The Frost Has Gone

For the time being the Snow and Frost have gone and I have noticed in my garden the new shoots of Spring so to speak, bulbs growth is now breaking through along with new shoots on other plants. The bad weather so far has taken it's toll on our roads and I am pretty certain that to catch up with  repairs will  take rather a long time especially if we have a repeat of the bad weather we experienced before and after Christmas. The one problem I suspect is how all these repairs are to be paid for bearing in mind the cuts to Local Government Spending. Already there are signs that across the country budget cuts will affect road maintenance, I suspect this may well become an issue in the forthcoming local elections.

Musings as we go into 2011

I suspect for those of us in Local Politics, 2011 is going to be a difficult year as the cuts start to bite!! No doubt everybody will be blaming everybody else and there will be a great deal of ducking and divIng, especially by those members of the last  Government who would have us believe that they are whiter than white and it is those terrible Bankers who have caused all the financial problems.
Why didn't the Labour Government see the problems coming and do something about it? or is that too simplistic?  We shall just have to grit our teeth and get on with it and hope that at least we have a Government that is not afraid to take unpopular decisions in the interest of the Country and our long term future..

Happy New Year to One and All.

University Funding

Well the debate has been had in the House of Commons and the student riots have taken place. The students of course have lost a great deal of support  by their actions, whilst recognising the right to peaceful demonstration there is no nor can there ever be any justification to take part in the kind of appalling activity that was seen in London on Thursday.

 The truth of the matter is that the last government created the circumstances whereby the Government have had to make serious cuts in every field of public spending, I regret greatly that such cuts have had to be made but there there just isn't any alternative. In early 1950, in 1979/80 and now a Conservative Government has had to sort out a financial mess created by three past Labour Governments.

As was so eloquently put by the last Labour Secretary to the Treasury, “the money has all gone" that is the legacy of the last Government.

Lib Dems Exposed

It should come as no surprise to read that the Liberal Democrats have reneged on one of their manifesto pledges of 2003 (The Press 6 Dec.). The Liberal Democrats throughout the country have perfected the art of speaking with “forked tongue” and in so speaking have let down their electors.

It is easy to make promises and here in York we have seen the Liberal Democrats make promises and then fail to live up to those promises with the  consequence that the Citizens of York have been badly let down on a number of occasions since they took control in 2003.

Having been involved in local politics in different areas for over 40 years I have always taken great care in not making any pledge that I couldn’t deliver, indeed the only pledges I have given in the past is to work hard to represent those that elect me and to work to improve the area I represent, those same pledges will be given by me next May when I stand for re-election in Bishopthorpe.

I believe that over the past three years I have lived up to that pledge to the full, whilst the Liberal Democrats have shown that they can’t be trusted nor should they be.

Allerton Park Incinerator

The incinerator at Allerton Park is becoming more of a reality after the Executives of the City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council have recommended the scheme.
The full Council at City of York will make the final decision at next week's Council Meeting. No doubt the public gallery will be full of objectors and no doubt a number will register to speak. As a member of the Council I have no intention of declaring my support or opposition to the scheme prior to the meeting. However I will make the point that the objectors are using false and very misleading arguments in their opposition campaign which really does not advance their argument at all. I readily admit that there are issues to address around funding and maybe the visual impact of the facility. I will listen to the debate next week carefully and cast my vote after weighing up all the issues.

The First Snow of Winter

Well it has arrived!! snow I mean. I hope that motorists will drive with greater care but I suspect as we have seen already stupidity will result in a whole spate of accidents. No doubt the Council will do it's best to keep our roads safe and I wish them well in their endeavours.

Council Cuts

As has been reported in many in all forms of 5the media Local  Government is having to shed many jobs and here in York a number of jobs are to go. Whilst one person's cuts are another person's job we have to be realistic in what are very difficult financial times.

I know it is fashionable to blame the banks for our financial crisis and the Coalition Government, but the Labour Government created a whole range of "Non-Jobs" during the early years of their first Parliament. This policy eventually resulted in the Labour Government having to borrow large sums of money to balance the books from 2001 onwards, continuing up to the General Election this year. Whilst the banks played their part in making this crisis the blame must lie at the door of the last Labour Government, they and they alone have created the cut in local government finance and serious job losses. I take no pleasure in this situation but it is a "Nettle" that had to be grasped we could not go on borrowing to live for ever.