| Archive for - Abertillery Online Discussion Forum - Croeso i fforwm Abertyleri ar y we For the old board click here |
| hedleymccarthy |
Facts Are Obstinate Things No.10A meeting yesterday lasting minutes short of 4 hours discussed the council's budget proposals. Those issues that most affect the wards of Llanhilleth, Six Bells, Abertillery and Cwmtillery are as follows:-Fortnightly Refuse Collection. Street lighting switched off at midnight. Sheep impounding withdrawn. As Cllr. Steve Thomas quipped it will soon be possible to stumble over a sheep in the dark and tread on a rat. Closure Abertillery Bowls Centre. Cut Library hours. Redundancies. Cut C2BG service[ it will no longer serve Swffryd, Brynithel, Aberbeeg, Six Bells, Blaenau Gwent or Bournville] Withdraw subscriptions to Coalfied Communities Campaign £6,000 per annum. This may be meaningless to some readers, but Martyn probably understands this issue better than most. Suffice it to say the reed beds and treatment plant in the Ebbw Fach at the former Vivian pit was funded by CCC. There was fierce opposition to these cuts and several are going back to the Executive Committee. This year's council tax will be 4.95%. |
||||||||
| jools |
cuts to C2BG :
can I ask why those areas have been selected ? I have used this service many times and have found the operaters excellent and am pleased that my area is not listed as being cut. Everytime I have contacted them my requests have been done and replied to quickly. This will be a backward step. Will these areas have to use a different contact number and if they use C2BG be referred elsewhere ? |
||||||||
| PIPPETH |
Headley; You obviously have too much time on your hands now you are no longer leader of the council. I have questions for youe economic summit, but is this organised by you or the Labour Party, which ministers are attending and yeah we can solve everything in an hour and a half | ||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Hi Jools, its the C2BG outreach that the last council introduced that is being cut. Don't ask me how they arrived at their decisions, we're all left in the dark on that one, pardon the pun. Swffryd's very own Cllr.Den Hughes is supposed to be the Executive member responsible for C2BG' the only time he spoke in 4 hours was in response to my question on how the administration could justify leaving so many communities without provision and that made 'outreach' a contradiction in terms he replied " It has been a very good debate, it is a good point about communities, I can see where you are coming from."
What I do know is that what is left of the service is restricted to communities where there are either Sports Centres or Libraries n.b they are cutting library hours. To be frank I actually have greater concerns about the proposals for street lighting not just its implications for motorists and pedestrians, but its potential to attract anti-social behaviour and how it can make people vulnerable. Elderly people in their own homes and even young women going home after a night out, I have asked for and been promised a risk assessment. Fortnightly refuse collections will cause a debate with pros and cons as thanks to increased awareness everyone is an environmental expert now. Let's hope the policy on straying animals does not increase the number of sheep on our roads and with it the inherent threat to motorists. |
||||||||
| justawinge |
Are we the victims of discrimination. How can the council justify this valley not having the same amount of services as other parts of Blaenau Gwent our needs are the same.
If this is a means of saving money they should take the services off every one. If we have to loose service’s do we get a reduction on our council tax and if not why? A public meeting should be called by every councillors representing their area to inform the constituents personally of what proposals they have agreed to on their behalf. Or better still knock on each door to inform them. They are quick enough to call when they want our vote, they don’t seem to mind doing the leg work then but once they have been elected they seem to go into hibernation. , |
||||||||
| pamcares |
The Ind/ Peoples Voice council are struggling to balance the books,
They must be finding it harder than it looks, They claimed to be more capable than the previous Labour, And the public would benefit from their endeavour. After opposing fortnightly rubbish collections, Now a U turn and expect no objections, They called for the idea to be put in the bin, That there would be more fly tipping and rats, what a sin. They claimed that Labour kept the public in the dark, Turning off the lights, their bite is certainly stronger than their bark, Lighting to assist community safety is now required, Perhaps they are going to give free carrots to help if in need. It was a good tactic to close the outreach venues, Making it harder for the public to express their views, If complaints go down they must be better than the other lot, Closing schools and stopping the rail bus will soon be forgot. They have even pursaded the sheep to stay off the street, Perhaps they will give them our food waste as a thank you treat, Maybe it was these sheep that voted them in, Surely not nepotism and looking after their next of kin. |
||||||||
| Bryn Trefil |
They have shelved the idea of having a welsh honours system in Wales dedicated to the Welsh achiever of the year.
The award for the Top Welsh Politian (TWP for short) won't be coming your way don't bother trying so hard to convince people that you deserve it. In the event you haven't noticed nobody appears interested in anything you lot have to say 
|
||||||||
| Tchambuli9 |
 You wouldn't by some chance be Eddie Legge would you 
You ought to put this indictment of the anti-Labour coalition, in the Gazette. 
|
||||||||
| Rocke |
Re: Facts Are Obstinate Things No.10
"Those issues that most affect the wards of Llanhilleth, Six Bells, Abertillery and Cwmtillery are as follows:-" Fortnightly Refuse Collection. Wrong - it affects every ward. Humbug - don't imply that it's only the Ebbw Fach area that will have it. Street lighting switched off at midnight. Wrong - it affects every Ward; it would only affect certain lighting, for safety reasons; Humbug - don't imply that it's only the Ebbw Fach area that will have it. Labour-controlled Torfaen is doing it. Sheep impounding withdrawn. Wrong - it affects every Ward; Humbug - don't imply that it's only the Ebbw Fach area that will have it. Closure Abertillery Bowls Centre. Wrong - it's Blaenau Gwent Indoor Bowls Centre. it affects citizens from every ward in the Borough Humbug - don't imply that it's only the Ebbw Fach area that will have it. Cut Library hours. Wrong - it affects every Ward; Humbug - don't imply that it's only the Ebbw Fach area that will have it. I also understand that there have been previous instances of changes to hours of opening, including Leisure Centres. Redundancies. Wrong - how can anyone actually say that this situation 'most affects' the Ebbw Fach area ? Humbug - the word 'compulsory' hasn't been used, but it still implies that people will be forced out. In my experience there will be quite a number of people who will put themselves forward for early retirement ( wouldn't you, if you've worked 30-odd years and could get your full pension 10 years early or so ? ) In the same way that I can't say there will be no compulsory redundancies neither can anyone say there will be. Hopefully the worst case scenario will be redeployment. Cut C2BG service Wrong - it affects every Ward; Humbug - C2BG was set up to provide a viable service to people ( wasn't it - or did Labour not worry about spending hundreds of quids to provide a service for 2 people a year ? ). If the service isn't being used ie. isn't necessary surely it's better to use that money to protect it where it's clearly needed ? ( There's your answer jools - Llan is obviously well used ). This may be meaningless to some readers There you go again, sneeringly patronising the users of this forum. As an 'all sort' I'd remind you that, as Forrest said, you never know what you're going to get, but at least you get variety. Humbugs of course are all the same, a bit like sheep. |
||||||||
| martyn142 |
Yes please! That juvenile drivel will boost the electorate's view of the Labour Party no end.
|
||||||||
| Tchambuli9 |
It looks like Rocke has got the wrong end of the stick again - I don't read " those issues that most affect the wards of Llanhilleth, Six Bells, Abertillery and Cwmtillery" to mean that they affect those wards more than the other wards, but rather that those are the issues which most affect the said wards.
Anyway never mind the semantics, Rocke seems to be saying that the CUTS are acceptable so long as everybody suffers from them. What a champion of equality
As for Torfaen's street lighting I would remind the Councillor that we live in Blaenau Gwent not Pontypool or Florence 
Everyone deserves a holiday, but it looks like your timing means you missed the critical meeting. Never mind. Given that you were away I am surprised you pretend to know so much about the decision to make the proposed cuts
Ciao for now. |
||||||||
| Bryn Trefil |
Well Said Martyn Why stop at the Gwent Gazette. I am sure that the wider Blaenau Gwent even Wales internet audience will appreciate you and your party's views far more than this humble forum. Gofer it!!! Go on, be a little Cyber Warrior!!!!
It will of course be a great loss to the rest of us not to have your forum support but I am more than willing to make that sacrifice
http://tinylink.com/?bjQzFy5ZYe |
||||||||
| Dai 6 |
Hmmm. It’s no surprise you don’t read it that way – you could have written it yourself. Your posting style, syntax, grammar and sentence construction are very similar to that in some posts by “hedleymccarthy”. Incredibly similar in fact. Curious - “hedleymccarthy” seems to have too markedly different styles all by himself. Curiouser and curiouser (as Alice cried) – On December 9th 2008 in this thread http://tilleryonline.myfreeforum.org/ftopic1529-0-asc-0.php I asked Hedley to verify his identity and to confirm that he was the only one who used the “hedleymccarthy” username. He did post his email address (and got it wrong, it’s actually Hedley.McCarthy@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk) but failed to confirm he was the only one using that username, even when I pressed the issue again on Dec 10th. Nor has he replied to the email I sent him on 19/12/08 (using both his official address and the one he posted). Food for thought. |
||||||||
| Tchambuli9 |
To get this back on thread, do you all agree with the cuts? Yes or No?
Do you really think that Paul Hamer is the only member of the public annoyed with the present situation? If you're so concerned with identities, why don't you disclose yours. Or are these accusations merely naive projections. 
If you're so concerned with identities, why don't you disclose yours. Having said that I seem to recall Hedley telling me that Dai 6's email address did reveal his name. But.... is it his real name? or should it have said davidrocke. Is Bryn Trefil really the man inside a woman screaming to get out? And as for Tinkerbell well it's quite obvious that she's not going to reappear until we all shout "I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES" Anyway back to the thread. I repeat, do you agree with the cuts
|
||||||||
| martyn142 |
Fair play you have a point.
NO I do not agree with the reduction in funding by the Labour government to the Welsh Assembly which has necessitated these reduced settlements to the Welsh local authorities. In fact I think it is outrageous. I feel better already having got it off my chest. Now why don't you make a clean breast of it and give us a full list of the IDs under which you post on here?
|
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Martyn you are right the settlement from the coalition in Cardiff is terrible. As it was last year and the year before that and the year before that etc. I don't , however, recall you saying so before. The problem is the standard spending assessment formula is flawed and this has been recognised since 1996. It is exacerbated by having a political dud representing us at the Assembly, What is Trish Law doing about it?
We are wallowing in complete isolation and the way this council is cutting services like good old Tories we will end up as a Banana Republic without the bananas. |
||||||||
| martyn142 |
If the problem with the funding formula has been flawed since 1996 what did you do about it Hedley when you were in power? What did your Labour predecessors do about it when they were in power? Does your lack of success in changing it (assuming you and your predecesors tried) mean you were political duds? If not then how come Trish Law is when she's only been there for a short while, not for decades? |
||||||||
| Carolyn |
Can you please refrain from insulting new members. Some members have joined this forum eager to participate in discussion or make new friends if they are new to the area. Some may have been viewing the forum for some time but not all are familiar with forums or are new to the internet. What usernames they use is their choice and really should not be subject to any for of redicule by you from you. Not all share your love of politics or even if they do they may prefere to keep their identities private, as Hedley once said it is a secret ballot, you have no automatic right to know the identity of those who do not share your political views. I do happen to know who this member is by name anyway if not personally. I am not suprised they are unwilling to express their views if they are subjected to abuse over their choice of screen name before they have even had the oppotunity to express any. Don't hold your breath for an answer on the proposed cuts
|
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Martyn I would have thought you would have remembered in 1999, the council and the unions took coach loads to the Assembly to lobby for a better settlement and formula review. The minister responsible at the time was one Peter Law who gave tea and sympathy, no just sympathy, that is when he was on the Administration's payroll, it's before he became a rebel. The council also commissioned a study into the formula. I'll probably be accused of patronising by explaining, but here goes, the SSA takes no account of deprivation, it is mainly concerned with two extremes i.e population and sparsity neither help Blaenau Gwent, but perversely aids on the one hand Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, on the other rural councils like Powys. | ||||||||
| jools |
Is anyone surprised that our council is being isolated by WAG ? I'm not.
When weighing up how to vote you have to think of the consequences.....this was one that a lot of us must have accepted and believed we could live with. I always knew this was a risk. It is not in the current WAG administration's interests to help our current council be a success. My take is that having Labour led Westminster, Cardiff and local governments hasn't stopped the deterioration in Blaenau Gwent that Thatcher started so we should be used to being last in the queue/ an after thought. As for Trish and Dai...well I've said my thoughts on these before. As for the cuts....I'm not happy that we need to do this though it appears to be happening in most authorities. The important thing is that we are kept informed accurately and the minimum required put forward. turningnoff 6000 lights from 13000 seems a lot though. Hope it's not the new brighter one outside my house though as it has stopped the anti-social gatherings we once endured.
http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/...nt_streetlights_could_switch_off/ http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/...reet_light_switch_off_is_madness/ |
||||||||
| martyn142 |
Remind me Hedley:
Who controlled Blaenau Gwent CBC in 1999? Who was in government in Westminster in 1999? Who controlled WAG in 1999? What was the result of your lobbying for a change to the SSA calculation at this time when we were, presumably, not isolated? Jools has hit it on the head "My take is that having Labour led Westminster, Cardiff and local governments hasn't stopped the deterioration in Blaenau Gwent that Thatcher started so we should be used to being last in the queue/ an after thought. " |
||||||||
| martyn142 |
Carolyn, I don't think you are being fair on Tchambuli. She is just as insulting to longer-standing members as she is to new members.
|
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
We had a decade of being represented at Westminster by Llew who had his own agenda which didn't include Blaenau Gwent, now the powers for Local Government are with the Assembly, now I've never been a fan of WAG, but different to the lot that are now trying to run the council, there was an open door for us with ministers and we could negotiate more funding, which we did successfully. Look if you are happy with the present administration that's fine by me, Martyn has already said he no longer votes for anything he votes against Labour. That is his democratic right, good luck, but I think it is time to put down the hammer not to change thumbs. | ||||||||
| Ian |
Sounds very much like your saying what I said previously...Labour did nothing for decades and having lost the election the 'door' is no longer open to anyone just on the basis that they are not labour.I thought even the layers of bureaucrats above the local ones were in office to represent the interests of their electorate,yet you have stated that there is no policy of thwarting the efforts to make progress by those other than your party......little wonder people stopped voting for you/them.
|
||||||||
| pamcares |
Rocke, it seems like your Italian holiday went fine,
Hope you did'nt drink too much wine, Could the Roundhouse be the next Colliseum, But how would we get the visitors out of Aber's museum. The Council's policies are tangled up like spaghetti, Or torn to shreds like a box of confetti, The Councillors in their leaning ivory tower, Are slashing services and exercising their power. How hard are they trying to make things better, Perhaps they could part ex the limo for a lambretta, Come on boys lets have more toil, Lubricate the brain cells - try olive oil. Or are you saying that there's too many services for too little tax, So stop your mourning, you've all become lax, Stop relying on the nannny state, You can't have everything on a plate. |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Ian you are talking out of your backside. All the services that are being stripped away by the coalition were provided by Labour. Although Labour could do nothing right in your book and the anti-Labour coalition can do no wrong. I'm glad I'm not in your union. | ||||||||
| Rocke |
Usual Tchambulic nonsense. "looks like Rocke has got the wrong end of the stick again" - in your Red eyes only; "seems to be saying" - in your Red eyes only. "seems to be saying that the CUTS are acceptable so long as everybody suffers from them" - as martyn's pointed out, keep spouting the drivel. You ( and the other sheep - sorry lemmings ) must be the only member on here that would contort that. Says it all. I can't believe how stupid you lot are. You've embarked on a strategy to rubbish everything about representatives that ordinary, concerned citizens elected. It's amazing that no-one pulling the strings realised ( are you watching Beaufort St - or is it down as far as Cardiff now ? ) what a high risk venture it was. It's failed palpably and you're so blind that despite the feedback you're getting from the letters to the Press and the absolute pasting you've got on here you still carry on ( or rather your masters continue to allow it ). Don't you realise what's going to happen ?!!!!!!!!!! Just like the Conservatives dumped Thatcher and her successor managed a quite remarkable victory on the back of 'we've changed, give us another go' 3rd Para and his masters are going to cut you all adrift, in an attempt to con the public. It's not so much Mr. Nasty & Mr. Nice but Punch and Judy. Bet you Cllr. Hedley McCarthy won't be leading the local resistance around here into the next Council Elections. In fact I reckon he and the sheep - sorry, Party Activists - might be told to lie low before the next General Election. After all, he's already blotted his copy book by supplying information subsequently found to be false - and 3rd Para cut him adrift, openly laying the blame at his door. He then tried to pass that on to some poor member of staff. Although that member of staff was protected from identification that doesn't mean that they didn't feel awful about it. What a way to use someone's willingness to be helpful. Another acolyte got a pasting in The Gazette for wrongly linking me to Trish Law. The Labour dominated Community Council is yapping every now and then. Let's be blunt - they're all generally regarded as an irrelevance or even looked upon as objects of derision. I can truthfully say that EVERY weekend I'm out on both days I get into conversations with people who simply say 'what is so-and-so on about?', ' what are the Labour party up in arms about now?', 'how can they say this when everyone knows that it was them...?' etc. etc. This weekend it will be 'so you're making people redundant and cutting services and putting our Council Tax up'. And yet again Dai Rocke will fully enlighten people, get into er. vibrant debates with them and hopefully they say - as has happened a fair bit - 'I see what you're saying now then'. And regrettably another piece of the history of the Labour Party in power in Blaenau Gwent will be shattered. Finally, you'd be surprised at how much I know, despite not being on the Executive or only having been a Member for 9 months. I know a fair bit about what's going on and for what it's worth I'm beginning to become restive about some things which I haven't been kept in the loop about. In case you or anyone starts to tar me with being a Labour-hater then you'd better be aware that my Independence is paramount to me. I see it from the inside and I tell it as I see it. And I can assure not only the members of this forum but the general public that up to now the correct decision was made by the electorate last May. Finally, I also know an awful lot about what's been going on over the years ( or not, as you'll soon see, regarding our supposed railway link ). So, all-in-all another propaganda tchambles. [/i] |
||||||||
| Rocke |
Use of pseudonyms can only be for one of two purposes: 1) To protect the identity of a member because their Privacy, position, role and/or job would be at risk if they were to be seen to be a contrib utor; or 2) in an attempt to fool other members. You aren't very good at it in any of your guises - Dai's forensic scrutinising of your postings shows how correct martyn and others on here are. It's that transparent. Even Eddie Large - sorry, Legge - tried a totally different approach in The Gazette this week. Now goes by 'Kevin' and uses e-mail. Unfortunately they're both comic characters, of course. A bit like users of the pseudonym 'hedleymccarthy'..................... |
||||||||
| Ian |
hedleymccarthy wrote 'Ian you are talking out of your backside. All the services that are being stripped away by the coalition were provided by Labour. Although Labour could do nothing right in your book and the anti-Labour coalition can do no wrong. I'm glad I'm not in your union.'
I see you have resorted to a well balanced reply,in my experience people only do that when they have been caught out by the truth.Also you need to learn to read instead of knee jerk responding,I don't think I have ever said that the new coalition can do no wrong,it may be that they are being restricted from doing right by the reasons I've stated before and you seemed to me to be echoing.You may also recollect that I've already stated that I didn't actually vote for this administration anyway. If you were in my union you be working in an area that has been decimated by New Labour who are constantly looking to reduce staffing costs,I doubt very much if you would be such a staunch supporter of them then.You would get from the union the same level of service from me even if you were,that to me seems to be the difference,the union represents the interests of it's members whoever they are.What you said was that doors were open to you because you are Labour,they are not open now to non labour.Also in my opinion the services would probably have been being stripped away even if labour were still in control of the local authority. |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Ian, some very fair comment and a little surmise. | ||||||||
| martyn142 |
Hedley, from what you've written on this board I think you feel:
- previous Labour councils - excluding your own regime - didn't properly represent our interests - Peter Law, while a Labour AM, didn't properly represent our interests - Llew Smith didn't properly represent our interests Yet all were Labour representatives. You have said you feel a loyalty to the Labour Party and I genuinely admire that even if I don't undertsand it. But you appear fairly selective about which bits of the Labour Party you feel loyalty to and accept criticism on behalf of. Or am I being unfair? |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Jools thanks for providing the links. On your first point about isolation I believe that is what the oracle Cllr Rocke would call NVQ politics. As for the cuts you can also read in yesterday's Argus you can also read that Torfaen are consulting the public on street lighting and that Monmouthshire has withdrawn proposals following consultation. In the same paper you can read that Blaenau Gwent Council Tax will rise by 4.95% as will Monmouth, Newport 3.9, Torfaen 3.5 and Caerphilly 2.9. Last year the Labour council in Blaenau Gwent set 3.9%. Last year myself and Cllr.Steve Thomas met ministers at WAG and secured £220,000 uplift with a further approx. £300,000 for this year. This year I offered the new leader to try to secure extra funding by again going back to WAG, he refused, although he has subsequently lied in the press about this, however, as always I have the exchange of correspondence on file. Last year's settlement was awful, but Labour protected the public and its staff from the draconian measures being taken this year and came in with a moderate council tax. Last year the Assembly reneged on the funding for the Feeder buses, Labour councillors negotiated and provided the service, this year they have been withdrawn. It may be fashionable to blame Labour for everything but I'm afraid that does not stack up. Martyn I think you are somewhere near what I think about Labour's problems. You also have known me long enough and well enough to accept that I am Labour without prefixes, and I'm not answerable for the government or the Assembly[which I'd abolish if it was up to me], I'm not answerable to them either and I think it's important to know that, particularly for rookie councillors who seem to think I'm a puppet operated from Cardiff or Brynmawr and who hasn't got a clue about the Labour Party constitution or the autonomy of the Labour Group. Anyway I can't put my finger on anything tangible that Llew Smith ever did for Blaenau Gwent, and as someone who spent time with him in London he was as isolated among colleagues as Dai Davies is in the Commons today. I always found Peter to be self serving and a first class actor and he was out in the cold at Cardiff once he'd been sacked by Rhodri Morgan. The Labour council did many good things under John Hopkins leadership, I've listed them previously and my finger is starting to ache. I believe the council lost its way and became more interested in structures and restructures and was busier contemplating its navel that providing services. That is part of the story as to why there was a change of leadership and as much as you're getting at the moment. I tried to change the council's focus to be public facing, but 5 months was not enough. |
||||||||
| Rocke |
[quote="hedleymccarthy] On your first point about isolation I believe that is what the oracle Cllr Rocke would call NVQ politics.
[/quote] DON'T put words in my mouth. [quote="hedleymccarthy] particularly for rookie councillors who seem to think I'm a puppet operated from Cardiff or Brynmawr[/quote] I'm a 'rookie councillor', but what's that got to do with it - or are you implying that only 'rookie councillors' would think that ? From the people I speak to and from what I hear a substantial number of people think it, 'rookie councillors' or not. Anyway, this is one 'rookie councillor' who has far wider relevant experience not only that you give me credit for but wider and more relevant than the Leader of the Labour Group himself. Not all players become managers and some of those that do don't make the transition at all well. Some however do very well. Local boy Mike Ruddock didn't do too badly in his rookie season as an International Coach did he ? As a former Principal Officer with a Labour run Council FAR bigger than Blaenau Gwent ( 5th largest non-Met Authority in the UK at the time, 350,000 popn ) I'm in the very good position of understanding the problems facing officers and just as important those who provide the front line services so important to communities. It therefore follows that I'm able to identify where things perhaps aren't going as well as they could and to come up with suggestions and ideas for improvement. All the Cllr. McCarthy's of this world seem to rely on is cosying up to higher-ups of their parties, such as 'the Minister' in Cardiff. Anyway, back on track - see the next post. |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Still tongue in a wise head. | ||||||||
| Rocke |
So, pray tell us how you managed it. I can imagine it now: "Hello Minister. We'd like a few more bob to help us keep the dreaded Council Tax down from April. "The timing of elections is downright infuriating. We can't have too big an increase only a month before the masses vote, and when they'll have the first payment taken out of their banks only days before going into the booths." Minister "Mmm. Blaenau Gwent you say - you're Hedley McCarthy then are you ?" "Er. no Minister, I'm Steve Thomas - he's Hedley McCarthy". HMc ""Hello Minister. We'd like a few more bob to help us keep the dreaded Council Tax down from April. "The timing of elections is downright infuriating. We can't have too big an increase only a month before the masses vote, and when they'll have the first payment taken out of their banks only days before going into the booths." Minister "Oh sorry, you haven't been in the job too long. You're the rookie Leader of the Council up in the backhills then. "Well, since you've asked nicely and as a sort of 'golden hello' to you how about another couple of hundred thousand then ? "That'll give the electors the impression that your voice can be heard down here, good for a few votes I should think". HMc "Thank you Minister, THANK YOU." On the way home, stretched out in the Civic Car, smiles abound. HMc "TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND QUID EXTRA. Just think what we can do with that !" And to be honest it would take some thinking about. You see, the total settlement Blaenau Gwent gets from WAG is just over £100 MILLION. So £200,000 is just 0.02% ( yep, just 1/500th ) of an increase. That's the equivalent of the Government increasing the Minimum Wage by less than a penny per hour. You can imagine what would happen at a General Election if that happened. Think about it again - less than 40p/week ( before Tax etc. ) when Energy costs are way above that. What would you say to someone who claimed that getting you an extra 30p or so in your pocket was a major victory that only he could have done ? And then how would you decide what you'd spend the extra on - an extra hour of heating per week, a bread roll or 2, use the car to go half a mile to the supermarket ? It is not to be sniffed at, but taken in context was/is it worth all the 'look at what I managed to do' ballyhoo ? Finally, remember also that Cllr. McCarthy also claims to have negotiated an additional £300,000 for this year. Does our settlement include this figure ? If so then how come we've still got the lowest in Wales ? |
||||||||
| Saeson |
Good grief, I agree totally with Hedley on these two points. I think I shall have to lay down in a darkened room for a while.
|
||||||||
| martyn142 |
Although, if my memory serves me right - and Hedley has pointed out how fallible it is - didn't Llew Smith pay for the purchase of the Labour Party's offices at Brynmawr out of his own pocket?
|
||||||||
| Dai 6 |
To avoid making a substantive response.
Not all the proposed cuts, no. But I do see the necessity. Fortnightly Refuse Collection – I do see that this is going to be unpopular, but money has to be saved and quite a bit of refuse is now collected for recycling. If the recycling collections (especially the food waste collections) are still weekly and can be improved slightly I don’t think this will have a major impact. Personally, my biggest problem is going to be remembering when it is the right week to put the refuse out. Street lighting – This is my biggest concern and I would like to see a lot more details on exactly what lights will be off. I would also want to see the results of the risk assessment which, as I understand it, was always a part of this proposal making Hedley’s request for one a little irrelevant. Actual crime in BG isn’t as big a problem as the fear of crime, and this will rocket any residential area left in the dark. Sheep impounding – also known as the Cwm dating agency. 
Seriously, is this a big problem? How many were impounded last year and how much did it cost? These are questions not dismissals. The Bowls centre – This was a total white elephant from the start, the condition of the building was well known and it was never going to be sustainable. It only came into being because of the undue influence of a former executive member. Cut library hours – A very sore point personally as I love my library. I also know it is a vital part of many older residents social life. If cuts have to be made, what about staffing? I’ve noticed a few of the libraries appear to be overstaffed - maybe it’s because I don’t go there in their busy periods, but that’s how it looks Redundancies – never pleasant and hopefully volunteers and early retirements will constitute a large proportion. But if compulsory redundancies are necessary I don’t think anyone could deny there must be some people the council can let go without the world coming to an end. I think we could cheerfully do without the chief exec for a start. Some of the comments he made in the run up to the elections (regardless of your own political views) showed a staggering lack of judgment. My hope is that when departments are asked for proposals to reduce their budget, ordinary officers get listened to as much as the managers. C2BG outreach– Just how cost effective is this service? How many people have used it in each area? Coalfield Communities Campaign – This I don’t agree with. CCC (I thought they had changed the name?) can have a big influence on a strategic level, its worth £6k to have a seat at the table.
This is called false dichotomy, not a bad tactic to use in person but not really suited for the written word – it’s to easy to spot the gap. I don’t disclose more about my identity because I don’t trust some of the people who read this forum to take part in a reasoned debate without being unpleasant or vindictive.
Rocke – one of us just got insulted, but damned if I know which. If admin would like to check the IP address I post from they have my permission to confirm I am most definitely not Dai Rocke.
|
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
He certainly did Martyn, but I don't think that counts as doing something for the greater good of Blaenau Gwent. It's a party matter and was a fantastic thing for the Labour Party in the constituency and was undoubtedly helpful for the public being able to drop in and I'm quite sure that he did a lot of things for individuals e.g housing problems or planning issues unresolved by the local authority, all sorts of things like "problems with walls" etc. What I am saying is what was achieved for the collective good of Blaenau Gwent? In the same way that you could identify the second Severn crossing with Roy Hughes or the A467 and the Rassau Industrial Estate with Michael Foot and Jeffrey Thomas - see what I mean? |
||||||||
| Rocke |
Neither of us Dai. What's happened is yet another example of an attempt to 'prove' that I'm disengenuous. Since the 'hedleymccarthy' pseudonym has been shown to be - shall we say not completely open and straight ( remember the details about dates for the bridge, what Cllr. McCarthy knew and what 'they' posted ? ) - it's now over to one of the other attack sheep to have a go. We all know 'hedleymccarthy' is a 'they' not a 'he', even if it's 'she' dictating to 'he' at the keyboard. You'll notice ( well you will after I've written it ) that there's been very little locking of horns over the past few weeks, in fact a seeming reluctance to engage rocke with 'hedleymccarthy'. This is very likely to be because the political strategists in Beaufort St ( is there any up there ? ) and almost certainly High Command at Cardiff are concerned at what they regard as a bit of a PR disaster which, if it escaped from cyberspace into the open air, would severely dent 3rd Para Agent Smith's chances of being the great retriever of what was only a short while ago one of the safest seats in the entire UK. So from now on it'll be someone else - another pseudonym and of course the usual suspects writing in to The Gazette. Despite Tchambles' pronouncements everyone knows I'm my own person ( I can't speak for you, although I firmly believe you are ), so they're not being attacked by a schizophrenic but rather they find themselves in a pincer movement, with quite a few more people having seen what 'politicians' are really like. When I catch 3rd Para out on the streets we'll see what he thinks of all this going on in his name. ( See how nice I am, High Command - I'm even giving you an insight into what's going to come about ). In short ( phew ! ) I'm not insulted in the least - I'm actually quite smug that another tchambulic posting is on here for all to see. |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
better to shut your mouth and be thought a fool than to open it and prove it | ||||||||
| Rocke |
And there you have it everyone - 'don't do as I do, do as I tell you'. Sums everything about them up, doesn't it ? |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Gazette seems blissfully unaware, but the Argus is crawling all over Licorice All Sorts budget plans.
http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/...e_more_accidents____crash_family/ |
||||||||
| Ian |
Whilst not detracting from the tragic content of the Argus story and agreeing that the sheep problem needs to be addressed,I cannot see how it can be deemed to be crawling all over the budget plans or highlighted as doing so as part of your political point scoring agenda.Quite apart from anything else however many were being impounded it did not solve a problem that has existed for as long as I can rememember and certainly since I passed my drving test in 1980.
It may have got better but wasn't one of the most successsful of policies put in place by previous administrations.Before you go 'off on one' I actually agree with both points of view here...it shouldn't be stopped as it is removing danger from the roads,however the owners of the sheep must be brought to book as well.
|
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
My reference to the Argus scrutiny of the coalition budget plans have involved coverage re fortnightly refuse collection on Page 4 Tuesday February 17th, Street lighting Page 1, 4 and editorial on Page 16 Wednesday February 18th. Straying animals Page 1, Page 6 and the editorial on Page 12 Wednesday February 25th.
|
||||||||
| Rocke |
Just like their scare stories about our Bridge not being done then.
Any quotes from the Humbugs I wonder ? I'd have thought they'd have been a bit more circumspect about dealing with them, after the acknowledgement in The Gazette about the false accusations Agent Smith put about regarding Cwmtillery Ward councillors. The true comparison, for members of the public, is to see if Blaenau Gwent is taking action that is comparable with every other council ( since we're all in the same boat, though we have the worst deal in Wales from WAG ). What's Labour-run Torfaen doing I ask ? I haven't seen many comments on the around 70 compulsory redundancies they are making, or that they are switching off at least 4,500 lights ( I think the proportion's about the same ). "Don't do as our colleagues in neighbouring councils do, but if you do we'll yap and yap and yap." I think 'humbug' is an apt description for the Redeyes. |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
I could be wrong, but I reckon that Blaenau Gwent people will be much more interested in what Blaenau Gwent council does than what neighbouring authorities are doing. Perhaps where they may make comparisons with other Local Authorities is in council tax levels which I understand is Blaenau Gwent 4.95%, Monmouthshire 4.95% with no service cuts, Newport 3.9%, Torfaen 3.5%, Caerphilly 2.9%. Last year BG came in at 3.9% the lowest for six years. | ||||||||
| Rocke |
I could be wrong but I reckon that Blaenau Gwent people are much more interested in how much they have to pay, not the percentage increase. Since this council's finances have been shaped by having high Council Tax levels in the past - in fact since CTax was introduced - it's very difficult to undo that policy. I remember the election drivel brought out last year, something of the ilk 'Council Tax increase only 3.9%'. That's 'we've only increased your Council Tax by 3.9% this year, aren't we good' ? We're partly stuck with high CTax because previous Councils decided not to look into reasonable cost-cutting and simply used Council Tax as the top-up whenever the money from WAG ( and variations ) didn't cover the costs of the services etc. being run. That's meant that virtually forever and a day the Council Tax part of our income is contributing a higher percentage to the overall pot than anyone would like. There's also something else that no-one seems to have taken on board. We bought our house for £42,500 in 1991. Yet when Council Tax was introduced it was placed in Band A. That meant that we were billed for a fair bit less than perhaps we should have been. I would say that this isn't unique - in fact I know it's widespread. You see, when the Valuations were done in the area of the council I worked for at the time, Estate Agents ( who got I think £10 per property ) would basically use their knowledge of a particular area ( or ring up another agent in the area, if they were from outside ) to give the valuation. That might expalin why a 3-bedroom semi in upper Alma St. was banded the same as the other terraced houses in that part of the street. It seems perverse but if every property was properly banded then the chances are that our CTax charges would, for the majority of people, be lower because the spread of Bands would have been more realistic. ie. with more properties in higher bands there would be a bigger CTax 'pot' but because the council sets the levels only to cover the shortfall between WAG money and services provided then the original levels would have been lower. Therefore the percentage increases made every year would not have resulted in the generally high levels of CTax we're all paying. Except of course those whose outgoings are supported by entitlement to benefits. It's quite perverse but in theory CTax levels could be made so high that virtually everyone in the Borough could be brought into the Council Tax Benefit safety net. Obviously that wouldn't happen but you can see that there is a benefit ( pun not intended ) of having high CTax levels in a socially-deprived area. It's a complex issue as you can see and in all truth one that can probably be made to be all things to all men by almost all politicians. The clever thing about this tax of course is that it's very much a local thing. It's the councils that are held accountable. Yet what they set it at is determined in the main by how little money comes from central government, because Council Tax is the instrument used to plug the gap. That's why you hear so much about cutting services. Some authorities regard CTax as sacrosanct and look to cost-cutting first. Others go the oposite way - services are the priority and someone pays for them. ( Guess which one Blaenau Gwent was ? ) |
||||||||
| justawinge |
Could someone please explain the report into days Argus about the financial meeting yesterday , it says that Labour made a proposal and it was voted out = 21 to 13. I read it as there is money available in the pot and it could mean that council tax would be lower and no loss to services. ????? 
|
||||||||
| Rocke |
I'll try. If I explain it from my point of view perhaps it will at least give an idea of the problems we have, including not working together. Labour proposed taking around £450,000 from money allocated for Statutory Testing. This is for electrical testing etc. you know, the sort of thing that happens in work etc. every year. With this money they felt the shortfall that would cause the loss of impounding ( £100,000 ), the shortfall which was bringing about lighting switch-offs ( £100,000 ) and a sum of £250,000 to reduce the proposed increase in Council Tax to 3.6% ( slightly lower than the national average ), instead of the 4.95% put forward. At first glance this seemed ( to me ) to be the sort of 'outside the box' thinking that often produces the goods. Unfortunately when the figures were looked into by the finance people the reduction in CTax increase from 4.95% to 3.6% would actually cost £294,000. That's 'only' £44,000 - but it's also 17%+ out. If every other figure in their proposals were out by that much then we'd have a problem. There was also an issue as to whether the available 'pot' was actually available. Labour's proposal was supported by the fact that only £150,000 out of a budgetted £450,000 had been spent from that 'pot' thus far, implying an underspend and the possibility of drastically reducing that budget for the coming year, thereby freeing up funds. However, the relevant Director did a bit of work and informed us that a further £150,000 was in the system ready for payment ie. invoices received ansd authorised and virtually all of the remainder was committed - work orders etc. to be completed by 31st March. Therefore I wasn't convinced that it was viable. Moreover, a debate ensued as to whether the money was 'Capital' or 'Revenue'. Capital is, very simplistically, 'one-off' or 'only every few years' expenses, Revenue is running costs. eg. Buying a car is capital, running it is revenue. These types can't be swapped. Since running impounding services and powering street lighting is revenue we possibly wouldn't have been able to 'vire' the money, as it's termed. Hence I didn't think it in the Borough ( and people)'s interest, so voted against. It's a pity that there wasn't co-operation in trying to come up with a budget, because it's possible ( likely even ? ) that the experience of some opposition members coupled with a new approach might have paid dividends. Anyway, no doubt there'll be more of this. ( This week's 'week that was' most certainly...... ). |
||||||||
| normanivor |
switch off of st lightsi was just wondering where does health and safety come in with the switch off .of so many street lights they seem to get involved with much less dangerous things that go on, i feel crime will increase in our borough of blaenau gwent when this starts 
|
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
The Labour proposal was in fact 3.85 which was costed by the Director of Resources and his team during the meeting after we had suggested it was 3.6. We accepted the calculation and proposed accordingly. The coalition kicked for touch one Dennis Hughes who you may recall argued for a higher tax last year made his usual "common sense" intervention and warned of the risk involved. I pointed out there are pretty high risks involved in having animals on the highway and in street lights going off at midnight. Des Hillman who does Leader of the Council impersonations made the ludicrous comments that if the shutting off of lights don't work they can be put back on, that if the straying problem persists it will be reviewed every 3 months and there are not enough wheeled bins to go round. He would have been better off adjourning for 30 minutes and accepting the Labour amendment, but that involves thinking on your feet. I implored Independents to demonstrate independence when they voted and for the People's voice to speak for the people, but alas.... | ||||||||
| cowpat |
Re: switch off of st lights
FIRST - my friend ( who I'm showing the ropes to ) has allowed me to use his pseudonym, since I'm giving lessons as it were. ( rocke here, btw ). There are certain issues that must be considered when creating potential 'dark holes', norman. 1) Road junctions need to be well lit; 2) Public safety is a must, hence the police and emergency services will be asked to appraise any proposal put forward. There is a possible issue ( not brought up in Council (yet) ) that a Council has an obligation to maintain lights ( and lighting ) where lighting is in place. That means it might not be so clear cut as to just switch off. As for Blaenau Gwent, I gather that most residential areas have the older-style lighting that can't be switched off easily. I would hope - in fact I'll ask the question if no-one else does - that every area that gets shutdown will have valid reasons for doing so, the police et al's OK and all relevant details will automatically be communicated to Ward members, with all members being able to have access to every proposal. In fact I would hope that members will be able to have a say in their wards, following consultation with the people. That's all from rocke. Cheers. |
||||||||
| Rocke |
Marvellous isn't it ?! Someone asks a question and one of the responses merely uses the opportunity to answer as the trigger for personal attacks. I'd like to point out that my reply was a far better advert for the Labour Party than 'hedleymccarthy' themselves ( and clearly straight, since it hasn't been taken to task ) Anyway, just to make the point that Des Hillman has been Leader of the Council for longer than Cllr. Hedley McCarthy was - and probably ever will be. Also, Cllr. Hedley McCarthy annoyed at least one Councillor ( me, surprise, surprise ) with his thoroughly paradoxical pleading for Independents to 'demonstrate their independence'. This after sneeringly referring to them as 'all sorts' at times and of being subject to a whip during the meeting. A bit like George Bush asking the Iranian President to help reduce the price of oil by massively over-producing. And of course, independence means just that - thinking for yourself, not being inviegled into becoming a sheep by any other name. |
||||||||
| Tchambuli9 |
Abstained did you not? | ||||||||
| Tchambuli9 |
]QUOTE ROCKE
Anyway, just to make the point that Des Hillman has been Leader of the Council for longer than Cllr. Hedley McCarthy was - and probably ever will be. Also, Cllr. Hedley McCarthy annoyed at least one Councillor ( me, surprise, surprise ) with his thoroughly paradoxical pleading for Independents to 'demonstrate their independence'. I'm not interested in your feelings for your leader and less so in your views of me, it is up to you if you can't make up your mind whether our people should pay 4.95 or 3.85 and can't decide whether the street lights should go off at midnight or not, or if you are in two minds about sheep roaming the roads. Anyway didn't people from these valleys, The Chartists march on Newport and do battle for the right to abstain? |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Wow Wow Wow, I'm using Tchambuli's P.C.
Logged in as me and I'm appearing as Tchambuli????? What's going on and I've only had 1 glass of wine.
|
||||||||
| Tchambuli9 |
Excuse me 2 glasses of wine and it's your turn to do the dishes.
|
||||||||
| Dai 6 |
So your words are coming out under Tchambuli's ID? There are times when sarcasm really isn't enough! |
||||||||
| Dai 6 |
If he had been listened to last year I wonder what cuts could have been avoided this year? |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
Never put down to malice etc. | ||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
How about 3.85 no cuts to street lighting or impounding? |
||||||||
| Rocke |
Tell the whole truth. I abstained from the proposal put forward by the administration, after I voted AGAINST what on the face of it could have been a possible solution put forward by the Labour Party ( and generally well argued for by one senior member of the Opposition Group, who wasn't impersonating their Leader ) because the maths were shown not to be correct and hence I couldn't be convinced that there wasn't any other parts that might have been wrong. It's that lack of attention to detail that got us into a few fixes in the past. |
||||||||
| Rocke |
Says it all, doesn't it ? First - there's the absolute proof that 'hedleymccarthy' uses another pseudonym. I hope it's the first time they've done it, otherwise the assurances we had when dai6 asked about pseudonym usage would now be proven to be disengenuous at best. What you pair need to realise is that one or other has ticked the 'automatically log me on at each visit' box. That means the PC has a cookie. The consequence of that is that whenever ANYONE uses the PC to access Abertillery Online they'll be signed in. TUT TUT !!! Quite ironic really - 'hedless' and 'tchambles'. Which brings me on to the next point. Cllr. Des Hillman is NOT 'my leader'. Cllr. Hillman leads an administration composed of people who, like me, are prepared to work together in an attempt to ensure that this Borough supports the hopes and aspirations of all its citizens in the most effective and efficient manner. ( Well, that's what I'm there for anyway ). I regard myself as having a good relationship with a significant number of my fellow councillors, covering the entire spectrum of views as represented on the Council. There are, in truth, some that I simply could not work with and, regrettably, an extremely small number that I simply would not even wish to work with. Well, I've started so I'll finish - one, to be precise. The problem is, that one - due to their position - publicly embodies the Labour Group as a whole. Our American friends put a complete prat like George W in the White House, Mr. President embodies America, and therefore what he does gets cast upon the US and its citizens at large. Even if he was regarded as a renegade, it's still the people's fault for electing him in the first place. So it is with the Labour Group ( sorry to my fellow Members if this is overstepping the mark and interfering in Party business, but he started it......... ). As the Leader appears so does the Party. Rabble rouse, call people all the names under the sun ( that the Code of Conduct allows ), make sneering remarks, get into arguments that are irrelevant, detract from the very real business of running things, appear to be far more concerned at rubbishing fellow Members than providing solutions and effective opposition with strong debate. Do that and what can you say ? Just look at the contribution that 'hedleymccarthy' makes to this forum. They ( for now none of us can know who is pressing the keys, though we all have our ideas as to who pushes the buttons ) only seem to highlight bad things. They then seek to crank up the pressure by adding highly subjective remarks, so subjective that they become a joke. This sort of behaviour then gets moved into the public view. Just look at The Gazette. Full of letters from people who seemingly have nothing better to do than point out problems and use it as any excuse to deride properly elected representatives. Don't the Legges, Dobbs and Nancarrows of this Borough realise that by slagging off non-Labour councillors, a non-Labour AM and a non-Labour MP that they are demonstrating that they only have eyes for one Party, so their views can be discounted. They are unable to take an all-round view of things. Don't those self-same idiots ( for they are, if they can't realise the damage they've done, not only to their reputation but The Party's ) realise that what they're actually doing is trying to ram down the electorate's throat that the electors themselves made a wrong decision ? Go on, put it on the next Party Manifesto when Agent Smith's turn comes. "You all got it wrong last time. Dai Davies won't tell you what his expense payments entailed". "You people in reality voted to give Trish Law a free Sat-Nav". I think not. Anyway, back to the media. Look at the articles. Genuine public concern and the public's right to know. So the papers send their reporters and photographers out to see for themselves. Angst over the Foundry Bridge ? Good old Cllr. Hedley McCarthy and his minions organising a petition to pressure the Council into getting the job done. Good bit of local journalism back in the autumn. Pity Cllr. McCarthy knew at the time of publication that the intention was to have it opened by Christmas anyway ( come on if you want, make me prove it in public, not just on here ). Anger and a protest over cuts to social care in the budget-setting process ? Well, as you read from me on Sat. 28th Feb. they weren't cuts ( savings by changing the mix of services provided ) and they weren't going ahead. The meeting on the Monday was to formally approve the removal of the original proposal. And what happens ? There's good old Cllr. McCarthy again. The saviour of the universe, this time having marshalled the troops of the union brigade. So - he got them to organise a protest against er.... a proposal to withdraw proposals to make savings. One minute it's 'protest against change' ( which is fair enough ) and the next it's 'OK then, we'll protest against non-change'. There's one common word there - 'protest'. That's all it seems to be doesn't it ? Protest. Traders and the public signing petitions that the petitioners know are irrelevant. Union members standing out in the weather protesting about things that their leaders should know aren't going to happen. ( Cllr. McCarthy had access to the same information as me ). Methinks he doth protest to much. Perhaps those he does a disservice to might think so as well. |
||||||||
| hedleymccarthy |
What you pair need to realise is that one or other has ticked the 'automatically log me on at each visit' box.
That means the PC has a cookie. The consequence of that is that whenever ANYONE uses the PC to access Abertillery Online they'll be signed in. TUT TUT !!! Quite ironic really - 'hedless' and 'tchambles'. Firstly Thanks for the tip about Abertillery online usage, believe me I need all the tips I can get on computers as Martyn will testify. Shame you've always got to resort to personal abuse all the same. Have you always referred to people who disagree with you as idiots? perhaps that's the problem. Secondly what's your hang up about pseudonyms you have already made a gaffe about investigating an IP address and bullied Buster G off the site, so I suppose you've probably investiged mine - who cares
Thirdly I thought you were an expert in Local Govt. Finance so why when the Director of Resources announced that 3.85 would work, did you doubt the calculation. OK we calculated 3.6 but that wasn't too bad considering we were naughty and didn't take part in the budget working party, God knows what those that were attending were doing
Finall I don't disagree with everything you say it's just you say so much I can't be bothered to read half of it. Is this called Cyber diarrhoea? Anyway joking apart I work on the premise that you can test your argumrents on me in the Council Chamber. |
||||||||
| justawinge |
A public meeting is to be held in Tredegar 19th March to discuss the proposal by Blaenau Gwent council to switch off street lights fortnightly refuse collections and stopping impounding straying animals. councillors and police will be invited
( www. Tedegar.co.uk) Has anyone organised a public meeting for the Abertillery district ? |
||||||||
| Rocke |
Here we go again look. 'Have you always referred to people who disagree with you as idiots?' Words into mouths, ideas into readers' heads again. The wording was "Don't those self-same idiots ( for they are, if they can't realise the damage they've done, not only to their reputation but The Party's )". Note - absolutely nothing about them disagreeing with me. I've made a statement and explained why I think they are idiots - yet we just get another grotesquely distorted statment back. 'Thirdly I thought you were an expert in Local Govt. Finance so why when the Director of Resources announced that 3.85 would work, did you doubt the calculation. OK we calculated 3.6 but that wasn't too bad considering we were naughty and didn't take part in the budget working party, God knows what those that were attending were doing' Another piece of spin. This one is at least normal political practice. 3.6, 3.85 - doesn't look a lot does it ? However, that means it's actually 6.94% out. That's an error beyond acceptable bounds as far as I'm concerned. Now the biggest concern for me - in the words of whichever one of you wrote this post - 'when the Director of Resources announced that 3.85 would work, did you doubt the calculation' Why on Earth did we have to have our most senior finance staff costing the alternative proposals in the very meeting ? Surely advice was sought before that ? No wonder the figures were out. How could anyone support any of it with any confidence ? Next we come out with pathos - the reference to Buster G. Yet again an excuse for me to highlight the differences between us. The human side against those who sneeringly look down on the rest of us. When have I ever said 'your lot', or 'for those who may not...' etc. etc. And when has 'hedleymccarthy' ever said 'sorry' publicly ? 'Finall I don't disagree with everything you say it's just you say so much I can't be bothered to read half of it.' Strange that - most people do. I just think that it might stretch beyond your powers of concentration. Or perhaps you don't have to get too far before you realise the pain of the bullet hitting the foot again ? 'Anyway joking apart I work on the premise that you can test your argumrents on me in the Council Chamber.' You really wouldn't want that. You make enough of a fist of things on here - and you've plenty of time to plan your moves. Lord knows what a mess you'd get into in a live debate. Even the Leader of the Opposition was eclipsed last Tuesday. Mind you he seemed a bit subdued and left all the number crunching and meaty details of his party's alternative budget to his Deputy. Your entire campaign on here has been a PR disaster. There's no shape to it. It's just one spurious piece of politicking after another, rather than a sustained, coherent strategy to carefully point out issues, provide suggested solutions and generally convince the public that there is merit in some of the things said and done. Instead it's suffering from headless chicken syndrome. Is it little wonder that regard it as a tchambuls ? |
||||||||
| Rocke |
I'm not aware of one. Garv didn't say anything about The Party organising another great public event at The Mersh. ( Sorry - as you'll see from the last posting I'm adrenalised ). Anyway, I think it would be a good idea. We are elected representatives and should be able to put over the reasons why these things have come about. HOWEVER, it will also allow us to explain fully how things will affect the person in the street. As you'll see from this week's 'week that was' most people don't know, they've just either been fed incomplete information and left to think the wrong thing or have not had things fully explained to them, depending upon whether you look at it from an Opposition or Administration point of view. I've had a lot of chats over the weekend and it's surprising how many people don't actually know how they'll be affected. |
||||||||