Clegg's New Year message.

Thought I'd copy this as its interesting reading. I do believe that sometimes politicians messages do need to reach as wider audience as possible.
“I have a confession to make: 2009 tested my belief in politics to breaking point.I remember once looking round the House of Commons during another Punch and Judy session of Prime Ministers Questions.
In the real world, youth unemployment had just reached its highest level ever, our brave soldiers were facing extraordinary dangers in Afghanistan, the bankers were still gorging themselves on bonuses, and the economy was in the middle of the worst recession in generations. And what were the politicians doing? Yelling and guffawing at each other as if the world outside didn’t exist.So I don’t blame anyone for feeling a sense of despair about our clapped out political system.
You are being taken for granted by the people in charge. Big money is hollowing out politics with some rich donors not even bothering to say whether they pay full British taxes or not. And to top it all the expenses scandals exposed some MPs as spivvy property speculators and tax evaders rather than public servants. This whole set-up has to change.
That’s what 2010 should be all about. Big, permanent change for the better.
People’s faith in politics may be dented, but I still believe in our ability to learn from the mistakes of the past, and set things on a new course. 2010 must be the year we press the political reset button. But that will only happen if we do things differently. More of the same won’t produce anything new.Of course both Labour and the Conservatives have learned to parrot the language of change. But where’s the proof they mean it?
Despite all the hot air about fixing politics they have both voted against giving people the right to sack MPs who’ve seriously broken the rules. Both have refused to clean up the rotten system of party political funding. Both refuse to give you your say by introducing fair votes to the House of Commons. And both refuse to shake up the City of London, so that bankers can never again play Russian roulette with your savings.Some people say, what’s the point of voting when the same old parties always win?
I say: vote for what you believe in. If you like what the Liberal Democrats stand for, vote for it. If you want real change, not phoney change, vote for it. If you think things should be different, vote for it. At the end of the day, politics should be about what you believe. What kind of Britain do you want to live in? What kind of world do we want our children and grandchildren to grow up in? So as the countdown to the next General Election finally begins, I have a simple question for the other party leaders: what do you believe, really believe?
People don’t want leading politicians clinging on to power for its own sake, or just telling people what they want to hear. There’s got to be more to it than that. I have one belief above all others: a belief in fairness.
Under my leadership the Liberal Democrats have been working on new ideas to make Britain the fair country I believe most people want it to be. We want to raise standards in all of our schools by giving specific help to the children most in need, and by making class sizes smaller. Soon we will be publishing new ideas to turn our economy away from its over dependence on the City of London to a new, green economy where hundreds of thousands of new jobs will be created as we rebuild our transport, energy and housing infrastructure.
Above all, we are now the only party with a detailed plan to make taxes fair – removing all income tax on the first £10000 you earn, paid for by asking people at the top to pay a bit more. If we as Leaders want people to turn out to vote at all at the next General Election, we have got to show people our convictions, not just dividing lines, our beliefs, not just soundbites.
I hope in the coming months even more people will get a chance to find out what I believe in, and the beliefs of the Liberal Democrats. If enough people share our convictions, our beliefs, then 2010 really can be the beginning of something new."

Delighted at plan to get rid of unfair tuition fees

Good news for students and for everyone who wants a fairer Britain. This week the Party's federal policy committee agreed a way to deliver one of our most important policies, the scrapping of unfair tuition fees. I must admit I was delighted to hear this.
Developed is a plan to phase out tuition fees over the course of the next six years, to ensure this vital policy is affordable even at this time of economic crisis.
Labour and the Conservatives refuse to address the issue of fees and there is a real danger that both of them would lift the cap on fees which could mean even more debt for students when they leave university. We think that is wrong and our policy will prevent it happening.
It's simply wrong to penalise people who want to make the best of themselves by saddling them with enormous mortgage-style debts from the day they graduate - especially when we know the root of the current economic crisis was too much debt. And it's clear that people from disadvantaged backgrounds are far more likely to be put off going to university if it costs them tens of thousands of pounds. In a fair society, university admissions should be based on your grades and intelligence, not the wealth of your parents. You should decide whether going to university makes sense for you - and you shouldn't have to make the decision based on your bank balance.
We were right to oppose tuition fees from day one, and have been right to continue to oppose any lifting of the cap on the limit of fees. The government has been obsessed with artificial targets for how many people should go to university, while putting barriers in their way in the shape of fees. The priority is making degrees affordable, and that means scrapping these unfair fees, including for those who study part-time. This is vital, because it tends to be older or poorer students who can't afford a full-time degree, but under current rules they have to pay up-front, while everyone else is allowed to defer their payments.
Of course, at a time of economic crisis, when the government has got the public finances into a mess, it is extremely important to be responsible about making a big financial commitment like this. Students want to be treated like grown ups; they know money doesn't grow on trees and that big spending committments like this are only affordable over time. That's why we have agreed together to lay out a financially responsible timetable to scrap fees, step by step, over the six years after the General Election.
Final year tuition fees will be the first to go. Too many people drop out, often put off by the huge costs. We'll make it easier to stay on, because no student will pay any fees to complete their degree. In 2011, we'll get help to part-time students, regulating the fees they pay (a vital step towards abolishing them). In 2012, part-time students will be able to access the same loans as full-time students. In 2013, we'll extend free tuition to second year students. In 2014, we'll extend that same free tuition to part time students. And in 2015, as the public finances are recovering, we will be able to afford to abolish all remaining fees.
Labour's recession has made it more difficult to find the money to fund our priorities BUT we remain the only party that believes fees are unfair, and the only party with a plan to get rid of them for good.

Chris Huhne MP visit to South Suffolk

Last night, the Lib Dem Home Affairs spoksperson, Chris Huhne MP visited Sudbury for the South Suffolk Dinner and to draw the Lib Dem National Christmas Draw which South Suffolk won last year. (Pictured left to right: Parliamentary Candidate Cllr Nigel Bennett, Cllr David Grutchfield and Chris Huhne MP)

Chris Huhne made an impressive speech and took questions from the floor after dinner. The Liberal Democrats are the party of fair taxes. Why should people on the minimum wage lose earnings via income tax? Chris emphasised the point that starting to pay income tax at £10,000 would remove several million from tax and benefit the typical taxpayer by £700. At the same time, it was right that tax loopholes were closed and those with properties over £2million pounds paid a fairer share.
Chris warned people that the Tories promise to repeat their 1980s mistake. He reminded everyone that in the 1980s recession, the Tories raised taxes and cut spending and though economic output began to rise after the collapse of 1980, it took 5-6 years before unemployment started to fall. A whole generation of young people were affected. The Liberal Democrats believe training is essential and money must be spent here.
Finally, Chris talked about protecting civil liberties from the threat of further surveillance and to the Human Rights Act.
Questions were asked on pensioner poverty, does parliament benefit from young MPs or older MPs with more experience and finally on the Copenhagen talks.
Chris emphasised the need to reduce fuel poverty which means people burn cash and carbon, the need to restore the link between earnings and the state pension, the need for a balance between young and older MPs and finally the "Zero Carbon by 2050" policy paper of the Lib Dems which set out the policy framework for achieving this aim, more than any other political party.

New addition to Sudbury Heritage centre

Remembrance Sunday saw the official opening of a new exhibit in town with the memorial to the 486th American Bomber Group that was based at Sudbury at the Chilton Airfield. 204 names are on the memorial with photos and an account of the part the American airforce played in the life of Sudbury for the 1 year between 1944 - 45, they were based here.
Congratulations to Shirley, Val and Robin for their superb work and to the Museum Trust.
The Heritage Centre in the Town Hall is well worth a visit and is also a moving experience.

Fair trade for farmers

This year across Europe, the price that supermarkets pay farmers for their milk has gone down by nearly a third – but the shelf price that you and I pay for a litre of milk has hardly changed.
The farmers incomes are slashed, the consumers don’t benefit, the supermarkets pocket the difference.

We have the tragic irony of millions of consumers going to the supermarket each week, going down one aisle and buying fair trade Columbian coffee and then going down the next aisle and buying the milk to put in that fair trade coffee from an exploited British dairy farmer.

And the same exploitation happens right across our food market in every sector of farming.

Lib Dems would introduce a powerful food market regulator to enforce fair trade for British farmers because it’s wrong that farmers are going under, we need them to thrive for the future of rural communities as a whole.

10:10 campaign. Cut your CO2 by 10% by 2010

Global warming is a threat to all of us but especially the poorest who will have less resources to cope with its impacts. A 10% cut by 2010 is realistic and it is an easy start compared to the 50% cut needed by 2050 which Copenhagen may deliver but many believe to keep to a 2 degree C increase, a 60-80% reduction is needed.
A 1 metre sea level rise means new flood defences for many major cities. The IPCC predicted 30-60cm rises by 2100 based on research upto 2005. The latest research takes into account the rapid changes at Greenland and speeding up of the flow and carving of its glaciers. The US Geological Survey is predicting 1.5 metres by 2100
Please support the 10:10 campaign either via the Guardian website or the link www.1010uk.org

Sudbury's Party in the Park a great success.

The Town Council organised the free "Party in Belle Vue Park," it was a great family & community day. Opening with the excellent Ipswich samba band and with massive crowds the day included lots of displays and acctivities such as the climbing wall and a range of sports and then the last 4 hours included a range of local bands and for some it was their first "live" performance which made it even more impressive.
Hopefully something that will be repeated next year and each summer. Thanks town Council staff and to Babergh District Council for the use of the Park!

In Sudbury, "When you see a crowd, I see a flock."

Been meaning to post this picture for sometime about the unusual addition to Siam Gardens courtesy of Sudbury in Bloom. Cynics would say they would be vandalised but weeks later they are still there. Nice innovation. Keep it up.

Creative artwork to solve a problem in Sudbury

Today was the official opening of the Tesco underpass which had been a victim of graffitti and nusiance behaviour. The solution supported by Babergh and the Town Council and other agencies was an artwork project using national & local artists with 50+ youngsters. Many of those involved in the problems were also involved in creating and doing the artwork. In very few underpasses do you want to stop and admire the "architecture" and design but here is something that brings the place to life. It is also something that will hopefully stop future graffitti and problems.

I was delighted to be at the opening with Cllr Martyn Booth my Lib Dem colleague in Sudbury as he was involved in Babergh's Community Safety Partnership that helped fund the project and I'm delighted to say Babergh officers who worked very hard co-ordinating it.

South Suffolk results: Suffolk County Council

June 5th was a day of mixed feelings. The results across the Babergh area showed the Conservatives on 43.7%, the Liberal Democrats on 34%, Labour on 9.3%, UKIP 3.8% and Green 1%. The turnout was 40.5%, better than expected.
We held onto our 3 seats of our hardworking councillors and came mightly close in the Stour Valley where Bryn Hurren was only 45 short of gaining the seat. We had good performances especially in Samford and Sudbury. Great Cornard was a promising performance too.
The Labour vote was awful. South Suffolk is a 2 horse race. Labour have no councillors and struggled to field candidates bringing in people from Stowmarket & Ipswich.
At a General Election there is a simple choice between Tory and Lib Dem here.

Linda Jack visit to South Suffolk.

Yesterday was an eventful and intersting time meeting with Linda Jack , one of our Lib Dem candidates for the European elections and visiting Brantham, East Bergholt, Assington and Copella at Boxford/Stoke by Nayland.

It was a great opportunity to show Linda the Brantham industrial site in much need of regeneration and receiving EU money via the Haven Gateway for studies into dryport and other uses as well as successful local businesses at the Assington Farm shop/PO with their plans to expand and a tour around the Copella factory which produces excellent pressed apple drinks and both so inextricably linked to the rural economy yet both have faced planning issues.

Published and promoted by & on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, 4 Cowley Street, London, SW1P 3NB

Six to Fix for Suffolk

Lib Dems have launched their campaign for Suffolk County Council and the Six to Fix for Suffolk is an excellent theme.

There is a real anger in some communities over the Middle school closure programme, many feel the consultation was disingenuous. At the same time, there is little support for schools from the Conservatives and we have seen other counties in the East overtake our GCSE performance.

The Conservative run Council has also disappointed people with the big increases in care charges for the elderly and stopping free day care.

The Conservatives also appointed a Chief Executive on £218,000. That is £30,000 more than the Prime minister! Suffolk needs a better run and more in touch council.

Finally, the environment needs to be much higher up the agenda. I still find many older Conservative councillors are climate change deniers, there is noo sense of urgency from them. The Liberal Democrats want the environment at the centre of policy. Declarations are no good unless acted upon and we will act.

Back gardens lost ??

The Government allowed back gardens to be classed as brownfield land so potentially allowing housing development within them if other planning considerations were acceptable so it is no surprise that the unpopular application to build a small estate of housing in the back gardens of a number of properties on Waldingfield Road, Sudbury has got permission at Appeal.

The developer did the usual thing, got refused permission so came back with a modified plan and then another till eventhough councillors rejected it against planning officers recommendations, the changes were enough to win at the independent planning inspecorate.

The test will now be whether the owners of the gardens sell up to the developer. Without land this development cannot happen. Yet the precedent was already set in a number of other places in the town but this decision well and truely sets the potential for more applications like this.

There are some other important questions. Shouldn't property owners have the freedom to sell part of their gardens for housing? Or should there be a ban? Would a ban mean more countryside is lost if gardens cannot be built on? Aren't gardens and green space important for quality of life and design of an estate? Aren't gardens important as wildlife refuges in an urban world and don't they help deal with water runoff? Can the existing rules stop development in gardens which is unsuitable?

There are no easy answers here, as little new housing means unaffordable house prices for our young people. Some of the people opposing garden use would also oppose building on the fields around the town edge.

What would we do if a developer approached us to sell a piece of our garden? Individually we might think thats ok till we turn around and find all the other individuals think the same and then collectively we might just think what have we done?

It seems to me that some back gardens might be suitable. BUT it seems to me that the designation of brownfield land needs removing as it makes it easier for the developer. Building in gardens should be the exception not the rule.

Let us hope Waldingfield Road residents have not signed up to sell.

At the expense of democracy

Today's paper has another politician this time Labour peer Baroness Uddin being accused of an expenses distortion. This is over a flat in Maidstone bought as a main residence but neighbours claim she never lives there.
When will these politicians realise that they damage the very fabric of our democracy when they make people believe they are on the take or in it for themselves. When the defence is "but it is within the rules" as some MP's have claimed yet the rules are allowing obvious misuse of public money, it is about time many had a long hard look in the mirror.
Hazel Blears in her veiled attack on Gordon Brown claims the public do not believe the government on their policy announcements, is it surprising when you see Labour ministers claiming second home allowances that do not stand up to honest scrutiny.
The sooner reform occurs the better but reform that will last the test of time and is not knee jerk and restores some faith in our democracy.

Suffolk County Council: Wasting money

last night I attended the latest attempt by Conservative run Suffolk County Council to persuade people that a single unitary would be best for Suffolk. No members of the public attended!! There were 3 County Councillors, 4 District Councillors, 2 senior officers, 1 Town Councillor and the wife of a County councillor.
Otherwise, no one.
I was told that the best attendance so far is 9 !!!!
The County are wasting taxpayers money hiring venues, wasting staff time and pushing a propaganda for their preferred option. It is disgraceful. The sooner this issue of local government review is put to bed the better. The public are not interested while councils (not Babergh to their credit)concentrate on protecting what they see as best for their own power bases.

Vince Cable: The Storm

This Easter holiday has been one of reading Vince Cable's account of the economic and financial crisis that faces the UK and the global economy. Securitization, amplification, special investment vehicles and figures in the trillions of $dollars. It is a remarkable, clear explanation of how the contagion spread. Of how people thought they were being clever by spreading the risk of their high risk actions and how high street banks, investment banks and the insurance industry were hit never mind the housing market and the wider economy.
There is a Facebook group called Cable so Able in appreciation of the man the Times called "A heavy weight in anyones cabinet."

BBC Panorama and care of elderly scandal

Tonight's BBC Panorama was truely shocking. The lack of care, the lack of time given to vulnerable elderly people in their homes reliant on home care uncovered by this programme means politicians must act.
Minimum standards ignored. Light touch inspections failing. The commissioner/provider model failing. Companies defrauding councils of cash for payments for set hours and carers not turning up due to understaffing. The low paid, desparate staff shown. The pain inflicted on terminally ill or confused patients.
The test of a society is how it treats its elderly and vulnerable and this programme showed that in several areas of the UK, we should be ashamed. How many more areas exist like this?

What makes my blood boil is that on Tuesday, I sat listening to someone in the NHS extolling the view that competition from the market will drive up standards in health care. Well this BBC programme showed contracts given to the lowest bidder, showed examples of awful care and a national charity unable to bid to provide care to the elderly in one council area as the price was so low.

It needs sorting, it needs to be done now and Councils and Government need to remember you often get what you pay for. Would anyone want that shown tonight on their parents?

As postscript, I hope the programme team get an award that was worth the license fee alone and a true public service.

Lib Dem councillor surgery in East Bergholt

Yesterday I joined some of my Lib Dem Babergh councillors who had a coffee morning and councillor surgery in East Bergholt.
2 main issues struck me. Firstly, the need for affordable housing or local needs housing for people within East Bergholt or neighbouring villages to live here. Yet residents who came said the local Parish Council had gone very quiet on the issue. Thankfully, some of the residents had been searching for suitable sites in and around the village. I was struck by how those of a right wing persuasion think that affordable housing will bring problems.
Secondly, the lack of transport integration in this country. Why can't a bus link up with the train at Manningtree station so that commuters to Ipswich, Colchester or London can use the public transport option not always use the car. In a rich economy, is integration not possible or is it because private companies dont talk to each other or the government dont demand it?
Suffolk has pretentions to be the Greenest county. Well, we need to start setting the bar higher and achieving what our European neighbours seem to do easily.

Fuel Poverty Bill fails by 11 votes

Why would MP's not stay on Friday and vote on the Fuel Poverty Bill?
Lib Dem MP David Heath introduced a Bill that would have improved energy efficiency in existing homes, brought in social tariffs for the households vulnerable to exposure to higher fuel bills and reinforced the legal duty on the government to act to end fuel poverty.

In a time of recession, it would have helped with work. In a time of needing to reduce carbon emissions it would have boosted energy efficiency investment. It was a win,win and win Bill.

Very few Labour and even less Conservative MPs turned up. Our Conservative MP did not. I bet there wont be a newspaper column on that little omission.

Sudbury health facility update

The PCT declared at Sudbury Town Council that they hoped to go to tender at the end of May for a preferred developer and by the summer they should have this in place. They confirmed that no Walnuttree beds would close till the new intermediate care teams and the replacement beds in residential/nursing homes were in place. They also confirmed that everything in the Secretary of State's letter on health care provision will be followed so all clinics will remain in Sudbury and then move to the new facility so that Walnuttree and St Leonards can be closed. They also reaffirmed their wish or expectation that a GP practice will be attached to that new facility.
Interestingly, they confirmed that Newmarket are keeping NHS beds in their hospital and getting a minor injuries unit. Why not Sudbury? That is exactly what we wanted?

New Hadleigh Leisure facility

Babergh are wanting to build a new leisure and community facility next door to the existing swimming pool. This will be a £2 million investment. Yet we have hit difficulties about the land as a few people claim it is a town green whereas Babergh believe it is public open space. Unfortunately, the legals may delay this project but last night we got a clear message from the Hadleigh Town Council that they were supportive of the facility and everyone realised that this was the area where a new pool was considered (but unfortunately too expensive) so if a town green claim won then Hadleigh would lose the chance of a new swimming pool too. A market town like Hadleigh deserves quality services for its young people and older generations. So come on people get behind the bid for this new facility.

Updates on Twitter

Babergh District Council are giving updates on Twitter. Thought I would trial it too. Definately more concise than a blog!! If you want to follow the link is on the side menu.

Councillor surgery for local issues

Today we restart our councillor surgeries on local issues/problems. The first Saturday in every month 10.30 - Noon at Sudbury Town Hall. Any issues or council problems please call in and see one of us.

Sudbury traffic madness

The traffic madness in Ballingdon must stop. The picture above could have been repeated 3 or 4 times while I stood there for 10minutes. Before the bollards we campaigned for were put here, these 2 lorries would have been up on the pavement to get past.
HGV's are ruining our historic core and the quality of life of residents. Never mind that this area is now an Air Quality Management Area. Come on Suffolk County Council, do something that helps the residents?
Bypass, downgrade the A131, stop the A131 being a primary lorry route, traffic lights, finalise the priority system, one way? We need a solution that reduces the problem and takes all residentrs into account.

Should North St be pedestrianised?

Many of you may have seen the experiment on pedestrianising North St on a Sunday. Did it work? Should it be permanent? Should it happen on more days? all of the time? Did traders benefit or were they worse off? Can we afford to lose those car spaces especially on Market days with none on the Market Hill already?

Please give your views and comment.

Babergh sets 2.9% council tax rise

Its good when you can write in a positive way about co-operation between political parties and the budget is one of them. A 2.9% increase which is below the CPI inflation rate and still puts in extra resources for the CAB, the sanctuary scheme (earlier post), affordable housing and free swimming has to be good. Some would have liked a 0% rate but the benefit of a 9 pence per week saving for a household set against the improvements to services that are needed in a recession made it a simple decision.
Though, there are some important questions raised here by the 0% promoters. Have we made the efficiencies we should have? Are we being prudent and careful? and will the recession be worse if the public sector starts cutting spending and laying people off? If councils start reducing orders then a negative multiplier effect is going to spiral.

New Siam Gardens

The renovation of Siam Gardens in the North Street car park should be something to celebrate. A novel idea to incorporate it as part of a trail around the town telling the history of industry that made the town famous. Yet it has been beset with problems all set around not listening to residents when they were consulted or listening then seemingly going back on their word. This is not a council but an unelected quango, who have managed to get quite considerable funds from Government for different projects BUT who are difficult to call to account unless you know one of them personally. And that is wrong.
Lets hope that the issues can be resolved before the opening on the 4th April as Siam Gardens needs the residents surrounding it for this scheme to truely work.

Food for thought

I attended a meal to raise money for the Babergh Domestic Violence and Abuse Forum the other day. Hearing Cathy Press speak on society's perceptions of abuse and how people often want to explain/rationalise why it happened and often look at what the victim may have done or how was the abuser provoked. It was extremely thought provoking.

It strengthened my belief on why it is so important that we do support Sanctuary schemes for victims in our Council budget. Something that nearly got cut out.

Students grade Sudbury

Here is a summary of when the Sudbury Liberal Democrats surveyed 111 13-16 year olds as part of Sudbury on Show at Sudbury Upper School on Thursday 12th and in St Peters Church on Saturday 14th Feb.

The results show that the young people completing the survey were regular users of a whole range of leisure facilities in the town. 75% used Belle Vue Park, 63% Kingfisher Leisure centre while Friars Meadow, Dual use sports centres (Sudbury & Cornard) and playing fields were all used by approximately 50%. A third used sports clubs while only 8% used the skate park and the BMX.

On their suggestions for extra leisure facilities they would like to see in Sudbury 57% made no suggestion while a quarter suggested a cinema would be the main improvement.

70% thought that Belle Vue Park had everything it required. The main suggestions for improvements were a football goal, play equipment for older teenagers and a better café.

On feeling safe when out in the town, 47% said yes, all of the time while 50% said yes but only during the day while a small 3% said none of the time.
The main fear was from the night time economy and of drunken adults coming out of and going from pubs. A fifth of all students wanted to see more police patrolling or the police being more visible in the town centre at night.

The top 3 issues (from a list of 12) were:

1st Public Transport mentioned by 40%
2nd Climate Change mentioned by 34%
Joint 3rd Education & Training/University fees and war & terrorism all mentioned by 28%

The full results of the survey have already been passed to Babergh District Council who have responsibility for leisure and community safety.

Sudbury on Show

The 14th Feb was "Sudbury on Show" in the Town Hall and St Peter's Church on the Market Hill. If you are not aware of the concept it is a chance for all community and voluntary organisations to promote their activities, to network and find new members. It is also a chance for everyone to just see the wide range of activities our community offers.
A smaller version is run at the 2 Upper schools for a morning the same week.
Everyone gets a stand and a directory of contact details is published and the event is done on a bi annual cycle run by the Town Council.
It was the brainchild of (Lord) Andrew Phillips and started in 2003 when I did my first Mayoral stint. It is superb that 6 years later we were onto the 4th event with over 100 stands.

I spent all day on the Lib Dem stand. We got an excellent response to our Poll on which site should be chosen for the Town's new health facility. Cynics in public bodies often treat consultation with contempt seeing it as a threat to their power or scared of public choices if they are given power to chose.

All I can say, is that the choice of site is difficult but the the 100+ residents who completed it took their time and we had some excellent discussions on the merits and disadvantages of a range of sites. And people appreciated the chance to have their voice. Lets be honest the PCT (Primary Care Trust) are not going to ask residents.
People see through consultation when it is a foregone conclusion but value the chance to influence a decision even if their own choice is not taken up.
People want to partake in local democracy but only if they feel they will be listened to, why bother if the decision makers have already given you the view theirminds are made up!???

The result: Church Field Road 51.5%, Walnuttree 41% and St Leonards 7.5%.

Finally there was an enormous relief that Babergh had rejected Belle Vue House and land next to the Park. Now what should happen there? Another post, another time.

Great Cornard Upper: 12 hour sports challenge 9pm to 9am!

Our school is raising money for an upgrade to the school climbing wall in memory of Paul Dainty the much loved and respected former Head of PE and science teacher who died in 2008. Paul brought climbing and many sports to so many students in his 30 years here.

So its 1am and I've now done Tchoukball, fitness suite, basketball and footie is to come (did 5 a side after school too!) Great atmosphere and loads of kids participating from badminton to basketball and trampolining to football.

Its times like this you realise the great colleagues you work with and the great young people who are having real fun for a good cause.

I wonder what 9am will feel like? want to watch England v Italy Saturday pm, will I have the stamina?

Suffolk County Council thinks Sproughton suitable for an incinerator (energy from waste)

Suffolk is running out of landfill, lanfill taxes are going up and more waste needs to be diverted from this stream. The real answer is recycling, waste minimisation and reuse but the more economic option for the Council seeems to be incineration. Incineration or energy from waste as they call it has a mixed and emotive record. Europe sees it as green, the UK greens and elsewhere see it as polluting. Technology has moved on but fine particulates are still emitted and resources that could be recycled are lost and ash still has to be landfilled.

Residents in Sproughton are quite rightly concerned about the close proximity to their village of this use due to potential emissions and traffic if the old sugar beet factory site was selected.
I know that Kathy Pollard is representing them well as their Lib Dem County Councillor. I just hope the Conservative administration listens carefully to residents issues and it selects wisely the site and the technology to be used.

Babergh looks at 2.9 to 3.5% council tax increase

I've sat on the Service and Financial Planning Group working on the budget, a group of Lib Dem, Conservative and Independent councillors with officers. Alot of hard work has been put in and some difficult decisions have been made and a recommendation of a 2.9% increase is on the table. Yet several proposals from O&S for further funding of the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Sanctuary scheme for domestic violence are worthy of reconsideration. In a recession evidence shows us that both these services will need more funding due to extra demand for their services.

96 out of 98. That is bad news!

Sudbury's much needed western relief road, a road needed to protect the historic core, to reduce congestion and volume of traffic and more importantly make our roads safer so that a real attempt to promote cycling and walking has basically been binned to the distant future. Never mind the housing growth that Sudbury will get with the Chilton Woods development and others.

Last night, at the Town Hall, Suuffolk County Council told us that:
1. the scheme came 96 out of 98 in the East of England.
2. at present road building rates, it would take nearly a century to clear those schemes!

I asked Suffolk what traffic management had been implemented and what their future plans were if the relief road is a distant hope. When the relief road was turned down before, the Labour government said that interim traffic management schemes had to be tried to show need for a bypass.

Well, in the last 4 years of the Conservatives running Suffolk, nothing has been implemented and the 1 scheme (Belle Vue junction) has been downgraded and no plans were revealed to deal with traffic in the future.

To the credit of the Sudbury Society, who organised this meeting, another will be organised to discuss interim traffic management measures.

Obama

As one of my daughter's watched some of "Celebrity Big Brother" last night, there was a scene of 3 of the American contestants shedding a tear over the scenes of the inauguration they had been allowed to view. There was a sense of awe, of hope and for those in America's minorities, a feeling of being a full member of that society now.
I'm still in shock that it was through this programme (one I can't stand!) that the insight of what this new President means to many Americans could be revealed. My hope is that the burden of expectation does not become too much and that solving the Israel/Palestine question will finally find a just solution.

Town Hall finances

The Town Council budget was set and a 4.9% increase was achieved. The November inflation rate is used on contracts and this was 4.8%. Yet inflation in January is already down to 3.1% The budget setting was a painful experience. The Tories had started at a 10% increase, we had got it down to 6.9% but to get to inflation could only mean cuts in services or reducing reserves.

The council tax increase was so high simply because the Town Council had agreed to part fund a new PCSO with the Police and that infamous land purchase to the rear of the Town Hall was going to hit with an extra £17000 in the budget. The Auditor was also demanding more cash in reserves. There was only one outcome services such as the Tourist Information Centre, Eden's Youth Club and reserves for a rainy day were cut by the Tories and opposed by our Lib Dem councillors.

Now these % increases seem high yet in another way the Town Council budget is a small proportion of the total bill so an increase of 3-4 pounds for each household over the year was likely or a 10-15pence per week for each houshold. It can sound rather different and satisfactory when worded like this.

Yet the Town Council needs to budget well and get under or near inflation.
The lesson here is that the Tory councillors have committed themselves to spending through the year and at the last minute realised the consequences and cut essential services which are worth paying for and are needed.

In the same week our Tory MP was saying that tourism was a possible way out of the recession, his own councillors reduce the hours of the Tourist Information Centre. Slightly ironic.

Poor financial planning.

1 day Lib Dem conference at the LSE

Saturday was an excellent, thought provoking day at the LSE.Its focus was social mobility and raising equal opportunities for all. Nick Clegg started the conference with a very good speech (first time hearing him live!)that outlined key policies and analysis of Government and Tory weaknesses. This was then followed by break out workshops on the importance of education policy for reducing poverty, inequality and increasing opportunity. It was like going back to University with a lecture and seminar to discuss. The economists from the Centreforum think tank were superb at raising thought provoking issues and the realities of this recession on future spending priorities for any Government.
Next, came another workshop on "Who are the Poor in Britain?" This was presented by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and looked at who are the income and consumption poor. And which regions have the greatest problems. As well as the links then to policy across a range of areas.
Interesting, was the analysis of Government early success and then failure in this area and how different groups have seen their position improve and decline.
The big surprise was how non-parent adults have gone from 1 in 20 being poor to 1 in 10 since Labour came to power.
Finally, was the presentation by the Commission on Social Mobility. It had been totally independent of the Party. This presentation was headed by the Head of Barnardoes and included Vince Cable MP and Lynne Featherstone MP. It posed some excellent questions for Lib Dems to consider as well as challenges and showed how many of our policies would aid social mobility and improve opportunities for all.

End fuel poverty bill

I am delighted that David Heath MP is taking on the End Fuel Poverty Members Bill in Parliament. Many Lib Dem councillors including myself have been encouraging David to take this on and as he has been drawn second, it should get a good amount of Parliamentary time. I just hope that our local non-Lib Dem MP's will support it and make this a reality that will benefit so many elderly and poor residents as well as help our environment.
Let us hope the Government doesn't use its big majority to block it.

Economic downturn

More people are coming into the Town Hall to sort out benefit claims and housing issues. The rise in unemployment is starting to have its consequences. Recently, we have seen Woolworths, Fleetwoods, M&S go or announce closure while other employers have announced redundancies. Many fear that the service industries will shed more jobs in February and March and that Bank amalgamations will have a consequence too. Some are fearing for pubs and one wonders about Wetherspoons with its vast empty spaces.
Fortunately, the Town centre in Sudbury is going to see the return of Iceland for Woolworths and the Co-op will replace Sommerfield. Without these the high street would be quite different. Clearly retailers still want to be in Sudbury.
The weaker Euro might bring more tourists to the UK from Europe and more Brits may stay at home this summer. Companies like Hoseasons are reporting big increases in bookings on the local news.
Yet, its the claims of how difficult it is for successful businesses to get loans to expand and grow that is worrying. The Banks are taking along time to realise that the taxpayer bailed them out and they need to lend responsibly not conservatively. For this adds to peoples fears that their jobs may be at risk and so they reduce their spending fearing a rainy day ahead. There was clearly a waiting for the sales as companies now report more sales in the New Year but lower profits. Lets hope that these lean times do not have a big impact later on in the year.

Results of Poll

The poll revealed the majority 77% want a mixed use development on the bus station area in Sudbury. This was my first attempt at a poll on here. The sample of respondents was vey small but an interesting outcome . When I created the poll, the recession was not in full swing so it may be some time before anyone's aspirations for this area are achieved.

A new poll will be posted soon.