tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75659359755519493632024-03-13T13:19:14.067+00:00Mike Barker: Lib Dem politics in a northern market townElected to Darlington Borough Council in May 2007, Mike Barker tells what it's like to be a councillor and the Liberal Democrats' Parliamentary Candidate in Darlington.Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.comBlogger429125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-78409627243201101472010-07-23T11:32:00.004+01:002010-07-23T11:47:37.208+01:00On BBC Radio Tees againAt 7.15 this morning I was on the John Foster morning programme on BBC Radio Tees talking about the Special Cabinet meeting to be held next week. Cabinet will be considering proposed cuts of £2.6million: the first tranche towards the eventual expected target of £22million of cuts. Should you be so moved, you can listen again here. Go forward to 1 hour 11m 30s.Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-61740272523056368562010-07-08T23:54:00.005+01:002010-07-09T06:40:18.259+01:00Cockerton West by-election resultToday's Darlington Borough Council Cockerton West by-election, caused by the election of a former Labour Councillor to be our new MP, resulted in a hold for Labour, though a spirited Lib Dem showing squeezed the Conservative vote right down and produced a much closer result than most people expected.The result, with the 2007 result in brackets:Labour 388; 45% (515; 41%),Lib Dem 347; 40% (263; 21%Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-28281292970827294292010-07-07T09:25:00.002+01:002010-07-07T09:42:45.989+01:00Heads show common senseThe Northern Echo's report on the cancellation of Building Schools for the Future includes case studies where local head teachers give their views. Longfield's Head, Keith Cotgrave, expresses his disappointment but insists that the work which has already gone into the bid will not be wasted. He makes the point that what is most important is what happens inside the school, with which he is very Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-15633447185157484482010-07-05T12:37:00.002+01:002010-07-05T13:00:30.462+01:00Save the Forum campaign "extraordinary"The power of an internet-based campaign! In just four days, the "Save the Forum" Facebook campaign has attracted just short of 2500 members while the editor of the Northern Echo has just tweeted that they have never had so many letters from the public on any issue. He's clearing a whole page in tomorrow's paper. "Extraordinary!" says Peter Barron, the editor.With a huge town hall rally planned Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-51400980258236735202010-07-03T00:49:00.005+01:002010-07-03T09:40:37.493+01:00Forum to close?Within 24 hours, over 1600 mainly young people have joined the Facebook campaign to save the Forum music centre in Darlington. I only found out about this this afternoon and am not yet fully aware of the exact details of the financial reasons for its impending closure, though the blame is being laid squarely on the shoulders of the Council for deciding to withdraw financial support. I cannot Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-62066073737834821242010-06-23T08:45:00.004+01:002010-06-23T09:32:47.677+01:00I can support this.Yesterday’s budget was necessary, tough but fair. I didn’t join the SDP/Alliance/Lib Dems to cut the benefits of people who need them, or to increase regressive taxation. I didn’t get into politics to impose a pay freeze on public sector workers.But sadly we have no choice: the financial mess Labour got us into has to be cleaned up. If Labour were in government, they’d have had to make similarly Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-44429858240106895982010-06-13T07:22:00.003+01:002010-06-13T07:44:17.262+01:00Appropriate use of Council money?Yesterday, two glossy magazines landed on my doormat, possibly delivered together. One was the Council's Town Crier magazine, the other was an independent advertising glossy called "darlington TODAY" (sic). I don't remember seeing this magazine before, though this is issue 21. Maybe that's because I live in Central ward and the target market appears to be people who might send their kids to Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-79301926262302870342010-06-11T16:04:00.003+01:002010-06-11T16:12:11.940+01:00Strong line up for Cockerton West announcedThe contest to replace Jenny Chapman MP as councillor for Cockerton West ward on Darlington Borough Council will be a four-way fight with the BNP putting up against the three main parties.The Lib Dem candidate will be Cockerton West resident Brian Jefferson, former teacher at Branksome School, in the ward, and currently Chair of GOLD (Growing Older Living in Darlington). Brian is the only Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-23244699605340829042010-06-04T00:12:00.002+01:002010-06-04T00:23:05.436+01:00By-election calledFollowing the election of Cllr Jenny Chapman to be the new Labour MP for Darlington, a by-election has been called to fill the vacancy caused by her resignation as councillor for Cockerton West ward. The by-election will be held on July 8th.This is only the second by-election to be held during the current four year term of this Council, which is now in its final year. It will be interesting to Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-39743600170032786422010-05-28T09:23:00.003+01:002010-05-28T10:39:25.222+01:00Merrick + Headline = ScareThe Northern Echo's front page headline and story today about reductions in local police budgets is journalism at its most sensational. Despite "Durham Police Authority promising that its front-line service will be protected" the eye-grabbing headline reads "Budget cuts will hit police numbers", which is quite clearly not what the article below says.North Yorkshire Police say there will be no Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-47933021598849531712010-05-24T11:14:00.002+01:002010-05-24T11:22:34.037+01:00OK to wear England Football shirtsFollowing a typically baseless story in The Sun a couple of weeks ago that a local authority in London was advising pubs to ban football supporters wearing England shirts during the World Cup, reports have been coming in to councillors in Darlington of people on the street being threatened with a £30 fine for wearing an England shirt in public, and of a pub being told by the local police that Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-83676584810398773342010-05-21T10:37:00.008+01:002010-05-21T13:20:04.643+01:00Blink and you'll miss themTwo small sentences caught my eye in the new Coalition Programme for Government which will be of interest in Darlington.In amongst all the grand plans we see this:"We will allow councils to return to the committee system, should they wish to."and this:"We will impose tougher rules to stop unfair competition by local authority newspapers."There is no doubt many local councillors, particularly Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-51778774219431412182010-05-21T06:35:00.002+01:002010-05-21T06:57:13.940+01:00Annual Council and Mayor MakingLast night was Darlington's Mayor Making ceremony in the Town Hall. Definitely one of the high points of the year with abundant good will and civic pride.The outgoing Mayor, liberal-minded Conservative Jim Ruck, has been a popular and successful mayor, carrying out his civic duties, as was said by his sponsor, with a beam on his face. The incoming mayor is chosen strictly by seniority defined by Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-39337457724000288502010-05-16T16:18:00.002+01:002010-05-16T16:41:48.654+01:00Regional offices to be downgradedNext week I expect the Government to announce a major reorganisation of One North East, Government Office North East and the Homes and Communities Agency. I understand that significant numbers of staff employed by these organisations are to lose their jobs, perhaps following the merger of their responsibilities.Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-42320169091717285972010-05-16T09:02:00.004+01:002010-05-16T09:19:47.454+01:00£57m BSF money frozenOne of the themes of my General Election campaign here in Darlington - a campaign, by the way, which produced an increase in our vote from 7,000 to 10,000 (23.4%), against the general trend elsewhere - was that voting Conservative and getting a Conservative Government would lead to the withdrawal of our promised £57m Building Schools for the Future money for the rebuilding or renovation of Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-24711775494512111372010-04-30T16:07:00.003+01:002010-04-30T16:12:03.762+01:00The Darlington DebateA couple of clips from last night's Darlington Parliamentary Candidates' hustings are now on the Echo's website: including my put down of the Conservative candidate, who seemed to be saying that the Hunting Act should be repealed because it was badly drawn up and had taken a long time to go through Parliament.http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/video/regional/99801/Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-59635635582960434412010-04-27T12:49:00.002+01:002010-04-27T13:05:06.252+01:00Support from ex-Labour Party memberI have been sent a copy of a resignation letter to the Labour Party by one of its long-term members in Darlington. In his letter, this gentleman remembers the vibrant, exciting times when he campaigned to help get Alan Milburn elected as the town's MP.I will not detail his reasons for quitting here because some of them are personal and relate to his treatment by the local labour Party, but he Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-89917337820177745272010-04-22T12:02:00.002+01:002010-04-22T12:07:46.627+01:00GP surgery fullI understand from a phone call from the daughter of an elderly couple, that their local GP practice in town cannot take them as new patients, even though they only live a couple of minutes walk away, because "priority is given to people who live on the other side of town."I'm writing to the PCT about their policy for admittance on to GP lists, the apparent inadequate supply of GP services in our Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-82128301456964383602010-04-20T09:47:00.002+01:002010-04-20T09:56:54.695+01:00Today's Echo full of Lib DemsToday's edition of the Northern Echo is full of stories about or including the Lib Dems, including the results of a regional poll conducted largely before last week's Leaders' Debate which, even then, showed Durham City falling to us. Now I think they'd have to add at least three more seats to that one.There is also an article, complete with an artistic photo of me on my knees, about vandalism inMike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-24460152166727446882010-04-19T13:27:00.003+01:002010-04-19T13:35:51.710+01:00Labour resorting to "vote yellow get blue" scare in DarlingtonLabour in Darlington are panicking. I've just had a phone call from a life-long Labour voter saying three Labour canvassers, including someone called "Jennifer, I think", and she thought one of the others was the MP (but surely they wouldn't let him loose on the electorate would they?) had been browbeating her saying if she switched to voting Lib Dem it would just let the Conservatives win. She'sMike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-68219138102205195742010-04-17T22:04:00.001+01:002010-04-17T22:05:59.304+01:00It's not just on the doorstep...Peter Barron, the highly respected editor of the Northern Echo has tweeted this evening:"Lost count of the number of people who've said to me that they're going to vote Lib Dem in the past couple of days. Getting interesting."It certainly is, Peter.Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-15111841090335067902010-04-16T19:04:00.002+01:002010-04-16T19:19:25.496+01:00Oh dear...blushing ToriesLiving in Darlington and wondering why you haven't had a leaflet from the Conservatives since the election was called? Wonder no more. Following so soon after Darlington's Conservative candidate delivered thousands of pre-election leaflets to villages in the Sedgefield Constituency, my spies in the Darlington Royal Mail office tell me the Tories have now had to bin thousands more leaflets Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-66706864290363532162010-04-15T09:09:00.003+01:002010-04-15T09:31:00.591+01:00Street Scene and North ParkWhen we come to prepare our manifesto for next year's local elections in Darlington, I shall be pressing for that document to include a promise of radical changes to Street Scene for major improvements in its performance.Here is one local resident's view of the mess that is commonly known as Street Scene in Darlington:"(Despite their claims) the Council do NOT litter pick in North Park four timesMike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-73314628279300967182010-04-15T08:44:00.003+01:002010-04-15T09:02:00.691+01:00One week down, three to goLittle time for updating this blog: there's an election on, you know: thousands of leaflets to deliver and doors to knock on, over 200 emails, and growing hourly, from voters and pressure groups to reply to (not to mention Churches Together's list of 58 questions!). However, a few highlights from our first week of full-on canvassing: knocking on the door of an elderly lady who helped run the Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565935975551949363.post-87503638041771764872010-04-11T13:57:00.004+01:002010-04-11T14:07:15.410+01:00Spotted!Spotted in a disabled parking bay. Well, it is the one nearest the road, so all the passers-by will get to admire his posters.Mike Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15453607421766177229noreply@blogger.com4