Neighbourhood Watch Group

Earlier this week i was invited to the first meeting of a new Neighbourhood Watch Group. It was a well run and attended meeting by local residents. Some very positive comments and contributions made and i am sure the group will do well.

Lib Dems want to give up!

Having had a brief chat over the weekend with one of my Lib Dem colleagues it seem there is quite a strong feeling within the Lib Dem group to “have a month off”, as it was put to me.

This is absolutely amazing. The Lib Dems in Hull having demanded to be put in control now want a month off to fight the election.

My feeling is that more and more people are seeing Liberal Democrats for the underhand scheming group they are.

After all 12 of their own councillors in recent years have left following fallouts and infighting. Two have even left since the last election.

Clearly cracks are starting to show particularly within the leadership of the Liberal Democrats. Many people have commented to me on the poor performance of Cllr Minns both from within the Council and other residents.

Perhaps he is suffering from too many lunches with the arch Tory John Fareham.

Lib Dems threaten to resign

The Liberal Democrat administration who control Hill City Council are threatening to resign if they don't get their own way at next weeks budget setting council meeting. It is the second time the group has issued such a threat. Clearly unhappy at having to make any sort of decision they are always looking for a reason to walk away.

Full Council Meeting

A Full Council Meeting was held this week on Thursday 15th of February. Given the parties are all active on discussing the coming budget it was a more subdued meeting than usual. The Budget meeting will take place on Thursday the 1st March and could provide some real fireworks. There are some very serious decisions to be made over the coming weeks and months and it is becoming very clear that the current Lib Dems are not up to the job. Even their leader admitted so much in slip at the full council meeting. Cllr Minns admitted he needs to reshuffle the cabinet soon. This is very clear as a number of current cabinet members are not up to it. In particular Collinson Baker and Sloan are all struggling and are likely to be the first to be dropped or demoted.

Riverside Area Committee Meeting 14th February

The Riverside Area Committee meeting was held in the ward this month at the Balfour Street Community Centre. Unfortunately the police who normally attend did not on this occassion and it was not possible to raise concerns expressed by residents. Following the meeting i spoke to the area inspector and have passed on the most serious issues. A promise of action over the next few weeks was made.

Lib Dems axe Number 90 Bus Service.

Liberal Democrat councillors in Hull have decided to axe the popular Number 90 bus service. The service which has run to and from Victoria Dock to the City Centre for the past 10 years will be axed so that savings can be used to fund Stagecoach services in the West of the city.

Council to clamp down on tax dodgers

Details of press release issued by the Authority. Hull City Council is about to undertake a high tech initiative that's set to find council tax dodgers across the city. Using the latest data matching technology, an initial 5,000 households in Hull that claim to be occupied by a person living on their own will be checked to make sure that the 25% discount they are receiving is still applicable. This anti-fraud initiative will access a range of data sources. This included third party data providers which helps to ensure that only people entitled to receive the 25% single person discount actually do so. The initiative is fully in-line with Data Protection Regulations. Andy Brown, Head of Revenues and Benefits said: "People who are genuinely claiming this discount have nothing to fear - we want them to continue receiving the discount to which they are entitled. However, we take a zero tolerance approach to fraud - all fraud - and we will use the latest technology to carry out this major council tax anti-fraud initiative. "It's vitally important that council tax due is collected to pay for local services such as street cleaning, leisure centres, social services and education."Anyone who is claiming the 25% discount incorrectly is being urged to come forward by 28 February 2007 and notify the council before these checks are made to avoid the possibility of the council taking further action unnecessarily. After this date, claimants who are identified as being ineligible for the discount but are claiming it, face the prospect of a £50 civil penalty and/or possible prosecution under the Theft Act 1968 that could lead to a fine of £1,000.

Lib Dem bosses axe Wilberforce Celebration Chief

Liberal Democrat bosses at the Guildhall have moved the organiser of the Wilberforce Celebrations to another role within the authority. The move prompted a double page spread in the local paper as partners in the celebrations spoke of their concerns at the way the move has been handled. A high paid consultant will now be hired to take on the role. It seems the control freaks in the Lib Dem administration are once again showing an aggressive and nasty side.

How the Mail carried the story.

New Sub-Post Office for Chamberlain Road

I was pleased this week to be contacted by Sergi Singh the owner of the Jackpot store on Chamberlain Road. Following a high profile public campaign Sergi has had his application to open a Post Office counter in his shop accepted. This is really good news for business and residents in the area. The post office counter will require some alterations in the store and training for staff and should be open in a few months time. Sergi rang to thank me for my support in the campaign to obtain the post office.

Traffic Problems Victoria Dock School

I have received a large number of complaints regarding indiscriminate parking around Victoria Dock School at drop off and pick up times. The traffic department at the council are well aware of the problem and have been receiving complaints. Whilst I understand parents want to make sure their children arrive at school safely it is not acceptable that they then cause other parents and road users problems. Following my request a consultation will begin with local residents into possible solutions to the problem.

Fake Lib Dem

The fake Liberal Democrat candidate in Drypool continues to lie about her real address and is still prepared to give a bogus address on her leaflet. This says so much about the Lib Dems in Hull. Whilst I have no problem with Angela standing as a candidate and welcome a real debate about issues in the area her first act has been to lie to residents. Not a very good start then.

Bound Together Residents Group

A very successful meeting of this newly formed residents group. The meeting was well attended despite the cold weather. Many new faces at the meeting which may indicate the regular forum meetings are not representative of the area. Still some good issues raised. Some criticism of the police was harsh given the work we know is being done by local officers. All in all a very good evening.

Still Yellow Tories

As my comments appear to have hit a nerve it may be worth looking at this in a bit more detail.

During elections the Lib Dems contact tory voters and say things like "can we borrow your vote" you know the conservatives can't win here. They also put out leaflets with the same message. This is aimed at Tory voters.

However, after the election the Fib Dems then claim that all the votes were "Lib Dems Votes". Clearly incorrect. In actual fact the votes are mainly made up from traditional tory voters encouraged to jump ship.

Its not then a big jump to look again at some of the floppy haired public school sorts who make up the new group of Fib Dem councillors and say they would be just as happy in the new conservative party. Its just that they would not have won in Hull under a Tory banner.

Since most are only interested in as Janet Toker put it "money and greed" they are only in the Hull Fib Dems because they think they will get elected.

This MUST really annoy some of the older longer standing members of the group perhaps ex-leader Cllr Butterworth who left during a vote at the last council meeting.

Bound Together Residents Meeting

The next meeting of the newly formed residents group takes place Tuesday night 23rd of January 2007 at Buckingham Street School.

Yellow Tories finally take control at Hull City Council

The Yellow Tories who are now in control at Hull City Council finally showed themselves today with the staged release of their budget proposals for the next financial year. A budget based on selling off council assets, giving away to private trusts council assets, redundancies and service cuts has been trumpeted in the local media by the Yellow Tories leader Carl Minns.

Even before the budget proposals the splits within the Liberal Democrat Group became very evident at the Council Meeting yesterday. There has always been a split between the traditional “liberal” wing and the younger aggressive anti everything group of newer Lib Dem councillors.

The budget proposals have very obviously widened that gap.

Whilst the older element of the Hull Lib Dems retail their liberal roots, the new breed have long since dumped any pretence at political philosophy in pursuit of power.

Or as Janet Toker put it “ The Lib Dems in Hull are all about money and greed”.

Years of claims of a two horse race in Hull have resulted in the Lib Dems totally replacing the Conservatives. Many Lib Dems councillors owe their seats to traditional Tory voters no wonder then that the group is rapidly moving onto Tory ground.

Full Council Meeting.

The Full Council Meeting for January was held at the Guildhall. Despite an unusually light agenda the meeting still overrun its allotted time. One of the most interesting things about to today is the extent to which Liberal Democrat Councillors are prepared to spin, bend the truth or tell outright lies. The other interesting thing is the small number of councillor involved. The divisions within the Lib Dems are becoming clearer and clearer. At one point the Cllr Minns was reminded by the Tory councillors that he was only leader due to the votes of Cllr Percy and Cllr Fareham. Actually this is true of all the Liberal Democrat Councillors. Despite claiming to be liberals the actual vote base of the Lib Dems is very small and they rely on natural conservative voters jumping ship. In many of the contributions today they really did look like yellow Tories.

Holderness Road Forum.

On Wednesday a neighbourhood forum was held at the Balfour Street Community Centre. As usual there was a good turnout of residents and a very good level of discussion on a variety of topics. The police usually attend meetings but have decided not to recently. I understand that the current Lib Dem administration are trying to bully the area police team, of course the Lib Dems dont care about local police, residents or crime.

Special Council Meeting

A special meeting of the Council was held on Thursday this week. The main topic of discussion was the activities of the portfolio holder for Social Care. Complaints had been made by residents that services had been cut without any warning or consultation. In what was a disgraceful attack on residents Councillor Baker called them liars. Anyone with any doubts that the Liberal Democrats a the Real Nasty Party should listen to this vile contribution to debate.

Political decision to carry on with incineration.

Political decision to carry on with incinerator

Yesterday I attended the planning committee meeting which decided the fate of the proposed energy from waste facility at Saltend.

As usual the Events staff at the Guildhall were able to put on a professional well-organised show.

A large number of people attended but it was very clear that very few were from the city itself with many residents being bussed in from the East Riding.

The majority of Lib Dem councillor backed the incinerator. The debate within the Liberal Democrats must have been interesting. The move in their position on this issue is truly staggering. But ultimately correct.

In practice whatever the wishes of local politicians the argument to build an incinerator was overwhelming.

Hull does not have a landfill site and with rising costs of landfill projected to well into the future the financial consequences for the authority would be dire if the proposal had been turned down.

It is a great credit to the Lib Dems that the proposal was agreed. This was a tough political decision for them and for once they gave up the opportunity to back out. Well done.

The Burning Issue

The Hull City Council Planning Committee finally meets on Monday to decide the fate of the proposed Energy from Waste facility at Saltend. There is talk of little else in the Guildhall with a number of prominent councillors scrambling to be on other duties that day.