Local elections - a weighing up of the issues

[Miss Marple]

£7.45 for four tiny cans of tuna, anyone? - that is outrageous. Time for some decent competition.

Some would argue that to pay a fisherman to land a Tuna, dispose of the dead Dolphin they accidently caught, get rid of all the guts and bits, put it in cans and then fly it half way around the world, £7.45 for 3/4 a kilo of tuna may be fairly good value if that fisherman needs to earn an average UK wage.

Morrison's, Tesco, Asda et al are all doing that but they are charging half the price.   

So is Iceland in Marple !

[finetimefontaine]

£7.45 for four tiny cans of tuna, anyone? - that is outrageous. Time for some decent competition.

Some would argue that to pay a fisherman to land a Tuna, dispose of the dead Dolphin they accidently caught, get rid of all the guts and bits, put it in cans and then fly it half way around the world, £7.45 for 3/4 a kilo of tuna may be fairly good value if that fisherman needs to earn an average UK wage.

Morrison's, Tesco, Asda et al are all doing that but they are charging half the price.   

[finetimefontaine]

Dave...on your comments about both Councillors brush with the law...spot on sympathetic good understanding of human nature point of view. I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY. 

Ringi... must admit I'd never even thought of it that way before. You've certainly got a point. Gives creedence to Dave's post about paying more and getting better Councillors. Maybe if we did then people who can't stand for election because they've got to work, could  stop work then they could stand. Of course the risk is that they'd have to get elected before they got paid. There's no simple answer is there?

Let's face it the Co-op in Marple lets us all down particularly those with growing families. Overpriced, narrow sell by dates, low wages for the staff, poor variety, badly stocked ... That's something I do think the Council could have done something about.  Saw one of our Councillors  last Sunday coming out of M & S in Handforth Dean - trolley laden...obviously wasn't shopping in Marple co-op that day. Before you ask - YES, I was shopping there too.

[Duke Fame]

£7.45 for four tiny cans of tuna, anyone? - that is outrageous. Time for some decent competition.

Some would argue that to pay a fisherman to land a Tuna, dispose of the dead Dolphin they accidently caught, get rid of all the guts and bits, put it in cans and then fly it half way around the world, £7.45 for 3/4 a kilo of tuna may be fairly good value if that fisherman needs to earn an average UK wage.

Not when you can get four tins of princess tuna at Iceland for three pounds .it was that price last week but they are busy this week putting up some of there prices .

It's a fine line, do we want cheap protein & people in Thailand working 20 hours for less money than benefits scrounger in this country or do we want to give a fair days pay for a fair day of work?

[amazon]

£7.45 for four tiny cans of tuna, anyone? - that is outrageous. Time for some decent competition.

Some would argue that to pay a fisherman to land a Tuna, dispose of the dead Dolphin they accidently caught, get rid of all the guts and bits, put it in cans and then fly it half way around the world, £7.45 for 3/4 a kilo of tuna may be fairly good value if that fisherman needs to earn an average UK wage.

Not when you can get four tins of princess tuna at Iceland for three pounds .it was that price last week but they are busy this week putting up some of there prices .

[Duke Fame]

£7.45 for four tiny cans of tuna, anyone? - that is outrageous. Time for some decent competition.

Some would argue that to pay a fisherman to land a Tuna, dispose of the dead Dolphin they accidently caught, get rid of all the guts and bits, put it in cans and then fly it half way around the world, £7.45 for 3/4 a kilo of tuna may be fairly good value if that fisherman needs to earn an average UK wage.

[hollins]

Absolutely agree with Ringi - anyone who stands for election with a policy against a supermarket on Hibbert Lane without even having seen any plans won't get my vote. Agreed too about the lack of choice of shops for those who are at work all day - we don't have the luxury of time or opportunity to saunter round the "independents".

If we choose not to drive to shop then we are stuck with the Co-op. £7.45 for four tiny cans of tuna, anyone? - that is outrageous. Time for some decent competition.

[ringi]

It will be interesting how many votes a candidate would get if they stood up for people that worked all day and don’t wish to have to drive outside of Maple to do their weekly food shop?

It seems all the likely candidates at present, think the small independent shops are more important than facilities with long opening hours for full time workers. 

However only people with the time to use the local shops and plan their life round the opening hours of the independent shops are likely to have the time to stand.

[finetimefontaine]

So they where does all this leave Marple, the Councillor situation in general and the forthcoming May election in particular?

Perhaps, Miss Marple is right when she says that the Community gets the Councillors it deserves! Because if we are apathetic this is what will happen. When I say apathetic I don't just mean at the ballot box or in the community although that's important. What about the apathy on this website to the Councillors we have actually got? 

Personally, I don't share the jaundiced view that some of us have of all our Councillors. I think that they are a mixed bag as you would expect of six different people. I've heard that at least two of them go about quietly using their influence to do things separately for people in the community. Small things that they don't have to do, things that don't win votes in clusters, don't get a mention at Area Committee or are not big issues but nevertheless things that are important to individuals in our Community. I also agree that some of them are long past their sell by date, are there for themselves and need to go quietly.
 
I say let's identify and keep the good one's and get rid of the bad ones.

HOW TO DO IT THATS THE QUESTION ?




 
 

[Duke Fame]

Hello Lisa/Duke,

I've forgotten what this debate is about now but I have to side with Duke about Dickie. Sir Richard Leese, elected member for Crumpsall. "knighted for services to local government". Last year he was paid  £53,153,27. When you are a Council Leader you are automatically elected to other bodies (all paid) E.G Police Authority, Fire Authority, TfGM, GMWDA .... THERE'S PLENTY OF THEM TO GO AROUND FOR THE SELECTED FEW. In Dickie's case this probably nets him another £53 GRAND.

MCC Councillors basic annual attendence allowance is £16,095,81 almost double what Stockport Councilors receive - why is that? 

Only the half - truth though Duke about the assault. It was Dickie's teen-age stepdaughter and it was an "altercation" about her conduct. Those of us that have had teen-age stepdaughters understand what that is about. Anyway, do our Councillors have to pure as the driven snow or are they allowed to have family problems that sometimes get a little out of hand?   

I don't think anybody begrudges paying a good Councillor a fair allowance but 54Grand x2 ! ... that's just a gravy train when Social Workers and Lollipop Ladies are being sacked!

To be honest, I'm with you on both Councillor's brush with the law. I understand that we could all have a horrific accident in our car when we're going about our business and it must have been awful for the Stockport MP to lose a colleague in that way, at the same time I'm sure many a parent has lost their temper with their kids.

The huge issue I had was Dickie Leese was his TIF project and the more I looked into what he did, the more i wondered what his motivation was. As you say, the guy does very well out of having a seat at various tables and I felt there was a decent chance that had the Tif gone ahead that may have been another position he took up. His expenses claims are large, he appears to be enjoying a lot of big bashes at the town hall, it doesn't seem to have much to do with making sure the roads are kept clean, pot-holes filled in and other things that councils are supposed to do.

[finetimefontaine]

Hello Lisa/Duke,

I've forgotten what this debate is about now but I have to side with Duke about Dickie. Sir Richard Leese, elected member for Crumpsall. "knighted for services to local government". Last year he was paid  £53,153,27. When you are a Council Leader you are automatically elected to other bodies (all paid) E.G Police Authority, Fire Authority, TfGM, GMWDA .... THERE'S PLENTY OF THEM TO GO AROUND FOR THE SELECTED FEW. In Dickie's case this probably nets him another £53 GRAND.

MCC Councillors basic annual attendence allowance is £16,095,81 almost double what Stockport Councilors receive - why is that? 

Only the half - truth though Duke about the assault. It was Dickie's teen-age stepdaughter and it was an "altercation" about her conduct. Those of us that have had teen-age stepdaughters understand what that is about. Anyway, do our Councillors have to pure as the driven snow or are they allowed to have family problems that sometimes get a little out of hand?   

I don't think anybody begrudges paying a good Councillor a fair allowance but 54Grand x2 ! ... that's just a gravy train when Social Workers and Lollipop Ladies are being sacked!

[Duke Fame]

Duke... clerks are employees.. its sad they claim excessive expenses, but we don't vote them in.  the councillors we DO vote in could change this but why would they?

As for a labour led council... it would be years before that happened!!  However I don't care who takes charge, the lib dems have been in power here too long and are stale and complacent. 
 

Lisa, the Town Clerk I refer to is a councillor by the name of Dickie Leese, he's got a grand title or leader of the city or something but essentially it's a town Clerk's job. I'd agree that where parties get too cosy they stop trying, the same town clerk I refer to has cost the taxpayer millions of pounds, cautioned for assaulting a 14 year old girl and still he's in such a safe seat he's not been voted out.

In an ideal world, I'd like an indy councillor, someone who's ran a business, done their bit and ready to give a little back. Even though I agree that there are some great Labour supporters as well as the bad ones, they tend not to be as grounded as the other parties and in these times that need prudence, it's a bit of a risk to let them go all fluffy kittens with out council tax money.

[Lisa Oldham]

Thanks finetimefontaine for doing what I should have done and find the actual expenses figures! I'm sure in addition to this there was an article last year(?) about councillors claiming for 1st class travel and there were several, what many would consider unnecessary expenses, paid trips abroad.  If I get chance I will try and find the articles!

Duke... clerks are employees.. its sad they claim excessive expenses, but we don't vote them in.  the councillors we DO vote in could change this but why would they?

As for a labour led council... it would be years before that happened!!  However I don't care who takes charge, the lib dems have been in power here too long and are stale and complacent. 
We talk about them as part of a national party structure, which of course they are, however one local lib dem party can be completely different than the next, similarly with all the other parties.
I have been in a slanging match with 3 local lib dems at the same time as working closely with 50 other local lib dems in different parts of the country.  I could also be working with tories here whilst fighting with another one somewhere else.  Same with labour.
It didn't usually depend on national political policy, and it didn't depend on who was in control of the council, as we were working with several lib dem councils. Length of council control and a overwhelming majority did seem to be a factor though. 

So I don't care who takes charge as long as they're fresh keen and interested in US !
 

[Duke Fame]

Flipping heck ! I thought councillors expenses was for petrol allowances and parking.   The funniest thing is that when 350 people turned out to that now much talked about Area Committee Meeting in the park last year.  The cost of alerting the community was a pack of paper (£2.50) and half an ink cartridge and the use of my kitchen table. Even with all  those expenses the best our elected members can do is get a handful of the community to attend an Area Committee Meeting     Have we any idea what the expenses are for?  is there a break down available anywhere

Over in Manchester the town clerk claimed over £55k in expenses on top of his salary and that excludes the lavish receptions at the town hall he likes to throw.

[finetimefontaine]

Marpleleaf,


Things only change if people make those changes.

An Independent Candidate in Marple conjures up a multiplicity of possible election outcomes.

I agree with you about the Conservatives, they probably haven't got the political organisation to mount a serious challenge against the LibDems in marple and if they did get in then they probably couldn't properly represent the Marple Community. No offence Carl but I think you'd be eaten for breakfast in the Council Chamber. Maybe in a couple of years eh!

Marpleleaf... a bit concerned about your political judgement on Syd Lloyd as a "heavyweight". As you know he showed up at AC last year. Obviously he had no interest in Marple he was just party politicking, mischief making. He came with 2 Questions;

1/ For Shan Alexander - he seemed to be the only one in the room  who didn't know she was on holday in Sri Lanka - which said little for his awareness and research  - especially when he sits on the same Council as she does, he was fobbed off with the proverbial "written answer" which he probaby never got anyway.

2/ He challenged Martin Candler and easily came second best in the joust.

He might be a big fish in the small pond of school governorship but in Stockport Council, even by fellow Conservatives he is not thought be up to much.