by Paul Scully | Oct 8, 2006 | News |
10th October will see the launch of Britain’s first political Internet TV Channel.
18DoughtyStreet Talk TV will broadcast for four hours a night, Mondays to Thursdays, from studios in London’s Bloomsbury with a mix of live and pre-recorded programmes. It aims to break the mould of current affairs television with a mix of opinionated and controversial programming.
The channel’s founders, Iain Dale (Ian Dale’s Diary) and Tim Montgomery (Conservative Home) believe that conventional political TV has let down its audience by dumbing down political debate to the lowest common denominator. It believes that no political party truly understands the electorate’s disappointment with the current state of politics. It aims to be an anti-establishment channel – championing rebel opinions in all of the mainstream parties and constantly questioning authority.
by Paul Scully | Oct 6, 2006 | News |
The Home Office manage to dig a deeper and deeper hole. As revealed in the Yorkshire Post, in a parliamentary written answer given to Conservative MP Shailesh Vara, the Home Office have confirmed that they have arrested nearly 1000 people over the last 5 years under anti-terrorism legislation, released over half of them without charge and actually charged only 154 with terrorism-related offences.
They explained that they did not keep records of how long these people were detained. In the light of their attempt to introduce 90-day detention, this really is damning. Throughout the debate, the government insisted that current legislation was not effective despite already having the longest detention period in the western world. How on earth can you know what is or is not effective when you do not know what is happening at the moment?
Some may consider me too liberal, but let me ask you this. Would you trust John Reid or indeed any government minister with your personal freedom if you were wrongly imprisoned? When I see the mistakes that are made in the Home Office, I would trust Homer Simpson over them.
by Paul Scully | Oct 6, 2006 | News |
Most people have got used to a smoking ban at work. Many are getting ready for a ban in the pub. Sutton Council are now aiming at people’s cars and homes.
A proposal came to a Council-Employee meeting last Monday (2nd Oct) banning smoking in and around council buildings, but going further to ban employees smoking when travelling to and from work in their uniforms. The piéce de resistance was the requirement that ‘Employees making home visits must be provided with a smoke free environment.’
Essentially this means that if you are at home and have, say meal-on-wheels, the council employee is not allowed to help you whilst you are smoking in your own home. Conversely when the bailiffs come round, puffing cigar smoke through the letterbox seems a good defence.
by Paul Scully | Oct 6, 2006 | News |
The weather was foreboding, thousands of people were left stranded without a pass, but despite this most people left with a confident air. David Cameron’s speech on Wednesday was a major landmark. It didn’t reach the high benchmark that Blair had set the previous week for rhetoric but it resonated for a very different reason. Cameron received applause for saying things that you could never imagine a Conservative leader saying maybe even two or three years ago.
There is plenty more to do. The shakes of the head by some when he addressed civil partnerships show that not everyone is going in the same direction or at the same speed. However the NHS is the subject that stands out. For too long this has been the sole reserve of the Labour party. Remember “24 hours to save the NHS” in 1997. Cameron spoke of the man that he met that had worked in his job in the NHS for the past 12 years. In that time, there had been so many reforms and adjustments that he had to reapply for his job a ridiculous 7 times. Just one example of the waste in the Health Service. Yes, funding has increased but the amount going to frontline services has not gone up in anywhere near the same proportion.
Policies will come after the various commissions have reported back but it is important nationally as it is here in Sutton, that we show that we are ready to confront the challenges that we face today, not revisit those of twenty years ago.
by Paul Scully | Oct 2, 2006 | News |
I’ve joined the annual seaside jaunt that is the Conservative Party Conference. I’m currently sitting on “bloggers row” which is a new area for the party. We are giving advice for new bloggers, reflecting our thoughts on conference as it happens. More and more people appreciate the fact that the Internet can be a tool for real communication between politicians and constituents. Though I was the first in Sutton, I hope that I won’t be the last.
Anyway, this week will be an interesting one. It is “One year on” for David Cameron. Delegates are debating how much progress we are making, what they think of the new party logo (which looks suspiciously like the Sutton Council tree.) and asking the question “Where’s the beef?” in terms of policy.
by Paul Scully | Sep 27, 2006 | Carshalton Central, News |
Despite only having had one day’s notice of the event, I attend the Strategic Planning Advisory Group meeting as they considered whether to make the Poet’s Estate an Area of Special Local Character (ASLC). Planning officers were not keen as they claimed that there was no prevalent architectural style.
Pointing out the pressure that the area is under, in the light of the Coleridge Avenue planning application, I was able to repeat the prayer to the petition signed by 298 local residents last year which stated that Sutton Council themselves had claimed the area as “part of the borough’s heritage heartland” in the Sutton Scene magazine. There are three main considerations, the townscape, architecture and landscape. I believe that the Estate clearly demonstrates that it meets all three.
The result was a partial success. The planning officers are not keen to add any more ASLCs as this weakens the protection for the existing ones. A new policy to be included in the Local Development Framework will act as an overarching policy to protect particular suburban character in areas such as the Poets’. The decision has been deferred for six months whilst this new policy is implemented. If the committee do not feel that this is robust enough, they can reconsider the merits of the case and we shall start over again. At least I have six months’ notice this time.
