I think you are forgetting your past, Martin

On Monday, a post from Martin Gannon, Labour leader of Gateshead Council, dropped into my Facebook feed. He asked:

"Got to ask the question. What part does ATC privatisation play here? Just wondering."

It's an interesting question, given the airline chaos of the day caused by a faulty system that came close to grounding the nation's entire air transport. Martin's reference to ATC (Air Traffic Control) is actually a reference to National Air Traffic Services wholly owned by NATS Holdings. This is a public-private partnership and was proposed by Labour in government in 1998 and implemented in 2001. The public sector retains 49% of the ownership. Though a minority, it is the biggest individual shareholder and the government retains a golden share.

Martin has had a number of political incarnations over the past 40 years I have known him. In the 1980s, he was militant Martin. In the 1990s he could out-Blair Tony Blair. From 2010 to 2015, he at least on the surface was comfortable with Ed Miliband. From 2015, his views on Corbyn were difficult to pin down (in public at least). 

Martin's FB post seems to hint at privatisation being the cause of the problems that blew up on Monday. Given that NATS has been in the private sector for 20 years, privatisation as the cause seems very unlikely. He also overlooks who was responsible for the sell off - his Blairite government of which he was a super fan.

Maybe Martin has a need to shore up his support on Gateshead Council with the left of the Labour party. Attacking privatistion, or at least raising questions about its suitability to operate important infrastrucutre, could bolster his support among those Labour councillors who still pine after Corbyn. Quite what those same councillors think about Martin's pursuit of the privatisation of the management of Gateshead Council's leisure facilities would be interesting to know.

Borderline

I see the government have announced that, for the fifth time, they have postponed the introduction of border checks on EU goods entering the country. If I were a Brexit supporter (I am not) I would be furious at the government's inaction on the borders. After all, taking control of our borders and Britain deciding what comes into the country was a key promise of Brexit. It is yet another promise of beauties of Brexit that have not materialised since we left the EU.

Sunniside leek show

 

On Tuesday, Sunniside Social Club held their annual leek show. I didn't enter any of the competitions myself (I don't grow show leeks) though some of the people there suggested to me I should give it a go next year!

Well done to all those who did enter the competitions and especially to those who won.

Let me eat cake

 

A craft fair was held at Marley Hill Community Centre on Saturday and I popped in, hoping that there would be plenty of cake makers. I found only one as I toured the stalls. But that was sufficient. A large piece of lemon drizzle cake was purchased. Obviously I wasn't being self-sufficient when I bought the cake but we are happy to support local bakers and crafts people.

On a general point, I try to visit as many of the community events in my ward as possible. It is a useful way to keep in touch with people, and pick up issues - as I did on Saturday!

A familiar style

 

Beamish, only a few km from my house, opened the police houses in the 1950s area of the museum in June. During our honeymoon week, David and I visited the new attractions at Beamish. The police houses are built in a very familiar. There are thousands of council houses in Gateshead built to a similar architectural appearance. Police houses have largely disappeared over the past few years though I do remember them in Lobley Hill and Streetgate.

There's much more to come in the 1950s section of the museum. I'm particularly looking forward to the cinema and the rebuilding of the postwar prefabricated houses that were carefully removed from Kibblesworth a decade ago.

The video takes you on a journey through the police houses and you get to see what for some of us is familiar postwar and 1950s furniture, some of which I was still using until about 20 years ago.

What history taught me about self-sufficiency

 

I have another speaking engagement, this time in September. I will be speaking about what history taught me about self-sufficiency to Sunniside History Society. A combination of two interests close to my heart - history and sustainable living, Come along if you are interested.

Booked for conference

 

A few weeks ago I took the decision to attend Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth. Last year I had my conference pass, transport and hotel booked when the passing of the Queen put an end to the annual gathering (it was meant to be in Brighton). Before that, covid had ensured conference didn't happen in 2020 and 2021. So I am now booked up for Bournemouth. Travelling there will be something of a drag as it will take hours to get from Newcastle to the south coast. I may split the journey by travelling to London, fit in a museum visit, and then head on to Bournemouth. The hotel cost came as something of a shock! However, since we haven't been on holiday for 8 years (try finding someone to look after a farm for a week!) the holiday budget is in something of a surplus, so I won't be sleeping out on a camp bed on the beach!

I've had a quick look through the agenda and found a motion on food and farming. I may put in to speak! I haven't read the other motions yet. That's something to do over the next 4 weeks.

So, I'm looking forward to meeting up in person with friends I haven't seen for a few years. Let's hope they still remember who I am!

Tell Keir

I spotted an article this morning on the Journal website about the deficit that councils are facing. The national figure was a shortfall of £5 billion by 2025/26. The figure for Gateshead was £45.9 million. This is not an unfamiliar figure on the council as the state of the finances of the authority are regularly discussed by councillors. The ruling Labour side blame the Lib Dems in coalition for every problem the borough endures but the Labour blame game could unravel if Labour win the next general election. They have already made clear there will be no additional spending. As with so many issues, a Labour government after the next general election will be a change in management, but not a change is direction. Perhaps Labour in Gateshead need to tell Keir that the country needs more than a watered down Conservative party in power.

Opening King Arthur's garden

 

The Whinnies Community Garden in Sunniside has a new area - King Arthur's garden. It was opened by the Mayor, Cllr Eileen McMaster, on 29th July. The video covered the opening ceremony.

Wilko worries

 

We have 2 Wilko stores in Gateshead, one at the Interchange, the other at the Metrocentre. Both are substantial in size and lots of residents work in them. The announcement yesterday that Wilko have gone into administration is worrying for both the staff and the local economy. Let's hope the company is able to find a buyer though that does not guarantee stores will remain open.

Wilko's store is the biggest in the Interchange Centre and its closure will be a significant blow to the viability of this location. I am not someone who visits any shops regularly but I did sometime use Gateshead Wilko to buy an eclectic mix of goods, from hardware to beer making kits. The loppers pictured above came from that store a few years ago. Ironically, as the news of the company going into administration was released yesterday, my trusty Wilko loppers disintegrated while chopping fuel for our stove.

History Society meeting

 Last night I chaired the monthly meeting of Sunniside History Society in Sunniside Social Club. An interesting meeting that included a video produced about 20 years ago by the Society of Bronte country. The next meeting on 6th September is the AGM followed by a talk by me about what history taught me about self-sufficiency. The meeting starts at 7pm. £1 for members, £2 for non-members.

Low Fell eFocus no. 127

 Team Low Fell have just published their latest eFocus, no. 127. Issues covered include:

• Council backs down on Valley Drive;
• Trees on Dryden Road;
• New bus shelter on Durham Road;
• Chowdene Bank cut back
• Albert Drive lighting.

You can read eFocus on this link.

I do

 

On Saturday 15th July David and I got married. Thanks to the change is the law that was guided through Parliament by the then Lib Dem Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone, same sex marriage could take place from 2014. After 38 years of knowing each other, we decided to tie the knot. Apart from the rain just before the wedding, everything went to plan. Gateshead Registry Office did a great job and Sunniside Social Club did a grand job of hosting the reception. Samantha Cheeseman of Saltmarsh Catering in Dunston did a fantastic job of putting together a buffet that included produce from our farm.

We had a "honeymoon at home" over the past week. We are took busy on the farm to go away, especially with the recent birth of 5 goat kids, all of which we are hand feeding. We did however have some day trips, going to Beamish, Newcastle keep, the Baltic Art Gallery and Marsden.

Thanks for all the good wishes people have sent and thanks to the 100 guests who came along to the reception.

Northern Pride

 

I was in Newcastle yesterday for the Northern Pride parade. Gateshead Lib Dem councillors on the parade in addition to myself were Leanne Brand, Amanda Wintcher, Ron Beadle and Vicky Anderson. Sadly the rain also joined the procession which led to the event on the Town Moor being cancelled. Nevertheless, Pride is something we continue to need. Look at some countries such as Uganda, Malaysia and Russia and the repression and hostility to the LGBT community is horrifying.

Regional conference

In my in box yesterday was an email from the North East Lib Dems. I've just got round to opening it now. It's about the forthcoming North East Lib Dem regional conference and it is being held in Gateshead on 4th November. More specifically, it is to be held in the Little Theatre (hopefully not too small!) which is on the border between Lib Dem held Low Fell and Saltwell, gained by the Lib Dems from Labour in May. A good venue to celebrate! The agenda is not ready yet so we await the motions that will be debated.

Low Fell eFocus no. 126

 The Low Fell Focus Team have been hard at work as usual and their latest eFocus newsletter was published last week. Issues covered include:

• Gateshead Leisure Centre to close on July 21st;
• Consultation on walking and cycling lanes;
• St Helen's Church Fayre;
• Shoplifting in Low Fell;
• Lyndhurst Bowling Club grant success;
• Low Fell Volunteer Gardeners thank Sainsbury's.

You can read eFocus on this link.

The icing on the cake

 

David and I will get married on Saturday. My sister Esther has made the cake. She sent me this photo of it. The icing is on but the decoration is still to be done. I am banned from seeing it until we get to the reception!

Suits you, Sir

 

It has been nearly 15 years since I last bought a suit. I had 6 months' wear out of it before I moved on from my office based job in Lib Dem HQ to the world of self-sufficiency. Since then, the suit only came out of the wardrobe when there is a full council meeting in Gateshead or I have to attend a funeral or wedding. The suit is now showing 15 years of wear and tear and a modestly expanded waistline has not helped! So off to Marks and Spencer I went. A new shirt and a suit were acquired.

36 years ago, at the age of 23, I was elected to Gateshead for the first time. I remember fitting into my shirts which were all 15 inch collars. I then took up swimming as a hobby and had to replace all my shirts as my collar size had grown to 18 inches! It has stayed at that size for the past 30 years. Alas, my waistline has gone from 30 inches in 1987 to 36 inches now. 

The point about this is that a new suit was needed not just to replace my Worzel Gummidge style tatters of a suit, but because my wedding is coming up and I guess I need to look presentable rather than having the appearance of a sack of potatoes! Hopefully, this new suit will last me another decade and a half.

The History of Chase Park

 

Tonight the Suniside History Society will enjoy a talk about the history of Chase Park in Whickham. The speaker is Richard Pears who has spoken to the Society on a number of occasions. The talk kicks off at 7pm in Sunniside Club.

The park has seen some controversy recently when Gateshead Labour Council decided to flog off the stable block and the main park entrance to developers. Labour cabinet member for housing, John Adams, claimed the areas to be used for new executive housing are not in the park but are "adjacent" to it! Labour Leader Martin Gannon repeated the same absurd claim. 

Perhaps both would care to come along to the talk tonight. It would be an opportunity for each to learn something about the park before they each next open their mouth on the issue.

The mini Margaret Thatcher of Gateshead Council

 

The future of leisure centres in Gateshead has been a hot topic for over a year. A consultation was launched in October 2022 which included proposed closures and plans to privatise the management of any remaining facilities. The two most threatened centres also happened to be in the most marginal Labour held wards in Gateshead (Birtley and Saltwell). I think it is fair to say that Labour went into panic mode as the end of the consultation approached in January. The result of this was a last minute change of plan at the all-Labour cabinet which delayed the end of the consultation to 8th May, 3 days after the local elections! The cost of that was £600,000.

If Labour thought they could avoid defeat by delay, they were mistaken. They lost both Birtley and Saltwell to the Lib Dems.

The cabinet member responsible for leisure services is Angela Douglas. The plans for closures and privatisation belong to her. She has presided over a failure to make the facilities self-financing. Cllr Douglas has been rather quiet about the leisure facilities. When the report came to the cabinet in January she had nothing to say, despite the two hour debate that took place. At the budget meeting there was an amendment from the Lib Dems calling for reserves to be used to keep the facilities open while their future was sorted. She made no contribution to the debate despite being the responsible portfolio holder.

The people of Gateshead have every right to ask, "What is the point of Cllr Douglas and what do the people get for the £16K she is paid in addition to her councillor allowance?"

Fortunately her vow of silence came to an end in June at the cabinet meeting that considered again the closure of two facilities and to seek private sector providers to take on the running of what's left. Cllr Douglas in her speech to cabinet decided to blame the Liberal Democrats for the closures and the current state of the centres!

This is somewhat rich coming from Gateshead Labour - they have run the council for nearly 50 years (or should that be "they have run the council into the ground for nearly 50 years?") Given  the privatisation agenda of Cllr Douglas, the mini-Margaret Thatcher of Gateshead Council, she should be the last person making such comments!

There is one hopeful element to this saga. There are possible community asset transfers that could result in the voluntary sector taking on Gateshead Leisure Centre and Birtley Swimming Centre. Nevertheless, the two centres will have to close on the day the school summer holidays begin, stripping Birtley and Gateshead Centres of vital income as well as denying local communities access to important leisure facilities when the kids are out of school. If they were to reopen in the voluntary sector, much of their customer base is likely to have gone elsewhere, helping to fatten up the facilities where Cllr Douglas is looking to privatise the management. But that's market forces for you. Margaret Thatcher would have been proud of her mini.