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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Up for the Cup
Current mood:  optimistic
Category: News and Politics
It's the non-league equivalent of the FA Cup and my little team Torquay United are playing the mighty Ebbsfleet United in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium in London tomorrow.
I've got a ticket and plans are in place to meet up with some old school friends for lunch close to the ground and to spend the afternoon together celebrating what on reflection has been a very successful season and hopefully with a win.
If we do lift the cup it will require the building of a trophy room at Plainmoor, not something you will find at our local rivals Exeter City's ground.
When I got back from London yesterday there was a second ticket waiting on my door mat. This one was a freebie from the Football Association inviting me to join the FA for pre-match, half-time and post-match refreshments.
Interesting to see how the genuine fans' hard earned money is spent giving MPs and other 'dignitaries' free food and drink along with the best seats in the stadium. I shan't be joining them.
12:56 AM
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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Save Your Post Office
Current mood:  hopeful
Category: News and Politics
Post Office Closures
I met today with the Royal Mail to discuss the pending announcement of the post office branches that will be recommended for closure in the next year.
The Government's policy of rationalising (cutting) the post office network marches on with a public consultation about to begin in Devon for the next round of closures.
While the Government's policy cannot be over-turned – and it simply continues the previous Conservative Governments programme of branch closures – there are a number of things local authorities can do to challenge the decisions and even prevent some closures.
The criteria for the closure of a branch is based either on the national census or on information collected by the Post Office. It could be out of date.
The first thing a local authority can do is check the data. Are the population figures correct, distances between branches accurate, bus routes and other information up to date? If any of these factors are incorrect it could save a branch from closure, but it needs a desire on the part of the local council to devote some time and effort into researching the data.
The second thing a local authority can do is ensure that it provides the Post Office with all relevant information about any plans for the future. In Torbay for example the elected Mayor has signed up to the Growth Points Initiative, that funded his 'Mayoral Vision'. In return Torbay has had to accept a doubling of its housing target over the next 20 years. Together with the 'City' status the elected Mayor is keen on, this could have a major impact on future demand for Post Office services and the details need to be fed into the process, otherwise branches will close.
The third action a local authority can take is a proactive one. The Post Office does not want branches taking post office business away from other branches, but if the income of a branch can be increased from non-post office business they will consider the idea. For example, paying rent to dispense council services from a threatened branch could make all the difference to the figures the Post Office is using.
Once again it will be a test of political will as to whether a local authority is serious about saving branches or simply wants to score cheap party political points against the Government.
In the absence of an alternative Government policy to invest in the post office network, such as the one proposed by the Liberal Democrats – see here: http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/RoyalMail2006.pdf - the users of post offices will be looking to their local authorities to lead the fight against the closures.
8:26 AM
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Monday, May 05, 2008
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It’s Only A Game?
Current mood: split between upset and optimistic
Category: split between upset and optimistic Sports
Most football fans dream of seeing their team at Wembley, so to only go once this season ought to be consolation for losing in the semi-final of the Blue Square Premiership play-offs this afternoon.
Problem is it still hurts, partly because the team has played so well all season and looked like they were heading for second or first place in the table for most of the past nine months. It also hurts because it was our nearest rivals Exeter City who beat us.
Still it would be churlish not to wish them well in the final in two weeks time and hope that next season we will follow them back into the league.
In the meantime Torquay United fans will be planning an end of season party at Wembley on Saturday as we take on Ebbsfleet in the FA Trophy Final.
I've got my ticket and nothing is going to spoil my party. Come on you yellows!
7:40 AM
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This year’s big hit - you saw it here first!
Current mood: Entertained
Could this be the next Thriller?
See it through to the end - it's great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d4L4hiSHNw
3:23 AM
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Sunday, May 04, 2008
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Fuelling The Public’s Anger
Current mood:  focused
Category: News and Politics
Both Shell and BP have announced better than expected profits for the first quarter of this year thanks to the rising price of oil.
The oil companies claim they need big profits to invest in the search for new sources of oil and to secure supplies into the near future.
The problem for all of us is that during the past decade the demand for oil has been growing faster than the discovery of new oil fields and supplies.
This is largely down to the growing economies of countries such as India, China and Brazil and their ever increasing demands for fuel. But it is also a reflection of our failure to conserve fuel and become more energy efficient when we have the technology and knowledge to do so.
The oil price is inflated further at the moment because of the weak dollar. Currency fluctuations make it difficult for Government's to plan their fuel tax policies; although I will take my hat off to Alistair Darling on this occasion for announcing in the Budget he was delaying a 2p rise in fuel duty for six months.
While many of these factors are clearly beyond the immediate control of the oil companies they should not be profiteering while households are struggling.
Many people feel deeply uncomfortable that some of the world's wealthiest companies are experiencing a profit surge at a time when household budgets are under tremendous pressure.
We are all facing huge hikes in food and utility bills and in the South West some of these bills are rising the fastest and among households that are the least able to meet them.
Although the Government can't control global oil prices, it can protect people from being ripped off at the petrol pumps by the fuel companies.
It is time the Office of Fair Trading acted to make sure motorists aren't being taken for a ride and to ensure there is real competition between the oil companies.
3:27 AM
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Thursday, May 01, 2008
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Anti Local Business Tories
Current mood:  aggravated
Category: News and Politics
A fierce debate is raging in Torbay over the introduction of parking meters. The area is not alone. A similar battle is being played out in Eastbourne, another seaside area.
In Torbay the lines are drawn between a Conservative elected Mayor who wants to impose them and residents who view the charges as a stealth tax and local businesses who fear they will drive trade out of town.
In Eastbourne it is a Conservative run County Council that wants them and a Liberal Democrat controlled District Council that does not.
This is from a local Sussex newspaper reporting on developments along the coast:
'A question mark is hanging over the future of the pay to park scheme.
East Sussex County Council was due to start charging motorists to park in town centre roads and along the seafront from Monday morning, but those plans were scrapped after an 11th hour legal challenge by Eastbourne Borough Council, which is vehemently against the scheme.
With just four days to go before the scheme went live, legal experts discovered a loophole in the process and the county council was forced to put the scheme on hold while its officials took legal advice.
The dramatic U-turn happened on Thursday afternoon as a flurry of e-mails and letters were exchanged between officials at the Town Hall in Eastbourne and County Hall in Lewes, with the borough council threatening to take the matter to the High Court in London to seek an injunction.
Finally, shortly before 5.30pm on Thursday, the news came through that the county council had backed down and was putting the scheme on ice.
It meant the controversial pay and display ticket machines were not switched on and motorists do not have to pay to park in the controlled parking zone or along the seafront.'
What a pity in Torbay that we have to suffer an elected Mayor where no one can effectively challenge one person's decision to spend council tax payers money on installing meters.
8:29 AM
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Friday, April 25, 2008
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Cameron’s Losing It
Current mood:  happy
Category: News and Politics
If it wasn't for the fact that Gordon Brown and the Labour Party are making such a hash of everything at the moment; from responding to the banking crisis, to the budget and the abolition of the 10p tax rate, it would be a torrid time for David Cameron and the Conservative Party.
It has largely gone unnoticed that in less than a year the Conservatives have had to withdraw the whip and effectively expel 4 MPs from their Parliamentary Party. That's around two per cent of the total number of Tory MPs!
The media's attention has been elsewhere during this period when Quentin Davies MP defected, Andrew Pelling MP had the whip withdrawn over allegations of wife-beating, Derek Conway MP was sacked following the Commons report into his staffing arrangements, and Bob Spink MP had the whip withdrawn before he could resign.
To lose one MP is unfortunate, to lose two is careless, but to lose 4 in a year, well as I say if it hadn't been for Labour's current incompetence the attention would be on Mr Cameron's leadership and not on Mr Browns.
11:30 AM
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2 Comments - 2 Kudos
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
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A Message From Afar
Current mood: optimistic
Category: News and Politics
I couldn't make it back to Torbay for a public meeting last night about the controversial elected Mayor's vision for the future of the area as the House was sitting. A constituent had advised me to attend if I could or send a message to Mark Hellyer, the organiser, and so I did.
Dear Mark
As Parliament is sitting I'm afraid I won't be able to attend, so please accept my apologies. No doubt Anthony, who represents one in every four Torbay residents, is also committed up here, but I expect he will contact you separately.
Torbay's two great assets are it's people and it's natural environment. Those who ignore the former do so at their peril. Those who only see the financial rather than the amenity value of the latter do not, in my opinion, have the best interests of our area at heart.
Every community has to meet the challenge of change. Those who manage it best are those that involve people at the outset and enable them to drive forward the process. An imposed vision only consulted over after the event is doomed to failure.
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For any vision to work it must utilise the talents of the people who live and work in the bay, who care about the public spaces that add to our quality of life and make our communities such special places, and who by their presence tonight, and at other events, show they are prepared to take responsibility for our shared future.
The people should be encouraged to take over and manage the assets of the bay, just as local people were involved in the creation, management and ownership of the Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust, a model that local authorities across the country look to as a mechanism for protecting land and public assets while attracting in money from new sources to renovate, enhance and improve.
I would suggest to the Mayor that he should go back to the drawing board and work with the people of Torbay in developing their ideas within their vision.
He has his Growth Point Initiative money to fund the consultation process for such a vision. He has the most generous local government settlement at his disposal of any leader, of any council, in Torbay's history, and he has the new Sea Change Initiative Fund to assist him with up to £8 million for cultural, environmental and heritage schemes in the Bay.
I am very positive about Torbay's future given the financial resources now in place and the talents and interest of the people who live in the three towns.
Politics should be about working together to deliver what the people want. It isn't weakness to trust the people and involve them in their future.
I hope your meeting tonight can start the process of everyone working together for the good of the bay, and let's start again with a people's vision that an elected Mayor carries out, rather than a Mayor's vision that few people want.
With best wishes.
Yours sincerely
Adrian
12:23 AM
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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Summer on the Riviera
Current mood: optimistic
My office in Torquay on the English Riviera is currently looking for a paid intern for the summer. The position runs for three months.
Internships are usually a good way for recent graduates and current students to find a way into politics as a career but the position is open to applications from everyone.
Please read the details, including how to apply, here: http://www. w4mp. org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job. asp?ref=12750
6:51 AM
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Sunday, April 20, 2008
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Taxing Time For Gordon
Current mood:  busy
Category: News and Politics
All the talk at the moment is about the abolition of the 10p tax band. Pity so few spotted it when Gordon Brown delivered his last Budget as Chancellor. Our Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP did and his has been a lone voice these past 12 months.
Only now are the Tories jumping up and down having spotted a stick with which to hit Labour in the run up to the local elections. Or is it a genuine concern for low income households?
With Brown in Number 10, Alistair Darling is in the firing line for this ill thought through tax change, and I'll be happy to welcome support from any part of the House to defeat it, even crocodile tear tories.
Gordon on the other hand is taking a great deal of flak for economic factors beyond his control, such as the sub-prime lending market in the US that has caused so many problems for the UK economy.
Prime Ministers always get the blame for what happens on their watch, although it's a little unkind that around Westminster Gordon is being referred to as the Sub-Prime Minister!
3:47 AM
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