Following on from my previous post, at our recent Association Management meeting, I proposed that the Bristol & South Gloucestershire Conservative Association should we petition the membership on removing Giles Chichester from our party list for the South West Region seat in the European Parliament, and that we collectively write to David Cameron urging him to request Ms Spelman's resignation from the role of Chairman of the Conservative Party
However I was unable to convince the rest of the team that now was the right time to take action; the consensus being that we should give both Mr Chichester and Ms Spelman the opportunity to discuss their financial arrangements with their respective ombudsman - the Quaestor's Office and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. However the Ladies' Committee has written to David Cameron to indicate their displeasure!
If you fancy getting involved in one of our local campaigns, now is a great time to start. We've got a Political Discussion Group taking place on June 19th (venue: 5 Westfield Park), and lots of canvassing to do in Bristol West and the other constituencies.
In other local news:
If you've got £195.00 to spare, you might be interested in a two-day pass to the Bristol Environmental
Technologies & Services Expo. I'm getting quite a lot of traffic to my blog article from people looking for their website. Looks like my Search-Engine Optimisation is better than theirs.
Tommorrow (June 10th), is the full Council of the City of Bristol. I'll be watching it over the Internet to see if I can see Shirley Marshall making one of her infrequent visits to our city. The Conservative Group have got a few pointed questions to ask of the ruling cabinet:
MQ2 COUNCILLOR J GOULANDRIS TO ASK COUNCILLOR P HAMMOND, DEPUTY LEADER AND EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR COHESION AND RAISING ACHIEVEMENT PUBLICATION OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOL REVIEW
- Q1. On reflection, does the Executive Member agree that the public consultation on the Primary School Review should not have been launched just before a one-week school holiday?
- Q3. The Executive Member is quoted as saying that the aim is 'to transform primary education in Bristol and continue (sic) to raise standards of achievements'. Why does he feel so little has been achieved in recent years in terms of improved results and achievements?
COUNCILLOR R EDDY TO ASK COUNCILLOR J PRICE, EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR HOMES AND STREETSCENE
- Q1. Please can the Executive Member confirm the current status of the urgent inquiry which was ordered after the distressing discovery of an 8-year old body in council accommodation at Mawdeley House, Bedminster, in early February 2008?
MQ18 COUNCILLOR B LEWIS TO ASK COUNCILLOR P HAMMOND, DEPUTY LEADER, AND EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR COHESION AND RAISING ACHIEVEMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL REVIEW
- Q1 Please can the executive Member provide me with the evidential basis behind his presumption in favour of super size primary schools to give the best possible education?
Primary education is a hot topic in the city at the moment. The contention of the council is that schools "do not give the best value for money for council tax payers". And yet the parents say they prefer these close-knit institutions. The Primary Review Consultation is the justification for this policy, but there will be no school closures before 2010, so there's still time to fix things..
One development that I only found out about recently (via Mr Vowles)is a plan by a group of parents to form their own Urban Village School. Their next meeting is June 17th at at the Malcolm X Centre, Ashley Road, St. Pauls. One to watch, perhaps, particularly with the involvement of ex-Cotham Grammar School head James Wetz.
13 June, 2008 - 13:19
I went to the open debate on Tuesday and was impressed by Mr Eddy's performance. He made a good point about limiting the ambitions of local government ("targets" in Labourspeak) to that which can be delivered, and got through an important amendment on policing which I am sure the citizens of Bristol would be pleased about if they knew of it. The Liberals surprised themselves (they said) by supporting it. Let us hope this was the start of sane co-operative local government in Bristol and something to build on after the next elections.
The new Assistant Chief Constable, John Long, was present throughout the debate. He has recently declared he wants to make Bristol the safest city in the world. If he were allowed, and enabled, to do that, there would be no need for half the expensively failing social and racial engineering policies (or "targets") beloved by the present administration. After all, it is the poor and the newly arrived who suffer most from crime and disorder. The rich and well-established can always move away to somewhere nicer and safer, or at least put themselves behind secure gates, and make their own arrangements. The fact of their doing this has its effect in all spheres of the city's life, including education and housing.
The same applies to the environment. If the council, having first restored law and order to Bristol's public places, making them safe for anyone to walk in, then turned their minds to clearing up the mess in the streets and keeping them and the parks and gardens in good order, they would again be doing something which would have the greatest effect on the lives of the poor. Rich people can and do esape the squalor of the city centre whenever they choose, but the poor and the newly arrived have only the filthy run down city to inhabit, and very demoralising for them it is.
So, local politicians, just concentrate on two things: crime and disorder, and the degraded city centre environment. If those two fundamental duties of local government were carried out and adhered to, then you could by all means set yourselves those other ambitious and all-embracing targets, and give yourselves any abstract titles you fancy. You would be forgiven.