Whickham Lights Switch On - video

Christmas lights switch on in Whickham on Tuesday - the movie!

Whickham Christmas lights switch on - photos

On Tuesday, the Christmas lights in Whickham were switched on. The funds were raised by Lighting Up Whickham and they organised the event which started at Rose Villa Nursery and then along to St Mary's Green. The photos I took are on the above link.

Whickham School turf-cutting ceremony

On Thursday last week, I attended the turf-cutting ceremony at Whickham School where work is now beginning on replacing the old buildings. I was a pupil at the school some years (decades) ago. It's a small world however - one of the 6th formers told me that his grandfather was a Whickham policeman in the 1970s and remembers dealing with a road accident in which I was seriously injured and ended up in hospital for 50 days. That was over 40 years ago, proving some people have good memories!

Meanwhile, the turf-cutting ceremony was performed by Sir John Hall, who built the nearby Metrocentre.

Dunston Hill - the final battle

On Wednesday last week, the final battle to stop Labour's plans for 582 executive homes on former greenbelt land at Dunston Hill took place when the planning application for the development came before Gateshead Council's planning committee. Labour have battled hard to have the houses built though at election time they try to claim they were against them (and therefore against the own plans which they voted through).

Dunston Hill and Whickham East ward has 2 Lib Dem councillors (Kevin McClurey and Peter Maughan) and one Labour. On the planning committee, Labour have 18 members to our 4. Defeating the house-building plans was a long shot and we would need to change the minds of some Labour members. The final voting figures were 10 in favour of the plans, 9 against. It was closer than we expected and one more Labour member switching sides would have given us victory. It was noticeable that Eileen McMaster, Labour Councillor for Lobley Hill, which will be heavily impacted by the new housing, voted in favour. The next Lobley Hill Focus will write itself!

After the decision, the team headed to Dunston Hill and delivered a Focus Special to the 2400 houses there to inform people of the news.

Interestingly, after they voted for the executive homes to be built, Labour announced they were launching a campaign for the houses to be affordable! Too late for that.



Above: Lib Dem Cllr Kevin McClurey speaking to the planning committee asking for the Dunston Hill plans for 582 executive homes to be defeated. Below, Cllr Peter Maughan's speech to the meeting, also calling for the plans to be thrown out.

Pelaw and Heworth Action Day

On Saturday 17th November, Gateshead Lib Dems had another action day, this time in Pelaw and Heworth ward, where Labour are defending a majority of about 100 over us. Lots of activities took place including a street stall, litter pick, survey and Focus delivery. We were spotted by a Labour councillor!

Low Fell eFocus

Gateshead Lib Dems have now published their next eFocus. Low Fell edition 23 was published a few days ago and leads on the Gateshead Council budget proposals. You can read eFocus on this link.

Edition 110 for the Whickham area is currently being written.

Gateshead Lib Dem members' newsletter

Our latest email newsletter for Lib Dem members in Gateshead was published recently. Issues covered included the action day in Pelaw and Heworth, the recent regional conference in Darlington and the Gateshead AGM. You can view the newsletter on this link.

eFocus Whickham 109

Our latest eFocus for the Whickham area, no. 109, has just been published. Issues covered include:

• D-Day decision on greenbelt executive house-building plans
• Lest we forget - residents turn out in force for Remembrance Day parade and services
• Post office provision in Whickham under threat
• Arson at Marley Hill bowling club
• Christmas market at the Whinnies.

You can view eFocus on this link.

Remembrance Day Parade

On Sunday I took part in the Remembrance Day parade and service in Whickham. For some years, the Whickham event has been the biggest in Gateshead and this year 50 wreaths were laid and over 1000 attended. I laid a wreath on behalf of my constituents.

Opening Sunniside Fair

I was invited to open the Sunniside Methodist Hall fair on Saturday. The chapel are keen to carry out renovation work of the hall and to make it more accessible as a community asset and venue for meetings for local groups and organisations. I was quite chuffed to be asked to perform the opening.

Printing the next Focus

I was in the office last week to print our latest Focus. This is the edition for the four villages of Sunniside, Streetgate, Marley Hill and Byermoor. Issues covered include housing plans being granted in Sunniside and Streetgate, arson attack at Marley Hill bowling club, Whinnies garden bird of prey day, repairs to Ravensworth Castle, improvements to Sunniside Methodist hall , Sunniside Christmas tree switch on and flytipping at Byermoor.

Gateshead's Millennium Study

I filmed this video just before and just after a seminar for Gateshead councillors about the Gateshead Millennium Study, a research project that followed 1000 people born in 1999/2000 until they turned 18. There was quite a concentration during the presentation on the issue of obesity, which affected children from all income groups, though it was higher among children from the lowest income households. There are no single solution to tackling obesity and, as I pointed at at the meeting, ready-made meals and takeaways taste great and are packed full of things the body craves and which, naturally, are in short supply - salt, fats and sugars for example. However we don't live naturally. Anyway, my views on this are all in the above video.

Blaydon branch meeting

Last Thursday the Blaydon Lib Dem constituency meeting was held. I was there to give my report as group leader for the year as a whole as this was the AGM. I talked about our "6 to fix" which we used in the local elections but also raised Gateshead Council's late housing strategy

Officers were elected for the year ahead and we concluded with a report on preparations for the local elections, especially as they relate to the five wards in the constituency in which we have an active interest and the one ward in Gateshead constituency in which Blaydon constituency assists the campaigning to build up to a gain from Labour in the future.

Why I don't think there will be an election

I recorded my thoughts on why I don't think there will be an election last week when I arrived at Gateshead Civic Centre for a meeting. It could be my famous last words but talk of a snap election is, I feel, misplaced. The Conservatives are ahead in the polls but their fingers were badly burnt last year when May lost her majority in an unnecessary snap election. Their poll leads are modest but not enough to risk a run to the country. Furthermore, the Conservatives will want the boundary changes approved before a general election.

I could, of course, be completely wrong! We could end up, if not a snap election, with one in May next year, coinciding with the local elections. Time will tell.

Arson, budget and elections

On Monday I paid a visit to Marley Hill bowling green. I have been helping the club with publicity and advice on a community asset transfer. The reason I was visiting however was an arson attack on the club house last week. Someone broke in and set fire to the rubber mats used by the bowlers. The result is that everything inside has been destroyed by smoke damage. Fortunately the building is structurally sound. We are looking at how the club can be helped to get over this setback.

Afterwards I headed to a meeting with Gateshead's chief exec and director of finance to discuss the council's budget for next year. There is a £29 million funding gap to bridge which rather undermines the claim by the Conservatives that austerity has ended.

And in the evening I headed to felling for a Lib Dem meeting to work up more details of the campaign plan for next year's local elections. I left with a rather large to-do list!

Lib Dem action day in Low Fell

Yesterday we had an action day in Low Fell, Gateshead. It went ahead despite the snow and the cold wind. Fortunately by the afternoon the snow had gone. Our aim was to carry out a survey of a particular target group. I'm pleased to say we got through the whole group, though admittedly there were lots of people who were out when we called. The response was positive though I did come across someone who confessed to being a Labour member though we was rather apologetic about it! The video above follows us through the day.

Could Labour MPs save May's Brexit plans?

This is another of my thoughts set to video while I am stuck at the wheel of my car: could Theresa May be saved by Labour MPs? There is constant talk of her being gone within days. Ever since her shoot-her-own-foot decision to go for an early election, headlines of her being deposed have never been far from the front pages. Yet, a year and a half since then, she is still there. Her ability to cling to power is really quite something.

So, can she get her Chequers Brexit plan through Parliament. Under the current Parliamentary arithmetic and taking into account rebellious Tory Brexit MPs (and possibly rebellious Remainers as well) it is looking like she is toast. But there are two matters to consider. Firstly, there is always a great deal of noise about rebellions before they happen and there is a tendency for the figures of government MPs going through the opposition lobby to be somewhat inflated. Nevertheless, if there is a vote on Chequers, any Conservative rebellion could bring it crashing down.

Secondly, what about the Labour rebels. The dinosaur tendency has already saved May on Brexit legislation votes. They have not been punished by the Labour whips. There could now be a further Labour rebellion, but not just by the dinosaurs such as Blyth MP Ronnie Campbell. There is another group in Labour to consider - the looking-over-their-shoulder wing of the party, the Caroline Flints of the world. They claim to be Remainers but like May, they are now pushing the Brexit side of the debate. I suspect they could be sufficient enough in numbers to swing a Parliamentary vote.

And I suspect any actions in supporting the Chequers deal may not put them into conflict with Corbyn. He knows that were there to be an election and he were to win (not a done deal by any means given Labour are behind in most polls), he would have to negotiate a deal with virtually no time left and with no other weapons in the armory than the Tories have. Surely it's better for Corbyn to let the Tories do the hard work, get a Brexit package passed on which he could never make any improvements while he makes a noise about how bad things are but never puts forward a serious alternative.

This scenario relies on Labour MPs rebelling to support the Conservatives. Given the lack of activity by Corbyn on the People' Vote issue, his turning a blind eye to a Labour rebellion could save May's skin again (and saves his own from having to lead a disastrous government with no Brexit alternative.)

Delivering in Dunston

On Friday, I delivered 220 Focuses in Dunston Hill, one of our target wards which Labour are defending in May 2019 (in May this year we won with a majority of around 600). The Focus led on the issue of Labour's plans for 582 executive homes on Whickham Highway. Other stories included the closure of Dunston Hill Hospital and the Dunston health centre.

The Focus included the petition we are running against the housing plans. Yesterday morning we received the first of the replies by post.

Gateshead Lib Dem members' email newsletter

Earlier this week I published the latest Lib Dem members' email newsletter. It covered the People's Vote rally and the action day we have in Low Fell on Saturday. You can view it on this link.

Planning and printing

Yesterday I headed to the Woodmans pub in my ward for a meeting with the owner about a planning application for an extension of the premises. The plans look good and, if given the go ahead, will lead to eight new jobs being created. The aim is to create a venue suitable for wedding receptions. The issue however is that the location is in the greenbelt. My view is that the countryside cannot be pickled. Businesses need to be able to operate and expand within reasonable limits. I will be making this point to the planners.

Following the meeting, I headed up to the Lib Dem office in Consett where, with Cllr Kevin McClurey, we printed a focus, a petition and three surveys. It looks like we will be burning shoe leather over the coming days.