Mid Yorks Hospital Trust Car Parking charges go up again.

Most expensive parking in Pontefract Parking charges to rise at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust - http://t.co/bcbEbnJX2p #GoogleAlerts
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 31, 2014

£2.2 billion pounds of taxpayers money and Wakefield Council are putting up council tax..

Billions of pounds of Taxpayers money in 4 years of Wakefield expenditure...and now they intend to take more.

Whilst the Wakefield Labour Group on WMDC have spent the last four years complaining about government cuts, annual council expenditure has been more than half a billion pounds for each of those years and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Still they say that they cannot make the numbers work and want more local taxpayer's money.

Next time you step out of your front door, look around you. Can you see where that money has gone?

The controlling Wakefield Labour Group need to learn the lesson that many other councils across the country, both Labour and Conservative have learned, that the hard earned cash they take off us should not just be spent, but well spent.

Do what you can

Post by The Optimism Revolution.

Bring him home to Yorkshire

Battle to bring king home gathers pace - Yorkshire Post: http://t.co/0b0yFQ5kF3
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 29, 2014

Time to fix the roads across Wakefield district.

In a freedom of information response Wakefield Council admit that the bill to put the district’s roads into proper order will be £68 million pounds.  If they had acted in 2007/8, they estimated  it would have cost half this amount. The shame of this is that the council uses a big part of its annual highways budget to pay a £1.4M insurance premium and settle legitimate claims made against it.

Meanwhile, they are spending £4.1M to fund the Northern Relief  Road, which some already label a “road to nowhere”.  When  less than £2.7M a year goes on actual road improvements  or repairs, that £4.1M  could have been better spent fix the roads..

The government is allocating further specific funds to help out, but our roads are still in an appalling state, due to years of lack of commitment  and council inaction. I wonder what the repair bill will be in 2018?

It is really time to fix the roads!.

Spring forward

Take care one and all.

The clocks go forward tonight. Remember to #TickTockTest your smoke alarms too! #FireKills http://t.co/krh7Njnjwv http://t.co/FWO5PNL7Z3
— Help to Buy (@helptobuy) March 29, 2014

Postal Votes for the Local Elections 22nd May 2014

Many people who travel, or for a lot of people who are not so mobile a postal vote is an ideal fallback. 

If you think that you may not be able to go to a polling station on May 22nd, why not apply for a postal vote, or if you have a question about voting?

Go to About my Vote. An information site of the Electoral Commission

Or

About My Vote, produced by The Electoral Commission http://t.co/9dY2JSBQAo via @sharethis
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 29, 2014

Pontefract Conservative Club

We have suffering from a 40 year period of hard labour driven by the Wakefield Labour Party who have controlled WMDC since its inception in 1974. As a Conservative Candidate and now as one of the 11 Conservative Councillors and Leader of the Conservatives on Wakefield Council, I know how helpful it has been for us to have the support of the officers and members of our local Conservative Clubs. 

Pontefract Conservative Club is a great example voted Conservative Club of the year in recent years and they have a web presence here. The Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Constituency, Conservative Association is based there and we are always made welcome.

I am proud to be a member!

Last night Labour voted against giving pensioners control of their own finances.

Last night Labour voted against giving pensioners control of their own finances. By contrast, we are on your side pic.twitter.com/SNKG92Rea0
— Matt Hancock (@matthancockmp) March 26, 2014

Choral Performance - In a Northern Land at St Giles, Pontefract 7.30 pm 29th March

This Saturday, 29th March - the University of London Chamber Choir will be performing in concert at St Giles' Pontefract. All are welcome to attend - see poster for ticket prices. They will also be joining the Parish Church Choir in Palestrina's Missa Brevis and Bruckner's "Ave Maria" on Sunday 30th March at the 10.15 Mass.

Do come along a support either or both of these exciting events.

A stunning performance on Saturday night and still looking forward to the 10.15 on Sunday morning.

Night on the tiles - We did it - Thanks for the support!

Folks big thank you to all who gave donations and pledges and to Ann, Flis and Fr Guillermo. Last night was at times damp, freezing and punctuated by revellers who came forward with donations of their own. You know who you are.

Really great generosity to help the Saviour Trust one of our local charities, helping the homeless all year round.

We did it. Blimey it was cold at 5am. Still happy to accept donations for our local homeless charity. Thanks all. pic.twitter.com/3ChguBoe73
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 22, 2014

Updated ..A night on the tiles with a difference 21st March

Night on the Tiles - Walsh rough sleeping in Pontefract 21/3 in aid of Saviour Trust to sponsor or support call me. http://t.co/7y3OAMsnFA
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 16, 2014

All donations or support welcome, email, pm or call me.

Thanks Geoff

UPDATE: Weather looks interesting but we are going to stick at it!
Supporting our local Homeless Charity

Cutting Income Tax - not picking your pockets - Threshold moving to £10,500

Point at which people have to start paying income tax is being raised to £10,500. We are on your side. #Conservatives pic.twitter.com/qNmTz9lZaJ
— Liam Walker (@_Liam_Walker_) March 20, 2014

All to often we are seeing Labour controlled local authorities like Wakefield ignoring the Governments freeze grant and dipping into local taxpayers pockets via Council Tax increases as the controlling Labour Group in Wakefield did this year. They could have accepted our amendment to the budget which would have triggered the freeze grant.

Budget 2014 19th March

You can download all of the #budget2014 documents here https://t.co/P7pWZG8bo2
— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) March 19, 2014

OR
For full details of the Budget, have a look here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/budget-2014

Can we afford to let them do it again?

Remember: @edballsmp and Labour haven't changed. They have learnt NOTHING from wrecking our economy >>> pic.twitter.com/gyuitslzw2
— Tory Chairman (@ToryChairman) March 18, 2014

Ed Balls claimed that without a £12.5 Billion per year VAT cut we'd have no growth We are growing faster than the US & Germany #budget2014
— chris g (@chrisg0000) March 19, 2014

Pontefract Civic Society Awards

Pontefract Civic Society Annual Awards at Carleton Grange pic.twitter.com/ijMcGWEBbK
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 18, 2014

Mark Rowland from Topmark with Peter Taylor receiving his Civic Society Award

Bill Bradley from St Giles with Peter Taylor receiving Pontefract Civic Society Award

Quality of Life - A question for you..

I got into politics so that I could stand up for some fairly simple personal principles. 

That big government tends to be costly, but not necessarily great. That taxpayers money is mostly more useful in their own pockets, and that any tax that the Council collects should be spent wisely, not just spent.

All that said, I also feel that if we can, we should try to apply the principle of betterment when we are doing “stuff”. So I have a question for my readers/viewers. In your view, what are the key things that the council does that link directly to your quality of life?  Also, what does WMDC do that has a direct impact on you and yours that could be done more effectively? 

Please send me an email via geoff.walsh.npc@gmail.com or, stop me and tell me, when you see me out and about.

Thanks

Geoff

Backing Small Business - Creating more Jobs

New Conservative Party Political Broadcast: Backing Small Business, Creating More Jobs. A More Secure Future https://t.co/81uDHwmX82
— CCHQ Press Office (@CCHQPress) March 14, 2014

Have your say on Europe

If you want a referendum on Europe, join the campaign to #LetBritainDecide: http://t.co/CnMFWhFNax
— Geoff Walsh (@Geoff_Walsh_npc) March 14, 2014

Have your say at LETBRITAINDECIDE.COM

Economic Growth - encouraging British Chambers of Commerce growth forecast - Positive signs locally and nationally

Interesting to see how Ed Balls reacts to this.

UK to surpass pre-crisis levels earlier than expected according to BCC. Read more via @TelegraphNews http://t.co/VHsi8I2uHq
— BCC (@britishchambers) March 10, 2014

He is likely to advocate the same old Labour approach of more spending, more borrowing and more taxes. They will hurt hardworking people with higher mortgage rates and they will hurt the long-term future of the country.

That is if people give them the chance.

Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust - time for our MPs to own up.

When are our four local MPs going to publish the promises that were made about provision of service when they pushed through the PFI deal? We now see the deal has put our hospitals into such a parlous state and has created a debt mountain that MYHT struggles with to make the payments and provide the range and quality of services that we were promised and expect.

We need to see the PFI cancelled or renegotiated and we will only have a chance of doing that if they finally are completely transparent about the backroom deals that they agreed.

People across the district are suffering as a result of their failure to hold MYHT to account.

Or do they have something that they would rather not tell us about their actions?

Time to own up then!

Apprenticeships giving our young people a future.

Apprenticeships are a vital part of our #LongTermEconomicPlan. RT to support giving young people the skills they need pic.twitter.com/YUhCCb4UFZ
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 4, 2014

Welcome to Pontefract!

Steeped in history and heritage, a former royal castle that was called the key to the north by Edward I. Religious houses, chapels and churches, fairs and festivals. Former royal hunting grounds, the longest flat race course in Europe, three railway stations, art deco museum, very much a gem. Busy library, swimming pool and historic town hall with links to Nelson's greatest victory and death. Court House and court room and site of the first parliamentary election by secret ballot.

A busy market place, craft, food, boutiques an indoor market, ginnels with tea and coffee shops, picturesque Valley Gardens a Victorian dispensary raised by public subscription.

Any ideas where that is?

There is a clue in the picture.

Support our local heritage.

Come and look at what Edward 1st described as the Key to the North and frightened Oliver Cromwell so much that he had it made indefensible.

Pontefract Pool Users Group Meeting - Keep Swimming at Pontefract

Jeff Allinson has called a meeting of the Pontefract Pool Users Group for this coming Wednesday the 5th at 5pm in the community room in Pontefract Library to discuss the Leisure report on the five towns pools that WMDC commissioned.

Of the three pools that are being targeted in the 5 towns, Pontefract is in best condition, busiest and being adjacent to the Town Centre and the Bus Station and with ample parking facilities its loss will be felt. Closing it as part of a plan to replace the three with a single new facility at Glasshoughton, on the Prince of Wales site or on Pontefract Park seems just barmy.

Whatever happens I want to see the best facility in Pontefract for our residents. We have up to 4000 new homes to be built in our part of the world and I am sure that the new residents would join with existing ones in the message Keep Swimming at Pontefract!

See you there?