Hungover — the evening after the election night before

Having succumbed to the need for sleep just half an hour before the first Swindon election result came through, it was refreshing to wake up to blue parliamentary representation, but a disappointment that in the local council elections the administration had not been punished for the way it has frivolously wasted our money on vanity projects whilst having to makes cuts to other more important services, such as street cleaning. The local election results are, of course, not typical. In an average year turnout is never much more than 30%. Being at the same time as a general election bolstered that to over 60%. Despite that, the overall outcome, in terms of candidates elected, was almost unchanged from the last time these candidates stood.

From the Swindon general election results, it was apparent that local presence helped: Mr Tomlinson converted a notional red majority of 2,675 into one for him of 7,060 — a swing of over 10% — whereas Mr Buckland managed only a majority of 3,544 where before Ms Snelgrove had a notional majority of only 1,493 — a swing of ‘only’ 5.5%.

Our new MPs now need to prove themselves and their commitment to put constituents before party. Some of us have unfinished business with Swindon Borough Council for which their support is expected.

Positively negative

Whilst he’s not the first ever politician to suffer from this ailment, it’s disappointing that Mr Buckland — who claims not to be a career politician — in his latest leaflet struggles to distinguish positive campaigning from the negative.

Other parties in this campaign have spent a lot of time knocking their opponents. I am not interested in that. Our campaign has been positive and is all about what we want to achieve for our future.

So just what is positive about implying that the current incumbent in South Swindon is ‘tainted’?

I represent a fresh start for South Swindon, untainted by the discredited politics of the recent past.

I’m also sure that he’s well aware of Ms Snelgrove’s reputation for being the government’s representative in South Swindon when he makes a final plea.

Please give me the chance to serve as your new MP, who will be your representative at Westminster, not Westminster’s representative in South Swindon.

Mr Buckland may not yet be a career politician, but he’s clearly more than content to use the ‘skills’ from his barrister career to practice the politicians’ black art of spin.

Mixing things up: local elections round 6

I’ve been rather inundated by election leaflets today. One came this evening from Mr Buckland, claiming that he called, though it clearly wasn’t him — he was doing t’other side of the street. This morning it was the turn of the reds, one leaflet for Ms Snelgrove making many claims for how she’d like to spend our money, but nothing about how to bring down the crippling government debt her party has left us with; and another leaflet for Mr Wright.

I’m not sure whose campaign Mr Wright is fighting, his own or Ms Snelgrove. Almost half of the text is devoted to what Mr Cameron would do in government — a vote for Mr Wright could have no effect on that. And surely if, as Mr Wright believes, the blue-run Swindon Borough Council has wasted our money, surely we should delighted if, as Mr Wright believes, Mr Cameron is proposing they should have less of our money to waste?

I like my local politicians to stick to local issues, and a councillor such as Mr Wright advising me on who to vote for in a general election is no more welcome than the pointless yah-boo motions criticising national government pushed through Swindon Borough Council by the local blues.

Changed opinions: local elections 2010 round 5

Today I received my first ever election leaflet from Mr Leakey and it’s amazing how electoral necessity can change opinions. Only a few months ago his comments on the refurbishment of the old GWR Barracks were mildly scathing.

[W]ho ever designed and agreed to the new entrance and stone work, must have suffered a momentary loss of their senses, for they most certainly bypassed any thoughts of preserving the historical character and appearance of the building…. Would it not have been beyond the capabilities of someone to have designed an entrance sympathetic to the fabric of the building and made it of wood and glass?

However, now his leaflet describes the building as “wonderfully restored”.

I also note that the leaflet claims that a blue council will “Improve street cleaning & graffiti removal” Seeing as the said party in Swindon Borough Council have only recently pushed through a budget that removes one of the thrice daily street cleaning rounds in the town centre, it’ll be more a case of undoing their own damage.

But the overwhelming impression of this leaflet was that the Mr Leakey-specific parts — the three paragraphs on the outer page and the captions beneath his photographs — bear no resemblance to the actions locally of the party he purports to represent.

Rent-a-mob at the Wyvern

You would think that Ms Tomlinson would have sufficient confidence in her son Mr Tomlinson — well known for his assured media performances — not to heckle his opponents during a public debate. You’d think that the likes of Ms Tomlinson and Ms Foley would recognise Mr Tomlinson’s ability to defend his own record against an unjustified attack by the government’s representative in South Swindon, Ms Snelgrove, on scrutinising Mr Bluh’s wifi deal and not feel the need to indulge in a slow hand clap of his opponent. You’d be wrong.

At last night’s question time event at the Wyvern Theatre chaired by the Adver’s Mr King, the lesser lights of the blue nest were on their most puerile and infantile behaviour. Mr King may not have been the best chairman in the world — allowing the candidates to make speeches in place of answers and allowing Ms Snelgrove to waffle on for as long as all the others put together — but the blue rent-a-mob heckling from the back were doing their candidate no favours. The public were there to hear a debate, not to have one side of it drowned out.

And what did we learn from that debate? Aside from the rowdiness of the blues and the willingness of Mr King to allow many questions from the reds own party members, very little. Both Mr Tomlinson and Ms Snelgrove were well practiced, well briefed public performers — no surprise there. Mr Hooton and Mr Hughes were less confident but reasonably well informed, though Mr Hooton claims to disagree with rather a lot of his party’s own policies. The other two candidates that were on show last night seemed to know neither their own policies nor Swindon very well. I now know that all six candidates can read from a pre-prepared script; I also know that two can do little else. In short, I have a better idea of who I definitely won’t vote for, but nothing to convince me that one of the others should get my vote.

The campaign trail less travelled: local elections 2010 round 4½

With less than three weeks to go until the local elections on 6 May, campaigning by the candidates in Central ward is distinctly lacking. Even the local blue nest website carries a paltry amount of information on their candidates. So far only Mr Wright of Western ward has been leafleting. Of the known local (i.e. resident in Central ward) candidates, official information on Mr Leakey is limited — Ms Leakey has told us more — and neither Mr Evans nor Mr Cox have yet had anything to say — though you can still read Mr Evans’ views from three yeas ago.

Of the other less local candidates, Mr Chadfield of Eastcott Ward has said nothing. Ms Spencer, also of Eastcott Ward, has been presented rather more eloquently, but nevertheless is largely uninformative.

So of those that have expressed an opinion, what do we know of their future intentions. Mr Leakey wants more investment.

If elected, Kevin’s priority will be to improve investment in the residential areas of Central Swindon. He wants to offer people a fresh start, as a new Councillor who lives and works in the Town Centre and actually cares about it.

So, apparently, does Ms Spencer, as well as changes to residents’ parking.

Kathryn wants to be involved with the proposed regeneration of the town centre and working with local business as investment will have tangible benefits for those in Swindon Central. Kathryn also puts reform of the failed residents parking scheme at the top of her agenda.

And Mr Wright, well he has rather a long list.

Resident priorities I am working on include: Return Residents Parking back to residents control; Protect Urban spaces and gardens; Reduce Centrals Residential roads down to 20MPH; Ensure local accountability and fair charging for council services; Press for more Central School places for Central children; Work for a sustainable solution for the Mechanics Institute; Correct the Tories mistakes on Street Cleaning and Waste.

All worthy stuff. It’s just rather a shame that all bar one haven’t made much effort yet to tell us more.

Looking both ways

Today Mr Wakefield has been reported as supporting the government’s representative in South Swindon, Ms Snelgrove.

Anne asked me to come along today, not to endorse her in the traditional way, but in recognition of the fact that Anne as been a very good constituency MP for Swindon.

But he’s also been reported as helping her opponent Mr Buckland with canvassing.

Thanks to Steve Wakefield for giving me a hand with canvassing today.

Even though he somewhat disputes that, it’s refreshing to see Mr Wakefield taking such an independent, non-partisan approach. Whether Ms Snelgrove will find the ambivalence of one of the two star exhibits at her campaign launch so refreshing is another matter.

One thing puzzles komadori in Ms Snelgrove’s plea for re-election.

We moved to Swindon in 2004 and my husband Mike and I live in the centre of town. Mike teaches English at Cirencester Sixth Form College and has taught many Swindon students.

Information komadori has from late that year suggests an address west of Stroud in Gloucestershire, rather than central Swindon.

Wrong for Central? local elections 2010 round 4

This year’s election in Swindon’s Central ward has one unusual feature for recent years: a councillor seeking re-election. Recent turncoat councillors have done a runner from Central when the time has come to seek another term. Today I have thus received the novelty of a leaflet from a councillor not only seeking re-election based on their track record as a councillor for Central ward, but also still in the same party for which they were last elected. Unfortunately for Mr Wright he’s little of note to shout about.

In addition to striking a traditional politician pose, pointing at something he’s done nothing about (a pothole in this instance), Mr Wright lists several things he claims to have either helped, opposed or campaigned for. But not just him, oh no.

Over the past 4 years I have worked closely with Anne Snelgrove and my colleagues on the council in delivering for the residents of Central.

Mr Wright may well have fought for Central — tho’ there’s little evidence of him putting up much of a fight; half of what he lists were failures — but the government’s representative in South Swindon, Ms Snelgrove, certainly has not and her recent interest in wifi doesn’t make up for four years of non-interest.

If Mr Wright has done all that he claims, the results of his efforts are all but invisible. He’s had some success in stopping things; he’s been far less noticeable when it comes to getting things done.

Crash

Forget politics. For Swindon, this wasn’t the day a General Election was called; it was the day that the scaffolding-clad façade of the BHS store fell down. With nobody hurt, it’s likely to be one of the less significant diversions that political campaigners in Swindon face over the coming month.

Secret manifesto: local elections 2010 round 3

I’d like to read the local red nest manifesto, which they launched today. However, in a wonderful bit of poor planning, their old website, www.swindonlabour.co.uk, had been taken offline, whilst their new website, www.swindon-labour.co.uk was, until ½ hour ago password protected. Even though the website is now accessible, the manifesto isn’t obvious as such. Even the ‘featured story’ about its launch doesn’t provide a link. It’s sort of there, as a series of stories, but not as a single document, and not clearly labelled as their manifesto. Seeing as the manifesto was completed by 18th February — going by the dates on the website — they’re not very quick out of the starting blocks. I’d also subscribe to the newsfeed from their website, but the most obvious link provided doesn’t work either.

If you want to see the Swindon Labour manifesto in the form it will be distributed, for the moment the only place to do so is on TalkSwindon.

Like a tory council: local elections 2010 round 2

If I were Mr Tomlinson or Mr Buckland I’d be worried. Not because of how their party’s lead has diminished in recent national opinion polls. Nor because of particular campaigning successes of their opponents, Mr Agarwal and the government’s representative in South Swindon, Ms Snelgrove, respectively. No, what would worry me would be the antics of the leadership of Swindon Borough Council. Mr Bluh through his arrogance and extravagant splurging of local taxpayers’ money on vanity projects, is giving the opponents of his party’s candidates in the national elections an easy target.

The leaflet dropped through my letterbox today by Mr Wright in the company of Mr Montaut is devious in its attempt to confuse national politics with local politics. Thus it compares recent expenditure by the blue nest controlled council with alleged ‘investment’ by national government — bragging about money spent by Mr Brown’s government without mentioning the record-breaking debt they’ve run-up is like praising a bullion robber for their money laundering skills. But all that is a side issue in comparison with the simple messages of Mr Bluh’s vanity projects — wifi, tabernacle stones, the Radio 1 Big Weekend — and a simple claim.

David Cameron has already said he would run the country like a Tory council – don’t give him the chance.

I can’t find the source of that claim. And if Mr Cameron were to run the country like most Conservative councils, I wouldn’t mind. But Swindon Borough Council isn’t like other Conservative councils — it’s one with a legacy of Mr Bluh’s failed vanity projects.

Lobbying

Is there an election coming? I ask because Mr Bluh — even though he comments similarly himself — is behaving as though there isn’t. Mr Montaut and Mr Wills have both expressed concern over the amount of money being spent by Swindon Borough Council on Westminster lobbyists: £129,400 over 18 months.

In a time of economic hardship, where council employees are experiencing real-terms pay cuts and day centres for the elderly are being shut down, Swindon can ill afford to pay for luxuries like a lobbying contract in London, when there are perfectly acceptable, cheaper alternatives to getting central Government funding – like using Swindon’s two MPs.

Now, leaving aside the distinct failure of said two MPs to do anything of use for Swindon in Westminster — Ms Snelgrove isn’t known as the government’s representative in South Swindon for nothing — and that it may well turn out to be money well spent, the council’s finances are in a dire state and every penny spent should be thoroughly justified.

Alas, it seems that Mr Bluh doesn’t believe in justifying how he spends our money.

This attack is the last gasp from two failed Members of Parliament who have not delivered for local people. Their comments are designed purely for the forthcoming election and have nothing to do with the future of the borough.

I’m sure Messrs Montaut and Wills made their comments with the elections in mind. That doesn’t mean they’re not legitimate concerns. And more importantly, concerns that the electorate of Swindon might wish to have answered.

With the council short of money, yet having spent almost £½M on the Radio 1 Big Weekend and almost another £½M on wifi, Mr Bluh needs to try far harder and actually justify the money his council administration takes from us, rather than just responding with arrogance and contempt.

If he doesn’t, the electorate may decide that Mr Bluh too will have nothing to do with the future of the borough.

A legacy of own goals: local elections 2010 round 1

It’s rare that I find myself in agreement, — even just partial agreement — with my local red nest councillors. But with the first election leaflet of the year to drop through my letterbox, they seem to have picked a topic which I suspect many in Central ward will see more than just a hint of truth amongst the political exaggeration.

First, they comment on residents’ parking permits. This is almost unadulterated political spin.

Residents parking is their second biggest revenue stream after Council tax. Every time they put up parking charges at car parks in town, drivers try to avoid the increased costs by parking in Central’s residential areas.

They’ve obviously forgotten that in the run-up to Christmas, charges for parking in town centre car parks were dropped.

If you think we are being unfair then question why the Tories closed the Northern Park and Ride, adding an estimated 250 week day cars looking for parking spaces in Central.

Perhaps because the economic disaster that the Labour government has presided over has reduced the number working in Central Swindon by far more than that.

The Tory Council have forgotten that this scheme is for you and your parking needs and not as their income generator.

Agreed, but the price of residents’ parking permits has nothing to do with visitor car parking charges.

So far, so much traditional party political drivel. But then they come to a topic where the current blue nest leadership are contentedly kicking own goals as fast as they can.

This Tory administration is more obsessed with itself and creating a legacy, than representing the people of the Borough… this Administration has an attitude of “it’s my way, or no way”…. They were planning to cut £50,000 from the Dial-a-Ride service at the same time they have shown misjudgment (sic) with priorities by the way they have gone about loaning £450,000 of Tax payers money to the Wi-Fi venture.

It seems the only legacy the local blue nest leadership have created is a massive stockpile of ammunition for their political opponents… and a bill for something many in Swindon will neither want nor need.

Spoilt

With nineteen boxes to choose from on the ballot paper — 89 candidates in total — I ought to have been spoilt for choice as I voted earlier today in the election for the European parliament. It wasn’t so. Perhaps I’m an electoral purist, but when I vote I do so on issues within the remit of the body I’m electing people to. So in local council elections, I vote on local issues not national ones: and in European elections I vote on issues that the European parliament can influence, not national ones.

In the run-up to the election I only received election communications from five parties. Despite supplementing that with the fairly comprehensive coverage of the candidates in the Adver, and searching the internet for the website of each candidate, if they had one, I could find little evidence of effort to propound their policies on matters that an MEP could vote on. The three mainstream parties all tried to make this a referendum on the performance of Mr Brown’s government — quite why the red nest chose to do that is puzzling but if they wish to commit electoral suicide, nobody’s going to stop them. Then there were the sixteen single issue, single policy and nutter parties plus one independent. Each either too extreme to contemplate or trying to make this a protest vote against our MPs’ troughing at our expense. I’m not happy with the behaviour of my MP, but that’s no reason for me to give my vote to some fringe party: where’s the evidence that they’d be more trustworthy?

If politicians wish — as they say they do — the British electorate to take European Parliament elections seriously, then they need to do so to, campaigning on issues that the European parliament can influence.

Thus it was that as I contemplated a ballot paper so large as to make it impossible to vote in total secrecy, with reluctance I picked up the stubby thick black pencil and used it to indicate ‘none of the above’.

Gain one, lose one: local elections 2008 - the finishing post

With the counting in the election now over, there’s hardly any change. The red nest regain a total grip on Central, taking the seat vacated by Ms Darker who has successfully run away to St Philips ward, but the blue nest have gained one of the two seats in Parks. I also see that the council leader Mr Bluh came second in Dorcan, where two seats were on offer, so he’ll be back up for election in two years’ time. ’Tis hardly a ringing endorsement of his performance, as a self-styled leader with vision, to be beaten by a novice.

All over bar the counting: local elections 2008 round 6½

Well, there ends one of the most lacklustre local election campaigns that I can remember. The blue and red nests have seemingly put all their canvassing efforts put into Parks ward, with the voters in the rest of the town almost been taken for granted.

With it being a couple of years since I last voted at a polling station there were a couple of things that struck me as I cast my vote this morning: the first polling station official didn’t ask me to confirm my name and address when I handed over my poll card; another didn’t bother to stamp the ballot paper with an official mark, just tore it from a pad and handed it over (perhaps they were pre-marked); yet another official sat reading a newspaper and didn’t even bother to look up to see what it was that I was putting into the ballot box. It’s little checks such as these that stop this week’s shaggy dog story being nothing more than a tale of naïve stupidity.

A little from the past: local elections 2008 round 6

In their first — and possibly last — offering of this year’s election campaign, the leaflet stuffed hurriedly through my letterbox this evening is, like their manifesto, long on what the blue nest have done, but short — very short — on what they intend to do in the future. It tells of things done and things being done, but nothing of things yet to be done… from which I can only conclude that they are intending more of the same. (Guess they’re not called Conservative for nothing.) They also seem to be struggling to distinguish their positives from their negatives.

Since the Conservatives took control of the Council in June 2004, we have ended Labour’s unacceptable Council Tax hikes,… We believe in positive campaigning and are the only party that will set out a positive agenda.

Their three-year-old agenda may be positive, but in a deteriorating economic climate some of it, particularly town-centre redevelopment, is looking less than realistic.

A lack of face

With just three days to go to the local elections, it’s a bit late to be running stories about the use of social networking sites to encourage voting.

Facebook used to galvanise voters
Social networking website Facebook is being used by a Wiltshire council to encourage people to vote.

Swindon Borough Council said the aim was to help make it easier for citizens to find information about the election and to exchange ideas with others.

Swindon Borough Council actually ‘said’ very little: the BBC has just copied the words from the council’s website. And if they’d bothered to check, they would have seen that they have hardly galvanised anyone: the Facebook group has just eleven members, three of whom are administrators.

There is a story here: it is one of poorly promoted experiments and inefficient use of council staff time.

What’s your achievement is mine: local elections 2008 round 5

In his latest election leaflet, Mr Ali seems to be having difficulty remembering what has been the work of his red nest colleagues.

The Tories have introduced a waste and re-cycling scheme that has failed to address the needs of Central’s multiple-occupancy homes. After over a year of campaigning for recognition of this problem your local labour councillors have an agreement that a specialist waste warden will visit the multiple-occupancy homes.

Whilst not disputing the failings of the waste collection scheme, I could have sworn their had been others more active on this issue.

Swindon needs a road system to match the Labour Governments town regeneration project.

Strange… as I recall, one of the main features of the town centre regeneration planning has been the unwillingness of the government to contribute to improving transport infrastructure.

The Tories solution is to narrow key roads and increase traffic volumes on Central’s residential streets.

Err… that’s the canal that is part of the regeneration plan is it? Who did you claim that project for? Being a bit selective in what you claim as your own perhaps? Lets not forget either that the impact of the canal on traffic is much more complex than Mr Ali and his colleagues would have us believe. Yes it would increase traffic at the Broadgreen end of Central ward, but traffic at the Kingshill end would be decreased. He also seems confused over schooling.

They have also failed to… provide sufficient local primary education, forcing parents and children to undertake unnecessary costly journeys.

Yet on the red nest’s website he says something different.

I am proud of Labour’s huge investment in new schools.

Contradictions like this hardly give an impression of a reliable, trustworthy person.

It’s nice that Mr Ali alone among this year’s election candidates has made any attempt at communication in the run-up to the election. It’s unfortunate that so much of that communication is untrue.

The Inaction Team are back: local elections 2008 round 4

After a long absence — and very little presence even then — the red nest’s Action Team (sic) have made a reappearance, though their ‘action’ amounts to no more than dropping a leaflet through my letterbox. They have a strange concept of ‘working hard’. They have, apparently, been

working together to keep the Westcott Place Post Office open.

They’ve clearly not been working very well, as their colleague Ms Snelgrove has consistently voted in favour of post offices being closed. One of their other claims is rather odd too.

Stop the diversion of town traffic onto Central’s residential roads.

Being a rather narrow ward reaching into the town centre, do they really expect the main roads in Central not to carry town centre traffic? There are very few side streets offer any diversion into the town centre either, so this just reads like scaremongering. Perhaps they’re thinking of the impact of the proposed canal, which would lead to greater traffic in Broadgreen, but less at the Westcott end of the ward. Is it too much to expect that a ward candidate might one day campaign as if there is more to Central than Broadgreen?

As for their other claims of action, they’re indisinguishable from claims made by the other parties.