Re: Duke Fame to run as Marple Councillor?

[amazon]

Stockport has one of the best records in the country for consulting on budgetary issues that's why this has been brough forward so early I expect. Indeed I know of know of no other authority who has already put in the public domain proposal for 2014/15.

Equally Dave if the majority of respondents say the cuts to children's play areas and parks and open spaces are better than other cuts I assume all here would accept that???

Our elected members have an almost impossible job drawing up the councils budgets currently

Very strait forward answer .

[Duke Fame]

It is very easy, of course, to be "against" any particular reduction in funding. There's no way that position will ever be unpopular. However, with the country having to borrow £120 billion just to maintain our current level of public expenditure, it is plain to see that cuts will continue to be necessary well into the future. But how do you compare cutting the parks budgets vs the homehelp budget? Or reducing spending on young people vs reducing benefits for older people.

None of these choices, alternatives or options are easy to decide on. It's our politicians (local and national) who have to make these choices. For anyone to sit outside, without any degree of responsibility or acclountability, and say how easy it all is................

I'm sure it's a balancing act between the priorities of life. I look at what is spent over in Manchester and when their two chaps (over-staffing) claim the cuts are imposed on them yet can spend £1/2m on a concert for council brass & local celebs, I just think there is something up.

I don't know the ins & outs of how the council goes about it's business but the various processes appear very inefficient. I suspect, early on, all I can do is highlight waste. If I were in charge (unlikely I know), I'd make it my business to rid the whole organisation of waste so that before an employee is taken on or money spent, they question whether it is something that the council should be doing.

[Duke Fame]

Much less that it used to have, and there are more cuts to come, such as:

What's your view on the above, Duke.  Too much of a cut?  Or not enough??

Most seems pretty fair although I think "Removing support to Friends of Park Groups, leaving them to try and get on with a bigger work load on their own." - I'd empower them to be able to do more.

I'd try and take a little off the police budget and soend it on local sports facilities, I'm a believer that if you get kids into sport, tehy will not get into so much trouble. In doing so, I'd use private enterprise as much as possible. I lived in one of the areas that took the least amount of money out of the central pot but they provided far better sports facilities than around here, everywhere had changing facilities and refreshments etc but very little actuallu cost the local authority any money.

[wheels]

No Dave that's over simplistic and the problems go back much further than this 3 year old Government. G Brown and his dreadful government and his period as chancellor also contributed to the problems local government faces. The continual attempted to undermine local government of both the Blair and Brown Governments createred many of the problems they now face

[Howard]

However, was it not Billy Connolly who once said something along the lines of "the ambition to stand for political influence should immediately preclude that person for ever doing so". Or words to that effect...

I believe it was "Don't vote, it just encourages them."

[Dave]

Equally Dave if the majority of respondents say the cuts to children's play areas and parks and open spaces are better than other cuts I assume all here would accept that???

Maybe they would - we shall never know, because the way the consultations have been framed we have not been given the chance to rank the proposed cuts in any order of preference (or non-preference would be a better word for it!).  In other words, it's not a question of choosing the least painful cuts - the council is proposing to implement all of them. 

Our elected members have an almost impossible job drawing up the councils budgets currently

Agreed, and I don't think we should blame the council or our councillors for the position they find themselves in - it's the fault of this incompetent government, whose failed economic policies could well lead to the announcement tomorrow that the country is now in its first-ever triple-dip recession.  Well done Gideon!   

[wheels]

Stockport has one of the best records in the country for consulting on budgetary issues that's why this has been brough forward so early I expect. Indeed I know of know of no other authority who has already put in the public domain proposal for 2014/15.

Equally Dave if the majority of respondents say the cuts to children's play areas and parks and open spaces are better than other cuts I assume all here would accept that???

Our elected members have an almost impossible job drawing up the councils budgets currently

[Dave]

I couldn't agree more, Bowden Guy - these are hard choices.  And I also agree that it is irresponsible of Duke Fame to suggest that council services should be 'cut to the core'.  One thing's certain - the economic position of the country is not the fault of our children, and that's why we should resist any proposal to stop repairing or replacing children's playground equipment. 

[Bowden Guy]

It is very easy, of course, to be "against" any particular reduction in funding. There's no way that position will ever be unpopular. However, with the country having to borrow £120 billion just to maintain our current level of public expenditure, it is plain to see that cuts will continue to be necessary well into the future. But how do you compare cutting the parks budgets vs the homehelp budget? Or reducing spending on young people vs reducing benefits for older people.

None of these choices, alternatives or options are easy to decide on. It's our politicians (local and national) who have to make these choices. For anyone to sit outside, without any degree of responsibility or acclountability, and say how easy it all is................

[Dave]

My view, which I have already posted on the relevant thread on this forum, and which appears to be shared by many others, is that the council should not make those proposed cuts to the parks service.  

But I'm not sure why anyone should be particularly interested in my opinion on this subject.  After all, I have not expressed any interest in becoming a councillor, and I have not expressed opinions such as

my philosophy is: Reduce council tax bills by reducing council services to the core.

We can safely assume from this statement that Duke supports the proposed cuts to the parks service, and indeed that he believes they don't go far enough.  But he's being rather coy about actually saying so.    

[wheels]

Yes thats what I understood. What are your views Dave.

[Bowden Guy]

Dave, I may be wrong but I think Amazon was asking what your view might be?

[Dave]

What's your view on the above, Duke.  Too much of a cut?  Or not enough??

What's your view ,

Strange that.  Duke's suddenly gone quiet.  I wonder why.........

[wheels]

Go for it Duke!!!!

I'm not saying I will vote for you but publish your manifesto, engage with the electorate, and debate. Then I, like many others, can choose from the alternatives (of course some people will vote without consideration of the aforementioned but that is their right).

As Simone said, many people threaten to stand. Very few do. To those who are dismissing Duke's offer, keep it up. I don't know him but suspect the more people tell him he can't do something, the more likely he is to do so.

However, was it not Billy Connolly who once said something along the lines of "the ambition to stand for political influence should immediately preclude that person for ever doing so". Or words to that effect

RH.

Winning local elections has nothing whatsoever to do with publishing idea, engaging in debate or seeking to win arguments. Its about having a better machine than those your fighting. Unless you have at least as good a machine as the Lib Dem you will not win in Marple. Someone has to circulate material, you need a computer officer, a designer, someone to raise a few £1000 between now and polling day 2014. You will need are hard core team of about 10 perward and a further 50 helpers rising to 100 for polling day itself. You need to ensure that the pro ponderonce of your supprters to turn out is greater than you that achieve by you opponents. If you don't have a machine you don't win don't be misled into thinking its about winning arguments/debates. There would not be any and you you be drowned out by the strength of the LD machine.

[Rudolph Hucker]

Go for it Duke!!!!

I'm not saying I will vote for you but publish your manifesto, engage with the electorate, and debate. Then I, like many others, can choose from the alternatives (of course some people will vote without consideration of the aforementioned but that is their right).

As Simone said, many people threaten to stand. Very few do. To those who are dismissing Duke's offer, keep it up. I don't know him but suspect the more people tell him he can't do something, the more likely he is to do so.

However, was it not Billy Connolly who once said something along the lines of "the ambition to stand for political influence should immediately preclude that person for ever doing so". Or words to that effect...

RH.