So, so shocked at Johnson’s behaviour in Parliament this evening, particularly his disdain for the late Jo Cox, MP. Surely no-one can think he and his equally reprehensible cronies are fit to govern this country.
What we saw tonight was a sociopathic narcissist man-child, cornered. A deeply disturbing sight.
Waiting to see what Hugo Swire and East Devon Tories have to say.
There was a newspaper and an e-newspaper, now there seems only to be minimal Twitter and Facebook pages? Searching the Archant website produces nothing.
Is there a newspaper? If not when and why did it cease? Where do the people of Cranbrook get their local news now?
Note to our Local Enterprise Partnership:
1. Don’t whatever you do go for a day at the races and bet any money – your track record advises against it.
2. You have (and always have had) developers on your Board. Surely one of you could have tipped off EDF about “challenging ground conditions”!
“The British project cost hike also comes just days after the country saw an auction for offshore wind projects clear at a record low, raising questions of the cost competitiveness of new nuclear.
EDF said Hinkley Point C was estimated to cost 21.5-22.5 billion pounds ($26.8-$28 billion), up 1.9-2.9 billion pounds from its latest estimate. …
Crooks said the cost increase was related to challenging ground conditions at the site. …”
“Thousands of homeless children are growing up in cheaply converted shipping containers and cramped rooms in former office blocks; 130,000 families in England are being crammed into one-bedroom flats; and social housing residents of a block of flats in east London engulfed in flames say they are being forced to move back despite safety fears.
These are just a few recent examples of how the UK housing crisis is affecting the country’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens. But how much notice is the prime minister, Boris Johnson, taking?
He has made spending pledges for the NHS and police, but there is little to suggest Johnson will address the UK’s shortage of truly affordable homes for rent. Housing expert Colin Wiles points out that during Johnson’s two terms as London mayor, he redefined the term “affordable” in 2011 to mean rents of up to 80% of market rents – extremely expensive in the capital. “Johnson’s philosophy, in a nutshell, is that homeowners mean Tory voters and social housing means Labour voters,” says Wiles. “Johnson in No 10 signals a gloomy outlook.” …”
“The chief executive of one of Britain’s largest regional newspaper groups is to leave and 90 jobs are to go as the publisher stops printing its own titles after more than 170 years.
Norwich-based Archant, whose publications include Ham & High in London and the anti-Brexit New European, is to announce that Jeff Henry is to stand down after running the business for the last five years. The group’s chairman Simon Bax, a former top executive at Pixar who sits on the board of Channel 4, will take the role of executive chairman.
The company, which was co-founded in 1845 by mustard magnates the Colman family, has also decided to close its printing operation at Thorpe, just outside of Norwich, with the loss of about 90 jobs.
The closure of the site, which prints Archant’s four daily newspapers and virtually all of its 50 weekly ones, brings an end to the company printing titles locally.
It is understood that the printing of its newspapers is to be outsourced to News UK, publisher of the Sun and the Times. The combination of cost savings and commercial revenue from the seven-year deal makes the outsourcing move worth millions annually to Archant.
Since joining in 2014, Henry, a former senior ITV executive, has battled to replace the inexorable decline in sales and ad revenue from print with income from digital sources as well as events and exhibitions.
However, like its peers, Archant has struggled. Total revenues have fallen almost 30% in the last four years, from £122m in 2014 to £87.2m last year. Digital revenues are thought to be about £15m annually.
The strain local newspaper proprietors are facing can be seen in the sales decline of Archant’s flagship title, the 149-year old Eastern Daily Press. Sales in the UK’s biggest-selling morning regional newspaper have decreased by two-thirds since 2000, when its circulation stood at more than 75,000. Circulation has more than halved in the last decade to 25,600.
Last week, Archant announced a landmark three-year, multimillion pound deal with Google called Project Neon. This will focus on local digital news run by the publisher’s chief content officer, Matt Kelly.
The owners of Archant, which also publishes about 60 specialist and local magazine titles including London Bride and Pilot, have tentatively explored a potential sale of the business. Last year, talks were held with Newsquest, the UK’s second-biggest regional newspaper group, but they fizzled out.
The business is also a potential takeover target, or partner, for David Montgomery’s new publicly listed National World venture. The former Mirror group chief has assembled a team of executives – including Vijay Vaghela, a former finance chief at Reach, formerly known as Trinity Mirror – to “buy and build” a regional newspaper group. Montgjomery is also eyeing a bid for JPI Media, which owns titles including the Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and the i, which is up for sale.
However, any potential buyer will have to deal with Archant’s pension deficit, which stands at about £30m. Archant sold its loss-making local TV station, Mustard TV, to That’s TV in 2017.”
“Extreme sea level events that used to occur once a century will strike every year on many coasts by 2050, no matter whether climate heating emissions are curbed or not, according to a landmark report by the world’s scientists.
The stark assessment of the climate crisis in the world’s oceans and ice caps concludes that many serious impacts are already inevitable, from more intense storms to melting permafrost and dwindling marine life.
But far worse impacts will hit without urgent action to cut fossil fuel emissions, including eventual sea level rise of more than 4 metres in the worst case, an outcome that would redraw the map of the world and harm billions of people.
The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and approved by its 193 member nations, says that “all people on Earth depend directly or indirectly on the ocean” and ice caps and glaciers to regulate the climate and provide water and oxygen. But it finds unprecedented and dangerous changes being driven by global heating.
Sea level rise is accelerating as losses from Greenland and Antarctica increase, and the ocean is getting hotter, more acidic and less oxygenated. All these trends will continue to the end of the century, the IPCC report said.
Half the world’s megacities, and almost 2 billion people, live on coasts. Even if heating is restricted to just 2C, scientists expect the impact of sea level rise to cause several trillion dollars of damage a year, and result in many millions of migrants.
“The future for low-lying coastal communities looks extremely bleak,” said Prof Jonathan Bamber at Bristol University in the UK, who is not one of the report’s authors. “But the consequences will be felt by all of us. There is plenty to be concerned about for the future of humanity and social order from the headlines in this report.”
Owl says: Tories don’t apologise!
“Boris Johnson suspended – or ‘prorogued’ – Parliament for five weeks earlier this month.
Supreme Court judges have now said the move, which stopped MPs carrying out duties in the run-up to Brexit on 31 October, was unlawful.
Speaking to the Herald, Councillor Wright said: “The term ‘constitutional crisis’ has been used so often in recent months, associated with the actions of the Conservative government that it has ceased to have much impact – until today.
“Amazingly, we have almost come to expect that Boris Johnson’s Tory government will offend the practice of fair play, will not observe democratic traditions, and will not even respect the rule of law.
“But the Supreme Court ruling this morning is of a different magnitude.
“In a disastrous decision for the government and personally for the Prime Minister, eleven judges ruled unanimously, that suspending parliament was ‘unlawful, void and of no effect’.
“They said he had not put forward a reason, let alone a good reason, to shut down parliament, and stop it doing its proper job.”
“Boris Johnson’s actions in seeking to prorogue parliament go way beyond his kicking 21 moderate Tory MPs out of the party, and turning it into an extreme right wing group.
“Johnson has also been found guilty of misleading the Queen. It’s a rather squalid state of affairs when our Queen gets dragged into supporting the actions of our unscrupulous Prime Minister.
“The defiant Boris Johnson must now apologise to the Queen unreservedly, apologise to parliament unreservedly, apologise to the electorate unreservedly, and resign.”
Mike Gordon, professor of constitutional law at the University of Liverpool, has argued that the court decision raises the issue of what powers the monarch should hold and the need for the introduction of a law on prorogation.
He told the PA news agency that the Queen had been placed in a ‘no-win’ situation when asked to act on Mr Johnson’s advice.
“She’s in a no-win position here because of the nature of our constitutional monarchy,” Prof Gordon said.
“Convention says she has to comply with what the Government requires of her, but now she’s been told by the Supreme Court that what they told you to do was unlawful.
“But it would have been very difficult for her to challenge that advice at the time, and if she had that would have brought her into very difficult political territory.”
He added: “These are powers that probably, if we want to maintain the image of a monarch who is impartial and above politics, then this is probably not a power that such a figure can possess.”
The court’s ruling stated that it was ‘not suggested in these appeals that Her Majesty was other than obliged by constitutional convention to accept that advice’.
It added: “In the circumstances, we express no view on that matter.”
It also declares that is not known what discussions went on between Mr Johnson and the Queen when the PM telephoned the monarch at Balmoral at 6pm on Tuesday August 27 to formally advise prorogation.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the ruling.”
Here in East Devon there is a serious dilemma: officers and former majority party councillors (many of whom kept their seats at the most recent election) refused to back a Jurassic National Park, as they did not want planning and dealing with developers taken away from them. So, the new council has to make a decision: leave this to officers to push for the status quo and change nothing or back the report.
Councillor Jung, who holds the Environment portfolio, and who left East Devon Alliance to accept the post from the Independent Group, now has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He did sterling work protecting Woodbury from the encroachment of the Carter family – can he persuade his new colleagues to back him? Presuming he does back it …
“Landscape study calls for a new national park
The Westcountry should have a new national park, alongside Dartmoor and Exmoor, a review of Britain’s landscapes proposes.
Two existing Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Dorset and East Devon would be combined into the new park, covering not only the famous Jurassic Coast, but inland landscape treasures such as the hill forts of Dorset and East Devon.
The campaign group behind the proposal believes it would be a shot in the arm for the area’s economy and for local people.
The proposal is part of the Landscapes Review led by Julian Glover. It calls for the biggest shakeup of the running of England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty since they were founded 70 years ago.
The review says the governing of national parks is top-heavy, with too little diversity or turnover of board members.
It also makes recommendations to introduce more innovative, enterprising ways to generate funds, in addition to further government funding.
Among the suggestions being put to ministers is a new National Landscapes Service to act as a unified body for England’s 44 national landscapes, including 10 National Parks and 34 AONBs.
A 1,000-strong ranger service would be the “friendly face” of national parks and help to engage schools and communities.
Every school pupil should have the opportunity to spend a night “under the stars” in these special landscapes to help more children to connect with nature, Mr Glover suggests.
AONBs would be given a boost, with new protections, responsibilities, titles and funding to help them be greener, more beautiful and more welcoming to the public.
Defra, which commissioned the review, will now consider the recommendations. Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said: “These landscapes are the jewels in the crown of our countryside and are a cornerstone of our rural economy.
“We are committed to ensuring they flourish as havens for nature and sites that everyone in the country goes to visit for inspiration, adventure or relaxation:’
Mr Glover, who led the review, said: “From the high fells of the Lake District to the wildness of Exmoor, England’s most beautiful places define our country.
“Today we are setting out a big, bold plan to bring them alive to tackle the crisis in our natural environment and make sure they are there for everyone to enjoy.
“If we take action, we can make our country healthier, happier, greener, more beautiful and part of all our lives.
“Seventy years ago this year we created our national parks for a nation that had just won the Second World War. Now it’s time to reignite that mission.”
Richard Brown, a member of the group campaigning for a new Dorset national park, said talks were already under way with Natural England, and from there a recommendation would go to Defra, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
He said that becoming a national park would create a new onus to deliver housing according to local needs, along with better facilities for businesses.
“We are losing young families and we need more affordable housing.
“National parks aren’t subject to central government housing targets, but have a duty to respond proactively to local housing needs.
“Some people think a national park would stop development, but we do need development – the right kind of development:’
With several hurdles still to negotiate, they have not yet thought of a name for the new national park. Mr Brown suggested that could come from the public.”
Source: KEITH ROSSITER keith.rossiter@reachpic.com
Western Morning News 24 Sept 2019
“A marked deterioration in the public finances means Sajid Javid will have to relax borrowing limits if the government is to boost spending and cut taxes before an early general election.
With the Treasury preparing for the the autumn budget, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the slowing economy and a series of accounting changes had made life more difficult for the chancellor.
Boris Johnson’s government has pledged higher spending for the NHS, schools and the police since it was formed in late July, but against the backdrop of an economy flirting with recession. The ONS said borrowing in the first five months of the financial year was up 28% on the same period a year ago, at more than £31bn.
In addition, changes to the way the ONS accounts for student debt and public sector pensions, together with new corporation tax data, means the size of the deficit in the last full financial year, 2018-19, has almost doubled. A deficit of £23.6bn has been revised up to £41.3bn.
Analysts said that if the trend for the first months of 2019-20 continued for the rest of the year the deficit would be close to £53bn, £12bn higher than the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, estimated in March.
The government’s fiscal rules stipulate that borrowing in 2020-21 should be below 2% of national output after taking into account the state of the economy. Achieving that would require either spending cuts or tax increases amounting to 0.5% of gross domestic product – about £10bn.
Andrew Wishart, the UK economist at Capital Economics, said the existing fiscal target was “dead in the water”. …”
Time to think about this in East Devon?
“A petition calling for a referendum on changing Sheffield City Council’s governance arrangements has reached the required number of signatures of 5% of the electorate, the local authority has confirmed.
The petition, which was received by the council on 24 August 2019, calls for Sheffield to be run via a committee system, with one or more committees made up of elected councillors, instead of the current executive arrangements, with a leader who is an elected councillor chosen by the other elected councillors.
The council said a referendum on the issue would be held no later than the end of the next ordinary day of election after the petition date (i.e. not later than 7 May 2020).
Sheffield said it was currently developing options following July’s Full Council meeting where a review was agreed, the findings of which are due to be reported on within six months.
“The review will include input from a cross party group of councillors as well as stakeholders, to help inform the proposals for how a committee system could work,” it added.
Cllr Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement that 5% of the electorate have signed this petition and I would like to thank the people who have signed as well as those who have organised the petition.
“This is a positive opportunity to improve how the council works and gain a wide range of views from different people, groups and partners across the city. We want as many people as possible to engage in this debate, and reach as many as possible of the remaining 95% of the people in this city, which is why, as well as looking at governance systems, we want to listen to people about how the council engages and serves the people of Sheffield regardless of which governance system is in place.”
Cllr Dore added: “We will also be speaking with all of our partners, across the public, private and voluntary sectors, who we work with to make the right decisions, making Sheffield a great place to live, learn, work and enjoy.
“We want a big conversation about how we make the decisions that affect and improve people’s lives.”
Cllr Terry Fox, Sheffield’s Deputy Leader, will lead the review which includes the options for governance models, looking at the different benefits of the committee system and the current Leader and Cabinet system.”
“The chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Lord Evans of Weardale, has written an open letter to all public office holders on the importance of upholding public standards and implementing the Nolan Principles.
The letter reads:
Standards in public life have rarely been more in the spotlight than they are today. Both as a Committee and as individual members we are frequently asked what can be done to maintain high standards and implement the Nolan Principles in the current political situation, which is causing real concern to many people who care about how our public life is conducted.
At one level, the key institutions of our democracy are doing their job providing important constitutional checks and balances. The long running and fierce dispute over Brexit is being played out largely in Parliament, the courts and the media, including social media. Such openness is itself a key principle in our public life.
But behaviour matters as much as formal structures. Leadership of standards needs to come from the top: from Government and from Parliament. In the current political situation, it is the view of our Committee that it is even more important that high standards are not only consistently observed but also demonstrably valued.
It is also vital that the tone of public debate should avoid abuse and intimidation, which have become increasingly widespread. Parliamentary democracy is under threat if those in public life and public office cannot express their views freely and without fear.
These long-established principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership are a personal responsibility and set the tone for leadership across the whole of public service. They are what the public expect of us.
A useful guide from the South Hams Society on what developers and officers can co-operate on before a planning application goes in and what rights residents have to know what they are doung.
” …You are entitled to ask the district council:
If you suspect that discussion is being held on a proposal for development that hasn’t yet been published as a planning application, you are perfectly entitled to ask the district council, as the planning authority, what it knows about it.
The Environmental Information Regulations of 2004 require public bodies, if asked, to release to the requester, within 20 working days, any information they have on proposals for the land.
There are certain defined circumstances in which they can withhold it but they wouldn’t often apply in the cases in which the ordinary resident would be interested.
The rules cover pre-application discussions and any other less formal enquiries. Your request needn’t be in writing, it can be oral, for instance, by asking a councillor, in or out of a meeting, and the rules would equally apply to a town or parish council as well as to a district council.
Any blanket response such as ‘Pre-Application discussions are confidential’ is misconceived and should be challenged.
Your enquiry can be submitted online through the council’s Freedom of Information portal, citing the Environmental Information Regulations.
Requests are perhaps best framed in relation to an area or place and a time period, without any reference to the parties you think might be involved. For instance “Could I please be informed of any proposal of which the council has become aware in the last year, in the form of a pre-application request or otherwise, for development in the field of which the centre is at SX66805021? Please include the record of any advice the council may have given.”
Make sure your request is acknowledged, and follow it up if you haven’t had a reply within 20 working days.
[A model letter example from South Hams can be found here]:
https://southhamssociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SHS-ICO-pre-application-ruling-Councillors-letter-230919.pdf
“Glover Landscapes Review: Report recommends assessment of Dorset for National Park designation.
The Dorset & East Devon National Park Team welcomes the Glover Review’s recognition that the area “contains some of the greatest concentrations of biodiversity in Britain and opportunities for enjoyment. It includes the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site”. The spectacular World Heritage Coast would double the extent of coastline which is currently under-represented in English National Parks. The area has a “gold standard” heritage and offers an unrivalled range of recreational opportunities.
We welcome the Review’s conclusion that “the Cotswolds and the Dorset proposals are strong candidates alongside the Chilterns to be considered for National Park status. We suggest Natural England and ministers consider the case for each.”
We consider Dorset & East Devon is the outstanding candidate to be England’s next National Park. This is shown by the wide-ranging evidence provided to Natural England since 2013 and then to the Glover Review by the National Park Team and the proposal’s many partners and supporters. The Team looks forward to Natural England’s further assessment and consideration of the case for National Park designation. We encourage Natural England to begin this work as soon as possible.
We welcome the Review’s emphasis on the vital contributions which National Parks can make to thriving and sustainable communities and rural economies, and to health and wellbeing for residents and visitors. And we support the Review’s call for Designated Landscapes to play a vital role in Nature Recovery Networks and in the response to climate change. We support their call for national funding for this vital work to be sustained and increased.
The proposed Dorset & East Devon National Park should be central to a new and exciting vision for the area’s environment, biodiversity and heritage – which are our greatest economic assets – and for communities, businesses and all who live and work in and visit the area.
In the 70th anniversary year of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, we look forward to continuing to work with councils and other stakeholders, and with Natural England and DEFRA, to bring to fruition this long-overdue National Park.”
https://www.dorsetnationalpark.com/single-post/2019/09/20/Glover-Review-Update
East Devon Conservative Association invites Members to the Autumn Dinner with Jacob Rees Mogg MP at the Exeter Golf & Country Club in the Duckworth Suite.
Tickets £35 Dress: Smart casual.
Produced by the West Hill Branch this event promises to be a special evening.
https://www.eastdevonconservatives.org/events/autumn-dinner-jacob-rees-mogg-mp
East Devon Watch 