Reform bans the Ukrainian flag

Two flags have been banned by Reform from the flagpoles of Gateshead Civic Centre. Firstly, they put an end to the display of the Pride flag. Now, they have banned the Ukrainian flag, a decision that was confirmed at the last full council meeting in July. A Lib Dem motion calling for the flag to be flown was kicked out by the ranks of largely silent Reform Councillors (other than the deputy leader who spoke against. Her argument was that the union jack flown constantly at the Civic Centre would have to make way for the Ukrainian flag. This is of course nonsense. There are 3 flagpoles at the Civic Centre. We only want one for the Ukrainian flag, not all three.

Meanwhile, I continue to see people displaying the Ukrainian flag at home. Given the improved Ukrainian battlefield situation, Reform could soon be in the wrong side of history.

No DBS checks in Gateshead

DBS checks (Disclosure and Barring Service) are not to be required of Gateshead Councillors in Gateshead. That was the decision of Gateshead Council a couple of weeks ago. DBS is a system to check whether someone has a criminal record so it can be decided whether a person is appropriate for appointment to a particular job or role. Earlier in July, Labour put forward a motion calling for DBS checks on all councillors as a matter of course. Council rejected the call.

Or rather, Reform rejected it.

I have criticism of both Labour and Reform about this. Firstly, Labour had been in power in Gateshead since 1974. They chose to put forward the DBS proposals after losing power. Before May, they had the power to require DBS checks but did not implement them. Then, after losing power in May and no longer having the power to introduce them, they then propose implementing them.

Secondly, Reform responded to the motion by rejecting it. Their deputy leader led their argument against. She made the point that there was nothing in the motion to explain what the Council should do if someone's DBS comes back failing their check. It's a valid point to raise but it was wrong to use that argument to throw out the DBS proposals. They could have moved an amendment or simply worked with the opposition parties to come up with a workable solution.

In the dark days of Labour's one party state in Gateshead, Labour largely voted against our motions (there were a few honourable exceptions). It seems Gateshead under Reform is heading in the same direction.

Wallpaper ballot

 

This photo has been doing the rounds on Facebook. It is the ballot paper for the Clacton by-election. At this point in the contest the supply of jokes about this absurd contest have been exhausted. 34 candidates are competing for the crown, making for a ballot paper that is more like wallpaper.

The jokes may be exhausted but it is still possible to engage in fantasy outcomes. The idea that Farage could be beaten by a bin is delicious. Alas, however, I can't see it happening. Expect a Farage win unless Binface manages to whip up enough people to push him over the line. Dream on!

Fish and chips onboard the Tanfield Railway

 

Sunniside is fortunate to have the Tanfield Railway, the world's longest running steam rail system, right on our doorstep. Recently I spotted an advert for an event at the Tanfield: fish and chip aboard the train. I couldn't resist. We had a great time!

Newcastle Pride - the video

 

Filmed today.

Newcastle Pride

 

It was Newcastle Pride today. After my ward surgery I headed over to Newcastle Civic Centre to be part of a sea of colour for the parade to the Monument. Good to see lots of people from Gateshead Council LGBT support network.

One of the first people I bumped into was Cllr Henry Gallagher, mayor of Newcastle.

Welcome aboard

Gateshead full council meeting was held last week. Quietly slipping in under the radar was Reform Councillor, Lindsay Atkinson. He was the winner of the High Fell by-election caused by the Reform councillor, elected in May, lasting only 11 days in the job. Atkinson's win went unobserved by Full Council. No mention by the Leader or Mayor. No opportunity for Reform to celebrate their majority of 5. What was also of interest at the meeting was the appearance of Reform Councillor Sydney Laws who had not attended any previous meetings and some were beginning to wonder if he would ever be seen at council meetings. Now we can rest assured that he will be taking an active role in the Council.........we hope.

50 years in business

 

I had to go to Lobley Hill today for some stamps. The joy of popping to the Sunniside Post Office ended when the branch was closed a few years ago. Lobley Hill is therefore now our closest branch. The Lobley Hill branch is next to the Kular Stores which recently celebrated 50 years as the convenience store for the whole of Lobley Hill. I remember being sent to the shop 50 years ago by Mam to do some shopping. Previously it was Moore's Stores. And yes, I remember shopping there as well. The store has grown ever since. So congratulations on reaching a half century and and here's to many more years ahead of you.

Clear the gallery!

 

Full council last week experienced some disruption. A bunch of Reform supporters were in the public gallery and, rather oddly, also in the well of the council chamber. This area is reserved for councillors, officers and press. The only members of the public allowed to sit in the well (on the edge of it) are those with disabilities which make it difficult to access the public gallery. Joining the Reform supporters in the well was Mark Steele, the conspiracy theorist who claims street lights are part of a 5G weapon system which is killing people. Steele runs his very own political party, Save Us Now, which appears to have been created in his own image. Nevertheless, despite the different party memberships, |Steele appeared to be getting on well with his Reform chums. Other than the one person in a wheel chair, we do not know how these people found their way into the chamber unchallenged.

Part way into the meeting, Labour complained to the mayor that abusive language was being used by people in the public gallery. I didn't hear what was said but the Mayor immediately clamped down and ordered that the public gallery be cleared. Mark Steele chose to leave by walking through the council chamber shouting abuse at Labour councillors while looking at the Lib Dem group. The video above caught what happened.

Given ongoing concerns about the safety of politicians, quite why Reform supporters and others were allowed to gather in and occupy part of the well of the council chamber is unknown. Perhaps the Reform leadership of Gateshead Council may wish to look into this and report back on how this will be avoided in the future.

Will there be a general election?

Speculation about a general election was one of the most expected outcomes of the change of Prime Minister. I can't however see an early election happening. Burnham inherits a Parliamentary party of over 400 MPs. The current Parliament has run for only 2 years and has 3 years left to go. Burnham has committed to following the key points of the Labour general election manifesto. Labour's poll ratings may have improved but decisions on going to the polls cannot be based on initial opinion poll results. Outside the North West, Burnham is largely unknown. He needs time to settle in. And, of course, we live in a Parliamentary democracy. The prime minister is not directly elected by the people but is appointed by the King who give the role to the person who can command a majority in the House of Commons.

So, famous last words etc but do not expect a general election at least until 2028, if not 2029.

Working 9 to 5

At full council in Gateshead last week, the ruling Reform group put forward a motion calling for meetings to start at 4.30pm and be limited to a maximum of two hours. The aim of the changes is to make it easier for people to become councillors and attend meetings. So let's look at this in detail.

In days gone by, most people would have worked standard 9 to 5 shifts. Daytime council meetings therefore are difficult for working people to attend. But...nowadays, more people are working flexible shifts, work weekends, enjoy flexitime, work part time and so on. In other words, people are more flexible in their working arrangements. For me personally, working 9 to 5 is not an issue. I am a farmer and can fit meetings around mucking out the goats, feeding the sheep and so on. The problem for me is evening meetings in the ward. I attend lots of local community and volunteer groups typically from 6pm onwards. Moving council meetings to the late afternoon will make it harder to do the task of local representation.

The Lib Dem group however were more inclined to support the proposal so I accepted the need to support the change. If it works, that's fine. If not, we always have the opportunity to go back to day time meetings.

The other Reform proposal however was more controversial: meetings are to be restricted to 2 hours maximum. For all the time I have been a councillor (39 years now!) there has never been a need to limit the length of a meeting. Indeed, I have attended lots of meetings that were so short that councillors were still signing the register as the meeting ended. Meetings lasting more than 2 hours are unusual but typically there is a good reason for exceeding such a time limit. Here are some relatively recent examples.

A few months ago, corporate resources scrutiny committee discussed the demolition of the flyover as well as other issues relating to the failure to regenerate Gateshead High Street. Members of the committee grilled chief officers and the then leader and deputy leader of the council. This exercise brought out a great deal of information and threw light on how the council was dealing with the key issues in the town centre.

Another recent example was the scrutiny by corporate resources of Regent Funeral Services, again with senior officers attending. As with the previous example, the meeting lasted more than 2 hours because there was a thorough analysis and a great deal of questioning by members.

And a further recent example was the cabinet meeting that debated the proposed closure of leisure centres in Gateshead. This issue alone took up 3 hours of the meeting's time because members of the public, interest groups and volunteers attended and put forward their views, as did ruling and opposition councillors alike. Restricting the whole meeting to 2 hours would have severely curtailed the debate and probably would have excluded the public from being able to speak.

So, while a general rule on restricting meetings to 2 hours will in most circumstances have no impact, on big debates about crucial matters that require more intensive and extensive discussion, a big hole will be blown in democracy. And for these reasons, the Lib Dems voted against the time limit.

Citizenship ceremony

 

A citizenship ceremony was held in Gateshead Civic Centre earlier this month. People from about 40 countries who had come to the UK as legally recognised migrants received their citizenship at the ceremony. Two of the new citizens are constituents of mine.

Tackling flooding in Sunniside

 

Sunniside has, for decades, been suffering localised flooding. Before the village was built in the 19th and 20th centuries, it was agricultural land (much of it was my grandfather's farm). Most of the village has been built on a slope and given the increasing incidents of heavy rainfall and the increase in hard standing, the drains are no longer capable of dealing with the amount of water therefore causing floods.

I'm pleased to report that Northumbrian Water and Gateshead Council have a plan to tackle the flooding by reducing the amount of hardstanding, adding drainage to the field in the centre of Sunniside, creating a pond to collect excess water at the bottom of Hole Lane and adding in more drainage pipes.

Work will start soon to install the system but a public consultation has been carried out. A display of the plans was held in Sunniside Club recently. I called in with my ward colleague Marilynn Ord and had extensive discussions with the engineers who were present. Let's hope the improvements fully address the flooding problems that Sunniside has had to endure.

The coronation of King Andy

 The announcement today that Andy Burnham has been elected as Labour leader comes as no surprise. He was, after all, in a one horse race. So he therefore undergoes a coronation rather than a contest. I remain to be convinced that this is the right approach. We barely know anything about what he plans for the country. A contest would have brought our his policies and put them in the spotlight.

We already have a precedent. Back in 2007 the coronation of Gordon Brown took place after Blair was pushed out. Those Labour MPs who were unhappy with the prospect of Brown as PM were bullied out of pushing for a contest. The result was a disaster. In the resulting one horse race, Brown was swept into 10 Downing Street and within weeks he was in trouble.

Burnham now needs to set out his plans without any vagueness. So, good luck to him but he needs to start telling us what he's all about.

Congratulations Dave

The news story that caught my eye today was the appointment of 5 new Lib Dem peers. Among them is Dave McCobb. I have to confess I don't know the other 4. Dave is a former colleague of mine from the days I worked for Lib Dem HQ. He went on to be head of campaigns and oversaw the 2024 general election campaign which saw the Lib Dems grow from 11 to 72 MPs. So congratulations Dave, well done. The irony is that having run campaigns that were all about winning votes and getting MPs elected, he is now being appointed to an unelected chamber!

Reform hold High Fell by 5 votes

The High Fell by-election in Gateshead is a hold for Reform. The results have just come through and, after a recount, Reform clung on by just 5 votes. The overall results are:

• Reform 564
• Labour 559
• Lib Dem 98
• Conservative 79
• Green 71
• TUSC 36

High Fell was previously a strong Labour ward. It had been Labour throughout the entire existence of Gateshead Council. Reform took all 3 seats in May. One of the Reform councillors resigned after 11 days (hence the by-election). Another is yet to attend a single meeting since his election. Labour came close, very close, but not close enough to winning it back. I suspect Labour will feel the most dejected by the result.

The battle for 3rd place was won by the Lib Dems. We climbed from 4th to 3rd. The Greens dropped from 3rd to 5th. The Tory candidate put out leaflets in other party colours and failed to get noticed.

So congratulations to the new Reform Councillor Lindsay Atkinson who I beat very comfortably in May in Whickham South and Sunniside ward. Let's hope he lasts a bit longer than his predecessor.

Pantomime or politics?

Lots of sleeze allegations and Farage is in trouble. In an attempt to distract attention away from his troubles, Reform have come up with an amazing plan - have a by-election by resigning, even though Farage claims he has done nothing wrong. Yet the great plan has fallen at the first hurdle. None of the other political parties will play along with Farage's game. So Farage looks set to fight Count Binface  for the resulting vacancy in Clacton. This is hardly Farage versus the Establishment, more a case of the Reform pantomime coming to Clacton. What we could do with however is some real politics. Just don't look to Reform to provide them.

Taking the goats to Lobley Hill.

 

I was the stand in for the All-Saints Lobley Hill community fair on Saturday. The organiser of the fair needed me to bring some goats. The person originally lined up had pulled out. I said yes meaning I missed a surgery and a Focus delivery in Birtley. The goats made lots of new friends!

Trip to the Hoppings

 

The Hoppings (the largest travelling fair in Europe) were in Newcastle recently. Thankfully I decided not to go on any of the rides (which seem to get taller, faster and bigger every year.) Here's the video I shot.