This weekend, possibly Monday, a major row between the Conservative and Labour campaign teams in Darlington is expected to hit the pages of the Northern Echo. The Conservative Party's Regional Office has formally complained to Darlington Borough Council about public support being given to Jenny Chapman, the Labour candidate, from within the Council.
I am an outsider looking in, and I haven't seen the offending publication, but I understand that a flyer in support of Jenny was produced using the DBC logo, using DBC equipment, by DBC employees, without the legal imprint, and was circulated to teachers at a training day by the training organisation within the Council. I understand the complaint has caused serious concern right up to Chief Executive level and that the police have been informed that an investigation is taking place within the Council.
Like you, I'll just have to wait for the Echo to hit the streets to get the full unsavoury story.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Serious about recycling?
Having up to now provided a free cardboard recycling service for businesses in Darlington, the Council has announced that, from April, there will be a charge of £4.78 + VAT per collection. That's almost £250 a year if, as most businesses do, cardboard is put out weekly. This is being done "to ensure economic viability in readiness for the coming financial year".
I suspect, with trade as poor as it is in the town centre at the moment, many businesses will not pay that amount.
At the same time, the Council is to introduce a free commercial paper and cardboard drop-off facility at its recycling centre on Whessoe Road. So those businesses who still want to recycle, but baulk at the idea of paying £250 a year for the privilege, can at least drive their cars or vans into work, load up and drive up to Whessoe Road instead.
There's only one thing to say this morning...
...bring on the Villa! Steve Webb, Frank Skinner, Eric Clapton, Adrian Chiles...your boys took one hell of a beating!
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Facebook Campaigning
I have, at last, created a Facebook election campaign page: Mike Barker 4 Darlington. Now I need lots of fans...
Latest plans for Harrowgate Hill Junior School
Yesterday the three North Road ward councillors met with officers in the Town Hall to be briefed on the latest plans to deal with the chaos in the back lane serving Harrowgate Hill Primary School.
At the moment there is total confusion there at drop-off and pick-up times as cars attempt to drive in both directions along the lane, park in restricted areas and block residents' rear gates. Councillors and School Governors are united in fearing that one day an accident involving a child will occur here.
After what seems like years of campaigning, the Council has finally agreed that something must be done. However, the proposed solution has stirred up a certain degree of opposition.
The Council's plan is to build a new car park away from the back lane in the nearby corner of North Park. Access would be from Whessoe Road. A new entry gate into the school would be provided in the nearest corner of the school grounds. Parents and children would have a walk of 100 metres or so from the car park to the new gate. It is hoped that this will draw cars away from the back lane, especially if new road markings and enforcement under the new Civil Parking Enforcement regime, due to be introduced later this year, is effective.
However, this solution is not to everyone's liking. Although most parents and local residents are happy with the plans, The Friends of North Park are not happy about losing a chunk of flat, usable land within their park. They have every justification for holding that position. The park is there for the pleasure of the people of Darlington, not for the provision of car parking for a PFI school. The Friends believe alterations to the staff and visitors' car park within the school would provide a solution.
Discussions continue, but this has dragged on for so long and now we have a commitment from the Council that something needs to be done we mustn't lose this opportunity. It's going to cost money, and at the moment there is some. Who can say this will always be the case. I hope somehow that we can reach a solution which pleases, or at least doesn't displease, everyone.
At the moment there is total confusion there at drop-off and pick-up times as cars attempt to drive in both directions along the lane, park in restricted areas and block residents' rear gates. Councillors and School Governors are united in fearing that one day an accident involving a child will occur here.
After what seems like years of campaigning, the Council has finally agreed that something must be done. However, the proposed solution has stirred up a certain degree of opposition.
The Council's plan is to build a new car park away from the back lane in the nearby corner of North Park. Access would be from Whessoe Road. A new entry gate into the school would be provided in the nearest corner of the school grounds. Parents and children would have a walk of 100 metres or so from the car park to the new gate. It is hoped that this will draw cars away from the back lane, especially if new road markings and enforcement under the new Civil Parking Enforcement regime, due to be introduced later this year, is effective.
However, this solution is not to everyone's liking. Although most parents and local residents are happy with the plans, The Friends of North Park are not happy about losing a chunk of flat, usable land within their park. They have every justification for holding that position. The park is there for the pleasure of the people of Darlington, not for the provision of car parking for a PFI school. The Friends believe alterations to the staff and visitors' car park within the school would provide a solution.
Discussions continue, but this has dragged on for so long and now we have a commitment from the Council that something needs to be done we mustn't lose this opportunity. It's going to cost money, and at the moment there is some. Who can say this will always be the case. I hope somehow that we can reach a solution which pleases, or at least doesn't displease, everyone.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Trouble afoot
Allegations involving misuse of Darlington Borough Council equipment and resources, and potential breaches of electoral law, have been made by one of my political opponents concerning actions taken by supporters of the other. Expect to read more about this as the week goes on.
Friday, 19 February 2010
Fair Trade Shame
Darlington has lost its status as a Fair Trade town. As one of the biggest Fair Trade retailers in the town, I sat on the original Steering Group, under the leadership of the Council, which worked hard to gather together the information required to achieve that status. Shops, restaurants, cafes, public offices, schools: all were contacted and many persuaded to sell or supply Fair Trade products. By the end of 2006 we achieved the target for the number of Fair Trade outlets in each category required to gain Fair Trade Town status.
However, having achieved that status and milked it for all the publicity it could get, the Council has failed to maintain that status. I now discover that a renewal application has to be made after one year and again every two years after that. Darlington Borough Council has failed to do this.
Having taken the lead in pulling together the original bid, the Council should have continued to do the appropriate work required to maintain that status. It seems it did not.
Now a new Steering Group is being formed under the leadership of Pat Buttle, a former mayor of this town and prominent trade unionist, charity worker and all-round pocket dynamo. I have said I will join the Group and help regain our Fair Trade status.
Fair Trade Fortnight starts on Monday, February 22nd. This year's theme is "The Big Swap".
I'll be decking the shop out with Fair Trade banners, posters and stickers as usual. The Fair Trade Foundation is looking for one million and one swaps: buying a Fair Trade product instead of your usual brand in your shop or supermarket.
However, having achieved that status and milked it for all the publicity it could get, the Council has failed to maintain that status. I now discover that a renewal application has to be made after one year and again every two years after that. Darlington Borough Council has failed to do this.
Having taken the lead in pulling together the original bid, the Council should have continued to do the appropriate work required to maintain that status. It seems it did not.
Now a new Steering Group is being formed under the leadership of Pat Buttle, a former mayor of this town and prominent trade unionist, charity worker and all-round pocket dynamo. I have said I will join the Group and help regain our Fair Trade status.
Fair Trade Fortnight starts on Monday, February 22nd. This year's theme is "The Big Swap".
I'll be decking the shop out with Fair Trade banners, posters and stickers as usual. The Fair Trade Foundation is looking for one million and one swaps: buying a Fair Trade product instead of your usual brand in your shop or supermarket.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Pink Clock
Darlington's Town Clock has gone pink. Despite its role as a traditional meeting place for those on a date, the new pink colour, which shines out through all the viewing windows in the tower too, is not, as some Twitterers suggest, a Valentine's Day tribute.
No, it's to encourage support for the Cancer Research Race for Life. Darlington's Race, in South Park, will be on Sunday June 13th. I used to sponsor my daughter, back in her Carmel days when she used to run the event with her friends, in memory of her mum. Now, if there are any under-18's who are looking for some sponsorship this year, you only have to ask!
No, it's to encourage support for the Cancer Research Race for Life. Darlington's Race, in South Park, will be on Sunday June 13th. I used to sponsor my daughter, back in her Carmel days when she used to run the event with her friends, in memory of her mum. Now, if there are any under-18's who are looking for some sponsorship this year, you only have to ask!
I have also signed up to Cancer Research's "Cancer Commitment". I have received a number of emails from Darlington residents asking me to sign up to this Commitment and I have been more than happy to do so.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
It's a Labour budget, Jim...but not as we know it.
That's what I should have signed off with in my speech to Cabinet last night. But maybe the Star Trek reference would have been lost on the justifiably angry Darlington Borough Council staff and unions who crowded into the public seats and stood up around the room.
While even Conservative controlled North Yorkshire is going for a 3% Council Tax increase, the Labour Group in Darlington, mindful of the marginal status of both their Parliamentary seat and their Council majority, opted for a Council Tax freeze this year. An election gimmick, an election bribe, but, as the union rep, Alan Docherty, said, "I'm wondering just what constituency it is you're going after." Certainly, as he implied, this was a budget which would appeal more to voters in the affluent west end of town than to ordinary working people in the traditional Labour areas.
The Conservatives were not going to speak at Cabinet: after all, this was, as I said, a Conservative budget. However, when I'd spoken, Charles Johnson for the Conservatives really had to speak up and somehow managed to square the circle by saying that if the Conservatives' budget proposals over the previous two years (ie. lower Council Tax increases then) had been followed, there wouldn't have had to be a freeze and redundancies now.
I asked why it had been thought necessary to inflict such stress and anxiety on service providers and users of the Early Years Inclusion Service and the Storysacks charity. Both services were saved, as I'd always said they would be, but why was it even necessary to include these cuts in the first place? Other services are to be reviewed over the coming year, with a view to making efficiency savings in subsequent years. The same should have been the case with these two services: they didn't deserve to have their future squeezed into an emotional couple of weeks of public negotiations, just so that the Labour leadership could claim to be a listening council by saving them.
I also pointed out that the burden of these cuts was being borne by the staff at the bottom of the pyramid: the lowest paid staff who actually provided the services. I repeated what I'd said last year, that the staff on the front-line often know best about how to improve their service, or make useful efficiencies, and they should have been taken along with the process throughout the year, not found themselves bearing the brunt of the cuts without proper consultation.
And so we go forward to Council for the budget to be approved. The Labour Party hasn't got so many friends left in Darlington that it can afford too many evenings like yesterday.
While even Conservative controlled North Yorkshire is going for a 3% Council Tax increase, the Labour Group in Darlington, mindful of the marginal status of both their Parliamentary seat and their Council majority, opted for a Council Tax freeze this year. An election gimmick, an election bribe, but, as the union rep, Alan Docherty, said, "I'm wondering just what constituency it is you're going after." Certainly, as he implied, this was a budget which would appeal more to voters in the affluent west end of town than to ordinary working people in the traditional Labour areas.
The Conservatives were not going to speak at Cabinet: after all, this was, as I said, a Conservative budget. However, when I'd spoken, Charles Johnson for the Conservatives really had to speak up and somehow managed to square the circle by saying that if the Conservatives' budget proposals over the previous two years (ie. lower Council Tax increases then) had been followed, there wouldn't have had to be a freeze and redundancies now.
I asked why it had been thought necessary to inflict such stress and anxiety on service providers and users of the Early Years Inclusion Service and the Storysacks charity. Both services were saved, as I'd always said they would be, but why was it even necessary to include these cuts in the first place? Other services are to be reviewed over the coming year, with a view to making efficiency savings in subsequent years. The same should have been the case with these two services: they didn't deserve to have their future squeezed into an emotional couple of weeks of public negotiations, just so that the Labour leadership could claim to be a listening council by saving them.
I also pointed out that the burden of these cuts was being borne by the staff at the bottom of the pyramid: the lowest paid staff who actually provided the services. I repeated what I'd said last year, that the staff on the front-line often know best about how to improve their service, or make useful efficiencies, and they should have been taken along with the process throughout the year, not found themselves bearing the brunt of the cuts without proper consultation.
And so we go forward to Council for the budget to be approved. The Labour Party hasn't got so many friends left in Darlington that it can afford too many evenings like yesterday.
Saturday, 13 February 2010
An afternoon in Northgate, but no sign of Robin Hood
Out in Northgate ward this afternoon with our excellent local Focus team, bubbling with enthusiasm and working hard towards 2011. The recent ward survey showed many problems in what is one of the most deprived wards in the town. Our guys, who have lived all their lives in the ward, are already taking action on some of these issues.
Years of Labour control over the Council and in Government and yet the huge disparity in opportunity and achievement, life expectancy, health, employment and income between wards like Northgate and the affluent west end of the town is as wide as ever.
The people in the ward I spoke to have just about had enough of Labour and their grand vanity projects. There is a strong undercurrent of disillusionment. The task now is to make sure that translates into Lib Dem votes rather than no vote at all. One thing is certain, compared with 2007, there are far fewer people expressing undying loyalty to Labour. Their vote is soft...very soft.
I see on her Facebook page that for some reason our young Labour candidate seems keen on getting myself and the Tory guy to sign up to the Robin Hood Tax on banks. I'd love to be able to support it, I really would. I've even ticked some box somewhere to show my support for the principles behind it, but can someone explain to me how a tax on transactions will benefit our economy?
As I understand it, in most years this level of penalty, since it does not relate to profits, would actually drive the banks into the red and would therefore reduce the country's income from taxation. Indeed, to pay it the banks would have to use the government's bail-out money! And furthermore, a tax on transactions in this country would surely lead to the multinational banks conducting their business elsewhere with a consequent loss of taxation income and employment here.
It seems to me to be a simplistic proposal based more on a desire to punish than on a pragmatic understanding of the way the banking sector works. More sensible, surely, would be tighter regulation over the activities of the banks and their bonus structure, rather than a sledgehammer, one size fits all, approach which could actually do more harm than good.
Years of Labour control over the Council and in Government and yet the huge disparity in opportunity and achievement, life expectancy, health, employment and income between wards like Northgate and the affluent west end of the town is as wide as ever.
The people in the ward I spoke to have just about had enough of Labour and their grand vanity projects. There is a strong undercurrent of disillusionment. The task now is to make sure that translates into Lib Dem votes rather than no vote at all. One thing is certain, compared with 2007, there are far fewer people expressing undying loyalty to Labour. Their vote is soft...very soft.
I see on her Facebook page that for some reason our young Labour candidate seems keen on getting myself and the Tory guy to sign up to the Robin Hood Tax on banks. I'd love to be able to support it, I really would. I've even ticked some box somewhere to show my support for the principles behind it, but can someone explain to me how a tax on transactions will benefit our economy?
As I understand it, in most years this level of penalty, since it does not relate to profits, would actually drive the banks into the red and would therefore reduce the country's income from taxation. Indeed, to pay it the banks would have to use the government's bail-out money! And furthermore, a tax on transactions in this country would surely lead to the multinational banks conducting their business elsewhere with a consequent loss of taxation income and employment here.
It seems to me to be a simplistic proposal based more on a desire to punish than on a pragmatic understanding of the way the banking sector works. More sensible, surely, would be tighter regulation over the activities of the banks and their bonus structure, rather than a sledgehammer, one size fits all, approach which could actually do more harm than good.
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