HIS VISION IS ALL TOO CLEAR TO SEE… That’s the problem!

"I HAVE A VISION!"

Carrying out my habitual monitoring of ‘The Executive Leaders Blog’ (That’s where Kieran Quinn, the esteemed Leader of Tameside council, regularly treats us to his vision of the future) This week I took the councillor at his word, where, as Chair of Droylsden’s Town Team, he urged as many people as possible to go onto the Team’s official website at www.droylsden.com to get involved and make their views known.

Now for those of you who may have missed the fact that because most of the market towns of Tameside have been systematically destroyed by the sitting councillors who have an undeniable dexterity for killing off traditional high streets and town centres, it now appears that each town in Tameside has its own ‘team’ who are charged with developing ideas for their dedicated area’s continued success.

So, expecting to read the details of Droylsden’s Town Team’s much acclaimed recently launched 50 page document, snappily entitled, ‘Droylsden a new vision for the town’ that was unveiled at an event outside the Concord Suite recently, and hoping to learn about a number of key projects apparently contained therein, designed help the town centre unlock its potential as a ‘go-to’ destination; to say I was thoroughly disappointed would be a gross understatement.

However, in all honesty I was not really surprised.

 

All it told me was that Droylsden’s Christmas Programme would be coming soon and on flicking on to the Shopping page which proudly informs the browser that Droylsden has a vibrant shopping centre and a thriving high street! - News of 3 (yes three) shops popped up, one selling jewellery, another fruit & Veg’ and the third where one could buy laminate flooring!

Now, I realise that this ‘web-site’ is new and it takes time to build up the advertising potential, however, bearing that in mind, it might have been a better idea to launch the site when the ‘town team’ had come up with a few more ideas of which to fill it and a little more news of why people should flock in their droves to Droylsden.

There was one useful aspect I found  embedded in the site however, and that was the (unusual for Tameside) introduction of a comment/suggestion box. 

Therefore may I respectfully suggest that Droylsden town team need a new chairman!

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SHOPPING AT LIDL

After all the usual political nonsense from Red Ed and his merry men and with another week of political promises to go, I thought this little 'ditty' would not only cheer you up, but also help put the Hattersley TESCO -24 hr delivery row in perspective!

If planning goes through ...Shop at Lidl...

RIP- THE ROYAL MAIL

When one occasionally seeks to learn what our esteemed councillors are up to, a good place to start is to access the council’s web-site and trawl through the ‘minutes’ of the various panels.

 

Upon reading of their innumerable antics, one often wonders whether any of them really understand just what is happening in the world outside their pseudo civic circle.

For instance: according to the ‘Minutes of the Full Council Meeting’ - of 9 July 2013 It was proposed by Councillor S. Quinn and seconded by Councillor Whitehead: That Tameside Council request that the Chief Executive write to the Government and all our local MPs to express this Council’s concern about the proposed sale of the Royal Mail, and propose the Government rethink their proposals for the future of the service.

Following consideration of the Motion it was: Resolved: Which means The Leader of the Council will now write the Government Minister; to Billy Hayes (The relevant Trade Union Leader) and our local Labour MPs, registering Tameside’s objection to the sale and conveying their full support for the “Save Our Royal Mail” campaign.

Irrespective of the fact that Kieran Quinn was previously employed by The Royal Mail and is still a big-wig in the Trade Union movement and despite the fact that during the reign of the last Labour Government, they too tried unsuccessfully tried to sell-off The Royal Mail. (In fact, all they did was manage to close 2,500 of its 14,000 branches in an attempt to curb losses of at least £4million a week and cut the network's annual subsidy of £150million a year to £110million) – (to which incidentally, Andrew Gwynne MP - husband of Cllr Alison Gwynne, voted with the Labour Government to close those 2500 Post Offices, although now, surprise,surprise he opposes the sell-off!) 

Despite all the rhetoric, this currant debacle is a total waste of time and is a pure unadulterated smokescreen to blind voters, because our so-called politicians, of all colours, simply have no choice, and they know it!

This latest quest to privatise the Post Office does not come from the ‘wicked Tories’, as Tameside councillors would have us believe. If they’re honest they should be pinning the blame on the EU Directive 97/67/EC "Privatisation of Postal Services, to which they alone signed us up to, and in which it states that an EU-wide postal service would be established.

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/post/legislation/index_en.htm

And who opened this political can of worms? - Well, in 2001, the Labour Government registered Royal Mail as a public limited company, to which the Government holds all the shares; (probably to avoid the EU's right to control the use of subsidies.) Then, in order to overcome the loss of Royal Mail's profits, the Government subsidised Royal Mail without EU permission, with the equivalent of €2.5 billion, in order to introduce improved mechanical sorting equipment into the system. 

At this point, some of Royal Mail's competitors complained to the European Commission which started an enquiry. In response the Government ordered a review of the postal services sector. The Review Panel submitted its report to Parliament last December. It describes Royal Mail as 'inefficient' but fails to acknowledge that it is the EU which prevents the introduction of modern systems. Instead the report suggests amalgamating Royal Mail with one or more private sector companies.

The reality now, is that unlike Norway, which vetoed the EU’s 3rd Postal Directive (2008/6/EC) the UK cannot opt out of the Directive.  So no matter how many strikes there are by postal workers, how much disruption is experienced by households and businesses, or even how many letters Kieran and Susan Quinn write to the Prime Minister, his trade Union Leader or send up the chimney to Father Christmas, the UK is stuck with having to obey the EU’s demands. 

The Royal Mail will be privatised because the EU has told the UK to do it!

…But of course, our scheming shower of councillors already know that, but they’re not going to miss the opportunity of trying to blame the someone else, are they?

LOCAL POLITICS…IT’S BECOME A FAMILY BUSINESS!

Four years on from Britain’s parliamentary expenses scandal it has now been revealed that a quarter of our ever so contrite Members of Parliament have been found employing members of their families on the public payroll, at a cost of £4 million-a-year to the taxpayer.

 

With that in mind, it’s would appear that quite a few of our own local Labour councillors are also keen to boost their family incomes by encouraging their brothers, spouses and partners to join them on the council benches too!

It might surprise you to learn just how much Tameside’s Married Councillors and Partners take home between them before tax.

Cllr K Quinn & Cllr S Quinn takes home £ 86,324.00.

Cllr A Holland & Cllr B Holland £ 39,984.00 plus £14,106.00 from other allowances.

Cllr M Smith & Cllr T Smith £ 47,031.00 pus £3951.00 from further allowances; and both in full time jobs!

Cllr D Lane & Cllr J Lane £ 41,336.00

Cllr D Ward & Cllr D McNally £ 40,411.00

Cllr J Fitzpatrick & Cllr J Jackson £ 47,098.00 plus Cllr J Jackson also works for MP Jonathan Reynolds.

Then we have Cllr Alison Gwynne and Cllr Claire Reynolds, who are married to respective local MP’s! 

Now, you might think there is nothing intrinsically wrong with family members and a few cronies crowding the council chamber, but when one analyses the situation, these civic double acts hardly engender feelings that represent total democracy as there will obviously be an appearance of unfairness with both spouses participating in council decisions.

For instance, during regular debates, unrelated individual councillors might form differing opinions and vote accordingly. With married couples, the tendency is to have two bodies speaking with one voice! So, instead of council direction being decided by a diverse group, in Tameside, this growing situation has put rather a lot of political power under the roofs of five or six households.

WHO THE HELL ARE 'WE'?

Reading the leaders blog:  www.tameside.gov.uk/blog/leader/ I believe I have come across the most ironic understatement of the year, if not the decade!

On his latest propaganda page, the irrepressible Councillor Quinn; a man who when it comes to civic architecture, appears to preside over a council who are not only a bunch of serial defacers of market towns, but also show an undeniable dexterity for colouring in; took time out from his busy schedule of delegation, to inform us of the forthcoming annual 'Heritage Weekend' where he had the bare faced temerity to say, “I’ve always felt we have a tendency to ignore our architectural treasures in Tameside!” “That’s why I always look forward to Heritage Weekend every September. ...It highlights our notable buildings and gives people a chance to see what lies behind walls they may walk past time after time!”

Now coming from a man whose Labour council has presided over the sell-off of plenty and the demise of both these famous Grade 2 listed Tameside amenities, I’m sure the people of the borough really appreciate Councillor Quinn's remark. They know full well just what is meant by “...we have a tendency to ignore our architectural treasures in Tameside!”

  

SIM SALA BIM or (HOW TO PULL A CHICKEN OUT OF A CAR PARK)

"HYDE'S GONE- JUST LIKE THAT!"

Forget Tommy Cooper, David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy and even the astonishing David Blaine, when it comes to performing ‘street magic’ where conjurors employing the practiced art of using smoke and mirrors and stunning sleight of hand trickery in order to makes things disappear, look no further that your local Labour Tameside councillor.

Obviously not content with making both Denton and Hyde’s outdoor markets all but disappear, they are now planning to perform another awesome illusion, by making Hyde’s multi-storey Car Park vanish and in its place, allow the building of a drive through Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet!

Now I don’t know about you, but I cannot remember this being announced in the ‘Plans to improve Hyde’ can you?

 

Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against KFC in principle, but you have to question whether adding a drive-through fast food outlet, will be the grand attraction that will see thousands of new visitors flocking to sample the few remaining retail shopping delights of Hyde.

"I was here first!"

 
It also begs the question, especially when you consider that our ‘town sorcerers’ have already thrown £1.3million creating an empty space, where these shoppers, both new and old, are going to park, because by removing the multi-storey car-park, there will only be 66 town centre on-street parking spaces left. 

It will only take the managers of Morrison’s to follow the example of ASDA and introduce a tariff controlled time restricted element to what is presently a free car park, to herald the final retail death knell of the once bustling Market Town of Hyde!