This one's in honour of whoever's going to end up running the country in a week's time:
Frankly I don't have a clue who I'm voting for in the General Election at the moment - at least in the local election I'll be voting for someone I trust!
Friday, 30 April 2010
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
The Axeman Cometh
One of my manifesto pledges being that I would always oppose increases in council tax and try to get it reduced significantly (significantly to me means at least 10%) then it's reasonable to ask what I would cut. Some people might think it's far-fetched being as Labour have increased council tax yet again and the Lib Dems are only promising a cut of less than 1%.
A good start would be to delete all or most of the budget for “Cultural and Related Services”. In 2006-2007, the budget for this was £66,506,000. By comparison, the budget for roads, highways and public transport services that year was less than half that, which shows a pretty strange set of priorities if you ask me.
Let's go through the itemised list of what this was for and see what we can take an axe to:
£96,000 – Archives spending. I'd have to look more closely into what this includes, but presumably the council needs to keep old records for future use, and it's a tiny part of the overall budget, so I'd leave it alone for now.
£3,825,000 – Arts development and support spending. Delete this completely. Art isn't something that should depend on handouts from the State. Art is generated by the creative impulses of the human mind, and it should be paid for by those who enjoy it.
£4,689,000 – Community centres and public halls spending. This probably won't make me popular, but I would vote to delete this part of the budget too. If there's a demand for such facilities, then they should be financed voluntarily by the people who use them.
£5,376,000 – Heritage spending. I'm assuming this includes maintaining the various monuments and historic buildings that come under council control. This should be phased out and responsibility for this should be turned over to charities and local voluntary groups.
£14,255,000 – Library spending. This is a problem. In principle it's another case where I'd say it should be paid for by those who use it. On the other hand, libraries are such useful facilities for supporting education, job hunting etc that I'd be very cautious about making any radical changes. If anyone has any practical ideas for making the library service voluntarily funded while still keeping it free at the point of use, I'd appreciate the input.
£6,560,000 – Museums and galleries spending. This part of the budget can and should be deleted. I do like visiting places like the Science Museum and the Art Gallery when I've got time, but not everyone does, and should my entertainment be funded by other people? I would advocate a rolling programme of transferring ownership and control of museums and art galleries to charities, volunteer groups and the private sector.
£14,764,000 – Open spaces spending. Parkland and suchlike, in some cases just waste ground that the council has grassed over. Local community groups should normally be responsible for this kind of thing, and in most cases they could probably do the job a lot cheaper.
£9,377,000 – Sports and recreation facilities including golf courses. Should be paid for by those who enjoy them. Privatise them.
£5,810,000 – Theatres and public entertainment. What is this, the Roman Empire, with Caesar laying on entertainment to keep the public quiet? I like going to the theatre when I can afford it (and it happens that we've got a lot of good amateur theatres around Greater Manchester) but I don't expect other people to subsidise my nights out through council tax. Delete this budget.
£1,754,000 – Tourism spending. I don't think I've ever met anyone who has visited Manchester due to promotion by Marketing Manchester. People come from the outside because they've got relatives in the area or there's some particular aspect of Manchester or it's history that interests them (football being an obvious example). Another budget that can be deleted with no problem.
Does a decent cut in council tax still sound far-fetched?
A good start would be to delete all or most of the budget for “Cultural and Related Services”. In 2006-2007, the budget for this was £66,506,000. By comparison, the budget for roads, highways and public transport services that year was less than half that, which shows a pretty strange set of priorities if you ask me.
Let's go through the itemised list of what this was for and see what we can take an axe to:
£96,000 – Archives spending. I'd have to look more closely into what this includes, but presumably the council needs to keep old records for future use, and it's a tiny part of the overall budget, so I'd leave it alone for now.
£3,825,000 – Arts development and support spending. Delete this completely. Art isn't something that should depend on handouts from the State. Art is generated by the creative impulses of the human mind, and it should be paid for by those who enjoy it.
£4,689,000 – Community centres and public halls spending. This probably won't make me popular, but I would vote to delete this part of the budget too. If there's a demand for such facilities, then they should be financed voluntarily by the people who use them.
£5,376,000 – Heritage spending. I'm assuming this includes maintaining the various monuments and historic buildings that come under council control. This should be phased out and responsibility for this should be turned over to charities and local voluntary groups.
£14,255,000 – Library spending. This is a problem. In principle it's another case where I'd say it should be paid for by those who use it. On the other hand, libraries are such useful facilities for supporting education, job hunting etc that I'd be very cautious about making any radical changes. If anyone has any practical ideas for making the library service voluntarily funded while still keeping it free at the point of use, I'd appreciate the input.
£6,560,000 – Museums and galleries spending. This part of the budget can and should be deleted. I do like visiting places like the Science Museum and the Art Gallery when I've got time, but not everyone does, and should my entertainment be funded by other people? I would advocate a rolling programme of transferring ownership and control of museums and art galleries to charities, volunteer groups and the private sector.
£14,764,000 – Open spaces spending. Parkland and suchlike, in some cases just waste ground that the council has grassed over. Local community groups should normally be responsible for this kind of thing, and in most cases they could probably do the job a lot cheaper.
£9,377,000 – Sports and recreation facilities including golf courses. Should be paid for by those who enjoy them. Privatise them.
£5,810,000 – Theatres and public entertainment. What is this, the Roman Empire, with Caesar laying on entertainment to keep the public quiet? I like going to the theatre when I can afford it (and it happens that we've got a lot of good amateur theatres around Greater Manchester) but I don't expect other people to subsidise my nights out through council tax. Delete this budget.
£1,754,000 – Tourism spending. I don't think I've ever met anyone who has visited Manchester due to promotion by Marketing Manchester. People come from the outside because they've got relatives in the area or there's some particular aspect of Manchester or it's history that interests them (football being an obvious example). Another budget that can be deleted with no problem.
Does a decent cut in council tax still sound far-fetched?
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Busy couple of days
No-one told me politics would be this physically demanding. Having spent several days walking the streets delivering leaflets, I seem to be waking up tired every morning now. Never mind, it'll soon be over.
I actually overslept by several hours yesterday, so didn't get anything like as much done as I wanted to. I still managed to cover a reasonable chunk of Newton Heath, though.
In the evening I went to a public meeting concerning the Collyhurst demolitions. I didn't make any contribution myself, I was there to try to learn more about what's supposed to be going on, and I'm not inclined to shoot my mouth off unless I'm sure of my facts. The meeting was supposed to be about giving the residents a chance to find out what the current plan is, but there were no council officers there. Graham Stringer was there - he's the Labour MP for Blackley (or was, technically he's unemployed while he seeks re-election) and some of this development is in his constituency. Although I'm not a fan of the guy (I disliked him when I lived in Blackley and still do) I felt sorry for him on this occasion. All he could do was take notes of people's questions and promise to pass them onto the council, not very satisfying for anyone, but that's genuinely all he could do.
The redevelopment is supposed to be being financed by way of a PFI (Private Finance Initiative). Unfortunately for everyone, the private sector's not very flush at the moment and the whole scheme seems to depend on central government infecting a large amount of money into the scheme. Now everyone's waiting for the General Election result to see if this is still going ahead. Even if it does go ahead, the plans don't seem to have been finalised and it could still be two or three years before the demolitions start, then another two or three years before the residents are moved back - this will kill the community for sure. In the meantime, the council has been neglecting repairs to the properties in question, with the result that some of those maisonettes apparently no longer meet minimum standards. What a way to run a housing policy. The meeting broke up amid accusations of deliberate neglect and land banking. The council should really make a plan (or plans) based on what resources it's sure it can secure and then have an honest consulation with the residents and then actually carry out whatever plan is agreed without undue delay. Almost anything's better than keeping people in suspense.
I had a better day today. I woke up at a reasonable time feeling reasonably rested. I did a bit of leafleting in the area near the Methodist Church Hall then linked up with a libertarian sympathiser to do some leafletting over on the other side of Newton Heath, not far from where the old munitions factory used to be. We managed to cover a lot of ground, and hopefully we'll do at least as well tomorrow. One thing that's struck me is how badly maintained the roads seem to be once you get off the main roads. Definitely a case for more investment in maintenance.
Having spent several hours leafleting, I dropped my mate off in town , drove back to Newton Heath, did a bit more leafleting on my own, had a bit of tea then out again to the Methodist Church Hall on Droylsden Road for a yoga class (these are held free of charge every Tuesday between 6.30 and 7.30, just turn up and introduce yourself). Good stuff yoga, it's the only exercise system I've ever tried which genuinely leaves me feeling refreshed. So I'll be all ready for a bit more groundpounding tomorrow morning.
I actually overslept by several hours yesterday, so didn't get anything like as much done as I wanted to. I still managed to cover a reasonable chunk of Newton Heath, though.
In the evening I went to a public meeting concerning the Collyhurst demolitions. I didn't make any contribution myself, I was there to try to learn more about what's supposed to be going on, and I'm not inclined to shoot my mouth off unless I'm sure of my facts. The meeting was supposed to be about giving the residents a chance to find out what the current plan is, but there were no council officers there. Graham Stringer was there - he's the Labour MP for Blackley (or was, technically he's unemployed while he seeks re-election) and some of this development is in his constituency. Although I'm not a fan of the guy (I disliked him when I lived in Blackley and still do) I felt sorry for him on this occasion. All he could do was take notes of people's questions and promise to pass them onto the council, not very satisfying for anyone, but that's genuinely all he could do.
The redevelopment is supposed to be being financed by way of a PFI (Private Finance Initiative). Unfortunately for everyone, the private sector's not very flush at the moment and the whole scheme seems to depend on central government infecting a large amount of money into the scheme. Now everyone's waiting for the General Election result to see if this is still going ahead. Even if it does go ahead, the plans don't seem to have been finalised and it could still be two or three years before the demolitions start, then another two or three years before the residents are moved back - this will kill the community for sure. In the meantime, the council has been neglecting repairs to the properties in question, with the result that some of those maisonettes apparently no longer meet minimum standards. What a way to run a housing policy. The meeting broke up amid accusations of deliberate neglect and land banking. The council should really make a plan (or plans) based on what resources it's sure it can secure and then have an honest consulation with the residents and then actually carry out whatever plan is agreed without undue delay. Almost anything's better than keeping people in suspense.
I had a better day today. I woke up at a reasonable time feeling reasonably rested. I did a bit of leafleting in the area near the Methodist Church Hall then linked up with a libertarian sympathiser to do some leafletting over on the other side of Newton Heath, not far from where the old munitions factory used to be. We managed to cover a lot of ground, and hopefully we'll do at least as well tomorrow. One thing that's struck me is how badly maintained the roads seem to be once you get off the main roads. Definitely a case for more investment in maintenance.
Having spent several hours leafleting, I dropped my mate off in town , drove back to Newton Heath, did a bit more leafleting on my own, had a bit of tea then out again to the Methodist Church Hall on Droylsden Road for a yoga class (these are held free of charge every Tuesday between 6.30 and 7.30, just turn up and introduce yourself). Good stuff yoga, it's the only exercise system I've ever tried which genuinely leaves me feeling refreshed. So I'll be all ready for a bit more groundpounding tomorrow morning.
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Thinking about housing
Sensible people sleep in late on weekends, or go out and enjoy themselves. Me and my loyal band of helpers, we spent yesterday and today walking the streets of Newton Heath, Miles Platting and Collyhurst, delivering my election leaflets. Yesterday it was roasting hot, today started off pleasantly cool but it soon started raining. A natural result of holding elections at this time of year, I suppose. At least it wasn't snowing.
We managed to get a lot done, though. We've managed to cover most of Collyhurst South, part of Miles Platting and a big chunk of Newton Heath. Hopefully we'll be able to do the rest by the end of the week.
Mostly we've been doing council estates so far, and talking to local residents, I've been struck yet again by what an awful landlord the council is. They're completely unresponsive to input from their own residents, and it can take years to get even simple repair jobs done. I've moved house several times as an adult and certainly that was my experience as a council tennant. It seems to me that the central problem is that the council is too distant and has too many other responsibilities to do the job properly. There needs to be more local control. Eventually, I would advocate local councils getting out of the housing market altogether, and turning council estates over to whatever local forms of control are preferred by the local residents (housing associations, cooperatives, outright ownership of each individual property by the occupants, whatever). Local solutions to local problems are usually more effective than central planning. One size doesn't fit all. Radical reform isn't going to happen overnight of course, and one thing that might be worth doing in the short term is to give more power to existing tennants' associations - they're already embedded in the local communities, so maybe give them a bit of a budget and let them get on with any small repairs that are needed in their area without having to lobby the council first. Obviously there would have to be safeguards, democratic accountability etc, but it's maybe an idea worth pursuing. I don't claim to be an expert on housing, but the current system's clearly not working the way it should. We need to elect some politicians who are at least open to trying out new ideas.
We managed to get a lot done, though. We've managed to cover most of Collyhurst South, part of Miles Platting and a big chunk of Newton Heath. Hopefully we'll be able to do the rest by the end of the week.
Mostly we've been doing council estates so far, and talking to local residents, I've been struck yet again by what an awful landlord the council is. They're completely unresponsive to input from their own residents, and it can take years to get even simple repair jobs done. I've moved house several times as an adult and certainly that was my experience as a council tennant. It seems to me that the central problem is that the council is too distant and has too many other responsibilities to do the job properly. There needs to be more local control. Eventually, I would advocate local councils getting out of the housing market altogether, and turning council estates over to whatever local forms of control are preferred by the local residents (housing associations, cooperatives, outright ownership of each individual property by the occupants, whatever). Local solutions to local problems are usually more effective than central planning. One size doesn't fit all. Radical reform isn't going to happen overnight of course, and one thing that might be worth doing in the short term is to give more power to existing tennants' associations - they're already embedded in the local communities, so maybe give them a bit of a budget and let them get on with any small repairs that are needed in their area without having to lobby the council first. Obviously there would have to be safeguards, democratic accountability etc, but it's maybe an idea worth pursuing. I don't claim to be an expert on housing, but the current system's clearly not working the way it should. We need to elect some politicians who are at least open to trying out new ideas.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Mad dogs and politicians go out in this kind of weather
I had a bit of a hard day leafleting today. We were working the Collyhurst South area, delivering leaflets and talking to some of the local residents. Not many were around to talk to, sensible people stay indoors in this kind of weather instead of tramping the streets. It seems that the council's plans for "redevelopment" may be on hold for the moment - the latest word is that they're waiting to see who wins the general election, because the funds for this scheme are supposed to be coming from central government. Crazy, it's not like we didn't all know that a general election was coming. Councils should work out what money they've actually got available before announcing grand plans, instead of gambling on screwing a bit more money out of the government. The whole scheme's pretty controversial, with different people either strongly for or against it, but it does seem to keep changing, which isn't good for anyone.
Anyway, we managed to get most of the area covered, and then retired to the Marble Arch for a well-deserved bitter. I could really do with a bit of cool, overcast weather for this kind of work, the sun was definitely starting to get to me when we finished! Labour and the "Lib" Dems have also been working the area, so it's just as bad for their activists, I suppose.
After I got home and had a well-deserved nap, I decided to have a look at the internet for a bit of light relief. And I found some - enjoy:
For the record, I agree with Gordon Brown that the general election is depressing, and I also sympathise with Nick Clegg's reasons for wanting to be Prime Minister.
Anyway, we managed to get most of the area covered, and then retired to the Marble Arch for a well-deserved bitter. I could really do with a bit of cool, overcast weather for this kind of work, the sun was definitely starting to get to me when we finished! Labour and the "Lib" Dems have also been working the area, so it's just as bad for their activists, I suppose.
After I got home and had a well-deserved nap, I decided to have a look at the internet for a bit of light relief. And I found some - enjoy:
For the record, I agree with Gordon Brown that the general election is depressing, and I also sympathise with Nick Clegg's reasons for wanting to be Prime Minister.
Friday, 23 April 2010
The Campaign Begins!
I took delivery of my leaflets yesterday. The Libertarian Party's Communications Director, Councillor Gavin Webb, has done a good job of designing these. They're only A5, but they're printed in colour, with a really good layout. He's even somehow managed to make my picture on the front look not too horrible. Gavin also got a pretty good deal, £89 for 5,000 leaflets – we're not a rich party with millionaire backers, and I'm certainly not a rich candidate. Election rules allow a candidate in this ward to spend over £1,000, and I'm sure the two big parties in this ward (Lib Dem and Labour) with their deep pockets will be taking full advantage of that. My budget is in the region of £100, so I'll just have to make do with what I've got. One advantage that I do have is that I'm the only candidate in this ward who's guaranteed a vote – all the others live outside the area!
So I got the leaflets yesterday, and today I started distribution. All of a sudden, it's turned into a real election campaign. Out of the door at the crack of 9.00 am, and I got back just about dead on noon. In that time, I delivered something over 300 leaflets in the area around my house, which I don't think is a bad rate of work. One thing about walking around delivering these leaflets is, I soon developed a real appreciation for what a hilly area my part of Newton Heath is. Lucky I keep reasonably fit (quarterstaff lessons on Monday nights, yoga on Tuesday evenings and walks in the country when I've got time) or I would have been done in after the first hour, especially as the weather turned quite warm after a bit. I had to skip some houses, due to the gardens having dogs in them or being unable to find the letter box (yes, really) but not very many. I didn't do any actual canvassing (I'm no salesman, so I figured knocking on doors and trying to get people to vote for me would be counterproductive) but I did manage to chat to some people when I caught them going into or out of their homes, or just hanging out in their gardens. I can quite honestly say that I didn't have a single unpleasant experience, everyone was at least polite and some were quite friendly. I got back home at mid-day tired but in good spirits, feeling that I'd made a good start.
I rested up for a bit after I had some dinner, then went out again, this time to town. I'd had a letter from the Electoral Services Unit to attend a briefing for candidates and agents. I got into town a bit early, to get my hair cut – which really needed doing. As it happens, I didn't have to wait to get my hair cut, so I ended up with about an hour to kill before I had to get to the Town Hall. I decided to spend it in the Art Gallery, which is one of my favourite free places to kill time. It's a great place to wander around and see what catches your eye – one painting I particularly like is “Work” by Ford Madox Brown. The only thing I'd change about the Art Gallery is that it's taxpayer funded. I don't think taxpayers should be forced to pay for other people's pleasure. Things like art and sport should be paid for by the people who enjoy them. Personally, I'd probably turn the Art Gallery over to some charity and let them raise money through donations and/or charging at the door.
Anyway, 4.30pm rolls around, and I'm at the Town Hall, in the Banqueting Hall. I hadn't seen this part of the building before, it's quite impressive. Tea, coffee and biscuits were on offer free of charge (ie funded by the taxpayer) and I helped myself to a cup of coffee and several biscuits. Is this a sign of me starting to give in to corruption even before I've been elected?
The meeting wasn't as well attended as I expected. There were seats for at least a hundred people, but no more than a couple of dozen turned up – both local and parliamentary candidates. Flanagan and some members of his mob were there, along with Damien O'Connor (the local Lib Dem godfather) and members of his entourage. The briefing was pretty boring, technical stuff, mostly to do with the right of candidates and their agents to attend the count, the opening of postal ballots and suchlike, along with stern warnings not to try any ballot rigging. There were a couple of of interruptions by self-important candidates who seemed more interested in starting an argument than anything else, but I learned what I needed to learn and also picked up a pass for attending the count, so it was worth going to.
Overall, a pretty good day. If this is electioneering, I'll have some more of it.
So I got the leaflets yesterday, and today I started distribution. All of a sudden, it's turned into a real election campaign. Out of the door at the crack of 9.00 am, and I got back just about dead on noon. In that time, I delivered something over 300 leaflets in the area around my house, which I don't think is a bad rate of work. One thing about walking around delivering these leaflets is, I soon developed a real appreciation for what a hilly area my part of Newton Heath is. Lucky I keep reasonably fit (quarterstaff lessons on Monday nights, yoga on Tuesday evenings and walks in the country when I've got time) or I would have been done in after the first hour, especially as the weather turned quite warm after a bit. I had to skip some houses, due to the gardens having dogs in them or being unable to find the letter box (yes, really) but not very many. I didn't do any actual canvassing (I'm no salesman, so I figured knocking on doors and trying to get people to vote for me would be counterproductive) but I did manage to chat to some people when I caught them going into or out of their homes, or just hanging out in their gardens. I can quite honestly say that I didn't have a single unpleasant experience, everyone was at least polite and some were quite friendly. I got back home at mid-day tired but in good spirits, feeling that I'd made a good start.
I rested up for a bit after I had some dinner, then went out again, this time to town. I'd had a letter from the Electoral Services Unit to attend a briefing for candidates and agents. I got into town a bit early, to get my hair cut – which really needed doing. As it happens, I didn't have to wait to get my hair cut, so I ended up with about an hour to kill before I had to get to the Town Hall. I decided to spend it in the Art Gallery, which is one of my favourite free places to kill time. It's a great place to wander around and see what catches your eye – one painting I particularly like is “Work” by Ford Madox Brown. The only thing I'd change about the Art Gallery is that it's taxpayer funded. I don't think taxpayers should be forced to pay for other people's pleasure. Things like art and sport should be paid for by the people who enjoy them. Personally, I'd probably turn the Art Gallery over to some charity and let them raise money through donations and/or charging at the door.
Anyway, 4.30pm rolls around, and I'm at the Town Hall, in the Banqueting Hall. I hadn't seen this part of the building before, it's quite impressive. Tea, coffee and biscuits were on offer free of charge (ie funded by the taxpayer) and I helped myself to a cup of coffee and several biscuits. Is this a sign of me starting to give in to corruption even before I've been elected?
The meeting wasn't as well attended as I expected. There were seats for at least a hundred people, but no more than a couple of dozen turned up – both local and parliamentary candidates. Flanagan and some members of his mob were there, along with Damien O'Connor (the local Lib Dem godfather) and members of his entourage. The briefing was pretty boring, technical stuff, mostly to do with the right of candidates and their agents to attend the count, the opening of postal ballots and suchlike, along with stern warnings not to try any ballot rigging. There were a couple of of interruptions by self-important candidates who seemed more interested in starting an argument than anything else, but I learned what I needed to learn and also picked up a pass for attending the count, so it was worth going to.
Overall, a pretty good day. If this is electioneering, I'll have some more of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
