Simon4Pinhoe

The Difference with Exeter Labour...

2013-04-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

Lord Mayor Cllr Rob Newby unveils the custom-made
signs for the new community space at Arena Park

This morning I attended the official opening of the new youth facilities at Arena Park, in Exeter. The local residents' association, together with Devon & Cornwall Housing, Exeter Parkswatch and the local community have raised £100,000 - no mean feat in these hard times - to provide a youth shelter, a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), play equipment and a huge community picnic table. (Actually, "picnic table" does not do the thing justice. Think medieval banqueting table!)

With me were the current Labour County Councillor for the area, Saxon Spence, my fellow Labour City Councillor, Moira MacDonald, the new Leader of the Labour Group on the County Council, Richard Westlake; and our Devon County Council election candidate Emma Morse. A whole team of Labour councillors and activists who have worked together with the community, local organisations and the City and County Councils to bring investment and partnership to a local area, and to deliver results.

Cllr Saxon Spence & Emma Morse
in the Arena Park youth shelter

Partnership is the key. Also there were the Devon & Somerset Fire Service, Parkswatch, Devon Youth Service, Devon & Cornwall Police, Exeter City Football Club's Football in the Community Project, and the amazing James Bond (yes, really!) of Carving Community - the organisation that recruited and led local young people in shaping their vision for a new youth shelter. The results are astounding - new community facilities that are loved and valued by the whole community, and form a new focus point for young and old, that bring the community together and enable residents to enjoy the open space together.

As we milled around the church hall enjoying our coffees I spoke to one local resident - a stalwart of the local residents' association. I was there to celebrate and support the local project, not to be "political", but that didn't stop this local resident becoming vocal. "The Conservatives have done nothing up here. Nothing." he said. "Even when we had Tory Councillors [for Pinhoe] they wouldn't do anything here. They just don't want to know."

Last year the Tory campaign in Pinhoe was highly visible. Teams of Conservative Future students from the University - together with activists bused in from other parts of Devon - supported local candidates to pound the streets and knock on doors. There were flurries of Twitter activity, declaring that Exeter Tories' activity was "#allyearround" - implying they were not simply out for your votes but were working 24/7 for the communities.

Campaigning with Emma in "White City", Pinhoe

What a contrast this year! Our local team, supporting Emma Morse, has been actively campaigning for some months now, and has recently stepped-up activity to be canvassing daily now that the lighter evenings are here. We have not heard a peep from Emma's rival. Even asking residents as we campaign whether they have heard from the Tories has drawn a blank. I am surprised, but pleased.

By contrast, Exeter Labour is a party rooted in local communities. The reason we have been able to bring so much to fruition across the city is because we have networks of City Councillors, County Councillors and grassroots community activists making things happen. For us, "all year round" is not a slogan for election times - it's the reality. Getting elected is just the start - after that comes the hard (but hugely rewarding) work of listening, planning and doing. Working with and through local communities to recognise their priorities and to plan for how - together - we achieve it. No wonder Exeter has become the "fourth happiest place to live" in the UK, in the top 2% of UK towns & cities for job creation and has the University, College and Museum of the Year! The city is run by a local Party that is itself rooted in the very communities it serves, and its activists are as much community activists as they are Party activists.

Vote Red - go Green! A whole row of older peoples'
bungalows in Pinhoe - all now fitted with solar panels

Emma is a local mum of two small children, and the daughter of a former City Council leader. Her husband is a local teacher, and Emma herself is a governor at a local school. She helps to run a local playgroup, and is a trustee of the local Community Centre. She hasn't been elected yet - this is what she does anyway.

I once heard a great expression on leadership:

"You don't appoint leaders, you recognise them."

Leadership is not a "job" that you give to someone and then they "do" it. If you watch any group of people you will begin to recognise that some naturally begin to lead and serve others - to inspire and to motivate individuals for the collective good. Emma is in that category, and I will be proud to have her representing me as my local County Councillor on May 3rd. Please join us in supporting Emma on May 2nd, and if you would like to help with Emma's campaign, get in touch here.

Shameless: Tory Porkies in the Council Chamber

2013-02-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

So, last night saw the meeting of the Full Council to approve Exeter City Council's budget for 2013-14. Perhaps foolishly, Exeter Tories had already given us a "heads up" on their likely forms of attack in their recent tweets of their election material. If their new leaflet was anything to go by, the Tories were going to argue against an increase in Council Tax by £5 per year, and - unbelievably - against the decision by Exeter Council to pass on the imposed cuts to Council Tax Support forced on us by central government.

Yesterday, I addressed these two issues in my blog post, pointing out that Conservative local authorities, and the Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner for Devon & Cornwall Police were also being forced to raise Council Tax, and that Sir Merrick Cockell - Tory Chair of the Local Government Association - had attacked the government's cuts to Council Tax benefit. I went along to Full Council convinced that local Tories surely wouldn't be daft enough to try these arguments in public - in a Council debate.

Exeter Council's Leader, Labour Councillor Pete Edwards, set out the scale of the challenge facing local authorities, accurately set out Exeter's position as a resilient city in the face of significant national economic hardship, and Exeter Labour's clear plan for jobs and growth in the city. Cllr Edwards set out the need for an increase in Council Tax, and also set out the reasons why Exeter Council under Labour refuses to use the New Homes Bonus to "plug the shortfall" in government funding to local authorities.

Exeter Labour is using revenue from development and
growth to fund capital infrastructure and community
projects

Deputy Leader, Cllr Rachel Sutton reiterated this latter point. If Exeter were to "build in" income from a new scheme like the New Homes Bonus, and then that funding were to cease, Exeter would suddenly be left facing a stark "fiscal cliff" - and deep, hard cuts would follow. Exeter Labour chooses to have a balanced revenue budget, and use the New Homes Bonus income to invest in infrastructure projects and much-needed community facilities.

Cllr Greg Sheldon argued the case for the increase in Council Tax. The additional revenue raised matches the interest payments needed on our capital borrowing to invest in Exeter's proposed upgraded flood defences. £5 per household per year - less than 2p per day - so that Exeter can have the protection it needs in the future from the flood risks that we are starting to see far too frequently now. The Tories, it seems, oppose this common-sense move.

Tory Leader Cllr Henson

Sure enough, Exeter Tories' leader, Polsloe councillor Yolonda Henson rose to her feet and while forced to recognise the excellent year Exeter has had under Labour, she attacked first the cut to Council Tax benefit, and then the rise in Council Tax itself. "I don't think it is fair to cut the Council Tax benefit," she said, "it's placing an extra burden on those already struggling."

Cllr Pete Edwards agreed. The issue is not whether Council Tax Benefit cuts affect the poorest - it does. The issue is who is responsible. "This is your cut - it's from your government," he rightly pointed out. "Why should I hide what this government is doing? Why should Exeter Council see more local cuts to hide national government cuts?" he asked.

I set out the arguments why Exeter Tories' apparent sudden "compassion" on the issue of Council Tax Benefit was desperate, cynical electioneering in yesterday's blog post, but Cllr Henson took this hypocrisy to a whole new level last night. You see, on the 20th November 2012, the Executive Committee of Exeter City Council met, and debated changes to Council Tax Benefit for 2013/14. The papers set out the facts - a 10% cut from national government. Pensioners must be protected - so the cut must be shared among working age households. If Councils choose not to pass the cut on, the shortfall would obviously have to be found elsewhere in the Council's budget.

The recommendation was that Exeter would reluctantly impose a 20% cut in local Council Tax Support. Minute 110 reads:

"Executive unanimously supported the proposed new scheme."

That's "unanimously." No one voted against it. No one abstained. Cllr Henson - now so vocally against the cut - voted in favour of it! Even as Exeter Tories tweet that local cuts to Council Tax Benefit - forced by cuts from this coalition government - were made "out of spite" and were "disgraceful", they knew that their own Leader had voted for them.

I later gave my speech, citing the same arguments as I made in yesterday's blog post. Cllr Henson approached me after the meeting to ask why I was quoting Sir Merrick Cockell. "He's in London," she said. "They don't get New Homes Bonus."

I didn't quite understand what she was trying to get at, so pointed out that I quoted Sir Merrick Cockell in the context of Council Tax Benefit cuts, not Council Tax or income; and that he was speaking as Chair of the LGA - a national body - not as Leader of his home Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. "It doesn't matter," she said again, "they don't get New Homes Bonus." Okay, but while this argument is of no consequence, it is still factually wrong. Not only does Kensington & Chelsea receive New Homes Bonus, it receives a higher value of bonus than most other areas!

Still, I took the opportunity to ask her the question I had been waiting to ask:

Me: "If you are against the Council Tax Benefit scheme in Exeter, why did you vote for it at November's Executive Committee?"

Cllr Henson: "Was I there?" (Not sure why she was asking me! But I had checked the minutes.)

Yes, Cllr Henson, you were there!

Me: "You were. And the scheme was supported unanimously. That means you must have voted for it."

Cllr Henson: "Oh. Well I probably misread the papers, then."

So there you have it. The Leader of Exeter Tories "misread" the papers on one of the very issues they are now campaigning on. That's a seven-page covering report, with illustrative tables to demonstrate the impact of the new scheme on different bands.

Oh, and the report on the consultation with local people about the scheme.

And the Equality Impact Assessment report about how the scheme would impact the most vulnerable sections of Exeter's community.

And the paper that set out the necessary amendments needed to the Council's constitution to apply the proposed scheme.

And four other papers related to the scheme. "Misread" all of them, apparently.

Either ExeterTories need to admit that they are now electioneering on an issue that their government is responsible for and that their Leader knowingly voted for, or they need to find a Leader who is capable of following critical Council business in meetings.

Exeter Labour is contesting the Devon County Council elections this May. You can read about our candidates here. We will be campaigning positively and honestly - focusing on our track record of delivery locally. Join us here.

Tory Porkies - They're at it Again!

2013-02-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

In addiction services, the definition of insanity, it is said, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Last year, as I campaigned to be your councillor for the Pinhoe ward on Exeter City Council, Exeter Tories' campaign was always negative, often personal and - ultimately - a complete failure. You may recall last year's Tory campaign leaflets. No vision, no sense of leadership, and - as the Tory government's unpopularity grew - often no Conservative branding!

Well, they're at it again.

This year there are no City Council elections, but the Devon County Council elections will be taking place in May, and the Tories are clearly moving on to their usual election footing, as out comes this:

Let's deal with these Tory Porkies.

"End Council Tax Benefit". No. The fact is that the coalition government has given local authorities 10% less to fund Council Tax Support schemes (previously Council Tax Benefit.) However, they told local authorities that pensioners must be protected from any cuts - therefore a higher proportion of cut would be felt by other recipients, or - if authorities wanted to keep their same level of support - they would have to cut council services, or raise revenue in other ways.

I pointed this out on Twitter to Exeter Tories, and got the following response:

"Acted in spite" and "disgraceful", says Exeter Tories. Well, says their election agent Councillor Neil Wilson from - er - Newton Abbot.

Exeter City Council has been forced to cut this support by 20%. Well, I would say that, right? I'm a Labour Councillor after all. The problem for Exeter Tories and their "local" agent Neil is that Exeter Labour's view is shared by the Conservative Chair of the Local Government Association, and Leader of Kensington & Chelsea Council (hardly a hotbed of socialism!) Sir Merrick Cockell:

Tory Chair of the LGA,
Sir Merrick Cockell

"The 10 per cent cut in funding has left many councils with little choice but to reduce the council tax discount offered to people on low incomes. The only other option is to take money away from other services or types of council tax payer to maintain the current levels of financial support.

"Councils are working hard to protect the most vulnerable and needy members of society but, as we warned when the cut was first proposed by the Government, this means that other benefit recipients will have to carry a larger share of the cut.

"Local authorities, which currently collect more than 97 per cent of council tax in the year it is billed, are concerned about the possible impact on collection rates and the knock-on effect it will have on council finances."

Nor is Exeter alone. Tory-run Mid Devon and East Devon are also imposing forced 20% cuts, while Tory councils in Torridge, North Devon and Torbay are introducing 25% cuts! I wonder if Exeter Tories feel those authorities are "disgraceful" and "spiteful" too? Or was this (yet again) just negative, cheap politicking from the Nasty Party?

"Raise Council Tax" Yes. Exeter Council's precept as part of your Council Tax is going up by £5. That's per year. That's an extra 41.6p per month. 9.6p per week, or 1.4p per day. Yes, that equates to 4%, but that's because Exeter's Council Tax starts from a very low point. The lowest in Devon, and one of the lowest in the country.

This extra revenue protects front line services that we all depend on. It means that we are able to invest in our city, including much-needed flood defences. Yet reading Exeter Tories' leaflets you would think any increase in Council Tax was against their principles. In another tweet they were at pains to point out that Tory-led Devon County Council were freezing Council Tax this year. (There just happens to be DCC elections this year, too!)

Tory PCC Tony Hogg
- increasing Council Tax

What they DON'T tell you is that the part of your Council Tax that funds Devon & Cornwall Police - the police precept - is going up by the maximum 2%, or £3.19, a decision by the directly-elected Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner, Tony Hogg. (Remember him?!)

Cllr John Tucker
- increasing Council Tax

They also neglect to mention that Tory-led South Hams Council is taking advantage of exactly the same dispensation given by government to LOW TAX authorities like Exeter to increase Council Tax by up to £5. South Hams Council Leader, Tory Councillor John Tucker said:

"South Hams is one of the few councils being allowed to do this simply because of its past successes in keeping its council tax so low. Councils in the same position as us are being allowed to raise their council tax by up to a fiver a year. Tax payers do not want to see front line services cut. With this increase there will be no cuts to vital services."

If Exeter Council were take the 1% bribe from Eric Pickles to keep freezing Council Tax, with what is already one of the lowest bases in the country, we will - in real terms - keep falling behind financially, and will be unable to sustain services for local people. This bribe to freeze tax is - as a Cornish Councillor recently said - "A self-defeating equivalent of a pay-day loan for councils."

"At a time when more money is being pumped into the city from Central Government than ever before..." Er, no.

Labour-led Exeter continues to attract inward investment

Exeter's adjusted core grant from government is DOWN this coming year by 5.4%. However, well-run local authorities can "earn" extra income by retaining a greater proportion of local business rates (50%), and by collecting New Homes Bonus revenue for growth and development.

Fortunately for Exeter, under Labour the city is doing well - despite a triple-dip recession looming courtesy of the coalition government. Exeter is one of the country's fastest-growing cities, with inward investment rising. Exeter's retail vacancy rate is less than half the national average, and the city is in the top 2% of UK towns and cities for job creation. We have the University of the Year, the College of the Year, and the Museum of the Year. So, thanks to Exeter Labour's effective and efficient management of the City and its resources, our "spending power" will be UP this coming year. But this is thanks to our thriving businesses and growth - NOT thanks to national government grants!

Under Labour, Exeter has remained resilient in the face of national economic turbulence, and despite Osborne's failed economic plan. No wonder Exeter Tories have so little to say, and are reduced - once again - to pumping out desperate and cynical electioneering materials.

It didn't work last time. It won't work this time.

Exeter is doing too well under Exeter Labour. Join us.

Tuesday 26th February was the Exeter City Council's Full Council meeting to debate the proposed budget from Exeter Labour. Surely the Tories wouldn't try these same arguments in the Council chamber, would they...? Report to follow....

Don't Believe the Benefits Hype Part One - Housing Benefit

2012-11-30T04:00:00.003-08:00

The scene of the fallen tree that killed a homeless woman

Last Saturday night, during some of the worst storms and flooding seen in the westcountry in years, Michelle Conroy - a 21 year-old homeless woman - died when a tree came down on the tent in which she and two men were sheltering in Exeter.

Early reports from the BBC simply stated that "a woman had died" when a tree fell on her, then as details emerged that she had been in a tent, BBC changed their reports to say that she was "camping." She was not camping. She was homeless, and she had died seeking shelter where she could.

In recent weeks Exeter Council has had several discussions and presentations about the changes and cuts this government is making to the welfare system. With a now tragic irony, many in Labour's ranks, and local voluntary agencies, have described these changes as an approaching "perfect storm". The stormy events of last Saturday night now create a desperate metaphor of the impact the seismic changes in the benefits system can have on the most vulnerable members of our community.

Shelter cannot guarantee service delivery
in Exeter beyond next March

Government cuts implemented by Tory-led Devon County Council has seen Exeter lose over 200 emergency and supported beds, while cuts are also seeing advice agencies that can help to prevent people losing their homes - the Citizens Advice Bureau and Shelter - losing staff at a time that demands on their services are soaring.

One of the frustrations for me has been that public antipathy to the benefits system (and by extension to the recipients of those benefits) has been at a record high. An autumn poll for the Telegraph of over 3000 people showed 62% saying that they felt unemployment benefits are "too high", and a YouGov poll showed 36% being in favour of benefits being capped at under £20k a year. (The current cap will be set at £26k) In short, the idea of the "undeserving poor" - feckless, irresponsible, work-shy - has taken a hold. The rhetoric of the Tories has set working poor against workless poor, as was illustrated by the speeches George Osborne and David Cameron made to their Party's autumn conference.

George Osborne at Conference 2012

"Where is the fairness, we ask, for the shift-worker, leaving home in the dark hours of the early morning, who looks up at the closed blinds of their next door neighbour sleeping off a life on benefits?" - George Osborne

"What are hard-working people who travel long distances to get into work and pay their taxes meant to think when they see families - individual families - getting 40, 50, 60 thousand pounds of housing benefit to live in homes that these hard working people could never afford themselves? It is an outrage. And we are ending it by capping housing benefit." - David Cameron

When the Left points out that this year the pay of top executives rose by an average of 27% when most workers' pay is not even keeping pace with rising food and energy costs, it is accused by the Tories of engaging in "the politics of envy". Yet when it comes to the poor, their strategy appears to be precisely to "divide and rule" - to persuade those that are working that those on benefits are somehow taking "their" money, getting "something for nothing", living an idle life on soaring benefit payments while those working are the "strivers." It's a sadly popular image.

Local Tory leader Yolonda Henson:
"They don't want to work!"

Even locally, the Tories peddle this view. At a recent meeting of Exeter Council's Executive Committee, as Labour Councillor Rosie Denham was stressing her concern about the growing number of local long-term unemployed, the Exeter Conservative leader was heard to say, "But they don't want to work!"

Here's a conundrum. In October, the government told us that employment - those in work - rose to a record level. In the same month, local housing allowance (housing benefit) also rose to a record high. How can that be? If the Tories' economic strategy has somehow moved the "feckless and work-shy" reluctantly into employment, then surely our benefit payments should be falling, not rising? It is by answering these questions that we start uncovering the truth.

The reason housing benefits are often so high is that private rents are high. The lack of affordable homes and social housing is pushing growing numbers of people into the private rental sector, which in turn is pushing rents up. The average rent of a 3 bedroom family home in Exeter is over £900 per month. The benefits paid to cover some of that (capped incidentally at just £700) is not money going to the claimants - it goes straight into the pockets of the landlord - and with the family concerned needing to find the additional £200.

93% of new housing benefits claims last year were from
households in work

According to the DWP, the government's own definition of "affordable" housing is rents costing no more than 25% of a household's gross (pre-tax) income. So, in order to afford, say, a modest £800 a month rented family home in Exeter, a household would need an income of £3200 per month, or £38,400 per year. The mean average household income is £31,500; but it is estimated that 21% have an income of less than £15,000 and 10% have an income of less than £10,000. Housing benefit costs are rising not because there are growing numbers of unemployed, but because rents are rising, and people who are actually in work simply do not earn enough. Last year, a staggering 93% of all new housing benefit claims were made by households that had at least one working adult. Yet the government has persisted with its caps and cuts, painting pictures of large, idle, workless families enjoying palatial homes at tax-payers expense. It is a myth. (Incidentally, 93% of benefit-claiming families have 3 children or fewer, and less than 1% have 5 or more children to support.)

From 2014, it is mooted, housing benefit will be removed altogether for those under 25. Even if young people of Michelle Conroy's age approach services for help, they will not be entitled to housing benefit. What other impact can such measures possibly have than to increase the number of young, vulnerable people on our streets?

What is to be done?

Labour voted against a welfare cap, recognising that what is needed is greater regulation of private landlords, reducing rents, not capping housing benefits.
Labour is calling for a huge building programme to provide more homes, more jobs and to boost a flagging economy.
In Exeter, over the next 5 years our Labour-led Council is on target to deliver more affordable homes (including housing cooperatives) than any other area in the southwest
"Making work pay" and ensuring people are not "better off on benefits" is not about cutting benefits to poverty levels, but about ensuring that employers pay a living wage. Exeter Labour councillors and Ben Bradshaw MP have all voted against regional pay in the southwest, and are working on plans to make Exeter a living wage city.

Michelle Conroy, who died homeless
in Exeter this week.

Exeter Labour is introducing a more strategic response to delivering benefits payments, by a complete business transformation review of the Council's Customer Service Centre, to ensure it functions as a "one-stop shop" for advice, and is directly linked with Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter and other community sector services.

While this government remains in power, I am not at all confident that tragedies such as the death of Michelle Conroy will not happen again on Exeter's streets. However, Exeter Labour will be doing all it can to coordinate its reduced resources and pressured but excellent frontline services to minimise the impact of government cuts on the most vulnerable in our city.

Nationally or Locally - It's the Same Old Tories

2012-10-18T11:40:00.001-07:00

Many Tory backbenchers are said to be "furious" at the PM's continued
defence of embattled Whip, Andrew Mitchell

This government is increasingly looking like it may be a one-term administration. Opinion polls make grim reading for Tory agents these days, as Labour enjoy a consistent lead of 9-12% and - critically - Cameron's own approval ratings have crashed. Just 26% think his government is doing a good job, while 61% disapprove. One area that comes up again and again for voters polled is that the Tories are seen as "out of touch" with the lives of ordinary people. While the rest of us see our income down in real terms because of inflation racing ahead of pay increases, with surges in energy, fuel and food bills, the Tories have cut the taxes of the wealthiest so that their millionaire friends have at least an extra £48,000 a year in their pockets.

In recent weeks, the government's cause was not helped by the hapless Andrew Mitchell, the government's Chief Whip, becoming a poster boy for this out-of-touch elite as mid-tantrum he allegedly screamed "Best you learn your f***ing place. You don't run this f***ing government. You're f***ing plebs." Of course, he denies using those words, but he has yet to say what he thinks he did say. And yesterday, the Prime Minister declined to give his account to set the record straight, and continues to back his man. (We've been here before of course - with Andy Coulson receiving Cameron's ill-judged support when it was clear to everyone else that he had to go.) Labour is pressing for a vote on the issue.

Under these circumstances, you would have thought Tories would be bending over backwards to show that they DO understand, that they DO realise that times are very hard indeed for many, many households, and that they are busy making things better for all the people of the nation that they govern - not just their wealthy friends and supporters. That's why I was amazed to see this tweet from Newton Abbot town councillor and election agent & organiser for Exeter Tories, Neil Wilson:

Needless to say, Exeter Labour councillors who saw this statement were outraged. We get letters and emails every day from local people who are struggling to make ends meet, who are skipping meals so that their children can eat, who are struggling to meet rent payments, energy bills and council tax payments. Yet, the Conservatives' local organiser - the man responsible for coordinating their elections - believes the idea that those who already have little are struggling with even less is "sh*t". It's time Neil got out there and spoke to some struggling families!

Neil soon realised his public Tweet may not be voter-friendly though, hastily deleting the offending statement, but not before a quick-thinking Cllr Catherine Dawson & Cllr Paul Bull had retweeted it.

He had deleted it, he said, because it was "not his most eloquent argument" and because "certain people seem intent on misconstruing a historical fact, for their own political purposes."

Two days later, I tweeted a report that showed that the highest proportion of children relying on foodbanks for nourishment in the UK is in the southwest. It was the most re-tweeted article I have ever posted from my account. I suggested Neil read it. Maybe he had learned something from our previous discussion. He hadn't:

I was gobsmacked. Our Tory organiser appeared to be suggesting that charitable food hand-outs were some kind of Big Society project to be welcomed, rather than a desperate charity safety net that shouldn't be necessary in the first place if people had decent jobs at a living wage.

Sadly, Neil is not alone in his views within the local Tory Party. On Tuesday night, at Exeter Council's Full Council meeting, Labour councillor Phil Bialyk tabled a Notice of Motion opposing the Government's proposals to introduce regional pay for public servants. What followed was extraordinary.

Local authorities up and down the country, of all political colours, have opposed regional pay. In areas like Exeter, where so many people work in the public sector, the local economy would be hard hit by a significant number of workers with less to spend each month. We expected a common-sense and relatively short debate followed by unanimous support for the motion.

Before Phil had even got to his feet to introduce the motion, Tory councillor Norman Shiel (no stranger to controversy) asked the Lord Mayor to move straight to the vote, with no open debate of this important issue. His proposal was immediately seconded by Tory Leader Yolonda Henson (below). The motion was, they tried to argue, party-political, and an opportunity for "grandstanding" from the Left. This despite the fact that many business leaders have spoken out against regional pay - this is not a public sector versus private sector debate!

The Labour benches were disgusted at this attempt to stifle debate, it showed a complete contempt for democracy and a disdain for our many local public sector workers. The Chief Executive interjected and explained that as debate had not begun, we could not yet go to the vote, and that debate should be allowed. Tory Jake Donovan was first to his feet, and spoke passionately (if not altogether coherently) about the injustice of public sector pay, and said that he would oppose the motion. Second, came another local Tory, Andrew Leadbetter, who said he had some sympathy with the motion, and would not oppose it - but nor did he feel he could support it either.

So much for the issue being "party political". Labour and the Liberal Democrats all spoke in support of the motion, while Tory after Tory spoke in different directions. Again, Cllrs Shiel and Henson moved to go to the vote. They were overruled by the Lord Mayor, and debate continued until everyone had had their say. In his summing up, Cllr Bialyk reminded Cllr Donovan that many public sector workers lived in his ward, Pennsylvania; and then requested a recorded vote - where rather than a show of hands each councillor has the way they voted recorded publicly and individually. The Tory councillors who had spoken so fiercely against the motion - Donovan, Shiel and Henson - appeared to lose their nerve. Every single Conservative councillor abstained. Every single Labour and Liberal Democrat councillor voted in favour of Exeter opposing Regional Pay.

Exeter, thanks to Labour and with support from the Lib Dems, now officially sides with public servants in resisting the cutting of their pay. We will stand with those families who are struggling to make ends meet in this recession - the deepest since the Second World War - and will oppose Tory cuts, whether to pay, welfare, or to local services.

And the local Tories? They seem as aloof as Andrew Mitchell, as dithering as Cameron, and as out-of-touch as their own local agent.

Credits: PMQs photo via BBC. Photo of Cllr Henson via This Is Exeter website, Express & Echo.

Q. What are the Liberal Democrats FOR anymore?

2012-10-01T09:57:00.003-07:00

Maybe it's just the benefit of the coverage of their conference last week, maybe it's Nick Clegg's (brief) stint in the charts for the remixed version of that apology (left), but the Lib Dems seem to be getting a little more coverage than usual. Nick Clegg may have apologised for making the tuition fees pledge (not for breaking it you understand), but otherwise he used his conference speech to defend Osborne's calamitous budget, and insisted that the government - and the Lib Dems in it - must press on with its austerity agenda. He defended the tax cut at the top rate that puts £40k a year in the pockets of millionaires. At the same time he refused to rule out further cuts to welfare, when most frontline agencies are expressing profound concerns about the impact on those already announced on the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities when they come into force next year. As Ed Miliband said in interviews this weekend, far from being a "brake" on the ideology of the Tories, the Lib Dems are an accomplice to swathing cuts that are not only damaging to our communities, but are damaging to the economy.

When you give tax cuts to millionaires, they do not spend that additional money - they invest it. The economy does not grow through a policy like that. It grows when the millions of ordinary people in this country have jobs that pay a living wage, and the taxation and spending that results lifts business and public spending across the board. The policies of this Tory government - and their Lib Dem co-conspirators - are choking off any hope of growth, and the deficit - the very purpose the Lib Dems said they went into coalition - is growing as a result. The policies are failing, the government is failing, and the coalition partnership is failing.

Nick Clegg's determination to defend austerity (like his decision to defend rises in tuition fees) is entirely at odds with his pre-election message:

"Imagine the Conservatives go home and get an absolute majority, on 25% of the eligible votes," Clegg said. "They then turn around in the next week or two and say we're going to chuck up VAT to 20%, we're going to start cutting teachers, cutting police and the wage bill in the public sector. I think if you're not careful in that situation… you'd get Greek-style unrest. And so my warning to people who think the old politics still works, is be careful for what you wish for."

Since that Observer electioneering interview, Clegg & the Lib Dems have voted through:

VAT rise to 20%
Cuts to teaching budgets (of up to 40% in the University sector, despite rising tuition fee income)
Huge cuts to the police, that see Devon & Cornwall Police seeing the fifth highest cuts to officers in the country
Public sector pay freeze that means a real-terms cut for over 4 million workers, while job losses in the sector continue

ALL the things Clegg cautioned would lead to "Greek-style unrest". What has changed? Why were these policies disastrous as far as the Lib Dems were concerned before they gained power, yet now are "necessary"?

The party also sought election on a platform of constitutional reform and human rights. They failed spectacularly to get a "Yes" to an alternative voting system in the referendum, that was called ridiculously prematurely in the parliament. Nor could the Lib Dems wield any influence whatsoever over their Tory masters on Lords Reform, while the draft Communications Bill will give security forces the powers to monitor internet use and mobile communications that would make most libertarian Lib Dems squirm.

Clegg wows the Lib Dem activist base at conference 2012!

It's hard to see how any Lib Dem activist could possibly look a voter in the eye ever again and claim that Lib Dems are a force for progress and change. They are either impotent, or complicit. Either they lack principle or spine.

All this is, of course, concerned with the national picture. But what of our local Lib Dem presence? Lib Dems have often enjoyed local support as a party of "good local people", even if their national party is in the doldrums. In Exeter, the local Lib Dems' fortunes have been closely mirroring those of their national colleagues. In the heady days of 2008 the Lib Dems were the largest party on Exeter City Council with 13 councillors, and enjoying 27% of the vote across the city. Their close (if antiquated) Liberal allies had a further 3 councillors. Since the 2010 General Election, and their sudden chuminess with the Tories, it's all been downhill.

In June 2010 Cllr Rob Hannaford and then Cllr Adrian Hannaford defected from the Lib Dems to Labour in protest at the coalition government. They could hardly be accused of "glory-hunting" or "opportunism" at a time when Labour still trailed in the polls and the coalition enjoyed its (admittedly brief) honeymoon period with the press and electorate. Then, an extra set of autumn elections was triggered by the coalition's decision to reverse Labour's decision to allow Exeter unitary status. The Lib Dems lost one of the three seats it was defending.

Lib Dem leader Adrian Fullam watches over counting on
a depressing night for his party in May (via BBC)

In 2011 they lost a further 2, as did the local Liberal Party; but then in May of this year the Lib Dems were reduced to just 5 City councillors - with just 14% of the vote across the city, as Labour (already the largest group since 2010) took outright control. In amongst these results there were some shocks. County councillor Vanessa Newcombe lost her City seat to Labour newcomer Rob Crew in Alphington, a full 10% behind in the share of the vote. In St Davids, Labour's Sarah Laws surprised herself by unseating Philip Brock - one half of a well-established husband-and-wife Lib Dem team with his wife, Stella, while in St Thomas the local voters re-elected Rob Hannaford - now firmly in the Labour camp. Both Philip Brock and Vanessa Newcombe will no doubt be nervous in May 2013 as they have to defend their County Council seats against a strong Labour challenge - and the Lib Dems face being wiped out as far as the County Council is concerned in Exeter.

What have they learned? Nothing it seems. The local Lib Dems continue to defend the absurd positions adopted by their national leaders, still vainly trying to persuade local voters that the policies that we all know are choking recovery, and are hurting us - or the lives of those we know - are a good thing. The Exeter Lib Dem website still carries an article stating that the 2012 budget, almost universally derided as the most disastrous budget in living memory, was in fact a budget "for the many not the few"! No lessons have been learned. I would invite anyone in Exeter to attend Council meetings and witness the Lib Dems (and their leader in particular) enjoy the cosiest of relationships with the Tory "opposition" on the Council.

Let me be clear. I have many friends who are current or past Lib Dem activists. My favorite newspaper - the Guardian - came out in favour of the Lib Dems in 2010. For many, the Lib Dems presented an option in 2010 that was carefully crafted to supposedly offer a "more progressive" alternative to those on the Left than Labour. I don't blame anyone for looking for an alternative when Labour looked like it was running out of steam. However, those that fell for it, now feel duped. One of the saddest developments recently is that a local (and somewhat secretive!) Lib Dem blogger, Lonely Wonderer, stopped writing in July signing off by saying, "I think I've largely failed to get through to fellow Lib Dems" - and this after his / her penultimate posting asked the pertinent question, "Is the Lib Dem core vote circling the plughole?"

I believe there are some good, principled people in the rank-and-file of the local Lib Dem supporter base. However, these people are not served by a party leadership that is still in denial about its own role and complicity in implementing a vehemently Tory agenda that even Thatcher could only have dreamt of. I understand that the previous Labour government got things wrong, things that may make some Liberal and Social Democrats question - but those same debates rage in the Labour party too. Indeed, Ed Miliband has voiced his own reservations about some aspects of our recent history. The difference is that Labour is facing up to its record and refounding itself, and - against all odds if the media is to be believed - is doing so under a unified leadership and re-energised activist base.

There is every prospect that the Liberal Democrats will take another beating in the 2013 County Council elections. And in 2014's City Council elections. Why would someone who cares about progressive politics stay in a party facing electoral irrelevance? "Because we're a Party of principle - we don't just seek power," was an explanation offered to me by one local Lib Dem friend. This may have carried some weight had the "principles" of no rises in tuition fees, no increase in VAT, no tax cuts for the wealthiest not been so readily sacrificed on the altar of coalition politics.

Exeter Lib Dems' group of councillors is dwindling fast, its supporter and activist base is shrinking and it will struggle to defend the seats it has - never mind fight to make gains for some years to come. Meanwhile Exeter Labour - with a growing band of councillors and an experienced and heavyweight MP - is ensuring the city rides out the double-dip recession that was made in Downing Street.

Maybe, one day, a re-energised third centrist party will emerge again from the ashes of this calamitous Lib Dem era - but let's not pretend that the Lib Dems are a force for good in the coalition, or that they are either "Leftist" or "progressive". If you counted yourself as on the left or a progressive in 2010, then the Lib Dems have failed you, but it's an exciting time to be part of Labour. This nation and this city still has some huge problems to face up to and solve no one is pretending otherwise. Yet neither the Tories nor the Lib Dems have the answers, that much is clear. But in Exeter Labour you will find a vibrant and energetic local party that is getting on with working at community level to find the solutions we all need.

If you voted Lib Dem last time and feel as betrayed as the polls suggest so many do, then come home to Labour.

Exeter - A Great Climate for Business

2012-09-06T12:07:00.001-07:00

Exeter has opportunities for small artisan
traders as well as big High St brands

As those of you that followed my election campaign might recall, my Tory opponents tried to make much of the fact that I used to be a councillor in Weymouth. I represented Littlemoor there, an estate that was not without its social and economic problems, but that came together as a community, and successfully bid for £1 million of Lottery money under the Big Communities initiative to improve the ward and develop community facilities.

Despite the success of projects like this, and despite the fact that the resort has just hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as I follow Weymouth's fortunes I am sad to see that the Tory-run town is quite clearly struggling. There was embarrassment during the Olympics when the Bayside Festival - supposed to be a showpiece feature of the Games - went bust. Recently, high street fashion retailer Next announced it was leaving the town, following a similar move from Top Shop and Evans last year. All of this gloom came on the back of the Channel Isles Condor Ferries operation pulling out of Weymouth port following health & safety concerns over the state of the quayside.

Exeter is increasingly drawing major retail investment

By contrast, in Labour-led Exeter I am finding that we have much to be optimistic about - despite the national gloom. You won't need me to remind you that we are in the throes of a double-dip recession, with economic growth and employment forecasts both recently revised downwards by the CBI, the IMF and the British Chambers of Commerce. All serious economists are now forecasting a sustained period of recession under this government, characterised by reduced consumer spending and increased unemployment. Nationally, the average proportion of empty shops (Retail Unit Vacancy Rate) has risen to a record 14.6%, or 1 in 7 shops now empty. Yet in Exeter, our vacant shops have actually fallen - to just 6.96% - less than half the national average!

RAMM Manager Camilla Hampshire receives the Museum
of the Year award

Why is Exeter booming when so many comparable towns and cities are struggling? Exeter Labour is serious about getting business investment in our city - but we also believe that a strong, resilient community requires the private, public and voluntary sectors to work together and to play to one another's strengths. The newly crowned "Museum of the Year", our own Royal Albert Memorial Museum is a perfect example. Still very much in City Council ownership, the RAMM has seen investment from the Council, partnership with the local private sector, and an army of community volunteers delivering an inspirational attraction of which we can all be proud. Exeter Labour held its nerve over continued investment, believing in its vision for a world-class facility, at a time when Tory and Lib Dem councillors fretted and sniped from the sidelines and through the local press. Labour showed leadership, and our staff and volunteers delivered. The result? Museum of the Year, and record visitor numbers coming to Exeter for the RAMM - and then spending money in our local shops and restaurants.

Ben Bradshaw MP helps cut turf on a new
researchcentre at Exeter University

On Tuesday evening at the Council's Scrutiny Committee for Community, we also heard from Exeter University. The university was this year awarded prestigious Russell Group status, which will bring more students to Exeter, and will see an expansion (and increased recognition) of the university's research programmes - which in turn will attract greater investment. The university aims to increase its capacity from its current level of 17500 students to around 20000. A stroll through Exeter's shopping districts and seeing new brands like Hollister, Jack Jones, Urban Outfitters and Republics will tell you what effect the "student pound" has on our local economy, and nationally it is worth noting that UK wide overseas students are estimated to contribute over £14 billion to our economy.

This is no time to be sending the signal that educating students - and specifically international students - are not a welcome part of our economic recovery. Yet the government's handling of debacle over the London Metropolitan University and the hike in tripling tuition fees that has seen an almost 8% fall in applications are all combining to undermine higher education in this country.

I welcome the growth of our local university, but my challenge to Exeter University is that it must do better on opening access to students from less privileged backgrounds. I am glad to see greater student numbers - including overseas students - bringing valuable income to our city, but I want the education that they benefit from to be open to all. A report in 2011 suggests Exeter remains a university that is "failing" poorer students. Labour is serious about business growth - but the benefit of that wealth must be for the many, not the few.

Exeter Science Park will bringer technological skill, investment and jobs
to our city

I could go on... The development of the Science Park, the partnership of Exeter City Council with neighbouring authorities to develop growth points at Cranbrook and Exeter Airport, the forthcoming opening of the new John Lewis store, the increased investment in the development of medical research facilities in the city are all bringing economic boosts to Exeter, and enabling us to the weather the storms of a fiscally incompetent government and the ever-deepening Euro crisis.

Exeter Labour has the talent, the steel and the leadership to continue to grow our local economy, and make Exeter a beacon for investment. We can be trusted with the economy. But perhaps more importantly, we can be trusted to be fair in how the benefits of growth are distributed, and to balance the needs of business, community, our precious local environment and our thriving cultural scene.

Under Labour, Exeter is a great place to live, and it's a great place to do business.

Important consultation event

2012-08-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Have Your Say: Building Pinhoe

An important consultation event is being held to give residents a say in future developments in and around Pinhoe, and will give local people a chance to speak to local councillors, but also to Planning and Transport officers from ECC, DCC and EDDC. The event is to be held at Pinhoe Primary School on Wednesday 29^th August from 3pm to 7pm. (Directions here)

Pinhoe is set to grow

There are a number of significant developments in the pipeline for the Pinhoe area. Planning permission has already been granted for building much-needed new homes in the Ibstock Quarry & Brickworks sites, and there are now consultations underway from Barratt Homes and Eagle One to build more homes in the Monkerton and Hill Barton area.

In the City Council's Core Strategy, the Monkerton and Hill Barton area is allocated for the development of up to 2,500 new homes. Development in the area is guided by the Monkerton & Hill Barton Masterplan, which was consulted on and agreed in 2010. The Masterplan was designed as a supplement to the Core Strategy, and indicates how the site could be developed based on key principles. It is an important document guiding planning applications for the site, but it is not a definitive plan and planning applications may propose slightly different combinations of land use.

Checking new EDDC plans with
Labour County Cllr Saxon Spence

Meanwhile, in neighbouring East Devon, permission is being sought for several new developments on the edges of Pinhoe that would undoubtedly have an impact on our ward. At the June meeting of its Planning Committee, ECC objected to development at Pinn Court Farm on the basis that EDDC had not adequately considered the traffic implications for Pinhoe village. We will certainly be lobbying Tory-controlled EDDC to ensure that any future developments over the border make allowances for the added pressures on infrastructure in Pinhoe. You can keep up to date with these developments at http://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/online-applications/

You can view the Core Strategy, Masterplan and planning applications at the Civic Centre, Paris Street, or online:
www.exeter.gov.uk/corestrategy
www.exeter.gov.uk/monkerton
www.exeter.gov.uk/planning

The upside!

With development comes resources to invest in community infrastructure. Your Exeter City councillors, Moira MacDonald and Simon Bowkett, recently attended the Pinhoe Community Association Family Fun Day to talk to local residents about the services they feel Pinhoe village currently lacks.

Public toilets, warden-assisted housing for older people and youth facilities scored very highly. What do you think? Email your ideas to simon4pinhoe@gmail.com

We are also keen to speak to residents in or around the Summerway area of the ward about the possibility of a new community facility for your area. Would you like to get involved? Contact either cllr.simon.bowkett@exeter.gov.uk or cllr.moira.macdonald@exeter.gov.uk to set up a meeting with us.

Pinhoe Developments: Have Your Say

2012-06-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Councillor Moira MacDonald and I had a very good day at the Pinhoe Community Association Family Fun Day, a celebration of the diamond jubilee of our community centre, America Hall. The event was very well attended, and though overcast, the day was largely dry. Moira and I used the opportunity to talk to local residents about their ideas for new community facilities in Pinhoe.

We asked locals three straightforward questions:

What do you most like about Pinhoe?
What do you least like?
What does Pinhoe lack that you would like to see?

The top answers to question one were no surprise to Moira and I. People overwhelming like the sense of the community here, the facilities and the friendliness of the people:

What do you most like about living in Pinhoe?

When we asked what people dislike most about living in Pinhoe, the answers were similarly predictable. Most people dislike the traffic - particularly at peak times - and there is concern that this traffic will get worse with planned developments in the area. Traffic "pressure points" that came in for specific mentions included the double mini-roundabouts in the village, Chancel Lane bridge, and turning right out of Venny Bridge onto Pinhoe Road. Many were concerned about further development generally, and this scored second-highest after traffic as an issue.

What do you least like about living in Pinhoe?

However, with increased development will come increased community investment. Moira and I wanted to get a sense from local residents what they feel Pinhoe lacks - what the community most needs. Here's what people told us:

What does Pinhoe most need?

Public toilets (possible sites mentioned were adjacent to the changing rooms at Station Road Playing Fields, and next to Lloyds Bank on the Main Road); supported, warden-assisted housing for older people; and a base for youth-work in the area were the ideas most commonly suggested. What do you think? Email me your thoughts: Simon4Pinhoe@gmail.com or add a comment to this blog.

Whether there will be development in our area is not up for debate. The Exeter Core Strategy was agreed by a cross-party meeting of Full Council in February 2012; and the Monkerton Masterplan was consulted on in 2010, and duly adopted. However, what is not yet set is the density and design of developments, and the allowance for open spaces and community facilities within them. There is still much for people to examine and have their say on.

On 14th June a meeting was held with residents in the area immediately around the Hill Barton site to discuss ways of getting more involved in the planning process. As a result of that meeting, it was agreed that the Council would hold a community consultation event to allow residents to view and comment on current planning applications. This will also give residents the chance to raise important issues for the future development of site, including things like open spaces, housing density and housing styles, access and transport links.

Make sure you have your say!

The consultation events will be held at St Lawrence Church, Lower Hill Barton Road on the following dates:

Monday 2nd July, 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Thursday 5th July, 3.30pm - 7.30pm

This will allow residents time to submit responses to the planning applications before the earliest planning committee meeting on 23rd July. City Council planning officers will be available to answer questions at both these events, and officers from Devon County Council's Highways team have been invited.

You can view the Core Strategy, Masterplan and planning applications at the Civic Centre, Paris Street, or online:
www.exeter.gov.uk/corestrategy
www.exeter.gov.uk/monkerton
www.exeter.gov.uk/planning

There will be additional consultations shortly on developments around the Tithebarn Lane area, keep an eye on the local press and this blog for details.

Finally, East Devon District Council are also considering applications for major developments at Pinn Court Farm and Old Park Farm, each of over 400 units. Exeter City Council has already expressed concern that one of these developments does not pay adequate attention to transportation issues, and we will be lobbying Tory-controlled EDDC to ensure that any developments over the border make allowances for the added pressures on transport infrastructure in Pinhoe. You can keep up to date with these developments at http://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/online-applications/

Sleepwalking...?

2012-06-18T09:10:00.001-07:00

Shaun (Simon Pegg) gloriously oblivious to the
catastrophe unfolding around him
[Universal Pictures 2004]

I have a guilty secret. I like zombies. Well, not so much the things themselves, but I have a modest collection of films, books and comic books all set on a post-apocalyptic earth where humans (the living ones) face a breakdown of all the systems they have previous relied on, fighting a daily battle for survival.

There is something reassuringly formulaic about the genre. Most zombie stories start before things go so catastrophically wrong. The zombie-spoof movie "Shaun of the Dead" opens with the hero waking up, and sleepily stumbling his way to the electrical goods store where he works. All is normal it appears, and people are going about their lives. Yet every radio he passes, every TV in the shop, and every newspaper hoarding outside each shop is carrying a news story about the spread of a mysterious new virus. Yet it is never more than background chatter to Shaun, and he (along with everyone else) is unaware of the significance of the reports, and oblivious to the news as he sleepwalks towards his new destiny...

Sometimes I feel a little like Shaun, stumbling through day-to-day living while seemingly every news bulletin carries a story - often lower down the news order - about some new disturbance in the national or global economic markets. Greek elections fail to secure a government that will see through austerity measures... Spanish banks may require a bailout... UK manufacturing index falls... billions wiped of global markets as US recovery stalls... all stories from the past few weeks that could be pointing to a wider storm that threatens to undermine the security we have all taken for granted, and to be propelling us to a harsher new world.

Locals queue at a soup kitchen in Athens
[Guardian Newspaper Group, 2012]

Two years ago, my partner Jenny and I went to Athens for her birthday. It was a busy, bustling and glamorous city. The food and drink in the elegant bars and bistros were expensive, and designer outlets for every major western fashion house stood on every major street. Now the images coming out of Athens are of food banks, soup kitchens, riots and social upheaval. In April, a 77 year-old man committed suicide, shooting himself outside the Greek Parliament because, his note revealed, his dignity would not allow him to "search the garbage for food."

Greece still maybe feels a little distant from us, so Shaun-like we stumble on, the news of social unrest in Athens remains background noise. It couldn't happen here, could it? Maybe we sit up a little more when Spain is mentioned - after all, we have heard of Santander Bank. Still, it's the Eurozone. "Thank God we didn't join," we think, and go back to our cornflakes.

The present government came into power likening the UK deficit to a household budget that had been left vulnerable by too much spending on the family credit cards. After the harshest budget in a generation in June 2010, George Osborne "hit back at accusations that his spending cuts will plunge the economy into another recession" saying that he had "no choice" but to cut, and that "...we are shaping the economy of the future by promoting a pro-growth agenda."

Spain next?

Less than two years on, the then-feted "Plan A" has failed. The UK is back in recession. Manufacturing is in free-fall. Greece may have this weekend seen the very close election of the pro-bailout New democracy Party to form a new coalition, but after initial relief, most observers feel even this step is still simply delaying the advance of the Eurozone "virus". How long the Greek people will stomach the levels of austerity demanded of them is anyone's guess, and prolonged and sustained social unrest could well bring any newly-formed government down quickly. Other economists say Greece is a mere sideshow, and the real threat is Spain's banks falling. Today, interest on Spanish government bonds exceeded 7% - above the "danger levels" that indicate a banking system in profound peril. The collapse of a Spanish bank would have global consequences, as the collapse of the Lehman Brothers Bank did in 2008.

And here's the point. This is a global economic market. Likening the economy of UK Plc to a household budget of overspent credit cards, storecards and overdrafts is crass, and simplistic. However, it provides a useful scare story if your true intention as a government is to promote cuts and austerity as the necessary "medicine" to get things right again, while pursuing a more ideological agenda of shrinking the state and public sector, and out-sourcing to the private corporations that fund your party. In a global economy, my spending is your income; and your spending mine. If we both simultaneously cut our spending, you become deprived of income, and so do I. The debt looks scarier when faced with this reduced income, so in panic we cut still deeper... You see the problem. The lesson of every good zombie story is that no one survives by simply barricading themselves in and seeing their resources deplete. They survive through co-operation, communication, and trading.

Ed Balls has overtaken Osborne as most voters' preferred Chancellor
to handle the UK economy

The solution to the economic crisis is not more austerity. It is not working, and it will not work. The solution is to increase investment in the programmes and projects that will create social infrastructure, that will support growth, that will provide jobs to give nervous households greater income. As these businesses and households feel more hop and less fear, they will begin to spend and invest again themselves, and the ever-decreasing circle of austerity is reversed as once again my spending provides you with an income, and your spending provides for me. In France, the people have chosen a government with such a policy; and in the UK people are increasingly supporting Labour. Last week, for the first time, opinion polls started to show that most voters trust Ed Balls, not George Osborne, with our stuttering economy.

The people of Greece are facing desperate times. Spain may soon follow. In the UK we still have choice - do not let the Tories tell you otherwise. There is a way to deliver growth and jobs, and Labour is arguing hard to see it made policy. If you agree with us, join us

All different, all equal

2012-06-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

It was so good to see Exeter's Respect festival even bigger and better yesterday, with well over 10,000 attending in a single day (and hopefully even more of the same today!) Exeter Respect is Exeter's largest annual cultural event, and celebrates our community in all its diversity, to increase awareness and understanding, and to challenge ignorance and prejudice.

Unplugged and colourful in the acoustic tent

Although Exeter has a non-white ethnic population of just 2.4% (according to the 2001 census) compared to an England & Wales average of 9.1%, the city nonetheless has significant communities of people of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, and Middle Eastern heritage. There are also significant numbers of people who are living and working here from Poland, Russia, Bulgaria and other Eastern European nations. 2.6% of our population who have a faith, describe themselves as "non-Christian", while 20.5% of us have "no religion." The city is fortunate to have a vibrant multi-cultural University that does so much to promote learning between people of different backgrounds, and the city's sizeable lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community contribute enormously to the city's economic, cultural and political life - including a strong annual Exeter Pride event.

One of the reasons I am most proud to live in Exeter, is that it is a city of tolerance and understanding, with a rich cultural scene that regularly showcases and celebrates arts, food and cultural life that orginates in - or is influenced by - other countries, races or communities. Organisations that would seek to divide us tend not to fare too well in our city, and I have happy memories of the day that Exeter's people - Christians, Jews and Muslims; trades unionists and students; men, women and children, turned out in numbers to embarrass a tiny cohort of EDL demonstrators. Exeter Respect is an extension of that spirit, and is a free, two-day festival held in Belmont Park to revel in the diversity of our city and to enjoy the added depth that this diversity brings. The strap line "All Different - All Equal" sums up the values of the weekend.

To die for! A Hindu hearse at Respect.

Walking into the park, your senses are immediately engaged by a gamut of colours, noises, rhythms, smells, song, chatter and laughter. Aromas of the many foods on sale got my stomach rumbling almost immediately: Thai, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, Eastern European, Mediterranean... Vegan, Vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free, kosher and halal (and even burgers and pizzas!) For those curious about faith and spirituality, there were colourful stalls staffed by adherents to Islam, Hinduism, Bah'ai, several strands of the Christian faith, spiritual healing, meditation, and shamanism. For those with little time for such ethereal pursuits, there was always the Devon Humanists' stand. Music catered for (almost) all tastes: acoustic to hip hop, folk to Samba, reggae, rock and roots; and the small craft and fashion stalls and other little retail outlets included everything from incense sticks to magic sticks, jewellery to massage oils, books, beads and banners.

Part of the effective Amnesty display

Exeter Respect is a lot of fun - and there was a real party atmosphere throughout. The police were present (in fact they had a display) yet there presence was extremely low-key, and although well in excess of 10,000 people attended, I didn't see any trouble at all, nor did it look like there might be any. Maybe that is because Respect is a celebration of values - tolerance, understanding, peacefulness and, well, respect. Respect for the essential common value we all place on humanity - we may all be different, but we are all equal; no matter our nationality, our ethnicity, our (dis)ability, our sexuality, gender, and faith (or absence of faith.) So the festival also hosts organisations that have values that resonate with those of the festival itself - the Cooperative movement, trades unions, environmental and social campaigning organisations - all of them organisations that seek to celebrate common humanity, and that believe, as I do, that communities like ours in Exeter are better when we come together, rather than when we allow prejudice, fear and ignorance to divide us.

Cllr Roger Spackman, me & Jenny, Cllr Greg Sheldon &
Cllr Phil Bialyk

Week one!

2012-05-14T09:23:00.002-07:00

The new picnic (feasting?!) table at Arena Park

It's been a funny old week. On the one hand, a lot has happened - or at least there has been a lot of activity - on the other, no "proper" meetings have started at the Council yet. Last weekend I spent time with the family, and sleeping a lot, to get over the exhaustion of the campaign. That said, I still stopped by the family fun day at a rather blustery Arena Park with my partner, Jenny, and Cllr Moira MacDonald where the new outdoor sports cage and the stunning new picnic tables (courtesy of Carving Communities) were unveiled. I was quickly put to work by David & Cathy Coles who were telling me about the area's community composting scheme. The estate has two large composting bins, but as we enter grass-cutting season, these are insufficient, leading to people simply scattering their cuttings on verges and in hedges, which in turn leads to rancid odours as the vegetation rots openly. I am now working with the County Council trying to find a way to secure two more bins for the area.

Best thing I've seen at the Bike Shed Theatre
this year... and that includes a hustings!

On Monday night, Jenny and I went to see the Exeter Blitz Project at the Bike Shed Theatre. If you haven't seen it, it is on until 19th May and really is excellent - please do go and watch and support this important local work. The production is based on interviews with survivors of the blitz attacks on Exeter in 1942, and the excellent characterisations really brought home the impact of the war on ordinary civilian households. It is also hugely interesting to hear how those bombing raids have shaped the modern face of the city - and as I was to learn later in the week, also shaped the economics. Large areas of Sidwell Street and Newtown, South Street and Fore Street were badly bombed. These areas were subsequently rebuilt by the City Council, and the council retains the freehold on the sites, deriving a healthy rental income from the city centre businesses that now occupy them.

Dodgy Council photo!

After the Bank Holiday, on Tuesday I went in to meet some of the Member Services team - the team from Exeter City Council that help support councillors' work, and arranges and offers administrative support to the Council's committees. The days immediately post-election are a busy time for this department as new councillors need setting up with I.T. and new email accounts, security badges, parking permits, web pages and organising councillor inductions and training. However, the team were very welcoming, and after I signed my declaration and submitted my various forms, we chatted about the role of councillors in Exeter, and how best we as elected representatives could work together with officers for the best outcomes for the city. It was a very positive meeting... except the quality of my now "official" Council photo on my profile page!

Tuesday evening was great. Exeter Labour HQ in Clifton Hill was buzzing with 24 Labour Councillors, 5 of us newly-elected. This was the meeting to sort out who would serve on which committees, who would hold which portfolios, and who would hold which offices within the local Labour Group for the next civic year. The results of the meeting (and all appointments) will become public after tomorrow's (15th May) Full Council meeting...

Looking forward to working with Sarah Ward
again... a fellow refugee from W&PBC!

On Thursday, 5 new Labour councillors, plus Pennsylvania's new Tory councillor, Jake Donovan, attended an introductory meeting with the Exeter City Council Directorate team - Philip Bostock, the Chief Exec; with Karime Hassan and Mark Parkinson as strategic Directors. It was good to hear some of the things from Council officers that we had been saying on the doors just weeks before: Exeter is "bucking the trend" as far as the national economy is concerned, and is growing, attracting business growth and start-up investment. Furthermore, Exeter has the lowest district Council tax in Devon, and the 5th lowest in the country. Real value for money for local tax payers! I was also pleased to be hearing that I will soon be joined at Exeter City Council by another refugee from the shared-services Councils of Weymouth & West Dorset as Sarah Ward, a very able Housing Manager joins ECC as Assistant Director for Housing. Sarah is a very able manager, and I look forward to working with her on Exeter's significant housing challenges, but also I hope she embrace our enthusiasm for new housing solutions, including co-operative models of housing for the city.

Pinhoe Pantomime - one of the highlights of America
Hall's year, every year.

Finally for now, it was a privilege to be approached by Angela Roberts, Hon Sec of the America Hall committee to be asked if I would join the committee. America Hall is a valuable community facility and hub in Pinhoe, but like any community venue, it needs to have one eye on its own future survival. I know that community resources like that are more often than not kept alive by the hard work and dedication of a few community activists, and I look forward to joining them at their AGM on 31st May. If you would like to get involved in helping this great project why not drop Angela a line at secretary@americahall.co.uk?

So now what...?

2012-05-07T02:50:00.000-07:00

Early tension at the count soon eased as it was clear this
was Exeter Labour's night

As the dust settles on the stunning Labour results in last Thursday's elections, I have been catching up on sleep, and spending some time with the family after months of hard campaigning. I have been grateful for the many messages of congratulations I have received on the street and by emails and Twitter. However, my favorite was a message from my new friend John Maclean. John is a former serviceman, a successful businessman, and a former Lib Dem Councillor and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. He is a straight-talking, no-nonsense Scot, and has no party allegiance any more. Like many, he has become deeply sceptical about party politics, but he has nonetheless been very supportive of my campaign after I got to know his son, Steven, who is a "free journalist" and activist. In the early hours of Friday morning he sent me this Tweet:

I could almost hear him say it!

What we know about the result in Pinhoe is that while turnout in the ward overall was the highest in the city at 43.34%, turnout in the more "traditional" Labour polling districts of Whipton village and Arena Park were significantly lower, in the mid-twenties. Given that Labour had a frankly startling majority of 280 something significant has happened in Pinhoe. It's not the UKIP effect either - even if you add the Tory & UKIP votes together Labour still would have won in Pinhoe. The only explanation is that there were a lot of people in the traditionally Conservative-voting Pinhoe village and White City areas voted for Labour, and for me. People who would normally vote Conservative are instead trusting me to represent them. Some people who would normally vote Labour, chose to stay home and not vote at all. Yet also people like John, who view all politicians with a healthy degree of cynicism, actively supported my campaign.

John is right - it is now time to get working. I want to show those that voted Labour against their natural voting instincts that their trust in me and in Exeter Labour was not misplaced. I want to show the voters of Whipton village and Arena Park that their voice does matter, it is worth voting, and that Exeter Labour councillors are working for and with them to improve our communities. I want to show John, and the many people like him, that not all politicians are self-serving and that the best politicians can be community activists too.

Cllr Dawson, one of our colleagues from
neighbouring Mincinglake ward

This week I shall be inducted into Exeter City Council life and find out what committees I will serve on and any specific responsibilities I will carry, but already I have been talking to my colleagues about how we can work better for those we represent. Cllr Catherine Dawson, from our neighbouring Mincinglake ward, wasted no time in suggesting that all the Labour councillors for Pinhoe & Mincinglake get together monthly with our County Councillor Saxon Spence to take a joined-up approach to tackling issues in the area - an idea that was embraced by all of us. We acknowledge that many of our communities "straddle" the somewhat artificial boundaries of the city's political wards, so by working together we will be able to achieve far more.

I have committed to having a dedicated website where residents can report issues to me, and to be able to see openly what action I am taking to resolve it. I will continue to use social media as a quick and convenient way to communicate, but will also be available in person at surgeries to talk. I intend to alternate surgeries between the Pinhoe "end" of the ward, and the Whipton "end", and will suggest to my colleagues street surgeries at Pinhoe shops and Whipton shops so people can informally tell us about what matters to them.

Communities working together can achieve amazing things,
like this picnic bench at Arena Park

I am very proud that Pinhoe had the highest turnout in the city, almost double that of some wards. I believe it is not politicians’ jobs to “fix” things for communities, but rather to work with communities to improve and develop them, and I am delighted that the Pinhoe ward has so many people who are active already. So I shall be particularly pleased to hear from you with your ideas and to hear about your projects, and if you would like to make a difference within Exeter Labour Party itself, why not consider joining us? See http://www.exeter-labour.org.uk/ for more details, or call the office on 01392 275004.

Thank you

2012-05-04T08:30:00.002-07:00

I have a definite case of the "morning after the night before", so forgive any incoherence or spelling / grammatical errors! But what a night it was. Exeter Labour had gone into these elections hoping that we could pick up the two additional seats we needed to take overall control of the city council. The two seats we had identified as the most likely targets had been Alphington and St James - anything else (including Pinhoe) would have been a bonus.

In the event, Labour won 5 seats in the city. St James and Alphington were won comfortably by Keith Owen and Rob Crew respectively, but there was also a surprise win in St David's for Sarah Laws who unseated long-serving Lib Dem Councillor Philip Brock. In Polsloe, Rachel Lyons achieved something of a "decapitation", by unseating the Tory Deputy Leader, Councillor James Taghdissian. And then there was Pinhoe.

At 10pm last night, we could have done no more, the team had given everything. Months of campaigning, canvassing, delivering leaflets, and phoning, and then yesterday's frenetic activities and last minute "knocking-up" (nagging and dragging every last voter we could to the polling stations) ended as polls closed at 10pm. On the surface of it, things did not look good. Turnout, it seemed, was particularly poor in our "core areas" of the Summerway estate and Arena Park. Turnout was markedly higher in the polling stations of the Hall Church in Pinhoe village and Pinhoe School - traditionally areas where the Conservative vote is stronger. The mood in our Committee Room was sober. We all knew how much every member of the team had put into this campaign, yet the indicators were not great. I was exhausted and convinced we had not made it, but Jenny took me home to get changed, and we headed to the count at the Corn Exchange.

Cllr Ian Martin, who had earlier looked quite grim-faced, came to find me in the bar of the Corn Exchange. "It's not looking too bad for you," he said. Ian has done a wonderful job of keeping my feet firmly placed on the ground throughout the campaign, frequently reminding us all of the scale of the task. For him, "not looking too bad" comes close to exuberance! I walked through to the counting area, where a row of Tories, including my opponent and her husband, had taken every seat at the counting tables. Piles were building up nicely in the trays, and I noted a significant chunk going into the UKIP tray. In previous elections, a strong UKIP vote had been at the expense of the Conservatives, so I wondered if this might be a factor here. As the counting staff began "bundling" the votes into 100s, my opponent left the table, soon followed by her Conservative chums. Cllr Ian Martin leant over to me. "If you hit 950, Dom [our election agent] reckons you've got it," he said, "and I think there's over 1000 there." The counter looked up from her work at us, and nodded.

The final result was that I had polled 1022 votes, to the Conservatives' 742. A majority of 280 and far beyond anything we had expected. Even if all of the 240 UKIP votes had gone to the Tories, Labour still would have won. Furthermore, turnout across the ward as a whole was the highest in Exeter, and higher than most recent elections here, at 43.34%.

I was hugely helped by the fact that there were no elections in Mincinglake this year, which meant that my Labour branch (Mincinglake & Pinhoe) were able to focus solely on my campaign. I had the most incredible team behind me, and everybody played a part. I remember shortly after my selection being nervous as I was introduced to local party "matriarchs" Cllr Saxon Spence and former Cllr Val Dixon. What they do not know about Pinhoe and its political make-up is not worth knowing. Every so often I would informed by one or other of them that there was a library meeting, a coffee morning, a play that "it would do you no harm to be at" - so I quickly met community leaders and activists, and started to become known. Cllr Moira MacDonald showed me a few areas in the ward where she had been particularly busy with casework, and together with Cllrs Ian Martin, Catherine Dawson & Rosie Denham gave me some useful introductions to life within Exeter City Council.

Rose Gander has the gift of administration. What an organiser! Rose worked tirelessly on timetables, rotas and lists of actions, emailing instructions and timelines to every member of the team so everyone knew what they needed to be doing. She was a regular link with Dom, our local party organiser, who was joined later in the campaign by his predecessor Eddie Lopez. Dom and Eddie have a very effective good cop / bad cop double act. Dom will not let any complacency or laziness creep in, not even for a moment, and would regularly email round graphs of which ward teams were performing best at contacting their voters and securing promises of votes. Whenever I asked Dom how it was looking, I got the same answer, "It's going to be tough." His direction and advice ensured we all stayed working to the last minute. Eddie has seen it all before, and in the run-up to election day he was a relaxed presence in HQ, smiling and staying positive while providing intense analysis with Dom of the latest indicators; and I shall always remember him whistling "The Internationale" as he went off to the kitchen to make me a cup of tea while I was phone canvassing.

My delivery team, co-ordinated by Rose, were stars. Geoff who single-handedly delivered for me in Monkerton throughout the campaign was incredible, as were Gareth & Angie who drummed up support on the Summerway estate. The whole ward was often covered in under a week. My canvassing team included some "wise heads" in Peter, Dereen and Ted but were joined by local Labour student Kit. Other local councillors came to help including Tony Wardle, Greg Sheldon and our Council Leader Pete Edwards. Several times I was also joined by local MP Ben Bradshaw and his team. Des would input the canvassing data, and Dom would then give us a strategic steer based on what that data was telling us. On election day, we had teams of "tellers" collecting voter stats at the polling stations, and this included Susan who did several stints and was also featured in the election address leaflet together with Val as my endorsers. Last, but yesterday was by no means least was, Julia who played "hostess" in the committee room keeping the team fed and watered every time we checked in. Julia had also acted as something of an "intelligence officer", often scanning and emailing the latest Tory leaflets, so we knew what tactics they were seeking to use in their campaign. I know there were many others who phoned, knocked, delivered, stuffed envelopes... it was a huge, huge team effort, and I would not have won without them. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to support me.

Thank you too, to the voters of Pinhoe. We know turnout was low in the areas that most traditionally vote Labour in the ward, which means significant numbers of people voted for me in Pinhoe village - possibly against their usual voting patterns. I am under no illusion that trust has been invested in me by people who are "giving me a chance", and who will see what I can do for them. I acknowledge that responsibility, and will work hard for - and be accountable to - my residents. I am only too pleased however that I do not undertake that task alone, but do so as part of a unified Labour team of two Labour City Councillors, a Labour County Councillor and a Labour MP. I look forward to working for and with you.

Entering the Final Strait... How the Labour Campaign Works

2012-04-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

It will not be too long now before we know the results of Exeter's City Council elections. In 4 days' time the city will be waking up to find out who has won seats in which wards and - perhaps more importantly - whether Exeter Labour Party now has the necessary majority and mandate to deliver its bold manifesto to keep the city "prosperous and pleasant". So we enter the last few frenetic days of campaigning as the five parties (and one independent candidate) contesting wards across Exeter try to pick up those last precious votes, and to convert as yet undecided voters to a positive vote for them.

As for the campaign in Pinhoe, we have pretty much contacted everyone on our lists now. Naturally, there have been one or two households in each street where no one has been in when we have called, but every area has been canvassed at least twice, so most people have spoken to me or my team. Now, you may have heard some say, "I haven't seen anyone", and that may well be true. You see, "our lists" are not the same as the electoral roll. There is something of a science behind a Labour election operation. You may not be familiar with it, and may not understand why some things (for instance being asked by someone sporting a red rosette at the polling station for your voter number as you leave) play a part in our operation. This post seeks to explain how we work, and why your answers to us can help us win.

How do you know who to call on? Our Voter ID system shows us who our supporters (and likely supporters) are. The list is made up of people who have told us that they have previously supported Labour. They may have told us at a previous election, told some of our central Party telephone canvassers between elections, they may be Party members who have moved into the area, or may have told a councillor or our MP their allegiances when we have worked on an issue for them. Voter ID shows us a person's name, address, electoral roll number and those for others living in their household, and also whether or not the voter has a postal vote. Where the data exists, it tells us how the elector has voted over the past 5 elections. It can tell us who voted for us locally and nationally, who voted against us and which parties (when they have told us) they voted for instead. It also tells us who has not voted, those who right up to previous elections were still undecided, and those who wouldn't say one way or the other. Some Voter ID entries include a household's telephone number. This is useful so we can call on the phone when the weather has been too bad to go out knocking on doors.

I'm regularly called on by Labour. Why is that? It means that we have you down as a current or previous Labour supporter, or down as someone who hasn't firmly made up your mind who to support. So, we think it is a good use of our time to call on you, discuss the current issues that you will be voting on, and make sure you know where we stand on those issues. If you confirm that we have your support, we will mark you down as a supporter, and the next step for us is to make sure that you remember to vote on polling day itself. If you remain a "don't know" on our list, chances are you will be called on again and again up to polling day!

There are some doors that, as a Labour activist, there is
little point knocking on...!

I never seem to be called on by Labour. Why not? It means that we have previously recorded that you vote against us, and / or are clearly identified with another party, or have previously requested that we do not call again. For instance, when called on you may have told us that you would never vote Labour, or that your voting record shows you have always voted Conservative. Statistically, there is not much point wasting our time calling on someone who has clearly "nailed their colours to the mast" of the Tory party. So we leave you to it, and call only on those we feel could be won over. Early in the campaign, we may have called on people who we know voted against us at the last election (2010), if we also know that prior to that they have voted Labour at some point. However, the closer we come to polling day, the less likely we are to call on "againsts". Firstly, it may remind people to go out and vote against Labour, and secondly it is just not a good use of limited time. Our data this year shows that people who have previously voted against us, when called on switch to Labour at a rate of around 10%. By contrast, "don't knows" are switching at a rate around 60%. However, every house will have received our election material, including our main manifesto leaflet.

"Tellers" are strategically essential to the local operation

Who are the people sat outside the Polling Station, and why do they want to know my voter number on the electoral roll? Often each major party will have someone sat outside the polling station asking you for your number as you leave. These people are called "tellers" and are local volunteers from the party. What is important for Labour is that if you have told us during the campaign that you will be supporting us, you tell us when you have voted so we can tick you off our "promise" list. All through polling day, we have teams of other volunteers calling on the people who promised to support us to remind them to vote. (This is called "knocking-up"!) Once we know that you have voted, our tellers can cross you off the list, and you won't be called on again. You don't have to tell us your roll number when you vote, but if we don't know that you have voted, you are likely to keep getting nagged through the day!

Why crunch all these numbers? Why not just campaign and see what the result is on the day? Some wards are "safer" - demographically and historically they have tended to return Labour councillors again and again. We know that in most local elections, turnout tends to be 35 - 50%. Therefore, it is possible to estimate - from what people tell us on the day - when we have "crossed the finish line" in those wards. Once we know that, we can release some of the volunteers working in those wards to help us in others where the race is closer. Then in those wards, we can also use the data to broadly predict how many more votes we would need to win the seat. By using the list of people who told us they would support us, and cross-referencing it with the list of who have actually voted so far on the day, we know how many more people we need to "knock-up" - to urge to go and vote to secure the seat. This enables us to use our volunteers across the city more efficiently on the day. In 2010, Labour won the Pinhoe seat by just 4 votes, so "knocking-up" can be all-important in some seats. Persuading just one more household to go out and vote at 9.55pm could make all the difference between winning and losing!

So, if you have promised us your support, thank you, and please don't forget to go out and vote on the day. Let our teller know who you are on the way in to the polling station and you will be left alone for the remainder of the day. Pinhoe is never going to be a "safe" Labour seat - the deomgraphy and history here shows that it will always swing between Conservative & Labour. So, while our data is very encouraging, while national polls give Labour a poll lead of between 9 and 13%, while there are signs that even firm Tories are drifting away to UKIP or intending not to vote at all, my team and I are taking nothing for granted and will be working incredibly hard up to and all through Thursday.

Make no mistake, Pinhoe will be a close race, and every vote will count. YOUR vote will count. Please vote for change, vote to send a signal to the national Tory party that their policies are not working, but are hurting families and communities.

This Thursday

Tory Porkies 3: New Depths

2012-04-25T07:42:00.002-07:00

My good friend Roger Allen.
Tory. But I don't hold that against him!

I have a confession to make. I have friends who are Conservatives. Don't get me wrong, I think they are very much mistaken politically, but they are generally good people, and I enjoy their company. Some I have even clashed robustly with in the council chamber, but I respect them. I believe their core beliefs (however erroneous) are sincerely held, and argued with some measure of integrity. Cllr Pete Chapman, Cllr Michael Goodman, former Councillors Nigel Reed and my good friend Roger Allen (all from my previous council in Dorset) fall into that category. Last week, I debated with Exeter Tory Cllr James Taghdissian in the Central Library. He argued for a living wage for workers. And free public transport. Hard to argue against those.

But this week, in my opinion, some of the small group of Tories active in the local campaign sank to new depths. One never expects an entirely clean fight from the Tories, and even more so at a time when they have very little going for them nationally, but to attempt to deceive and mislead the electorate, again and again, is contemptible. When the Tories first knew I had the audacity to stand against their candidate in "their" seat, they began to attack me. A theme throughout was that I was "parachuted in"... Ed Miliband's Import Ò, as they would have it. Never mind the fact that I have been working in Exeter in the charity and community sector for 6 years, or that I moved to Exeter more than 3 years ago. Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, as they say.

When these Tory Porkies didn't have the desired impact, those classy Conservatives tried a new tack. My Tory friends in Dorset (where I had been a Councillor for 8 years) were contacted by Exeter's Tories. Did they have any "useful information" on me? Nice. They could have tried debating the issues. Winning the argument. Going head-to-head on who was best placed to represent Pinhoe and to bring more prosperity and quality to Exeter. But no. They were after "dirt".

Most commentators predict more gains for Labour
in Exeter this May, giving the Party outright control

Exeter Conservatives are worried. Labour needs just 2 more seats to take overall control of Exeter Council, and at a time when they would like to be trying to block this Labour ascension, they are livid that they are having to fight so hard to defend seats that they already hold: Polsloe and Pinhoe. I believe that as a result of a poor strategy and their arrogance in wanting to defend their own councillors above all else, Exeter will be a fully-functioning Labour administration on May 4th. Whatever individual battles Exeter Tories may win, they are about to lose the war.

In Pinhoe, they are desperate. At the last election, despite it being 2010 when the coalition government was still in its honeymoon period and Labour still widely disliked, Pinhoe elected a Labour councillor. Most recently, the Tories have taken to putting out a leaflet from Cllr Cynthia Thompson that does not carry ANY Conservative branding. Why? What are they afraid of? Or, what are they ashamed of?

Under pressure: Exeter Tories, like Cameron, are feeling
the strain

At the first sign of a failing Tory national government, Exeter Tories drop their association with national Conservatism. they know that their government is deeply unpopular. They know that NHS reform, millionaires' tax cuts, Granny tax, pasty tax, fuel strike chaos, police cuts, rising crime, high unemployment, a Home Secretary who doesn't even know what day of the week it is, and now a Culture Secretary "in bed" with the Murdochs does not reflect well. So much so, Cllr Thompson's newsletter practically BEGS people not to vote on national issues. "You cannot change the government," she wrote, "or affect what is happening nationally..." This is a Tory Porkie, as we have seen before.

This leaflet made its way into homes around the Whipton area last weekend, deliveries supported by imported volunteers (ironic, I know) from Conservative Associations in East Devon and Torbay.

Proud of MY Party. Out in Pinhoe with Ben and
former councillor Val Dixon

Last night was calling on the doors of Summerway, and went to call on Mr & Mrs E. As Mr E opened the door, he was wearing a Welsh rugby shirt - always a good sign when you're a Labour candidate! Yet as I introduced myself he looked at me with some coolness and bemusement. When I had finished, he said "You're the one that lives in Weymouth, are you?"
"No, " I replied, "I live in Exeter. I moved here over 3 years ago. I've been working in the charity sector in Exeter for over 6 years." I was beginning to smell a rat.
"I had your opponents here at the weekend," he said, "They said how could you do anything for us when you live in Weymouth?"
"They said I am living in Weymouth now?" I wanted to clarify this. I could barely believe what I was hearing.
"Yes," he re-asserted.

Fortunately, I was able to set the record straight, and Mr E was livid that he had been misled. "You ought to go after her for that," said Mr Evans, "that's not right saying stuff like that. They should be ashamed."
Indeed.
When I asked others in Summerway, and later Warwick Way, they confirmed they had been told the same thing.
How sad.

Labour councillors keep things positive and
get things done.

On the plus side, I think most people see through all this. Local residents have spoken to me and my team and have commented on our Election Address leaflets, praising Exeter Labour for keeping away from negative campaigning and personal attacks. We campaign on what we have done, and can do. What we can achieve with and for people for their communities, not attacking others.

We know, and demonstrate, that councillors need to be community leaders - and that means modelling the standards that local voters expect. Telling the truth, surely, is one of the most important of those standards.

On May 3rd

Tory Porkies 2, or "When is a Tory Not a Tory?"

2012-04-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

Wordsearch: Anyone spot "Conservative"?
No, me neither...!

With the government in complete disarray (again) - whether it is about taxing pasties, charity donations, fuel strikes, millionaire tax cuts, the NHS or - unbelievably this week - getting the day of the week wrong in a major legal case, I suppose you cannot blame local Conservatives for being, well, a bit embarrassed about how inept their national party is governing the country. However, to put out a local leaflet that is completely devoid of any mention of the Conservative Party is cynical even by Exeter Tories' pretty low standards. Of course, they have a track record on "being economical with the truth" and putting out misleading literature, but the latest newsletter from Cllr Cynthia Thompson really is something else.

Exeter Tories are not alone in being nervous about the affect that the national "toxic brand" of Conservatism may have on their local election chances. While in Dorset last week, I spotted this poster from a local Tory candidate...

... not a mention of "Conservative" in sight! And so it is with the latest leaflet to hit Pinhoe. Why can't they just be honest? Why can't they just be straight with local voters? "We are Conservatives." Is it so hard to admit? Apparently it is.

However, I would argue that Cllr Thompson's little missive goes further than a mere generic-looking billboard. Rather patronisingly, Exeter Tories want to ask people not to consider national issues when voting on May 3rd:

What a condescending way to talk to people! Local elections DO change things nationally - and that is exactly what Exeter's Conservatives fear. When a government faces devastating local election results, their MPs from marginal constituencies begin to get jittery. They fear for their seats, and they begin to put pressure on ministers to change tack, to do things differently. Local votes and voices are noted in Westminster, make no mistake. Otherwise, why would national party leaders get involved at all in launching local campaigns?

Secondly councillors, and the teams of activists that they work with, are the lifeblood of any general election campaign. The less "boots on the ground" there are, the weaker that party is. If - as is expected - the Tories lose significant seats across the country on May 3rd as people give their verdict on a government that is failing them, backbench Tory MPs will demand the government does better because they know that weaker local constituencies means weaker parliamentary seats.

National policies affect people locally, as I have written about before here. I shall work for Pinhoe locally - that is the role of a councillor after all. However, I will also work as part of Labour team with Cllr Saxon Spence at county level, and Ben Bradshaw MP at national level to protect the people of Pinhoe ward and Exeter from the devastating policies of the Tory-run County Council and the national government.

I shall write a post later to "de-bunk" some of the other claims in the Tories' "non-branded" newsletter (more "Tory Porkies" I fear!) but for now be sure of this: unlike my opponent, I am proud of the parties I represent - Labour and Co-operative. I am proud of what they have, and are, delivering in Exeter. I am proud of their histories and values in working for, and protecting, ordinary men, women and families of all backgrounds.

It's all about the people...

2012-04-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Poltimore Arms - unofficial Labour HQ in Pinhoe!

The best thing about this stage of the campaign is the sheer number of people that I and my Exeter Labour team get to meet. I enjoy the banter with our rival parties, and this week I enjoyed myself at a hustings, but it is talking to the very people I want to represent that really spurs me on and reminds me why I want to put myself through all this. I am finding that the people of Pinhoe have got a lot to say, and many are finding things very difficult under this current government.

My little local Exeter Labour team has been out at some point every single day over the last few weeks, knocking on doors, posting leaflets and stopping people in the street. I cannot praise them enough - they have been giving up evening after evening, and their weekends, to come and support me. Even the times I haven't been able to be there in person, they have still organised the tasks, and gone out without me. It's a wonderful sense of being part of something, and over a pint (or two) in the Poltimore Arms after our evening's labour (excuse the pun) we have had a debrief. It's there that we have shared some of the stories that we've heard. I have never known, in all my years in local politics, a council election where so many national issues have come up. People want to talk to us, to tell us how these Westminster policies are hitting them hard "on the ground" in Exeter. They may be "national issues", but they are very much playing out locally. So this blog is about just a few of the people we have met this week, and their stories.

The Chief Exec of the charity Mind has resigned
in protest at the government's "inhumane" policy

Mr J is a married man with teenage kids in the Summerway area. He suffers from spondylarthritis (arthritis of the spine) and is in early remission from prostate cancer. "It's a joke," he told me, "I've had an assessment with the benefits service and I've been told I'm being moved on to Job Seekers' Allowance. Look at me. How am I going to get a job? Even if I could work, there's loads of people looking work just now. I mean, would you employ me over someone else?" The government has commissioned a French I.T. company, ATOS, to conduct controversial re-assessments (Work Capability Assessments) of all the cases of all people on incapacity and disability benefits in a computer-led process. These assessments have been questioned in terms of both their accuracy and the impersonal and insensitive way they have been administered. Last week the Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind resigned from a government panel in protest at the "inhumane" tests.

Remember this promise?

Mr & Mrs V live in a large private house on Park Lane, in Pinhoe village. As I looked up their drive, their home did not exactly look like that of someone from the "core Labour demographic". One glance at our Voter ID sheet confirmed their previous voting intentions: Conservative over the last five elections. However, I had spoken with Mrs V on the phone a week before, and I was keen to meet her. "I never thought I would hear myself say this," she had told me on the phone, "but I'll be supporting Labour. It's what the government is doing to the NHS. It's just wrong." A week on, and her opinion had not changed. "We both work in the NHS," she explained. "Don't get me wrong, we're both in roles which probably means we'll have more income ourselves, but it's simply not right what they are doing. We can both see where this will end. We might be better off, but we can see this is bad for patients. It's bad for the country. And the thing is," she added, "they promised they wouldn't do this. That's what gets me." Mr and Mrs V are not alone. Others who have never thought they would be politicised have found that the NHS is just too important to stay silent on. See Professor Robert Winston's video about the NHS here.

Are hot school dinners about to become a thing of the past
in some parts of Devon?

Mrs G is a jovial, no-nonsense lady in her 70s living in the Beacon Heath area of the ward. She is - I later found out - a retired Deputy Headteacher, and had recently moved into the area when I called on her. She is one of those people you might describe as "larger than life", and she had a friend over when I called. "Oh good!" she called out to her friend when she answered the door, "It's a young man!" I liked her already.
Had she ever voted Labour before? "Never!" came the sharp reply, but then, "I might now though - I'm so very cross."
Mrs G is cross about education. The lack of investment, the move to "free schools", and the failure in Exeter of Devon County Council to invest more in schools to keep pace with a growing population. "There just aren't enough places!" she exclaimed, "It's not fair, these poor mums don't know if their child will have a place nearby or not. And then this fiasco about school dinners - I was reading some schools are stopping them altogether. Unbelievable. Children need nutrition. It's daft!" Mrs G was referring to the 10 -year private contract DCC had awarded to a company that then put the prices of meals up to £4 in some schools, causing some schools to opt out saying the meals were "unaffordable". Mrs G said that for the very first time she would be voting Labour this year, and requested a lift to the polling station as she has problems with mobility. A member of my team suggested we offer her a postal vote, so I popped back to see her to drop in a form. When I went back a third time to collect her completed postal vote application she had a twinkle in her eye. "Third time here today," she said, "That'll get the neighbours talking!"

Crime in Devon is up 6.4% already as the cuts bite

Law and order is another seemingly national issue that is playing out locally. I called on Ms B in her home just off Harrington Lane. Both Ms B and her partner work for the police. There was a natural opening for a chat here as my partner works for the police in their child protection service. Ms B was reluctant to say who she supported - there is a protocol that police officers are politically neutral, publicly at least. Yet she was scathing of government policy. "They try to paint themselves as the party of law and order," she said, "but they haven't got a clue. These cuts are massive for us. We have a huge patch to cover - two counties - and it's not like we had that many officers to start with, but they want us to lose hundreds. We are losing good, experienced officers. It's criminal," she laughed at what she had just said, "excuse the pun." Devon & Cornwall police are facing the fifth highest cuts to any constabulary in the country. Already the local police have lost over 100 officers. the result? Crime overall is up 6.4%, but more worryingly robberies were up 12% and domestic burglary up 16%.
Ms B looked down at my clipboard. "I don't know what you're going to write on there," she said, but then added with a grin, "but let's just say I won't be voting for either of the parties that are cutting us."

LABOUR, I scribbled on my sheet as I walked back down her path.

The Election Address Ready To Go

2012-04-19T05:01:00.001-07:00

The election address leaflets will be out this weekend, and will be delivered by the end of next week. As we've been promising on the doorsteps, 5 key mainfesto areas that set out a clear, coherent vision for Exeter Here's a sneak preview...
Pinhoe

Tory Porkies

2012-04-14T01:02:00.004-07:00

Another of Dave's "Tory Porkies" rumbled!

What is it with Tories? Why do they seem to have such a hard time talking straight, and just telling the truth? Two weeks ago, Cameron couldn't get his facts straight on where he last ate a pasty. This week, "Dodgy Dave" defended Osborne's tax charge on charities, saying it was justified because some rich people "abuse" the tax relief system by giving to bogus charities. Then yesterday, HMRC - the tax authority - said there were "no relevant case studies" to support that view. They are simply choking charities harder, while giving their millionaire friends tax breaks and tax cuts.

On the doors at the moment, one of the issues that comes up again and again is the NHS. Even people who have previously been Conservative voters are telling me they are supporting Labour this time around as it is the only main party that tried to defend the NHS from the Coalition's NHS Bill that opens the door to widespread privatisation and cuts to care. People are angry because they remember his pledge at the last election not to cut the NHS, or to impose "top-down re-organisation" of the NHS. These election-time promises were "Tory Porkies".

You can watch the views on these broken promises of a credible and respected (and previously non-partisan) expert on the NHS and health, Professor Robert Winston here:

We all use and need the NHS, and in Exeter it is a major employer, and therefore a major contributor to our local economy. The NHS is a local issue as much as a national one. Exeter Tories supported the government Bill to cut the NHS, and to impose further upheaval on its services and staff.

But even locally, the Tories can't seem to tell the truth. In their recent leaflets to the public, Tories claim that Exeter Labour have a "plan for more spending", but "no pledges for savings", and therefore suggest a tax hike is on its way. Let's get some facts on this.

Scare tactics from Exeter Tories' negative campaign

Tory leader Cllr Henson (left) celebrates
Labour government announcement to
make Labour unitary -
a decision later scrapped by her
own party.

Tory Porky #1: The very first page of our local Labour manifesto sets out how, through a restructuring of the council and its services, Exeter is saving over £1 million. We could have achieved more had we been able to become a unitary authority as planned, but the Coalition government scuppered that. Exeter Tories, who actually backed the bid for unitary authority status, won't tell you that because they don't want to criticise their own party nationally.

Tory Porky #2: Trying to scare Exeter residents about tax increases is completely bogus. Labour-led Exeter Council froze the council tax this year. What the Tories don't tell you is that Exeter has the lowest council tax charge of any District Council in Devon. Here's the list:

Exeter Labour £124.84

East Devon Tory £155.77 (+ £30.93 more than Exeter)

South Hams Tory £174.87 (+ £50.03)

Torridge Tory £179.30 (+ £54.46)

Teignbridge Tory £195.27 (+ £70.43)

North Devon Tory £208.79 (+ £83.95)

Mid Devon Tory £215.00 (+ £90.15)

West Devon Tory £240.81 (+ £115.97)

The highest-charging Tory Devon District Council charges a full 92.8% MORE than Labour-led Exeter!

The Police Authority raised its Council Tax
contributions this year, while the constabulary had
the 5th highest cuts in the country

Tory Porky #3: What you pay to the Labour-led City Council is only a fraction of your Council Tax. Just 8p in every £1 you pay goes to the City Council under Labour. The other 92p? That goes to the Tory County Council, and the Tory-dominated Police and Fire Authorities. The Tories' leaflet won't tell you that.

Tory Porky #4: There can be no "council tax bomshell"! Under national policy, council tax cannot increase by more than 3% without first being approved by a local referendum. So even if we were to increase Exeter council tax by the very maximum, it would mean residents' contributions would rise from 8p in the £, to a whacking, er, 8.24p! In other words, Exeter's tax, at £128.59 would still be 21% cheaper than the lowest neighbouring Tory authority, and still a huge 87% lower than the highest.

The same leaflet that pushes this rubbish makes all sorts of other claims about the Tories and what they will or won't do, and their views of Labour, or of me as a candidate. I am not so much angry about the personal smears - they are to be expected when a sitting councillor feels threatened - I am angry that Tories think it is ok to deliberately attempt to mislead the public.

You can't trust the Tories on the NHS. You can't trust the Tories on tax. You can't trust the Tories on employment. You can't trust the Tories on the economy. You can't trust the Tories on local policy. You can't trust the Tories to tell you the truth.

You can't trust the Tories. Full stop.

Vote Labour on May 3rd.

Crunch Time

2012-04-12T01:00:00.001-07:00

Out earlier in the campaign with former councillor Val Dixon
and local MP Ben Bradshaw

It's all getting a bit interesting.
We are now into what is called the "short campaign" - the last month run-up to the elections on May 3rd. This is the period when parties step up their activity, and the battle "proper" begins after months of lower-level campaigning and something of a "cold war" between parties.

There's a lot of blather and banter to politics, and most of us involved quite enjoy it if we are honest. Anyone monitoring local political Twitter streams will know there is a fair degree of (mostly) good-natured sparring between councillors and candidates about a range of issues - local and national - and regular readers of my blog will know that I have fired the odd broadside at the local Tories. But now it's crunch time, and as we move into the final stages of the election campaign I am increasingly being asked by friends and colleagues, "Well, will you win?"

I am too experienced in local politics to try to answer that question with any certainty. Pinhoe is a "two-way marginal ward", alternating in its most recent electoral history between Labour and Conservative. There are rarely more than 100 votes in it, and it is often decided by far fewer votes than that, most notably in 2010 when my Labour colleague, Moira MacDonald won by 4 votes!

Pinhoe's recent electoral results

What is clear is that Pinhoe will see a straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives. The highest any other party has ever managed in recent history was in 2004, but even then the Lib Dem candidate polled less than 400 votes. The Lib Dems, UKIP and the Greens cannot win in the ward.

Labour needs just 2 more seats in the city to take overall control of the council. Why is this important? I spent 8 years as a councillor in Weymouth & Portland, a borough where there has been no overall control since 1974. As a result, the political and strategic decision-making has often been protracted, and characterised by frequent compromises, back-tracking and slow responses to important issues. A single party - of whatever colour - clearly in charge gives an authority a clear vision and direction. In Exeter, Labour is running the city well as a minority administration, but overall control would enable us to effectively give our local manifesto to city officers as their corporate plan for the next municipal cycle - a clear vision, and a clear steer of direction for our council. Our manifesto begins:

"Under Labour, Exeter’s council tax rates have been consistently one of the lowest in the country. Just 8p out of every £1 that residents pay in council tax goes to Exeter City Council. This is a testament to the well run nature of a Council that has been under Labour control for the majority of the last 30 years.

We took the decision this year to freeze Council tax at last year’s rate. Our costed budget sets out how, over the coming year, we will be making £1 million savings while protecting the services which the citizens of Exeter need most.

We can no longer just manage our budgets better; we have to manage our business differently. We aim to streamline the council’s systems, a process which has already seen a £500,000 per year saving through reductions in senior management.

We are committed to getting the best value for taxpayers’ money while improving the delivery of our services and investing sustainably and strategically to secure the future of our city." - Introduction to the 2012 Exeter Labour manifesto

It goes on to set out our bold ambitions in the areas of housing, economic growth, quality of life & leisure, environmental sustainability, and thriving communities in our city.

Tory-controlled Plymouth is seeing
economic decline, including airport closure

Major investors like John Lewis are
backing Labour-led Exeter

By contrast, Exeter Conservatives seem to miss the bigger strategic issues, and focus their manifesto on, well, rubbish. Bins seem to be their top priority. No one is belittling waste and recycling as an important issue, but the specific local arrangements for bin collections are hardly a pressing strategic concern. In her manifesto introduction, Tory leader Cllr Yolanda Henson strikes an upbeat note about Exeter's vibrant economy and its cultural life. Well she might, she knows that our city - under sound Labour leadership - is not only weathering the storms of national economic gloom - it is a city that is prospering. Contrast that with the picture in our Tory-controlled neighbouring cities of Plymouth and Torbay where businesses are struggling and the local economies are declining, and the choice for Exeter between Labour and Tory becomes even more stark.

Cameron's 2010 pledge - now betrayed.

Exeter Tories supported their national party in its breaking of David Cameron's electoral pledge that there would be "no top-down re-organisation of the NHS", and supported Andrew Lansley's deeply unpopular NHS Bill. Their manifesto is also silent on the fact that Devon & Cornwall police are facing the fifth highest cut to its frontline officers in the country. That is a disgrace.

Exeter has a chronic shortage of homes that are affordable to local people, yet all the Tories have to say on the matter is that they would change the processes for prioritising houses. There is no vision, no strategy, no plan to actually develop more homes. Labour meanwhile is setting out our plans to establish an innovative model of co-operative housing for the city.

We are confident we will retain our existing seats, and win the two seats we need to take overall control the council and to give the city a clear vision and direction for the future. St James and Alphington wards are showing very encouraging signs of widespread Labour support, and wards like Pinhoe could also play a key role in the city.

Will I win? I am hearing a lot of support of the doorsteps, people are angry about the economy, about cuts, about unemployment, about the budget, tax inequality and particularly about the damage to the NHS under the coalition. The data, Labour organisers tell me, is that we now have enough support to win in Pinhoe - but we will only win IF those who have pledged support for us go out and covert that promise to a vote on May 3rd.

Whatever happens, it will be close. Moira won by 4 votes... For all we know, that could have been down to just one family in the ward, "umming and ahhing" about whether to bother, who fortunately decided to go. Politicians often say that "every vote counts", but that could not be more true in Pinhoe. Please don't leave it to everyone else, please don't think that your vote won't make a difference. It could be the difference between city leadership that wants a bold, bright future for our communities; or one that just wants to talk "rubbish"!

As true now as it was then!
Vintage Labour poster

Vote Labour & Co-operative on May 3rd.

My response to the PCS union

2012-04-10T07:05:00.003-07:00

In common with most local election candidates, I was contacted recently by the Public & Commercial Services union, PCS, to comment on a series of pledges they are asking candidates to make. This is my response:

"I am the Labour & Co-operative Party candidate for Pinhoe ward in Exeter city council's elections on May 3rd. I am also a member of Unite the union, and have been campaigning on a range of cuts, and particularly against the NHS Bill. My partner is a public sector worker, as a member of civilian staff working within the police in child protection. In response to your specific pledges:

1. I pledge to support PCS campaigns against public service job cuts and to ensure quality public services are delivered to those in need.

I believe that this coalition government is cutting too far, too fast. I am not convinced that the deficit is the biggest challenge facing this country, and I believe that the majority of the blame for the deficit in the UK, and for the international economic crisis, sits with the unchecked greed and drive for expansion within the private corporate sector. On that basis, I call for greater commitment from the wealthiest (whether companies or individuals) to pay their way through a reformed and transparent progressive tax system.

2. I pledge to support the PCS campaign for fair pay and a living wage for workers.

I am proud that it was a Labour government that introduced the minimum wage. However, I believe along with Ed Miliband and others within the Labour Party that we now need to research and set a living wage. In the south particularly, we need to recognise the unaffordability of housing to public sector workers, and set a living wage accordingly.

3. I pledge to protect quality public services and work alongside PCS, community organisations and other trade unions to ensure that no more public services are privatised, outsourced or mutualised.

As an employee of a community organisation, and a trade union member, I have profound concerns about the privatisation of public services under the agenda "opening public services". I believe that this government's agenda is to open up public services to private sector providers who will run these services to make a profit. I do believe that mutualised services may have a valid role, but only as part of a genuinely co-operative model that is achieved with full union and employee consultation, cooperation and support. I believe this government has abused the language of mutualisation and co-operatives to attempt to seduce public opinion to favour a new system of commissioning that clearly favours big business.

4. I pledge to support the PCS campaign for fair pensions for all; including calling on the government to protect public sector pensions, ensure the state pension keeps in line with inflation, that the government addresses pensioner poverty and that companies are prevailed upon to ensure they fulfil their pension obligations to staff.

Absolutely agree. This government's most recent budget, and their negotiating stance with teachers, police, and other public servants shows a contempt for the people who work hard to ensure our communities function. I am proud to campaign for fairer pensions, and for the protection of pensioners..

I trust the above responses make my position very clear."

A Long Time in Politics...

2012-04-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Apologies for having taken so long to publish a new entry. The end of March this year - as with so many previous years - was a time where I had to hurriedly take as yet unclaimed annual leave, so spent a week in Snowdonia, Wales and a week (of extraordinarily hot temperatures) in Cornwall with my partner. On returning to Exeter, my boss - the Chief Executive of Exeter CVS - was off sick for a week, so I have been acting up in running CVS while also trying to do my own job. (Ok, enough of the sob stories and excuses!)

Of course, we are also into the election campaign "proper" now in Exeter for the city council elections on May 3rd, so every free evening has been spent going door-to-door meeting the residents of Pinhoe. All the candidates for the local election are now announced, and Pinhoe will have a Tory (the incumbent), a UKIP candidate, a Green Party candidate, myself (for the Labour and Co-operative Parties), and of course a Lib Dem candidate. I am tempted to say that in Pinhoe any Lib Dem candidate is merely a "paper candidate" as Lib Dems usually poll less than 200 here, but I rather fear that ANY Lib Dem ANYwhere in 2012 will be little more than a "paper candidate" such is their unpopularity. (Naughty of me, I know.)

Even traditionally "Tory" papers seems to be turning
on the government

Still, as I sit down again to ponder a new blog, I am driven to ponder that the 20 days since my last blog entry is an awfully long time in politics. Since I last wrote, we have had THAT budget. Tax breaks for the richest millionaire friends of our cabinet, an end to tax credits that will hit 40,000 families in the south west, the "granny tax" that asks pensioners to pay more while the wealthiest see their taxes FALL by 5%, and - as my holiday in Cornwall could never let me forget - the confusion on almost "Carry On" proportions regarding what does or doesn't constitute "hot" food under the dreaded "pasty tax". Confusion seems the order of the day in government as leak after leak betrays new government agendas. Francis Maude's advice for people to stock up on highly flammable fluids in "jerry cans" in preparation for the strike that never was led to accusations of ineptitude and arrogance - not everyone has a garage, Francis. Then more recently, it was a leak that let us all know that the government was hell-bent on monitoring emails, web use and mobile phone calls. Even for the government's own libertarian back-benchers this was a step too far. Former Tory leader hopeful David Davis opposed the Bill publicly, and (as ever) the Lib Dems are all at sea on the issue. Lynne Featherstone says the Bill is misinterpreted and we have nothing to worry about, while Lib dem president Tim Farron is saying they will oppose the Bill. (As they so successfully proposed the NHS Bill, presumably!)

A poster from a Cornish campaign against the "pasty tax"

Why is all of this so relevant to Pinhoe? Well, I have been out and about with my team (and I DO mean "team" - I have been humbled by the number of volunteers who have been coming out with me) and I am finding again and again that people are raising national issues on the doorsteps. People are angry about just how out-of-touch this government appears. Whether it is petrol shortages, pasty tax, or top-rate tax cuts even the Tory press is turning on Cameron & Osborne as being spectacularly inept at reading the mood of the nation. The opinion polls, which have previously been oscillating wildly are stabilising, offering Labour a lead of between 6% and 10%, depending on the polling organisation. People are angry.

"All in this together?" Hm. Maybe not.

This has been reflected in the voices we are hearing on the doors. We have started at the "village" end of the ward, and are working our way west towards the "Whipton" end of the ward. Traditionally the "village end" is the more challenging for Labour, yet we are seeing people who will openly admit to backing the Tories in 2010 pledging to support Labour in May. Most have a personal story to tell. The civil servant approaching retirement who will be personally worse off under Osborne's pension plans, the long-serving police officer who is devastated to see so many frontline fellow officers sacrificed on the altar to the austerity rhetoric or the passionate NHS consultant who, despite standing to be personally wealthier under the new NHS commissioning systems, could see that the NHS Bill was bad for patients and bad for tax-payers. None of these were "natural" Labour people. Yet all, having considered their options, feel the Tory party that benefited from their support in 2010 had got things badly wrong. Whether a protest vote, or something more, all have decided to support Labour in May.

It would be churlish to complain about support based on national issues in what is, after all, a local election. Yet it is not all about national politics. Since my last newsletter went out, I have been busy dealing with "casework" that has arisen from people being under the impression that I am already a councillor. Whether new road links, charges at recycling centres, damaged pavements, flytipping concerns, cuts to local youth services, or issues with anti-social behaviour, I have been addressing it. One constituent contacted me after my last leaflet went out to raise the issue of fly-tipping locally.

"I am happy to help," I explained, "but you do know I'm not your councillor, don't you? I am the Labour and Co-operative candidate."

"Oh I know, dear, " came the response, "but I've read your leaflet, and I've spoken with a friend who met you in your day job, and she says you will get things done."

I am interested in, and involved in, national politics as well as local politics. But politics matter most when they impact directly on people's lives. That is what drives me; being an activist that can work together with local people to change things for them in their families, in our communities, in our city and our nation. That's why I am standing on May 3rd, and that's why I want you to vote for me.

Tory Campaign Success! (for Labour)

2012-03-19T04:52:00.001-07:00

Heartfelt thanks to Exeter's Tories for their campaigning efforts in Pinhoe recently (no, really.) On Saturday I attended a Labour councillors' coffee morning at the United Reformed Church hall in Old Pinn Lane, where I had the pleasure of meeting some of our new supporters, volunteers and members.

Cllr Saxon Spence, Cllr Moira MacDonald, former Cllr Val Dixon
and I at the United Reformed Church in Old Pinn Lane

It was a particular pleasure to meet Mr & Mrs T who live not too far from me, and were recently called on by local Exeter Tories. They were signed up to a postal vote and spoke to the Tory team for a while...

...They then immediately got in touch with Exeter Labour and asked how they could join us and help our campaign.

So thank you to Exeter's Tory campaigning operation. Whatever it is you are doing, please do keep it up!

What Would Yolonda Do?

2012-03-17T10:29:00.004-07:00

"Give me somewhere to stand and I will move the world" - Archimedes

I don't know about you, but I think politicians should stand for something. There should be something driving them - values, or a sense of mission - some passion, some vision, some sense that things can be different, be better.

Exeter's Tories are BACKING the hugely unpopular
NHS Bill

Readers will know that I have been pressing Exeter's Tories to just come out and say whether they support the deeply unpopular NHS Bill or not. For weeks, I was met with silence. Then finally, Conservative Councillor for Polsloe, James Taghdissian told me, "Exeter Conservatives support Conservative Policy, Simon. Would be bigger news if we didn't. Get real!" So that told me.

(Actually, Exeter Conservatives do not always agree with Conservative policy. You can read how local Tories tried to rally behind the locally popular call for unitary status for Exeter here, when official Tory policy was to withdraw Exeter's bid to run its own affairs.)

Anyhow, we now know that despite massive professional opposition, despite huge public opposition (Labour has an 18 point lead on the NHS as an issue), despite the huge contribution the NHS makes to Exeter's economy and employment market, despite their coalition partners voting to withdraw support for the NHS Bill, and despite the government refusing to comply with a court order to publish the NHS Bill risk register, Exeter's Tories still support Lansley's disastrous course of action. this much we know.

But what else do they stand for? What is their vision for the city? The Express & Echo this week carried news of Labour's manifesto for the 2012 local elections (more on that later) and next to it an article on the local Tory proposals.

Weekly bin collections have been
championed by Eric Pickles.

However, the extent of their vision is...well... rubbish. Literally. The focus of Exeter Tories' manifesto to date would it appears extend little further than collecting your bin weekly. Genius.

The public is underwhelmed. In the very first response posted on the Express & Echo comments on the story, "DeeJayTee" wrote:

So, in a mission to find out what exactly the Tories are peddling on the doorsteps of the city, I went to their website. There was a tab, boldly stating "Manifesto 2012". Aha! Here must be the big picture, the grand designs, the bold future set out. Er.... no.

"Coming soon..." Hmmm.

"How odd," I thought. You see, last month Exeter Labour councillors, candidates and activists held a day planning our manifesto. We were very excited to do so. We had people come down and speak to us from the Local Government Association and the Co-operative movement, and we thrashed out our priorities for the city and how they could be achieved. Cllr Paul Bull got very excited (as he does) and tweeted what a great day we'd had. The response from local Tory Jake Donovon on the 14th February was:

"Exeter Tories manifesto was finalised back in September." Not started. Finalised. Yet here we are 6 months on and the Exeter Conservative website is distinctly lacking in manifesto. I also had a chuckle at the idea of finalising a manifesto before the autumn budget statement and before the local authorities' settlements from central government had been announced! Unless they have staggering powers of clairvoyance they were presumably deciding in the autumn of 2011 how they would spend a budget that was not actually set until last month!

"Exeter Tories manifesto," declared Jake, "offers Exeter city residents the change of direction and leadership she [sic] really needs."

I would say that so far their manifesto offers not so much a change of direction or leadership, but more a change of bin.

So, on to Labour. I have previously written in my blog that under Labour Exeter is thriving. However, we do not want to be complacent or rest on our laurels. This week saw the publication of our manifesto, and you can see it here.

Major companies are investing in Exeter's economic growth under Labour

Please take the time to read it. We are excited about a Labour-led future for the city, and we think you will be too. We have exciting plans for more affordable housing through a co-operative community model; more environmentally sustainable buildings - both public buildings and homes; more play areas and enhanced open spaces; more support for communities that have ideas on projects in their own areas; economic growth and improved employment - particularly for young people through a new apprenticeship scheme; and an improved and enhanced city centre we can all value and be proud of.

Cooperative housing is seen as a fairer and more
progressive way to deliver homes in countries like Sweden, above

It is a bold, ambitious and exciting picture we paint. Already the bleating has started from both the Tories and Lib Dems. Maybe they should stick to worrying about bin collections. We have no intention of thinking smaller thoughts for our city, though. As Michaelangelo said:

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

PS: Talking of the Lib Dems, what of their great vision for the city? As of today, there is no manifesto yet on their site. However, they would like you to "Vote Yes to AV" on ...er.... the 5th May last year. Finger on the pulse of modern political dialogue as ever, then...!