Liberal Democrats - the Real Opposition!

What a triumph for common sense, led by Nick Clegg! The vote on allowing Gurkhas the right to settle here. Soundbite of the day must be "If someone is prepared to die for the country surely he should have the right to live in the country." Well done to our parliamentarians - leading the opposition to this "government" is something you did well today. In the words of the school report - Keep up the good work.

We needed some good news, having been given the news that Elementis is definitely closing. 100 people out of work, victims of changes in the global economy. It's a tragedy that a company which has been part of Eaglescliffe for over 100 years should be closing just as we need every job we can keep. I know the economic arguments about factories which import all of their raw materials but it doesn't stop me feeling sad, cross and disappointed. I'd like to think that one of the newer process industries would move into the area to take up the skilled workforce but of course the plant isn't useful for anything but Chrome processing and which company will demolish and build new if they can get permission to build on an empty site somewhere else.

This evening I was asked to go and view piles of dog poo! For some reason people seem to think that the footpath between Brae Head and Glenluce Close is a dog toilet. Children use that path to travel safely to and from the primary school. A couple of months ago the same resident complained and the dog wardens did extra patrols, put up large temporary signs and all was well. Now, the signs have gone and the poo is back. What sort of person thinks that a public footpath is the right place for this sort of thing?

40 Days and 40 Nights

Not many things persuade me to drive far on Saturdays but the Liberal Democrat North East Regional conference is one. This one was special because it is only 40 days to the European Parliament election in the UK. The biblical phrase resonated in the hall as the impact of having elected our first Lib Dem MEP for the region was discussed. The positive effect of having someone to speak up for the North East in Europe was rightly celebrated. Fiona Hall's achievements in more general fields were also celebrated, as was the launch of her new website.
Our new President, Ros Scott, spoke about her disappointment which many of us share that more people in positions of power didn't listen to warnings years ago from Liberal Democrats about the dangers of demutualising the Building Societies and allowing personal debt to spiral skywards. If only Paddy Ashdown and Vince Cable had been taken seriously we might not be in the dire situation we're in now.
Alan Beith MP spoke of his disgust, shared by all present as well as the rest of the party, at how the government has treated Gurkha soldiers. A few years ago a small group of very dignified retired Gurkhas visited our Autumn Federal Conference and I signed the petition supporting their right to settle here. They are still as dignified, still as deserving of respect, still veterans of some tough times in the armed forces and still our government treats them with contempt. Yet again I feel ashamed to be part of a country which elected this government.
Fiona Hall talked about her work in Europe, especially on two fronts. The environment has always been dear to her heart and she talked about long negotiations to get the European Parliament and Commission to agree to the right things. At almost the opposite end of the Grand Design scale was her effort to secure European funding to keep a small business in Northumberland afloat while the owners sorted out some financial issues. Both good, both worthwhile and both (along with lots of other things) done by a Liberal Democrat MEP.
It was good to see so many members of Liberal Youth there, taking full part in the discussions and then hurrying off to finish the day with some campaigning in Newcastle North.
A good day, and worth a morning drive to go there.

A Good End to the Working Day

The day after the local press described how one of our local hospitals had lost a mass of patient data Norman Lamb MP revealed the full extent of the problems in the NHS with data as a result of investigations he's been doing. "We already know from the Information Commissioner that the NHS is among the worst offenders for data loss, reporting as many incidents as the entire private sector."
What an indictment! The NHS sees us at our most vulnerable and then loses chunks of our data. And they always reassure us that it doesn't matter - well if it doesn't matter why did they keep it in the first place? And why do they put it on memory sticks and CDs that can drop out of pockets and off desks into bins or worse.
This afternoon was planning committee day. There was nothing in Eaglescliffe ward today but still plenty of tricky and frustrating decision making to do. Why should a developer who's got permission for a good quality design be able to come back and reduce the quality to something that's just about acceptable? Why do developers think that student flats are the new route to riches? The block which was refused permission today not only contravened our new council guidelines by not demonstrating a need for more accommodation but also was a pretty awful design for the area. It looked like boxes - several boxes rather than one monolithic box but boxes nevertheless. Standing nearly opposite Thornaby Town Hall it really did look incongruous. I'd have loved to have seen an interesting building, reflecting the stature and elegance of the Town Hall but what we were offered was chunky and out of place.
At tonight's council meeting there were two really good items which brought out the best side of people.
First we had an item in all the vast array of minutes and reports which come to Council about the return of the Mayoral Chains to Thornaby. Cllr Mick Eddy who is also this year's Town Mayor of Thornaby took the opportunity to thank John Fletcher for his help in arranging that return. Although many others had to be part of the decision it was John who found the way forward when there'd been little or no progress for years. Mick thanked him beautifully and very eloquently on behalf of the people of Thornaby and the Town Council and for once other members of the council were quiet and let him speak.
Almost the last item on the agenda was a motion, proposed by the Mayor, that the council sign up to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights on its 60th anniversary. Alan Lewis spoke of the human rights of the Gurkha soldiers who lived and fought alongside British soldiers but then are denied citizenship if they retired before 1997. Sign the petition or write to your MP - let's get this sorted out once and for all.
After that Suzanne spoke very movingly about the plight of refugees on our doorstep in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees who have fled from abuses of basic rights like the right to live without being persecuted but then are seized in dawn raids and sent to detention centres to await deportation sometimes to countries which are not at all safe for them. Why it's deemed acceptable for children to be woken and bundled away from the only safe home they've known in raids that look just like the raids on suspected crack houses I'll never understand. But it happens and it happens here, under our noses.
So Stockton Council approved the Declaration and maybe, who knows, just one or two people might think twice about walking by on the other side next time.

Budgets, budgets

Hardly a glimmer of good news today. First of all a sombre discussion about the pressures that are looming on the Council's budget. How to continue to fund the extras that Stockton Council and other local authorities provide on the free bus pass for over 60s, the pass introduced by the government with a great fanfare but only designed to work after 9.30 in the morning. That's a fat lot of use if your hospital appointment is at 9 or even 10 unless you live very near to the hospital on a direct bus route. And of course that's only one example of when older people need to use a bus before 9.30. So Stockton and other Tees Valley councils decided to put money into providing a pass which works all day, every day But that costs money and these days with rising electricity and gas bills and falling interest rates the Council is in the same position as many households - it's belt tightening time. So what should we cut back on? Bus passes for older citizens? Social workers for vulnerable children? Road mending? Pavement sweeping? Street lights? Litter bins? Difficult decisions lie ahead and whatever is decided will hurt someone.
That was followed by a meeting of the Environment Select committee at which we had a presentation of a seemingly very good action plan to reduce the numbers of rats and pigeons infesting the borough - not a huge problem in most parts of the borough but visible and irritating in some parts. The action plan sounded great till we realised that it could only be implemented if there was a bit of spare cash to fund it - not likely in the present economic climate. So the chances are that it's going to be a tinkering with the problem because we can't afford the full blown action plan.
However, there's always someone worse off than me, as my mother would tell me. So, as the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights approaches (10th December for those who like to know these dates) I encourage you to support the campaign to help retired Gurkhas to have the same rights as the people they served alongside in conflict zones around the world. It's something that Liberal Democrats have been supporting for over a year now and it was heartening to see the High Court give a boost to the campaign last month. Let's get it sorted out by Christmas!