The Big Delivery

Spent most of the day on a major delivery drive – get over a 1000 of the letters out into key areas. And the rest can be distributed tomorrow as we make our presence felt in the ward.

Crewe and Nantwich By-Election

In Parliament today, Labour Chief Whip Geoff Hoon moved the writ for the holding of the by-election in Crewe and Nantwich.

There was great debate as to whether this was showing undue haste, Gwyneth's funeral not yet having taken place.

In response, The Leader of the House of Commons (Ms Harriet Harman) is quoted in Hansard:
"I wish to raise two points in response to those that have been made. The first is about the wishes of the family and the second is about the conventions of the House.

"I shall read to the House a statement from the family in respect of the late Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody. They said:
“We fully support the decision to begin the process of electing a new MP for Crewe and Nantwich. Our mother proudly represented this constituency for 34 years, and would not want to see local people go without an MP. She worked tirelessly for local people and recognised there was always more to do. She would want that job of work to continue, as quickly as possible.”

"It is a long-standing convention of the House that, when a party loses a member, it decides when to move the writ, which triggers the process that leads to the ensuing by-election.
Crewe and Nantwich has had a doughty advocate for 34 years and it needs a new Member of Parliament. I therefore invite the House to support the motion."

Again to quote Hansard:
Question put and agreed to.

If it's good enough for the Dunwoody family, then it's good enough for me.

Speeding up into 20 mph zone

Have just received confirmation from officers at County Hall that the 20 mph signs won’t be ready until the end of May at the very earliest. Decide to run with the letter. Redraft it to take account of new developments and send off to Eddie.

Will go Into Clifton Hill to supervise the printing and folding of these. Now just need to get them out – but that can wait until the morning as we need to make all the arrangements for eve of poll deliveries, and for the setting-up and running of each Ward’s campaign HQ – the Committee Room.

More on 20 mph

I am handed a copy of the Lib Dem’s latest newsletter. It appears hasty and ill-conceived. Lots of typographical errors (although I know that I’m also prone in that area). Perhaps we’ve got them worried – I hope so.

In the leaflet, their candidate say that the 20 mph signs are due at the beginning of May. Can this be true? Or is it just wishful thinking? Urgently need to make enquiries at County Hall to try and confirm this.

Solar Power Play-off

Have you seen the ads? You know the ones from Friends of the Earth (FoE)

Germany has 200 times more solar power than England.

Why? Because German households and businesses get paid a renewable energy reward for the solar power they generate.

It's known as the 'feed-in tariff' and has helped make Germany a world leader in renewable energy. These are the kinds of solutions we need to tackle climate change.
Meanwhile Britain is near the bottom of the European renewable energy league table.
If Britain is serious about promoting renewable energy, it needs a 'feed-in tariff' or we'll be left on the bench watching the climate crisis worsen.

The Energy Bill is going through Parliament now - but it needs to be amended to include a renewable energy reward (New Clause 4).

Call on your MP to sign New Clause 4 to the Energy Bill

I've just been to the FoE website to press for change on climate and used the the on-line forms to send Ben Bradshaw the following message:

"The UK's record on renewable energy is a national disgrace. Germany has more than 200 times more solar power and ten times more wind power installed than the UK. Germany has a quarter of a million people employed in their renewables industry. We have only 7,000 in the UK. One of the reasons Germany is so far ahead is their adoption of a feed in tariff policy which pays consumers and businesses a long term, guaranteed, premium price for the renewable energy they generate. It is a renewable energy reward (sometimes also known as a feed-in tariff).

Please support New Clause 4 to the Energy Bill, to be debated in Parliament on 30th April. This would introduce a renewable energy reward into the UK. Failure to do so could delay the adoption of this transformative energy policy by three years. We are near the bottom of the EU renewable energy league table. No further delays are acceptable in adopting the policies which will deliver a dynamic low carbon economy."

Why not do the same. E-mail your MP and ask them to support the New Clause 4. Visit the FoE site here.

Well done, Exeter City FC?

Much as it pains me (I'm a Plymouth Argyle fan through and through), Exeter City FC are through to the play-offs.

With Torquay's defeat, Cambridge's win and City's late equaliser, its a local derby with Torquay at home on THURSDAY! Yes, election day!

So I've spent the afternoon dusting off the PA systems, and getting them up and running. Then, with 5 systems in use throughout the city, we can remind people to vote before joining the throngs heading for St James Park.

I guess queues will be seen in the St James ward - but I feel that they won't be outside the polling stations at St Sidwell's School and York House.

Thanks to the responsible students.

I return to the car via Howell Road and I am amazed by the difference. All bar one of the wheelie bins are where they should be - inside the properties' boundaries. Hurrah. My direct action has worked. Can I take this opportunity to say thank you to all the students responsible.

The same goes to the students in Culverland Road - most have followed the rules.

Perhaps they will be motivated to help the remaining offenders to free up the pavements.

Signs in Bury Meadow Park

Cut through Bury Meadow Park on my way to Boston Tea Party for large mocha and West Country Breakfast for brunch.

First visit to the park for a few days and delighted to see that the promised signs have been erected.

I must say they're bigger than I thought - from the .pdfs I had been sent in late March, I was expecting A4-ish signs to be attached to posts rather than the 2m high self-contained signs we have.

Delivering in Exwick

Cross the water this morning and I pay back some of the work West Exe members have done for me by delivering some targeted letters. Even though I'm working the apparently flat area of Exwick Road, there are numerous steps to climb. However, there are some stunning views across to the cathedral.

Still I makes me grateful for the gentle slopes of St James.

PCS Questionnaire

Have received a questionnaire from PCS - the Public and Commercial Services Union.

Worried about cuts for public services and campaigning for fair pay for its members, the PCS is asking candidates for their views on public services. These views will then be distributed locally to members proir to the election to help them make up their mionds when they cast their votes.

I publish my responses here as well.

Do you support PCS's campaign for fair pay for public services?
An unequivocal YES. The vast majority of public service worker are extremely dedicated to providing good public services to people who need them. In return for this dedication, they deserve a decent level of pay and conditions

I believe that public sector pay barely affects inflation as the inflation indices are compiled from goods and services that are almost entirely provided by the state sector, yet the effects of inflation are directly felt by public sector workers. So a below inflation wage settlements are actually a pay cut.

A National Agreement is essential for a fair and equitable way of dealing with salary scales. It is extremely inefficient to manage 200+ separate sets of negotiations. The outcome often brings resentment and dissatisfaction. Time and energies would be better spent on delivery successful public services.

In addition, a single National Agreement gives all Trade Union members a minimum standard of pay and conditions, irrespective of how well individual branches are organised. That is what the Trade union movement is about - Strength in Unity.…

As a member of BECTU (the theatre and broadcasting union), I was proud to stand with you and NUT/UCU colleagues at the recent rally at St James Park in support of your aims

Where do you stand on cutting civil and public service jobs?
Civil and public service staff are the front-line in delivering our policies to the public. Cuts over recent years has placed an undue burden on front-line staff and services have been stretched. Further cuts could have an adverse effect on the services delivered to the public.

Many job cuts are proposed on the recommendation of unelected and unaccountable consultants. The money paid to these consultants could be better used by investing in people.

I believe that job cuts will impact on the delivery of services to the public, leading to a poorer service to the public. However, I must qualify this statement - sometimes the need for particular jobs reduces, and then redeployment or "natural wastage" (with no compulsory redundancies) should be used.

We must invest in our staff in the same way as we invest in infrastructure and equipment.

Where do you stand on privatising public services?
I am totally opposed to the general principle of privatising public services. I believe in people not profits. That is the reason why I am standing as the Labour and Co-operative candidate in the coming election.

Privatisation should be mutually exclusive with the delivery of public services. Public services need to benefit the end users of those services, not big business nor shareholders.

Replacement by the private sector almost invariably means inferior terms and conditions for staff, and the desire of the private company to make profits means a poorer service for the public.

I am proud of the fact that when I was last a councillor (on Blaby District Council in 1995-99) the Labour Group on the Council (NOC, but Labour-led) successfully fought off a plan to privatise the refuse collection service.

Costly accommodation

A report by accomodationforstudents.com lists Exeter as one of the top 10 most expensive places to live for students. ys a report. Research by Accomodation for Students shows that the average weekly rent for students in the city has risen to 26 per cent above the UK average and is now more expensive than Oxford. The organisation studied the student rental market for the last five years, and the results show that although the average rent is just over £57 per week, the city's is nearly £78, almost £40 more expensive than Crewe, which was listed as the cheapest. Alongside Exeter in the top 10 are London, Dublin, St Andrews and Surrey.

No harm in being wrong, sometimes

The following article is by Michael White from today's Guardian:

A voracious reader like Gordon Brown must be familiar with Keynes' wit as well as his wisdom. "When the facts change, I change my mind," the great economist once remarked. He also said: "There is no harm in being sometimes wrong - especially if one is promptly found out."

But which is it in the current mystery of the 10p tax rate? As everyone now knows, in last years's budget, Brown's 11th, the then-chancellor abolished a rate he had himself introduced. The Institute of Fiscal Studies predicted the move might hurt 3.5 million low-paid workers (it was actually 5.3 million), but were told they were wrong. So was Tony Blair, then prime minister.

Did Brown deceive MPs in 2007, or himself? David Cameron and George Osborne are sure they know. No 10 only listens when it faces defeat, says the Conservative leader. Last night his precocious sidekick said: "Gordon Brown has been found out. I have always believed he is a man who puts calculation before conviction." Lethal words if the Tories can make them stick.

Labour MPs whose anxieties were rebuffed by the Treasury in 2007 have since met constituents with pay slips proving the Treasury wrong, by £50 a year here, £200 there: a lot to people on the edge. "I don't think Gordon was telling lies, he might have believed it," says one.

"Gordon thought he'd done poverty and wouldn't listen to anyone telling him he hadn't," argues a more waspish colleague. Both have received "I'll never vote Labour again" letters from pensioners who cannot recoup lost cash.

Frank Field raised the standard of revolt. Brown was adamant against retreat until he heeded rebel threats and embraced Alistair Darling's more flexible position on Monday.

One politician's U-turn is another's sensible adjustment. Margaret Thatcher was brilliant at U-turns. When the miners called her bluff on pit closures in 1981, she overruled her energy secretary, capitulated and bided her time for a rematch. Most voters are less interested in the finer points of U-turns than politicians and pundits. If ministers get it right in the end, voters are not bothered how they got there. When backbench MPs bring governments to heel, voters should rejoice. So No 10 must endure media jeers and insist it is doing "the right thing in the long term". Admirable or rigid, its next big test is the vote on the 42-day pre-charge detention. It has been postponed.

I'm putting strong store on the thought "If ministers get it right in the end, voters are not bothered how they got there." We shall see on Thursday if voters think we got it right!

NUT Rally

Make my way to St James Park for the rally organised by Devon NUT. As well as reps from the Teachers union, there are speakers for UCU (Universities and Colleges Union) and PCS (Public and Civil Services). All are facing below inflation increases this year, despite that the fact that it is acknowledged that public service salaries do not fuel inflation. So what the teachers and others are being offered is in effect a pay cut.

A packed (standing room only) FlyBe lounge welcomes the speeches enthusiastically.

How to vote

Hugh tells me that he met a student that didn't know how to vote - a reoccurring issue with first-time voters. Have come across the publication "Step by Step Voting in England" issued by the Electoral Commission. It contains a step-by-step guide to the process accompanied by straight-forward diagrams. The Electoral Commission publish a range of very interesting and useful documents, including a 2-page handout entitled "It's easy to vote (England, Scotland and Wales)"

Student accommodation

Use our walk back from canvassing to talk to Hugh about student accommodation.

I've heard conflicting reports about whether private student flats are cheaper or dearer than halls on campus.

Hugh tells me that it all depends on which halls. They rage in price from around £60 to £130 per week. Some are self-catering single bed with washing facilities and shared bathrooms. But the University is favouring rooms with double beds, en-suite facilities and provision for self-catering. These of course have another life as conference rooms and bring in additional income out of term time. He also told me that the University has converted many of the former type of halls into the conference type.

Voter ID in student areas

This evening went into the student village that is Springfield, Culverland and Victoria Roads.

My colleague Hugh (himself a student) told me he knocked on one door and was answered by a young lady wearing nothing at all.

I wonder if this was perhaps the person spotted by George Hexter in New North Road as reported in the "E&E" letter, "Can you reveal the naked truth?"

Perhaps this incident will help me convince others that students really are worth talking too. Also it might also increase the numbers of people willing to help.

Taxing times.

Despite the media coverage, there has been a distinct lack of comment about the loss of the 10p starting rate of tax from the beginning of the fiscal year during my canvassing.

One or 2 of my team have had the odd comment, but my only encounter on the doorstep was more of an analysis of the likely effects of the cut. I am more likely to be faced with the anti-Iraq War comments and the continued dissatisfaction of Blair's term as PM.

Since the cut was announced by Gordon Brown in the 2007 Budget, I been following the views of Frank Field, the outspoken MP for Birkenhead, with interest.

His website carries an article that was published in Sunday's "News of the World".

He states that "No Labour MP wants to wreck the Budget. Most of us were overjoyed that Gordon Brown’s last Budget cut the middle rate of tax from 22p to 20p in the pound. What none of us agreed with was that the tax cuts should be paid for by the poorest workers. 5.3 million households are made worse off by the abolition of the 10p rate of tax."

He understands that it is not realistic to campaign to re-instate the 10p rate, such a move would wreck the Budget and the higher paid would be the biggest beneficiaries. They would gain both advantages of the 10p rate and the cut in the 22p rate. This would cost £7 billion and that kind of money simply isn’t available.

His plan is to press the Government to introduce a compensation package for those millions of workers who have begun to loose out. Such a package would not help the highest paid, but would direct every penny available for cash payments to lower paid workers.

Mr Field has tabled an amendment to the clause in the Budget Bill that gives the Government the retrospective authority to abolish the 10p rate. The amendment is nothing but simple. It denies the Government the power to abolish the 10p rate until it has published a compensatory package. The package has then to be approved by the Commons before the Budget’s 10p abolition. Here is a double lock to protect the low paid.

He feels that "lower paid workers not only object to paying for tax cuts, they rightly feel it is unfair. But they also feel devalued and hurt by the Government...The 10p cut strikes the heart of why many of us are in politics which is about helping those worse off."

Next week's vote on the Budget, and hopefully Frank Field's amendment will be an interesting time, coming as it does 4 days ahead of the elections.

The Telegraph notes that it is highly unusual for the backbench MPs of the governing party to defeat the Treasury over a key aspect of the Budget, especially something as important as income tax policy. it states "Frank Field’s proposed amendment to the Finance Bill either to reverse the 10p tax abolition or compensate the five million low-paid workers who will lose out promises to be one of those rare moments."

But while it is rare, there is a precedent for backbenchers forcing a major Budget change.
In 1977, Denis Healey’s Budget failed to uprate tax allowances in line with what was then rampant inflation. Supported by Nigel Lawson, the Tory finance spokesman, two Labour backbenchers, Jeff Rooker and Audrey Wise, forced through an amendment to the Finance Bill at 3am.

On the Today Programme on Radio 4 yesterday, Shadow Chancellor, George Osbourne, would neither confirm of deny whether the Tories would support the amendment.

So there is the real possibility of a Government defeat days before the local elections...will this help or hinder my chances?

Planning

Before going out canvassing, I attend the planning committee meeting as an observer.

They are discussing the outline planning application for the William Hurst Almshouses on Culverland Road.

This is a very difficult one to call.

The plans allow for the replacing the existing 12 units (which are in serious need of renovation) with 24 new purpose-built flats which would be much more suitable as homes.

Weighed against this are the existing art-deco style semi-detached buildings. They are not listed and are not in a conservation area, but are thought to have both architectural and historical merit.


The trustees inform the committee that they have found out that 2 of the 3 blocks are in fact copies - the originals being destroyed by German bombers during World War 2. This didn't come as any great surprise to me - there is a sign to that effect on the middle clock.



The councillors seem to set a great deal of store on the fact that 2 of the 3 blocks are facsimiles and the officers recommendation of refusal is rejected. A new proposal of accepting the application is passed 6 votes to nil, with 3 abstentions.

I hope that the architects working for the Exeter Municipal Charities take stock of some of the comments made at the meeting and when they submit their plans for the full planning application, their layout will be one that in the future will become as architecturally and historically significant as the buildings they are replacing.

DCC visit Hoopern Street

I understand that Hoopern street has had a visit by a man from Devon County Council to look at the state of the road surface - prompted largely, I'm led to believe, by the noises I've made.

It was pointed out to him that the road maintenance carried out followed his instructions (via the white paint markings placed around SOME of the potholes). He conceded that more needed to be done and made some assurances that he had instructed the workers to do any more patches needed that were exposed by car removal. He also confirmed that he thought the whole street needed surfacing.

He had no answer to the situation with the double yellow lines.

So things are moving, and I will update via the blog on any progress.

Oh and this is a damn fine photo I took of myself in Hoopern Street.

Bury Meadow Park gates

Passing the entrance to Bury Meadow Park on the corner of Elm Grove Road and Linden Vale after the Bellowhead gig last night, I noticed that the gates were unlocked. In fact, one of them was open and seemed at a very jaunty angle. On checking, it seemed to swing closed properly.

Informed Parks Department about this - they tell me that the gates have offset hinges, which is why they look odd.

Exeter City Council have a policy of open access to the parks, not least to prevent entrapment. So that's why the smaller gates were open. The larger ones are locked to prevent access by vehicles.