by Paul Scully | Feb 16, 2009 | News |
I’ve just returned from a Council meeting in Sutton. I had expected to post stories of how the LibDems passed their budget and pushed through the rebuilding of Elizabeth House in Cheam but a single feral action lasting no longer than a minute has seized my breath and takes my focus.
I was relaxing over a drink with a couple of colleagues, talking over the evening’s events when a crash of glass behind me got my attention. All I could see was a crazed, feral attack with someone sitting over another man, crashing glass into his head. Others had seen them hit and kick the man who I believe, turned out to be one of the waiters going about his job. As quickly as it started, things stopped in a sea of silence as people took in what had happened.
The police and ambulance arrived fifteen minutes later. A CCTV camera in the corner of the bar would surely had captured the attackers and the camera pointing towards their escape route should seal their fate. The rest of the staff were shocked and stunned, but retained enough composure to look after their colleague, get the emergency services in and keep the place going. They didn’t deserve this, but they deserve plenty of praise.
This isn’t an essay on crime or the fear of crime in Sutton. It could have happened anywhere. A quiet Monday night in a bar that was no more than a third full is not the first place the police would camp outside in readiness. This is an immediate reflection on a horrific reminder that there are some that think nothing of smashing razor-sharp shards of glass into someone’s face in full view of 9 or 10 people and a camera, without thought of the consequences. It is a reaction to a stark lesson that there are some in a comparatively prosperous area like Sutton who fall into the gaps of a society that is broken in parts, whether it be through alcohol, drugs, education, family breakdown or a combination of them all.
I hope the victim recovers well and that his scars heal quickly.
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by Paul Scully | Feb 16, 2009 | News |
This week’s Sutton Guardian showed an interesting contrast in the approach of Tom Brake MP and Ken Andrew, his Conservative challenger.
Ken Andrew has been collecting a petition against the proposed sale of the Carshalton War Memorial Hospital to a housing developer. He has gone around speaking to residents and surveying opinion. Ken told the Guardian “There was a massive response to the petition. The hospital was built with money raised by local residents after the first World War, as a memorial to those who bravely gave their lives for their country and local residents feel as passionate about keeping the Hospital as their predecessors did in financing it.”
This issue will have a significant impact on people living around Carshalton Park and in Salisbury Road as well as the wider implications for local residents with the loss of land in public ownership and a war memorial. I’ve helped a concerned resident build up a membership of over 100 supporters on a Facebook group on this matter.
Meanwhile Tom Brake has been photographed making a “Whale tail” sign as a show of support for the International Fund for Animal Welfare campaign. Now, let me explain how these campaigns tend to work. A parliamentary lobbyist will book a committee room in Parliament, sponsored by an MP and put a few bottles of wine in it. An email round robin goes around and people turn up for a few minutes of networking and wine, whilst waiting for the early evening votes in the Chamber. A cameraman will snap away at MPs standing in front of a banner. The photo then gets emailed to the MP with a sample press release saying “ is campaigning to … ”
MPs do retain some influence, even in these cynical times, so there is nothing inherently wrong with lending their support to raise the profile of a campaign. There is nothing wrong in seeking to protect the welfare of animals. However, I’ll take the person getting their hands dirty, out and about responding to local residents every time.
by Paul Scully | Feb 11, 2009 | News |
I was amazed at one entry in the budget report that was released recently. £20,000 is to be cut from Winter Highways Maintenance with the explanation, “Based on the experience of the last few years, reduce the provision for highways winter maintenance without having any adverse impact on the service provided.”
This decision was confirmed by leading LibDem councillors on Friday morning whilst sitting about 10 feet away from the entrance of the Civic Offices with people slipping and sliding into the building. As we recover from the worst snow in 18 years, it is incredulous that they can prove themselves so out of touch that they can draw up proposals to reduce the upkeep of our roads during winter.
Meanwhile a constituent has sent me this photo of litter picking in Blakehall Road whilst a lady tiptoes through the snow and a Mini crawls over the ice.
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by Paul Scully | Feb 4, 2009 | News |
Shailesh Vara MP has revealed to the House of Commons what many of us knew already, that the LibDem campaign manual explains in great detail how to treat their electorate as mugs.
Yesterday, the LibDems initiated a debate in the House about parliamentary standards. However, they were not so keen to have some of their own played back to them. The manual published by the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors tells their elected representatives in Opposition to “Be wicked, act shamelessly, stir endlessly.” It goes on to instruct “Don’t be afraid to exaggerate” and “you can secure support from voters who normally vote Tory by being effectively anti-Labour and similarly in a Tory area secure Labour votes by being anti-Tory.”
Political activists from the two main parties have seen this last instruction in action for many years. It is the one thing that unifies them. Politics is what it is. We seek re-election every few years and can’t expect residents to know everything that we are doing on their behalf…or not… without telling them. However, it is this sort of approach, embedded in their party, that gives rise to people’s antipathy to politicians. The Conservative council group will continue to oppose when appropriate, agree when we can but always ask the tough questions that make for a better-run Borough.
by Paul Scully | Feb 3, 2009 | News |
The Council Executive considered responses to their Budget Consultation this morning. It didn’t take long as they only received 72 responses from a population of 180,000. They seemed reluctant to see the imbalance of speaking to 0.04% of Sutton’s population to reach a decision that will affect 100% of Sutton’s taxpaying public.
Granted the 72 responses was better than the 22 surveys last year. They could have improved this by a factor of 2 if councillors had asked people that they knew to complete the form. The Conservative Group distributed several thousand alternative questionnaires and were able to supply over 1000 additional voices to the process.
I’m afraid the LibDem leadership hasn’t learnt the lessons of last year. This is another example of ticking a box, suggesting that they have completed an excercise required by Government, rather than showing a genuine interest in local views. It is true that discussions have been held with groups and organisations that represent several hundred people but this is not a substitute for wider communication.
In addition, the general open question of “What do you think of our budget?” having supplied a single page of information does not encourage a sensible discussion. It is the polar opposite of last year’s survey when they used irrelevant but loaded questions. One such question, something along the lines of “Do you agree that the Council should act in good time to pre-empt problems”, was shown to be worthless after £5.5m was frozen in an Icelandic Bank. At the time, the lead councillor for Finance’s response was effectively – we can’t think for ourselves in situations such as this because we are paying Capita to think on our behalf.
I’ve just returned from a Council meeting in Sutton. I had expected to post stories of how the LibDems passed their budget and pushed through the rebuilding of Elizabeth House in Cheam but a single feral action lasting no longer than a minute has seized my breath and takes my focus.
