We are hearing murmurings of dissatisfaction from within Labour and suggestions that rivals are circling. Time to go Martin? Come and join me on the backbenches where we could both become grumpy old men heckling the front benches. We could be the Waldorf and Statler of Gateshead Council!
Just published tonight - edition 179 of eFocus for the Whickham area. Issues covered include the delayed decision on leisure centre closures, council budget, Metro service suspension and my retirement as Lib Dem group leader. You can read eFocus on this link.
Earlier this month, Gateshead Council's all-Labour cabinet debated the recently announced devolution proposals for the North East at a specially convened meeting. Actually, "debated" is probably too strong a word to use. Leader of the Council Martin Gannon said a few words and Cllr John McElroy asked a question about consultation. But all the other Cabinet members remained silent.
Seven years ago the North East looked set to go ahead with a devolution settlement. The seven council leaders accepted it but before long, Gateshead was walking away. For a while, it looked as though Gateshead was going to be the hole in the North East devolution Polo mint. A palace coup by Labour saw the then Gateshead Leader Mick Henry leaving his post and his old rival Martin Gannon seizing the position for himself. The devolution settlement fell apart completely when the Labour run authorities in Sunderland, South Tyneside and Co Durham joined Gateshead is withdrawing from the agreement. Labour divisions and bitter infighting in the North East meant the region went to the back of the queue for devolution and whatever resources go with it. Meanwhile, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Northumberland went for a Mini-Me version of devolution and had the misfortune of seeing Jamie Driscoll elected as the first mayor.
Back to the recent cabinet meeting and I asked what the difference was between the 2016 and 2023 versions of devolution. In my view the current version is a near carbon copy of what was previously on offer. A rather rambling reply came from Martin Gannon who mentioned something about transport funding in 2019. I called it 7 wasted years, a point reported by the local media.
I caught the whole of the meeting on video. Judge for yourself whether what's on offer is what we were previously offered or is something new.
I had planned to be in London today (Sunday), returning on Tuesday. The intention was to go to the Lib Dem History Group at the National Liberal Club on Monday and visit a few museums as well. Alas, the best laid plans have a tendency to crash and burn. My time is needed on the farm. We are planning to buy some new milking goats in February and we need to build a milking shed. None of our other goats are milking at the moment and in the autumn we converted our milking shed into a henhouse as avian flu restrictions require all poultry to be caged. The new milking goats are a bit unplanned but the need to build a new shed outbids the desire to get to London, sadly.
There was an unusual incident at the last Gateshead Council cabinet meeting in December. Lib Dem Deputy Leader Ron Beadle put forward a proposal for council tenants to have more control over housing repairs. My experience of Labour in Gateshead is that they normally reject any ideas or proposals we put forward. This time however, Cabinet member for housing, and former special adviser to the Blair government, John Adams, welcomed Ron's proposal as a good idea worth exploring further. The Lib Dems are ready to return the compliment. All we need to do is wait for Cllr Adams to put forward a good idea himself. So come on John, don't keep us waiting!
Today I announced my retirement as Leader of the Liberal Democrat group and Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council. It will take effect from the end of the full council meeting on Thursday 26th January. The group will choose our new leader on Monday 23rd January. I have been leader for 8 years but following the deaths of my brother Andrew and my closest friend Richard, I have had to look afresh at where I am with my own life. Andrew was 59 when he died. Richard was only 49. I had been Richard's carer for many years. Both passed away at relatively young ages.
I was first elected to Gateshead Council 36 years ago and many plans I had for my life were shelved. While some of them have since been dusted down and put into operation - especially our self-sufficiency project - many of our projects either still sit on the shelf or are running at half speed. Andrew and Richard have shown me that time is running out for me to clear the shelf and get all the things I wanted done. So, I am retiring as group leader though I intend remaining as councillor for Whickham South and Sunniside until such time as my constituents don't want me any more.
Last year we added another 15 acres to our farm. It requires a great deal of work to make it productive. I also have numerous speaking engagements with local organisations about local history, and a long list of local history videos I am planning to produce. And of course, sometime this year I will be getting married. I may be retiring as Leader, but 2023 will still be a very busy year for me.
Lib Dem Deputy Leader in Gateshead, Ron Beadle (pictured above with his wife Shakun), was yesterday declared cancer free. He was able to ring the bell at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to celebrate the fantastic news. Well done Ron.
My 2nd history talk of the week will be taking place this afternoon, 2.30pm at Sunniside Church. The meeting is for residents who are suffering from loneliness. I will be speaking about the Roman fort at Washingwell, Whickham. I first gave a talk on this issue in October to the Mothers' Union and then a couple of weeks later to Sunniside History Society. Next month I will be speaking to the U3A in Whickham about what history taught me about becoming self-sufficient. Busy times!
The latest eFocus from the Low Fell Lib Dem team was published today. Issues covered include:
I have just finished putting together a talk on the Tanfield bridlepath which runs from the Tanfield Steam Railway in Sunniside to the Dunston Staiths. The railway which ran along it serving the local mines closed in 1962. The route however is peppered with history. The railway used a gravity incline system for moving the full coat wagons to the Teams where it was loaded onto ships. The same gravity system returned the empty wagons to the mines.
The talk is at 7pm at Sunniside Club, £1 for Sunniside History Society members, £2 for non members.
Happy new year everyone. For Croatia, it is goodbye to the Kuna and hello Euro. Go back a decade and those hostile to the EU and the Euro were predicting the collapse of the Euro because of the Greek crisis. A decade on and the Euro has grown to be a currency in even wider use. No collapse to make the sceptics smile. The pound however has not fared well. We may not be at the historically low level of September when the markets responded to the mad, unfunded tax cuts of the short lived Truss government, but we came close to the event horizon that could have sucked the pound and the economy into a black hole. Back in 2015 when I last visited the USA, the pound bought $1.50. It is now worth $1.20. We are within a zone which could see parity between the pound and dollar. This is hardly an endorsement of British exceptionalism. If the government can't fix the economy, there is a serious danger the pound will be worth less than the dollar. And that will not be good news for the UK.
