Saturday 31 May 2008
ID Cards? UK Government does not do big IT Schemes
When I heard about the Governments plans to introduce ID cards linked to a secure storage of our personal data I was horrified, partly because of the governments reputation for fumbling and mismanaging big IT schemeshere is an example of what I meant.
Gordon Giveth and Taketh Away
Came across this from Newark Air Museum who are pulling their hair out after being instructed to repay thousands of pounds of Gift Aid receipts to the taxman because of new interpretations by HMRC.
I know some of the folk who sample my blog come from community groups and organisations who seek to claim Gift Aid on donations, entrance fees and gifts purchased. For those of you that are involved in this sort of legitimate fund-raising activity please have a look.
I know some of the folk who sample my blog come from community groups and organisations who seek to claim Gift Aid on donations, entrance fees and gifts purchased. For those of you that are involved in this sort of legitimate fund-raising activity please have a look.
Wednesday 28 May 2008
Post Office Closure Plans update
Hardwick Road has an action group who are working to make the case to overturn Royal Mail's decision to close what is one of the busiest Post Offices of its kind in West Yorkshire. Other local Post Offices have been drawing support, but the clock keeps ticking.
I have said in previous posts how a six week consultation is precious little time to come up with a response and people are feeling pressured but defiant.
I have said in previous posts how a six week consultation is precious little time to come up with a response and people are feeling pressured but defiant.
Wednesday 21 May 2008
Crewe & Nantwich on the doorstep..
I spent the day in Crewe & Nantwich on Monday, out and about on the doorstep supporting Edward Timpson. In recent posts about the local elections here in Yorkshire I have talked about my experiences of meeting people who may have traditionally voted Labour coming out with "got to get rid of this lot" leading to the surge that dismissed a number of long term local Labour stalwarts.
Same held true in Cheshire on Monday. True there are a lot of Dunwoody posters displayed in windows around the Town Centre but there are matching responses from the many people rooting for Edward who is a really great local candidate.
Factor in the Tory Toff hypocrisy from Labour criticising our candidates background which really rankled with a lot of the people that I met, the 10p issue, rising fuel and food costs, this governments dithering and Gordo the magnificent, then Crewe on the 22nd of May will be an interesting place.
Tomorrow is one of those weather vane moments, I think I will be staying up late tomorrow night.
UPDATE: Well what a result for Edward and the people of Crewe and Nantwich and the repercussions go on and on!
Same held true in Cheshire on Monday. True there are a lot of Dunwoody posters displayed in windows around the Town Centre but there are matching responses from the many people rooting for Edward who is a really great local candidate.
Factor in the Tory Toff hypocrisy from Labour criticising our candidates background which really rankled with a lot of the people that I met, the 10p issue, rising fuel and food costs, this governments dithering and Gordo the magnificent, then Crewe on the 22nd of May will be an interesting place.
Tomorrow is one of those weather vane moments, I think I will be staying up late tomorrow night.
UPDATE: Well what a result for Edward and the people of Crewe and Nantwich and the repercussions go on and on!
Monday 19 May 2008
Friends of Hardwick Road Post Office
At the meeting we had upwards of 100+ people who turned up to look at how they can help, there are more arriving each day and the community is committed to working to rebut this crazy proposal.
Saturday 17 May 2008
Day of Action Saturday 17th May Keep our Local Post Offices Open
Both Phil Thomas and myself will be in Pontefract from 11.00 until 12.30 collecting signatures. We will be using these as part of the message to the Post Office to keep Hardwick Road Post Office, a viable and busy post office serving 13,000 people on the South side of Pontefract and the outlying areas of East Hardwick, Darrington, Wentbridge and the Smeatons.
There will be a meeting at the Guide Hut on Carleton Park Road at 4pm on Sunday to explore follow on actions.
There will be a meeting at the Guide Hut on Carleton Park Road at 4pm on Sunday to explore follow on actions.
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Communities against Post Office Closures
Just identified this group who have a very helpful resources page the CAPOC website is here.
Crewe & Nantwich and the 10p turnaround..
In March last year when Gordon Brown as Chancellor announced the change from 22p to 20p as a tax base rate he did it for effect and to get a Labour cheer in the Commons.
He also set up a bed of nails for the new Chancellor Alistair Darling and set up future despair for many elderly and lower income workers by taking out the 10p entry band.
At the local elections I heard a number of people saying that they thought Labour was the party for the elderly and lower paid, but not any more.
Now Labour are trying to close the door after the horse has bolted in a vain attempt to get people on side before next Thursday's Election in Crewe and Nantwich.
The BBC have been talking to people in Crewe it makes fascinating viewing here.
He also set up a bed of nails for the new Chancellor Alistair Darling and set up future despair for many elderly and lower income workers by taking out the 10p entry band.
At the local elections I heard a number of people saying that they thought Labour was the party for the elderly and lower paid, but not any more.
Now Labour are trying to close the door after the horse has bolted in a vain attempt to get people on side before next Thursday's Election in Crewe and Nantwich.
The BBC have been talking to people in Crewe it makes fascinating viewing here.
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Post Office Closure Programme Arrives in Pontefract
There are nine local post offices listed for closure in this part of the world was the announcement today, one each for Pontefract and Castleford and four for Normanton with three others around Wakefield district.
We have until the 23rd of June for consultations, but on the document that the Post Office is issuing to users of the Hardwick Road Branch right up front it says:
"The Government has decided that up to 2500 Post Office branches across the UK will close.
This local public consultation will not change the Government decision........."
Something we really must thank our local MPs for. There was a vote in Parliament on the 19th March to suspend closures and to review the consultation process, the Government defeated the motion to suspend by only 20 votes our 4 local Labour MP's backed the Government, and sacrificed their constituents in the process.
Despite the tone of the closure letter we must contest this. Certainly the Hardwick Road Branch is a busy vibrant and viable Post Office and the logic for closure is crazy. The fact that there is a Crown Post Office in the Town Centre 1.3 miles away might as well be on the moon for some of the more elederly and less mobile customers. In fact there is a 450 yard walk from the nearest bus stop to the Crown Post Office on Ropergate and it is not exactly a pleasure coping with the queues that form there already.
The sad thing is because of the Government target, if we can make the case to keep open Hardwick Road, another part of the community will suffer.
This is a cynical divide and conquer process, with others breathing a sigh of relief, thing is whilst this is a large programme it certainly seems like there are more planned.
If you want to look at the Royal Mail West Yorkshire Closures Document I have linked to it here, you will need to scroll down towards the bottom of the page.
We have until the 23rd of June for consultations, but on the document that the Post Office is issuing to users of the Hardwick Road Branch right up front it says:
"The Government has decided that up to 2500 Post Office branches across the UK will close.
This local public consultation will not change the Government decision........."
Something we really must thank our local MPs for. There was a vote in Parliament on the 19th March to suspend closures and to review the consultation process, the Government defeated the motion to suspend by only 20 votes our 4 local Labour MP's backed the Government, and sacrificed their constituents in the process.
Despite the tone of the closure letter we must contest this. Certainly the Hardwick Road Branch is a busy vibrant and viable Post Office and the logic for closure is crazy. The fact that there is a Crown Post Office in the Town Centre 1.3 miles away might as well be on the moon for some of the more elederly and less mobile customers. In fact there is a 450 yard walk from the nearest bus stop to the Crown Post Office on Ropergate and it is not exactly a pleasure coping with the queues that form there already.
The sad thing is because of the Government target, if we can make the case to keep open Hardwick Road, another part of the community will suffer.
This is a cynical divide and conquer process, with others breathing a sigh of relief, thing is whilst this is a large programme it certainly seems like there are more planned.
If you want to look at the Royal Mail West Yorkshire Closures Document I have linked to it here, you will need to scroll down towards the bottom of the page.
Saturday 10 May 2008
Action Day 10th May Keep Our Local Post Offices Open
Collecting more signatures in Pontefract today, will be in the Market Place from 11am through till 1pm.
Colleagues in other parts of the district will be out and about also.
If you are about and you have not signed yet, please take the opportunity to do so.
Alternatively, download a copy and collect signatures to help us.
Colleagues in other parts of the district will be out and about also.
If you are about and you have not signed yet, please take the opportunity to do so.
Alternatively, download a copy and collect signatures to help us.
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Monday 5 May 2008
Law and Disorder
Gadget highlights a problem that is all too common in communities around the UK, his article is here.
Government interference by sentencing guidelines, pleas by Ministers not to imprison, inaction and attempted slight of hand is eroding our society and the safety of law abiding citizens.
WYP plans to close the police station in Pontefract and in the process threatens the viability of the Magistrates court by removing local holding facilities.
By removing that option they are also increasing the likelihood of reoffending by many of those who give no regard for others.
Whilst this goes on there are civil servants tasked with arranging to support the fallacy that people are imagining crime and by police officers tasked with correcting and reclassifying crimes away to meet government targets and using alternate charges to make the governments flawed 2003 licencing Act and its impact on the "night time economy" look less stupid.
Government interference by sentencing guidelines, pleas by Ministers not to imprison, inaction and attempted slight of hand is eroding our society and the safety of law abiding citizens.
WYP plans to close the police station in Pontefract and in the process threatens the viability of the Magistrates court by removing local holding facilities.
By removing that option they are also increasing the likelihood of reoffending by many of those who give no regard for others.
Whilst this goes on there are civil servants tasked with arranging to support the fallacy that people are imagining crime and by police officers tasked with correcting and reclassifying crimes away to meet government targets and using alternate charges to make the governments flawed 2003 licencing Act and its impact on the "night time economy" look less stupid.
Moving Pontefract Forward
Following the local elections last Thursday and the groundswell of support that now gives us four out of six local councillors, we should be able to get answers to some difficult questions.
Pontefract is a historic market town, built around the remains of the once key centre for law and government in this part of the North. A former military garrison town, centre of administration for the Osgoldcross Wapentake.
We have three railway stations, a racecourse and a royal charter going back to 1197. The location of a historic Royal Castle the remains of which still draw thousands of visitors a year exploring a history that includes civil war sieges and the death of Richard II.
There is a healthy pyramid of Junior and secondary schools topped by Carleton Community High School and the Kings School and New College a first rate Sixth Form college that draws young people continuing in education from across the district. We have vibrant community groups, positive community involvement by faith groups and charities, historic re-enactments,a thriving Music Festival that has been running since 1903. The Pontefract Liquorice Festival which is acknowledged as a national annual event drawing visitors from across the country. One of the best pantomime societies in the country in the St Giles and St Marys Panto society, great bands and choral societies and a score of other accomplishments and claims to fame. An absolutely superb art nouveau museum and a recently refurbished Town Hall with assembly rooms and the Nelson Room
When WMDC was brought into existence in 1974 public administration centred on Wakefield, many of the Municipal Boroughs across the West Riding of Yorkshire were subsumed and there was and still is a public belief that with the influence went the money.
For many, Pontefract has been on a downward trend ever since. Current plans to close the police station and centralise policing to a new location in Normanton, despite talk of leaving an undefined presence fill people with dismay and our law courts future in jeopardy. Our MP's set up a Health Authority which planned to close the publicly subscribed 450 bed Pontefract General Infirmary and the smaller 110 bed"Cottage Hospital" which is due to replace it in 2010 will not take account of the huge growth of population planned for the area.
There are other problems which many other communities face, threats to local post offices as part of the governments 2500 closure programme, low level crime and some violent disorder linked to the Labour Governments 2003 Licensing Act, problems within our "Night Time Economy", huge associated cost to ratepayers by littering and poor refuse collection in the Town Centre.
A chewing gum problem - You can cross the market place without touching the floor by stepping from one blob or cluster of dried chewing gum to another, which is currently receiving attention but the £25,000 budget allocated is unlikely to clear the surface, never mind scratch it.
We have some great shops national and local and a vibrant indoor market, good eateries, some very interesting pubs and some scary ones, we also have some empty shop fronts, opportunities for some if only we can improve footfall. We probably have more phone shops than most places and the good hearts of people mean that we have a full spread of charity shops.
We have historic buildings great architecture and the odd monstrosity, fascinating Medieval Ginnels and a huge traffic problem which many people see as inflicted by WMDC traffic engineers at Town End (they deny that but have so far done little to resolve it)..can we have our roundabout back please?
Again on the plus side we have a genuinely exciting and innovative masterplan to make much of our history and engineer out some of the 60s and 70s developments and replace them with more interesting and effective solutions (which still does not take account of our traffic problems).
How do we move forward? Well that is the big challenge that we need to address,
There are some great organisations engaged in youth activities, but there are many young people who do not engage with them or find the things that they want to see.
Some peoples poor personal standards have passed down generations and the associated costs of littering, graffiti and criminal damage are then passed on to the law abiding.
We need to get things back under control, we need to identify our local priorities and resolutely address them, so that the people of Pontefract can enjoy it and we can have a period of strengthening and refocussing the town as a good place to live in, to grow a family in, to visit, to spend money in, to respect to be proud of.
There has been talk recently of a Town Council, but looking at the other local towns that have gone down this route, it only seems to add a further costs to the people who live here, there are clearly some potential positives but in many cases it has exposed populations to an unlimited liability, if you would, an open cheque book which adds a precept to an already overinflated council tax bill and will take more money from your pockets for an uncertain result.
Short term: We need to fight to protect our local post offices which also serve the elderly, vulnerable and those with limited mobility, improve policing as necessary to reduce the disorder. Educate people about the costs of cleaning up after those that choose to litter or otherwise damage our environment, who are effectively causing the spending of money which we can use elsewhere, or improve our local facilities.
Support local events, societies and community groups, on positive programmes that improve our quality of like.
Put a brake, on unrestrained development without correspondingly improved transport infrastructure and services, fight some of the crop of loopy schemes that will just serve to make our area a grimmer place to live.
Support local renewable energy projects such as the improvements at Ferrybridge by Scottish but oppose the plethora of emerging industrial wind farm applications that are just too close to peoples homes and present real health concerns for many.
Pontefract is a historic market town, built around the remains of the once key centre for law and government in this part of the North. A former military garrison town, centre of administration for the Osgoldcross Wapentake.
We have three railway stations, a racecourse and a royal charter going back to 1197. The location of a historic Royal Castle the remains of which still draw thousands of visitors a year exploring a history that includes civil war sieges and the death of Richard II.
There is a healthy pyramid of Junior and secondary schools topped by Carleton Community High School and the Kings School and New College a first rate Sixth Form college that draws young people continuing in education from across the district. We have vibrant community groups, positive community involvement by faith groups and charities, historic re-enactments,a thriving Music Festival that has been running since 1903. The Pontefract Liquorice Festival which is acknowledged as a national annual event drawing visitors from across the country. One of the best pantomime societies in the country in the St Giles and St Marys Panto society, great bands and choral societies and a score of other accomplishments and claims to fame. An absolutely superb art nouveau museum and a recently refurbished Town Hall with assembly rooms and the Nelson Room
When WMDC was brought into existence in 1974 public administration centred on Wakefield, many of the Municipal Boroughs across the West Riding of Yorkshire were subsumed and there was and still is a public belief that with the influence went the money.
For many, Pontefract has been on a downward trend ever since. Current plans to close the police station and centralise policing to a new location in Normanton, despite talk of leaving an undefined presence fill people with dismay and our law courts future in jeopardy. Our MP's set up a Health Authority which planned to close the publicly subscribed 450 bed Pontefract General Infirmary and the smaller 110 bed"Cottage Hospital" which is due to replace it in 2010 will not take account of the huge growth of population planned for the area.
There are other problems which many other communities face, threats to local post offices as part of the governments 2500 closure programme, low level crime and some violent disorder linked to the Labour Governments 2003 Licensing Act, problems within our "Night Time Economy", huge associated cost to ratepayers by littering and poor refuse collection in the Town Centre.
A chewing gum problem - You can cross the market place without touching the floor by stepping from one blob or cluster of dried chewing gum to another, which is currently receiving attention but the £25,000 budget allocated is unlikely to clear the surface, never mind scratch it.
We have some great shops national and local and a vibrant indoor market, good eateries, some very interesting pubs and some scary ones, we also have some empty shop fronts, opportunities for some if only we can improve footfall. We probably have more phone shops than most places and the good hearts of people mean that we have a full spread of charity shops.
We have historic buildings great architecture and the odd monstrosity, fascinating Medieval Ginnels and a huge traffic problem which many people see as inflicted by WMDC traffic engineers at Town End (they deny that but have so far done little to resolve it)..can we have our roundabout back please?
Again on the plus side we have a genuinely exciting and innovative masterplan to make much of our history and engineer out some of the 60s and 70s developments and replace them with more interesting and effective solutions (which still does not take account of our traffic problems).
How do we move forward? Well that is the big challenge that we need to address,
There are some great organisations engaged in youth activities, but there are many young people who do not engage with them or find the things that they want to see.
Some peoples poor personal standards have passed down generations and the associated costs of littering, graffiti and criminal damage are then passed on to the law abiding.
We need to get things back under control, we need to identify our local priorities and resolutely address them, so that the people of Pontefract can enjoy it and we can have a period of strengthening and refocussing the town as a good place to live in, to grow a family in, to visit, to spend money in, to respect to be proud of.
There has been talk recently of a Town Council, but looking at the other local towns that have gone down this route, it only seems to add a further costs to the people who live here, there are clearly some potential positives but in many cases it has exposed populations to an unlimited liability, if you would, an open cheque book which adds a precept to an already overinflated council tax bill and will take more money from your pockets for an uncertain result.
Short term: We need to fight to protect our local post offices which also serve the elderly, vulnerable and those with limited mobility, improve policing as necessary to reduce the disorder. Educate people about the costs of cleaning up after those that choose to litter or otherwise damage our environment, who are effectively causing the spending of money which we can use elsewhere, or improve our local facilities.
Support local events, societies and community groups, on positive programmes that improve our quality of like.
Put a brake, on unrestrained development without correspondingly improved transport infrastructure and services, fight some of the crop of loopy schemes that will just serve to make our area a grimmer place to live.
Support local renewable energy projects such as the improvements at Ferrybridge by Scottish but oppose the plethora of emerging industrial wind farm applications that are just too close to peoples homes and present real health concerns for many.
Sunday 4 May 2008
On we go..
Friday was a really great day and spending time in Pontefract yesterday was an absolute pleasure. The number of folk I met who were really delighted by the progress that we made was very heartening. We now need to get on with the job of proving at least locally that we are worth the trust that people have put in us.
Saturday 3 May 2008
Friday 2 May 2008
Significant Shift
At the start of the day the Wakefield Labour Group comprised 40 members at the end of today they had only 32. The opposition group comprised 22 and now there are 31, 23 of which are Conservatives.
Close but no cigar. The Labour Block vote will still push things through, probably the new Labour Mayor will have to use their casting vote to get things done that we are not in agreement with. However keeping track of who is around for votes suddenly becomes a new challenge for them, made a bit more difficult because of the loss of the Labour Chief Whip. The next chance to change that will be in 2010 or possibly earlier if we get any Labour seats coming up for a by-election.
But for these last hectic days congratulations to Mark Crowther and Phil Thomas who bring the number of Conservative Councillors in Pontefract to four for the first time in 34 years. Also to Richard Molloy who the electorate of Ackworth voted in and the current WMDC Mayor was voted out in the process.
Welcome to Conservatives: Susan Lodge in Crofton, Ryhill and Walton, Graham Jesty in Horbury and South Ossett, Terry Brown in Ossett and Simon Wilson in Stanley and Outwood East.
Not forgetting new colleagues John Colley in Wakefield Rural Ward and Annemarie Glover in Wrenthorpe and Outwood West.
Commiserations to Richard Wakefield, Gordon Tennant, Mellissa Wan,Tom Dixon, Eamonn Mullins and Graham Ridler. Hard and well fought campaigns in each and every case.
Also whilst this may start to seem like an Oscar ceremony speech, heres to the teams of people and the individuals who went out in all weathers to deliver electoral messages and leaflets, you know who you are, wonderfully done, thank you one and all.
For a number of former members of the Labour Group it stops here, some will be missed certainly more than others and the Leader of the Council that the Labour Group Elect at their meeting on Saturday Morning will have to really shuffle things about to replace the lost talent.
On the national scene things are changing and even in this part of the country once very much a Labour Rump we have fresh options to consider and stuff to do.
The results can be found here and here at the Wakefield Express.
Further thanks to all who got involved in this democratic process, the electoral staff who patiently sat for 14 hours at the polling stations to see that people were correctly logged in and got to vote, to the counting Agents and the staff at Thornes Park who hosted the actual count itself and for the people of the district who sent off their postal ballots or walked to their polling stations including the many who went out for the first time and voted.
Finally perhaps a thank you that may not be well received, for Gordon Brown and our local MP's who have so focussed on Gordon's needs and forgotten the needs of their electorate in the process.
Close but no cigar. The Labour Block vote will still push things through, probably the new Labour Mayor will have to use their casting vote to get things done that we are not in agreement with. However keeping track of who is around for votes suddenly becomes a new challenge for them, made a bit more difficult because of the loss of the Labour Chief Whip. The next chance to change that will be in 2010 or possibly earlier if we get any Labour seats coming up for a by-election.
But for these last hectic days congratulations to Mark Crowther and Phil Thomas who bring the number of Conservative Councillors in Pontefract to four for the first time in 34 years. Also to Richard Molloy who the electorate of Ackworth voted in and the current WMDC Mayor was voted out in the process.
Welcome to Conservatives: Susan Lodge in Crofton, Ryhill and Walton, Graham Jesty in Horbury and South Ossett, Terry Brown in Ossett and Simon Wilson in Stanley and Outwood East.
Not forgetting new colleagues John Colley in Wakefield Rural Ward and Annemarie Glover in Wrenthorpe and Outwood West.
Commiserations to Richard Wakefield, Gordon Tennant, Mellissa Wan,Tom Dixon, Eamonn Mullins and Graham Ridler. Hard and well fought campaigns in each and every case.
Also whilst this may start to seem like an Oscar ceremony speech, heres to the teams of people and the individuals who went out in all weathers to deliver electoral messages and leaflets, you know who you are, wonderfully done, thank you one and all.
For a number of former members of the Labour Group it stops here, some will be missed certainly more than others and the Leader of the Council that the Labour Group Elect at their meeting on Saturday Morning will have to really shuffle things about to replace the lost talent.
On the national scene things are changing and even in this part of the country once very much a Labour Rump we have fresh options to consider and stuff to do.
The results can be found here and here at the Wakefield Express.
Further thanks to all who got involved in this democratic process, the electoral staff who patiently sat for 14 hours at the polling stations to see that people were correctly logged in and got to vote, to the counting Agents and the staff at Thornes Park who hosted the actual count itself and for the people of the district who sent off their postal ballots or walked to their polling stations including the many who went out for the first time and voted.
Finally perhaps a thank you that may not be well received, for Gordon Brown and our local MP's who have so focussed on Gordon's needs and forgotten the needs of their electorate in the process.
Results of a hard fought campaign
Folks,
We will shortly know how things have gone. Whatever the news today the results will have come from determined local effort giving people real alternatives.
Amongst many other positives, one big one is the number of people in polling stations asking advice from officers about the mechanics of voting, many coming out for the first time, because they have had an alternative to "this lot".
Well done one and all!
Geoff
I will be putting up some definitive results later, but I am just getting ready to go and witness the WMDC count at Thornes Park Sports Centre, I suspect many will be keeping track of how Boris does today, in my case I want to see how our candidates old and new have done.
We will shortly know how things have gone. Whatever the news today the results will have come from determined local effort giving people real alternatives.
Amongst many other positives, one big one is the number of people in polling stations asking advice from officers about the mechanics of voting, many coming out for the first time, because they have had an alternative to "this lot".
Well done one and all!
Geoff
I will be putting up some definitive results later, but I am just getting ready to go and witness the WMDC count at Thornes Park Sports Centre, I suspect many will be keeping track of how Boris does today, in my case I want to see how our candidates old and new have done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
