Good morning readers, and welcome to this weeks instalment of Listening in Millbrook. Just so you know, I've been out to walk the dog and its not too long until I go to drop off some things at the dump. Last week I told you there was no recess - or as my wife said - no rest for the wicked!!!
I wanted to update you on some very quick issues this week: firstly for those of you in Maybush, you will have heard the story about one of the City Councils refuse lorrys hitting a Housing Association property. Although this happened in the morning on Wednesday, I only heard about this late in the afternoon and stopped my meeting immediately just to show my face and offer moral support. Once on scene I spent a fair amount of time getting my head around this serious accident, and then trying to get some wheels in motion as very little had been done by their Housing Association. The residents rightly felt let down and it didnt help that of the two numbers they had, one didnt work and the other was continually engaged. The feeling amongst a number of colleagues is that our Housing Association partners may not be as responsive as they could be and this incident has only solidified my opinion. The family thankfully were not hurt, but now face months of change to their lives through no fault of their own. I only hope that the Housing Association up their game.
After the Maybush incident, I went onto my delayed meeting with Councillor Furnell and Rev. Debbie Oates at St. Peters church in Maybush. What a down to earth and community minded person. I can honestly say that some of the ideas we talked about in the evening will be fully supported by both myself and Dave. Suffice to say that there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer within their organisation, and we will look to work closely with this community minded group over the coming months and years. Indeed if you know of any group that could do with some help locally, give us their details or point us in their direction.
Other interesting nuggets from this week was my taking of a day off work to have a number of meetings with colleagues and catch up on correspondence; not earth shattering, but very important and worthwhile. Paperwork seems to be my life at the moment!
And lastly you may have read this week that a senior Tory Cabinet member deciding to make a point over the new Tescos expansion in Millbrook. Not really surprised that he decided to use The Echo as his tool to have a conversation - we're all getting used to Torys using the paper when face to face would be more appropriate!!! It doesnt end there as back in May the Tories slammed the Lib Dems for being anti-big business. I wish there was a hypocracy fines tin at the council. We'd have the national debt paid off by the time of the next election. I will be adressing his points scoring, but its always nice for a Councillor from the other side of our city taking an interest in Millbrook. It goes to show that politicians are realising just how important we are in Millbrook.
Life is changing for our community, for my family and in May next year for the choices our Council will make. Thankfully its not long now.
Sunday 28 August 2011
Sunday 21 August 2011
Isn't August a recess for politicians?
By reading these blogs, you'll see that August is not for Holidays and taking it easy. Team Millbrook are still working hard on your behalf.
On Monday evening, we held our August meeting of the Southampton Labour Group of Councillors and Candidates. We had campaign updates from across the wards and an update on how our manifesto document is shaping up. What was also enjoyable was the door knocking session in Harfield on the Itchen side of Southampton. Although I couldn't make the session, I understand that a number of opposition Councillors did see us out and about - dropped jaws and phonecalls! Its important that the people of Southampton know that we are active now and we are active across the whole city.
On Tuesday afternoon I attended a number of appointments with my wife at the Princess Anne. Fingers crossed that everything will be OK for mother and baby in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday evening I met up with the Anti-Biomass Group at the Waterloo Arms in Freemantle. They meet every Wednesday at about 8pm. I'm sure if you want to drop in they would welcome new supporters. The impact which the Anti-Biomass campaign has had on the plans of Helios has been excellent. I would also say that our local activist Mary Lloyd and MP Alan Whitehead have also been extremely active behind the scenes, meeting with ABP, local schools and a number of other movers and shakers. This isn't about making political capital out of an issue; this is a cross party issue, where ALL political parties in Southampton are now firmly against.
Although Biomass is a huge issue for our community, I also think that it is important to remember that there are a number of other issues which Team Millbrook must campaign on your behalf. It can be hard to balance time for each policy and geographical area, but that is the learning curve I am proud to take on!
I had Saturday morning off to spend with my wife. Would you believe it? I ended up at Homebase and B&Q. Frying pan to fire springs to mind...
So this morning I write again as my rescue greyhound sleeps soundly on the sofa. At 11am I will be meeting up with members of Team Millbrook to go out doorknocking. August is most definately not a recess for this politican.
On Monday evening, we held our August meeting of the Southampton Labour Group of Councillors and Candidates. We had campaign updates from across the wards and an update on how our manifesto document is shaping up. What was also enjoyable was the door knocking session in Harfield on the Itchen side of Southampton. Although I couldn't make the session, I understand that a number of opposition Councillors did see us out and about - dropped jaws and phonecalls! Its important that the people of Southampton know that we are active now and we are active across the whole city.
On Tuesday afternoon I attended a number of appointments with my wife at the Princess Anne. Fingers crossed that everything will be OK for mother and baby in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday evening I met up with the Anti-Biomass Group at the Waterloo Arms in Freemantle. They meet every Wednesday at about 8pm. I'm sure if you want to drop in they would welcome new supporters. The impact which the Anti-Biomass campaign has had on the plans of Helios has been excellent. I would also say that our local activist Mary Lloyd and MP Alan Whitehead have also been extremely active behind the scenes, meeting with ABP, local schools and a number of other movers and shakers. This isn't about making political capital out of an issue; this is a cross party issue, where ALL political parties in Southampton are now firmly against.
Although Biomass is a huge issue for our community, I also think that it is important to remember that there are a number of other issues which Team Millbrook must campaign on your behalf. It can be hard to balance time for each policy and geographical area, but that is the learning curve I am proud to take on!
I had Saturday morning off to spend with my wife. Would you believe it? I ended up at Homebase and B&Q. Frying pan to fire springs to mind...
So this morning I write again as my rescue greyhound sleeps soundly on the sofa. At 11am I will be meeting up with members of Team Millbrook to go out doorknocking. August is most definately not a recess for this politican.
Sunday 14 August 2011
I wonder what next week will bring?
I would say it was a week where my meetings returned to normal, but suffice to say that work has been a little choppy this week. Despite there being no identified threat to our counties, I can confirm that Hampshire Constabulary was taken the English Riots very seriously. There has been a tremendous amount of prep work which has been going on behind the scenes. Watching the TV coverage of those horrific scenes in London, I realised just how lucky we are to live where we do - even with all of the problems we have!
My Tuesday night meeting with the Anti-Biomass Group was unfortunately cancelled by the the Group as our MP, Alan Whitehead could not make it due to unforeseen commitments in London. I look forward to making myself available to meet with the group later in the month.
Wednesday evening saw a meeting of Millbrook Labour members come together to discuss the importance of maintaining the hard work and laying plans for next year’s election. As regular readers of the blog will know, we have not stopped talking and campaigning for our community since the election. It should not be underestimated that if the Southampton Labour Party wants to wrestle control of the Council from the Tories, then Millbrook must have three Labour Councillors. We continue to be the frontline for Southampton politics.
After a full day’s work, I had two evening meetings. The first was to discuss a pan-Hampshire waste strategy. Although this sounds boring enough, it contained the principle that people across the county would support generated electricity from waste products. I agree. It then went on to identify areas for such generation - which included Millbrook. Oh dear. I had no communication from the Council telling me that we were going to be supporting the building of a power station in Millbrook...Although I understand that there will be robust policy statements as to what can and can’t be build, my concern is that the Council is tying us to supporting the Helios plans.
After my briefing by Council Officers it was onto the Shirley Community Police meeting. It was really good to see such an excellent turnout from members of the public, Labour Councillors and Labour Party Members. I took down a number of issues from those present and also championed the use of speed checks within our community, including Prince of Wales, King Georges & Edward and Percy Road. I look forward to our policing partners coming good on their promise.
On Friday I was given a letter to tell me that my job was at risk.
On Saturday morning Team Millbrook were out and about in Regents Park again. A big thank you and well done to Andrew who came along for his first campaigning session. By the end of the morning I think he realised how easy and almost enjoyable it was! I should probably say hello to a special voter in Beulah Road...I was challenged on what I have been doing on Biomass and Fluoride over the past months - firstly if you're reading the blog you should have some idea, but also if you ask me a question, please let me answer it!
In the afternoon I went to the Crown at Lyndhurst for the wedding of Sam and Shane Doyle. It was a really enjoyable ceremony and the bride looked radiant. Unfortunately I was there on my onesie, as Anth has been suffering with a cold all week.
Quick Q&A on the big issues - feel free to send me any others in...
**Fluoride = its not poison, but it’s not for me in Southampton. Don’t consult then ignore the results.
**Biomass = it could be good given the right conditions, but not next to people’s homes!
**Councillor Allowances = should be reduced, but this should not be a race to the bottom.
**Industrial Action = I'd really like both sides to stop using the media to negotiate and sit down. Why aren’t they negotiating everyday to stop this?
Let’s see what next week brings...
My Tuesday night meeting with the Anti-Biomass Group was unfortunately cancelled by the the Group as our MP, Alan Whitehead could not make it due to unforeseen commitments in London. I look forward to making myself available to meet with the group later in the month.
Wednesday evening saw a meeting of Millbrook Labour members come together to discuss the importance of maintaining the hard work and laying plans for next year’s election. As regular readers of the blog will know, we have not stopped talking and campaigning for our community since the election. It should not be underestimated that if the Southampton Labour Party wants to wrestle control of the Council from the Tories, then Millbrook must have three Labour Councillors. We continue to be the frontline for Southampton politics.
After a full day’s work, I had two evening meetings. The first was to discuss a pan-Hampshire waste strategy. Although this sounds boring enough, it contained the principle that people across the county would support generated electricity from waste products. I agree. It then went on to identify areas for such generation - which included Millbrook. Oh dear. I had no communication from the Council telling me that we were going to be supporting the building of a power station in Millbrook...Although I understand that there will be robust policy statements as to what can and can’t be build, my concern is that the Council is tying us to supporting the Helios plans.
After my briefing by Council Officers it was onto the Shirley Community Police meeting. It was really good to see such an excellent turnout from members of the public, Labour Councillors and Labour Party Members. I took down a number of issues from those present and also championed the use of speed checks within our community, including Prince of Wales, King Georges & Edward and Percy Road. I look forward to our policing partners coming good on their promise.
On Friday I was given a letter to tell me that my job was at risk.
On Saturday morning Team Millbrook were out and about in Regents Park again. A big thank you and well done to Andrew who came along for his first campaigning session. By the end of the morning I think he realised how easy and almost enjoyable it was! I should probably say hello to a special voter in Beulah Road...I was challenged on what I have been doing on Biomass and Fluoride over the past months - firstly if you're reading the blog you should have some idea, but also if you ask me a question, please let me answer it!
In the afternoon I went to the Crown at Lyndhurst for the wedding of Sam and Shane Doyle. It was a really enjoyable ceremony and the bride looked radiant. Unfortunately I was there on my onesie, as Anth has been suffering with a cold all week.
Quick Q&A on the big issues - feel free to send me any others in...
**Fluoride = its not poison, but it’s not for me in Southampton. Don’t consult then ignore the results.
**Biomass = it could be good given the right conditions, but not next to people’s homes!
**Councillor Allowances = should be reduced, but this should not be a race to the bottom.
**Industrial Action = I'd really like both sides to stop using the media to negotiate and sit down. Why aren’t they negotiating everyday to stop this?
Let’s see what next week brings...
Monday 8 August 2011
Allowances
It’s a good thing that the Independent Report into Councillors Allowances has become public. This can only be a positive measure as the discussion comes out into the public domain. I firmly believe that it is right to look at all aspects of council expenditure in these tight times, and where appropriate, cut our cloth accordingly.
As such I believe there should be a clear reduction in the overall spend on Councillors Allowances. However, this is where my support for the Independent Report ends. I do feel that it penalises a number of people - if you are not independently wealthy or retired, you can kiss goodbye to any kind of vocation in politics. Indeed, if you are not a chair of a committee, in the Cabinet or Leader, again you are heavily penalised.
However, I do not believe that the rationale within the report is clear. Indeed, quite the contrary as reading the document produces a very muddled explanation on the value of Councillors. On the one hand Councillors are described as not being entitled to a pension as they are not employees. Then on the other hand they are described as working less than 37 hours a week. We are not employees, not volunteers, but somewhere in the middle. After living this life for 3 months now, I believe that the work carried out by a Councillor would be valued by most as being more than minimum wage.
Getting all number crunchy: if you assume a Councillors Job of community engagement, casework and meetings costs the same as a well paid administrator at £10 per hour, for lets say 25 hours a week; this would mean the allowance would be £13,000 per year! The link between hours worked by a Councillor has no baring in reality to the minimum wage other than as a formulae. A mistake made by the report. A considerable number of Councillors hold jobs where if you wanted an hour of their time you would be billed for 3, 4, 5 times the hourly minimum wage.
Additionally here is a scenario for you: If a Councillor wanted to be a member of the cabinet, that would mean a substantial increase in responsibility which would mean taking further time off work - assuming they're not rich, unemployed or retired…Would you cut your hours by a day or two days, for less money than you earned now, knowing that this would also have a huge impact on your long term career prospects and thus your ability to provide for your family? No, you wouldn’t. I would love to work in politics full time, but I know I could not afford to because of the severe cut this would mean in my take home pay. If people wanted for me to work 37 hours a week as a Councillor, I would do so in a heartbeat, but the cost to allow me to do this would be substantially more than £11,000 per year.
Trying to defend Councillors allowances is never a sure fire vote winner, with the electorate or with colleagues. But I also do not think that being a leader of our city should be left to those in retirement, those who are wealthy or those who may never have worked at all.
I have a plan which I believe will save the Council a significant sum of money, significantly reduce current allowance levels and produce a fair settlement for Councillors. We need to make allowances, but fair allowances.
As such I believe there should be a clear reduction in the overall spend on Councillors Allowances. However, this is where my support for the Independent Report ends. I do feel that it penalises a number of people - if you are not independently wealthy or retired, you can kiss goodbye to any kind of vocation in politics. Indeed, if you are not a chair of a committee, in the Cabinet or Leader, again you are heavily penalised.
However, I do not believe that the rationale within the report is clear. Indeed, quite the contrary as reading the document produces a very muddled explanation on the value of Councillors. On the one hand Councillors are described as not being entitled to a pension as they are not employees. Then on the other hand they are described as working less than 37 hours a week. We are not employees, not volunteers, but somewhere in the middle. After living this life for 3 months now, I believe that the work carried out by a Councillor would be valued by most as being more than minimum wage.
Getting all number crunchy: if you assume a Councillors Job of community engagement, casework and meetings costs the same as a well paid administrator at £10 per hour, for lets say 25 hours a week; this would mean the allowance would be £13,000 per year! The link between hours worked by a Councillor has no baring in reality to the minimum wage other than as a formulae. A mistake made by the report. A considerable number of Councillors hold jobs where if you wanted an hour of their time you would be billed for 3, 4, 5 times the hourly minimum wage.
Additionally here is a scenario for you: If a Councillor wanted to be a member of the cabinet, that would mean a substantial increase in responsibility which would mean taking further time off work - assuming they're not rich, unemployed or retired…Would you cut your hours by a day or two days, for less money than you earned now, knowing that this would also have a huge impact on your long term career prospects and thus your ability to provide for your family? No, you wouldn’t. I would love to work in politics full time, but I know I could not afford to because of the severe cut this would mean in my take home pay. If people wanted for me to work 37 hours a week as a Councillor, I would do so in a heartbeat, but the cost to allow me to do this would be substantially more than £11,000 per year.
Trying to defend Councillors allowances is never a sure fire vote winner, with the electorate or with colleagues. But I also do not think that being a leader of our city should be left to those in retirement, those who are wealthy or those who may never have worked at all.
I have a plan which I believe will save the Council a significant sum of money, significantly reduce current allowance levels and produce a fair settlement for Councillors. We need to make allowances, but fair allowances.
Sunday 7 August 2011
Politics Free
Morning Campers!
This week the strange news to tell you of is that I did not have a politics meeting in the evening - well almost. Although I have been emailing colleagues and constituents all week and working my usual 37 hours at Hampshire Constabulary, I did have a single evening meeting to attend.
So as Monday approached, you may have wondered what exactly I did with all of this spare time... Monday was a parenting class at the Princess Anne Hospital (PAH); Tuesday night I met up with a friend who needed a chat and had a nice tea in the Ship Inn (Redbridge); Wednesday night was another trip to PAH, this time for parenting classes on what to do after the birth of your child; Thursday night, can you guess? Thats right another parenting class. Learning about breastfeeding was a real eye opener.
I didnt think it was possible to love my wife anymore, but after all of these factual and slightly scary classes it brought home just how special and brilliant she is to be carrying our unborn child. On Friday night I attended a wedding reception, as it was a member of her team getting married. You can't go wrong with a nice buffet, but someone should've told the DJ that music didnt end in 1996, there were other tracks to play!
So I said at the start that I didnt have any meetings this week. Well, you'll be pleased to know that on Saturday morning that both Millbrook Labour Councillors were out in Shirley Park Road chatting to residents and asking for signatures on a road calming petition. Councillor Furnell feels very strongly about local road safety and it was great to be able to support him after all of the support he has given me over the past 11 months. He did say that it wasnt right that the council would only look to spend money on traffic calming in those areas which had suffered a fatality. Its a bit like closing the stable after the horse has bolted.
Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that normal service is resumed with evening meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights next week. There is no recess for your local Millbrook Labour Team. There are so many issues affecting our city and our community. So much work to do - roll on next May where we can start putting right some of the current "choices". So its August, but its certainly not politics Free!
p.s. Thank you to everyone who is following my twitter updates. Its a great communication tool, even if I'm not 100% sure how it works - but the best way of learning is to get stuck in!
This week the strange news to tell you of is that I did not have a politics meeting in the evening - well almost. Although I have been emailing colleagues and constituents all week and working my usual 37 hours at Hampshire Constabulary, I did have a single evening meeting to attend.
So as Monday approached, you may have wondered what exactly I did with all of this spare time... Monday was a parenting class at the Princess Anne Hospital (PAH); Tuesday night I met up with a friend who needed a chat and had a nice tea in the Ship Inn (Redbridge); Wednesday night was another trip to PAH, this time for parenting classes on what to do after the birth of your child; Thursday night, can you guess? Thats right another parenting class. Learning about breastfeeding was a real eye opener.
I didnt think it was possible to love my wife anymore, but after all of these factual and slightly scary classes it brought home just how special and brilliant she is to be carrying our unborn child. On Friday night I attended a wedding reception, as it was a member of her team getting married. You can't go wrong with a nice buffet, but someone should've told the DJ that music didnt end in 1996, there were other tracks to play!
So I said at the start that I didnt have any meetings this week. Well, you'll be pleased to know that on Saturday morning that both Millbrook Labour Councillors were out in Shirley Park Road chatting to residents and asking for signatures on a road calming petition. Councillor Furnell feels very strongly about local road safety and it was great to be able to support him after all of the support he has given me over the past 11 months. He did say that it wasnt right that the council would only look to spend money on traffic calming in those areas which had suffered a fatality. Its a bit like closing the stable after the horse has bolted.
Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that normal service is resumed with evening meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights next week. There is no recess for your local Millbrook Labour Team. There are so many issues affecting our city and our community. So much work to do - roll on next May where we can start putting right some of the current "choices". So its August, but its certainly not politics Free!
p.s. Thank you to everyone who is following my twitter updates. Its a great communication tool, even if I'm not 100% sure how it works - but the best way of learning is to get stuck in!
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