Sunday, April 22, 2007
I never thought i'd see the day
Dr Clare Spencer out delivering our election leaflets today.
Can we rise to the challenge?
Whatever happened to Maidstone Labour?
All those bright years ago, was it the Likely Lads who used to keep us informed of the latest twist in TV social gossip and haven't we got used to being fed information by those whose comings and goings are of interest to us - serve us right therefore to find that for once there is a gap which many of us could have filled but we haven't got our ears close enough to the channel to know what is or is not going on and whether someone is ready and willing to do the work for us. So this week's KM Newspaper appeared without a contribution from Labour about the coming Local Elections.........and worse, two contributions and a letter alleged that Labour had effectively last year put the Conservatives in power in the Boro by allowing them to use their preponderant numbers as a Majority fraction and to take the leading role - it was further alleged that this was done in order to permit Labour to Chair two Committees. It is true that, so far as I can recall, we have not received any explanation from the players of the events so described, nor can I recall any public or private questioning by party members of those players, and so what information we may have gathered has not, so far as I am aware, been sufficiently tested within the Party. So our candidates for this year's election go into the fray with that history overhanging them.
It is of interest that the Conservative Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Cllr Chris Garland, when he took office, set out his Vision for Maidstone last year, and that he is concerned with matters about which Labour might well have been equally promoting - they were :
1) "To raise the average wage in the Borough" (Labour has since 1997 consistently raised the minimum wage but wages in Maidstone remain lower than the SE average so this could equally have been a Labour slogan).
2) "To reduce deprivation" (There are surprisingly pockets of deprivation within the Borough boundaries which require special consideration in the allocation of resources which Labour national policy has only begun to ameliorate).
3) "To Secure high quality jobs/housing in a sustainable fashion." (These are also in Labour's vision for the Country as well as for the Town, and whereas the unemployment rate approximates to the average, though it is increasing, many of the jobs are lowly paid; on the question of housing the Council under its previous administration has not succeeded in housing all those who are in need and the latest figures show that the numbers on the Housing Lists in April has increased considerably to 2,232 from 1,764 and we are nowhere near to achieving the identified the 2005 reported annual shortfall of 961 affordable homes p.a.)
There are two other parts to Cllr Garlands Vision which indicate too that within the Town there is a general realisation of what are the main problems facing those who undertake to carry on the work of "driving Maidstone forward" (Garland's phrase) and perhaps it is that general realisation that has caused the slackening of our efforts to undertake those tasks with the knowledge that it is in seeing them actually performed, as well as in a Vision, that Labour, with the Labour Government behind them, should have been better able to do.
It is not too late for the Labour Group, supported by both Constituencies and the Local Government Committee to issue to the Press a Statement as to Labour's intentions
locally and I hope it can be done to counter the impression which has been made by the KM's Election Special Report. I attach a Draft of a Statement which if agreed immediately could be urgently sent to all local newspapers.
From Leslie Turner
A POSSIBLE DRAFT - STATEMENT
WHAT IS LABOUR STRIVING TO DO IN MAIDSTONE?
Labour recognises that Political divisions in our District are almost balanced between the main protagonists of Conservative, Liberal and Labour persuasion and that a programme to "drive Maidstone forward" and secure social justice needs the goodwill of all who have the Town at heart.
Labour while putting forward its own local vision of higher wages, elimination of deprivation, maximum employment opportunities, and decent housing, recognises that it is with the backing of legislation by and support from a Labour Government that these are best taken forward.
Labour therefore appeals to voters in the Borough local elections to seriously consider Labour's unparalleled record on those particular matters of the last ten years and to vote Labour in order to ensure that there are sufficient Labour Councillors to ensure that the local vision, with the goodwill of all citizens, is made reality.
All those bright years ago, was it the Likely Lads who used to keep us informed of the latest twist in TV social gossip and haven't we got used to being fed information by those whose comings and goings are of interest to us - serve us right therefore to find that for once there is a gap which many of us could have filled but we haven't got our ears close enough to the channel to know what is or is not going on and whether someone is ready and willing to do the work for us. So this week's KM Newspaper appeared without a contribution from Labour about the coming Local Elections.........and worse, two contributions and a letter alleged that Labour had effectively last year put the Conservatives in power in the Boro by allowing them to use their preponderant numbers as a Majority fraction and to take the leading role - it was further alleged that this was done in order to permit Labour to Chair two Committees. It is true that, so far as I can recall, we have not received any explanation from the players of the events so described, nor can I recall any public or private questioning by party members of those players, and so what information we may have gathered has not, so far as I am aware, been sufficiently tested within the Party. So our candidates for this year's election go into the fray with that history overhanging them.
It is of interest that the Conservative Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Cllr Chris Garland, when he took office, set out his Vision for Maidstone last year, and that he is concerned with matters about which Labour might well have been equally promoting - they were :
1) "To raise the average wage in the Borough" (Labour has since 1997 consistently raised the minimum wage but wages in Maidstone remain lower than the SE average so this could equally have been a Labour slogan).
2) "To reduce deprivation" (There are surprisingly pockets of deprivation within the Borough boundaries which require special consideration in the allocation of resources which Labour national policy has only begun to ameliorate).
3) "To Secure high quality jobs/housing in a sustainable fashion." (These are also in Labour's vision for the Country as well as for the Town, and whereas the unemployment rate approximates to the average, though it is increasing, many of the jobs are lowly paid; on the question of housing the Council under its previous administration has not succeeded in housing all those who are in need and the latest figures show that the numbers on the Housing Lists in April has increased considerably to 2,232 from 1,764 and we are nowhere near to achieving the identified the 2005 reported annual shortfall of 961 affordable homes p.a.)
There are two other parts to Cllr Garlands Vision which indicate too that within the Town there is a general realisation of what are the main problems facing those who undertake to carry on the work of "driving Maidstone forward" (Garland's phrase) and perhaps it is that general realisation that has caused the slackening of our efforts to undertake those tasks with the knowledge that it is in seeing them actually performed, as well as in a Vision, that Labour, with the Labour Government behind them, should have been better able to do.
It is not too late for the Labour Group, supported by both Constituencies and the Local Government Committee to issue to the Press a Statement as to Labour's intentions
locally and I hope it can be done to counter the impression which has been made by the KM's Election Special Report. I attach a Draft of a Statement which if agreed immediately could be urgently sent to all local newspapers.
From Leslie Turner
A POSSIBLE DRAFT - STATEMENT
WHAT IS LABOUR STRIVING TO DO IN MAIDSTONE?
Labour recognises that Political divisions in our District are almost balanced between the main protagonists of Conservative, Liberal and Labour persuasion and that a programme to "drive Maidstone forward" and secure social justice needs the goodwill of all who have the Town at heart.
Labour while putting forward its own local vision of higher wages, elimination of deprivation, maximum employment opportunities, and decent housing, recognises that it is with the backing of legislation by and support from a Labour Government that these are best taken forward.
Labour therefore appeals to voters in the Borough local elections to seriously consider Labour's unparalleled record on those particular matters of the last ten years and to vote Labour in order to ensure that there are sufficient Labour Councillors to ensure that the local vision, with the goodwill of all citizens, is made reality.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Our further NHS campaign...
Patrick Coates has been active in the current NHS changes and asks a question about the National Policy Forum Newsletter February 2007:
To Martin Phillips,
I have just received a copy of the above newsletter, unfortunatley I can not find the website the one I got was dated 2002.
However I should like to make an observation on your article about the workshop you chaired on public services with Health Minister Caroline Flint.
I would like to comment on the last paragrath of the article, that the Commission and Ministers need to do a better job of explaining the health changes.
Since September 2006 i have been on the Patient Reference Panel for Fit for the Future, run by the West Kent PCT, and I have to say, that we are at last getting there, but I think it could have been done a lot quicker.
I say this because the NHS staff given the job were out of their depth, they were either Managers coming up to retirement date or new young staff, neither had any Media qualifications for this work, we had so many changes in personnel/meetings etc, even those staff who put them on could not remember who went to them.
The bad publicity over the local hospitals at Maidstone/ Pembury also shews the same lack of Media awarness in the NHS, this is ment to be a contructive e-mail and I cannot fault the commitment by all the people involved here, but BASIC TRAINING IN HOW TO DEAL WITH THE MEDIA NEEDS TO BE PUT IN PLACE AND SOON THROUGHOUT THE NHS.
Best Wishes
Patrick Coates
Treasurer Maidstone & The Weald CLP
IN REPLY TO THIS...
Dear Patrick,
Thank you for your comments. I have to say that your experience matches that of others across the region and the country. One of the things the Commission is focusing on, at my urging, is how the standard of NHS management can be improved. Media training is important, but so is basic financial competence and an understanding of what service means. As always, there are good and bad managers. What worries me is how many bad managers there are - in a service that is about life-saving and health, it is more important than in any other field.
So you can rest assured that we (including the ministers) recognise the problems.
Martin Phillips
Health Commission
Friday, April 13, 2007
OUR LOCAL ELECTION MANIFESTO 2007
Here is the manifesto for our Local Elections:
SOCIAL INCLUSION
Access for all to create an inclusive society, development of an anti-poverty strategy for homeless, children and those on benefits. Entitlement to free ESOL courses and help for new workers from the EU.
COMMUNITY SAFETY
Implement the Community Safety Plan, rate of crime, fear of crime and youth offenders.
TRANSPORT
Traffic reduction schemes including car sharing, safe walking and cycling routes, improved public transport.
ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
Promoting awarness of local environmental issues, ensuring adequate public open spaces within new developments.
Monitor and prevent air,water,land and noise pollution, lobby for vehicles powered by cleaner technology.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Improve energy efficiency in all homes, and local renewable sources.
Achieve CO2 reduction targets for Council buildings, towards government climate change targets.
WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING
Encouraging people to buy reusable products, home composting and recycling collection schemes.
Bottle washing facilities to enable bottle re-use.
DEVELOPMENT
Ensuring new housing is built on agricultural land, where possible, and developers follow environmentally friendly guidelines in their designs.
Speed up the planning process, so that more homes can be built, where they are needed.
FOOD
Promote fairly traded produce. Support for rural and local shops. Increase total allotment area.
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS
Establish an ECO-CENTRE for alternative technologies and lifestyles.
Community economic initiatives such as co-operatives, credit unions, home and teleworking via Internet.
WORK AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Lifetime learning opportunities for those in and out of work. Find new ways of valuing all work, including unpaid domestic, caring and voluntary work. Encourage ethical employment, flexible and job sharing.
