Double Speak?

For those of you that haven't read any George Orwell books, I would recommend 1984. It tells of a future where the people are not told the whole truth in order that they can be made to think in a certain way. The term "doublespeak" has its roots in that book. 

 

Doublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. It may also refer to intentional ambiguity in language. In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth.  

Taken from Wikipedia

So on a completely unrelated matter lets look at the most recent letter from the Conservative's own local candidate in the upcoming elections:

 

He lives in the ward

Although previous Conservative Millbrook Councillors have felt the need to drag my family into politics, its not my preference to make a big deal of them. Technically the leaflet is correct. Neither myself nor David live in the ward we represent. Very few Councillors of all parties do. However, David Furnell lives metres away from Foundry Lane; metres away from the eastern edge of our ward. I live a five minute walk away from the western side of Millbrook ward. Our new candidate Mike lives in the heart of Regents Park, in the centre of the ward. So in an area that covers from Maybush in the West to Freemantle in the East, our prospective three Councillors live across the whole ward quite nicely. However, from the Conservative leaflet, it makes it sound as if we lives miles away and could not possibly be local. As for claiming to always be local, David Furnell has lived in Southampton his whole life and was schooled here too. That to me is very local.

 

A major part of the No Southampton Biomass Campaign

Credit where credit is due. The Conservative candidate has been a major part of driving forward the local campaign. From memory he did always claim it was non-political and he promised previously that he would not mention it on Conservative material...

 

Local Labour Councillors from across the city have been involved and supported the local anti-biomass campaign from the start; indeed Councillor Mary Lloyd posted over 200 letters in the Fremantle area advising of the very first public consultation because Helius's send out was so poor. We have offered skills and suggested that the group should become registered with a set of rules so that it can become more organised and bid for funding. The lead members declined. The work of the anti-biomass group should most definitely be commended. But it should not be used as a platform for political gain.

 

In setting up the Western Docks Consultative Forum; a local group, excluding political candidates and Councillors - they choose to become formalised. It does have a constitution. It has a place in shaping the Council's policies by working with the Council. That I suggest is a model for effecting change. Purposefully I ensured that this group could represent local people without becoming a tool for political gain.

 

Strongly engaged in the local community

It is brilliant that the local candidate is active in his community. But by his community I believe he does really mean the area around Regents Park. I have not seen a Conservative candidate at a Maybush Tenants and Residents Association meeting this year. Nor at a Millbrook Police and Community Together meeting. Nor have they attended the recent community event at the Saints Pub. I have never seen the Conservative candidate at Percy Road Residents Association Meetings. I would not detract away from a man who is a governor at their Children's school. Indeed that is something that I would want to do when my child is old enough. But the ward of Millbrook is much wider than the southern part of Regents Park.

 

Strongly against Fluoride

Dave Furnell is for Fluoride in the water. He believes that science will provide the answer to our problems, in the way that science has done for many illnesses which in years gone by were lethal to our population. I also believe that science holds the answer, BUT on this issue of conscience, you have both Labour Councillors who believe that science holds the answer, but one is in favour our flouride the other believes the money should be spent on more dentists!

 

A strong voice for action

Mosquitos has been something which the Conservative candidate has strongly campaigned against. In my four years of knocking on doors in Millbrook, every weekend, no singular person has ever brought up the issue of mosquitos. The state of the roads - yes - and we have lobbied senior officers and the Cabinet to get real change in our roads. Complaining to the local newspaper isn't really campaigning in my opinion. Having difficult meetings with decision makers is how you get things done. He is a voice for change - but what changes? What can he point to to say that this was his victory? His achievement? A strong voice is important, but my belief is that actions are more important than words:

 

Setting up the Western Docks Consultative Forum in response to the Sulphur Plant debacle;

 

Not just opposing Biomass, but working with contacts at Westminster to lobby the ConDem Government and working with Portsmouth City Council to have the whole monstrosity moved there;

 

Stopping increases to working hours at Trinity Industrial estate;

 

Improvements to Clifton Road and Tillbrook Road;

 

Bollards and safety improvements to Regents Park Road and trying to fix the ridiculous potholes on it!

 

And these are just some of the things which Team Millbrook have achieved in the southern end of Regents Park - but as I've said the ward of Millbrook is much wider than just that. Actions rather than rhetoric.

 

Attendance at Meetings

The Conservative candidates attendance at Full Council is widely known, especially after he tried to film it (which was against the rules at the time). I've discussed his attendance at community events earlier on in this blog. The previous Labour Councillor couldn't turn up to some meetings because her employer would not allow her to. This was part of the reason why she took the brave decision to stand down.

 

However, as the Conservative letter mentions the Sulphur Plant Debacle, let us shine a light there too...

 

This first either I or the then Labour Leader of the Council knew of AGREED planning for a sulphur plant was when The Daily Echo told us of it. The previous Conservative Leader, on whose administration the decision was taken seemed to remember something at the back of his mind. The three Conservative Freemantle Councillors who were the ONLY councillors notified of the original application all claimed to know nothing of it. Quite strange really. Neither the local councillors at the time nor the then Conservative Leader of the Council can remember an application for a Sulphur Plant being discussed? Especially at a time when all parties claimed to be against the building of a Biomass Power station.

 

So when the Sulphur Plant came around for a revised application; bettering its technology to limit emissions, myself and David did not oppose it. This second application was whether or not to oppose the improvements. The time for opposing the original plans had long since gone. That decision had already been taken supposedly in consultation with the then Conservative Leader of the Council and the three Conservative Councillors at the time. All of which have amnesia.

 

 

So it's been a fun time putting down a different slant on the most recent scribbling's of our truly local and truly caring Conservative candidate. This response is not meant to offend, but set the record straight from my point of view.

 

I look forward to the next leaflet.

Western Docks Consultative Forum

One of the last things I did during my tenure as cabinet member for environment and transport was to ask officers to facilitate the creation of a consultative forum for our communities.

I am proud to say that everyday members of our local area have stepped up, without political motivation, to lead a forum for the discussion of major planning issues which affect our homes, workplaces and local area.

It has been really pleasing that politicians from all parties have come forward to help the community; whether with communications advice, website design or drafting the constitution of the new forum. We all have skills, even outside of politics!

The inaugural meeting is due to take place this Thursday 24th October, from 19.00 hours at The Holy Trinity Church Parish Hall, Millbrook Road West SO15 0JZ.

If you want to get involved and get some things off your chest in terms of planning in our community, please do come along to the meeting. This isn't about politicians in our community, its about the politics of our community.

For further information, please see www.wdcf.org or @SotonWDCF for further details.

Weathers looking a bit better.

On Monday ward members from Freemantle, Shirley and Millbrook came together to discuss a joined up approach to problems which affected our wards. It combined looking at the physical problems which blight our communities alongside some of the political issues as well. Coming together like this to tackle common issues was really good and together we can move forward the agenda in a proactive rather than reactive way. My thanks to the Freemantle Dave's and Councillors Furnell, Kaur and Shields. 

Looking forward to the introduction of new radios for our Civil Enforcement teams, something which is long overdue as is the introduction of body worn video to aid in the recording of crimes and to mitigate the 200+ incidents of attacks on our enforcement staff each and every year. We must all make sure that our frontline teams have the tools to do get the job done.

 

Strange, the things you find at work!

Investigating the state of white lines across our city - I don't know what your thoughts are but I know in some areas you often have to navigate our roads by guess work. The Millbrook Road into the city centre being a prime example; if there wasn’t patchwork from previous roadworks, you wouldn’t really have a boundary between fast moving lanes. I am investigating where the liability for this work lies, but ultimately I want to see a push on getting our road markings up to speed.

 

At Cabinet on Tuesday, we agreed the following:

 

Smart ticketing has moved closer, which is where customers buy tickets for journeys interchangeable between bus/and or ferry companies in the Solent region. In short, one ticket covers your trip. Cabinet agreed to put the scheme out to tender. Funding is coming from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund at the Department for Transport.

 

We’ve taken delivery of £2.47m funding from the Department for Transport to go alongside £1.72m SCC capital cash to fix and maintain bridges across the city. The scheme is dubbed Bridges to Prosperity. We’ve also received £472k from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to prevent flooding in the low-lying St Denys district.  

 

Allocated £134k of children’s services capital funding and Section 106 cash to drain three sports pitches next to Oasis Academy Lordshill. A fourth pitch will also have drainage works if a £50k bid to Sport England succeeds.

 

We also allocated £429k to be spent on improving car parks on the city’s council estates. And a conservation area management plan for the Carlton Crescent district has been approved, giving the area greater protection from unsympathetic planning applications.



Out on the trail with Dave and Georgie

Wednesday saw me attend the Waste Transformation Strategic Board or as I like to call it, the meeting where stuff gets decided about the bins and that. The main message to promote is that we are on track to start glass recycling from October. And going beyond that I have asked for a formal timeline chart and matching communications plan. We have some good news stories coming up over the winter / spring months: new localised glass recycling points, collections from flats, collections from houses, launch of our new mobile app, launch of the recycling reward scheme (at a 20th of the cost of the Tories’ scheme) as well as a fleet of new vehicles. Oh and before I forget we are revamping our communications around those people who seemed to have missed the fact we've gone to a paid garden waste service, albeit 8,400 people didn't (current take up numbers).

On going discussions with residents and the Cabinet on the implementation of both the evening charges and the charge for administering the parking permits. I am looking at what flexibility there is within the budget envelope to allow as low an impact as we can get for our evening charges. I do appreciate that it will have some impact on residents and businesses. This is the financial reality of government cuts. In terms of the parking permit costs, I remain resolute that 8p per day is an acceptable charge and that considering it costs £260,000 to run the scheme, only recovering half of the charge (£130,000) is more than fair.

 

Councillors Noon, Letts and Bogle campaigning in Woolston.
There were Ice Cream Vans and a Beach!

On Sunday I trekked over to the other side of the city...to help the campaign in Woolston. Things remain positive in the area building on a sound legacy and good constituent work. However, it is strange to see former Tory voters now saying that they'll be switching to UKIP. It could be an interesting night for the voters of Woolston and Weston!

Other issues in the mix include bus stops, the docklands consultative forum and waste water treatment sites.

Personal Touch

 

Apologies for the delay in getting last weeks round up to you. This week I have mostly been:

 

Analysing the changes proposed by First Bus - formally the biggest users of our public subsidy. I can reaffirm that for our evening routes, only three roads will see a loss of service. These are Somerset Avenue (Harefield) and Butts & Botley Road (Weston). For a saving of £392,000 for the public purse, I would suggest that this is a considerable result. To confirm, this also means that there will be an evening bus running from the General Hospital into Portswood. There are some changes to the Sunday schedules, but the positive news is that I would estimate 85% of the network would be unchanged. Commitments made on a use it or lose it basis, include the Bitterne Hoppa, the combined S1 & S2 (which services Freemantle, Millbrook, Shirley and Coxford) and the new W1 service from the new Wheelers Bus Company. The W1 service will run between Romsey and Southampton with a diversion along Highfield Lane and Westwood Road before carrying on down the avenue.

 

We held our first informal Cabinet session as the new Cabinet. I get a new feeling in this Cabinet and I look forward to working with a very experienced group of individuals who can deliver for this city in a new style, whilst nodding to the direction Richard set.

 

Briefed on the plans for the redevelopment of the Cedar School, right on the very edge of our city. Many of the children who attend have complex Special Educational Needs that result in the need for a different approach to their education. Whilst Bitterne Park School have been devastated by the loss of central government money, the Cedar School has been given funding. There is a public consultation taking place on Wednesday 22nd May (SO16 0XN).

 

At Full Council on Wednesday, I was proud to introduce a 20 mph pilot scheme for Millbrook and Maybush. This is something which the Tories had talked up as something which they were going to implement, but curious as there were no plans for this shown to me by officers when I became Cabinet Member a year ago. Cue lots of thrashing around from the Tory front bench, but to be honest I think they have to hold their hands up on this one and say that with everything else going on, they didn’t manage to bring this in. Anything less is a little bit naughty. You should've received a letter in the post from the Council asking you opinion on it - I know I got mine on Saturday morning! There will be a public consultation event will take place from 4pm on Thursday 30th May, at the MP3 Centre on Evenlode Road. Hope to see you there.

 

Another item for debate at Council was the introduction of the administration charge for parking permits. I do feel that a charge of 8p a day is a fair reflection for the implementation of a parking scheme. £30 per year compared to £40 in Wiltshire or £50 in Bournemouth or £100 in Bath seems like a common sense approach. However, the opposition seized on this issue decrying aberration and horror; albeit without working out how to balance the £130,000 gap left by not bringing in this scheme. It is strange to see them criticising the local council for "placing more burden on local taxpayers" whilst sitting silently by as their government heaps misery on millions across our country. We as a group of Councillors had the opportunity to change to motion, to make it more palatable to us, but we decided to hold our hands up and admit that we brought it in and we did so to re-coup money as other councils of all colours have done up and down England.

 

One of the high points of the Council meeting was introducing another report following a successful bid by officers from the Environment and Transport Portfolio. It was another multi-million pound success, this time to deal with the backlog of maintenance of our major bridges - It’s a bit bureaucratic but every time we win some substantial amounts of cash, we need to get Council to agree to accept it. These are opportunities for grandstanding over opponents and pointing out the differences in bids etc, but I have found that the best way to present these reports is to be magnanimous and praise the hard working officers who obtain this money for us.

 

Thursday saw the Chairman's briefing of Transport for South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, or TfSH as we call it. The agenda saw discussions of the business plan for the upcoming two year period, smart ticketing and setting up of the Local Transport Board; which will be shortly dealing out some considerable finance to the region. With changes to elected representations, myself and Councillor Fazacerly from Portsmouth remain, whilst we welcome Councillor Woodward from Fareham and an unconfirmed independent from the Island. The good news is that I should be named as TfSH chair at the next meeting, and prudently as vice-chair for the LTB. Fingers crossed for more positive announcements in the future.

 

The highlight of Friday afternoon saw me having a conversation with the two senior managers in Children's Services over the state of their Performance Framework. Not wanting to tread on any other Cabinet Members toes, but this was a request made by Richard last month. Suffice to say that I wasn't surprised at the state of information within the department, given my experience as a performance professional within a number of public sector surroundings. Its not the worst by a long stretch, but there is certainly room for improvement. I have offered some advice as how to improve reports to our Corporate parenting meetings and I have offered my services to the team as a volunteer with considerable performance framework development skills. See, Councillors can be useful.

 

Late afternoon, I went to Regents park to talk to residents about a planning application to extend car servicing hours on an industrial estate just behind some homes. I'm all for supporting business in Southampton and attracting investment and jobs to the city, but it must be at a cost which the local population can afford. Having the sound cars revving and pneumatic drills going from seven in the morning until seven at night, seven days a week just isn't on really. So there I was in my shirt and tie, hand delivering letters to all 57 properties in the road before my meeting with residents. That is the personal touch.

 

Before I forget, last week someone wrote in to ask about the quality of road markings. I agree, in places they don't seem to be up to scratch. Therefore I have asked balfour beatty what is going on and am looking to see what we can do to improve the situation. Watch this space!

We move forward, together.

The past two weeks have been a difficult time for me as a politician. And by politician I mean someone active in politics. When Richard Williams stepped down as both Leader and Councillor, this city lost a visionary. He was our political compass. He was my friend.

I only came into politics a little under three years ago. With two years to go until the next election, I am also two years into my term as a Councillor of Millbrook. Richard sought to develop me, and to give me an opportunity to deliver for our city. He was a fair man who had a collaborative way of leading.

I will miss him.

Now our Labour Group of Councillors will move forward, together. Our new Leader, Councillor Simon Letts has confirmed that he plans for me to continue as Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport. And Councillor Stephen Barnes-Andrews will serve as his Deputy Leader. A new leadership team to deliver for our city.

Over the past two weeks, work has still continued and key meetings have included:

Attending a meeting hosted by Oxbow over the development of a Sulphur Plant in the Docks. I then hosted a public meeting on the same subject on the following Wednesday. The position is a difficult one, but as usual I won't shy away from those difficult decisions. The problem arises because of three key issues:

a. Officers looked at the criteria for taking the decision without wide consultation. It met that criteria. Even with the public outcry over the Biomass proposals, they only thought to consult the three Freemantle Councillors at the time.

b. Those Freemantle Councillors did not respond to the original consultation.

c. No officer or opposition member though to tell the new administration about these plans.

So now we find ourselves with a Sulphur Plant with planning permission in our docks. The permission was already granted. Oxbow have now essentially come back with a more environmentally friendly proposal - but as I said in the public meeting, having a Sulphur Plant in an area which suffers from poor air quality is not exactly a great idea. The choice which the planning panel has is whether to block improvements to a plan which already has approval.

My hope is that our plans for a new Consultative Forum for any future developments within the docks can take shape. We have moved on considerably as a city from the times where everyone living in Millbrook and Freemantle would excuse any impacts from the docks because they worked or had family which worked in the docks. I accept that our city's fortunes are linked to that of the Docks, but we cannot have progress at any cost. We must, move forward together (sensing a theme yet?).

Other items of interest:

• Trying to get access to our walls for our local Tourist Guide Association;

• Received an exciting update on a new App for smartphones, ipads and alike. My aim to get an exceptionally low cost, high quality, beautifully looking bit of software that we can role out. The previous attempts weren't up to the challenge and so this new App, designed by officers from IT, waste and communications (rather than in silos) is much more exciting.  

 

With Dave, at the Recent Maybush Tenants and Residents AGM 

• Set the strategic direction for performance management of our waste services for the next 7 years. Good to see that my professional background can have some relevance in my role as a Councillor!

• Another briefing on the Eastern Cycle Corridor. My view is simple in that if we are serious about getting more people onto bikes, then we must push the boundaries more than we have in the past.

• Caught up with Officers on our 20mph pilot scheme; with thanks to Redbridge Councillor Pope for his inputs. looking forward to Full Council on Wednesday to formally announce details.

• Met with the Head of PR for National Express, the Chief Operating Officer of Southampton Football Club and selected a new Leader!

Before I sign off, I just want to reiterate that if anyone has any questions for me, that I'm always happy to have a chat by phone or meet with you at the Civic Centre or at a convenient place of your choice. Alternatively, if you're brave enough, you can always post questions on my blog! Then the whole world can see your questions and my answers.

Must dash, off to door knock in the best ward in the city!

Its time for an update!

This week I have mostly been…

: Mislaying my Blackberry, meaning that I haven't been able to pick up my emails as quickly as I could have and thus making it much harder to write my weekly round up. Thankfully I have found it later in the week, but then promptly left it at home on Friday! Sometimes I think I would forget my head if it weren't screwed on!

This is what my desk looks like at the Civic Centre.
All cabinet members share an office; one of our changes from last May.

 

: Monday saw a good meeting with the Leader and Solent Stevedores in the Docks, kindly arranged by Derek. We talked all things Biomass, Sulphur, City Deal, Development Opportunities and discussed Dave Shields’ suggestion of a Consultative Forum for the Docks. Meeting with Business can be incredible refreshing in terms of their attitude. On too many occasions in council business I seem to be getting no as an answer even before I've asked the question.

 

A different world, beyond the Millbrook Road and Railway lines...
Into the docks...

: Getting things progressing in terms of a mobile application for Environment and Transport Services, whilst also giving officers a kick with regards to increasing the ease and ability of making purchases online through our own antiquated website. Whilst other councils move far ahead based on years of experience, yet again we find ourselves playing catch up; what did the last administration actually do? All of their work just appears so short-termist.

: Having some fraught conversations with Balfour Beatty over a perceived reduction in standards. As such, the first area I will be shining the new Strategic Performance Management torch will be in this area. Suffice to say that in terms of the recent local article in the "press", they didn't write up my whole response, but really should I be that surprised? My comments in red.

Millbrook Conservative candidate Steve Galton has been complaining about pot holes in the Prince of Wales Avenue and Tilbrook Road areas for more than 18 months. Strange - he must have been complaining since the very day he was chosen as a candidate; if not before...

I am very pleased that Steve has joined my campaign to improve the state of road repair in Millbrook. Readers will be pleased to know that I often challenged the previous Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport on claims that potholes had been eradicated across the city. From memory, I believe that one of my first questions at Full Council was on the issue of Potholes. Unfortunately at the time neither Councillor Fitzhenry nor Councillor Smith accepted my requests to visit the area.

The council has patched up some of them but more and more keep appearing and when they are filled in the contractors often leave stones and debris in the street which potentially damages cars.

The number of potholes which appear is unfortunate particularly given the weather we have been having recently. What I do urge is that local people report these to the council so that they can be repaired. What the Council needs to get better at is letting residents know that officers are aware of a problem and that something is to be repaired in the near future.

What is not acceptable is when private contractors, working on behalf of the council do not get things right first time. We need to evolve into a council which gets thing right first time and every time. Leaving work sites in a messy and dangerous condition is not acceptable as was the case in Regents Park Road and why I have campaigned on behalf of the local community to put right road problems.

I would urge anyone who sees a pothole in the road to contact Actionline to report it. It is only with the support of residents that we can continue to tackle this ongoing problem.

He says the area is a heavily used rat run and needs to be improved – he wants the road to be completely resurfaced to prevent the problem.

Councillors of all parties across the Council have been advised as to the major resurfacing which is taking part this year so that they can inform their residents on the doorstep and through leaflets.

In addition, we have committed £200,000 to invest on reducing the number of trips and slips for our older populations - this will be carried out in targeted areas based in what local people tell us and what hospital admissions show. This is the first time in which the Council has specifically put money aside to work on this important issue.

In the coming weeks I also hope to bring forward proposals for testing a 20mph pilot zone in an area of the city. Following an evaluation of this pilot, we may see further 20mph zones appear if it is a success.

I thank Mr Galton for raising this issue with the Daily Echo and thank him for the publicity which his story may attract. It is only by politicians of all sides acknowledging that funding for roads are vitally important that we can lobby Government for appropriate funding settlements and thus Standing Up for Southampton.

: Checking out whether I could refer Peter Baillie for his inappropriate comments on the short story competition. Suffice to say that the Echo did not use my press release. SHAME!

 

Time for a change of career?

 

: Other items bubbling along include: H&S across the portfolio; washing up the Millbrook bus incidents; Driving a bus in First Bus Depot; Roll out of glass collections (October); Body cameras for Traffic Wardens; Evening Parking Charges; Letting agents boards; Home composting; Residents permits; Recycling reward scheme; Smart ticketing; Carlton Crescent conservation area; Flood risk management funding; and further Pinch Point bids…(gather breath).