Oh no, not another by-election

Has Keir Starmer left a ticking time bomb in Burnham's inbox? His resignation as MP for Holborn and St Pancras means a tricky by-election. The Greens are already sniffing around the constituency and they are doing nothing to deflect suggestions that Zak Polanski will be their candidate. The talk is that Starmer has handed the constituency to Polanski. But is that really the case?

In the May local elections, Labour actually held on, though admittedly with a reduced majority, in Camden, the authority that covers Holborn and St Pancras. Elsewhere, Labour were in meltdown. It seems in Camden that people regard Labour a bit more positively than elsewhere. There is likely to be a rebound in the Labour vote, as already seen in opinion polls and in the Makkerfield by-election. And I'm not convinced that the Labour machine was unaware of the by-election. I suspect Starmer had been in talks with Labour campaign chiefs and an assessment of Labour prospects has been made. Perhaps he's going now because Labour feel they have a good chance of holding on, subject to a suitable candidate. Meanwhile, the gloss has started to come off Polanski. And an examination of Green policies could put off many moderate centrist voters.

So although the Greens may be getting excited about Polanski storming his way into Parliament, I would caution against all this excitement. We may be in for a big battle but if Polanski stands and loses, his political career is over.

Dunston fair video

 

Basil and Dandelion went down well with visitors to the Dunston fair yesterday. As you can see, they were the stars in the video I filmed on the day.

Dunston fair

 

This morning I took two of our goats to Dunston fair. Dandelion and Basil spent the morning and afternoon being given lots of apples and attention. My colleagues Peter Maughan, Marilynn Ord, Jason Meecham and Peter and Susan Craig were there as well. Particular mention is made of Emma from Dunston who took over the running of the fair some weeks ago. It probably wouldn't have gone ahead without her.

Leapfrogging in style

Yesterday there was a by-election in the Newcastle City Council ward of Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn. Yet again, it was another Reform resignation after just a few weeks in the role of councillor. The ward itself was comfortably held by Labour until their near wipe out in Newcastle. From a council Labour had run with a significant majority, they were reduced to two. But with the Burnham Bounce and the boost that can be gained by starting in second place in the ward, Labour must have fancied their chances of regaining the ward.

Throckley must have been the worst ward to try to pull off a Lib Dem coup in Newcastle. We were chugging along with barely a few percent. Even the Conservatives were ahead of us. Ahead of them were the Greens, who were stalking Labour who were in a slightly distant 2nd place. Reform had a comfortable majority. The margins may have been significant but Labour should have been the primary challengers. And then everything went wrong.

Instead of storming the Reform barricades in Throckley, Labour slumped. Instead, the Lib Dems were doing the storming from the back of the queue. In spectacular style, they leapfrogged the Conservatives, Greens and Labour to seize the coveted 2nd position. It would have been great to leapfrog in style by winning the seat outright but the Lib Dems now have a winnable ward which, if worked, could go Lib Dem next time.

The actual result (with the top result for each party in May in brackets for comparison) was:

• Reform 901 (1380)
• Lib Dems (Steve Kelly) 670 (150)
• Labour 534 (914)
• Greens 103 (432)
• Conservatives 101 (276)

The only party with an increased vote are the Lib Dems. Greens and Conservatives were squeezed right down. Labour lost nearly half their vote. Reform lost approximately a third of their vote. Meanwhile the Lib Dem vote quadrupled.

Well done to Steve Kelly who has taught us to leapfrog in style.

Protesting again a greenbelt development

 

Plans by Banks Group to build 210 houses on the fields to the south of Sunniside are not going down well in the village. The planning application is not yet submitted to Gateshead Council but it is expected later this year. I organised a photo op for the Evening Chronicle on Thursday for residents to protest against the proposals. With only a couple of days' notice, 30-40 came along, having responded to the post I put on our Lib Dem Facebook page, Focus on NE16.

Our reasons for opposing the proposals are:

• the site is greenbelt;
• the village is heavily congested;
• the community infrastructure (schools, health services etc) are already overstretched;
• the drainage in the village is already inadequate and during times of heavy rain, sewage overflows into the local stream.

The application has not yet been submitted but we expect it to be with the Council later this year.

Come and see Basil and Dandelion tomorrow

 

Tomorrow I will be taking two of our goats to another local fair, this time in Dunston Park, Gateshead. I will be taking dandelion (see above) one of our young nannies and Basil (see below), a billy kid born earlier this year. The fair is open 11am to 3pm.

Meeting Planting Up Sunniside

 

Another floral display from Planting Up Sunniside. The group have taken on the role of brightening the village by planting up containers and verges. They are meeting shortly and I've been invited to attend. The Sunniside Christmas tree and the switch on event will be on the agenda. I will have to report that there will be only one donkey for the switch on. We had three last year but this year two of the donkeys have been sold (they used to live in the stables next to my farm). But one is better than none and if necessary I could bring a couple of my goats to the switch on cunningly disguised as reindeer!

Goodbye Dolly

Sad news: Dolly Parton has passed away. I saw her in concert at the O2 about a decade ago. She was one of the greatest singers and entertainers of the last 6 decades. The world will be a less colourful place without her. She accepted people for what they are and she was a great success in a male dominated world. 

RIP Dolly.

Housing protest on Thursday

On Thursday I have arranged for a reporter/photographer to come to Sunniside where he will be reporting on the proposals by Banks Group to build 210 houses on the land immediately to the south of the village. Residents fighting the proposals are welcome to join us at midday at the Burdon Park/Burdon Lodge entrance to the Tanfield Bridleway.

Councillor Marilynn Ord and I are opposing the plans because:

• The site is greenbelt which protects land from development;
• Sunniside is heavily congested during morning and evening rush hours as the village is on one of the busiest routes between Tyneside and northern Durham;
• The community infrastructure (eg health services) in Sunniside would be stretched to breaking point with the addition of 210 houses;
• The village's existing drainage and sewage system struggles to cope and especially in winter, there can be sewage overflows into the Blackburn, the stream which runs through local woodland and through Watergate Park.

The planning application has not yet been submitted but it is expected later this year. A final decision is expected next year.

Residents are welcome to join us on Thursday.

Reform's foundations of rubbish

 

In Gateshead, the new Reform administration is learning the hard way how to put one's foot in one's mouth and look ridiculous in one go. Council Leader Nick Allan thought it was a good idea to back a proposal for defense manufacturing hubs to be set up at five locations in the UK, one of which was Blaydon Quarry in Gateshead. The proposals were the work of the Adam Smith Institute, not exactly known for any left-leaning inclinations. Nevertheless, Cllr Allan rushed to back the proposals publicly and the Chronicle, the North East's daily newspaper, carried the story.

Alas, within 24 hours, the Blaydon Quarry proposal was in tatters. Cllr Allan overlooked a small but rather important point. The Quarry is already occupied - by a landfill site! No rubbish has been deposited there since 2021 and the site has since been capped (under the direction of Gateshead Council). Had Cllr Allan checked with officers, he would have realised the location was a non-starter.

Within 24 hours, the Quarry proposal was abandoned. How long Cllr Allan's red faced embarrassment will continue is anyone's guess!