Earth Hour

Yesterday, 29th March, residents and businesses in 28 cities did what Sydney did in 2007 - turned off the lights for an hour at 8pm. Earth Hour started as a statement about one of the biggest contributors to global warming -coal fired electricity. Although turning the lights off for an hour won't save the world it does make the participants and observers think, and that's important. It helps people to make the little changes which will add up to the big difference.
You can sign up now for 2009, or check out your personal carbon footprint (on a much simplified 1 minute questionnaire) and then think about how to reduce it over the next few weeks or months. Personally, I rather like the occasional candle lit dinner to save electricity (though I haven't calculated how much carbon dioxide the candles produce!).
Seriously - why not give it a go. If enough Eaglescliffe residents want to join in we could register Eaglescliffe as a participating area for 2009.

Life, Research & Ethics

There's been a fair bit of coverage in the media recently of the proposals going before Parliament on embryo research. Those in favour of allowing such moves claim that we need to do this in order to find cures for diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers. I have loads of sympathy with the sufferers of such diseases and their families. My own father suffered from both, living out his final year in hospital because there were no homes able to cope with Alzheimer's in the area at the time. His deterioration was heartbreaking for all the family and we will always be grateful to those nursing staff who did manage to show compassion and understanding to us during those months.
I spent yesterday visiting our daughter and her family, including the unborn but very active new grandchild. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with them, looking forward to the birth and enjoying the antics of their toddler daughter.
Then today, food for thought at church as a spokesperson for Life told of some of their work with men and women facing the trauma of life after abortion or unplanned, difficult and distressing pregnancies. She gave statistics on how many treatments for illnesses have resulted from Adult Stem Cell research, stem cells freely donated by people who can make that choice compared to those which have resulted from Foetal Stem Cell and embryo research. Over 70 conditions over the past 50 years from the former, including leukaemia being treated by bone marrow transplants, but none from the latter. Yet when the arguments for more and more leeway on the type of research allowed are advanced the successes of Adult Stem Cell therapies don't seem to make it into print. I don't take everything that someone tells me as gospel truth, but I do like to be given both sides of an argument and allowed to make up my own mind. Today made me wonder if we're being misled by some campaigners.
Of course, the question of when the embryo becomes a living being with a soul is one for a place other than a political blog! Worth pondering though - are we more than just a collection of cells?, more than an animal that's learnt to talk and walk upright?
At times like this I'm profoundly glad that Stockton Borough Council doesn't have to make these laws. We have enough problems trying to work out whether to expand the youth services or spend the money on vulnerable adults or roads or ......!

Allen's West

There's an application in now for outline planning permission for the Allen's West site on Durham Lane. The new owners of the site want to be able to build houses and a care home on part of the site and keep light industry and warehousing on the remaining part. Although they've produced an indication of what they'd like to put where, the only definite thing they're asking for at the moment is confirmation that a mixed use is acceptable and changes to the access. They're proposing a new roundabout and entrance for the industrial traffic at the northern end of the site and changes to the present entrance to make it suitable for the residential end of their proposal.
Last night, wearing our Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe Council (formerly known as Egglescliffe Parish council) hats Alan, John and I attended a special meeting of the E&EC to discuss the application. It's very difficult to discuss something when you know that there could and probably will be changes when it comes to a full application for the design, siting and landscaping of the buildings. The plans are quite long term because the first stage, if approved, is to make changes to provide suitable habitat for the wildlife which currently uses the site, including skylarks, great crested newts, dingy skippers and bats. The applicant admits that the changes will not be enough to mitigate the damage to the skylark habitat, but as it isn't a protected species I'm not sure how much impact that will have on the decision making process.

When I listened in to the public consultation I heard a lot of people saying that they would be happy to have some housing on the site if it would enable the jobs to be retained on the other part of the site, but that they were worried about the traffic that would be generated. That seems to be reflected in what the applicants have reported as a result of their consultations. The Parish Council has expressed a number of concerns about the sustainability of the proposals, especially some of the housing which is a long way from the railway station and the bus stops and even further from the shops. The bus service along Durham Lane (which they sometimes call Durham Road!) is described in their application as being "6 per hour" when in fact it hasn't been that frequent in living memory and is currently only 1 per hour in each direction.

At the moment my feeling is that something can be done in terms of mixed development but that what is being proposed is unsustainable in the long term and needs to be reconsidered. However, as always, I reserve my final opinion until the matter comes to Planning Committee.

Talking Rubbish

The final meeting of the Environment Select Committee was yesterday afternoon, with the agreement of the final report on Waste management and Recycling as the main item on the agenda. We'd agreed to start with a presentation of a summary of the rationale for the review and the evidence we'd received for all interested councillors before we went on to finalise our recommendations. Unfortunately an error in sending out the invitation meant it was timed for half an hour after the meeting was due to start so there was a very quick re-arrangement of the agenda to cover some items before other councillors arrived. We had almost an hour of presentation and questions, all good and valuable. It showed that we were right in our judgement of the importance of the issue to ward councillors and to their electors. As a result of that discussion and further discussion in the committee we slightly amended one of the draft recommendations to allay some of the worries being expressed.
Although it meant that I spent over 3 hours on the meeting and finalising the report afterwards I believe it was time well worth spending. The scrutiny committee took a lot of evidence which enabled us to make a very well informed set of recommendations to move the service up the several notches needed to achieve the demanding targets being set by government for 2010 and beyond. We listened to the public and realised that many people are willing to accept change if it's explained properly and doesn't cause them too many problems. Now we look forward to convincing Cabinet next month that this is the way forward and then seeing the changes gradually introduced.
When looking at the results of the public consultation we realised that the response rate from some areas was significantly higher than the average. I knew that Eaglescliffe residents had been encouraged to respond by us as ward councillors, and that might have accounted for some of our higher than average turnout. I discovered yesterday that in one of the other wards the same thing had happened, though neither of the ward councillors was on the committee and the ward is as different as possible from ours. I'm very grateful to those councillors for promoting the consultation as vigorously as they did in their ward, and to others who did the same but haven't mentioned it to me. I'm very pleased that so many people responded and gave such full answers.

Pretty Pictures

As promised, just a couple of pictures to brighten up this page: Melbourne Harbour from the Observation platform of the Rialto Tower, and the iconic red rock of Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock by white settlers) seen early in the morning soon after dawn.
And now it's back to work in Eaglescliffe and the Borough of Stockton.

Rest & Recuperation

Even councillors are allowed a holiday sometimes so this week we've been far afield spending time with our daughter and son in law. We don't see them very often so it's really good to spend time together and see their new flat and a new part of town. We've seen interesting places and enjoyed some good weather. When I'm back home I'll upload some pictures, but meanwhile I'm very grateful to Alan and John for looking after the ward and meaning that I don't have to worry about it. It's one of the benefits of the multi-member ward system that residents don't have to do without a councillor at any point in the year. If there's a single member representing a ward it's much more difficult to take time off without it having an adverse impact on the ward.
So I shall enjoy the rest of my holiday with a clear conscience and hope to return after Easter refreshed.

This morning's meeting to put the draft recommendations from committee to the Corporate Director and the Cabinet member went very smoothly and was over in 45 minutes. So now all that needs doing is to write a report! Fortunately it's not my job to actually write it, having agreed what should go in it. In a fortnight's time we'll run the meeting as an open seminar to start with and then the formal committee meeting to finalise the report. All being well it'll go as smoothly as yesterday's - good discussion and then consensus.
The rest of the day was spent on family things, until it was time to go to a meeting of Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe council. The meetings of the Parish council are so different to those of the borough council - no party politics, just 13 members and an officer wanting to get the best for the people of the area. Sometimes we disagree on the way forward but not nastily. Still, it wouldn't do for all the world to be the same would it.

The first meeting of the day was at 9 to discuss a number of issues with the Corporate Director of Neighbourhood Services. There was an update on the Local List, which is moving forward at long last but it's probably too little too late for some buildings. Then there was time for a quick chat about some of the possible recommendations from Environment Select, just to make sure that I wasn't going to propose something impractical or unachievable.
At 10 it was time for the meeting of the Select Committee. We had an update on the consultation - more than 3000 people had responded to the survey and the responses have been analysed by wards, age groups & ethnic groups so we've got a really comprehensive picture of public opinion. We had some animated discussion about possible recommendations and agreed that no one solution fits all areas so we'll need to look at various methods of storage and collection of material for recycling and disposal. We accepted the fact that, whatever our views on the energy from waste plant at Haverton Hill the new government performance indicators do not encourage using "waste" to make energy. We are going to have to massively improve our recycling rate and reduce the amount of rubbish we produce, and fast.
At the end of 2 hours we had 11 recommendations and 3 further points we wanted to make. We also decided to put down a marker for 2009/10 that we will want to scrutinise performance on our carbon reduction strategy when it's been in place for a year and to look at our own waste - how is the council treating things it no longer needs. Rubbish or recycling? We may also wish to look at how the council's partners are dealing with the same issues.
There was just time to do a few more jobs, write a couple of letters and deal with a host of e-mails before council tonight. Some very good questions were asked, and not all were answered but Alan Lewis asked about the council doing something to encourage owners of private car parks like the ones at Sunningdale shops and Orchard shops to enforce the proper use of disabled parking bays. He was told that thanks to his question council officers would now look into this!
Sadly, not such a positive outcome when John asked for an answer to his question about the Police Authority which he'd asked ages ago. The answer was long and read in such a way by the council's representative, Cllr Kirton, that no-one could understand what was being said and in the end the Mayor had to ask him to do it as a written answer.
Our motion on saving post offices was well proposed by Suzanne and seconded by Alan. Everyone was supportive though the Labour members for Parkfield tried to claim that it was nothing to do with the government and that Dari is working away behind the scenes to save Oxbridge post office. Crocodile tears again! In the end it was carried unanimously.
The same result followed for the motion introduced by the Labour group condemning the huge pay rise for the board members on the North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation board. John spoke about the lack of transparency demonstrated by their treatment of a constituent on whose behalf John had asked a question and also pointed out that the members had accepted the jobs on the current pay scale only a year ago.
All in all, a long council meeting but not a bad one at all.

Cashew nuts & Liberation

Yesterday was spent in a flurry of preparation for the evening while trying to catch up on countless other things that needed doing. I set off in plenty of time to pick up Juan and Jana from the station, but parking problems (not being willing to shell out £9 for the privilege of parking for 15 minutes in an all day spot) meant that I had to run to the platform when the train arrived so they descended from the train and couldn't see anyone there to meet them. However, we were soon on our way through the rush hour build up of traffic to get to the house for a warm drink and a brief rest before setting out for the university.
Jenny (seen above with Juan) had already set up a wonderful array of Fairtrade goods for sale. I was only sorry that I didn't have time to browse and look at the new items available now. Suzanne and John had collected the fruit donated by our local ASDA - well done them for supporting Fairtrade Fortnight so positively. Some of their other practices (or those of their parent group) could probably do with reform but that's another campaign for another place. The university had printed a wonderful poster with the event on, the coffee was hot and welcoming, and everyone wanted to welcome our guests. The techie stuff worked wonderfully so no worries on that front.
We heard from Chris Eddowes who with her husband is living the challenge of surviving on just local and Fairtrade goods this fortnight. She told of the difficulty of finding out what supermarkets stock, with no-one being able to produce a list of Fairtrade goods until a friend who works in one of them protested and forced the issue. But she also shared with us the pleasure of Fairtrade Easy peel oranges which apparently are just like the ones she'd enjoyed in Mediterranean countries. And she told us of rediscovering the flavour of local, free range chickens. The thing she was missing most was tomatoes, but one of the audience pointed out that locally grown ones are available at the moment, thanks to a hothouse system established on an old industrial site at Billingham.
Juan shared some of the history of Cashew growing in El Salvador, and the difficulties of earning enough money to build up the infrastructure of his area. We saw photographs of the fruit growing on the trees and video of the very simple machine they've bought with their fairtrade premium. It opens the nuts quite carefully, instead of having to break them open with a stone, so now they get a much higher percentage of whole nuts which get the top price at market. We also saw video of the women painstakingly peeling the outer layer from the nuts using tiny knives. They work an 8 hour day doing that. Between the tree and going into a bag the nuts have to be fried in vegetable oil to separate them from the fruit, opened, baked to remove a toxic element, peeled, separated by hand into whole, halves and bits. No wonder they're one of the more expensive nibbles we can buy. Even with the premium for Fairtrade and the premium price they can charge in Germany for being organic they still sat have to choose between building up the infrastructure by, for example, buying another machine for shelling and things that we take for granted like educating their children. What a heartbreaking choice to have to make - improve the business to make it more sustainable for future generations or educate the present generation. So to help them get more quickly to the point where they can afford both, watch out for Liberation brand cashew nuts and buy them!
After the presentation there were so many questions that there was only just time to finish with a passionate plea to support those businesses which support the development of new Fairtrade initiatives across the world, such as Traidcraft. Without their work the whole project will grind to a standstill because the supermarkets won't do the development work. That would mean putting up their prices, and we can't ask consumers to pay a fair price can we?? Or am I to be accused of being cynical? I just get so frustrated when people look for the cheapest all the time without counting the cost, and I get even more angry when I find myself being tempted along the same path. Get thee behind me Satan was never more needed than when supermarket shopping!

Mothering Sunday

Is it really the 4th Sunday of Lent already? It's no time since Christmas, or so it seems. Yet 3 weeks today is Easter. Mothering Sunday is a great tradition, largely lost in the commercial world of Mother's Day, but still lurking in the background and giving a base to that modern version. Children may not trek home to see mother from wherever work has taken them but they still keep in touch. So I have a card and flowers to remind me that my children still care, despite being far away. And I had the opportunity to have lunch with my mother and mother-in-law, something which doesn't happen often. I relish these moments, knowing that there probably won't be many more years of this privelege.
Today's treat had to wait until I'd done the Fairtrade stall at church, but that's no great hardship when there are willing helpers and people really want to buy Fairtrade things, talk about what difference it's making to producers, and enjoy a cup of coffee and a chat. We hung bunting round the railings outside to encourage people to pop in. We then had an interesting job getting it down as the wind had impaled some of it on the top of the railing! I was told while doing it that people had heard the event tomorrow mentioned on local radio this morning, so that was a huge relief. Also, they got the producer right so the correction sent on Friday had got through.
Later today I heard that the West Coast mainline has been closed so I hope Juan and Janna have succeeded in moving around the North West as they needed to.

The Fairtrade Bus rolls into town

Today, almost half way through Fairtrade Fortnight, the Fairtrade bus travelled through Teesside heading for Sunderland. Middlesbrough Fairtrade group chairman, Bob King, had persuaded the organisers that there was enough time to stop and have photos taken near the Transporter Bridge and I'd arranged for the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Stockton to be there. A few delays and some hair-raising driving later and we were all assembled in the wind and cold for photos. The only person missing was the local press photographer! We duly took photos for our own use and to send on to the Fairtrade Foundation, and headed back to our cars. Stockton's mayoral car had gone, I was about to follow when who should race down the road but said photographer. So photos in the Gazette will be minus half of the "Chain Gang" sadly. Still, at least the Fairtrade Bus should get its picture in the paper.
I also discovered that the piece about our farmer visiting had been in yesterday, but still said banana producer and was very small. I just hope we get a good turnout.
For those who haven't read the earlier entries - Fairtrade cashew nut farmer, Queens Campus of Durham Uni at Stockton, 7.30pm on Monday. Hope to see you there - free coffee and biscuits, free admission, Fairtrade goods on sale. What are you waiting for?

Some you win and some you lose

A rollercoaster day today! The day started with a series of lengthy phone conversations, all needed but none of them planned for so the plans for the day began to slip behind time.
Then came a piece of unexpected good news - the appeal against the Planning committee's refusal to allow demolition and replacement of Wainstones in Leven Rd, Yarm was dismissed by the inspector. 3 cheers all round. Maybe at last the inspectors are waking up to the importance of gardens in suburbs.
Hard on the heels of that came news of a change of plan for our Fairtrade event on Monday. Jose, the banana producer, had to leave early to go home to deal with the aftermath of the flooding in the Dominican Republic. His place will be taken by a cashew nut farmer from El Salvador - very interesting because I know nothing about cashew nuts. Sad for Jose, but Juan gets the chance to see a country he might not otherwise have visited and we get to learn about a different product. Clouds and silver linings spring to mind.
This evening I went to a meeting of the Friends of Tees Heritage Park where I met the local CPRE chairman. He was hopping mad, because the owners of Wainstones have served notice on Stockton Council that they intend to demolish the building anyway! Because Stockton Planning Department were incompetent and didn't start the Local List when they said they were going to, there aren't any buildings on it so we'll really struggle to save Wainstones now. Campaigners are hoping that pressure can be brought to bear to get the list in place, but I'm not convinced the bureaucratic process allows the time to do that. I'll be asking tomorrow morning!
So, on balance, not a good day after all.
Tomorrow is a whole new day! And there's a petition to sign to help the campaign against this abuse of planning guidance, commonly known as garden-grabbing. S if you haven't already signed - go do it please.

Environmental Improvements

The council budget set last night included money to continue allocations to wards for the improvements identified as priorities by the residents there. At the same time we found out that, contrary to what we'd been told previously, we can carry forward the money we haven't spent this year.
The reason for not spending the money was that when we identified certain projects we were told that they were already being done, or some of the money was coming from another budget, or it simply couldn't be done. Now we may be able to do one or two bigger projects in the coming year by working with the Area Transport Strategy group to jointly fund road crossings. Meanwhile it's good to see all the bulbs we had planted growing strongly along Durham Lane and Yarm Road as well as being able to walk from Butts Lane to Stony Bank without plodging through mud and puddles. That particular piece of work needed a lot of input from a number of residents as well as councillors over several years but it was all worthwhile in the end.
Of course, if residents have suggestions for further improvements in the ward please let us know as soon as possible.

The Budget is Set

After quite a debate tonight Stockton Council set its budget for the next municipal year, starting in April. There were two amendments proposed to the Cabinet recommendation. First of all, Ingleby Barwick Independents proposed using some of the reserves being kept for "pump priming" capital expenditure to add to what is already planned for spending on Romano Park. Although we sympathise with the people of Ingleby Barwick there's quite a lot being spent there and we didn't feel that it had more merit than several other possible capital projects around the borough. Certainly we would need a lot more information to persuade us than was on offer at Council tonight and we hadn't been given any prior notice of the proposal.
Thornaby Independents had given us warning of their amendment, mainly because they were proposing that money didn't need to be spent on the Cemeteries post which the Environment committee last year. They were proposing to save more money by not upgrading Christmas lights and a couple of other projects in order to spend over £1m on upgrading Park View Residential Home so that it can remain open. Whilst having some sympathy with their desire to maintain that home in the public sector we couldn't support an amendment which removed the post recommended by the committee I chair and agreed by Cabinet. The speech proposing the amendment was very clear and well delivered. But the debate became very heated and acrimonious as it progressed, and accusations were thrown around the chamber at high speed. For those of us not intimately involved it was an interesting debate to watch and listen to, and there are certainly some questions to be answered about the process of the scrutiny. Sadly, in all the emotion I suspect those questions won't be answered and no-one will be held accountable for the things which weren't done properly.

Carbon Footprints

A pleasantly satisfying task at lunchtime today - attending the opening of the newly restored Victorian Winter Garden on Preston Hall. As ward councillors last year John and I had written letters in support of the Lottery application, so it was good to see the end result. The photos show David Bellamy who performed the opening, and John & Alan admiring the result of all the efforts.
Environment Select committee heard almost the final pieces of evidence today on the subject of rubbish. The consultant employed to look into the ecological impact of how we deal with our rubbish came to report on the calculations of carbon emissions for different scenarios. The results were very interesting, showing that the carbon cost of transporting materials is a very very small part of the overall carbon cost of their life-cycle. The gut reaction of most people that sending lots of vehicles around collecting recycling material is more costly to the environment than putting the material into the energy from waste plant proved to be false. If materials like plastic bottles, made from oil, can be recycled efficiently into more high grade plastic bottles then it's worth going round and collecting them. Similarly with glass and metals. So those sceptics who think recycling is just another odd idea will have to rethink.
The last evidence will be received next week when the analysis of almost 3000 questionnaires is completed and we'll know what the general public in Stockton think. Then it's up to the committee to make recommendations to cabinet. And they won't be easy to agree - just watch this space.

Beaten by the Wind

Today should have been a Fairtrade Fun day in Stockton High Street to end school half term and lead into Fairtrade Fortnight. But everyone had reckoned without 50mph winds! The stalls were in danger of being blown away, the balloons were a definite no, and the insurance wouldn't cover the games and activities at that level of wind. Discretion being the better part of valour, the day was postponed. We don't yet know when it will take place because people had made all the arrangements for today and now diaries have to be linked up again, but watch this space.

ID cards - the video

Many people might be aware that Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed the Labour Government's proposal for ID cards. We know that the terrorists who bombed Madrid station all had ID papers. We know that the terrorists who bombed London all had valid papers. It's a nonsense to say that cards will stop terrorism. It's a nonsense to say that we need to spend £7,500,000,000 on producing them. And it's a nonsense to say that our information would be safe in the government's hands. This week Nick Clegg has produced a super short video detailing these points. If you agree, you could do worse than to sign the petition.
Let's put a stop to this here and now.

Go Bananas

The visit of Jose, banana producer from the Dominican Republic, draws closer. Queen's Campus of Durham University here in Stockton is hosting the evening. Their catering department along with 2 of their Fairtrade suppliers are sponsoring the refreshments. Invitations are going out all over the Tees Valley and we hope to fill the lecture theatre for the evening. For any reader who hasn't yet seen an invitation or a poster the details are as follows:
Venue - Ebsworth building, Durham University, Stockton
Date - Monday March 3rd
Time - 7.30 pm
Admission - Free, but there will be a stall selling Fairtrade goods from all over the world and the chance to enter a prize quiz.

This evening I finally got chance to watch the TV programme which I'd recorded earlier in the week showing 3 school children visiting India to see at first hand how non-Fairtrade cotton is grown and converted into garments, then to see the Fairtrade organic version. Their reactions to the working conditions spoke volumes. Seeing and hearing them debate the issues was inspiring. At the end of their visit they had succeeded in having sample shirts made - one in Fairtrade cotton at a rural workshop and one in organic cotton made in a factory which was aiming for an Ethical Factory certificate. Each one would cost under £5, but pay the workforce and the farmer a reasonable amount. The youngsters quite understandably asked, "if we can do it why not the big shops?" I know that when big shops are involved there are overheads which weren't costed into this exercise, but the young people were asking valid questions, and the run up to Fairtrade Fortnight is a very good time to air them.

Talking about Rubbish

This morning I had a mid-review meeting to discuss how we're getting on with the scrutiny of waste management. The results of the questionnaire have been very good - more than 2300 sent back so far, so we're going to be over the level needed to give us the comfort of a valid consultation.
The answers are proving really interesting - it seems that people are divided over the questions about whether collection patterns should change and if so, how, but hundreds of people have put in comments about all aspects of the collection, recycling and so on. The job of analysing the results is proving challenging in the time available but I'm sure it will get done.
There's going to be a real challenge to come up with recommendations which are based on the evidence we've collected and also are achievable with the available resources. Should we extend the kerbside collection to include plastic bottles and cardboard? If we do that will we be able to reduce the frequency of collection of residual waste? If so - when? If not, how do we pay for the extra vehicles we'll need and the people to crew them? Real challenges, with no easy answers.
This afternoon was Planning Committee, with a sobering report on the financial costs of losing a recent appeal. Hearts had ruled heads at the planning committee to some extent, with people voting against the officer's recommendations on a proposed development at Ingleby Barwick. Sadly, when the developer appealed to the Secretary of State, and the inspector heard the evidence he wasn't convinced and awarded costs against the authority.

Pizza & Politics

That was the title of an evening of food and debate yesterday. Eaglescliffe Lib Dems enjoyed a sometimes heated debate on the subject "Nuclear Power - the answer to global warming or hell on earth?" I don't know whether anyone changed his or her mind as a result but there was much passion on both sides and people certainly listened and learned from each other. Inevitably the discussion ranged over the alternatives for energy production and usage and the impact each of them has on the environment as well as the dangers inherent in every form of energy production.
It was good to share ideas like that instead of always concentrating on the immediate problems, important though they might be, like potholes and streetlights.
(The pizza wasn't bad either!)

Good News Day

We heard today that the young man who was deported to DRC yesterday is safe with his family. Although nowhere in the DRC can really be described as safe for someone who sought asylum over here, that's a lot better than past experience had led us to fear.
So, no thanks to this Government, at least he's safe for the present.
This morning I had one of the regular monthly meetings which is often not very interesting and leaves me wondering why I bothered. Today's was different though - one item on the agenda sparked a discussion about the need for more trees in our town centres. They look good, provide shade in hot sun and absorb some of the pollution from the air. We decided that a meeting was needed quite urgently to make sure that tree planting is going to be incorporated into the town centre regeneration schemes that are underway. Given that it's something I've been asking for since first being on the council in 2003 I was very pleased to find others just as keen.
At the council's cabinet meeting this evening it was agreed to put a proposal to Council to start on the process of refurbishing the Forum, at long last recognising its importance and making sure it's of the standard needed for the coming decades.

Fairtrade Fortnight approaches

As our preparations gather pace here in Stockton I've just been told about a really useful website. The price comparison site, mysupermarket.com, has put up a page for some of the main supermarkets showing what Fairtrade products are available and at what price. The list includes three of the big ones in this area (and if you try all 3 links there you'll find out which ones). There's also a supermarket blog which highlights how to shop for Fairtrade goods without breaking the bank, which is very useful for people who think that FT automatically means very expensive. Over the next couple of weeks it'll highlight Fairtrade special offers at the supermarkets. It's good to see this sort of information coming out of the Fairtrade niche into the mainstream.

Perspectives on Life

Two things happened on Sunday to bring me up short and make me think. First of all I had a phone call from Suzanne, supposedly relaxing on holiday, to tell me that a young Congolese man we have come to know while he's been seeking asylum here from unspeakable atrocities in his own country had been arrested and was facing deportation. Yet again, the power of the Home Office descends on a decent, law-abiding person who turns up for an interview with the authorities because they've told him he must. Detained over the weekend in a police cell, taken to Campsfield House and prepared for deportation. No matter that the safety of the DRC is questionable to say the very least. No matter that there are still judicial processes to be followed, that new evidence is being obtained. Just put them on a plane back to torture or worse. What kind of country have we become?
I'd just put the phone down from that call when it rang again. This time the message was closer to home but also very worrying. My mother in law was very ill -could my husband go straight away. Fortunately he was at home and could. She needed to go to hospital and so there was much coming and going to sort things out. Fortunately she seems to be on the mend and her story progresses more happily than the first one of the day. Once more, in an emergency, the NHS came up trumps.

I feel very lucky to live in a country where there's still enough freedom for me to be able to write this without fear of imprisonment or worse, and where the health service still manages to respond wonderfully to emergencies. But I feel desperately ashamed that the government which claims to represent me and speak for me on these things is sending frightened men and women back to certain danger and possibly death.
When will they listen to the small voice of conscience that's in every one of us and then act on it?

Aerobic Digestion - the future?

This morning the Environment Select Committee went to look at the Aerobic Digester which is part of the waste management system for Easington District. It's an amazing system - from rubbish in a wheelie bin to useable compost in under a month! By stirring the mix and pumping in air it composts most of the biodegradeable material and all that's left is an inert mix with metal, plastic and small amounts of glass and other hard materials which can be removed and recycled or reused. Because Easington has to send its waste to landfill the digester has made a huge difference to its waste management costs and achieving targets for recycling. In Stockton the benefits wouldn't be the same - most of our waste goes to the Energy from Waste plant, but if a carbon emission tax is ever imposed the balance of the calculation might change. Either way, it was very interesting to see it happening and to be able to discuss the possibilities for the future.
It was also encouraging to hear that already over a thousand responses to the questionnaire have been received. If anyone living in Stockton borough is reading this and hasn't completed it please do so as soon as possible. In fact, why not follow the link and do it now!

What cost Home Safety?

I discovered this week that it's only just become illegal to install a gas cooker in a flat unless it has a flame detection device fitted. It's still not illegal to sell them for houses, and the only cookers that have them seem to be at the very expensive end of the market. I'm horrified that people can buy a gas cooker which could kill them and their neighbours - if the flame blows out the gas just keeps on coming out. Someone with no sense of smell could switch something on, generate a spark and blow the house to pieces. Yet our law-makers don't see this as a priority.
Meanwhile, Focus is printed and well on the way to being delivered to every home in the ward. It's always interesting to see where the first comment comes from as they drop through the letter boxes. For once this time, it was a comment on recycling rather than on planning which arrived first. The planning ones followed soon afterwards though, as people realised the scale of the application which has gone in for an industrial estate. The thought of all the HGVs going past Hunter's Green estate fills residents there with dismay. I have no idea whether planning permission will be granted but I do know that if it is I'll have a lot of disappointed people.

Fairtrade Fortnight approaches

Two really good meetings today - the sort that make a difference. (Two not so good ones as well but we'll gloss over them). The Fairtrade group met at lunch time and although we were missing a number of our usual members we had a fruitful run through what we've planned for Fairtrade Fortnight. The Town Centre management team have planned a fun Fairtrade event for Feb 22nd in the High Street. Then on Feb 29th the Fairtrade bus is coming through the borough and on 3rd March we have a banana producer from the Dominican Republic coming to visit. Lots of details to tidy up but it's exciting and positive.
This evening I went to the Youth Assembly and talked with them about Fairtrade. Again, quite a few missing but some genuine enthusiasm to be involved and offers of help at the events coming up. Also some good ideas about other things we might do to spread the message, so again an exciting an positive meeting.
Now I just have to re-read the papers for tomorrow's discussions on the budget!

Lib Dem Children & Young People Conference

Every year at about this time the Lib Dem parliamentary education team gets together with those of us who lead on these issues on councils around England and Wales. Some are executive members, others chair scrutiny committees, others are spokespeople for small groups like ours, but we all have an input into the thinking of the MPs and Lords who try to keep Liberal Democrat ideals alive in Parliament. Friday evening and Saturday were intense and stimulating and well worth the journey to Nottingham through rain and sleet. Interesting talks led to animated debate which went on through dinner late into the night and started up again over breakfast. A really important policy review is coming up and I look forward to it.

Tees Heritage Park

It's almost a year now since the Friends of Tees Heritage Park had its formal launch and the idea has grown from the vision of a handful of dreamers to something being treated seriously by SBC officers, British Waterways and other august bodies. The idea of preserving and enhancing the river corridor from Yarm down to Stockton, opening it up to people to enjoy in a variety of ways is gathering momentum.
Imagine having easy access for walking along the riverside from Yarm and Eaglescliffe to Stockton and beyond, having vibrant restaurants and pubs at the town centre river front, being able to launch small sailing boats and canoes easily at interesting points along the river, easy access for fishing at other places. All of this would be enhanced by leaflets and boards highlighting some of the wildlife and the industrial history of the area. That's the THP concept. Now all we need is a name which conveys all that but doesn't imply that it's a park with play equipment or a boring old-fashioned history lesson. (sensible) Suggestions welcomed here!
At last night's meeting of the committee there was a lively discussion on the merits or otherwise of having Tees as the first word in such a name. Let me know what you think - does Tees make you shudder with memories of the river in its dirty post-industrial uncared for state, or does it make you think of the barrage, water sports and cruises on the Teesside Princess or fishing at Eaglescliffe or Thornaby or .....?
There was also a lot of discussion about the need for care when constructing the new footpaths and cycle ways associated with winning the Connect2 lottery money, so that they're properly looked after for years to come and also properly policed.

Brrr......

Gale force winds and icy cold sleet reminded us today that winter can still have traditional weather. There's snow forecast over the next few days so the winter woollies can come out.
All the more appropriate then, that the EU has been debating global warming and in particular the sale of items such as patio heaters which are now so popular but are also very wasteful of non-renewable energy. Our local MEP, Fiona Hall, supports the idea of banning such things but I'm not so sure - as a Liberal I'm not in favour of bans unless there's no other way to resolve a problem. I'm also not sure that it's appropriate for the EU to be micro-managing things to such a degree. Better for European and national bodies to set targets and policies to achieve them and then leave it to the more local level to implement them appropriately. I'm pleased that B&Q have already decided not to sell any more. I'm sure that education is the way forward rather than banning.

3 small steps

Sometimes it's not the big gestures which get things done but the little conversations and debates behind the scenes. That's what's been happening this week.
First of all there was the first meeting of the new Health and Wellbeing Partnership for the borough - a mix of councillors, council officers, health professionals and community representation. As part of a discussion on community cohesion I suggested that the Borough's markets could be a big help to people trying to have a healthy diet. They sell fresh fruit and veg at a reasonable price in whatever quantity people want to buy, so if they also had posters which helped us to choose a good balance or leaflets with cooking instructions it might be a good help. To my amazement this was taken up as "a really good idea" all round the table. Then yesterday when I mentioned it in the context of a discussion about the market again it was seized on, so watch out for something happening in the next few months on the markets.
Some time ago the Fairtrade group suggested having FT cotton bags available on the market, printed with the FT logo and the market logo. It seemed to get lost in the system. Yesterday I found that it was being discussed and again it's getting a favourable hearing as an easy way of promoting the market. It was also part of the Lib Dem campaign to reduce the number of plastic bags being used and I found that was also being taken seriously!
I've also suggested in one or two forums in the past that locally sourced food should be used when possible but been told it wasn't possible. Yesterday I was told that the costs and practicalities of doing this for civic catering were being looked at - wow!
Meanwhile, we are spending a lot of time looking at the budget for the coming year and trying as always to get a quart out of a pint pot. It seems that every year the government gives us more things we have to do with less and less money, and residents find it harder every year (along with councillors) to understand the complexities of the budget.

Fire Service Cuts

At tonight's council meeting the Liberal Democrats had put down a motion supporting the Fire Authority's need for proper funding. The government has changed the rules about how their funding is calculated and as a result there'll be cuts in services unless more money can be found from somewhere. Before the motion was debated there was a presentation from the Fire Service about the issues, followed by the chance to ask questions. No-one asked a question but several labour people and the Tory leader spoke in support of the service. That meant of course that they didn't have to speak in favour of our motion - such is the petty nature of some council meetings.
In the end, the motion was carried unanimously. Even the Labour group leader put his hand up when he realised that he'd be the only one not supporting it!
On the way home we were a bit surprised to find cars swerving in the road in front of us until we spotted the two-seater settee in the middle of the road, whereupon Alan also swerved and I called the police. I hope by now it's been moved. Sadly I didn't have my camera to record the surreal scene.

Have Your Say

This was the invitation to representatives of the secondary schools of the Western, Eastern and Central Areas of the borough today. I went along to the event, organised on behalf of the Children's Trust Board, to listen to what the young people from the Western Area had to say. It was well worth spending the time. The young people had a lot of sensible suggestions about things which could be done to improve life for them and other young people in the borough - some of them long term and some fairly short term. I took the opportunity at the break to ask them specifically about the play areas and play facilities in Eaglescliffe. They suggested some football goal posts on St Margarets play area.
It was interesting that one of them said he plays football with his friends on what he called the field at Hindhead! He said that people get upset when their ball goes in the garden, but pointed out that the grass is a bit small for a decent game. He also complained that some adults pop the football instead of giving it back. It was very interesting to hear the other side of the problem. He was quite resigned to the idea of having some trees planted there because he acknowledged that it wasn't really a good place to play.
I was very encouraged by the positive response to a suggestion of having a Western Area Youth Forum so I went straight back to municipal buildings and e-mailed the person who's going to be in charge of the Integrated Service Area covering Eaglescliffe to ask for his help in setting it up. His answer was that he's just getting to grips with the new job ready for the Integrated Service Areas being fully operational in April. He's going to come to the Partnership board in march to give us an update on progress so I'll be asking about it again there if nothing's happened in the meantime.
It was also good to see them enjoying the last workshop of the day which was on street dancing. Some of them went off clutching information to get in touch and do more. Great fun, but far to energetic for my joints at the moment.
Later there was a briefing for Group leaders on the recommendations that have come out of the initial consultation on Building Schools for the Future, but it's confidential for now so more of that later.

Hindhead Open Space

Alan and I started this morning in the pouring rain at the open space between Hindhead and the end of Hazel Slade. Older teenagers have been playing some pretty rough games of football on this grass for months now and making life miserable for the residents of this little road through their rudeness and foul language. Most of us don't want the open space to disappear but we also don't want this situation to continue. The decision this morning was to have some trees planted on the space, leaving room for younger children to play but hopefully stopping the serious games which ruin garden hedges and fences as well as wearing the grass and upset the neighbours. Fingers crossed on that one.
This evening I was invited to a meeting with a Conservative MP to discuss what can be done in the next Parliamentary term over what's become known here as Garden grabbing. The local CPRE representative is hosting the meeting and I look forward to an interesting discussion. Whilst I'm unlikely to agree with many Tory policies I'd be more than delighted if they put our wishes into practice on this one.
On Saturday, while I was enjoying my grand-daughter's birthday party, stalwart Liberal Democrats were at a conference in London discussing issues which need to be covered in our manifesto for the next election. Tonight I found this interesting account of what went on in one session. I look forward to seeing the results of the deliberations. We know that the main policies will be the ones agreed by the party conference because that's how our party does things, but there's still room for a lot of influence by the new leader.

Recycling Hiccups

Just a slight drawback to the recent frenzy of ridding the house of the mountain of paper which has accumulated over recent years. Several carrier bags as well as the blue bag went outside on Tuesday morning ready for our ever-willing collectors. Unfortunately, one of the bags went out in error as I realised when one of the men knocked at the door to return the plastic box of money which had been at the bottom of the bag! The things he couldn't return because they'd already gone into the wagon were the important forms and accounts documentation which had been ready to go their rightful owners last night! Oops doesn't quite do justice to my reaction. I now have the job of explaining and trying to salvage what can be from the mess.
The Christmas tree was duly collected yesterday as arranged but only after the wagon had been down the road once! I'll be interested to see the report on the new system and its efficiency.

Setting Priorities

A big meeting of all the "partners" and "stakeholders" of Stockton Renaissance to propose priorities for our local plan for the borough last week. This is hugely important and very difficult for most people to influence, but I tried to do my bit. One of the areas of debate was employment, with lots of work going on (funded mainly by central government grants) to get into employment those few hundred people who are unwilling or unable to get a job without a lot of help. This ranges from people with disabilities who need help to convince an employer that, for example, just because their legs don't work as well as most doesn't mean their arms or their brains don't right through to those who've grown up surrounded by unemployment and don't see any prospect for change. I tried to get something in about an employment issue that's been brought to my attention in Eaglescliffe - that of young people who want to work and have the qualifications but then can't get a job in this area because the jobs available don't use their qualifications. I'd like to see more of a drive to get more high skill jobs into the borough but we shall see whether anything is done. All the regeneration of buildings is fine, but if we don't regenerate the communities too we'll be back to square one in no time.
Meanwhile thanks to those of you who responded to the questionnaire on this site on affordable housing in Eaglescliffe - a pretty even split of opinion showed up.

What are we worth?

There's quite a debate around the council at present on the subject of the allowances paid to councillors. These are meant to cover us for the time we spend on council duties and activities to make sure that people of all income levels can be elected and it isn't just open to those with well paid jobs who can take a day off when needed for a meeting or those who are retired and have a good pension. For example, in the four days of this week so far I've spent about 25 hours on being a councillor, something I couldn't have done if I'd needed to be at work during the day.
An independent panel is established to look at allowances and the work involved and make a proposal about how much the allowances should be, and they've just reported that Stockton's councillors get less than in any other similar council, in many cases by a large percentage. So now the debate is - should we get a big increase to bring us in line with equivalent authorities or do we soldier on with low allowances and not seem to be greedy? I've known at least 2 people in recent years who've been elected when out of work and then been worse off because their allowance reduced their benefits and they couldn't get a job because they needed time off for meetings. That's not the way to make the council representative of all strands of our borough's population. Or do we try to bring ourselves in line with similar authorities and hope that a wider range of people will be willing to give up the time in the future?
As you can see, it's a big question with no easy answers and whatever we decide will upset some people.

Recycle those Trees

Although the 12 days of Christmas aren't over yet I know that for many people the return to work on 2nd January signals the end of the festive season so a reminder that this year Stockton Council is trying a different system for recycling real Christmas trees - phone o1642 321959 to arrange a day for collection. The trees are chipped and composted to produce soil improver for the parks and gardens which the council looks after.
On a sadder note, we returned from an enjoyable evening with friends last night to an e-mail from a couple we know in Nairobi. They and their families in other parts of Kenya are safe at present but David wrote:"The security situation has deteriorated rapidly since the results of the general elections were announced on the 27th. What has followed is unprecendented orgy of violence, looting, destruction, killing and maiming owing to disputes in the very closely contested presidential elections. Some of the worst volence was seen in Nairobi, and Western Kenya as well as Mombasa which is where Joyce comes from, thank God her family is safe.

We have to constantly remind ourselves that we are not watching CNN or BBC World...we are caught up in this mess... sleep is disturbed by machine Gun fire, neighbourhoods don't feel safe anymore..."peace on earth to men of good will" which we just sung on Christmas...we need it !

Our country which has been hitherto been a model of democracy and a haven a of peace in a volatile region now needs all the prayers if only to get leaders soften up to each other."
Once again we were reminded of just how fortunate we are here - we may not have the best system in the world but we certainly don't have the worst. We need to make sure we don't lose those precious freedoms we have in this country.

The holiday draws to a close

It's been an unusual experience - almost a week of absolutely no politics or council work. Denis and I made a commitment that we'd take some time to do other things between Christmas and New Year this year. Nothing unusual in that, except that this time we agreed not to answer work-related phone calls, no blackberry, no work e-mail, just time to do the things we wanted to do together. It was strange at first but it's allowed recreation in the fullest and truest sense of that word. A walk in Riccal Dale on Boxing Day gave some beautiful views and was completed just as the light was failing, with the pheasants getting very annoyed with us for disturbing them as they settled for the evening.
Time with family and time at home doing things we've wanted to do for some months, and now we're ready to start again in the New Year, refreshed and revitalised till the next holiday!

Pakistan, Passion and Prayers

I was away for the day yesterday and only heard the news of Benazir Bhutto's death as we drove home. I was saddened and disappointed but it wasn't really a surprise (which made it even sadder). It's very hard for us here in cosy Eaglescliffe to understand or appreciate the passion which politics can arouse in people elsewhere. Pakistan is a country which was born from a struggle, had further problems leading to the division into modern Pakistan and Bangladesh, but has grown into a modern, mainly muslim, struggling towards being democratic nation. No, it isn't perfect but then nor is the UK nor anywhere else. Yes, it has some persecuted minorities and I and many others will work with agencies like Amnesty International to try to see that improve. It has a leader who seems very reluctant to hand over to anyone else but we've lived through that here in recent years! Thank God Tony it wasn't a military dictatorship. Its political parties don't yet have anything approaching internal democracy. And, sadly, it has a small minority of people who are prepared to commit murder to achieve their aims. I hope our government and others will support the people of Pakistan to put that right.
On the positive side there are thousands of people prepared to turn out to political rallies, march through the streets and try to persuade others to vote for their favourite candidate. That's a passion we've lost here (apart from when we tried to persuade Mr Blair not to join the invasion of Iraq and such single issue moments). Perhaps we should watch Pakistan and try to rediscover some of the passion without resorting to violence.
Meanwhile, my prayers are with the people of Pakistan and their relatives and friends in this country as they try to come to terms with yesterday's horrible event. The Bhutto family and friends are suffering a second tragedy through politics, but other families lost loved ones in yesterday's incident - ordinary men and women who went to hear a politician speak and were blown up in the aftermath of her death. Ordinary families who don't have a mother or a father or a brother or sister this morning, who maybe now are wondering who's going to earn the money for next week's food or clothes. Whatever Western leaders, including our own, say or do over these weeks, I hope they think long and hard before saying it so as not to make a tense situation worse.

Benazir Bhutto - rest in peace. May your country survive this tragedy and come out the other end stronger and more at peace with itself.

'Twas the Night before Christmas

There won't be many posts over the next few days as Christmas in this family is a time when work is put on one side and relaxation holds sway. Already one daughter and son-in-law have been to Midnight Mass and are greeting the Christmas dawn on the other side of the world while we have a couple of hours yet before leaving home for our celebration.
The wonders of modern technology make the world seem much smaller than it was, so we can chat and share video links around the world.
Of course it also means that we've no excuse for not trying our best to relieve the problems of those less fortunate than ourselves, both here and overseas, because we can't say we didn't know about them. So we have every opportunity to make Christmas live on in our hearts beyond December 25th, including not joining in the on-line sales starting at 00:01 on Dec 25th which I've just heard advertised on TV!! Is anything so important to possess that it can't wait a day or even two?

Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - trouble spots of the world

Today was the 3rd annual vigil held to remember those people torn from our community and repatriated to "safe" countries where many have disappeared or been imprisoned and tortured. This happens in our names because the government deems it to be the popular thing to do. In a church in central Middlesbrough people of many nationalities gathered to remember friends and to share hope for a better future. It was deeply moving, made more poignant by the news that came through earlier this week that the Democratic Republic of Congo has been declared "safe". No doubt January will bring a spate of enforced removals of Congolese asylum seekers - women, small children as well as men. Easy targets for the authorities - where can they run to , where can they hide? Who will stand with them and be counted? A sobering question for us all as Christmas approaches and we remember another family who had to flee persecution.

End of Term Feeling

This should have been a quiet day, leading to the Christmas holiday closedown. But no! First of all I needed to understand one of the reasons for refusal of a planning application in the ward for a children's play centre. The planning officer concerned did explain it very clearly to me, and I can understand now why it happened though I have some sympathy for the applicant who is passionately enthusiastic and for the parents who would like to have a centre like that within easy reach. I'd like to think that a suitable site could be found for what sounds like an exciting opportunity.
Then it was time to go and spend some time with family before heading to Stockton Parish Church for the Civic Carol Service. This was a great chance to enjoy some traditional Christmas carols and readings marred by the freezing temperature in the church which has been without heating for some weeks now. It's a shame to see such a lovely building in such a bad state of repair but I know that things are moving, albeit very slowly. Roseworth School choir sang with great gusto and put us all to shame by apparently not feeling the cold at all. Their smiles told of the pleasure they get from making music and I hope it stays with them into their teens and beyond. Afterwards, at the reception in the Town Hall, I had the opportunity to catch up with one or two members of Stockton Male Voice Choir whom I used to see regularly when Denis sang with them years ago.
Cabinet was the last engagement of the year, and it included a report proposing consultations on the future of the last remaining residential home for the elderly in the borough. It's a fairly old building in need of some significant investment if it's to stay open. The people who have relatives there or who work there think it's a wonderful place, caring and home-like. So the council has to take a difficult decision - spend a lot of money on bringing it up to standard and making sure that the present residents are comfortable while the work is going on or close the home and try to make sure that the residents are found places that suit their needs elsewhere. There's to be consultation but also a review of all the evidence by the Adult Services & Health Select Committee to make sure that all evidence has been looked at and properly evaluated. I must admit that I'm glad I don't chair that committee. I wouldn't like to have a subject like that dumped on me at a moment's notice. Whichever decision is taken the people who currently live in the home will suffer disruption and that's going to be difficult for them, their families and the staff who care for them.
At least that's the last of the formal meetings for the year though there'll be e-mails I'm sure and phone calls. Now it's time to settle to the last stages of preparing for Christmas. Deck the halls with boughs of holly etc.

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle

Today was the first evidence-gathering meeting of the Environment Select Committee review of Waste Management in the Borough. We had Dr Andrew Craig, a local expert who's been involved in formulating strategy at Tees Valley level and in the North East as well as having some input into national thinking on the subject. I think that everyone in the room learned something from the session and we had lots of our questions answered.
One question to which the answer was less than satisfactory was whether there are plans to make it easy for people to find out which products contain recycled material and which don't so that we can make informed choices when shopping. Toilet rolls are easy - clearly labelled so that we can make our choice. In fact, it seems to me that the paper industry is ahead of everyone on that - we can buy all sorts of paper products that are clearly labelled. But what about that jar of jam? Is the jar 100% recycled glass or 50% or zero? There's nothing on the label to tell us. Apparently there are no plans to make this common practice, and no plans on the part of government to help us at all. We have to do our own research and that is jolly difficult.
On the other side of the Atlantic, however, in California there's a whole website devoted to the subject of reducing waste, reusing it and recycling it including buying recycled products. There are links to companies producing jewellery from circuit boards, clothing from all manner of recycled materials, toys, furniture, building materials and many more. If a state of the USA can make that kind of effort can someone explain why the British government can't? (Rhetorical question - it's too near Christmas for philosophical essays)
We also approved the consultation programme for the review so watch out for questionnaires and opportunities to comment in the New Year.
In the New Year a small group will take on the job of looking into Vermin control in the Borough because we're suffering from a much increased rat population compared to 10 years ago and need to find ways to deal with it. This committee gets all the interesting jobs!
Nationally, I was pleased to see that the new party leader was getting generally positive comment in the press. Long may it continue.

Leadership Result

Nick Clegg is our new party leader. It was a close contest, and over 40,000 members voted in it, showing that we really are a party that's committed to democracy.
Nick represents a constituency in Sheffield so knows something of the challenges facing the North of England. He's made a good start by saying he'll include both Vince Cable and Chris Huhne in his top team. I look forward to seeing real progress now on the policies that need pushing home. We know we've got some really good policies, on the environment and devolution from Westminster particularly, but we need to get them embedded into the British way of life.
Go for it Nick - whichever candidate people voted for we're all behind you now in readiness for the next election.

The text of his speech given after the result was announced follows:

My election as leader of this party marks a new beginning.
Today is about two things: ambition, and change.
Renewed ambition for the Liberal Democrats.
Renewed ambition to reach out to the millions of people who share our values, but have not yet voted for us.
It’s about renewed ambition for Britain.
Because we want to change politics, and change Britain.
I would like to thank Chris for the energetic and committed way he has campaigned in this leadership election.
We have been rivals in this contest. From today, we are colleagues again. I look forward to working closely with him for the good of liberalism in Britain.
I would also like to thank Vince Cable for the magnificent way he has led the party in these past two months.
There are few men who have excelled as an economist, a comedian and a ballroom dancer.
Finally, I would like to give my warmest thanks, on behalf of the whole party, to Ming Campbell. He took over the Liberal Democrats at a difficult time, and provided enormous stability and professionalism to the party. Without his work, building on the extraordinary achievements of Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown before him, the party would not have the bright future which it now does.

I am a Liberal by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing.
My own family was marked, scattered and reunited by the tragic conflicts of the last century.

I was taught from an early age that Britain was a place of tolerance and pluralism, with a history steeped in democracy and the rule of law.
I believe that liberalism is the thread that holds together everything this country stands for. Pull out that thread and the fabric of the nation unravels.

We are a people with a strong sense of fair play and social justice. An instinct to protect the environment for future generations. We are suspicious of arbitrary power, wary of government interference. We want to play an active, enlightened role in the affairs of the world.
And we have always put our faith in the power of ordinary men and women to change things for the better.
So why is Britain still not the liberal nation we want it to be?
Look around us:

Our civil liberties casually cast aside.

Gigantic, faceless and incompetent Government bureaucracies.

Security and opportunity in short supply, particularly in the poorest communities.

Families struggling to meet each month’s bills. Struggling to balance the demands of work, and the time for a real family life.

Above all, our politics is broken.

Out of step with people.

Out of step with the modern world.

That is why I have one sole ambition: to change Britain to make it the liberal country the British people want it to be.

I want a new politics: a people’s politics.

I want to live in a country where rights, freedoms and privacy are not the playthings of politicians, but safeguarded for everyone.

Where political life is not a Westminster village freak show, but open, accessible, and helpful in people’s everyday lives.

Where parents, pupils and patients are in charge of our schools and hospitals.

Where fine words on the environment are translated into real action.

Where social mobility becomes a reality once again, so that no-one is condemned by the circumstances of their birth.

Why have we stopped imagining a better society?

Look at what we’ve got.

The Conservatives and New Labour have governed in the same way. Top-down and centralising. I refuse to believe that the only alternative to a clapped out Labour Government is a Conservative party which has no answers to the big issues - environmentalism without substance, social justice without money, internationalism without Europe.

The challenge for my party is clear and simple: to define a liberal alternative to the discredited politics of Big Government.

I want to open up my party, open up Westminster, and open up politics for good.

To lead well, a leader needs to listen.

That’s why I will hold regular and public Town Hall Meetings.

That’s why I want to open up the Liberal Democrats to give people who support us, but aren’t members, a say on the big issues.

That’s why I will spend at least one day every week listening and campaigning outside Westminster.

That’s why I will set up a network of real families, who have nothing to do with party politics, in every region of this country to advise me on what they think should be my priorities.

If you once voted Lib Dem but think we’ve spent too much time focusing on ourselves.

If you once voted Conservative but don’t know what they stand for any more.

If you once voted Labour but feel let down after ten years of disappointment.

If you’ve given up voting altogether, but still care about the world we live in:

Then a newly united, energetic, optimistic Liberal Democrat party is there for you.

This is an unprecedented time of opportunity for liberalism in Britain.

If we are to grab this opportunity, my party will need to change.

We must start acting like the growing national political movement that we are. More professional. More united. More ambitious.

Liberalism is the creed of our times.

The old left-right politics has broken down. Labour and the Conservatives are mutating into each other, united in defence of a system which has let the people down.

Instead, we must start where people are, not where we think they should be.

In short, I want the Liberal Democrats to be the future of politics.

Because Liberal Democrats have the courage to imagine a better society.

To break the stifling grip of the two-party system for good.

To bring in a new politics.

Of politicians who listen to people, not themselves.

No more business as usual. No more government-knows-best.

I want today to mark the beginning of real change in Britain.

The beginning of Britain’s liberal future.

The Rookery - again

Well, now it's official. There's an application to demolish the Rookery and build from new, apparently to the same design as the conversion that was approved. The story is that the foundations aren't up to standard. One wonders why that wasn't realised earlier! Residents who've known the building longer than I have tell me that there's been a problem with the foundations for years and it should have been underpinned. I've no idea of the whole story of course, but just on Christmas is not a time when people want to start thinking about fighting another planning application.
I spent some time this morning being briefed on the impact of the Government funding formula changes for Fire Authorities. In an effort to spread the funding more fairly round the country the government has changed the formula so that Cleveland, along with 2 other areas, loses out. Cleveland loses a much larger percentage than either of the others in spite of having more risky chemical and hazardous sites closer to people's houses than anywhere else in the country. In Eaglescliffe we're very conscious of having Elementis on our doorstep, but in parts of Billingham South they've got even more hazardous sites literally over the garden fence. They've produced a draft plan for consultation on how they can continue to do their work with serious reductions in funds, and I urge people to read it and comment.

90 Not Out

This was the title of a show given last night at Stockton Photo-Colour Society by a resident of our ward, Ray Wallace Thompson. Ray has been taking photographs since 1936, and as a professional architect his eye for design was honed over the years. Now almost 91, he was given the opportunity by the Photo club to have an evening showing some of his pictures and telling some of his life story. He'd invited his ward councillors and the Mayor of Stockton as well as other guests and we were all made very welcome. Many of his photographs are available to see on line and are well worth looking at. I particularly enjoyed the ones of the Lake District but then I'm biased - I love that area too.

Heritage and Local List

Over recent weeks a number of people have asked about the local list which was supposedly going to be part of the SBC Conservation & Historic Buildings Folder in the local development framework. Last year a number of people spent many hours sending information through about buildings in this ward and neighbouring Yarm in particular, and then everything went quiet. We only discovered that nothing at all had been done with the information when we needed it to help preserve Wainstones. I've been making a fuss since then, along with a colleague from Yarm, and we've finally been told that acknowledgement letters will be sent out soon! Shortage of staff meant it wasn't prioritised. What that means is that we may well lose Wainstones if an appeal goes with the applicant. Local activists are fuming and I agree with them - we've been badly let down.

On top of that, the vandalised tree on Carnoustie Drive has now been completely removed. The excuse given by NWL is that the water main had collapsed, cutting off supplies from 20+ houses. I can't help but wonder if more should have been done when it leaked last year, and if that might have avoided this problem, but I shall never know and not being an expert means that I can't even make an educated guess. Now I'm in the position of having to chase for a replacement tree.

Water leaks and vandalism

Readers of Focus will remember last winter's saga of the water leak on Carnoustie Drive which took weeks to be sorted out and repaired. Some residents are only too aware that a month ago the problem started again. This time Northumbrian Water engineers came out very quickly to look at the situation. Over the last 4 weeks more and more water has poured down the drain instead of being available to come out of our taps. On Friday a big hole was dug and the flow rate increased dramatically. Today an even bigger hole was dug but still the water flowed.
Sadly, it seems that NWL employ someone who can only be described as a vandal. A protected rowan tree, minding its own business, was in the way of the digging equipment so was attacked with a saw. My neighbour was at home at the time and saw what was happening so rushed out to remonstrate. When he realised that he was getting nowhere he went in and phoned Stockton Council and was told that someone would come out as soon as possible. I have no idea whether anyone came out, but I'll be asking questions tomorrow about permissions in this sort of situation and trying to ensure that a replacement is planted. I believe at the moment that NWL should be prosecuted but I bet I find out tomorrow that there's a good reason why they can't be.
This was all the more ironic, considering I'd just spent 2 hours at a meeting of the Tees Valley Environmental Protection Group - councillors and officers concerned with making sure that residents of the Tees Valley have the best environment we can possibly ensure. We'd discussed air quality and noise pollution and contaminated land - very interesting and important. For once, some strategies that really do seem to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people, even if most of us didn't know they existed.

Inspection time

Probably my last encounter with inspectors today - an hour long interview as Chair of Environment Select committee, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Chair of the Western Area Partnership Board. Quite an experience, but I think I managed to be fair to other councillors and senior officers while being honest about my experiences. Fortunately for Stockton Council's star rating he concentrated on the work of the Environment Select Committee and skated over other things quite lightly. It'll be very interesting to see the result of this 2 weeks of inspection - the regime is much more demanding than in previous years so all officers who understand the process are saying that we expect to slip off the top perch but obviously people are really hoping not to.
The afternoon was scheduled for Focus delivery but our phone wasn't working properly so I spent the afternoon trying to sort out that problem. Before I knew where I was it was time for ward surgery. This particular ward surgery was a real "warm glow " one - a couple who'd been helped by John taking up cudgels on their behalf came to thank him in person. As this ward surgery was at the venue furthest from where they live of the 3 venues we use, it was a particularly kind gesture on their part.
After ward surgery I'd arranged to meet Denis at our local vegetarian restaurant instead of cooking at home. A most enjoyable evening, and I was able to tell them that the CPA inspectors who'd dined there yesterday evening had been very impressed.

Back in the Land of the Living

After several days of a really rotten cold I feel almost human today. I took advantage of a dry spell between the showers to deliver a round of Focus leaflets. Although I don't always look forward to that job, especially in wet weather, I do find it useful to walk round streets which I wouldn't go along otherwise. Checking up on the state of the pavements and generally keeping an eye on the ward is one part of the job which is important but easily lost in the rush of other activities. Today's weather seemed to have driven everyone indoors and I didn't meet anyone wanting to have a chat about anything. A wave and a smile from residents sitting in their warm rooms kept me going though.
Christmas decorations are starting to appear inside and outside houses. I hope people are making sure that they're using the correct plugs and wiring for them all. We don't want fire to ruin Christmas for anyone. I must confess that this time of year is when I find myself in two opposing camps, environmentally. Part of me loves to see all the lights, to send cards and receive them, to give presents and receive them but the other part of me hates the waste of resources - the electricity being spent on extra lights, the beautiful cards and wrapping paper being thrown away after one use, the thought that however much time I've spent on choosing something that a person will really enjoy, actually I haven't got it right and the gift will languish on a shelf somewhere until it finds its way into the next charity bag.
That's why I love gifts that are given, not to me, but on my behalf to someone in need. If you follow all those links you'll get the idea. Two years ago my daughters "gave" me a well in a developing country. I was so thrilled I burst into tears. This year one of them has just sent me some "reverse book tokens" - a wonderful idea. I remember how much the library meant to us when we were in India for a time, and we were people who could afford to buy books. How much more it meant to those who couldn't own their own. It's a gift I'm proud to have received.