This morning I delivered a large number of letters to constituents in Sunniside and Marley Hill who vote by post rather than at polling stations. Postal votes arrive this week so the letters I delivered focused on my record as councillor for Whickham South and Sunniside for the past 32 years and my priorities for the area in the years ahead. Last year we got about two thirds of the votes cast but I'm taking nothing for granted.
There has however been no sign of a Labour election leaflet. They are leaving it a bit tight if they want to get their message out before the majority of those likely to vote have exercised their democratic rights.
The photo above is of the pile of letters I will be delivering in the Whickham part of my ward.
I was back on familiar territory this afternoon when I visited Dunston to help deliver a pile of letters to voters. This evening I was back to being the delivery driver for the local Lib Dems when I headed down to Birtley to drop off the remaining leaflets for Paul Elliott, our candidate there. The main focus is Labour waste. Paul already had 1000 copies of the leaflet so delivery is already underway and should be completed over the next few days.
I had another visit to the Lib Dem office yesterday. This time I was printing for Lobley Hill and Bensham and Birtley wards for the local elections on 2nd May. Postal votes arrive next week and in many wards, of those who vote, far more do so by post than at polling stations. So when the postal votes arrive next week, we are effectively having our first polling day. Circulation of the Lobley Hill and the Birtley leaflets has already started.
Today I was on the BBC's Sunday Politics (North East and Cumbria) programme speaking about the need for stronger opposition to Labour on North East Councils. It was recorded on Thursday on the Gateshead Quays. My bit was longer than my usual blink-and-you-will-miss-it but two blinks and you could be forgiven for not noticing me!
I have just voted in the selection of Lib Dem candidates in the North East region for the European Parliament elections. It is of course a secret ballot so I will not be divulging who got my preferences. Two candidates stood out. It's still up in the air whether or not the election will take place. And I have a feeling that if there is an early general election, it could be on the same day (23rd May). We shall see.
Pelaw and Heworth ward in Gateshead is a marginal ward. Once a Labour stronghold, it went Lib Dem in the Blair years, back to Labour in the Coalition years and since then Labour lost one seat to the Lib Dems Ian Patterson) by 20 votes but held on by about 100 votes last year. So it is a ward with an interesting history. To add to this, defending Labour councillor Jill Green is the mayor. I have a lot of time personally for Jill but I fear that her campaign is being run in the manner of a slow motion Labour car crash.
Her agent is Labour Councillor Leigh Kirton, agent to Ian Mearns MP (an opponent of a confirmatory referendum). She emerged from obscurity recently to hit the headlines as the author of a council motion widely regarded as Transphobic. After Labour got a battering, her motion was dropped like a hot potato. Having therefore become the queen of the political car crash, Cllr Kirton is exactly the person Lib Dems want in charge of Labour's campaign in marginal Pelaw and Heworth.
Labour's activity in the ward this weekend has been the delivery of the above letter. If anyone has a spare half hour to read this voluminous essay, please go ahead. Sadly, I did read it to the end (I need to get a life!) and decided that if anyone managed to do the same, this excessively long diatribe about the Lib Dems is likely to ensure they vote Lib Dem.
Much of the Labour letter is a personal attack on Lib Dem candidate Paul Diston, even going to the extent of naming him. Jill then reminds people of the letters Paul has sent to people. (We know the letters were well received by residents!) Topping the list of car-crash-things-not-to-mention however was the number of Focus editions we have produced. Referring to Focus edition 87 simply reminds everyone of the long history of Lib Dem activity in the ward.
The Labour letter attacked Paul for having changed ward - Paul had previously stood in Wardley and Leam Lane. But the comments by Labour are somewhat rich. Last year their sitting Councillor in Pelaw and Heworth switched to the neighbouring Labour stronghold of, none other than, Wardley and Leam Lane!
Meanwhile, Labour's attack on us for opposing something 21 years ago suggests an element of barrel bottom scraping!
To add to the car crash scenario, Labour have made the classic blunder of delivering another text heavy leaflet with the letter. The number of people likely to read both through to the end will probably be less than the majority Ian Patterson got when he won the seat back from Labour in 2016.
So Jill, I suggest for your sake that you sack your campaign organiser (I assume it is Cllr Kirton), though for the sake of the Lib Dems, stick with her!
On Saturday, Nick Seaborn, Lib Dem candidate in Lobley Hill and Bensham ward of Gateshead, organised a litter pick in Windmill Hill Park. A number of residents and Lib Dem members joined in. The result was 20 sacks of rubbish removed from the park. Well done Nick for your efforts.
This video is a bit late but last Friday I had yet another printing session in the Lib Dem office in Consett, this time for my ward, Birtley, Low Fell and Lobley Hill and Bensham. Job done but there is more coming down the line to print as well!
Over the weekend I was asked by residents of Cornmoor Road and by ward councillors Peter Maughan and Kevin McClurey to speak at Gateshead's planning committee against plans for a new house in the back garden on the street. Peter and Kevin were unable to get to the meeting because of work commitments so I agreed to attend the meeting, which took place yesterday. Unlike most of my previous appearances at planning committee, this time I was speaking in support of the officer recommendation, which in this instance was to reject the application.
The officers explained that Cornmoor Road is an area of low density housing and continued infilling of back gardens is changing the nature of the area. In my presentation I was able to put more meat on the bones. I explained that the Cornmoor Road area was bought by a back-to-the-land allotment society in the 1890s. The land was sub-divided into plots large enough to contain a bungalow and enough land for a family to grow their own food, hence the reason for the plots being much bigger than what would be expected for a late Victorian family home.
I am aware of only two such surviving sites in the North East: Cornmoor Road and Darras Hall in Ponteland.
After my presentation, and that of the developer, a short debate took place and then the vote was taken: unanimously in favour of the recommendation to reject.
Nominations for the local elections in Gateshead closed this weekend. I've just spent a few minutes looking at who is standing where. In my ward of Whickham South and Sunniside, I have only Labour and Conservative opponents. No fringe candidates this time (though we had none in my ward last year either). Not too many years ago, we had TUSC, UKIP and the Greens standing here. They have quietly departed from the battlefield.
So, good luck to my Labour and Conservative opponents. I look forward to meeting you both at the count on 3rd May.
I was in Durham this morning for a meeting of the NECA audit and standards committee. My time was more usefully spent this afternoon when I went to Dunston to deliver 220 Focuses as part of the election campaign. No sign of anything from any other party over the past few days. A month to go to polling day. Oh joy!
My nomination papers for Whickham South and Sunniside were handed in to Electoral Registrations at Gateshead Civic Centre today. I'm pleased to report that they were accepted and therefore I will be standing for the ward for the 10th time. On the previous 9 occasions, I was elected each time. Sadly, in one of those elections, I did not receive at least half the votes cast. That was when I first stood in 1987 when I gained my seat from the Conservatives (who have since disappeared organisationally). In that election 32 years ago, I got only 48.8%, 856 votes ahead of the Conservatives. Labour were third. Since then, I have taken between 50% and 78% of the vote.
Yet again I was in the Lib Dem office in Consett, printing yet more Focuses. I am now in the happy position of having produced all the literature we are planning for my own ward. More time to concentrate on the target wards.
I was first elected to Gateshead Council in 1987, taking my seat from the Conservatives who have since ceased to exist in any credible sense in the borough. Having now been elected 9 times over the past 32 years, I've decided it is not yet time for me to retire! As of 2nd May, I will be the joint longest serving member of Gateshead! So I am asking the good people of Whickham South and Sunniside to vote for me for a 10th time. Alas, that requires some paperwork, (I hate paperwork!) namely, the nomination papers and the requirement for 10 signatures. Last night I walked around Sunniside and got 10 people to sign up who are not too appalled by the idea of having their names associated with me!
A double check will be made of the papers today by my agent and tomorrow I will hand them in to Electoral Registrations at the Civic Centre.
My first election leaflet was printed on Friday though I need to go back to our office to finish printing the Sunniside edition. That is probably a job for later today, as is folding the ones already printed. Friday also saw me printing for Birtley and Lobley Hill and Bensham wards. Fortunately, we took a big delivery of paper recently!
The pile on the right is for Lobley Hill and Bensham, the rest is for my ward.
Nick Seaborn, the Lib Dem candidate in Lobley Hill and Bensham, organised a litter pick yesterday in Windmill Hill Park. Nick is young, keen and hands-on. He organised a great event that saw 21 sacks of litter collected by local residents and Lib Dem members.
Nick is definitely up for the battle with Labour in the ward!
The March edition of the email newsletter for Gateshead Liberal Democrats was published earlier this week. Issues covered include a report back from Lib Dem spring conference, campaigning for the local elections and a request for our next litter pick, this time in Bensham on Saturday.
This is Gateshead Lib Dems' first local election video, 30 seconds about Labour leaving urban brownfield sites derelict while building executive homes in the countryside.
On Thursday 21st March, Lib Dems, right at the start of spring, won the Esh and Witton Gilbert by-election in Co Durham. Though in a Labour heartland, it was actually a Lib Dem defense. Predictions based on individual by-elections are unwise as some local issues not relevant elsewhere can affect the result. Nevertheless, the strong rise in the Lib Dem vote and the fall in the Labour vote were noteworthy. Labour's candidate, when speaking to the press, said she had "challenging conversations on the doorstep." This is probably the most noteworthy point about the Labour campaign as it chimes with what we are picking up on the doorsteps back over the border here in Gateshead.
While the numbers canvassed are not yet gigantic, one of the most regular points raised is people's dissatisfaction with Labour. Our canvassing has been focused on Dunston Hill and Whickham East, Lobley Hill and Bensham and Pelaw and Heworth wards so, as with the Esh by-election result, some caution needs to be exercised about projecting the findings on a wider scale. Nevetheless, what happened in Esh is what is happening in Gateshead.
So, are the green shoots of spring coming through for the Lib Dems? Possibly it's too early to say but I go into the May local elections feeling more confident than I have done for a decade.
Esh and Witton Gilbert by-election result (21 March 2019) LDEM: 63.2% (+9.5) LAB: 20.7% (-8.0) IND: 8.8% (+8.8) CON: 7.3% (-10.3)
Sadly, I couldn't get to London yesterday for the People's Vote rally. I had too much to do up here in Gateshead for the local elections. And I also have two baby goats I'm raising by hand at the moment as well! While my absence may go unnoticed other than by a few friends, the absence of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour "Leader", was more widely noticed. Even those Labour members who believe the Beloved Supreme Comrade can walk on water must now be in a state of despair. Instead of being in London, Comrade Corbyn was in Morecambe, knocking on doors. This is nothing other than raising two enormous fingers at Remain. Time for those misty-eyed Labour members to wake from their trance and get a real Leader.
A bit late as I've been busy with other activities but this is my conference video diary from York last week. I was there for the while conference though I stayed overnight only on the Friday evening. The video covers the rally, Parliamentary Candidates' meeting, supporter scheme debate, Vince's speech and a few other issues as well.
Last week, Gateshead's planning committee agreed to the plans to extend the Woodman's Pub in Fellside Road, Whickham (in my ward). An application like this would normally be approved, probably under delegated powers. However, the Woodmans is in greenbelt and therefore was recommended for rejection by officers. My view is that we need to build up the tourism infrastructure in the Derwent Valley and that means private businesses stepping up to the plate to improve visitor facilities and create reasons for people to visit the area. The Woodman's plans included the building of a function room, mainly for weddings. As far as I was concerned, the application in question was exactly the sort of small scale development we need to boost tourism in our area. I have therefore been guiding the application through the planning system.
I had to sit through 4 hours of other planning applications before the Woodmans was considered. I went into the meeting believing that the decision would be knife edge with a probability of rejection a touch ahead of the likelihood of approval. When it came to the vote, it was unanimously in favour of the application.
Last week I paid two visits to Lobley Hill and Bensham ward in Gateshead to help our local election candidate Nick Seaborn. Nick is new to the party but is very keen to lead the battle in the ward. So far we have had one action day this year which saw the whole of Lobley Hill leafleted. Nick has recently been delivering letters in the Festival Park area and I will shortly be providing him with more to put through doors.
We've also been looking at the insufficient street sweeping and grounds maintenance. We'll be campaigning more on that during the election.
This ward campaign is very much about re-establishing our presence. Over a decade ago, we came within 50 votes of winning here and our plan is to build ourselves back up to a point where we are back in a position to take the ward from Labour.
I'm back home from Lib Dem spring conference at York. Lots of photos taken and video shot. A good set of debates as well. The debate on setting up the registered supporters scheme did not entirely produce the fully desired result - members voted not to give a leadership vote to supporters, only to members - but the scheme will otherwise go ahead, which is great news. I was also in the conference hall for debates on internships and town centres.
One of the best points about conference is the chance to catch up with friends not seen face-to-face for six months (and sometimes longer). I bumped into Ed Davey MP this morning. I used to work closely with Ed when I worked for the party but that ended 10 years ago. So we had ten minutes to catch up on the past 10 years. Ed will be standing in the party's Lib Dem leadership election in May when Vince stands down. I'm tight lipped at the moment about who to support as no candidates have actually officially declared. And I want to see what each has to offer.
And finally, conference was closed in the traditional way - with the leader's speech. And as usual, Vince Cable demonstrated he was head and shoulders above Corbyn and May. Another good speech, peppered with examples of Vince's dry wit and poignant examples of the poor state of political affairs in the UK.
So, 6 months to go to party conference in Bournemouth. Quite what state the UK will be in by then is the great unknown. There is a great deal of water to pass under the bridge by then.
I did not stay overnight last night in York. I simply weighed up the costs and found that it was far cheaper to go home and come back this morning. It meant last night I was in our goat house at 11pm bottle feeding two baby goats that were born ten days ago. An interesting distraction from politics! Anyway, I am now back in York having got the first train out of Newcastle (which was packed) this morning.
There are policy motions this morning on justice, knife crime, town centres and unpaid internships. The main attraction however will be Vince Cable's speech at 12.15pm, his last as leader.
An interesting pronouncement by Gateshead Labour Leader Martin Gannon popped up on my facebook feed this morning. Hot off the plane from Cannes (the playground of the idle rich), Martin shared his prediction that the Lib Dems are going to be wiped out - "Total oblivion" he called it. Alas, Martin Sun Tan Gannon has made similar predictions before such as when he predicted we would lose in my ward (we won comfortably after Labour's vote collapsed). What his comments reveal are his greatest desires - no Lib Dems so therefore no opposition on the council. The People's Republic of Gateshead is what Labour wants. Perhaps, instead of travelling to Cannes at the taxpayers' expense, he should jet off to the Socialist Republic of North Korea.
After all, Martin is used to long journeys. Back in the 1980s he was militant Martin, in the 1990s he was Blairite Martin, then he became Momentum Martin. Three decades to go full circle. As for Lib Dems suffering "Total Oblivion", there is that small technicality called local elections getting in the way. We will see what results they bring but I predict he will be eating humble pie. In the meantime, we will continue to remind the people of Gateshead what Comrade Leader Jet Setting Gannon and his minions are up to.
It seems Lib Dem Image have improved some of their merchandise and introduced some new must-have (for Lib Dems) items which can be bought at their shop here in Spring Conference in York. New improved mugs can be added to my already extensive collection of assorted mugs collected over the years from SDP, Democrats and early Lib Dem days.
Supersized key rings (big pockets required) are also on sale.
And finally, Lib Dem aprons. I've not seen these on sale before. I'm tempted to get one. I could wear it while making mincemeat out of Labour in Gateshead!
York is, yet again, the venue for the Lib Dem Spring Conference this weekend. I arrived yesterday, armed as usual with cameras. My photography jobs last night included taking the photos at the Parliamentary Candidates Association AGM and reception with Vince Cable. Vince has been through the Jonathan Wallace photography mill many times before so is used to my shouting at get people to stand in the right place and look in the right direction!
Labour's recently announced policy that they will support a referendum on the Brexit deal did not last long. Labour MPs have just been whipped to sit on the fence on a vote to delay Brexit to allow for a referendum, thereby allowing the Conservatives easily to defeat the call. I wonder what those misty eyed Corbynistas who defend his every action (and inaction) are thinking about him now?
I did warn people a few weeks ago not to put up the bunting when Corbyn said Labour will back a People's Vote. If you did put any up, it may be time to remove it.
Another catch up, this video was filmed on Tuesday last week. My main task of the day was to complete our eFocus newsletter (edition 114) and attend Sunniside History Society meeting.
A bit late as I've been busy over the past week so editing my video diary is a bit behind schedule. This video is from Monday 4th March. I was at corporate resources committee in the morning and spent the afternoon delivering target letters.
One of the most interesting points about today's political events in Parliament was who said what. Note that Theresa May mentioned a number of options that MPs will have to consider over the next few days included the R word. In effect she said MPs may have to consider voting for a referendum on the Brexit deal. Yet, when Corbyn spoke as "Leader" of the Labour Party, he made no mention at all of the referendum, despite it allegedly being Labour policy. His usual response to any difficult question is to call for a general election (even though polls now show the party he leads is 9% behind the Conservatives despite the civil war the latter are fighting). Tonight was no different.
Those misty eyed Corbynistas, who think Jeremy can do no wrong, must surely now be getting a bit fed up with Corbyn. Or are they just too stubbornly stupid to realise the disaster he is to progressive politics?
Our campaign in Lobley Hill and Bensham ward of Gateshead took another step forward at the end of last week. Nick Seaborn, Lib Dem candidate for the ward, delivered 300 letters to residents, mainly in the Festival Park area. More will follow shortly. Nick snapped this selfie on the estate. He'll be out again soon, delivering more letters.
Yesterday I visited the Dunston Staiths which had been damaged recently by an arson attack. I was taken on to the structure by a member of Friends of the Staiths who also explained to me some of the problems of securing the site. The damage was less than I feared but nevertheless, still significant. Repair costs could be up to £50,000.
Sunniside History Society's next meeting will be on Tuesday 5th March, starting at 7pm for 7.30pm, at Sunniside Social Club. The speaker is Richard Pears who will be talking about the recent history of Whickham, from the 1970s to the 1990s, and will be using the photos of John Medcalf, a local resident and keen photographer.
Members and non-members alike are welcome. £1 entry fee at the door.
Currently going through the doors of homes in Gateshead is the Gateshead Lib Dems' tabloid. As it is now being circulated, it's time for it to be featured on my blog. So here it is.
I filmed this at the Lib Dem Pint event in Felling, Gateshead, last night. Team Low Fell used the event as an opportunity to sort all their target mail!
Our trip to the Lib Dem office in Consett today was not just to deliver paper for printing, It was also to sort the target mail for two wards - Whickham South and Sunniside, and Dunston Hill and Whickham East. The letters had been put into envelopes at an event on Sunday. Today was all about integrating the different letters and putting them into their delivery patches.
In addition, I printed a final batch of letters for Whickham North and for Lobley Hill and Bensham and part printed my next ward Focus.
We will have lots to deliver over the coming weeks!
The Gateshead Lib Dem Land Rover fleet was in action today to move a third of a tonne of paper from Newcastle to the office in Consett. We are now stocked up for the local elections! At current rates of leaflet production however, I can foresee our having to restock by the end of April!
The Old Fox in Felling was the venue for Gateshead Lib Dem Pint last night. No Lib Dem event can be held without some work being done on literature. This event was no different. Team Low Fell turned up with over 1000 letters to sort and bundle up.
Meanwhile, the buffet catered for all tastes and diets.
And there were plenty of empty plates at the end of the evening.
I attended Gateshead Council Cabinet his morning. There was only one item on the agenda: proposals for a clean air zone in central Gateshead and Newcastle. One of the options is to charge all vehicles to cross the Redheugh, Swing and Tyne Bridges, other than a few ultra low emission cars. All other cars will be charged the same amount, regardless of their emissions. I am not convinced this will work.
Pollution charges are all about getting people to change their activities from dirty to clean. A pollution charge should, ultimately, collect no revenue as people shift to cleaner activities. This will simply not happen on the bridges over the Tyne. Everyone who has invested in low emission vehicles will pay the same as people driving the most polluting cars. There is no incentive to go green.
Indeed, the plans could be counter-productive. To avoid the charge, people are likely to drive west to get to the Scotswood or Blaydon Bridges, causing further congestion there and leading to longer journeys and therefore more pollution.
I put these points to cabinet and, interestingly, my comments were supported by Cllr Mick McNestry. Nevertheless, it looks like this flawed, counter-productive scheme will go ahead.
A few days ago, the Dunston Staiths, the biggest wooden structure in Europe, was damaged by fire. It is highly likely that this was deliberate arson and it is not the first time the historic structure has suffered in this way. Quite what drives people to carry out this sort of mindless destruction is beyond me.
I decided to have a look myself at the damage earlier today. I took a walk along the riverside cycle way which gave me clear view of the Staiths and the damage. Hopefully, repairs will be possible.
News is breaking that Labour are to back a referendum on the Brexit deal. Hooray! But don't forget, this is the Corbyn Labour Party we are talking about. Corbyn is a Brexiter and he has been dragged kicking and screaming and at a snail's pace to the point we have now reached. At this point however, we don't know what Labour's referendum will be about. Will it be about Labour's pie-in-the-sky Brexit versus what? No deal? Remain? At this point all we can do is to keep our fingers crossed that Corbyn will propose a referendum between May's deal and remain. But don't count on it. Corbyn is a weasel who will do anything to get out of Labour's commitment to a referendum.
But if Labour are now to support a referendum of the current deal versus remain, this will be a game changer. Be ready to put up the bunting...but not yet!
A milestone has been passed. Recently, this blog recorded its half millionth visit! Hooray! The challenge now is to see it I ever get to one million viewings. I am likely to be seriously elderly by then!
I filmed this at our envelope stuffing party in the Lib Dem office in Consett today. While putting letters into envelopes is something of a dull task, put a bunch of people together to do the job and somehow it becomes quite fun!
Another Sunday and another day of putting letters into envelopes. A group of Lib Dems from Gateshead ventured to the office in Consett and sorted the letters for three wards: Whickham South and Sunniside, Dunston Hill and Whickham East and Low Fell. We got through more than we expected so we've had to stand down (for the moment) the people waiting to do the remaining envelopes.
On Wednesday I spoke in support of a planning application to extend the Woodmans pub on Fellside Road, Whickham. Gateshead's planning committee considered the plans for the creation of a function room at the pub. This was a rare event for me - supporting a development in the greenbelt. But I believe there are sound and exceptional circumstances for this development to go ahead. The tourism industry in the Derwent Valley needs more infrastructure and we need small businesses to step up to the plate to provide it. But the planning system greenbelt restrictions can act as a brake on necessary and carefully planned developments.
So, above is a video of my presentation to the planning committee and the thorough grilling I got afterwards, and below is my speech:
I want
to give you three reasons to support this application.
1)we
don’t have enough high quality function rooms in Gateshead.
2)the
plan complements the council’s rural economic strategy.
3)we
currently have inadequate infrastructure for the growing no. of visitors to the
Derwent Valley.
Gateshead
has major visitor attractions, such as the Sage, Baltic and Gibside.
But we
need smaller scale facilities as part of our visitor economy such as small
hotels, restaurants and, as in this case, function room facilities.
Co
Durham, Northumberland and Newcastle have many high quality function room
facilities similar to what is proposed here.
This
proposal helps address that shortage in Gateshead.
It will
generate 15 jobs and more business rates for Gateshead.
The
Woodmans is in the greenbelt but the greenbelt was never established to pickle
what is there.
Businesses
in the greenbelt should be able to grow within the confines of the planning
system.
As a
business that has recently won national awards, it is putting Gateshead on the visitor
map.
We
want more of that and this development will deliver this.
Finally,
the Land of Oak and Iron is a unique project.
Infrastructure
is urgently needed if the project is going to give our area a long term boost.
To
ensure increasing visitor numbers are catered for, we need small businesses to
step up to the plate and invest in the visitor economy.
Most
of the Land of Oak and Iron project area is in greenbelt.
If Oak
and Iron is to be a success, some limited development is needed in the
greenbelt.
Without
that investment and careful development, the visitor economy in the Derwent Valley
will not cope and visitor numbers could fall away.
Oak
and Iron is only one of three Heritage Lottery funded landscape projects.
It
conserves both the natural and industrial landscape of the area.
This application
has the backing of Mick Wilkes, director of National Trust Gibside, who phoned
me yesterday and asked me to put his views to the committee today.
He
shares my belief that additional facilities are needed if the Derwent Valley
and Land of Oak and Iron are to have a sustainable visitor economy.
Fellside
Road is not without recent greenbelt development.
East
Byermoor Guesthouse was given permission to build a storage shed thereby
helping the business expand.
Birdhill
house across the road has recently undergone a major rebuild.
Whickham
Golf Club is now enjoying new facilities, opened by the mayor two years ago.
The
Woodman’s application is a modest extension at the rear of the building which
does not affect the openness of the greenbelt.
So,
this application gives Gateshead an opportunity to compete with neighbouring
areas, complements the council’s rural economic strategy and contributes
towards the growing visitor economy in the Derwent Valley.
We
need infrastructure in place to ensure the project’s long term success.
That is
the exceptional circumstance why the greenbelt restrictions need to be relaxed
in this instance and this application approved.
I'm pleased to report that our Lib Dem action day in Lobley Hill was a success today. We had a street stall (actually my land rover covered with posters) from 10am to 11am from which we I dished out our Lobley Hill Focuses to members who came along to help. All patches were allocated and delivered! So 2000 homes got our message.
Some of us then headed to Dunston Hill to do a survey. We also had an action day in Felling and Pelaw and Heworth wards. Reports from there are positive!
Above, Nick Seaborn (Lib Dem candidate in Lobley Hill and Bensham) and Vicky Anderson (Lib Dem candidate in Dunston Hill and Whickham East) chat to a voter before delivering a significant quantity of Focuses)
Me and my land rover which had the role of street stall for the morning.
The latest edition of Gateshead Lib Dem members' email newsletter was published last night. It features the action days we are having in Lobley Hill and Bensham, Dunston Hill and Whickham East, Felling and Pelaw and Heworth wards tomorow, Saturday 23rd February. Also featured is our tabloid and our "Six to Fix" local manifesto.
We will be in Lobley Hill tomorrow helping our council candidate for Lobley Hill and Bensham, Nick Seaborn, deliver 2000 Focus newsletters. They are all sitting in my sitting room at the moment but they will be heading down to Lobley Hill tomorrow morning when we will also be holding a street stall.
A decade ago we came within about 50 votes of winning the ward bit it slipped back into being strong Labour. We have every intention of turning that around with the aim of winning it in the near future.
We had a gathering in the Lib Dem office in Consett on Sunday to put nearly 5000 letters into envelopes, print more letters, print the Lobley Hill and Bensham Focus and eat sandwiches! A successful day though it became a bit surreal when the talk around the envelope stuffing table turned to memories of the 1908s!
I was in Dunston on Saturday to deliver more Focuses. Key story in this edition was the air pollution levels on the nearby A1. While the government are requiring Gateshead Council to deal with illegal levels of emissions in central Gateshead, ministers are yet to put forward any proposals for reducing emissions on the A1, a road for which the government is responsible. Now is't that odd!
Labour's split today has formalised something that has been gradually underway for months. But how does it affect matters up here in the North East? My main concern is about whether or not the Labour party will back a referendum on the Brexit deal. I suspect the departure of the 7 MPs won't change Corbyn's position - he is a Leaver and has done everything he can to resist a further referendum. I'm not expecting any defections from Labour in the North East. They are too tribal here. Is there a prospect of cooperation between the Lib Dems and Independents? Possibly, though quite how it will function is difficult to see. It's early days and, like Brexit, no one can see the way forward through the fog of confusion.
Our Lib Dem tabloid has started to hit the doormats of Gateshead. Bensham (part of Lobley Hill and Bensham ward, which we will be targeting in future elections) and Saltwell started to receive their copies this morning. Delivery will be rolled out over the next few weeks over other areas of Gateshead.
The lead story is the £700,000 spent on building a car park by Labour-run Gateshead that hardly anyone uses. We also have features on our "Six to Fix" (our local manifesto), on Labour waste and the need to build houses in the right places on the huge brownfield sites in Gateshead, rather than on former greenbelt which is Labour's favoured option.
So look out for Gateshead News coming through your letterbox shortly.
I recorded this at the end of January - it was after a Gateshead Council advisory group that had been held to consider the budget. The Council has a £29 million funding gap to bridge so some painful decisions have to be made. Nevertheless, there were some proposals in the budget which, even in the times of pre-austerity, would have been the right ones to take. A couple of examples spring to mind. The Council has a large fleet of vehicles and therefore a large fuel bill. However, if staff are sent on a training course on how to drive more efficiently, a saving on fuel of £120,000 would be possible. I pointed out that this is something good not only from the financial point of view, but from an environmental perspective as well.
Another interesting example of making savings but also improving the service was with children's services where earlier intervention leads to greater savings in the future as issues are tackled more quickly before they escalate into bigger problems. This is a reform that should have been done regardless of the current round of cuts.
So, while none of us want to be in the austerity suffered by local government, a few very small positive flashes of gold can be seen in the pan.
We are having an envelope-stuffing and Focus printing day today in the Lib Dem office in Consett. There are about 15 of us here. The letters we printed through the week and currrently being folded and inserted into envelopes. And more are churning off the printer, as is our next Focus, this time for Lobley Hill and Bensham ward.
Oh the joy of having a blog that is widely read (and not just by the usual suspects in the Labour Party in Gateshead!) The above news story was taken from my blog and made a full page in the Journal yesterday. It was about a pub being fined for not having planning permission for an advert on one of its walls and then ignoring court instructions to remove it. The problem for Gateshead Council is that they went ahead with building a car park at Quarryfield without planning permission. Two days before it opened, the planning committee gave it retrospective planning permission. It has not put Gateshead in a good light. The Journal loved the story!
I was in the Lib Dem office in Consett yesterday and today printing a load of literature for Birtley, Whickham North and Dunston Hill and Whickham East wards. Tomorrow, I will be delivering some of what I produced. I hope the weather is as good then as it was today.
I was on BBC Look North this evening, talking about community asset transfers, especially as they affect bowling greens. I was interviewed at the green in Marley Hill. I've been helping the club with its community asset transfer. Marley Hill is at the forefront of transfers of bowling greens and the people running the club are very enthusiastic about it. The story starts 10.12 into the programme. If you blink, you will miss my bit but it's on this link.
The green has a nice privet hedge around it and the guys were happy for me to trim it. So 2 birds killed with one stone: BBC interview and food gathered for my goats!
Friday morning was cold and windy. Perfect weather for delivering Focuses on the Glebe in Whickham. 300 Focuses later and the cobwebs had definitely been blown away!
Gateshead Council rightly takes action against those who flout planning rules. If you don't have planning permission for a development that needs it and you go ahead with it regardless, planning officers will come knocking at your door. Continued failure to abide by planning rules can result in legal action taking place. Indeed, this is exactly what took place with a pub in Bensham, Whickham House, which has been hit by a £50,000 fine following failure to remove an advert on the side of the building which had been placed without planning permission.
Sadly for Labour-run Gateshead Council, while applying the rules to the many businesses and residents of the borough, they forgot to get planning permission on place before building a huge new car park at Quarryfield, near the Gateshead Quays. This vast car park was built in time for the Great North Exhibition last year. And then it was pointed out that no planning permission had been granted for the development. Two days before the £700,000 car park was due to open, Gateshead Council granted itself planning permission. To add insult to injury, the decision to spend this not insignificant sum of money on the car park was only officially agreed by the council cabinet three days before it opened.
This rather expensive incident does not put Labour Gateshead in a good light. Residents and businesses could be forgiven for thinking there is one rule for the many, a different one for the few.
And to add even more insult to injury, hardly anyone has used Quarryfield. There is a danger it will become a parking lot for white elephants, though it is unclear whether or not planning permission is required for this change of use!
The Department for International Trade has been hard at work recently and hooray, we have a trade deal that will save the UK from the abyss once we are into the brave new world of Brexit! That economic superpower, the Faroe Islands, has signed a trade agreement that allows fish and crabs to be imported into the UK. It looks like the great British fish and chips dinner has beaten back those hoards of beastly Eurocrats! This is real Brexit - making our own trade deals with the major economies around the planet!
Except that the trade deal is simply a rollover of the existing EU trade agreement with the Faroes. So, far from Brexit letting us negotiate our own trade agreements, instead, Britain is free to negotiate for what we already have. The only difference is that we now have to pay for our own Department of International Trade when previously the EU would have carried out international trade negotiations on our behalf. It would be interesting to see the price we pay to run this department. How much does photocopying other people's work cost these days?
(Photo of me in Torshavn, Faroe Islands, June 2009)
On Tuesday, Sunniside History Society, we had our monthly society meeting, and the speaker was Clive Bowery who gave us a fascinating talk about the DLI (Durham Light Infantry) during the First World War. He focused on the discovery, identification and burial of three soldiers killed during the conflict whose remained were found in the past five years. The most intriguing was 2nd Lieut Arnold Septimus Barker from the Sunderland who served with the 7th Bn DLI, who somehow got to be buried in Singapore! Clive explained that Barker was invalided out of the army no fewer than THREE TIMES through injuries he sustained during the first two years of the conflict. Following his third invalidation, he accepted a role with an oil company based in Singapore, but unfortunately he was still suffering the effects of being gassed and died there in May 1917. The next meeting is on Tuesday 5th March at 7.30pm at Sunniside Social Club where the speaker is Richard Pears talking about the photos of the Whickham area taken by Jack Medcalf.
During the 2016 referendum, the Brexit campaign offered an idyllic future in which we would have all the benefits of EU membership with none of the costs. We were told the EU needs us more than we need them. We were the giant forcing those little Europeans to the negotiating table where Britain would use its superpower status to beat up all those foreigners and make them accept a British dictated future deal. In other words, Britain would leave the club but continue to use the facilities without paying membership fees, and for good measure, wouldn't even have to abide by the club rules.
It all sounded too good to be true. Indeed, it was too good to be true. The past two years have demonstrated clearly that the UK is a middle ranking power having to seek a deal with an economic superpower from which we are removing ourselves. All the cards are stacked in the EU's favour simply because of economic and political reality.
Now it appears that Jeremy Corbyn is putting out feelers to Theresa May, outlining a number of demands that need to be met before Labour will back the Conservative government over Brexit. So let's take a look at their demands. A permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union, including a say in future trade deals. While some form of customs union is possible (after all the EU conceded a customs "arrangement" in the May deal, at least as a temporary measure), Labour are in cloud cuckoo land if they believe the UK can walk out of the EU and then continue to have a say over trade deals negotiated by the EU. If Labour's demand were agreed by the EU, it would mean the UK has been rewarded for leaving with even more say that we have at the moment over EU arrangements. Close alignment with the single market, underpinned by “shared institutions”. This is similar to the previous point. Labour seem to think Britain can create a "shared institution" in which we and the EU seem to be equal partners able to redirect the direction of the single market. So, yet again, the UK would be rewarded by the EU for leaving. The UK can be part of the single market as either a full EU member or under a Norway-style agreement in which the rules are accepted but the UK has no say over them. Dynamic alignment on rights and protections, so that UK standards do not fall behind those of the EU. If implemented, what is the point of leaving as this policy means the EU would decide our employment and environmental law with no say for the UK? Clear commitments on future UK participation in EU agencies and funding programmes. More cake and eating it. Brexit is supposed to mean we don't need the EU, but here we have the UK continuing to benefit from membership of a whole string of EU institutions. No doubt Labour will dream, just like the extreme Brexiteers, that the EU will give the UK free access to these institutions and an equal say with the EU over running them. Dream on.
Unambiguous agreements on future security arrangements, such as use of the European arrest warrant. Even more cake and eating it. So, Labour under Jeremy Corbyn inhabits the fantasy world of Superpower UK. The reality is that the EU is in a far stronger position than we are. And they are living in the same world as the hardline Brexiteers of the European Research Group.
This is my video diary of my council and campaign activities in January, covering the meetings I attended, action days attended, site visits carried out and occasional views on issues such as Gateshead Council's budget.
In 2015 and 2016, Labour's starry eyed members voted overwhelmingly for Jeremy Corbyn as their leader. The 2017 general election rather disguised the problem Jeremy Corbyn is for Labour. What appeared to be a good election result (it looked good only because the assumptions about the outcome were so bad for Labour), turned out to be a much less generous picture for Labour. While there had been a significant increase in share of the vote, Labour failed to turn most of that into a significant increase in the number of seats they hold.
Two years ago, Labour behaved as if they had won the general election. I heard lots of Labour councillors in Gateshead drooling about the forthcoming socialist revolution. All they needed was another general election and they will sweep to power to implement the red revolution (which amounted to forcing Britain to relive the 1970s) and a fantasy Brexit that would give the UK all the benefits of EU membership without the costs.
Nowadays, I hear nothing from Labour councillors about Corbyn walking on water. They can barely bring themselves to mention his name. That's hardly surprising. His fence-sitting on Brexit and his total failure to hit the Tories hardly inspires Labour members (or anyone else). The guy is a waste of space who has significantly helped to reduce Labour's poll ratings to be 6% below what they achieved at the 2017 election. That's quite an achievement for an opposition party that is facing a governing party that is tearing itself apart.
So, as I said last year in this blog, Labour need to be careful what they wish for. Their answer to every policy vacuum is "Hold an election." The danger now is that they could get exactly what they ask for!
It looks likely that in the next few days, Nissan will announced that it will not go ahead with a planned investment at its plant in Sunderland. The Government promised Nissan in 2016 after the referendum something, though what is not clear. Why Nissan executives at the time accepted assurances that ministers were not in a position to deliver is one of the many unknowns of Brexit. I suspect however that Nissan's pending announcement will be the model for Brexit. Major international companies have significant investments in the UK. They won't abandon them overnight, once Brexit happens. But they will be left to be run down over the coming years. Plants in Europe will get investment, plants here will be maintained on an on-going basis until such time as patching up and cannibalising aging equipment is no longer viable. Factories will wither on the Brexit vine.
