In the East Devon constituency as of today:
The Green Party has decided not to put up a candidate in East Devon.
The Liberal Democrats have yet to announce if they have a candidate.
Labour Party candidate Jessica Pearce has withdrawn her candidature and Labour must now find a substitute.
Confirmed candidates as of today: Andrew Chapman (UKIP), Hugo Swire (Conservative) and Claire Wright (Independent).
If you haven’t registered: please do it, your vote could really could make all the difference this time around:
Click to access voter_registration_form.pdf
If you have registered: beef up on local issues and national issues (this website, websites listed above, local newspapers) and work out who you trust.
Pick the councillors and MP that you think will work for YOU not just for himself or herself or their party.
The housing minister, Brandon Lewis, made a whistlestop (i.e. quick and under the public radar) visit to Lympstone and Cranbrook yesterday.
He DIDN’T visit Feniton, Gittisham or Clyst St Mary or anywhere else blighted by over-development and Council Leader Paul Diviani is conspicuous by his absence in rhe photograph. Not many people at all in the photograph, actually!
Only “good news” visits between now and the May elections!
‘Why Democracy?’ was discussed in a wide-ranging and perceptive debate led by Professor Michael Sandel, on Radio 4’s ‘Public Philosopher’ programme this morning.
The current changing mood of the electorate was one of the main topics that arose. Among possible reasons given for this change, were the failure of government to react to public views; a feeling of disempowerment; and the erosion of public spaces (in all senses). Here’s the link to what was said: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/r4sandel
The importance of proper scrutiny was implied. When EDDC’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee next meet this Thursday (6.30pm at Knowle) they will no doubt bear this in mind.
Rumour has it that it is less than 6 months and he still maintains a family home in Shropshire.
If this information is wrong, we will happily publish a correction from Mr Chapman (and Mr Chaoman only) and will sincerely apologise.
Boulton says in his Sunday Times column todof his experience of these events today:
“When he’s not travelling in a private aircraft or limo, a typical leader’s tour involved high speed travel by public transport, with an entourage of aides, flunkeys and protection officers and a handful of invited media people added to the cordon, tamed and embedded for a few hours. It is usually difficult to drum up a representative audience in the middle of a work day, so “real people” consist of unoccupied activists picked by the party or employee.s dragooned into attending a talk by their bosses … Mass-meeting town-hall democracy it is not”.
Fortunately, East Devon having two “safe” seats we may be spared this indignity.
Safe, did we say safe? Well, of course, it depends on who you talk to and who you (choose to) listen to.
The above graph (click to enlarge)has been provided by Chris Wakefield, who left a detailed related comment (number 9) at http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/site/comments/40000_leaflets_ready_to_go_as_hugo_swire_says_game_on
You may have heard Eddie Mair on a recent PM programme (Radio 4), asking guests what they would like him to quiz the various party representatives about, in the run-up to the General Election.
A written suggestion has subsequently been sent by one of EDA’s fellow -members of the national network of campaign Groups, Community Voice on Planning (www.covop.org), as follows:
Dear Eddie Mair,
SUBJECTS TO QUIZ PARTY REPRESENTATIVES
I would like the respective parties to be quizzed on their understanding of how much the rural population feels aggrieved at the exploitation of the current Planning policy by developers and how powerless local councils are in the process of controlling their respective districts. Realistically affordable housing is required for first-time buyers, smaller single/couple only occupied properties are needed and in many areas the ever expanding older population requires bungalow properties. Yet current government policy is blatantly allowing developers unchallenged consumption of green spaces for house construction of the wrong type, in the wrong places and with insufficient infrastructure to support them. Instead, all over the country, open-market ‘executive’ style homes are the predominant design being applied for on agricultural and open greenspace land because its easier and cheaper to develop then brownfield sites. Yet, no constraints are then placed on the developers to proceed with actual construction so the land and its benefit to the community in its original form is lost nevertheless and cannot be challenged.
Paul Adams
DefeND North Devon
Barnstaple
One needs a sense of irony when reading this Express and Echo reader’s letter. One suspects it may pass over the heads of many in our majority party!
Below is a direct quotation from two pages of (free publicity) for Hugo Swire in this week’s Exmouth Journal. Hard to know why the newspaper published his long and rambling article as it had nothing to say about Exmouth or East Devon but had LOTS and LOTS to say about his globetrotting!
Compare the two glowing pages on Swire’s international profile to the succinct and straightforward letter from Independent Parliamentary candidate Claire Wright in the same newspaper on Knowle relocation:
We know which we prefer!
Andrew Chapman says:
“I have enormous sympathy with HRH Prince Andrew in his need to prove himself innocent of the accusation being made against him. In the UK we have a legal structure and tradition of evidence being required, and, until that evidence is produced, being “presumed innocent until proven guilty” in a proper court of law. That principle dates back to Magna Carta, and was further defined and confirmed by Garrow three hundred years ago. It has been a watchword in this country ever since – until, that is, we joined the European Union, where the maxim is “guilty until you prove yourself innocent”, a Napoleonic principle that is unfair to the innocent and a cause of so much injustice.
Think about it for a moment. How do you start guarding your back against any spurious charge that anyone who stands to make a fast buck with a newspaper can persuade them to publish, or you’re imprisoned on holiday by some EU village magistrate who has the power to arrest you as a foreigner without producing a shred of evidence in order to placate the anger of the locals over something that has gone on in his patch.
The dangers inherent in continuing our membership of the European Union make it absolutely fundamental to change our way of thinking, life and thought processes, to guard ourselves against such charges as Prince Andrew now faces – if we stay in the EU. No wonder the poor man is bewildered and stony faced. Personally, I wouldn’t have a clue where to start – other than drawing everyone’s attention to the need to leave the EU before it happens routinely to everyone in the UK.”
Source: East Devon UKIP Facebook page
EDA note: The British justice system “innocent until proved guilty” has not changed nor has the jury system and the scandal originated in, and was reported from, the United States.
The election poster, featuring a road through the British countryside, is just like George Osborne’s economic boasts – a fraud.
Party officials yesterday admitted the picture was Photoshopped together from THREE different images.
To add to their embarrassment, one advertising expert said: “The irony is, when you look a bit closer, the scene looks a bit French.
“It’s very unusual to have a road that wide with no lines down the middle and stretching so far with no lampposts.”
And Labour MP Chris Bryant said it was a “bit troubling when the first Tory campaign poster has a fib”.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-new-election-ad-featuring-4914897
Councillor Claire Wright was invited to explain why she is standing as an Independent in the May 2015 election. Her response makes very interesting reading, and includes her excellent Parliamentary Campaign Launch speech (June 2014). Here’s the link:
http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/why_would_anyone_run_for_parliament_as_an_independent
EDA has been sent this spoof version of the new Conservative Party poster (rumoured to be a photo taken in Germany), with added accompanying features of the Government’s vision for growth. 
Let your friends know the important choice facing Britain this year…More green fields cut through by tarmac and disappearing under sprawling cloned housing estates? Or new voices at Parliament and around the country, who will bring changes to the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework…the so-called ‘developers’ charter’)? More info at Community Voice on Planning at http://covop.org/
Could there be another, very different, route to long-term prosperity more suited to Britain’s natural assets, particularly in East Devon…..?
We said the General Election was going to get dirty!
“The Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps has been accused of attempting to silence a critical left-wing blog in the run-up to the election by sending out spurious legal threats from lawyers.
Solicitors acting for Mr Shapps have written to the editor of the Political Scrapbook blog three times in the last six months, threatening to sue the publication over two articles about the party chairman.
The blog has also received a warning letter from the same firm of lawyers acting on behalf of another Conservative MP, who featured in the blog.
However, despite the warnings, no proceedings have been initiated against Political Scrapbook. The blog’s editor, Laurence Durnan, has accused Mr Shapps of “trying to shut down embarrassing stories”.
In one letter, lawyers for Mr Shapps accused the blog of writing a “false and defamatory” article about the Tory chairman’s local Conservative club. The blog had revealed that Mr Shapps’ election campaigns had been funded by a “secretive club” in his constituency which had been fined Financial Conduct Authority after refusing to reveal financial data or the names of its officers.
Despite only objecting to word “secretive” in the article, the letter from a city law firm demanded “the publication of a retraction, together with the removal of the misrepresentation from the article”.
It added: “In the event that this matter cannot be resolved without recourse to litigation we reserve the right to provide a copy of this correspondence to the court at the appropriate time in any such proceedings. We trust that this matter can be resolved expediently and without the increase in costs which would be substantial if this matter were to proceed.”
After receiving a subsequent letter about the matter, he pointed out the FSA fine and state the dictionary definition of “secretive” and no action was taken.
“This is pure and simple intimidation, designed to censor the publication of factually accurate stories which are strongly in the public interest,” he said.
A Tory source insisted Mr Shapps was perfectly within his rights to complain.
Ignoring recommendations they now have a £78 m war chest having changed the law on candidates’ election spending. The law passed without parliamentary debate, ignoring Electoral Commission recommendations that it would lead to “excessive spending to prevent the perception of undue influence over the outcome of the election”.
A Labour Party executive said: “[David Cameron] promised to take the big money out of politics … Yet he has now cynically changed his tune …”
Parties can now spend up to £32.7 m on elections, up from £26.5 m. The law was changed by Statutory Instrument, the terms of which were not debated in the House of Cards (sorry, Commons).
Of the £78m raised by the Conservative Party, more than £21m has been donated by hedge funds. George Osborne’s recent stamp duty changes gave a £145 m giveaway to hedge funds.
Dinner clubs and auctions have raised £6m – including a jar of Hugo Swire honey auctioned at £15,000:
Says it all really. EDDC says they will increasingly rely on internet links to provide “services” and the local MP says they aren’t good enough and there may be “riots” in rural areas if they don’t improve!
” … Neil Parish] MP, speaking at a House of Commons hearing into the plan to ditch paper-based EU farming subsidy applications from next year, accused the quango delivering the £1.2 billion broadband programme of picking “easy cherries off the tree” in towns and cities
… Farming groups are livid over the move towards “digital by default” because of the poor broadband connections in the countryside
[He] said only around 8% of properties in his constituency are connected to super-fast broadband. The national target is 95% coverage by 2017 .
“… Questioning Chris Townsend, chief executive officer of BDUK, Mr Parish said: “Are you going to change your tactics and actually roll it out faster to those hard-to-reach rural villages? Otherwise there’s going to be a riot on your hands.”
Electoral Returning Officers are not obligated to respond to Freedom of Information requests though, in practice, the vast majority of them do so. Recent review has suggested that they should be legally obligated to respond, in part due to refusal by a very small minority of EROs to give electors crucial information on whether they have fulfilled their legal obligations to get electors on to the register.
EDDC was singled out specifically by the Parliamentary Commission on Voter Engagement as an example of a council which persistently failed to follow guidelines (and the law).
Here is an exchange which shows that our ERO (and Chief Executive) has no intention of complying with the recommendations on transparency:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/conduct_of_the_may_22_2014_local#outgoing-397991
Read the two statements below, both from the same newspaper article:
1. “Cllr Twiss told the Echo that following his complaint on November 27, officers visited him this morning, Monday, December 8, and told him they were taking no further action but the matter would be kept on file.”
and
2. “... a police spokesperson, said: “We can confirm police were contacted about comments made on a blog. Officers from the force’s neighbourhood team spoke to the reporting person and offered words of advice. The matter has been logged and at this time no further action is being taken.”
(1) could be taken to imply that Councillor Wright had not been exonerated and might face proceedings at some later date whereas (2) could be read to imply that no action is being taken against Councillor Twiss as this time.
Diametrically opposite inferences. Very, very different.
Now, “keeping a matter on file” can be done ONLY by the Crown Prosecution Service and not by the police and is done when there has been a trial and no verdict has been reached.
“In the Crown Court the judge has the power to order that entire indictments or some counts on an indictment are ordered to ‘lie on the file’. There is no verdict, so the proceedings are not formally terminated. There can be no further proceedings against the defendant on those matters, without the leave of the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal.”
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/termination_of_proceedings/
It is highly unlikely that the “officers from the neighbourhood team” would, or could, use the phrase. Rather like the confusion over the different meanings of the word cull, perhaps?
Once again it appears to show that Councillor Twiss is determined to attack the reputation of Councillor Wright.
Isn’t it now time that he should publicly apologise to her on her blog on in the local press for the distress this must be causing her?
And still six months to go before the district election and the General Election.
But why does Twiss add that the police will “keep the complaint on file” when the newspaper article simply say it was simply “logged” and no action taken? If I were Councillor Wright I would be wanting to know what this means as the two phrases are very different. A bit like the different uses of the word “cull”.
… Cllr Twiss told the Echo that following his complaint on November 27, officers visited him this morning, Monday, December 8, and told him they were taking no further action but the matter would be kept on file.
Twiss-ted?
And how much quicker the police were investigating this particular complaint compared to the one about Councillor Brown which took more than 18 months to investigate!
East Devon Watch 