Thursday, April 26, 2007
The 2007 Conservative Party Manifesto for Milton Keynes
Below is our manifesto for Milton Keynes. It is a strong manifesto that recognises the challenges ahead if the Conservatives take charge of the administration of Milton Keynes.
Only the Conservatives have produced a manifesto. It is the manifesto that sets out our policy commitments that shape our spending priorities. That money is your money, and I feel that you, the voter, have a right to know how that money is to spent. The spending priorities should not be shrouded in secrecy, and you should not be asked to hand over money "on trust", a trust which can be abused and that is exactly what our opponents aer asknig you to do by not publishing a manifesto.
Next Thursday, I hope you will consider the pledges being made to you both by me, and the Conservative party group I belong to when deciding who to vote for.
The Conservative Manifesto for Milton Keynes 2007
Milton Keynes is a vibrant and expanding city in all senses of the word. Whilst there are many serious issues that need to be addressed with its running, it is important also to recognise and advance all that is already good and flourishing within our City and Borough. Your local Conservatives are not only committed to necessary change within our authority, but also to the preservation of the essential character of the city centre, the rural surrounds, and the local parish structures that will deliver first class public services, while at the same time providing for freedom of choice.
Milton Keynes is a great place to live. But it could be so much better. If you share the Conservative vision of a Milton Keynes which is open to all, available to all, and operated for the benefit of all, then come and join us on May 3rd. We look forward to the exciting, but challenging times ahead.
Only the Conservatives have produced a manifesto. It is the manifesto that sets out our policy commitments that shape our spending priorities. That money is your money, and I feel that you, the voter, have a right to know how that money is to spent. The spending priorities should not be shrouded in secrecy, and you should not be asked to hand over money "on trust", a trust which can be abused and that is exactly what our opponents aer asknig you to do by not publishing a manifesto.
Next Thursday, I hope you will consider the pledges being made to you both by me, and the Conservative party group I belong to when deciding who to vote for.
The Conservative Manifesto for Milton Keynes 2007
Milton Keynes is a vibrant and expanding city in all senses of the word. Whilst there are many serious issues that need to be addressed with its running, it is important also to recognise and advance all that is already good and flourishing within our City and Borough. Your local Conservatives are not only committed to necessary change within our authority, but also to the preservation of the essential character of the city centre, the rural surrounds, and the local parish structures that will deliver first class public services, while at the same time providing for freedom of choice.
Milton Keynes is a great place to live. But it could be so much better. If you share the Conservative vision of a Milton Keynes which is open to all, available to all, and operated for the benefit of all, then come and join us on May 3rd. We look forward to the exciting, but challenging times ahead.
Our Manifesto Pledges on Growth and Expansion
Growth and Expansion
Local Conservatives have always resisted the imposition of mass housing expansion from central government, including the current obligation to find 70,000 new homes between now and 2031. We are also opposed to the urbanisation of the rural communities on the periphery of the city. But Conservatives are not opposed to organic growth, based on the needs of both the people and the business community of Milton Keynes. A vibrant city like Milton Keynes must not resist all growth, but it must be growth that is beneficial to all. A Conservative led administration will:
1) Continue to lobby for the replacement of Milton Keynes Partnerships (the undemocratically, government appointed Quango which is currently overseeing the expansion of our city). A future Conservative government is already committed to winding up MKP within the first 100 days of its election to power, and replacing it with a democratically elected body, accountable to the cabinet of Milton Keynes Council.
2) Continue the campaign of I before E (Infrastructure before Expansion), so well championed across the city in recent years by your local Conservatives.
3) Fight for a slowing down of the rate of housing delivery currently being imposed by the Labour Government to a rate that is beneficial to the people and businesses of Milton Keynes.
4) Continue to campaign for the people of Milton Keynes to have the final say on the expansion of their city, rather than having those decisions made for them by civil servants at Westminster.
5) Continue to fight and resist an expansion of Milton Keynes to the East of the M1 Motorway.
6) Give support for regeneration projects which are so desperately needed in some of our older and more run down areas, but only after local consultation and with a bottom up approach, with the parishes concerned being the instigators of such projects by means of the Parish Plan.
7) Continue to support a 30% level of affordable housing (and by that we mean affordable to the buyer, not just the developer), but with a much greater emphasis on the concept of shared ownership, the principle so long adopted by the Conservative party of a hand up and not a hand out.
8) Strive to implement the maximum parking standards in all new housing estates to avoid the problems which are caused when standards are allowed to slip.
Local Conservatives have always resisted the imposition of mass housing expansion from central government, including the current obligation to find 70,000 new homes between now and 2031. We are also opposed to the urbanisation of the rural communities on the periphery of the city. But Conservatives are not opposed to organic growth, based on the needs of both the people and the business community of Milton Keynes. A vibrant city like Milton Keynes must not resist all growth, but it must be growth that is beneficial to all. A Conservative led administration will:
1) Continue to lobby for the replacement of Milton Keynes Partnerships (the undemocratically, government appointed Quango which is currently overseeing the expansion of our city). A future Conservative government is already committed to winding up MKP within the first 100 days of its election to power, and replacing it with a democratically elected body, accountable to the cabinet of Milton Keynes Council.
2) Continue the campaign of I before E (Infrastructure before Expansion), so well championed across the city in recent years by your local Conservatives.
3) Fight for a slowing down of the rate of housing delivery currently being imposed by the Labour Government to a rate that is beneficial to the people and businesses of Milton Keynes.
4) Continue to campaign for the people of Milton Keynes to have the final say on the expansion of their city, rather than having those decisions made for them by civil servants at Westminster.
5) Continue to fight and resist an expansion of Milton Keynes to the East of the M1 Motorway.
6) Give support for regeneration projects which are so desperately needed in some of our older and more run down areas, but only after local consultation and with a bottom up approach, with the parishes concerned being the instigators of such projects by means of the Parish Plan.
7) Continue to support a 30% level of affordable housing (and by that we mean affordable to the buyer, not just the developer), but with a much greater emphasis on the concept of shared ownership, the principle so long adopted by the Conservative party of a hand up and not a hand out.
8) Strive to implement the maximum parking standards in all new housing estates to avoid the problems which are caused when standards are allowed to slip.
Our Manifesto Pledges on Corporate Governance and Taxation
Corporate Governance
A Conservative administration is committed to a wholesale review of council services and functions. It is important to always obtain maximum value for money, your money! So it is important to identify those areas of council services which require more resources, as well as those where money is currently being wasted. Conservatives believe in a bottom up approach of government and not a top down, with individuals always having the right to input into the process of how and when money is utilised and spent.
Taxation
Conservatives have always been committed to the principle of low taxation, based on the principle of an individual’s choice to spend their own money on the goods and services they feel they most need and require. Under a Conservative Administration Milton Keynes council will:
1) Commit to limit council tax rises each year to no more than the underlying rate of inflation.
2) Continue to press hard on the Government for a fair funding settlement for the residents of Milton Keynes in order to properly finance the delivery of first class public services.
3) To successfully manage the resources of the authority by careful and considerate administration, and a move away from the wasteful approach demonstrated by previous administrations.
A Conservative administration is committed to a wholesale review of council services and functions. It is important to always obtain maximum value for money, your money! So it is important to identify those areas of council services which require more resources, as well as those where money is currently being wasted. Conservatives believe in a bottom up approach of government and not a top down, with individuals always having the right to input into the process of how and when money is utilised and spent.
Taxation
Conservatives have always been committed to the principle of low taxation, based on the principle of an individual’s choice to spend their own money on the goods and services they feel they most need and require. Under a Conservative Administration Milton Keynes council will:
1) Commit to limit council tax rises each year to no more than the underlying rate of inflation.
2) Continue to press hard on the Government for a fair funding settlement for the residents of Milton Keynes in order to properly finance the delivery of first class public services.
3) To successfully manage the resources of the authority by careful and considerate administration, and a move away from the wasteful approach demonstrated by previous administrations.
Our Manifesto Pledges on Housing, Environment, and Transport
Housing and Neighbourhood Services.
It is Conservative policy to deliver and supply first class local services. In order that this might be delivered it is sometimes necessary for an administration to hold its hands up and admit that it cannot do this without outside help. Proper maintenance and upkeep of Council properties is one such example. Without the input of a third party, the housing stock will continue to fall into worse states of disrepair. For this reason the Conservative administration will:
1) Face up to the challenges which have been pushed aside by successive administrations in Milton Keynes over past years, and recognise that to carry on as we are is not an option.
2) Explore all avenues open to ensure that all Council Properties can reach the decent homes standard by 2009.
3) Having carefully considered each option, both at policy development committee and Cabinet level, write to and inform all tenants of the options open to them, and to subsequently ballot them on the possible ways forward.
4) Keep tenants fully appraised at all times of the latest situation and any decisions which will affect their own day to day well being.
5) Recognise that it is the tenant and not the budget which is the main concern of the council, and direct the department in the best way to serve the needs of the tenant.
Environment
Milton Keynes has much to boast about with its open spaces and green landscape. But there are many parts of the city and borough which are currently blighted by graffiti, fly tipping, and rubbish. A Conservative administration will:
1) Tackle the route causes of the problems of dirty streets and areas, as well as the symptoms, in conjunction with regular deep cleaning and swift clearance of problem areas.
2) Promote a regular programme of street cleaning and litter picking, with increases of services in problem areas, in order to promote cleanliness and the inevitable feel good factor which goes with it.
3) Retain the weekly domestic collection of both black bag refuse and recycling, but with a greater emphasis on how to expand the current recycling scheme in order to continue to work towards a zero waste policy in Milton Keynes.
4) Explore more economically, and ecologically, sound ways of disposing of our black bag waste than the current landfill methods, but continuing Milton Keynes’ adopted policy of opposing incineration.
5) Champion the e-government and electronic communication agenda for Milton Keynes to reduce the demand for paper bureaucracy.
6) Place a much greater emphasis on the role of the Parks Trust (one of MK’s greatest assets) in the management and preservation of our open spaces.
Travel and Transport
A city and borough like Milton Keynes relies on the ability to travel quickly and freely. That is why it is essential to continue to recognise all that has made Milton Keynes the success that it is, such as the grid road system. Local Conservatives have always supported an effective and efficient integrated public transport system to allow travel for those who do not have access to the motor car, but not at the expense of the motorist. After all, Milton Keynes was built and designed around the car. Specifically a Conservative controlled administration will:
1) Implement an integrated public transport system to ensure that public transport is widely available to all who wish or need to use it.
2) Continue to support the motorist, so heavily penalised by previous administrations, by positively promoting the preservation of the entire grid road system, the dualling of specific parts of it, and its extension into the designated expansion areas.
3) Licence the CMK retailers and commercial operators to impose their own city centre parking charges in order to promote the facilities that MK has to offer.
4) Continue to press for the dualling of the A421 as a southern relief road for Milton Keynes, and the construction of a “Junction 13a” on the M1 in order to enhance traffic flows and movements.
5) Support the proposed east – west rail link, and continue to support the campaign for more frequent rail links to London and a new direct Eurostar link to Europe.
6) Continue to support the current upgrading of Milton Keynes Railway Station in order that it is fit for purpose for a 21st Century City.
7) Support the extension, and proper maintenance of, the red way network in order to provide safe passage for those who wish to walk and cycle.
It is Conservative policy to deliver and supply first class local services. In order that this might be delivered it is sometimes necessary for an administration to hold its hands up and admit that it cannot do this without outside help. Proper maintenance and upkeep of Council properties is one such example. Without the input of a third party, the housing stock will continue to fall into worse states of disrepair. For this reason the Conservative administration will:
1) Face up to the challenges which have been pushed aside by successive administrations in Milton Keynes over past years, and recognise that to carry on as we are is not an option.
2) Explore all avenues open to ensure that all Council Properties can reach the decent homes standard by 2009.
3) Having carefully considered each option, both at policy development committee and Cabinet level, write to and inform all tenants of the options open to them, and to subsequently ballot them on the possible ways forward.
4) Keep tenants fully appraised at all times of the latest situation and any decisions which will affect their own day to day well being.
5) Recognise that it is the tenant and not the budget which is the main concern of the council, and direct the department in the best way to serve the needs of the tenant.
Environment
Milton Keynes has much to boast about with its open spaces and green landscape. But there are many parts of the city and borough which are currently blighted by graffiti, fly tipping, and rubbish. A Conservative administration will:
1) Tackle the route causes of the problems of dirty streets and areas, as well as the symptoms, in conjunction with regular deep cleaning and swift clearance of problem areas.
2) Promote a regular programme of street cleaning and litter picking, with increases of services in problem areas, in order to promote cleanliness and the inevitable feel good factor which goes with it.
3) Retain the weekly domestic collection of both black bag refuse and recycling, but with a greater emphasis on how to expand the current recycling scheme in order to continue to work towards a zero waste policy in Milton Keynes.
4) Explore more economically, and ecologically, sound ways of disposing of our black bag waste than the current landfill methods, but continuing Milton Keynes’ adopted policy of opposing incineration.
5) Champion the e-government and electronic communication agenda for Milton Keynes to reduce the demand for paper bureaucracy.
6) Place a much greater emphasis on the role of the Parks Trust (one of MK’s greatest assets) in the management and preservation of our open spaces.
Travel and Transport
A city and borough like Milton Keynes relies on the ability to travel quickly and freely. That is why it is essential to continue to recognise all that has made Milton Keynes the success that it is, such as the grid road system. Local Conservatives have always supported an effective and efficient integrated public transport system to allow travel for those who do not have access to the motor car, but not at the expense of the motorist. After all, Milton Keynes was built and designed around the car. Specifically a Conservative controlled administration will:
1) Implement an integrated public transport system to ensure that public transport is widely available to all who wish or need to use it.
2) Continue to support the motorist, so heavily penalised by previous administrations, by positively promoting the preservation of the entire grid road system, the dualling of specific parts of it, and its extension into the designated expansion areas.
3) Licence the CMK retailers and commercial operators to impose their own city centre parking charges in order to promote the facilities that MK has to offer.
4) Continue to press for the dualling of the A421 as a southern relief road for Milton Keynes, and the construction of a “Junction 13a” on the M1 in order to enhance traffic flows and movements.
5) Support the proposed east – west rail link, and continue to support the campaign for more frequent rail links to London and a new direct Eurostar link to Europe.
6) Continue to support the current upgrading of Milton Keynes Railway Station in order that it is fit for purpose for a 21st Century City.
7) Support the extension, and proper maintenance of, the red way network in order to provide safe passage for those who wish to walk and cycle.
Our Manifesto pledges on Education, Law and Order, and Employment
Education
Conservatives in Milton Keynes have a vision and determination to see that we have some of the top schools in the country. A Conservative Council managed Education Authority will become one of the most effective in the country. The Conservative pledge is that all schools will be good schools. We have the policies to meet the pledge across our primary schools by allowing them greater freedoms and less bureaucratic interference, allowing staff and parents to have the final say on all issues. Some secondary schools across MK will need closer attention, but the standards of education and the quality of school buildings will be greatly improved. We will strive to ensure that schools that are poorly regarded by parents and pupils will become the first choice school for people living closest to them. We pledge to fund schools to the levels set by the Government, and to spend more. We will support new and innovative ways of generating investment and introduce new behavioural management techniques to keep disruption in the classroom to a minimum through investment in a revamped and strengthened Pupil Referral Unit.
Specifically in Milton Keynes, Conservatives will;
1) We commit to properly fund our schools.
2) We will motivate all school staff properly with strong support, proper funding, and a commitment to put right those areas where there are still challenges.
3) We will develop, and deliver, high value schemes to enhance school buildings.
4) We will protect rural schools and faith schools which play such a vital part in the communities in which they serve.
5) Pledge to deliver new schools and education facilities on time and within budget, learning from the costly mistakes of our predecessors.
Law and Order
Your local Conservative’s know all too well of the consequences and difficulties that crime and anti-social behaviour bring with them. A Conservative led administration is determined to get to tackle the root causes of crime, as well as tackling the consequences. Specifically Conservatives will:
1) Give a greater priority and standing to the “Crime and Community Safety Partnership” which currently acts as the liaison and working group between the police and the council.
2) Reinstate the powers of the Traveller Management Unit (TMU) in order that those who adopt a traveller life style do so without impinging on the lives of the ordinary citizens of Milton Keynes.
3) Support and promote a fully staffed, 24 hours a day, seven days a week environmental services helpline to give the citizens of MK the ability to contact the council and report problems and disturbances that are not of a criminal nature.
4) Local Conservatives fully support the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) initiative which is aimed at promoting community safety, tackling local problems, and reducing fear of crime. We agree to work alongside other key individuals who are representatives of the agencies from the voluntary and public sectors working in the community, together with local people to identify, and resolve, priority concerns and to further assist with crime prevention and community safety projects.
Employment, Business, and Prosperity
Local Conservatives recognise the importance of commerce, business, and industry to this new city as well as the rural areas of the borough. A Conservative led administration will strive to work with local business and business organisations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, to develop policies that will both enhance our existing businesses and attract new investment, but at all times keeping the needs of local people at the forefront of our thinking. A Conservative Council will take the leading role in setting the employment strategy for Milton Keynes rather than being dictated to by central government or any of its Quangos.
Conservatives in Milton Keynes have a vision and determination to see that we have some of the top schools in the country. A Conservative Council managed Education Authority will become one of the most effective in the country. The Conservative pledge is that all schools will be good schools. We have the policies to meet the pledge across our primary schools by allowing them greater freedoms and less bureaucratic interference, allowing staff and parents to have the final say on all issues. Some secondary schools across MK will need closer attention, but the standards of education and the quality of school buildings will be greatly improved. We will strive to ensure that schools that are poorly regarded by parents and pupils will become the first choice school for people living closest to them. We pledge to fund schools to the levels set by the Government, and to spend more. We will support new and innovative ways of generating investment and introduce new behavioural management techniques to keep disruption in the classroom to a minimum through investment in a revamped and strengthened Pupil Referral Unit.
Specifically in Milton Keynes, Conservatives will;
1) We commit to properly fund our schools.
2) We will motivate all school staff properly with strong support, proper funding, and a commitment to put right those areas where there are still challenges.
3) We will develop, and deliver, high value schemes to enhance school buildings.
4) We will protect rural schools and faith schools which play such a vital part in the communities in which they serve.
5) Pledge to deliver new schools and education facilities on time and within budget, learning from the costly mistakes of our predecessors.
Law and Order
Your local Conservative’s know all too well of the consequences and difficulties that crime and anti-social behaviour bring with them. A Conservative led administration is determined to get to tackle the root causes of crime, as well as tackling the consequences. Specifically Conservatives will:
1) Give a greater priority and standing to the “Crime and Community Safety Partnership” which currently acts as the liaison and working group between the police and the council.
2) Reinstate the powers of the Traveller Management Unit (TMU) in order that those who adopt a traveller life style do so without impinging on the lives of the ordinary citizens of Milton Keynes.
3) Support and promote a fully staffed, 24 hours a day, seven days a week environmental services helpline to give the citizens of MK the ability to contact the council and report problems and disturbances that are not of a criminal nature.
4) Local Conservatives fully support the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) initiative which is aimed at promoting community safety, tackling local problems, and reducing fear of crime. We agree to work alongside other key individuals who are representatives of the agencies from the voluntary and public sectors working in the community, together with local people to identify, and resolve, priority concerns and to further assist with crime prevention and community safety projects.
Employment, Business, and Prosperity
Local Conservatives recognise the importance of commerce, business, and industry to this new city as well as the rural areas of the borough. A Conservative led administration will strive to work with local business and business organisations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, to develop policies that will both enhance our existing businesses and attract new investment, but at all times keeping the needs of local people at the forefront of our thinking. A Conservative Council will take the leading role in setting the employment strategy for Milton Keynes rather than being dictated to by central government or any of its Quangos.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The true positions vs the Lib Dem leaflet lies
I’ve seen some “interesting” literature being put out by the Lib Dems in the run up to the election. Most of it is packed with lies, half-truths, or just sheer muck raking that borders on the slanderous. Here is a selection of some of the more outrageous with a response for each.
The “Handing over casework” leaflet
In their last leaflet that went around the villages is a photograph of Pat Seymour handing over files to their candidate with the caption “Cllr Seymour hands over just some of the casework folders…”
Taking this at face value, this is a breach of the Data Protection Act as party activists have no official standing as far as casework is concerned and are thus not allowed access to anything relating to it. At the very least it is a breach of confidence, and Cllrs have guidelines issued by MKC on how to handle casework information so there is no excuse of “I didn’t know”, not after 14 years experience anyway.
When questioned by the Citizen Newspaper the excuse was that the files only contained “parish council minutes, planning application details, and a report on cycle paths”. I don't buy that for a second!
So the bottom line is that either Cllr Seymour breached the Data Protection Act and thought she would get away with it, then attempted to cover herself by lying to the newspaper, or there was a lie printed on their election literature designed to purposefully mislead the public, in which case the agent is legally responsible. Either way, they lied.
Filgrave School
The lie: The current leaflet shows the Lib Dems outside Filgrave School decrying the closure and claiming to defend rural schools from the marauding hands of Bucks Conservatives.
The truth: Since the creation of Milton Keynes as a Unitary Authority the responsibility for Education rests with MK Council. Bucks County Council, albeit Conservative run, can no more close schools in MK in 2007 than can the Martian League of Aliens!
Filgrave School closed in 1989 (18 years ago!) with a total of 6 pupils on it’s role and 2 of those pupils were due to transfer to Olney Middle School the following September with no applications for places or children in the village in the age group to attend the school. I spoke to a former Governor of the school who herself admitted that there was no viable way of keeping a school open for just 4 pupils!
Also, it is worth looking at the Lib Dem national party's recent attempts to abolish faith schools (in all but name) by denying them the ability to select their own pupils based on the wishes of their parents to have them educated within the context of their faith*. I just wonder how someone can be a member of a party that wants to effectively abolish CofE and RC education, and yet claim to defend CofE schools and be a governor of one! If my opponent had any principles whatsoever he would “normalise” his position with either the Liberal Demorcrat party by resigning his governorship, or with the school by adopting the position that faith schools should be able to set their own selection criteria, which the Lib Dems have attempted to prevent. The question must be asked "what does this say about the integrity of an individual who would have maintain such a conflict of interests, and if the issue arose of his national party attempting to abolish the right of faith schools to adopt their own selection criteria, would he represent the wishes of the community in supporting the schools, or those of his party?" What utter, shameless, hypocrisy!
A509 Safety Improvements
The lie: The Lib Dems have done a lot to improve road safety on the A509.
The Truth: On June 17th 2005 a young man was killed in front of me as I got in my car and he hit a mobile crane head-on doing close to 80mph and the wreckage of his car ended up about 50 feet from my front door. I was the first on the scene.
I phoned Clls Seymour and Mabbutt neither of whom were particularly keen to do much more than wait for the inquest of the previous fatal accident 6 months earlier. After talking to my neighbours I obtained copies of the petitions that went to the Parish Council and the Parish Council’s letters to Cllr Seymour going back 9 years that each elicited nothing but a holding response, or no response at all.
I wrote a letter, printed 300 copies off at home, and with my wife, Carole, put it through every door in Emberton. I fielded phone calls, offers of help, letters from residents who agreed with me, and I set up a public meeting to discuss the matter and lay the demands of the village with our Cllrs.
Both Cllrs Mabbutt and Seymour attended with Trevor Dove and Kevan Paradine from the traffic department and they proposed no more than new signage (which was going up anyway) and had a pre-prepared press release shouting about this “significant achievement”. Over the next 2 hours they listened to angry residents, the constituency MP, and me as I threatened to stand at the next election unless they did something. It was funny how they changed their tune and promised most of what we wanted in 6 months. We got some of those promises honoured, but not all, and mostly 12 months late! The one thing we didn’t get, and which I will continue to fight for, is a roundabout at the Emberton turn. There was another fatal crash there last week!
It’s also worth noting that there wasn’t a single Lib Dem “Focus Team” member present, but to read their leaflets you would think my opponent was responsible for all those improvements. I’d suggest looking back through the archive of the Olney Phonebox (available online at www.phoneboxmagazine.co.uk ) to see each monthly report from Mark Lancaster where he keeps watch on the inactivity.
The whole “Bucks Conservatives” lie
The Lie: Everything bad is down to Bucks Conservatives, especially where expansion is concerned.
The Truth: Since the creation of Milton Keynes Unitary Authority, Buckinghamshire County Council, which is Conservative run, has no remit whatsoever in the running of Milton Keynes. Bucks CC and Bucks Conservatives in particular, cannot build on MK, cannot enforce planning decisions on MK, cannot interfere with, or take decisions on, education in MK, cannot set the Council Tax rates for MK, in fact they cannot do a single thing in MK.
We, are Milton Keynes Conservatives. MK Conservatives are an entirely separate entity from Bucks Conservatives. We have our own manifesto, our own political agenda, our own positions and opinions, our own policies, and our total independence from any other Conservative Council group anywhere in the country. Bucks CC commissioned the Buchanan Report. MK Conservatives fundamentally disagree with its conclusions. The lie that the Lib Dems are spinning is that by continually referring to “Bucks Conservatives” people will come to think and believe that the Conservatives in Milton Keynes are one in the same thing.
The “Council Tax is cheaper” lie
The Lie: Lib Dems have cheaper council tax rates than the Conservatives:
The Truth: Here is a quote taken from their own national manifesto:
“Conservative councils charge lower council taxes. In 2007-08,
averaged across the different tiers of local government, Conservative
councils charge £55 a year less on Band D council tax bills than Labour councils and £84 a year less than Liberal Democrat councils.”
There is no point attempting a comparison with neighbouring authorities as their spending patterns will differ according to how their administration is set up, how they run their affairs, what they subsidise and pay for, and their population.
The question ought to be one of “do I get value for money from my Council Tax?” The Lib Dems have allowed the budget deficit to grow and have done nothing to pay it down (they inherited £129m, it is now £384m). That is taking £27m a year away from front line services. They inherited a debt finance burden of £8.8m from the Labour administration. Then they delivered the new Olney Campus late and over cost to a level that is subject to an inquiry. The new Academy school is fraught with pitfalls, financial risk, and question marks over funding that isn’t fully committed yet the Lib Dems are trying to press ahead regardless.
Then there is the issue of their decision not to have a manifesto. The manifesto sets out your policy and therefore spending priorities. Ours I available, I’ll be putting it onto my blog this week so you can see it. It sets out how we intend to prioritise pending of YOUR council tax money. The Lib Dems, have in effect, said they have decided not to tell you how they will prioritise spending your money if they stay in power. They want you to hand over a blank cheque!
In the past their tactic was to talk about a manifesto that never sees the light of day until after an election, and then for it to be formally adopted as Council policy.
Where it gets interesting is in their latest leaflet their candidate quotes from a manifesto that 2 weeks ago the leader of the Lib Dems said did not exist! Is he making up his own manifesto and making a unilateral declaration of independence from the Lib Dem group? Or is it perhaps that he is lying through his teeth about the Lib Dems having a manifesto this year? Or is their group leader lying about not having a manifesto, that will then miraculously turn up to be adopted as Council policy for the coming year? Answers on a postcard please to Miss Marple, because I certainly don’t understand the “mystery of the disappearing and reappearing non-existant manifesto”.
The “Local Connection” Lie
The Lie: I have no local link or connection and don’t live in the ward.
The Truth: I live on Newport Rd in Emberton.
I recently discovered when canvassing in Emberton that members of the “Lib Dem Focus Team” had been asking some of the elderly residents the very pointed question “do you know the Conservative candidate?” Anyone who answered no was told that I didn’t come from the area and had no local links and that I didn’t live in the ward. That came to me from 3 residents of The Forge in Emberton and 2 residents in Battle Close.
I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that the Lib Dems have resorted to personally attacking me as opposed to debating the issues. Just look at their election leaflet, all of it designed to attack me by insinuation.
On the basis of some of what I have seen, the Lib Dems have absolutely no intention of making a persuausive argument. Instead they are starting from the premise that they are going to loose this election and will try any amount of muck raking to try and persuade people not to vote Conservative. Their leaflets are full of the same graphics with the election results of 4 years ago and council tax, some staged photographs, and slinging mud at me in the hopes that it will stick.
If they can't treat the electorate with anything other than contempt by refusing to state what they stand for and instead opt for nothing but making derogatory comments in their election communications, then they are frankly not fit to be in administration and do not deserve your vote! I have faith in the people of Sherington and the surrounding villages that they do want to be told what I stand for and will make their decision as to whether to vote for me based on whether they find themselves in agreement with the positions I take.
Footnotes:
* "Let us be clear: there is a human right for people to have freedom of religious belief, but upholding that human right does not require the state to provide a faith school."
House of Commons (Westminster Hall) - Debate on Faith Schools 1 November 2006
Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
"They (Government) should not promote denominational schools in a vacuum without there being demand. It is not sufficient to say that good education is provided in the process-I am thinking in particular of certain academy projects-as the state can clearly provide good education in other ways that do not have a denominational context or flavour."
Westminster Hall- Denominational Schools (also known as Faith Schools) 20 July 2004
Dr John Pugh MP, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson
The “Handing over casework” leaflet
In their last leaflet that went around the villages is a photograph of Pat Seymour handing over files to their candidate with the caption “Cllr Seymour hands over just some of the casework folders…”
Taking this at face value, this is a breach of the Data Protection Act as party activists have no official standing as far as casework is concerned and are thus not allowed access to anything relating to it. At the very least it is a breach of confidence, and Cllrs have guidelines issued by MKC on how to handle casework information so there is no excuse of “I didn’t know”, not after 14 years experience anyway.
When questioned by the Citizen Newspaper the excuse was that the files only contained “parish council minutes, planning application details, and a report on cycle paths”. I don't buy that for a second!
So the bottom line is that either Cllr Seymour breached the Data Protection Act and thought she would get away with it, then attempted to cover herself by lying to the newspaper, or there was a lie printed on their election literature designed to purposefully mislead the public, in which case the agent is legally responsible. Either way, they lied.
Filgrave School
The lie: The current leaflet shows the Lib Dems outside Filgrave School decrying the closure and claiming to defend rural schools from the marauding hands of Bucks Conservatives.
The truth: Since the creation of Milton Keynes as a Unitary Authority the responsibility for Education rests with MK Council. Bucks County Council, albeit Conservative run, can no more close schools in MK in 2007 than can the Martian League of Aliens!
Filgrave School closed in 1989 (18 years ago!) with a total of 6 pupils on it’s role and 2 of those pupils were due to transfer to Olney Middle School the following September with no applications for places or children in the village in the age group to attend the school. I spoke to a former Governor of the school who herself admitted that there was no viable way of keeping a school open for just 4 pupils!
Also, it is worth looking at the Lib Dem national party's recent attempts to abolish faith schools (in all but name) by denying them the ability to select their own pupils based on the wishes of their parents to have them educated within the context of their faith*. I just wonder how someone can be a member of a party that wants to effectively abolish CofE and RC education, and yet claim to defend CofE schools and be a governor of one! If my opponent had any principles whatsoever he would “normalise” his position with either the Liberal Demorcrat party by resigning his governorship, or with the school by adopting the position that faith schools should be able to set their own selection criteria, which the Lib Dems have attempted to prevent. The question must be asked "what does this say about the integrity of an individual who would have maintain such a conflict of interests, and if the issue arose of his national party attempting to abolish the right of faith schools to adopt their own selection criteria, would he represent the wishes of the community in supporting the schools, or those of his party?" What utter, shameless, hypocrisy!
A509 Safety Improvements
The lie: The Lib Dems have done a lot to improve road safety on the A509.
The Truth: On June 17th 2005 a young man was killed in front of me as I got in my car and he hit a mobile crane head-on doing close to 80mph and the wreckage of his car ended up about 50 feet from my front door. I was the first on the scene.
I phoned Clls Seymour and Mabbutt neither of whom were particularly keen to do much more than wait for the inquest of the previous fatal accident 6 months earlier. After talking to my neighbours I obtained copies of the petitions that went to the Parish Council and the Parish Council’s letters to Cllr Seymour going back 9 years that each elicited nothing but a holding response, or no response at all.
I wrote a letter, printed 300 copies off at home, and with my wife, Carole, put it through every door in Emberton. I fielded phone calls, offers of help, letters from residents who agreed with me, and I set up a public meeting to discuss the matter and lay the demands of the village with our Cllrs.
Both Cllrs Mabbutt and Seymour attended with Trevor Dove and Kevan Paradine from the traffic department and they proposed no more than new signage (which was going up anyway) and had a pre-prepared press release shouting about this “significant achievement”. Over the next 2 hours they listened to angry residents, the constituency MP, and me as I threatened to stand at the next election unless they did something. It was funny how they changed their tune and promised most of what we wanted in 6 months. We got some of those promises honoured, but not all, and mostly 12 months late! The one thing we didn’t get, and which I will continue to fight for, is a roundabout at the Emberton turn. There was another fatal crash there last week!
It’s also worth noting that there wasn’t a single Lib Dem “Focus Team” member present, but to read their leaflets you would think my opponent was responsible for all those improvements. I’d suggest looking back through the archive of the Olney Phonebox (available online at www.phoneboxmagazine.co.uk ) to see each monthly report from Mark Lancaster where he keeps watch on the inactivity.
The whole “Bucks Conservatives” lie
The Lie: Everything bad is down to Bucks Conservatives, especially where expansion is concerned.
The Truth: Since the creation of Milton Keynes Unitary Authority, Buckinghamshire County Council, which is Conservative run, has no remit whatsoever in the running of Milton Keynes. Bucks CC and Bucks Conservatives in particular, cannot build on MK, cannot enforce planning decisions on MK, cannot interfere with, or take decisions on, education in MK, cannot set the Council Tax rates for MK, in fact they cannot do a single thing in MK.
We, are Milton Keynes Conservatives. MK Conservatives are an entirely separate entity from Bucks Conservatives. We have our own manifesto, our own political agenda, our own positions and opinions, our own policies, and our total independence from any other Conservative Council group anywhere in the country. Bucks CC commissioned the Buchanan Report. MK Conservatives fundamentally disagree with its conclusions. The lie that the Lib Dems are spinning is that by continually referring to “Bucks Conservatives” people will come to think and believe that the Conservatives in Milton Keynes are one in the same thing.
The “Council Tax is cheaper” lie
The Lie: Lib Dems have cheaper council tax rates than the Conservatives:
The Truth: Here is a quote taken from their own national manifesto:
“Conservative councils charge lower council taxes. In 2007-08,
averaged across the different tiers of local government, Conservative
councils charge £55 a year less on Band D council tax bills than Labour councils and £84 a year less than Liberal Democrat councils.”
There is no point attempting a comparison with neighbouring authorities as their spending patterns will differ according to how their administration is set up, how they run their affairs, what they subsidise and pay for, and their population.
The question ought to be one of “do I get value for money from my Council Tax?” The Lib Dems have allowed the budget deficit to grow and have done nothing to pay it down (they inherited £129m, it is now £384m). That is taking £27m a year away from front line services. They inherited a debt finance burden of £8.8m from the Labour administration. Then they delivered the new Olney Campus late and over cost to a level that is subject to an inquiry. The new Academy school is fraught with pitfalls, financial risk, and question marks over funding that isn’t fully committed yet the Lib Dems are trying to press ahead regardless.
Then there is the issue of their decision not to have a manifesto. The manifesto sets out your policy and therefore spending priorities. Ours I available, I’ll be putting it onto my blog this week so you can see it. It sets out how we intend to prioritise pending of YOUR council tax money. The Lib Dems, have in effect, said they have decided not to tell you how they will prioritise spending your money if they stay in power. They want you to hand over a blank cheque!
In the past their tactic was to talk about a manifesto that never sees the light of day until after an election, and then for it to be formally adopted as Council policy.
Where it gets interesting is in their latest leaflet their candidate quotes from a manifesto that 2 weeks ago the leader of the Lib Dems said did not exist! Is he making up his own manifesto and making a unilateral declaration of independence from the Lib Dem group? Or is it perhaps that he is lying through his teeth about the Lib Dems having a manifesto this year? Or is their group leader lying about not having a manifesto, that will then miraculously turn up to be adopted as Council policy for the coming year? Answers on a postcard please to Miss Marple, because I certainly don’t understand the “mystery of the disappearing and reappearing non-existant manifesto”.
The “Local Connection” Lie
The Lie: I have no local link or connection and don’t live in the ward.
The Truth: I live on Newport Rd in Emberton.
I recently discovered when canvassing in Emberton that members of the “Lib Dem Focus Team” had been asking some of the elderly residents the very pointed question “do you know the Conservative candidate?” Anyone who answered no was told that I didn’t come from the area and had no local links and that I didn’t live in the ward. That came to me from 3 residents of The Forge in Emberton and 2 residents in Battle Close.
I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that the Lib Dems have resorted to personally attacking me as opposed to debating the issues. Just look at their election leaflet, all of it designed to attack me by insinuation.
On the basis of some of what I have seen, the Lib Dems have absolutely no intention of making a persuausive argument. Instead they are starting from the premise that they are going to loose this election and will try any amount of muck raking to try and persuade people not to vote Conservative. Their leaflets are full of the same graphics with the election results of 4 years ago and council tax, some staged photographs, and slinging mud at me in the hopes that it will stick.
If they can't treat the electorate with anything other than contempt by refusing to state what they stand for and instead opt for nothing but making derogatory comments in their election communications, then they are frankly not fit to be in administration and do not deserve your vote! I have faith in the people of Sherington and the surrounding villages that they do want to be told what I stand for and will make their decision as to whether to vote for me based on whether they find themselves in agreement with the positions I take.
Footnotes:
* "Let us be clear: there is a human right for people to have freedom of religious belief, but upholding that human right does not require the state to provide a faith school."
House of Commons (Westminster Hall) - Debate on Faith Schools 1 November 2006
Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
"They (Government) should not promote denominational schools in a vacuum without there being demand. It is not sufficient to say that good education is provided in the process-I am thinking in particular of certain academy projects-as the state can clearly provide good education in other ways that do not have a denominational context or flavour."
Westminster Hall- Denominational Schools (also known as Faith Schools) 20 July 2004
Dr John Pugh MP, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson
Monday, April 16, 2007
Out and about
Thanks to everyone in Stoke Goldington, Emberton, Petsoe, and Moulsoe who has taken the time to talk to me or one of the canvass team as we have been out in the villages this week.
I enjoy having the opportunity to talk to people, especially this week as the weather has been fantastic! Last Saturday I got to watch the Boat Race with a retired Royal Navy Admiral over a cup of Earl Grey, and this week I managed to catch the Grand National while out in Stoke. It is hard work, I promise you, so it's nice to catch a breather when you can.
One of the interesting things about canvassing is what you pick up on and the "vibe" of people in the ward. Over a few days I've picked up a very distasteful trend of personal slurs and comments that have been made about me by some of my opponents. You never quite get to pin down who exactly has been saying things about your character, but I don't suppose it matters. In Emberton last week I was told by a few of the residents that live in the sheltered housing in the village that my oppoenents have asked the pointed question "do you know who the Conservative candidate is?" and anyone who answers no is told that I'm "not from around here".
Now just to clarify on that one, I live in Emberton, on Newport Road to be exact. I grew up in Lancashire, but I hardly think that is a crime (unless you happen to be from the other side of the Penines, in which case it probably is!) and even less relevant.
It's a shame that I'm being characterised as alien, different, and an outsider because by an accident of geography I was born 100 miles away from the area I'm seeking to represent. It's a form of bigotry I don't like and all banter aside, the people I spoke to saw through it straight away and a couple of them sent my opponents off with a scolding. MK is a diverse place and I'd like to keep it that way.
I enjoy having the opportunity to talk to people, especially this week as the weather has been fantastic! Last Saturday I got to watch the Boat Race with a retired Royal Navy Admiral over a cup of Earl Grey, and this week I managed to catch the Grand National while out in Stoke. It is hard work, I promise you, so it's nice to catch a breather when you can.
One of the interesting things about canvassing is what you pick up on and the "vibe" of people in the ward. Over a few days I've picked up a very distasteful trend of personal slurs and comments that have been made about me by some of my opponents. You never quite get to pin down who exactly has been saying things about your character, but I don't suppose it matters. In Emberton last week I was told by a few of the residents that live in the sheltered housing in the village that my oppoenents have asked the pointed question "do you know who the Conservative candidate is?" and anyone who answers no is told that I'm "not from around here".
Now just to clarify on that one, I live in Emberton, on Newport Road to be exact. I grew up in Lancashire, but I hardly think that is a crime (unless you happen to be from the other side of the Penines, in which case it probably is!) and even less relevant.
It's a shame that I'm being characterised as alien, different, and an outsider because by an accident of geography I was born 100 miles away from the area I'm seeking to represent. It's a form of bigotry I don't like and all banter aside, the people I spoke to saw through it straight away and a couple of them sent my opponents off with a scolding. MK is a diverse place and I'd like to keep it that way.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Expansion: Letters in the MK Nwes this week
It seems it's not just the Conservatives who are seeing though the Lib Dems posturing:
Lib dem Council out of focus on 'city streets'
Sir - Why does every Liberal Democrat Focus leaflet take credit for things they haven't done and attempt to mislead the public on the expansion agenda? I find it quite perplexing that only a few years after the LibDems described a 'High Street' on the V10 (Brickhill Street) as 'good news', they are now claiming credit for the cancellation of plans to downgrade the V10.
Local residents are to thank for halting these crazy plans, and the LibDems should be apologising for supporting such an absurd idea in the first place! The LibDems now have the A5130 (the unofficial V12) on their hit list and the Focus leaflet describes their plans to change this road into a 'city street'.
What it fails to point out is that buses, bicycles, pedestrians, great crested newts, and practically anything else that moves will have right of way over the car.It also fails to mention the road will have a vastly reduced speed limit.
The leaflet describes a 'city street' as the new name for a grid road, but in reality this is an attempt to trick the electorate through yet more spin.
These plans will result in vastly more traffic pouring onto the V11 and into Broughton. That isn't 'good news'! I like grid roads and I believe the vast majority of people support improvements to the network.I like cycling on redways, away from motorists, and I'm happy to share the redways with great crested newts too.
I want councillors to make sensible decisions on MK expansion, and when a Focus leaflet is more spin than truth, it's time to question if LibDem councillors can be trusted to run the MK expansion agenda.
John Baker
Broughton
Sir - Cllr McCall, the council leader, expresses surprise at the public opposition to 'city streets' (MK NEWS, March 28). Cllr McCall ought to be asking who, if anyone, actually supports them. City streets are a bad idea. They are to be main roads carrying fast and heavy traffic through residential areas with homes, children's schools and play areas fronting onto them.They are likely to be unsafe and unattractive. And they will clash with the existing character and local distinctiveness of our new city.
Unsurprisingly, the public has vigorously objected to them wherever Milton Keynes Council or Milton Keynes Partnership have proposed them. Local people opposed the downgrading of the V10 through Oakgrove. Local people opposed the 'city streets in the Western Expansion Area. This opposition even included the developers who protested that the council was forcing them to build 'city streets'.And now there is public opposition to the downgrading of the A5130.Who DOES want 'city streets'?
Michael Moutrie
London Road,
Stony Stratford
Interestingly, the second letter raises an important point: namely that the local residents opposed city streets, even though MK Partnerships proposed them. What did the Lib Dems do? They went along with MK Partnerships in spite of public opposition. The first letter points out that when they proved unpoular they then tried to claim credit for opposing city streets.
They are doing the same thing over the expansion debate to the east of the M1.
I have urdged in my literature to judge actions, not gimmiks or words alone. The Conservatives have given a manifesto pledge, backed up by the Conservative Shadown Minister for Local Government, Caroline Spellman, to unwind MK Partnerships and hand planning decisions back to MK Council. Those are our "actions". I'll leave you to judge the "actions" of our opponents!
http://www.mk-news.co.uk/mknews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=38226
Lib dem Council out of focus on 'city streets'
Sir - Why does every Liberal Democrat Focus leaflet take credit for things they haven't done and attempt to mislead the public on the expansion agenda? I find it quite perplexing that only a few years after the LibDems described a 'High Street' on the V10 (Brickhill Street) as 'good news', they are now claiming credit for the cancellation of plans to downgrade the V10.
Local residents are to thank for halting these crazy plans, and the LibDems should be apologising for supporting such an absurd idea in the first place! The LibDems now have the A5130 (the unofficial V12) on their hit list and the Focus leaflet describes their plans to change this road into a 'city street'.
What it fails to point out is that buses, bicycles, pedestrians, great crested newts, and practically anything else that moves will have right of way over the car.It also fails to mention the road will have a vastly reduced speed limit.
The leaflet describes a 'city street' as the new name for a grid road, but in reality this is an attempt to trick the electorate through yet more spin.
These plans will result in vastly more traffic pouring onto the V11 and into Broughton. That isn't 'good news'! I like grid roads and I believe the vast majority of people support improvements to the network.I like cycling on redways, away from motorists, and I'm happy to share the redways with great crested newts too.
I want councillors to make sensible decisions on MK expansion, and when a Focus leaflet is more spin than truth, it's time to question if LibDem councillors can be trusted to run the MK expansion agenda.
John Baker
Broughton
Sir - Cllr McCall, the council leader, expresses surprise at the public opposition to 'city streets' (MK NEWS, March 28). Cllr McCall ought to be asking who, if anyone, actually supports them. City streets are a bad idea. They are to be main roads carrying fast and heavy traffic through residential areas with homes, children's schools and play areas fronting onto them.They are likely to be unsafe and unattractive. And they will clash with the existing character and local distinctiveness of our new city.
Unsurprisingly, the public has vigorously objected to them wherever Milton Keynes Council or Milton Keynes Partnership have proposed them. Local people opposed the downgrading of the V10 through Oakgrove. Local people opposed the 'city streets in the Western Expansion Area. This opposition even included the developers who protested that the council was forcing them to build 'city streets'.And now there is public opposition to the downgrading of the A5130.Who DOES want 'city streets'?
Michael Moutrie
London Road,
Stony Stratford
Interestingly, the second letter raises an important point: namely that the local residents opposed city streets, even though MK Partnerships proposed them. What did the Lib Dems do? They went along with MK Partnerships in spite of public opposition. The first letter points out that when they proved unpoular they then tried to claim credit for opposing city streets.
They are doing the same thing over the expansion debate to the east of the M1.
I have urdged in my literature to judge actions, not gimmiks or words alone. The Conservatives have given a manifesto pledge, backed up by the Conservative Shadown Minister for Local Government, Caroline Spellman, to unwind MK Partnerships and hand planning decisions back to MK Council. Those are our "actions". I'll leave you to judge the "actions" of our opponents!
http://www.mk-news.co.uk/mknews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=38226
Lib Dems too arrogant to bother with a Manifesto
It looks to me as if the Lib Dems don't want people to know what they stand for or what they will do after May. Their past tactic was to keep quiet about their manifesto, and then have it adopted as council policy on the quiet after the election. That in itself is devious enough because it hides from the elctorate their spending priorities, and after all it is your money that the council is spending. Yet in spite of being on public record in the Citizen as saying they have no manifesto, their website proclaims having one as "standing on their record". I have to wonder how a manifesto, which is your statement of future intention, can be hauling out the tired old cliches of what you have or haven't done in the past. It gives no clear idea of what they intend to do and no detail as to priorities. And for this they want you to trust them with your money. What in that case is there to stop them from embarking on costly and wasteful white elephant projects or spending sprees on account of them not telling the electorate what they intend to prioritise spending on? The answer is, without a manifesto as a benchmark of intention, absolutely nothing!
The Conservatives have a manifesto we are proud of, and we DO intend to tell the electorate how we propose to prioritise spending thier Council Tax money. To obtain a copy please cal 01908 372 038 and we will gladly send it to you. I'll also be putting some of it onto this blog for your reference, and if I can arrange a "downloadable" verion on Adobe I will.
From today's Citizen:
Confident Lib Dems have no manifesto
LOW tax and value-for-money services are the battleground on which Liberal Democrats and Tories will fight for control of the city in May's local elections.
Labour – desperate to avoid ending up the minority party just five years after it was running the show – makes regeneration of older estates the main issue.The Lib Dems are so confident of a record that includes delivering council tax £60 below the national average they did not go to the trouble of putting out a manifesto unlike the main opposition parties."Government inspections and independent public opinion polling both show Milton Keynes has improved under the Liberal Democrats over the last five years," they said in a press briefing this week.They said residents reported Milton Keynes to be a cleaner city than before, that education standards had improved and people felt safer. Older people were being helped to remain independent in their own homes. Re-cycling and garden waste schemes were popular.They claimed credit for fighting off developers aiming to rip up the V10 grid road, had resisted neighbouring Tory councils' plans for massive development east of the M1 and squashed moves to demolish homes on older estates.They have battled successfully for continued local control of health services and persuaded ministers to release £2 million cash support due to the city.They promised to provide more activities for youngsters, clean up "grot spots", promote energy efficiency, provide more safety wardens and keep down tax rises.
The Tories said if they got power they would similarly hold tax increases to inflation or less and continue to press Government for fair funding of Milton Keynes to provide quality services and support demands of expansion.Theirs would be a "careful and considerate" administration – moving away from the wastefulness of previous council rulers.A priority would be a wholesale review of council operations, with people consulted on spending.They would continue to lobby for the replacement of Milton Keynes Partnership and its replacement by an elected body accountable to the council cabinet, and maintain their "i before e" stress on provision of infrastructure ahead of expansion.Growth should be slowed to a rate "beneficial" to the people and business and shaped locally rather than at Westminster, it said.On transport, the Tories would look to improve bus services, but also support motorists by protecting and extending the grid and giving city centre shops and stores the right to impose their own parking charges.As well as blitzing graffiti, it would "tackle the causes."There would be improved funding for schools with "high value schemes" producing better buildings. Village and faith schools would be safeguarded.The party would push ahead with the modernisation of council homes aiming to complete the 'decent homes' programme by 2009 – two years earlier than the Government deadline.It would make the tenant and not the council budget the priority on housing policy.The Conservatives pledged to boost the Community Safety Partnership, and also strengthen council powers to crackdown on illegal traveller encampments.There would be moves to set up a round-the-clock helpline enabling people to report trouble.
Labour set seven priorities with regeneration and housing top of the list.It would install a timed programme for upgrading each area of the city needing regeneration, increase council support for growth and ensure the planning department had the resources to match.On housing, it promised 25 per cent of new homes as social housing for rent and a further 25 per cent intermediate housing with 10 per cent stakes available to encourage home ownership.A Labour council would take the opportunity being offered by the Government to re-establish a council house building programme.It would improve the level of cleaning in all areas of the city and end what it called the Lib Dem neglect of older areas and communities. Cash for cleaning would be channelled to parish and town councils, which would also get funding to tackle poorly maintained roads and pavements.It would implement its pledge to give the parishes a fairer share of cash raised from council tax, and bring some services of council business partner HBS back in-house.Labour would fully support development of "our dynamic, lovely city", insisting on the highest standards of development with a balance of open and private space.It would be strong on promoting culture and seek to attract major sporting facilities, including a "national cricketing venue of international quality and centre of excellence."On transport, the manifesto said: "We will investigate how public transport can be made a reality. We support an independent review of transport systems to move towards a more integrated approach. We will investigate monorail and tram options."Labour would introduce the 'MK Oscars' to reward outstanding community workers.It believed the city would benefit from a "Left led council committed to a socialist vision."
http://www.miltonkeynestoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=2226440
The Conservatives have a manifesto we are proud of, and we DO intend to tell the electorate how we propose to prioritise spending thier Council Tax money. To obtain a copy please cal 01908 372 038 and we will gladly send it to you. I'll also be putting some of it onto this blog for your reference, and if I can arrange a "downloadable" verion on Adobe I will.
From today's Citizen:
Confident Lib Dems have no manifesto
LOW tax and value-for-money services are the battleground on which Liberal Democrats and Tories will fight for control of the city in May's local elections.
Labour – desperate to avoid ending up the minority party just five years after it was running the show – makes regeneration of older estates the main issue.The Lib Dems are so confident of a record that includes delivering council tax £60 below the national average they did not go to the trouble of putting out a manifesto unlike the main opposition parties."Government inspections and independent public opinion polling both show Milton Keynes has improved under the Liberal Democrats over the last five years," they said in a press briefing this week.They said residents reported Milton Keynes to be a cleaner city than before, that education standards had improved and people felt safer. Older people were being helped to remain independent in their own homes. Re-cycling and garden waste schemes were popular.They claimed credit for fighting off developers aiming to rip up the V10 grid road, had resisted neighbouring Tory councils' plans for massive development east of the M1 and squashed moves to demolish homes on older estates.They have battled successfully for continued local control of health services and persuaded ministers to release £2 million cash support due to the city.They promised to provide more activities for youngsters, clean up "grot spots", promote energy efficiency, provide more safety wardens and keep down tax rises.
The Tories said if they got power they would similarly hold tax increases to inflation or less and continue to press Government for fair funding of Milton Keynes to provide quality services and support demands of expansion.Theirs would be a "careful and considerate" administration – moving away from the wastefulness of previous council rulers.A priority would be a wholesale review of council operations, with people consulted on spending.They would continue to lobby for the replacement of Milton Keynes Partnership and its replacement by an elected body accountable to the council cabinet, and maintain their "i before e" stress on provision of infrastructure ahead of expansion.Growth should be slowed to a rate "beneficial" to the people and business and shaped locally rather than at Westminster, it said.On transport, the Tories would look to improve bus services, but also support motorists by protecting and extending the grid and giving city centre shops and stores the right to impose their own parking charges.As well as blitzing graffiti, it would "tackle the causes."There would be improved funding for schools with "high value schemes" producing better buildings. Village and faith schools would be safeguarded.The party would push ahead with the modernisation of council homes aiming to complete the 'decent homes' programme by 2009 – two years earlier than the Government deadline.It would make the tenant and not the council budget the priority on housing policy.The Conservatives pledged to boost the Community Safety Partnership, and also strengthen council powers to crackdown on illegal traveller encampments.There would be moves to set up a round-the-clock helpline enabling people to report trouble.
Labour set seven priorities with regeneration and housing top of the list.It would install a timed programme for upgrading each area of the city needing regeneration, increase council support for growth and ensure the planning department had the resources to match.On housing, it promised 25 per cent of new homes as social housing for rent and a further 25 per cent intermediate housing with 10 per cent stakes available to encourage home ownership.A Labour council would take the opportunity being offered by the Government to re-establish a council house building programme.It would improve the level of cleaning in all areas of the city and end what it called the Lib Dem neglect of older areas and communities. Cash for cleaning would be channelled to parish and town councils, which would also get funding to tackle poorly maintained roads and pavements.It would implement its pledge to give the parishes a fairer share of cash raised from council tax, and bring some services of council business partner HBS back in-house.Labour would fully support development of "our dynamic, lovely city", insisting on the highest standards of development with a balance of open and private space.It would be strong on promoting culture and seek to attract major sporting facilities, including a "national cricketing venue of international quality and centre of excellence."On transport, the manifesto said: "We will investigate how public transport can be made a reality. We support an independent review of transport systems to move towards a more integrated approach. We will investigate monorail and tram options."Labour would introduce the 'MK Oscars' to reward outstanding community workers.It believed the city would benefit from a "Left led council committed to a socialist vision."
http://www.miltonkeynestoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=2226440
In today's Citizen: Trio of councillors to stand down.
Trio of councillors to stand down in May
LIBERAL Democrats deny two councillors quitting ahead of the May polls are running scared of the Tories.
Alan Pugh is standing down in Linford North and Graham Eaton in neighbouring Linford South.Conservatives are optimistic of taking both wards after sweeping aside Linford Lib Dems – one of them former mayor John Monk – in last year's elections.Cllr Pugh, a councillor for 20 years and himself a former mayor, was not available for comment.Cllr Eaton rejected suggestions he feared the Conservatives would end his stint as a councillor after five years, saying he faced increasing commitments elsewhere including his work with the Scouts.Lib Dems spokesman Vanessa McPake said: "No-one is running scared at all."What was "more significant", she said, was that two party candidates – Mike Galloway and Bill Watts – who came close to sacking Labour councillors on Wolverton and Stantonbury in 2006 were re-standing.
However, another surprise Lib Dem absentee from a full list of nominations being published as the Citizen went to press will be Sherington's Pat Seymour, 14 years a councillor and mayor in 2001.McPake said Cllr Seymour wanted to spend more time with her four grandchildren who live abroad.All four Tories up for re-election will defend their seats.Ex-MP Brian White, as revealed in the Citizen, defends Stantonbury for Labour, in place of the retiring Mike Pendry.Their Bletchley and Fenny Stratford candidate, coming in for Tony Mabbott who was de-selected, is residents association leader and former social worker Rita Venn.
05 April 2007
http://www.miltonkeynestoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=2226472
LIBERAL Democrats deny two councillors quitting ahead of the May polls are running scared of the Tories.
Alan Pugh is standing down in Linford North and Graham Eaton in neighbouring Linford South.Conservatives are optimistic of taking both wards after sweeping aside Linford Lib Dems – one of them former mayor John Monk – in last year's elections.Cllr Pugh, a councillor for 20 years and himself a former mayor, was not available for comment.Cllr Eaton rejected suggestions he feared the Conservatives would end his stint as a councillor after five years, saying he faced increasing commitments elsewhere including his work with the Scouts.Lib Dems spokesman Vanessa McPake said: "No-one is running scared at all."What was "more significant", she said, was that two party candidates – Mike Galloway and Bill Watts – who came close to sacking Labour councillors on Wolverton and Stantonbury in 2006 were re-standing.
However, another surprise Lib Dem absentee from a full list of nominations being published as the Citizen went to press will be Sherington's Pat Seymour, 14 years a councillor and mayor in 2001.McPake said Cllr Seymour wanted to spend more time with her four grandchildren who live abroad.All four Tories up for re-election will defend their seats.Ex-MP Brian White, as revealed in the Citizen, defends Stantonbury for Labour, in place of the retiring Mike Pendry.Their Bletchley and Fenny Stratford candidate, coming in for Tony Mabbott who was de-selected, is residents association leader and former social worker Rita Venn.
05 April 2007
http://www.miltonkeynestoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=2226472
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
A further word on expansion
In one of their leaflets the Lib Dems accuse the Conservatives of "lying about MKC's own plans". They cite a long url reference (below) to a document from the South East Regional Plan Examination in Public website. To save you the bother of looking it up, here is the reference in full:
The MK Local Plan Inspector supported the Council’s strategy for concentrating the majority of new development on the city but with a limited amount of new housing and other development in the other towns and villages in the Borough (including Newport Pagnell, Olney and Woburn Sands).
MKC consider it unrealistic to make no provision for additional housing in the rest of the Borough. It is suggested that the SEP should allow for current rates to continue - i.e. 120 dwellings per year, from 2011 to 2026 (nb existing Local Plan commitments cover the period to 2011). The distribution of this housing is a matter for future Local Development Documents.
The position is that the Lib dems are content to see 120 houses a year built over a 14 year period. That is 1680 houses in total. The salient point to take from that is the final sentence. It is saying that it is up to the council to decide where to build them.
Now I wanmt to turn to the minutes of the Cabinet meeting on 27th June 2006. in the minutes, item C21 resolves:
C21 REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY 9 - THE SOUTH EAST PLAN: RESPONSE TO THE CONSULTATION ON THE SUBMISSION PLAN
The Cabinet considered a report which sought agreement to the Council’s submission on the draft South East Plan. The Cabinet noted that in the period covered by the South East Plan there would be a small amount of new housing in the rural area of the Borough (i.e. In the Borough away from the city and the proposed growth areas to the SE and SW, including Newport Pagnell, Olney and the villages). This had been the Council’s position on the MK Sub Regional Strategy and a ‘reserve site’ had been identified at Tickford Fields Farm, Newport Pagnell in response to a recommendation from the Local Plan Inquiry Inspector.
The amount of new housing in the rest of the Borough might be about 2,000 homes. This figure could be considered as part of the 48,800 homes identified for the Milton Keynes area in the draft South East Plan, effectively being offset against the number of new homes that might be located adjoining the city in Bedfordshire (3,200 homes) which is outside the South East region.
In the February full Council meeting to discuss Expansion I asked the following question (which is minuted)
(d) Question from K Fraser to Councillor I McCall (Leader of the Council): "How many new houses your Party believes should be built to the East of the M1?"
Answer from Councillor I McCall:
"In terms of rural areas, zero. However, I do have to add a rider to that, in that our submissions to the Examination in Public on the South East Plan, is actually saying that there should be 120 dwellings per year in the whole of the rest of the Borough outside the existing urban area, and I think that includes Newport Pagnell, from 2011-2026."
Mr Fraser asked a supplementary question which was answered by Councillor I McCall
The minutes, are actually slightly incorrect because the "rider" quoted above actually came in the supplimental question. Her exact answer to the question was "As I previously stated, absolutely none".
I then went on to ask whether she considered it hypocrytical to announce that she would not allow any houses to be built east of the M1 when the Cabinet approved the SE Regional Plan that would see up to 1600 (of the proposed 2000) built in and around the villages?
Her answer was that the total they were proposing was only 120 houses.
I then challenged her that 120 multiplied by 14 years of the plans existence was still 1680 no matter how many ways you did the arithmatic.
Her resopnse was a tirade list of previous Tory housing policies.
So, my point is that on the one hand the Lib Dems are saying that they will not allow any houses to be built east of the M1, yet they approved the SE Regional Plan in Cabinet to build up to 2000 houses around the rural periphery of the city. By their own admission this will take in "growth areas" ... "including Newport Pagnell, Olney and the villages". With the SE and SW expansion areas pretty full already, the only viable space for them to go is around the NE flank of the city that takes in the villages.
I will leave it for you to decide who is lying and who isn't!
---------------------------------------------------------------
On a related point, the petition that the Lib Dems handed in at that meeting was worded:
(a) Moulsoe Parish Council: To request the Council to reject ‘both plans published by the Buckinghamshire County Council and the Milton Keynes Forum for the building on land in this Parish for housing and for business purposes’.
(b) Residents of North Crawley: To ‘call on the Council to reject the MK Forum and the Buchanan proposals as they totally ignore the wishes of local people and will destroy the villages as we know them’.
It is worth noting that MK Forum, as I have said in an earlier blog, have absolutely no official standing whatever. They are simply a pressure group funded by town planners who are seeking to benefit out of any excpansion that they would like to see happen in the NE of the City. We Conservatives have long since rejected both MK Forum and the Buchanan proposals. What the Lib Dems are trying to do is to associate the Conservatives in Milton Keynes with those in Buckinghamshire. The petition was simply a publicity stunt preying on confusion brought about by the Lib Dems, which is why the Mayor refered it to Cabinet.
Many of you will recall the letter from Mark Lancaster setting out his position in relation to this. We do not, will not, and have not, supported the Buchanan report and never will.
References:
SE Plan EIP:
www.eipsoutheast.co.uk/downloads/documents/20070206113136.doc
Page 11, Q8Fii4 paras 4&5
http://cmis.milton-keynes.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/Binary.ashx?Document=17004
Cabinet Minutes of 27/6/06
http://cmis.milton-keynes.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/Binary.ashx?Document=19520
Council Minutes 13/2/07
The MK Local Plan Inspector supported the Council’s strategy for concentrating the majority of new development on the city but with a limited amount of new housing and other development in the other towns and villages in the Borough (including Newport Pagnell, Olney and Woburn Sands).
MKC consider it unrealistic to make no provision for additional housing in the rest of the Borough. It is suggested that the SEP should allow for current rates to continue - i.e. 120 dwellings per year, from 2011 to 2026 (nb existing Local Plan commitments cover the period to 2011). The distribution of this housing is a matter for future Local Development Documents.
The position is that the Lib dems are content to see 120 houses a year built over a 14 year period. That is 1680 houses in total. The salient point to take from that is the final sentence. It is saying that it is up to the council to decide where to build them.
Now I wanmt to turn to the minutes of the Cabinet meeting on 27th June 2006. in the minutes, item C21 resolves:
C21 REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY 9 - THE SOUTH EAST PLAN: RESPONSE TO THE CONSULTATION ON THE SUBMISSION PLAN
The Cabinet considered a report which sought agreement to the Council’s submission on the draft South East Plan. The Cabinet noted that in the period covered by the South East Plan there would be a small amount of new housing in the rural area of the Borough (i.e. In the Borough away from the city and the proposed growth areas to the SE and SW, including Newport Pagnell, Olney and the villages). This had been the Council’s position on the MK Sub Regional Strategy and a ‘reserve site’ had been identified at Tickford Fields Farm, Newport Pagnell in response to a recommendation from the Local Plan Inquiry Inspector.
The amount of new housing in the rest of the Borough might be about 2,000 homes. This figure could be considered as part of the 48,800 homes identified for the Milton Keynes area in the draft South East Plan, effectively being offset against the number of new homes that might be located adjoining the city in Bedfordshire (3,200 homes) which is outside the South East region.
In the February full Council meeting to discuss Expansion I asked the following question (which is minuted)
(d) Question from K Fraser to Councillor I McCall (Leader of the Council): "How many new houses your Party believes should be built to the East of the M1?"
Answer from Councillor I McCall:
"In terms of rural areas, zero. However, I do have to add a rider to that, in that our submissions to the Examination in Public on the South East Plan, is actually saying that there should be 120 dwellings per year in the whole of the rest of the Borough outside the existing urban area, and I think that includes Newport Pagnell, from 2011-2026."
Mr Fraser asked a supplementary question which was answered by Councillor I McCall
The minutes, are actually slightly incorrect because the "rider" quoted above actually came in the supplimental question. Her exact answer to the question was "As I previously stated, absolutely none".
I then went on to ask whether she considered it hypocrytical to announce that she would not allow any houses to be built east of the M1 when the Cabinet approved the SE Regional Plan that would see up to 1600 (of the proposed 2000) built in and around the villages?
Her answer was that the total they were proposing was only 120 houses.
I then challenged her that 120 multiplied by 14 years of the plans existence was still 1680 no matter how many ways you did the arithmatic.
Her resopnse was a tirade list of previous Tory housing policies.
So, my point is that on the one hand the Lib Dems are saying that they will not allow any houses to be built east of the M1, yet they approved the SE Regional Plan in Cabinet to build up to 2000 houses around the rural periphery of the city. By their own admission this will take in "growth areas" ... "including Newport Pagnell, Olney and the villages". With the SE and SW expansion areas pretty full already, the only viable space for them to go is around the NE flank of the city that takes in the villages.
I will leave it for you to decide who is lying and who isn't!
---------------------------------------------------------------
On a related point, the petition that the Lib Dems handed in at that meeting was worded:
(a) Moulsoe Parish Council: To request the Council to reject ‘both plans published by the Buckinghamshire County Council and the Milton Keynes Forum for the building on land in this Parish for housing and for business purposes’.
(b) Residents of North Crawley: To ‘call on the Council to reject the MK Forum and the Buchanan proposals as they totally ignore the wishes of local people and will destroy the villages as we know them’.
It is worth noting that MK Forum, as I have said in an earlier blog, have absolutely no official standing whatever. They are simply a pressure group funded by town planners who are seeking to benefit out of any excpansion that they would like to see happen in the NE of the City. We Conservatives have long since rejected both MK Forum and the Buchanan proposals. What the Lib Dems are trying to do is to associate the Conservatives in Milton Keynes with those in Buckinghamshire. The petition was simply a publicity stunt preying on confusion brought about by the Lib Dems, which is why the Mayor refered it to Cabinet.
Many of you will recall the letter from Mark Lancaster setting out his position in relation to this. We do not, will not, and have not, supported the Buchanan report and never will.
References:
SE Plan EIP:
www.eipsoutheast.co.uk/downloads/documents/20070206113136.doc
Page 11, Q8Fii4 paras 4&5
http://cmis.milton-keynes.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/Binary.ashx?Document=17004
Cabinet Minutes of 27/6/06
http://cmis.milton-keynes.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/Binary.ashx?Document=19520
Council Minutes 13/2/07
