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October 2007 Archives

Public Forum in Wigan

Posted by David Sudworth on October 19, 2007 5:25 PM

THIS week I headed back to my hometown of Wigan for a debate organised at the Town Hall for Local Democracy Week.


As I was ushered into the council chamber I expected to be seated on the fringes but was told to go and sit on the actual benches where the councillors park their derrieres week in, week out.


First thing to say is that the seats were extremely comfy... but with a keypad and microphone infront of me I got a really bad feeling that someone would ask me to stand up and explain the difference between district and council councils. Thankfully, that didn't happen.


The evening was overseen by Dave Guest, the BBC North West reporter who crops up at many of these events. The panel was made up of three councillors (Labour, Cons and Community Action Party), someone from teh local police, NHS Trust and Chamber of Commerce.


The debate was quite excellent and there was even a chance for everyone to take part in some ininteractive voting with the results flashing up before your eyes just seconds after pressing the button. This really brought the whole evening to life and even people who didn't want to speak publicly could take part.


I'd guess there were around 50 people there - a lot of them from youth groups - and the topics ranged from legalising drugs to congestion charging.

All in all a good night... I wonder if one could be held in West Lancs next year?

Spooky or what?!?

Posted by David Sudworth on October 16, 2007 10:58 AM

CHECK this out...

Sunday, October 14, 2007 3:43 pm: I write a piece about pointing to the fact that Lib dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell's leadership is doomed: "When your enemies have already got the knives out for you, it's only a matter of time until they get their man."


Monday, October 15, 6.30pm: Sir Menzies steps down as party leader.


Hope it's nothing I said...

Local Democracy Week

Posted by David Sudworth on October 14, 2007 10:11 PM

local%20democracy%20week.jpg

IT'S Local Democracy Week this week (October 15-21).


West Lancs District Council is doing its bit by holding a mock debate for school children on the Monday in the actual council chamber.

During the morning session pupils from St. Edmunds RC Primary, Skelmersdale will be debating environmental issues. Burscough Priory Science College students will then discuss issues that affect the local community during the afternoon debate.

Each school will have to nominate a 'chief executive' for the day who will sit next to the Council's Chairman, Cllr William Cropper, to help run the mock meeting. All the other pupils will be referred to as 'councillor' during the sessions.


Of course, it would be completely wrong of me to comment on suggestions that the pupils will be infinitely better behaved than the grown-ups who usually fill those seats...


For more information, visit the Local Democracy Week website.

When The Knives Are Out, So Are You

Posted by David Sudworth on October 14, 2007 3:43 PM

Sir Menzies Campbell

I DON'T normally mention the Lib Dems on this blog, mostly because they're a complete irrelevance when it comes to West Lancs District Council.


However, I am starting to feel sorry for their leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, who over the last few weeks has had to put up with some of rudest and most personal insults we've seen for some time, and they mostly concern his age.

I know some people have a dim view of politicians, but really there's no excuse for the shabby way he's being treated by the media and by some of his own party.


Attack policies, that's fine, but personal insults have no place in political debate.
You can't even say that his advancing years is hindering his performance... I think that boils down to the fact that, nice bloke he is, the truth is he just isn't leadership material.

And yet, everyone seeks to blame his age for his dismal showing in popularity polls. It's almost as if ageism is OK, which it clearly isn't. If anything, it's just as poisonous as racism or sexism, as it's something you cannot do anything about. You are who you are.


But unfortunately for Sir Menzies, when your enemies have already got the knives out for you, it's only a matter of time until they get their man, ageism or no ageism.

Scrutiny - Agree To Disagree

Posted by David Sudworth on October 10, 2007 3:43 PM

THE cabinet-style of governance adopted by West Lancs back in 2002 has many faults, not least in that the biggest decisions end up being made by a select few councillors who are all of one politicial persuasion.


The scrutiny committees therefore act very much as a watchdog as its members have the ability to 'call in' items.

Now depending on whether you're in power or opposition, scrutiny can end up being a major pain in the derriere or a vital cog in the democratic proccess, ensuring that decision-makers are held to account.


Bob Pendleton (Labour, Tanhouse) who I'm sure holds the record for the most number of words ever uttered by anyone in the council chamber (I must check on that sometime), told full council last week that the current process is a 'sham' - pointing to the fact that 85% of 'call-ins' went ahead unchanged because the Conservative members are "afraid" of challenging their masters (see story in this week's Midweek Advertiser and Skelmersdale Advertiser).


However, when I spoke to scrutiny committee chairman Cllr Martin Forshaw (Conservative, Hesketh-with-Becconsall) he made a very valid point in that because of the ideologies of the two parties, you're never likely to get them agreeing on much.


He said: "They're a proper opposition in that they'll never agree with us. At the end of the day, the council is a political animal and I'm not sure how else you would make decisions."


Cllr David O'Toole (Conservative, Aughton & Downholland) also laid into Labour saying: "I've not come across any other council in the North West with so many call ins but then most oppositions aren't so frivolous."


So there you are... not only can the Conservative and Labour not agree on anything, they can't even agree on the best use of the scrutiny process which itself is, in part, a forum for disagreement in the first place.


Confused? So am I.

Into the Spotlight

Posted by David Sudworth on October 9, 2007 11:27 PM

I'VE just got back from a public debate on climate change at Ormskirk Civic Hall.

Originally I was meant to go and report on it but as my boss, Advertiser editor Peter Harvey, was unable to chair the Question Time part of the meeting, I stepped in at the 11th hour and took his place.


One thing's for sure, I now have a new-found respect for the likes of David Dimbleby et al who makeit all look so easy. Let me tell you, it isn't. Not only do you have to field questions, you've also got to make sure all the panel (which included Tarleton Cllr Jim Kay and Ormskirk's Frank Kennedy, of Friends of the Earth) have their say as well as the audience.

On top of that you're constantly thinking of potential follow-up question while all the time keeping your eye on the clock.

However, I really enjoyed it and the Advertiser was really pleased to be a part of it.

It's also got me thinking that maybe we should start organising a few more public debates. There's certainly a lot to talk about in West Lancs and given tonight's healthy turn out I reckon it could attract a fair few people.


What do you think? Anyone out there got any potential topics for discussion?


Bill Taylor Blog - The Verdict on Oz

Posted by David Sudworth on October 8, 2007 7:21 PM

COUNCIL chief exec Bill Taylor's video blog this week brings up some interesting topics following his trip to shadow local government in Australia.


Of particular note was that Down Under, they have directly elected mayors, fewer councillors and chief executives on 5 year fixed term contracts with a six month notice period on whether you need to clear out your desk.


Food for thought eh?


Check out Bill's blog here

Why A Snap Poll Would Have Been Bad For West Lancs

Posted by David Sudworth on October 8, 2007 1:23 AM

GORDON Brown's decision to scrap an autumn election proves once and for all that politicians are slaves to polls.


They won't admit it, of course, but it's true. However, despite the frenzy that has greeted his decision, I can't honestly say I'm surprised as there wasn't really any appetite among ordinary people (i.e. - those who aren't politicians, their associates or journalists).


And besides, I think the claims that Brown hasn't got a mandate is incorrect.


At the last election, everyone knew that GB would be PM sooner rather than later. I even seem to remember the Tories having a slogan which went something like 'Vote Blair, get Brown'. You can't get much clearer than that.


Locally, I think the decision is a good thing for both Rosie Cooper and Adrian Owens, but for very different reasons.

With Ms Cooper, she's only been an MP here for two years which is no amount of time for anyone to make a rational assessment of how she is faring. Some will disagree with that, saying her views on the Ormskirk Bypass alone are enough to swing them one way or the other. But given her sizeable majority alone, she's got more of a mandate than her own party leader and that itself should count for something.

With Adrian Owens, an autumn election wouldn't have allowed him to continue building up the steady momentum he has been doing since being named PPC a few months ago.

On paper, the odds were stacked against him winning a snap poll for many reasons, including, (as mentioned above) Rosie Cooper's majority plus - and this is a crucial point - getting the majority of West Lancs voters to start voting Tory for the first time in 15 years.


By his own admission, his party's successive defeats here in 92, 97, 2001 and 2005 were partly down to the fact that certain parts of the district (and Skelmersdale was mentioned as a case in point) have been neglected by the Tories since their 1987 heyday.

It's possible to claw back that support - but no-one could expect Cllr Owens to do it so quickly, even if there has been a national swing to the Conservatives.

I think that privately, and on reflection both will be quite pleased with how it's panned out and will see the extra time as something which will enable them to really make the case to the people of West Lancs.


If the election had been called, I fear that both of them would have been reduced to bit-part players in an unedifying beauty contest aimed purely at massaging the egos of the two national party leaders.


For once, I feel local democracy has come out on top. And for that, we should all be pleased.

Public Meeting On Climate Change This Tuesday

Posted by David Sudworth on October 7, 2007 10:14 AM

ADVERTISER editor Peter Harvey is chairing a public meeting on climate change at Ormskirk Civic Hall on Tuesday at 7.30pm.


West Lancashire District Council will be co-hosting the event with Ormskirk & District Friends of the Earth, Edge Hill University and the Advertiser.

It is open to everyone and includes a Question Time panel, refreshments and a range of ‘networking’ stalls.


All welcome.

Banter, Bickering and Backslapping - Just Another Night at Full Council

Posted by David Sudworth on October 5, 2007 4:31 PM

I REALLY wonder why people pay the licence fee when they can get free entertainment just a few minutes from home.


I'm talking about this week's meeting of Full Council which, in the space of two-and-a-half hours, demonstrated all the qualities of a top prime-time soap.

There was banter, bickering and blackslapping in equal measure.

The banter came mostly when Cllr Paul Greenall stood up to give his speech on why the council should fly the St George Cross and Union Flag.

Beforehand, Bill Taylor, the council's chief exec, sprang from his seat to apologise profusely for the error on the agenda papers which said that Cllr Greenall was a Labour councillor (luckily, the motion was something Labour was quite happy to be associated with).


But Labour leader Terry Rice wasn't impressed with the apology, saying that the papers would be available in libraries and people would still assume that he was a Labour member (cue rolling of eyeballs all round, including his own side).


Fair point I thought, but his motion was hardly calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty - well, not in Full Council anyway... yet.


Funnily enough, nobody mentioned that later on in the agenda David Borrow, Labour MP (South Ribble) had his name mis -spelt and it became 'David Burrow'. Still, nevermind...


However, in the spirit of public service, I'm happy to help out here. So, for the record, would everyone please note that PAUL GREENALL IS A CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR, NOT A LABOUR COUNCILLOR.


There, that's better isn't it?


To be fair, Cllr Greenall - sporting a Stan Laurel-esque bow tie for the occasion - could see the funny side (as could most other people) and even former Labour leader Alan Bullen joked about supposedly having secret talks with Cllr Greenall about crossing the floor.


One Labour councillor (Bob Pendleton I think) then shouted out: "We wouldn't have you!"
There was also a great one-liner from Cllr Rice when the Tories refused to have the EU Flag flown as well. He told the assembled Conservatives: "You'll never get a plumber now..."

Now, bickering is almost de-rigeur when West Lancs Tories and Labour get inside the council chamber. However, there were sparks flying between wannabe Tory MP Adrian Owens and his council cabinet colleague John Baldock over what I foolishly assumed was the least controversial item on the agenda, the seemingly innocuous report entitled 'Update on Smokefree Legislation'.


According to community services boss Dave Tilleray, the council needs £8k to visit a load of businesses to teach them how to obey the law but there was some debate as to where this cash is coming from.


To be honest, as I couldn't understand the report in the first place, I didn't really understand the enusing argument. Some humour was injected into the proceedings by Cllr Alan Bullen who, typically and unhelpfully added to the Tories' woes by saying: "I didn't want to comment on this as it's clearly a family squabble..."


The backslapping part came when Cllr David Westley decided that he didn't much care for Labour Cllr Cynthia Dereli's calls for better arrangements for cardboard and business recycling and proposed his own motion which read (and I quote in full):

"That the council recognises the outstanding progress made in the rate of recycling during the past 6 years under the Conservative administration who, starting from a very modest 7% in 2001 under Labour, have pushed it up to an impressive 45%

"That the opportunity is taken to formally record the council's appreciation of the hard work by our officers and the full co-operation of the residents of West Lancashire, both of which have been essential to this remarkable achievement.

"That the council confirms it is wholly committed to achieving further progress in both the rate of recycling and the quality of the service, through the application of the necesary time, effort and resources subject to any budgetary constraints."

Hmm... perhaps "aren't we fab?" would have been a better form of word in terms of saving ink and David Westley's (and my) index fingers.

But the pièce de résistance came when he produced a graph to illustrate just how much recycling has gone up.


It was then, ahem, 'suggested' that the local press (i.e. me, seeing as I was the only one there) might like to give this 'fantastic achievement' a wider audience. This is an old trick done at nearly ever council meeting where the press are present just to make sure you are a) still awake or b) not writing out your shopping list while your supposed to be listening to the pearls of widom emanating from across the room.


Well, I was, as any good journalist does, listening attentively so here is the said graph. Don't say I never do anything to help the council...

Recycling rates

For more on Full Council, don't miss this Thursday's Advertiser.

Ain't That a Coincidence?

Posted by David Sudworth on October 2, 2007 9:01 PM

IT seems there's been some 'joined up thinking' going on at West Lancs District Council recently.

Visitors to its website will be able to read how the authority is teaming up with the Environment Agency to crack down on fly-tippers. And to make it nice and official, an official agreement has been signed between the two parties.

This was just a few days before another notice went out telling residents that from October 1, the previously free bulky waste collection will now set you back £12.50.


I'm sure it's just a mere coincidence.


That must be the case, especially given cabinet member Cllr David Westley's assurances in an Advertiser interview a few weeks ago that this new system will actually REDUCE the amount of fly-tipping.


It'll be interesting to see if the next set of figures from the Street Scene department prove him right, and whether this new WLDC/EA partnership actually works as well in practice as it sounds on paper.

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Off the record in the October 2007. They are listed from oldest to newest.

September 2007 is the previous archive.November 2007 is the next archive.

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