http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/ en Copyright 2008 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:31:25 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Visiter here with an accompanying video.   A quick online search shows Mr Cameron's tour through a string of northern target constituencies picked up some solid coverage during the usual August dry patch in the news cycle. PR brownie points must go in particular to his Olympian feat of distancing from the politically suicidal Cities Unlimited report from the Tory-leaning Policy Exchange thinktank. Meanwhile, he managed to make some encouraging noises on contentious local matters - such as the long-running Southport/Ormskirk A&E issue - without hatching the kind of policy-on-the-hoof that could cause him trouble down the line (see here for his cautious response to a question about scrapping Wirral's tunnel tolls). There can be no doubt Cameron's political stock is still rising - and while his utterances on the northern campaign trail may have not have upset too many applecarts, the same cannot be said of his decision to visit the Georgian capital of Tblisi last weekend. OK, so it may have been conveniently close to his pre-booked holiday destination in Turkey. Yet the vigour of his denunciation of Russia and his meeting with President Saakashvili has drawn approving comparisons with what has appeared a low-key stance from Messrs Brown and Miliband to the present crisis. If my memory serves correctly, this is the first time Mr Cameron has struck out with a really distinctive response to a hard-power foreign policy issue. And if this is a true marker, it suggests a Cameron government's foreign policy posture may resemble more than that of Blair than Brown - a prospect that comes with hefty risk, as this comment piece by former defence secretary Michael Portillo shows. Responding to a question about his readiness to govern during the mini-press conference at Southport Market, Mr Cameron acknowledged he had to be prepared to decide whether to send British troops into battle if the situation arose. Southport Market today, a Caucasus warzone tomorrow With accusations he had allowed himself to become 'cocky' no doubt ringing in his ears, Mr Cameron was at pains last Thursday to say he was making no predictions about the outcome of the next general election - although he later went on to name Southport as an example of a seat the Tories could take with "hard work". And make no mistake, there is still a live debate running through Conservative ranks about the extent to which the party still needs to 'change to win'. Take this little blast from shadow schools secretary Michael Gove - the Cameroon who once chaired Police Exchange - claiming many of his party colleagues are still perceived as "unreformed and grumpy" while Cameron shines like an "imported star centre-forward". Gove's intervention may hint at where the battles lines lie at senior parliamentary level within the Conservative Party. But what about on the ground in a key marginal like Southport? Well 'modernisation' appears to be an issue there too. Yet rather than right and left, we are hearing talk of differences over the governance structures entailed in the new Sefton-wide Coastline Conservatives federation - although so far key individuals have only been speaking off-the-record or citing "internal matters" on which they will not comment. Money is also bound to feature in the electoral calculations taking place in Southport in the run-up to the next election. Tory donor Lord Ashcroft has lined up key marginals for a major cash injection from his own pockets, yet to date I have seen no reference to Southport benefiting from this munificence - I stand corrected if I am wrong. ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/3JH5S-Yro5Q/a_few_months_back_i.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/08/a_few_months_back_i.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:31:25 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/08/a_few_months_back_i.html This report in the Southport Visiter stakes out the emerging party perspectives on the LCR 'prospectus' - a document that has been the subject of some wildly differing interpretations. In the debate, the longstanding Tory councillors Eric Storey and Sir Ron Watson each drew parallels with the long-gone Merseyside County Council. Existing structures of co-operation between the five boroughs are already achieving results, said Sir Ron. Group leader Cllr Paula Parry clearly marked out Sefton Tories' opposition to the LCR. Council leader Tony Robertson's take on the LCR was nothing if not nuanced. In the debate he re-iterated his view that the proposals effectively just replace the existing Merseyside Leaders' Meetings "with a few bells and whistles attached". After the meeting he told me that he could envisage "a broad range of views" coming to light in the process of each party drawing up their final submission on the project - and not just between the parties but among them too. That comment suggests there may be some intense discussions to come within the Lib Dem ranks before they submit their final verdict on the LCR. And the other parties? Well, the only comments on the plan I've heard so far from Tories have been emphatically negative. And Sefton Labour seem clear enough in starting from a receptive position - that we already live within a city region, with Liverpool as the "hub of economic activity in the area" and that moves to increase political co-operation in the interests of Merseyside should be welcomed. Those are the views of their leader Cllr Peter Dowd - although he did add the rider that "the devil is in the detail". The submission that is now set to make the most interesting reading is the one from the council leader's party. Cllr Robertson said in interview he could see both the "pros and cons" of the LCR - the most notable pro being the chance for a "much closer working relationship with West Lancs and Lancashire". I think this will loom large in his party's deliberations. His former deputy, Meols ward's Cllr David Tattersall, has argued that the Government-backed LCR moniker has prompted a myriad of misconceptions about a scheme that he believes has the potential to embrace a much wider area than Greater Merseyside. Certainly, the prospectus namechecks Burscough and Wrexham as potentially lying within the sphere of the LCR, even if only the leaders and chief execs of the six Greater Merseyside council will initially have seats at its cabinet table. A check of the map of the proposed Central Lancashire City Region shows it does not include West Lancs, potentially leaving the district out on a limb if it is not welcomed in by its southern and western hinterland. The well-regarded LSE academic Tony Travers provides a useful overview of New Labour's grapples with local government reform in the compendium Blair's Britain. It was none other than David Miliband - foreign secretary and supposedly putative challenger to Gordon Brown - who pushed the City Region agenda as a cabinet-level local government minister in 2005. Miliband plus think-tank allies also argued there could be advantages to coupling city regions with directly elected mayors whose powers cover their territory. Since then of course, Miliband has moved on in Government. Current local government minister John Healey made clear the City Regions will be voluntary entities. City Region proponent David Miliband - probably not the Southport Party's preferred choice to be next PM But let's not forget, Sefton is to conduct its own review into its leadership structures - with talk of a directly elected Mayor for the borough already sparking debate. Cllr Robertson may well be right - the LCR might not amount to anything extraordinary. But deep-seated changes in Sefton's politics could then be rung in nevertheless. ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/YAl11bGdyfc/post.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/08/post.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:34:30 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/08/post.html TODAY'S Visiter gets under the prickly skin of councillors' allowances and expenses in Sefton. So what are the headline figures for 2007/8? Well, for all 66 Sefton councillors the total amount drawn was £921,025. That averages out at nearly £14k apiece - but in reality there's a gulf between what most 'backbench' councillors are receiving compared to the elite 10 who sit in the cabinet. Party spokespeople and scrutiny committee chairs fall somewhere in the middle. Logically enough, the highest 'pay' - i.e. allowance, subject to income tax, NI etc - was taken home by Cllr Tony Robertson. His post as leader of the authority earned him £34,560. A considerable sum, given the role of councillor was traditionally the domain of the unpaid, amateur politician. But hardly extravagant - a middle-manager's salary for the man at the political helm of an organisation with a £230million budget. Tory activist Mike Swift's label about Sefton's representatives reaching towards the 'millionaire's club' made for good copy. Next year's figures will make really interesting reading. But one thing may have swelled the figures somewhat this year. My understanding of the remuneration package voted through the council last September was that it hiked councillors' allowances at the same time as curbing their ability to claim for within-Sefton travel. Yet the former was backdated to the start of the fiscal year while the later was not. Sefton's figures are far from the end of the story over the extent to which council taxpayers are shelling out to sustain their local political representatives. There are a series of Merseyside-wide joint boards, national representative organisations, health trusts and the like on which councillors can sit - usually by virtue of their elected office - which command allowances and expenses. Twelve months ago Merseyside Fire & Rescue authority recorded an overall allowances and expenses tally of £216,771.82 for its 24 members. However, I agree with those who caution against jumping to conclusions. Vast tracts of councillors claim no expenses at all, saying they will decline to claim back thing they could legitimately do so. But a militant parsimony may be fine for those who can sustain their representative role by other means - but vibrant democracy means that all should be able to afford to put themselves forward before the electorate. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/oocdsqwtj8E/seftons_councillors_a_fair_day.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/07/seftons_councillors_a_fair_day.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:32:35 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/07/seftons_councillors_a_fair_day.html Cllr Les Byrom - the Red Flag now flies in Southport 'Basher' Davis - ex-SAS, ex-Amnesty International ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/dseknamZU-8/who_dares_wins.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/06/who_dares_wins.html Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:21:44 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/06/who_dares_wins.html WHAT to make of the national fervour bubbling in the wake of slew of disastrous election results for Labour? The start of moves to oust Gordon Brown, with David Miliband stepping forward as the party�??s saviour? The Sunday papers over the past fortnight have certainly made a good read, even if �?? as health secretary Alan Johnson suggested �?? reports of gathering plots have been sourced on the fantasies of �??usual suspects�?? holding forth under a fog of anonymity. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/op15enXRfJM/gordon_brownon_the_ropes.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/06/gordon_brownon_the_ropes.html Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:10:51 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/06/gordon_brownon_the_ropes.html PROGRESS, the New Labour think-tank-cum-ginger-group, gets a fair amount of ridicule thrown its way. A personal favourite political scribbler, Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror, labeled its monthly self-titled magazine �??the Blairite Pravda�?? (after the Soviet Communist Party�??s official rag, its title meaning �??Truth�??). Yet for all Labour�??s current headaches in government, the latest Progress missive proves the �??people�??s party�?? can still attract loans of grey matter from some intellectual big-hitters. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/WJSiCOhIHvk/progress_polling_boss_on_prosp.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/05/progress_polling_boss_on_prosp.html Sun, 18 May 2008 00:40:12 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/05/progress_polling_boss_on_prosp.html CONTRIBUTIONS from �??backbench�?? councillors were in short supply at last Thursday�??s marathon council meeting. No doubt the hugely extended adjournments �?? one called for 15 minutes stretched to well over an hour �?? gave such members plenty of time to vent their views to their party chiefs behind closed doors. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/-Ao5VFssneo/sefton_the_heavy_hand_of_history.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/05/sefton_the_heavy_hand_of_history.html Tue, 13 May 2008 00:34:26 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/05/sefton_the_heavy_hand_of_history.html STAND-OFF �?? there is no other term to describe what unfolded over more than four-and-a-half hours at Southport Town Hall on Thursday night. Today, Sefton Council is without a leader and with three of the nine seats on its ruling cabinet unfilled. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/XAVffjnK4PA/sefton_council_-_strife_through_diversity.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/05/sefton_council_-_strife_through_diversity.html Sun, 11 May 2008 20:56:56 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/05/sefton_council_-_strife_through_diversity.html DEBI Jones greeted news the Standards Board for England had cleared her of any wrongdoing by saying she always knew she would be �??vindicated�??. Well, that has come to pass. But the existence of a �??sleaze�?? probe hanging over her for almost six months was a sign of dangerously high stakes in what Cllr Jones suggests was an organised maneouvre against her �?? what she terms 'a David and Goliath battle'. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/nIXQG7l-TKA/of_probes_and_polls.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/04/of_probes_and_polls.html Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:29 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/04/of_probes_and_polls.html HANDS up �?? the past fortnight has not been the most timely for Between the Lines to go into recess. Political developments locally and nationally have been legion as election fever mounts. This week�??s Visiter gives each party a black-ink soapbox to address Southport voters ahead of May 1. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/ETPliT6hd7g/back_from_recess_ready_for_thursday.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/04/back_from_recess_ready_for_thursday.html Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:15:47 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/04/back_from_recess_ready_for_thursday.html here). Signs of a campaigning push on the resort from Conservative Central Office? At least there was none of the pettiness that ensued when David Cameron decided to visit Hazel Blears' Salford constituency. ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/_pcZ1T2Be3Y/porter_vs_pugh_bring_on_the_bi.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/04/porter_vs_pugh_bring_on_the_bi.html Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:01:05 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/04/porter_vs_pugh_bring_on_the_bi.html WILL he stay or will he go? For so long the question mark over the early retirement of Sefton Council�??s chief executive, Graham Haywood, lingered over the borough�??s politics. Now we have the answer �?? his last day in the job will be next New Year�??s Eve and he will receive an exit package valued at £236,000.   http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/L12FOh7wDi8/graham_haywood_into_the_golden.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/graham_haywood_into_the_golden.html Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:18:10 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/graham_haywood_into_the_golden.html This report in the Sunday Times is downright exhilarating. Of course, one must treat such unattributed rumblings with care, but if it�??s all on the button it�??s quite damaging to Gordon Brown. Tony Blair was blessed with what seems to have been a very loyal staff; the fact these briefings are being made must in itself be of concern at Number 10. ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/bVaTYbaugvM/10_downing_street_-_trouble_at_the_mill.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/10_downing_street_-_trouble_at_the_mill.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:48:54 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/10_downing_street_-_trouble_at_the_mill.html www.theyworkforyou.com. ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/LD9QlZZ9Usk/westminster_houses_of_the_rising_blood_pressure.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/westminster_houses_of_the_rising_blood_pressure.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:34:32 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/westminster_houses_of_the_rising_blood_pressure.html BY the usual standard of spring conferences, this weekend�??s Liberal Democrat bash in Liverpool has attracted hefty media attention. I can recall little coverage of Labour�??s gathering last weekend in Birmingham. One reason for this isn�??t too hard to fathom �?? namely last Wednesday�??s revolt by nearly a quarter of Lib-Dem MPs, over the now seemingly doomed bid for a referendum on the EU�??s Lisbon Treaty. Leader Nick Clegg faced a storm of questions over his handling of the issue when he bounded into a media event at the Crowne Plaza hotel on Friday (I attended along with others from the local press). http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/psRJ/~3/i0qG18Q1KP8/liverpool_calling_liberal_democrat_spring_conference.html http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/liverpool_calling_liberal_democrat_spring_conference.html Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:05:55 +0000 http://betweenthelines.visiterblogs.co.uk/2008/03/liverpool_calling_liberal_democrat_spring_conference.html