Out With The Old, In With The New

In a few hours of writing this blog we will be marking the start of 2013. There has been no doubt that 2012 has been a turbulent time economically for the UK.

I am in no doubt that in 2013 cases will be made for state-sponsored intervention to promote “growth” (which will, over the next year, become the most repeated and abused word in politics). Special groups – many very worthy and honourable – will plead for protection.

But the truth is that, like I’ve always said, there is no  magic bullet. There never was. There never will be. When you’ve dug yourselves a giant hole full of debt and state subsidy and market-stifling regulation and special privilege there is only one way out. Get rid of the duff regulations and red tape – and then do a whole lot of hard work. Conservatives – and British people in general – understand the value of hard work. We just expect that at the end of a day’s graft (in whatever profession) we will get to keep the lion’s share of the reward we have earned.

This is as true for the bricklayer, or shop assistant, or hairdresser, or policeman, or civil servant as it is for the lawyer, or banker, or union boss.

I said three years ago, and two years ago, and last year, that barring some miracle like finding oil under Milton Keynes - there will be no miraculous burst back into economic good health. This country will bump along a difficult line with things occasionally looking slightly rosier.

In some respects that has not just been a recession but a correction - from years of pretending we were wealthier than we are by borrowing ourselves into oblivion back to the true situation that has been created by years of ill-considered and wrong-headed economic and social policy.

The Left Wing of politics, both nationally and locally, spend their entire time doing two things (In this I include the Southend Independent Party who are about as politically-independent as Karl Marx).

They try to sow discontent by pretending that money can be plucked from thin air to appease the special concerns of anybody who they think might vote for them and then they pretend that previous bad policy was not in error and try to fix it with more suggestions of even worse policy.

It is a cynical and dangerous ploy, but one that does sometimes bear fruit for them. My hope is that nationally and locally the sensible British people will reject this negative politicking and paucity of ideas – in the same way they would reject Get-Rich-Quick schemes.

On the positive side we should remember that the United Kingdom is second to no nation in the world for invention, entrepreneurship or hard work. We have centuries of history and excellence to demonstrate this. These traits, so special to this little island and its smaller neighbours, have not gone away they are alive and well and ready to burst back into life if the State will just get out of the way and let it happen. It needs no help. It just needs a little less hindrance, and fewer people pretending that making stuff, doing stuff, creating stuff, is somehow evil. Its not. It’s wonderful and we do it so well.

Anyway enough of the ranting for 2012, I wish you all a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

A Welcome Christmas Surprise

A few years ago, under the last Government, the law was changed which prevented empty commerial properties becoming exempt from Business Rates. Historically, any commercial building which was unused was exempt from Business Rates but a change in the law ment that they no longer qualified unless the owners could demonstrate that the building could no longer be used.

As times have toughened economically, to avoid paying business rates, land owners started part demolishing buildings. This has had disastrous consequences up and down he land as communities had eyesores inflicted upon them.

Sadly, Southend hasn't been exempt with our seafront and Victoria Avenue suffering in particular. At a recent cabinet, I asked if it were possible for a local change in that we would only give Business Rate exemptions if the land owners totally demolished these types of buildings and cleared the site.

Despite the endeavours of officers investigating we are unable to do so despie local authorities now keeping Bussiness Rates. Here in West Shoebury we have similar issues with the former Turpins Tyres sie in West Road.

Yesterday, residents in West Road were given a pleasant surprise as the land owners started work on demolishing the rest of the building and clearing the site. We are lucky that this work is being undertaken so are less so. If the coalition government really want to help change and transform local communities a very simple change in the law to allow local authorities to set Business Rates criteria will stop this misery being inflicted upon us.

Merry Christmas Everyone

I'd like to wish all residents in West Shoebury and particularly readers of this blog, a very, very Merry Christmas and and a prosperous and healthy 2013.

Keep Blood Tests Local

I am very selective regarding which cause or campaign I add my signature to. There can be a tendency for politicians to jump on every passing bandwagon or become a rent a quote on every given subject.

By being selective, if my name is added to a cause or campaign then I believe that this gives residents the assurance that it is something that I believe in. Sometimes campaigns are like buses, in that you can wait ages for one and then two come along at once. Over the past few months there have been a couple of campaigns that I have believed in, the fight to save the Shoebury Delivery Office in George Street and now keeping blood tests local in Southend.

Bedford Hospital, some 90 miles away from Southend, have been announced as the preferred bidder by the regional Health Authority to screen blood tests. This means that all blood test screening currently undertaken at Southend and Basildon Hospitals will now transfer to Bedford Hospital. This will lead to inevitable delays with a real fear by many that lives could be put at risk.

The local Southend Echo have set up an e-petition in a bid to get 100,000 signatures to force a debate in parliament on the issue. I added my name yesterday, you can add yours too by clicking here.

December

This last month has been the usual hectic. Meetings in the Civic Centre on most Tuesday afternoons this month primarily focused around work on the forthcoming budget for the next year, were intense and detailed.  As you might imagine setting the budget for the town is a big job and one that comes with significant challenges – not least because of rising demand and costs versus falling revenue.

Earlier this month, I attended the first meeting of the Shoebury Youth Centre Steering Group which has been set following criticisms by the public, me and other members alike to address the under usage and lack of activities that young people want to participate in. I am pleased to say that usage has increased in the second half of the year but there is still more to be done in 2013 but I am encouraged by the work that officers and the portfolio holder have undertaken so far. I was delighted to attend the West Road Community & Traders Association Christmas event in West Road and hopefully this group will go from strength to strength in the New Year. 

In December I have attended meetings of Full Council, Cabinet, chaired the Public Transport & Buses Working Party and attended an on-site visit at City Beach regarding the work which is about to be undertaken in February on putting in the informal crossing points.

In addition I also attended a meeting on the proposed flood defences at Shoebury Common with representatives from the Beach Hut Association and Uncle Toms Cabin. It was pleasing that at this meeting for the first time there was a recognition by all parties that there is a real threat of flooding at Shoebury Common which needs to be addressed.

There has also been the ward work including the battle to get three untaxed lorries removed from Bishopsteignton which thankfully has now been resolved.

It has been a long month, but with the presents wrapped and all the Christmas shopping now brought there are only a couple of days to Christmas.

A Party in all but name

'Cllr Martin Terry the Leader of the Independent Group (A party in all but name)'. Not my words, but those of Cllr Dr Vel this afternoon in an email sent to all councillors.

This week Cllr Dr Vel announced that he is leaving the Independent Group as his spat with leader Cllr Terry turned ugly and became public - so much so that Cllr Terry urged him to stand down!

The developments this week have been spectacular considering that Cllr Terry was Cllr Dr Vel's agent in his bid for re-election in Westborough earlier this year and that they were the founders of the  'Independent project' in Southend.

Without any knowledge, it would appear that the spat started after one of the Independent Party charges put in a bid to become leader of the council following Southend going into no overall control following May's local elections. Southend has a Conservative minority administration after the opposition groups could not unite around a leader, despite the only thing they all had in common during the election campaign was the belief that they could do a better job than the Conservatives in running this town.

What this public spat between Cllr Terry and Cllr Dr Vel has done is officially put in the public domain that Cllr Terry leads a sudo party. Cllr Terry thought he had mastered the art of leading the public to believe that they were a group of people opposed to party politics despite one of their group belonging to a political party (Cllr Ric Morgan, Liberal Party, Prittlewell), have a leader who draws a salary, hold political group meetings, have identikit literature, form electoral pacts with political parties, have what suspiciously looks like whipped voting on certain issues and go ballistic if somebody stands as an Independent against one of their approved candidates.

It was inevitable that one day the Independents in Southend would implode, all Independent groupings invariably do and you can only be the repository for the dustbin vote for so long.

With Southend council being in no overall control, more scrutiny is placed on the opposition with the Independents failing at the first hurdle. The Independents have been busted. When we look back in time 2012 may prove to be the beginning of the end for them

Revised Christmas Recycling and Waste Collection Dates

With there being just 9 more sleeps to Santa there will be revised waste and recycling collection dates over the festive season.

For West Shoebury residents, the normal collection on Friday the 28th December will now be collected on Monday 31st December. The normal collection on Friday 4th January will now be collected on Monday 7th January and the normal collection on Friday the 11th January will be collected on Saturday 12th January.

Webcasting Given Green Light

At a meeting of Full Council on Thursday night, webcasting of meetings of Full Council were given the green light in a named vote by a majority of 27-13 votes.

As my colleague Cllr James Courtenay explained on his blog it will open democracy and allow more residents to see what councillors do any say in their name like the member who the question whether a freezer left in Belfairs Woods was to blame for the snow last week.

It will also stop the ruse of councillors saying one thing in the council chamber and then another on their blogs or newsletters to residents. For example, following comments made by Labour Leader Cllr Ian Gilbert regarding the new English Baccalaureate (ebacc as it has been dubed in the press) Cllr Chalk then spoke to say this that she has concerns with the proposed single examination at the end of the course which is completely opposite to what she said on her blog in September, which claims that the ebacc is a good idea and that coursework 'dilutes the educational experience'.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that Cllr Chalk was one of the 17 who voted against the proposals.

Council Backs Royal Mail Motion

"We call on this council to back the campaigns to stop the closure of the Royal Mail Delivery Offices in Shoeburyness and Leigh which will force some residents in this town to have a round trip of over 10 miles to collect parcels and signed for mail and have an adverse impact upon both the economic and environmental core of the town's operational effectiveness".

Proposed by Cllr's Tony Cox and Mark Flewitt
Seconded by Cllr Roger Hadley

I am delighted that the above motion was unanimously backed by all members at Thursday night's full council meeting. I was able to lead the debate by stating the reasons why this controversial proposal by Royal Mail is flawed in so many ways and opposed by many - even by staff who work at the Shoebury Delivery Office in Goerge Street.

I am also grateful to the Labour Group Leader Cllr Ian Gilbert for the acknowledgement of the work that Cllr Hadley and I have done in leading the campaign against the closure of the Shoeburyness Delivery Office.

I am also pleased that all four Group Leaders signed the strongly worded letter below following the sham of a meeting held with Royal Mail which I mentioned here last week.


You can still add your voice to campaign by signing the online petition here.

'Portfolio of Work to be Proud of'

When I was first elected in 2006, the big issue of the day in Shoebury which dominated my mailbox was the high levels of Graffiti which blighted many streets, buildings and street furniture.

So bad was the issue that a big clear-up operation was undertaken, a multi-agency task force set up to try and curb the problem and me and my colleagues in West Shoebury even produced and delivered a whole newsletter dedicated to the topic.

Thankfully those days are behind us and on the whole, Shoeburynes remains graffiti free although I remain vigilant and report new occurrences as soon as I spot them or residents inform me.

Graffiti costs council and industry a colossal amount every year and I feel that by calling it graffiti actually trivialises what is actually criminal damage.

I was stunned to read yesterday that three vandals who caused £150,000 damage to trains during a three-year spree, were told by Judge Henry Blacksell that they should be proud of their work.

Sentencing the trio to a minimum prison term, the judge said: "I will pass the least possible sentence. These are young men and people care about them. I don't endorse it but I understand the adrenaline rush and the feeling it gives them and they may be isolated in their families.

"I don't want to be doing this and I will be as lenient as I can be. They've got talent and some of Mr Rowe's portfolio you would be proud of. Clearly they are talented artists. What message does this send out. Still, I suppose it isn't as bad as Judge Peter Bowers who told a burglar his crime must have taken "a huge amount of courage"!

Thank You

For some weeks, I, along with my colleague in Shoeburyness ward Cllr Roger Hadley, have been leading the fight to save the Royal Mail Delivery Office in George Street.

A petition has been available online and in local shops in Shoeburyness for the residents to voice their fury and to get Royal Mail to think again about their plans to force Shoebury residents to collect their parcels and signed for mail at the Short Street Depot.

So far, over 950 residents have backed us in our campaign with the number rising daily. We are planning to hand the petition to Royal Mail early in the New Year but you can still have your voice heard by signing the online petition here.

Beach Huts to return to East Beach

Sitting in my in-box this morning was a press release of the design of the Beach Huts which are set to return to East Beach after an absence of a number of years.

Architects Pedder & Scampton have won the contract to design the new Beach Huts after they were selected from a short list of three bidders after 40 architectural firms from across the UK expressed an interest. The full press release can be found below.

The Fight Still Continues

Earlier this week, representatives from Southend Council met with Royal Mail to discuss the proposed closure of the Shoeburyness and Leigh Delivery Offices. Below is a press release issued by the council following the talks:

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is appalled at Royal Mail’s decision to shut five of its sorting offices in south east Essex without bothering to consider the views of local residents.

Chief Executive Rob Tinlin wrote to Royal Mail in October requesting an urgent meeting after it announced plans to close the sorting offices in Leigh, Shoebury, Canewdon, Great Wakering and Rochford.

The meeting was arranged for the Civic Centre this morning and attended by Mr Tinlin and the leaders of all four political groups on the Council.

They had planned to discuss their united opposition to the closures with a senior member of Royal Mail’s management team and talk about possible alternative solutions.

But instead two members of staff without the authority to make decisions or alter the proposals were sent to inform them Royal Mail was publicly announcing the closures tomorrow (Dec 6).

Council Leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “I am quite appalled and shocked by Royal Mail’s behaviour with regards to this matter, which has the horrible feel of a stitch-up about it.

“Royal Mail announced in October that it intended closing the sorting offices and consolidating all its sorting office functions at its Short Street base in Southend.

"It appears to have taken absolutely no account of the affect this would have on the four communities concerned, let alone the logistical difficulties it would cause in Short Street".

Royal Mail has previously objected to Tesco’s plans to build a new superstore in Short Street on the grounds that it would be likely to cause traffic disruption in the area.

But it plans to centralise all of its sorting office activity without making any extra provision for customer parking at Short Street, where reorganisation plans have still to be finalised.

The Council wrote to Royal Mail’s Chief Executive Noreen Perry requesting an urgent meeting to enable it to discuss its concerns about the planned sorting office closures.

In her reply she wrote: “No decision has yet been made. We are still exploring our options, but expect to be able to share more information in the near future".

Cllr Holdcroft added: “At the meeting today myself, the other three group leaders and Rob expected a senior Royal Mail official to attend to listen to our concerns.

“Instead two representatives without the authority to make alterations to the current proposals were sent to tell us the closures would be publicly announced the very next day and that Royal Mail had no obligation to consult with anyone over them.”

Whilst the news is disappointing the fight still goes on. On the 13th December, I have put a motion to the Full Council supported by colleagues Roger Hadley and Mark Flewitt calling on Royal Mail to reverse their decision to close the Shoebury and Leigh office's. There is still time to add your voice by signing the petition here.

That Leveson Report

Whilst the national press took an expected pasting yesterday when Lord Leverson published his recommendations, I am pleased that David Cameron in a heartbeat got the dangers of being the First Prime Minister since 1695 to propose state regulation of the press.

Cameron’s instinctive reluctance to legislate, for me, is well founded at this juncture. Putting statute in place that allows effective government control of the media is abhorant...and David Cameron recognises that. 

I totally agree that phone hacking is wrong, repugnant even, but there are existing laws in place to prevent this and those accused, if found guilty, should feel the full force of the law. I also accept the need for a replacement of the Press Complaints Commission but it does not need to be underpinned by state regulation.

Without a free press we would never have had the exposing of MP's expenses, the thalidomide scandal and even, ironically, phone hacking. Whether you are on the right or left in British politics we have had moderate governments in living memory but statutory involvement will never be repealed giving license for further draconian legislation to be bolted on in the future by those who wish to curtail freedom of speech and expression.

CCTV Vehicle Annual Re-assessment

Yesterday, at the Economic & Environmental Scrutiny Committee meeting, one of the pre-scrutiny items for members to discuss on the agenda was the re-assessment of the CCTV vehicle. The concept of pre-scrutiny was introduced after the May elections in order to allow members to input their ideas, comment and make revisions before a final paper is tabled at cabinet.

Since the vehicles introduction since July 2011, it was always intended that after two years in operation the CCTV vehicles would be subject to a review but following concerns raised by some I decided to bring forward the review after a year in operation. It was generally a good debate with many constructive comments and suggestions including proposals by some of its fiercest critics to extend its hours of operation.

Although not part of the paper, I even floated the idea of further transparency of the CCTV vehicles by canvassing opinion of the scrutiny members on the idea of publicising the routes and areas the CCTV car operates allowing members to put forward suggestions as to where and where not the CCTV vehicle should operate. This suggestion had the full backing of the scrutiny committee and will be incorporated into the full report which will be decided by cabinet.

Whilst the report was welcomed and fully supported by members from all of the groups it sadly still didn't seem to satisfy the Shoeburyness Independent Party serial bandwagon jumper Cllr Anne Chalk.   Despite the report stipulating that the primary purpose of the CCTV vehicles were not to raise revenue and that they were not deliberately targeting certain areas and accepted by the committee, it still did not stop Cllr Chalk claiming so. The drivel that the scrutiny committee and the poor soles in the public gallery were subject to can be found here.

It was clear that her main gripe was the vehicle patrolling Shoebury High Street and can only presume that is because she lives there. To here credit, she didn't say I was wrong when I pointed out the absurdity of her not wanting the CCTV vehicle in Shoebury High Street but has her party colleague criticising the council for the vehicle not stopping to catch a motorist parked on double yellow lines in a neighbouring road.

I was however branded sarcastic when I mentioned that she had asked for the CCTV vehicle to be deployed on East Beach to monitor noise nuisance which is clearly outside of the powers as prescribed in law by the DfT.

During a break in proceedings, a resident in the public gallery quipped that Cllr Chalk's comments reminded them of the famous Albert Einstein quote Insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting to get different results.

A quick check this evening on Cllr Chalk's blog reveals that since the site went live in March of this year, 13% of her posts have related to the CCTV vehicle and it being a revenue raiser and unfairly targeting Shoebury High Street. This is clearly her most favourite subject by some distance. With this in mind it could be enough to make some think.

Christmas in West Shoebury

This Sunday, the festive season arrives in West Shoebury. In Ness Road, the traders will be switching on their Christmas Lights and in West Road, the West Road Community & Traders Association will be hosting their Christmas fun day in the West Road Shopping Area starting at 11:00. If you are around, why not come and support local shops and Children will also get the chance to meet Santa!

Chaos Caused by Flooding

It was an earlier than usual start for me today as I was invited to appear on the BBC Essex Breakfast Show this morning at 06:22 as flooding caused travel chaos across the county yesterday following sustained heavy rainfall on Monday night.

I was asked for my views on the disruption to Southend residents after the Fairglen Interchange was flooded and whether something needed to be done as this area has been susceptible to flooding for around 40 years following any sustained heavy rainfall.

I fully understand the frustrations that commuters in and out of Southend faced yesterday, as I had travelled less than a mile in around an hour and half trying to get to work in Barking. I heard some horror stories that some journey's were to East London were taking around four to five hours. Fortunately, I have the ability to work from home so I gave up on my journey and headed home so my day wasn't as unproductive as it could have been.

Whilst it would have been easy to beat Essex County Council with a big stick accusing them of 'not doing enough' at Fairglen I wanted to use the opportunity this morning to act as reminder of the devastation to peoples homes, travel disruption, impact on business and the loss of life that flooding has brought to many parts of the country in the past week and the importance of local and national government doing all that it can to mitigate the risks of flooding and boosting flood defences where required.

Whilst Southend isn't immune to flooding following heavy rainfall, Southend and parts of my ward in West Shoebury are very much at risk to coastal flooding and we need to do all that we can to maintain our flood defences.

Whilst I accept that not everyone will be supportive of the preferred option for improved flood defences at Shoebury Common, I'm not sure any scheme will have 100% support, what I am sure most will be encouraged by is the issue of flooding is being taken seriously at Shoebury Common in West Shoebury in principle and that money is willing to be invested on improved defences to protect peoples homes, lives and businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

From time to time I get asked my views and opinions on a range of local, national and international issues. Whilst I do tackle these on this blog, I have created a new FAQ's Page to put the burning questions that you have in one easy accessible place which I will update on a regular basis. If you have a burning question that you want to ask please email me at cllrcox@southend.gov.uk

When the Electoral Commission Conduct a Review of the PCC Elections it Needs to Take a Hard Look at Itself

It came as no surprise on Friday that the Electoral Commission announced that it is to conduct a review of the PCC elections.

It shouldn't take too long and probably could be conducted during a commercial break as it does not need membership to Mensa to realise that an election to any new post will always have a reduced turnout but combined with holding a national set of elections in November as well as lack of information about the candidates available to the electorate then it is hardly a surprise that turnout in Essex was below 13%.

What is inexcusable for me was the guidance given by the Electoral Commission in polling stations and on postal ballots as to how to fill in your ballot paper.

With the supplementary vote system used for the first time in large parts of the country, it was imperative that the guidance was accurate and factually correct. The guidance, shown on the picture, was standard across the country. The main issue is that the guidance says that you mark a cross in a box on column one and also a cross in a box on column two, whereas the correct advice should say that a second preference vote was optional.

In the first few days of the postal votes being issued, I received three calls from residents saying that they didn't want to choose a second candidate. My in-laws who voted in Waltham Abbey were told
by polling staff that if they didn't choose a second candidate their ballot paper would be rejected!

As I had a proxy vote for my brother, who was away on Election Day I needed to visit the polling station. I put the staff to the test and asked if I had to choose a second candidate and, to their credit, I was told that it was optional.

What concerns me is that the advice given could have impacted some of the results across the country. For example, in Warwickshire, the Labour candidate was ahead of the Independent candidate after first preference votes. As it is inevitable that most people who have allegiance to a particular party will not want to vote for another party, based on the advice given with postal votes and in polling stations it is not unreasonable to assume that if forced to vote for a second candidate they would take a punt on an Independent candidate which ment that the Independent candidate won after second preference votes were counted.

These elections have without question have been conducted in a shambolic manor which would disgrace a banana republic. I just hope that I never have to see a set of elections conducted in the same way ever again.

Nick Alston Elected as Essex Police & Crime Commissioner

Conservative candidate Nick Alston has been elected as the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex. The full result is as follows:

Nick Alston - Conservative 51,325
Mick Thwaites - Independent 40,132
Val Morris-Cook - Labour 27,926

Linda Belgrove - Independent 22,163
Andrew Smith - UKIP 15,132
Robin Tilbrook - English Democrats 11,550

After second preference votes:

Nick Alston - Conservative 62,350

Mick Thwaites - Independent 58,664

My congratulations go to Nick Alston a Commissioner who will put the residents of Southend and Essex first.

Time to Fess Up

Reading an article in today's Telegraph, I never thought I would ever say this but I actually agree with Yevette Cooper in that all successful candidates in Thursday's PCC elections should disclose details of their dealings with lobbyists and private contractors.

I wish, however, that Yevette would be bold enough and instruct all Labour PCC candidates to reveal how much they are being funded and supported by unions and what strings are attached if and when they are elected.

Amid growing controversy about the backers of police and crime commissioner candidates, it can also be revealed that at least one Labour candidate has taken money from a police staff union for his campaigns.

Clive Grunshaw, who is running in Lancashire, declares a £5,000 donation from the Unite union for his campaign. Unite represents thousands of police civilian staff. To my knowledge, no other Labour candidate declares any financial backing at the Electoral Commission.

Another union, Unison, whose members include PCSO's and other police civilian staff and is the second biggest in the police after the Police Federation, has said it is “supporting” the campaigns of three Labour candidates, John Prescott in Humberside, Shaun Wright in South Yorkshire and Mark Burns-Williamson in West Yorkshire.

It doesn’t feel right to me. The Labour PCC's who are elected are going to have to make decisions about staff whose representatives have given them money. You might have to decide, for example, about the balance of PCSO's versus police in your force, with the PCSO's in a union which has funded them and the police officers in the Federation, which hasn’t.

Independent candidates, for all their claims of purity, can potentially have even more baggage than candidates from the established parties. Under a loophole in Electoral Commission rules, independent candidates do not have to publish details of their donors until after the election.

In Sussex, the Independent candidate David Cocks has been embroiled in a scandal after his company, Take Care Now, has been accused of trying to hide a criminal from the police of which he now is attempting to become a commissioner leading some to suggest that he is unfit to hold any position of responsibility and must not be placed in any position of trust under any circumstances.

In Lincolnshire, the independent candidate, Mervyn Barrett, had to resign after it was exposed by the Sunday papers that he was being funded and supported by American right-wing lobbyists and companies backing police privatisation.

In Dorset, another independent, Martyn Underhill, is refusing to say which “household name” company and businesses have backed his campaign to the tune of £23,000 and the Independent candidate in Durham has also been accused of the same.

Despite the tub thumping by the Independent Party here in Southend about taking party politics out of policing, for me, candidates having to repay back favours to their big business donors and backers is something that they seem happy to ignore.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Independent candidates here in Essex led the way and were up front before polling day about who may be potentially bankrolling their campaign.

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"

I would like to give my thanks to the Rev Frank Smith and the organisers of the Shoebury Remembrance Sunday event this morning which I was delighted to be able to attend.

Dishonest Mick?

With the weather disrupting my campaigning today, it has at least given me a chance to catch up on my backlog of Southend Echo's.

I couldn't help but notice in Thursday's edition the full page advert from Independent Police & Crime Commissioner candidate Mick Thwaites ahead of the elections on the 15th November.

Any promotional material published during the official election period, under electoral law, needs to have a legal imprint which shows who the material is published and printed by.

I was surprised, unless my eyes are deceiving me, that the full page ad appears to have no legal imprint at all on it. I do find it somewhat ironic that a former copper, bidding to run Essex Police could potentially be in breach of electoral law.

It is the campaign slogan 'Honest Mick Thwaites 100% Policing 0% Politics' which I believe compromises him more than the suspect, or lack of, imprint.

When you describe yourself as honest, implying that your opponents are telling porkies, you really do need to ensure that there are no gaping holes in your message and surely practise what you preach. In a post earlier this week on his blog, Cllr Ware-Lane even suggests that the slogan makes him sound like a spiv.

It is the 0% Politics which I frankly find laughable. By actually standing for any election you are a politician. Just because you are non aligned to a political party does not exonerate you from being a politician.

If there was any doubt about the politics of Mick Thwaites then we only need to refer to a tweet from Mick back in June who confirms his 'politician' status to the Labour PCC candidate.

At a recent hustings it is understood that Mick got a little hot under the collar when asked if he was the Lib Dem candidate at these election in all but name. An article in the Echo just last week was also intriguing, in that it was revealed that Mick signed the nomination papers of the Graham Longley, the leader of the Lib Dems in Southend and the 2010 Lib Dem parliamentary candidate in Rochford and Southend East.

With all the evidence mounting, so much for being 0% politics!

Police & Crime Commissioner Elections

Whilst doing the rounds of my campaigning last weekend, I had a long and thoughtful discussion with one resident on the merits of electing Police & Crime Commissioners.

Do we need to politicise the Police? was the first question that I was asked. A question that I have asked myself since the legislation to elect a figurehead for each of the 41 Police Constabularies was passed.

I responded in that I do not believe we are politicising the Police, it was the last Labour Government who politicised the Police, Lord Blair and Lord Stevens are a couple of examples amongst many, this Government has only created elections to elect a figurehead so somebody can be held accountable for Policing in Essex for the first time.

I admit, I was very sceptical in the beginning but with the scandal of Hillsborough fresh in the mind — and five chief constables, in the last six months alone, sacked, suspended, forced to resign or placed under investigation — it appears hard to believe that police leadership cannot be improved and convinces me that electing Police chiefs are actually no bad thing.

Do you think party politicians should be standing? followed. Do you have a problem with party aligned local councillors for example, going onto local schools governing bodies? I asked. No, the gentleman responded. Do you think it is wrong to hold elections if there is more than one candidate for a vacancy on a school governing body? Well of course not, he replied, looking puzzled as to where this was leading, the point is, I explained, we have this level of democracy in schools with political involvement and nobody complains so why not the Police?

Do you know much about the Independent candidate who lives in Shoebury? was the third question. You mean Mick Thwaites, the former Southend borough commander, I replied. He’s a former copper? I was inquisitively asked. We can’t have a poacher turned game keeper running our Police that is worse than a party politician being the figurehead followed.

Who are you calling on behalf? was the final question. I’m calling on behalf of Nick Alston the Conservative candidate? came my final reply. Do you know the Conservatives are the only ones to knock on my door and deliver any information about their candidate – on that basis you will be getting me and my wife’s vote!

Whilst I was delighted that my small contribution may have helped win over this particular resident it has become apparent whilst campaigning over the past few weeks is that people are aware there are elections but do not know absolutely anything about the candidates.

With Police Constabularies being such large areas, it is nothing far short of a scandal that a free election communication was prohibited unlike in General and European Elections.

With the onus on campaigning falling to local party activists, a November election with the cold and dark nights doesn’t create much enthusiasm meaning that delivering literature to inform residents for all candidates is difficult.

I just hope that when the PCC’s come up for re-election, we do not have a repeat of these issues.

Webcasting of Full Council Meetings

I have long been an advocate of webcasting of Full Council meetings and despite the recommendations of the Economic & Environmental Scrutiny Committee not to proceed with this proposal I was pleased that cabinet decided to continue with this proposal - the first time since the May elections that cabinet decided not to follow the recommendations from a scrutiny committee.

I spoke at some length yesterday afternoon at cabinet on this subject and below is the full text of my comments:

The Future of Shoebury Youth Centre - Have Your Say

Junior Club - Shoebury Youth Centre

A Santa Ride for all the Family

Halloween

With a dry night predicted and it being half term week, many more people than usual will be participating in Halloween this evening.

Halloween should be a fun event and not an excuse for anti-social behaviour. Recently Essex police have been doing a lot of work in communities across Essex urging people not to let the fun get out of hand.

To ensure that Halloween can be enjoyed in safety whether you are participating or not, Essex Police have issued some very good safety advice.

Some helpful safety tips for those who are planning to go trick or treating have also been produced and are well worth a read. For those residents who would rather not be bothered by trick of treaters and do not wish to be disturbed this evening, Essex Police have also produced a poster which can be printed and displayed.

Even though their will be a Police presence this evening, Essex Police are still urging everyone to use the appropriate number if they need to contact officers during the Halloween period. 

Residents should never hesitate to call 999 in a genuine emergency such as where there is a crime or serious incident in progress, a serious risk of injury or a risk of serious damage to property or the 101 number if you need to raise a concern or get in touch for advice.

An Introduction to the Supplementary Vote for the PCC Elections

Since there are six candidates to become Essex’s Police and Crime Commissioner a supplementary vote system will be used.

This will mean that you can vote for a first and second choice of who you want to win. The ballot paper will list all the candidates standing in Essex. Next to the list of candidates there will be two columns.

You will be asked to vote for your first-choice candidate by marking a cross (X) in the first-choice column, and vote for your second-choice candidate by marking a cross (X) in the second-choice column.

As long as you mark one cross in the first-choice column, your vote can be counted.

You should not mark more than one cross in the first-choice column and you should not mark more than one cross in the second-choice column.

If you have marked a first choice, you can choose whether or not to mark a second choice. But if you only mark a cross in the second-choice column, your vote won’t be counted.

You should not put any other mark on the ballot paper or your vote may not be counted.

How the winning candidate is decided:

The winning candidate is the one who receives 50 per cent plus one vote (or more) of the first preference votes. If no one reaches that tally the two candidates with the highest number of first preference votes go forward to a second round of counting.

In the second round of counting, ballots with a first preference for a candidate that did not get into the top two will be reallocated according to the second preference indicated in the ballot paper. Whichever of the top two candidates has the most votes after these second-preferences have been allocated is declared the winner.

Is There a Future for the BBC?

I have this evening managed to catch the BBC Panorama programme into the Sir Jimmy Savile child abuse allegations. Whilst left scratching my head as to how such an 'open secret' went unpunished for  over 40 years it does beg the question wether this is the end of the BBC as we know it.

You seriously have to wonder what the hell is going on at the BBC just recently. In the past few weeks we have seen tax avoidance on an industrial scale by some of its highest paid stars, the revelations that one of nations largest paedophile rings was possibly operating on its premises, the reported cover up of the Sir Jimmy Savile child abuse allegations topped off with a sick joke about 9/11 victims on Have I Got News For You.

I know HIGNFY is a pretty near the knuckle satire show but this went beyond the taste of decency. I do not necessarily blame Claire Balding as it was clear she was reading from an auto cue, but what was the shows editors thinking about to think that a joke about 9/11 victims was acceptable.

What's more, the BBC try to ram their political correctness down our throats at every given opportunity. Still think you get value for your £145? I have yet to mention the long running accusations of bias in their news reporting!

Towards the end of his grilling by the select committee, I was actually starting to feel sorry for Director General George Entwistle as he was hopelessly out of his depth bearing in mind that he has only been in the job barely a month.

As the Jimmy Savile allegations continue to unravel, I am struggling to see how he can remain in post. To use a cricketing metaphor, it is like walking into bat only to be bowled out in the first over.

Most Western nations long did away with their state broadcaster, the concept of a state broadcaster belongs to despot regimes like Syria and North Korea?

As we are now in a multi-channel digital age with this week seeing the end of terrestrial television in the UK, the license fee is now effectively a telly tax in all but name. With many politicians calling for a reduction in taxation, maybe abolishing the TV License Fee is a good place to start.

PCC Elections - The Essex Runners and Riders

With November elections not really conducive to campaigning, I suspect many residents will go to the polling stations unaware who their candidates are.

To assist those going to the polls, this week saw the closure of nominations and the runners and riders or the new Essex Police and Crime Commissioner are as follows:

Nick Alston - Conservative
Linda Belgrove - Independent
Val Morris-Cook - Labour
Andrew Smith - UKIP
Mick Thwaites - Independent
Robin Tilbrook - English Democrats

The Battle of the Bishopsteignton Polling Station

Earlier, I read an interesting post by Cllr Julian Ware-Lane looking to see if the number of polling stations in Southend could be reduced after a list of polling stations in operation for next month's PCC elections was released this week.

This got me thinking back to a little dispute that my fellow ward colleagues and I got into a few months ago with electoral services, when it was suggested that we should do away with the portable polling booth on the corner of Bishopsteignton and Maplin Way North and merge it with another polling station in Delaware Road.

The reason sited was that the weather in November would more than likely be inclement, possibly causing access to the portable polling station to be hazardous. This argument was quickly defeated when we pointed out that there was by-election in West Shoebury held in December 2006 in what was probably the worst conditions I have ever known an election to be held in and we never had one solitary complaint.

I suspected the real reason for the suggestion was as Cllr Ware-Lane suggests was to cut down on costs. The reason why a portable polling station was sited on the corner of Bishopsteignton and Maplin Way about ten years ago was because turnout was so woeful in that particular polling district.

Since the introduction of the portable polling station, it has had the highest turnout out of all of the polling districts in the ward. I suppose it is a simple equation: you take politics to the people and they will participate.

With participation in elections likely to plummet to new depts for the PCC elections,  I believed we need to do all we can to encourage turnout not decimate it! Fortunately, following our intervention common sense prevailed and the portable polling station will be in use on the 15 Novembet.

Credit Where Credit is Due

It was interesting to read the article on the successful Echo campaign on getting CCTV in the lifts at four tower blocks in the town centre. The article mentions that the Echo started its campaign in March but fails to mention that it was Victoria Conservative candidate Del Thomas, who back in January, got this issue on the agenda by launching a petition which he handed into Southend Council and has also campaigned for a concierge service to improve security.

Whilst I accept that most successful campaigns need the backing of the press, what was more galling was the sheer opportunism of Victoria ward councillor Ian Gilbert trying to jump on the bandwagon by having his photo taken by an offending lift in the article and no doubt will try and claim the credit. More so, back in April, Cllr Gilbert kindly lists all his 'achievements' and 'campaigns' yet campaigning for CCTV in the town centre tower blocks lifts were not one of them. One can only assume that he did not think that there was problem.

Not wanting to be accused of misleading his residents, I'm sure Cllr Gilbert in his next Labour Victoria Rose will mention that this success only came about following a local Conservative campaign. Then again, I hope Spurs win the Premier League every year!

Happy Birthday Palace Theatre

This year see's the Palace Theatre is celebrate its 100 birthday. To mark the occasion, today the Palace theatre has an open day from 11:00 - 15:00.

There will be entertainment from local community, arts groups and the Palace Writers’ Group as well as games and quizzes based around items from the theatre’s vast archive.

In addition, there is a chance to see the “Palace 100” film made by local school children which will be screened several times throughout the day. If you are in the area why not pop in and join in the fun.

Royal Mail Delivery Office Closures - The Opposition Grows

The decision by Royal Mail to close local delivery offices in Shoeburyness, Leigh, Rochford, Great Wakering and Canewdon and move the operations into Short Street has been met with considerable public anger, with over 125 residents signing the online petition and hundreds more signing the petition in local shops as part of the local Conservative led campaign to save the Royal Mail Delivery Office in George Street, Shoeburyness.

Over the weekend, I have been made aware of a similar campaign in Leigh which deserves wider attention. A facebook page has been set up to highlight the campaign as well as a petition for local residents to voice their objections. From the discussions that I have had on the doorsteps over the past few weeks on this issue, Royal Mail has seriously misjudged the public mood on this. 

I do realise that with email, text messaging and other message sharing systems that Royal Mail has to change to make it profitable but closing the Delivery Offices forcing some Shoebury residents into a 10 mile round trip to collect parcels and signed for mail is the wrong area to make change, as this is the area where Royal Mail have a real advantage over it's competitors as with the current arrangements residents do not have to sit in all day to wait for a parcel of go to Basildon if they miss a delivery.

I urge residents to get behind the campaign as Royal Mail will only reverse this decision if you make your voice heard. 

Trivial Matters

The award of 'politics of the trivial' used to belong to the Liberal Democrats but it seems locally that there is a new holder for the award in 2012 - step forward Belfairs Independent Party councillor Steve Aylen for leading the 'campaign' to get all 51 elected councillors to be provided with safety boots and high viz jackets.

Other high profile campaigns of Cllr Aylen include providing a crossing for horses on the A127 Progress Road junction.

You may remember that Cllr Aylen shot to fame last year for declaring in a meeting of Full Council that he didn't care if smokers got cancer and died and was promptly de-selected by local Conservatives before May's local council elections before being taken in under the Independent Party wing.

I can assure residents that this isn't a priority for me and my colleagues on the cabinet but if Cllr Aylen wishes to attend visits wearing safety boots and a high viz jacket then I have some advice - buy your own!

You do seriously wonder at the thought process and joined up thinking of Cllr Aylen when he doesn't care that people get cancer and die but get sleepless nights if a councillor cracks a nail on their big toe when on a council visit.

The South Essex Homes Debate

On Wednesday, The Community Services & Culture Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the future of South Essex Homes (SEH), the body which manages the council’s housing stock.

Whilst I am not a member of this scrutiny committee, in my own ward, there are over 500 homes which South Essex Homes manage on the council’s behalf and I was interested to hear the views of members on the Community Services & Culture Scrutiny Committee.

Seven years ago, the decision was taken at the time to set up South Essex Homes, an arms length management organisation (ALMO), which was a requirement to access the Government’s decent homes standard funding. At the time this was the right thing to do to access significant funding to improve the council’s housing stock and was support by tenants in a public ballot.

With the decent homes standard funding ceasing, I feel that it is right and important that we have the debate now as to whether we continue with SEH managing our housing stock or now is the right time to bring the management back in house.

It was an interesting debate which lasted over 3 hours and all members gave valuable contributions but interestingly, from comments made by Cllr Longley, it would appear that the Lib Dem members of the committee were under a three line whip!

It is important that any decision that is made, what is best for tenants is at the heart of it. I am sure that my cabinet colleagues want to ensure that we give the best possible service to council tenants at an appropriate expense to taxpayers.

What was evident from the debate was even the recognition from SEH themselves that if the council do decide to keep SEH as the organisation to manage the housing stock that there does need to be reform of the organisation to generate income and look share services where there is clear duplication.

I do believe however that we should avoid an expensive consultation exercise if the decision is to retain SEH as the managers of the council’s housing stock but rightly go out to consultation if the preferred option is to move the management of the housing stock back in house.

Proposed Fair Havens Hospice - Rejected

Earlier this week, the Development Control Committee met to determine the Fair Haven planning application to build a new Hospice on Green Belt land on Belton Hills, Leigh.

It was always going to be a difficult decision for the Development Control Committee members due to the sensitivity of such an application even through the case for building over vast amounts of Green Belt land had not been made which was made explicitly clear in the officers recommendation.

The decision to recommend refusal was unanimous by members of Development Control which is comprised by councillors of colours across the political divide. In my opinion I think the decision was the right one.

I can only echo what many have already said in that I hope Fair Haven do not seek to appeal the decision as I believe it will only re-open old wounds in what has been a very, very damaging issue.

There is no escaping the fact that from Shoeburyness to Leigh, this is already one of the most densely populated towns outside of London and we must do all that we can to protect our Green Belt and remaining large open spaces. It is for this reason why I would never support any application for housing on the land North of Bournes Green Chase.

I only hope that the management of Fair Haven’s can sit down with officers and identify a suitable site for a new Hospice in the town.

Armed Robbery in West Road

I was made aware of an appalling incident in West Road yesterday. At around 09:30 two men wearing balaclava's, armed with crowbars, entered Andrews Jewellers stealing Diamond Rings and other jewellery items. Fortunately nobody was injured.

According to the Southend CDRP website, the two men then walked out and got into a waiting blue Citroen Picasso which was parked near to the vet surgery on Richmond Avenue. This vehicle was recovered near Thorpe Bay Yacht Club on Barrow Sands a short time later.

According to the Police, they believe the two men transferred to a Saloon car. As well as looking for witnesses to the robbery, the Police are keen to hear from people who saw the Blue Picasso yesterday morning before and after the robbery and anyone who saw the men drive off in the transfer car near the Yacht Club.

If anyone has any information which could help the police and put the offenders behind bars, please contact detectives at Southend Police Station on 101.

Boundary Commission's Revised Proposals Published

Back in September last year, as part of the Government's aim to reduce the number of MP's from 650 to 600, The Boundary Commission conducted a review which proposed a number of changes to the current Rochford & Southend East and Southend West seats which cover Southend.

As part of the review, it proposed that the wards of Leigh and West Leigh would join Castle Point with Milton, Victoria & St Lukes moving from Rochford & Southend East to join with the remainder of Southend West. Rochford & Southend East would have been swelled by Hockley & Hawkwell. This would have meant that Southend would be represented by 3 MP's rather than the current 2. 

Following a consultation on the proposed changes, the Boundary Commission yesterday issued revised proposals. The suggestion to move Leigh and West Leigh wards into Castle Point have been dropped and it is proposed that only Victoria ward moves to the remainder of the current Southend West seat. This means that the wards of Milton and St Lukes stay within the current Rochford & Southend East seat with only Hawkwell transferring to Rochford & Southend East as part of the proposals. Interestingly, the revised proposals suggest the cosmetic name change to Southend East & Rochford from Rochford & Southend East.

Whilst I believe it is sensible to have only two MP's cover the town, this could however all prove academic as the Lib Dems are threatening to throw their toys out of the pram and scupper the move as they did not get their own way on House of Lords reform.

The revised proposals are currently out to consultation until December.