail Transport

This year, the WMN reported[4] (6th January 2015) ‘Trains serving the Westcountry are the oldest of any inter-city fleet in the country, figures have revealed against claims of massive under-investment in the region’s railways.’

‘Since the collapse of the rail line at Dawlish, critics have pointed to the chronic lack of rail investment in the South West. There has been growing criticism the response has been too feeble, with the promise of a review into an additional Dartmoor line the only clear pledge to date.’

Police

Finally, an article this week in the WMN of 20th July 2015[5] entitled ‘Scandalous divide between police funding’ states ‘Police in Devon and Cornwall receive less than half the funding per person enjoyed by forces in the capital, new figures reveal, as politicians continue their campaign for fair funding of rural services.’

‘Mr Hogg said these numbers revealed “the in-built metropolitan bias” of the current funding system.’

“The information that my office researchers have uncovered is scandalous. It is no wonder that policing is so stretched in Devon and Cornwall when Government funding is so unfair,” he said.’

Anyone else spot a trend here? The Westcountry and Devon in particular have been systematically denied adequate funding.

Now the government has announced a further round of swingeing cuts. How are they to be meted out? As our region has suffered historically from unfair funding formulas, just how does the government intend to implement these cuts in Devon?

The questions to ask are:

1) Why has our region been denied adequate funding in so many areas for so long?

2) When will Devon receive its fair share?

For example, if only the NHS in Devon had received proper funding, would the CCG have decided to axe beds or MIUs in local hospitals?

References:

1 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article4478425.ece
2 http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/improving-allocation-health-resources-england
3 http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Westcountry-schools-23m-year-tackle-funding/story-20805848-detail/story.html
4 http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/West-s-inter-city-trains-oldest-country/story-25812028-detail/story.html
5 http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Devon-Cornwall-Police-receive-50-funding/story-26932344-detail/story.html

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27 Jul 2015

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East Devon Electoral/Returning Officer, Electoral Commission, General Election, Mark Williams CEO EDDC, Transparency, Voting

Council launches review of polling districts and stations

“East Devon residents are asked for their views and suggestions on polling stations ready for council to consider in December

East Devon District Council is due to launch a review into the district’s polling districts and polling places and is seeking feedback from the public.

The council will be pleased to receive views from anyone, but particularly stakeholders, such as electors, parishes, political parties and councillors. It will also be grateful for comments from people and organisations with expertise in access for people with disabilities.

Anyone who would like information about a particular parish or part of the district should contact us either by e-mail (elections@eastdevon.gov.uk) or telephone (01395 517550).

East Devon District Council’s Chief Executive, Mark Williams, said:

“Over the years, the locations where voting takes place in East Devon have remained the same, except for occasions where a building is no longer available. Following the recent election we now need to review the existing situation.

“If anyone thinks we should be looking at alternative locations to the polling stations that were used in May this year or have comments on the stations that were used, please could they let us have their views as soon as possible.”
Views and comments should be made in writing, setting out any alternative suggestions, by no later than Friday, 25 September 2015 to the Electoral Services Manager, East Devon District Council, Council Offices, Knowle, Sidmouth EX10 8HL

The Chief Executive will make proposals to the council, taking account of all the views and comments that are received. The council meeting where the recommendations will be considered will be held on Wednesday 16 December 2015 and will be open to the public.”

If you have any reservations about locations or access to polling stations do let Mr Williams know. It is a very long time since these locations were first chosen and some of them may now be inappropriate.

One assumes that locations in the ownership of or linked closely to serving councillors will not be considered appropriate.

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8 May 2015

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General Election

A sad day for East Devon

Hugo Swire (Con) has today been re-elected to represent East Devon in Parliament……so we’ll see how well he does that.

Claire Wright, his closest rival, made an impressive bid to replace him as our MP, and is widely praised for her well run campaign. Claire was elected to Devon County Council in May 2013, with 2970 votes (a 74 per cent share)…….and yesterday her vote soared to 13,000. Not enough to beat Hugo this time, but given the national mood right now, a very solid support base to build on.  Read Claire’s own take on election night, and on the outcome, on her blog  http://www.claire-wright.org.

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7 May 2015

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General Election, Hugo Swire

Comments

3 Comments

Calm down, Hugo – Denmark has had coalition government for 35 years!

And the Danes seem quite OK with it!

“You see, Denmark has not experienced single-party government in almost 35 years. During the past century we have had 29 governments – and hardly any composed of a single party. Coalitions are not only the order of the day in Denmark; they are a way of life.”

http://gu.com/p/487mc

Hugo:

“The media start reporting that the country is now living under a dictatorship. The Queen is dragged in, asked to withhold royal assent to measures that break up the Union. Next: Constitutional lawyers’ start to struggle to work out how Parliament can be dissolved. The financial markets collapse. Britain becomes ungovernable.

“Granted, this is a worst case scenario, but is it so far-fetched? In this election there is a clear choice: The competence of a strong Conservative team Or any other. Any other, risks chaos. And chaos always filters down to the regions, even to us here in East Devon. Vote Conservative on May 7th.”

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/East-Devon-s-Hugo-Swire-scenario-happen-Friday/story-26440833-detail/story.html

“Get out the blunderbuss and the tinned Spam, Muriel”,

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7 May 2015

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Claire Wright, General Election, Hugo Swire, Lib Dem (local)

Hugo Swire did not vote in East Devon

As he does not have a home in the constituency.

Maybe if he had he could have considered voting for someone who really lives here, which would have cut his choice to Lib Dem or local-born, raised and raising her own family here, Independent Claire Wright.