BBC poll of 1,000 18-24 year olds and what’s their top priority?
For 42% of them?
Not the voting age, not under-30s jobs, not housing,
the NHS.
Category Archives: General Election
38 Degrees: Rate your MP
Unseemly haste leads to confusion at EDDC
Frantic rearrangement of EDDC’s schedule (“Nothing to do with the election” , said Cllr Paul Diviani at this evening’s Cabinet meeting) has prompted a correspondent to send us this:
‘I trust that when the next set of EDDC councillors control the army of Knowledge communications officers, the EDDC website will continue to provide as much amusement (and possibly a bit more information) for local residents. See eddc-press-release-manageable-growth ‘
Some of us are in it together, some of us aren’t
The post below, in which Independent councillor and potential Parliamentary candidate Claire Wright speaks of people having to choose between “eating and heating” reminds us of this post which appeared in November 2013 (NOT, of course, an East Devon Watch post!) at the time o the MPs expenses scandal was at its height. He had become Minister of State at the Foreign Office on 4 September 2012.
It is believed that Mr Swire currently pays his own energy bills from his £100,000+ salary.
Source: http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/mp-energy-expenses-fuel-poverty.html
Note:
Ministerial salaries:
and here is a list of ALL their perks:
INDEPENDENT CLAIRE WRIGHT STILL GAINING ON CONSERVATIVE HUGO SWIRE IN DEVON EAST
Press release:
The Independent Claire Wright is making ground fast in the race to represent Devon East after the next General Election. Her odds, originally quoted at 66/1, have improved and now stand at 9/2 according to William Hill. Hugo Swire’s odds have deteriorated again. In late February, he was standing at 1/12 and is now at 1/6. This further confirms Claire Wright’s position as the main challenger to the Conservative who has held the seat since 2001 but who has been widely criticised for neglecting the constituency. UKIP remain in third position, at 18/1, followed by the Liberal Democrats at 40/1. Labour trails in last place at 100/1.
Claire Wright, already regarded as the independent with the best chance of success in the election across the whole of the UK, welcomed the latest confirmation of her position.
“My team and I have been working hard to show that I have the best chance of unseating Mr. Swire. The local press has been full of supporting letters, not least in refuting some of my opponent’s ridiculous and patronising claims. For example, he wrote about independents ‘popping up’ and being ineffective in Parliament. I am delighted to have ‘popped up’, just like Mr Swire. We are both exercising our democratic rights. His claim that, effectively, a vote for anyone but him would lead to chaos, is preposterous. If independents can do nothing in Parliament, I cannot understand how a vote for me could lead to chaos!
“I started my campaign last June and my manifesto was launched in January. It was based on my experience as a town, district and county councillor and also on a survey that I undertook to find out what concerned local people. Since then, in many hundreds of conversations with local residents and representatives from local businesses, several key points have emerged repeatedly.
“Many voters are tired of the main parties, the system under which they operate and the absurd claim that ‘we are all in this together’. As I meet elderly people, now denied readily available hospital beds or local buses, I become angry.
“Eight supporters have given the Conservative party £12.2 million so far during this Parliament. Is it right that so much is given to so few to rule so many?
“I find it offensive that in this country, which has the fifth largest economy in the world, some people have to choose between heating and eating. It is clear to me that voters want significant change. They are angry and frustrated with Conservative-led government at central and local level. They want to be represented by someone who lives in the constituency, knows about its problems and will always be free to speak and free to act. If I am fortunate enough to be elected, I can promise that I shall listen to my constituents and work hard for them in Parliament.”
River Otter beavers are healthy and can stay for at least 5 years
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-31831665
Thanks to Independent Councillor and Parliamentary candidate Claire Wright who campaigned to keep them from the very beginning and liaised with Defra and Devon Wildlife Trust to ensure that, in line with local public opinion, they would be allowed to stay, if healthy.
Hugo Swire merely noted on his website that he was pleased to hear the news they might be allowed to stay.
Community Voice on Planning adds its plea for planning reform
The planning system is in urgent need of reform
SIR – How many communities across the country have fought hard and continue to fight against inappropriate development only to be swept aside by a planning system that is now so heavily weighted in favour of developers and development? The Government’s complacent response to the Communities and Local Government Committee’s (CLG) recent report on the operation of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) seems to reject the suggestion that there are problems.
One particular concern of ours is the over-harsh application of the presumption in favour of development, when according to the Government many councils do not yet have an up-to-date local plan in place and are deemed not to have a five-year land supply. The Government believes that this will force all councils to accelerate their local plans and to a certain extent this is true, but at the same time they badly misunderstand local party politics. Councils do not suffer from rampant opportunistic exploitation by developers; it is local people and communities who suffer, but little is currently being done to protect them or the environment, pending the adoption of a new local plan.
The CLG supported our concerns, saying that “the NPPF is not preventing unsustainable development in some places” and that “inappropriate housing is being imposed upon some communities as a result of speculative planning applications”.
A key recommendation was that “the same weight is given to the environmental and social (dimensions) as to the economic dimension”. Whilst not agreeing with every aspect of the CLG committee report, we can at least see that it did understand the need to reform the operation of the NPPF. The Department for Communities and Local Government completely disregarded the point and clearly thinks that everything is going well.
In the run-up to the general election we are asking all political parties to publish their manifesto position on planning and, in particular, to state their position on the CLG recommendations. We also invite them to say whether, and how, they will protect people and communities from inappropriate development.
Above all we urge voters to vote only for party candidates who support proposals to rebalance the planning system.
Signed by COVOP members
covop.org
Planning Minister Brandon Lewis in expenses row
Claire Wright’s betting odds improve yet again!
Hugo Swire 1/6
Claire Wright 9/2 !!!!
UKIP 18/1
LibDems 40/1
Labour 100/1
Definitely not good news (again) for Hugo.
Remember: bet responsibly and be over 18.
Greenpeace “too political” but UKIP is OK!
There are some really daft things going on prior to this General Election, for example Greenpeace, which wants politicians of ALL parties to hear its views has been banned from Sutton Harbour in Plymouth for being “too political” whereas UKIP, which also plans to be there, has been allowed:
But it isn’t quite as daft as calling housing figures in a draft local plan “politically sensitive” as EDDC just did. Still, a sensible Planning Inspector put them right and they are due out this week.
Watch this space.
“Politically motivated cover up”? There’s a lot of it about
“Health secretary Jeremy Hunt faces allegations of a politically motivated cover-up after the Tory head of the health select committee said his department’s refusal to publish a damning report on NHS management before the general election was not acceptable.
Sarah Wollaston, a former GP who took over the chairmanship of the committee last year, said it was not reasonable or right that a report by former Marks & Spencer boss and Tory peer Stuart Rose, which was commissioned by Hunt a year ago and completed in December, was being kept from the public. …
… Wollaston told the Observer that reports which had been commissioned by government and paid for by taxpayers should be made available at the earliest opportunity on matters of such clear public interest.
“There is far too much of this going on, with uncomfortable information being withheld,” Wollaston said. “Just as with the Chilcot report into the Iraq war, it is not right that reports paid for out of public money are not made available to the public on such vital issues as soon as possible, particularly ahead of a general election.”
Promises that local Tories made to East Devon prior to the last general election in 2010 – read and weep
Real Zorro
http://realzorro1.blogspot.co.uk/
has drawn attention to the lamentable lack of policies from East Devon’s Tories (except, of course, for HQ relocation, which is the only things that has occupied them for MONTHS) with their website bereft of information or ideas about what they would do if re-elected.
A similar state of affairs pertains over at the Tiverton and Honiton official Tory website with a post which has been on the website since well before 2010 and which is still there today (but probably not tomorrow!). And what an embarrassing post it is! No doubt once it has been drawn to their attention it will disappear but, fear not, EDW has kept a copy for posterity and took this recent screenshot (taken on 19 February 2015 but the same page is still there today).
http://www.tivertonhonitonconservatives.co.uk/campaigns
On the webpage (under the heading “Campaigns”) EDDC Tories state that UNDER LABOUR in 2009:
♦ There were 200 fewer rural schools (there are now even fewer)
♦ 1,400 rural post offices had been lost since 2000 (even more post offices have since been lost)
♦ 384 police stations had closed in the shires in Labour’s first two terms (even more police stations have been closed and we have far fewer police on the streets
♦ Dramatically widened funding gap between urban and rural areas (the funding gap between urban and rural areas has widened even further)
and they promised that, if they were successful in 2010 they would:
have an agenda that would:
RESPECT RURAL PEOPLE
♦ Give rural communities a voice to decide their own future
♦ Respect the rural way of life
♦ Only regulate where self regulation fails
♦ Fairer rural funding
They said that they would
EMPOWER RURAL COMMUNITIES
♦ Return real power to individuals and communities
♦ Give villages the right to build their own affordable homes
♦ Allow councils to oppose development planned for green belt land
THEY SAID THEY WOULD
PROTECT RURAL SERVICES
♦ Realise the social value of vital rural services like post offices
♦ Give parents the power to stop rural schools closing and open new ones
♦ Allow rural public services to diversify
♦ Pilot new rural transport solutions
They said that they would
REVIVE THE RURAL ECONOMY:
♦ Cut tax rates for small businesses to encourage growth and protect jobs
♦ Allow councils to offer rural business rate discounts
♦ Simplify the planning system to improve accountability
♦ Reduce the burden of regulation to give businesses more freedom
THESE ARE THE PROMISES THEY MADE TO YOU IN 2010
WILL YOU STILL VOTE FOR THEM IN 2015?
A Conservative-Labour coalition suggests Tory Lord Baker
Conservative peer Lord Baker has suggested that it might be a good idea to have a Conservative-Labour coalition. The BBC’s “Have Your Say” site has this as its top comment from members of the public:
“Don’t do a deal – just break up party politics and let ALL MP’s vote on behalf of their electorate and not their party.” (Commentator “Ivanhoe)
Is Hugo Swire piggy-backing on Claire Wright’s campaigns?
Hugo Swire’s web site lists the things he is most proud of having done in East Devon recently but it seems to mirror many of the campaigns that Claire Wright has been involved with in the four years since she has been an East Devon councillor and even before that. The full list is:
– My coffee morning at Kennaway House
(Conservative Party fundraiser)
– The opening of Culver House’s new garden room
(brief appearance and photo opportunity)
– Public meetings on planning
because he finally realised that his constituents are as mad as hell – Claire Wright has been pushing this issue for YEARS and almost certainly knows more about local planning issues than he ever will.
– The opening of the new premises of Sheds Direct Devon
(Swire says he got EDDC to reverse a planning decision (based in part on poor access) about this company in Whimple even though he has not spoken up about any other planning issues since he was elected in 2010 (e.g. massive overdevelopment) – which Claire Wright has done for YEARS and YEARS, even before she became a councillor.
– I call on EDDC to put their plans to relocate on hold
simply a press release – Claire Wright has been campaigning on this for years – in the face of massive EDDC Tory councillor opposition) – Hugo announced his view only AFTER EDDC Tories had taken the decision to relocate.
– I take the campaign to save Ottery Hospital’s beds straight to the Secretary of State for Health
because as a Minister he says he cannot speak about East Devon in Parliament so his meetings, if any, have to take place behind closed doors – Claire Wright has held many, many local (open and poblic) consultations and attended many meetings on this issue for MONTHS since hospital closures were mooted.
– I welcome the news that the beavers will remain on the River Otter
Claire Wright has campaigned tirelessly ever since they were identified and has liaised with DEFRA and Devon Wildlife Trust to ensure that they remain on the river.
– I welcome a cash boost for East Devon’s school buildings
buildings that have been allowed to deteriorate for years and for which Claire Wright continually points out are stretched to capacity because of over-development.
‘Better use of facilities’ at Knowle than making it a retirement community!
EDDC’s announcement in today’s Sidmouth Herald, of its preferred buyer for Knowle, could have massive repercussions, not least at the May District Council election.The plan is to change this prime employment site, and shrink the surrounding historic parkland, to make a residential development exclusively not for young people. The purpose is to relocate the District Council offices, to a much older building (Exmouth Town Hall) requiring major refurbishment, and a not-yet-built office at Honiton.
Here’s just one local conversation on the topic https://www.streetlife.com/conversation/3h3lq15pbi7i/
Photo supplied by https://sidmouthindependentnews.wordpress.com
MPs: no free dinners, TV licenses or pre-11 pm taxis after 8 May!
“MPs will be banned from claiming expenses for dinners, TV licences and pre-23:00 taxis after May’s election, the expenses watchdog has said.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) proposed the curbs in 2013 as part of a wider package that included salaries rising from £67,000 to £74,000.
The salary rise is still subject to review from the party leaders.
But Ipsa said the cuts to expenses would go ahead on 8 May anyway.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31745814
Bet a few of them will spin their dinners out until after 11 pm.
Not Hugo Swire’s day ….. but it is Claire Wright’s!
Here:
and here:
and here:
and here:
and, finally (at least for today) here:
“Out of touch MPs don’t get it”
“Too few politicians in Britain have any idea what life is like for people living on benefits, the former head of the Civil Service has warned, criticising ministers who send their children to public schools and have private health care rather than use the NHS. In an outspoken attack Lord (Gus) O’Donnell said there were still “too many people in politics who just don’t get it” and called for political parties to select candidates using open primaries to broaden representation in Parliament.
And he criticised the “few” Government ministers who, he said, still did not use the public services they were in charge of delivering.
…“There are unfortunately too many people in politics who just don’t get it; who just don’t understand what life on benefits would be like,” he said. Recalling his time as press secretary to Sir John Major, Lord O’Donnell said Sir John repeatedly emphasised that “we need to really care about public services”, but was often met with opposition from ministers who would ask: “Why should we bother about that? Our people don’t use them.”
“Many badly run organisations tend towards what can be termed the “North Korean” school of management; a culture of secrecy, with as little information as possible allowed out, and a generally hostile attitude towards anyone from outside questioning the prevailing culture.”
So runs the first paragraph in today’s editorial in the The Independent …
Claire Wright a real threat to Hugo Swire according to William Hill bookmaker
Press Release:
CLAIRE WRIGHT CONFIRMED, AGAIN, AS MAIN CHALLENGER TO HUGO SWIRE
Claire Wright, the Independent candidate for Devon East, has been confirmed, again, as the candidate most likely to oust the current MP, Hugo Swire in the General Election.
William Hill say that her odds are 7/1. She is followed by UKIP at 16/1, the Liberal Democrats at 33/1 and Labour at 100/1. The current MP’s odds are 1/9.
An experienced spokesman for William Hill said that she was the only independent candidate in the country with odds in single figures and the next best, the comedian Al Murray, had odds of 50/1. “This means that she has the best chance of any independent of being successful.
“I believe that it is unprecedented for a genuinely independent candidate, not already in national politics and not identified with a single issue, to have such odds.”
Earlier Ladbrokes quoted Claire Wright at 6/1 and said that she had the best chance of any independent in the country of success.
Responding to the latest odds, Claire commented “What a boost it is for the campaign to have such great odds on winning the East Devon seat. It is really motivating! I am talking to people every day during my campaigning and they tell me time and time again that they are looking for someone who is going to properly represent their views, with none of the excuses the current MP makes for not doing so.
“The positive feedback I am continually receiving feels as though there is an ever-increasing energy to get me elected. We will be working hard to ensure that, when the General Election comes, the people of East Devon will have an MP who will put their interests ahead of a party.”
Claire Wright is running a very active campaign across the constituency and her next public meeting will be on Tuesday 10th March, at the Unitarian Church, at the junction of All Saints Road and Sidmouth High Street.
Other events are already scheduled for Budleigh Salterton, (18th March at the Masonic Hall), Ottery St. Mary (27th March at the Institute), Sidmouth (Woolbrook) (1st April at St. Francis Church Hall) and Exmouth (16th April at the Rugby Club, Imperial Road). All the meetings begin at 7.00 except the one at Woolbrook which commences at 8.00.
Ottery General Election upset on the cards?
An increasing number of people seem to think so…http://www.heart.co.uk/exeter/news/local/ottery-general-election-upset-on-cards
East Devon Watch 