LABOUR TO ABSTAIN OVER EU REFERENDUM VOTE

MILIBAND SITTING ON THE FENCE OVER EUROPE

Now forgive my ignorance, but I was under the impression that we voted for politicians so that they could make decisions on our behalf and for good of the country as a whole.

 

So how can it be right for Labour to abstain on the Referendum Bill when it comes before the Parliament?

Now I can understand them trying to convince us of their reasons to stay in the EU, equally, I can understand other political party’s putting the case to come out, but what I can’t understand is the pure indecisiveness of a major party who is vying to lead the country at the next election, refusing to engage with the debate and offering no policy guidance whatsoever.

There again, why am I not surprised. After all Labour denied us a referendum on Nice, Amsterdam and Lisbon during their time in office, so abstaining on this latest bill would, once again, deny the British voters any democratic say on whether we want to casually surrender more and more of our nation’s sovereignty to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, should they ever regain power.

It just shows that Labour leaders are far more interested in feathering their own nests and playing politics than worrying about the interests of the country and the poor people who have no choice than to live in it.

If this ‘can’t decide attitude’ is an example of the way any future Labour government will approach difficult decisions, Labour supporters might like to rethink their options.

There are those on all sides of the House who, even though they wish to remain under the control of European Ministers, still recognise the democratic case for an In / Out vote.

But by being whipped into abstention, we here in Tameside, with our ambitious, young 'rising stars' will not have that democratic luxury.

Perhaps our local MPs, Jonathan Reynolds, David Heyes and Andrew Gwynne might like to put pen to paper and explain to their constituents, why abstaining on such an important issue is the right thing to do.

So, we've got a straight IN/OUT referendum from UKIP an 'IF 'referendum from Cameron and a definite NO referendum, from Miliband!

It's called Democracy, apparently! 

IN WHICH WE SERVE...

MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Well, true to form, there was no mention of the latest political scandal in John Taylor’s weekly letter, published in this week’s Reporter. However, his theme did raise a few eyebrows as he endeavoured to put his own interpretation on why the people’s republic of Tameside has had a de facto single-party democratically elected council for over 30 years.

Predictably though, the limited depth of his reasoning stopped short of explaining how the existing practices and balance of political power effectively prevents any opposition from winning the elections.

Playing the ‘I’m a fully paid up man of the people’ card, he defended those voters who he claimed had been accused of apathy or of lacking intelligence and would; as the old saying goes, ‘vote for a donkey, if it were wearing a red rosette’ and offered the alternative, that the key to his, and Labour’s success was not; as one might have expected, due to the successful policies of the Labour Government and Labour councillors successfully running local civic services, but it was all down to the shoddy treatment from the Conservative party!

But that didn’t shed light on why only 70% of those eligible to vote in the last local election he contested, didn’t! – In John Taylor’s case it meant that the ‘Deputy Leader’ of Tameside council kept his seat by securing 681 more votes that the other candidates! However, with only a 32.9% turnout in his Dukinfield ward, it tells us that out of those eligible, some 7500 people didn’t, for one reason or another, bother to vote for John Taylor! Obviously, his continuing spouting of his political message is really having a major impact in Dukinfield!

Should have gone to Specsavers!

It also doesn’t explain why; considering Tameside has been administered by a Labour council for over 3 decades, the town centres are dying whilst out of town retail developments are thriving; the town’s markets are a wasteland; there’s a severe lack of social housing and the authority has been slated as presiding over one of the worst places in the entire country for secondary education,( according to the latest OFSTED report, who sighted Tameside as the worst-performing authority in Greater Manchester and fifth lowest nationally with only 34% of secondary schools ranked good or outstanding). Our hospital is constantly under the microscope for one reason or another, our theatres have closed, our libraries are closing, the roads are full of pot-holes there’s litter everywhere and all that despite a yearly increase in council tax bills since its inception!

Tameside’s Labour councillors need to realise that a ballot is no more than a show of hands to be a representative of the local people. Clearly this hasn’t sunk in with some of our career councillors, because they seem to view themselves as being special, with an unquestioning entitlement to swan around the borough doing the bidding of their political masters sitting high up in the town hall or in Labour’s Central Office in Westminster, rather than the bidding of the people of Tameside.

The councillor then added his thoughts on political ‘slickness’ and told us ‘if you contact a party about an issue, they simply press a button and you get a personalised letter detailing their position.’ ‘That’s not the way Tameside Labour does it!’ He said, ‘we believe in the old fashioned methods!’

Which usually means either a response is not forthcoming or the open letters published in the local press, are answered by another’s hand!

With 52 Labour and 5 Conservatives comprising Tameside council, we must thank God that the majority of the council's services (well at least those that haven’t yet been sold off to the private sector) are delivered by a core of committed public servants who have not forgotten that the council exists to serve its citizens and not the reverse.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

It will be interesting to see if Cllr John Taylor makes comment in this week’s letter to his loyal body of Tamesiders, on the alleged antics of ex-Labour Government ‘enforcer’ and now Lord ‘Junket’ Jack Cunningham.

Perhaps he can justify the continuing self-serving instincts that characterised his long career on the Labour front-bench.

He might also like to comment on whether these anti-socialist traits can be hereditary, as it appears to be something of a family characteristic, bearing in mind his father, the corrupt GMB Trade Union leader Andrew Cunningham, who was jailed in 1975 for five years after being convicted of using his position to steer major public contracts toward the dodgy architect John Poulson, in return for holidays, cash and a ‘salary’ for his wife.

Not very socialist is it – or is it? 

It’s really not surprising that most ordinary people categorically detest today’s career politicians? 

I can't wait to get hold of a copy of tomorrows Reporter!

STILL CAN'T BE TRUSTED!

Just when you thought the day's were approaching when politicians could be trusted again following the expenses outrage, the Tory party were once again under the microscope as a new cash-for-questions scandal threatened to engulf Parliament. This time it involves the "ex-officer and a gentleman” Tory MP Patrick Mercer, who was allegedly snared in a media sting operation.

Of course, the man has done the honourable thing and fallen on his old regimental sword, and resigned the whip, so all is not bad!

However, apart from the fact that this disgrace once again shows us that the world of politics has still not cleaned up its act, it also illustrates the saying that ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ and that is that we can, eventually, look forward to yet another by-election.

Now here is a real opportunity for UKIP to show the other parties that come the General Election, they will have a real fight on their hands!

Hopefully UKIP will go all out to win this one... Give the Tories a taste of realism; smack their political backsides and prove to the country that the Tory vote is shrinking along with the Lib Dems.... Labour won’t even get third place!

YET ANOTHER CUNNING PLAN!

There was an interesting letter from a lady writing from Werneth Low Road in this week’s Reporter who commented that after spending ‘millions’ on refurbishing the market in Hyde, it has now been reduced to 6 traders on most Fridays, with 3 of them selling plants!

“It’s like a Ghost Town” claimed Pauline Barton. “There’s no atmosphere!”

This letter coincides with the council’s latest ‘cunning plan’ to encourage ‘footfall’ by inviting residents to get out their sketchbooks, paints and cameras to create an artwork depicting ‘Love your local market’ They’ve even designed a logo to encourage entries.

TUMBLEWEED SEEN IN HYDE'S NEW CIVIC SQUARE 

The ‘Through your eyes’ competition, which is apparently open to people of all ages, is looking for drawings, paintings or photographs which in some way reflect the market and or its visitors!

And the council says that all entries will be displayed around the communal seating area in the market hall.

...I bet they won’t display mine!