Scully's Blog Spot

St Burstow Sins After All

2009-06-24T12:49:00.004Z

The expenses scandal has rightly horrified and appalled members of the public. Local councillors get tarred with the same brush as being in it for ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth for the vast majority of local politicians who give up so much of their time for scant reward. Most politicians have realised that this is not a party political issue but something that MPs from all parties have been caught up in and requires a solution from all parties.

Local LibDems however have been using it as an election message in the Nonsuch by-election to get people to vote for a local councillor, not on the 23 year track record of the Liberal Democrat council, certainly not on the previous track record of the LibDen candidate who failed to turn up to a single local committee meeting in his final year as councillor representing another part of the Borough, but instead on the issue of the behaviour of MPs outside London.

Why did they not look closer to home? Paul Burstow was lauded as a saintly MP by the Telegraph because he did not claim a second home allowance. Perfectly sensible for an MP in a marginal seat with a precarious majority. However he didn't warrant further research which would have uncovered the fact that he paid his wife to do his books and then got them checked by an accountant who did his self-assessment tax return (for one example see page 91 of his online expenses. Both were paid using taxpayers' funded expenses. Nick Clegg called upon Alistair Darling to resign for doing exactly the same thing. I won't be holding my breath for the same call to come for his Chief Whip.

MPs are PAYE, with their salaries being paid after tax has been deducted. The only occasion that a Member of Parliament would need to amend their taxes as a result of their work in Parliament is if they have claimed expenses for a high value item that would still be theirs should they lose a subsequent election. They then have to pay tax on that item as if it was a benefit, over a three year period. This would mean that the folding machine bought via Paul Burstow's £10k communication allowance would be taxable (which through some deft juggling of allowances ended up as a bill to the taxpayer of £15,525, one of the highest of all the MPs), but the £643.01 paid to a company to stuff 23,815 envelopes the month before and the £22.52 spent on wine and crisps "for stuffing" would not be.

Fortunately the residents of Nonsuch aren't taken in as easy as the Liberal Democrats would wish. One resident who has switched their vote from LibDem to Conservatives this time around, wrote comments on their letter. Next to "After all it's your money that is being spent", they have added "Yes we know. You waste ours Sutton." I hope that the rest of the election campaign can focus on the issues that the candidates can actually have a direct bearing on for the residents of North Cheam and Worcester Park and in the meantime, the Westminster politicians can stop the yah-boo politics that they purport to hate and get on with cleaning up Parliament.

UPDATE: The Sutton Guardian carried a story on this in their Thursday edition. Paul Burstow explained that he needed to get the taxpayer to pay for his accountant in order to account for his expenses to the taxpayer. Two issues here. He needed the accountant to do his self-assessment tax return according to the invoices. Surely accounting for expenses just requires the occasional use of a photocopier. Secondly, he didn't account for his expenses, Parliament eventually did by putting them on the website for the Sutton Guardian and others to read after being forced into it. This is in sharp contrast to Ben Wallace MP who made all of his expenses public as far back as February 2008 .

Sutton Takes Rap On Knuckles Over Iceland

2009-06-11T06:33:00.003Z

A group of MPs has criticised councils for ignoring the warning signs about the Icelandic banking system. The BBC reports that the all-party Communities and Local Government Select Committee said that complacency, lack of expertise and inaction all helped put taxpayers' money at risk. The Local Government Association defended councils saying that they had received poor advice.

Sutton lost £5.5m after investing in Heritable Bank, a UK subsidiary of Landsbanki. Lead Councillor for Resources John Drage has dismissed each of the accusations over the last year despite admitting that he himself, had taken his eye off the ball. Cllr Drage is a retired Bank of England economist, working through the collapse in Japan in the nineties. When Cllr Drage fell asleep on the job, this smacked of complacency and robbed the authority of some expertise, leading to inaction, thus fulfilling all three of the accusations included in the report. End result? Sutton taxpayers are £5.5million worse off for the time being, with the latest prediction that we will lose £1.1million and get the rest back in a few years.

Introducing Georg Braun for Nonsuch

2009-06-09T07:59:00.004Z

Following the death of my colleague and friend, Chris Dunlop, the by-election to elect his replacement in Nonsuch will be held on July 2nd.

We are really lucky to have an excellent candidate, Georg Braun, who lives in the heart of the ward. He has four children who go to local school, runs his own business and lives in Hampton Road which is used as a rat-run to avoid Central Road. This all means that he has a good grasp of the issues for people in North Cheam and Worcester Park. He shares the same issues on a day to day basis.

Georg has already hit the ground running in Nonsuch. Literally in his first five minutes of campaigning for the by-election he found three severely blocked drains due to longstanding neglect by the Council and called them in. He's also signed up to our Freeze The Tax campaign at http://www.freezethetax.org.uk/. He's a local guy with local priorities. He'll make a fantastic addition to the team and a strong voice for Nonsuch. I know he'll work hard to carry on Chris Dunlop's positive approach to local politics.

Georg told the local newspapers "I'm not your typical politician but Chris showed me how important our local representatives can be. His positive approach to our area has inspired me to stand for election. I hope I can count on residents' support in continuing his legacy of making a difference.

"Nonsuch Ward - covering North Cheam and Worcester Park - is forgotten by this Council. We're almost always at the back of the queue for help from Sutton Council. Our area needs a positive new vision. A Conservative-run Council can provide it and I will be campaigning for it."

You can catch up with news from the area and his jottings from the stump throughout the campaign via his blog, changeNonsuch

Get The Euro-Results First

2009-06-05T00:02:00.005Z

My fingers are slightly numb after 12 hours of ringing on doorbells. Nonetheless, Iain Dale

is hosting a results show, so it's worth logging in to see if it was all worthwhile.

I'm bound to pontificate on my blog about the result sooner or later, but you should listen to those in the know first by clicking on the link and listening to Iain and commentators across the country.

Police Called In Over LibDem Leaflet

2009-06-04T12:34:00.003Z

According to the Sutton Guardian, police have been called in by a Sutton resident on a contravention of electoral law by the LibDems. Regular commenter on this blog, Adrian Short has asked the Special Crimes Unit to investigate Paul Burstow and Tom Brake over claims made in their European election literature which I commented on this morning.

You can see the whole article via the link above but I have reproduced a snippet below:-

Mr Short said: “Let me be very clear that I am not a lawyer and I am not saying that anyone has broken the law.

“However, in my reading of the law, I have formed a suspicion that the law has been broken and, as with all suspected crimes, I have reported it to the police.

“Regardless of the outcome of the legal process, I think it’s very important that people understand that, whichever party they vote for on June 4, their vote will be equally valuable and will help their preferred party to gain MEPs, entirely contrary to what the Lib Dems’ leaflets are saying.”

Bob Steel, the Sutton Green Party chairman, added: “The leaflets are deceitful and patronising.
"They will only further corrode trust in politicians, already at an all-time low.

“Lib Dems apparently have such a low view of their European performance that they devote 90 per cent of their leaflet to trying to dupe voters they are electing Tom Brake to deal with local issues like recycling.”

I agree with Bob Steel. It is disappointing that after nearly quarter of a century running the Borough, the LibDems have run out of steam to such an extent that they feel the need to prop up their remaining hopes through such means. They have asked for proportional representation for years. Now they have it, they seem to have decided that they don't want to use it after all. If politicians can't be straight with the public about something so basic, what trust can we have left in them.

European Elections - Vote Conservative

2009-06-04T08:38:00.004Z

Today the polls are open to vote for your Members of the European Parliament. You might not think that this is important but there are a few good reasons why it is worth turning up to your polling station and voting Conservative.

Tim Montgomerie on Conservative Home covers it well:-

Vote Conservative because it's the vote that Labour fears most.
Vote Conservative because of David Cameron's tough response to expenses-gate.
Vote Conservative because the Tory MEPs are set to leave the EPP and form the largest centre right grouping in the European Parliament opposed to ever closer union.
Vote Conservative because Tory MEPs will vote against the EU's
ambitions to spend our way out of recession.
Vote Conservative because it's the surest way of getting a referendum on Lisbon.
Vote Conservative because David Cameron is the only UK party leader fit to be Prime Minister.

Voting for minor parties may well salve your conscience about the shenanigans in Westminster but Gordon Brown will shrug this off as only he can, as a blip. Whilst from a party point of view, I believe that Gordon Brown is the Conservative's greatest asset, as a British taxpayer, it is time that the message gets through to his Cabinet colleagues that it is time for him to go. This country cannot afford another year of hiatus with the global economic climate as it is.

Meanwhile, the LibDems have been pushing out leaflets with their usual barcharts. They are the foremost proponents of proportional representation, yet when they campaign in an election with exactly the kind of electoral system that they want, they campaign as if it was First Past the Post. They explain that only the LibDems and Conservatives can win in Sutton, Carshalton & Wallington. The only problem with this is that this is a London-wide election. You vote for a party's slate of candidates rather than individual names (unless they are independents). The ballot paper is two foot long. Messages like this only go to confuse people further.

POLLS CLOSE AT 10pm

Battling Garden Grab in Coleridge Avenue

2009-06-03T07:48:00.003Z

At the last Development Control Committee, residents from the Poets' Estate made their feelings known about the latest in a string of applications to knock down an attractive house and build four houses in the garden. You can see from the number of residents in the picture, alongside Eric and Paul Kelly, that it isn't just a few Nimbys complaining.

The application is wrong for a number of reasons. The house is situated on a tight bend. Up to eight cars coming in and out would present a real danger. There would be intolerable disturbance to number 38, next door. The garden often floods as a result of underground culverts that remain from the redirection of a brook that gave Brookfield Avenue its name. Two of the houses would be built directly on the affected area. I wouldn't fancy buying one.

Finally, this is back garden development of the worst kind. Both main local parties have talked a good game about being against such planning applications. Both parties need to put their money where their mouth is and act.

I spoke to the committee about these problems. They were being asked to make a decision without knowing about the flooding, without any details of the ground levels and so the ridge levels of the housing and without details of protective landscaping. I was able to persuade them that they really cannot take a decision with so many unknowns and they decided to defer the decision until they could clarify these issues. Eric and I will keep local residents informed about progress and the date of the next meeting.

Rogue Trader Day

2009-06-02T07:47:00.003Z

I've taken my eye off the ball in keeping the blog up to date in recent days so I've some catching up to do. A couple of weeks ago, I joined Sutton's Trading Standards officers and local ward police in Carshalton to go on a tour of the area for a Rogue Trader day.

This entailed driving around the ward looking for any signs of building works and interviewing both the contractors and residents. Part of the exercise was to look out for rogue traders who prey on the vulnerable, overcharging them or creating opportunities for distraction burglaries. However, most of the time was spent on just making people aware. This allowed residents to take simple precautions so they did not fall victim to such scams. It also made contractors aware of the borough's Safer Sutton Trader Scheme, which acts as both security for residents and an advertising opportunity for contractors. We finished off at a mobile exhibition in Carshalton Village where crime prevention officers were on hand to offer advice to residents.

I certainly appreciated the time spent by council officers and police officers explaining their roles and the effect that they have. Trading Standards is a small department that often gets overlooked as a lot of their work goes unsung. Even on our short trip, the police picked up some useful intelligence that may help prevent crime in the ward. That's got to be time well spent.

Eric Secures Sutton's Support for Reservists

2009-05-22T17:50:00.004Z

Until Cllr. Eric Howell intervened, Sutton Council was one of a small number of London boroughs which did not officially support employees who may want to serve in the Territorial Army as Reservists.

Eric Howell got in touch with Sutton Council's Chief Executive to get Sutton signed up to the SaBRE (Supporting Britain's Reservists & Employers) campaign as a 'supportive employer'. Only 9 out of the 32 London boroughs have failed to support SaBRE's aims. Sutton was one of them.

My colleague Eric is an ex-serviceman who fought in the Suez Crisis. He was disappointed to discover that SaBRE had written to the Liberal Democrat Leader of Sutton Council asking for support, but did not receive a response.

Eric, along with fellow councillor Cliff Carter, came into contact with SaBRE last month when they went to support Sutton's very own reservist unit at the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Trophy Challenge - a new military skills competition. Sutton's TA Unit, the 210 Transport Squadron of the Royal Logistical Corps, is based in Stonecot Hill.

Commenting Eric said: "There was a motion at the last Council Meeting referring to the Armed Forces but it neglected to mention Sutton's home-grown TA Unit, the 210 Transport Squadron. Along with several colleagues I witnessed their highly impressive skills first hand at the GOC competition last month. Sutton should be immensely proud of their achievements.

"As the borough's largest employer it's about time Sutton Council got its act together to officially sign up to the SaBRE campaign. Over 70% of other London Councils endorse this campaign to give support to our brave Reservists - why isn't Sutton one of them?"

Ivory Towers Built To Top Industry Standards

2009-05-16T07:38:00.002Z

The BBC have an extraordinary story this morning. There are 4.5million people on waiting lists for social housing and around 100,000 new build homes lying unsold and empty. Housing Associations are refusing to use a government fund to buy thousands of these to plug the gap because they are not of a high enough standard. Apparently, unlike private dwellings, social housing needs to be of a minimum size and built to a higher standard.

Is it just me or are you looking at this, scratching your head too? Sutton has the second worst housing stock in London, requiring £125million to bring all of their homes to a basic liveable standard. People across the country are living in social housing that may be built to a minimum size, but have tenants packed in like sardines with children sharing rooms with their parents. Enough damp and condensation is produced in many places to solve the drought problems in the south east and mould is prevalent, bringing on asthma and other such complaints. Yet a partial solution is being knocked back by those who cannot see the wood for the trees.

Millions of people in the UK have scrimped and saved for deposits, taken on bigger and bigger mortgages as the housing market exploded, in order to get a foot on the ladder. Many had to have a size of family to suit their circumstances and size of home, rather than the other way around. The social landlords that are eschewing the empty properties are peddling an ideal that is not available to those who can just about afford their own home and is not helping those who can't either. They need to get out of their reasonably sized, ivory towers, built to an excellent environmental standard natch, and join the real world. If they have the cash, buy the homes. Take advantage of the 10 year NHBC guarantee to put right any of the faults and snags.

Cameron Gets It

2009-05-16T06:33:00.003Z

David Cameron gave up on his planned Party Election Broadcast on TV this week to turn his attention to the only political issue of the week, that of MPs' expenses. Speaking directly to the camera, he detailed the action that he and the parliamentary party were taking now to tackle the disintegration of public confidence in politicians. He started the broadcast with that rarest of words in politics, sorry.

As others have reported, this approach demonstrated that at least one of the leaders actually realised the severity of the problem and was prepared to address it rather than ploughing on regardless. In stark contrast, the Labour party put out an anti-Conservative video, almost totally unrelated to the elections ahead. Sutton resident Adrian Short has highlighted the disingenuous approach of the LibDems in their election literature. It is ironic that the main proponents of greater proportional representation in elections mislead people to think that the European election is a two-horse race here, with statistics from the last General Election to back up their claims, when it is in fact a regional election. On June 4th we will be voting for a party list of candidates to represent the whole of London in the European Parliament. The LibDems may be close to the Conservatives in Sutton, but this is far from true in most other parts of the capital. This is not an election where you need to consider voting tactically. Simply put the cross next to the party that you believe represents you best. If you need help working this out, have a look at the website Vote Match.

At Least Gordon Brown Is Consistent

2009-05-15T08:26:00.003Z

Several trees have been felled to cover the MPs' expenses story over the last week and there is little that I can add apart from my horror at some of the more excessive stories and my disappointment that the majority of the MPs who are working hard trying to
accomplish what they set out to do when seeking election, are being tarred with the same brush. Local councillors tend to get written off as feathering our own nests as well, despite the fact that there is no scope for expenses as far as I am aware, beyond travel for lead councillors representing the authority on official non-political business.

Gordon Brown hasn't come out of this well but he has been consistent in his slightly creepy detachment from reality. Have a look at these two videos of interviews filmed a couple of weeks apart. The first is a Channel 4 interview about the Youtube appearance and his 11th hour backtracking from a daily allowance (known in Brussels as SOSO - sign in, sod off.) The second is a more recent appearance on BBC when he was caught on the hop by David Cameron's firm line. Both times he tried to accuse the interviewer that they had their facts wrong. Both times, the interviewer was spot on.

Small Steps for Blog Power

2009-05-14T14:41:00.004Z

Nine days ago, I wrote about the lack of care taken about keeping the Council Offices' front door reasonably inviting. It is a small matter but since it is often the first thing that visitors see when coming to the Council, it should demonstrate a standard of care that the Local Authority aspires to acheive across the Borough.

Someone has taken note and got the Marigolds on, scrubbing away the green stains that have built up after months of rainwater leaking from the gutter. The leak still appears to be there so I hope that a permanent repair is next. Thank you to whoever sorted this out. Now, whilst I have your attention, what can you do about this £8million of taxpayers' money that you are spending on the controversial Sutton Life Centre?

Councillor Chris Dunlop

2009-05-13T22:53:00.003Z

I'm still a little dazed this evening after hearing the sad, sad news that my colleague and friend Chris Dunlop died yesterday. Chris was a councillor for Nonsuch ward and worked really hard as the sole Conservative representative, tackling issues for all constituents. He was always keen to help residents and colleagues whenever he could.

His particular interest was education. He sat on a few committees looking at standards across the borough and was passionate about his role as a governor through some difficult times at Overton Grange. Music for young people was a particular key issue for him as he campaigned for a suitable venue for schools' orchestras to play in Sutton. In his ward, he campaigned to keep decent leisure facilities in the west of the borough and recently worked closely with Philippa Stroud to set up the Friends of Cuddington Park.

The smile in his council portrait photo is true to his personality, a jovial man who would make time for people, look for the good in people but a straight speaker. His work as an IT network specialist, took him around the country. He fitted in his Council work as best as he could as well as a home life with his wife Michelle, and children, Amelia and Harry.

Chris, the shock of your untimely passing will go, but I'll miss you; the memories will remain.

The Benefits of Virtual Education

2009-05-13T10:17:00.003Z

I came across a German article about 'Die Umstrittene £8million Sutton Leben Zentrum' (Controversial £8million Sutton Life Centre) the other day. However, the Germans referred to it as 'Sutton's Apocalyptic Playhouse'. Whatever your view of the centre is, the 'virtual' nature of the lessons in safety may prevent the situation in the video above.

Of course, British police are very different. I'm not sure that dropping a truncheon on his foot would have garnered the same response. Suffice to say, Sutton's LibDem councillors don't need lessons from this DEA agent in how to shoot themselves in the foot.

Bid for £2,000 Sutton Speaks fund

2009-05-11T13:37:00.002Z

As part of this year's 'Take Part, Take Pride' festival in Sutton, the Council are looking for bids from residents to improve their local area. The Sutton Speaks fund offers residents the chance to choose how Sutton council should use £2,000 to do work or create something special for your particular area.

You can tell the Council how you'd like them to spend this money. The festival organisers will shortlist a few ideas and invite those who have suggested them to join the Sutton Speaks event in Sutton Town Centre on Sunday 12th July when the public will vote for which will win the bid.

If you have an idea about where this money should go, you should be able to share it by emailing takeparttakpride@sutton.gov.uk, visiting the website (although I couldn't see how to do this without just emailing in the first place, they might fix this), or sending in your idea to:-

Take Part, Take Pride 2009
Chief Executive's Office,
Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way,
Sutton, SM1 1EA

Council Committee Cabin Fever

2009-05-07T10:16:00.002Z

I have just put the finishing touches on the Conservative list of appointments to Council Committees for the next municipal year. It has taken me a while and I feel like sitting in a darkened room with a cold towel to recover. Each year, it is a matter of getting the right people into the right jobs whilst not being able to please everyone in the process.

Our 21 councillors cover 62 different committees, ranging from the Licensing Committee to the Carshalton Coronation Commemoration Trust. Some of these meet rarely, some of them I am not even sure what they are for. What I have seen is that if we should win the election next year, we have to cover a massive 103 different committees. Time for a shake-up I think.

Media Coverage of the Controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre

2009-05-07T08:04:00.002Z

ITV London came to Sutton on Wednesday to cover the story of the Sutton Life Centre. Moving swiftly on from my jauntily-angled hard hat, the parents at Brookfield School said it all, when they pointed out that if the Council are going to lavish money on safety, they would rather have a lollipop lady.

Conservative Home have published an article that I wrote, which you can read here. The Evening Standard and the Metro have also covered the pet project which is costing the equivalent of 10% of all of the Council Tax raised in a year in Sutton.

24 Hours Is A Long Time In Sutton Politics

2009-05-06T16:55:00.005Z

In the US television series "24", Jack Bauer gets everything wrapped up, saving the world in just 24 hours. Back in the real world, it takes the same amount of time for LibDem councillors to realise that they shouldn't be examining their masters' decisions without having the full facts in front of them.

The Liberal Democrats took the odd decision to scrutinise how the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre was going only one day after the decision was taken to build the thing. As I'd had 24 hours to read the financial information that was supplied just ahead of the council meeting, the previous evening, I asked several questions based on these papers, including why fees and surveys represented such a high proportion of the total project cost, and why Sutton Council was taking £279k in consultancy fees from its own project.

Lib Dem Cllr Myfanwy Wallace asked why I was the only councillor with this paperwork as she found it difficult to scrutinise the project without it. When I could lift my head from my hands, I exclaimed that it was a shame that she did not pipe up at the Council meeting the day before. It is extraordinary to think that councillors think it is OK to put their hands up to spend £8.5million without the full facts but not when they are asking a few questions after the event, when the builders have gone in. Although I asked about the fanciful expected visitor numbers, the rest of the session rarely lifted above whether jacket potatoes would be served in the cafe. I despair!

The part of the meeting about paperwork can be heard via the box below. The voices that you can here are Cllr Myfanwy Wallace, Cllr Roger Roberts (Chair) and Cllr Graham Tope (Lead Cllr for Community Safety, Leisure & Libraries), all LibDem:-

Civic Pride Draining Away

2009-05-05T13:37:00.003Z

It's not the most attractive photo that I have featured on my blog in the last 3 years, but it is a whole lot prettier than the top of the drainpipe with the pigeon droppings caked on.

I don't normally have this sort of morbid fascination with office rainwater drainage, but this happens to be right next to the front door to the Civic Offices. It is the first thing that visitors see, in what might be their only exposure to the Local Authority.

Sutton Council's motto is "Take Part, Take Pride." A week of community activities are being planned on this theme, where residents go on a litter pick, or show off their attractive neighbourhood. It is just a shame that the Council cannot keep to its own script.

This has been like this for months. The damp has spread. Further along the gutter leaks, dripping down the side of the building. At the back of the offices overlooking the car park, the box guttering is held together with string.

Meanwhile £2million has been diverted from the budget to maintain and repair council-owned buildings to help pay for the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre.

Sutton Life Centre Forced Through

2009-05-02T11:14:00.003Z

Full Council last Monday turned out to be the usual bunfight but confirmed that meetings of all 54 councillors have as much influence on council decisions as Gordon Brown does on his facial muscles.

Two main items were discussed, the future of leisure provision, where the LibDems confirmed that Cheam Baths would close by 2015 and the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre. Councillor Tim Crowley, Conservative Spokesman for Finance & Value for Money requested more financial details the previous Wednesday having discovered that contractors were due to start on site, the day after the decision to build was made. What was the point of pretending to make a decision when it was clear that it had already been taken. We were told that even delaying the decision may lead to Sutton Council having to pay financial penalties to the contractors. The requested information was supplied to me and Cllr Crowley at 4.10pm, less than three hours before the start of the meeting. 52 councillors had to vote on whether to spend £8.5million (astoundingly, the equivalent of 10% of all of the Council Tax raised in the Borough), without full details of the consequences of their actions.

After a 20 minute stand-off, the LibDems forced through a vote to debate the issue, without full disclosure to all councillors. Conservative councillors questioned the need for the Centre in the first place, but majored on the fact that we didn't actually have the money to build the place, instead relying on diverting money from the reserves and schools repairs budget amongst other smash and grab raids to cover the costs. It is clear that this is another case of the LibDems spending money to justify their existence. Residents were up in arms when they were asked to pay £35 for green garden waste bags. Well, guess what, you've just had your pocket picked of £44 each for a project that many will not use. Only one LibDem councillor even bothered to mention finance in the debate.

Yes, but we'll be getting spanking new community facilities won't we? - Undoubtedly; a new library that is smaller than the one that it is replacing, youth facilities to replace the youth club that was flattened to make way for the centre, a climbing wall that is more expensive that privately-run "Craggy Island" at Oaks Park and the multimedia area to teach citizenship at three times the price of the existing facilities at nearby Sutton Junior Tennis Centre. Even Vince Cable has been to Sutton to tell us that we are in the middle of the worst recession since Sean Connery found a few hairs on his pillow. However, we seem to be splashing out residents' cash whilst they are cutting back for fear of losing their jobs. The LibDems used their majority to push the thing through, supporting it to a man. The builders are on site. Work has started on the mausoleum to the LibDem's reign in Sutton.

Sign the Petition

2009-04-25T15:51:00.002Z

Email smears, the unravelling of the budget and the mess made of MPs expenses. Just three things illustrating the fact that we face a year-long car crash in slow motion waiting for the end of this very tired government. Surely best to put the poor chap at the helm out of his misery, which is clear to everyone despite his best attempt to smile. Why not join me (and 7088 others at time of writing) in signing the petition asking him to resign.

Guido Fawkes makes the point that over two million people watched Dan Hannan MEP tear a strip off the forlorn PM in Brussels recently. If just half sign the petition, the message will be clear.

Thanks to Beau Bo Do'or for the picture.

Happy St George's Day

2009-04-23T16:21:00.002Z

I didn't have my camera with me when admiring the flag of St George flying above the Civic Offices this afternoon, but the picture to the right reflects the same sunny background that is lighting up the national day in Sutton today.

St George's Day has been lost somewhere along the way. St Patrick's Day is celebrated more in many parts. It was disconcerting to see the flag hijacked by the British National Party whilst surfing for a picture to accompany this article. Even the many football fans who fly the flag see it as a tribal symbol of a game that in all reality has lost the club versus country debate some years ago anyway.

I'm off to a celebration dinner in Sutton this evening. Nothing to do with the Lib Dem Council who have restricted the marking of the day with a small event in Worcester Park Library. I'll leave you with a message from the Mayor of London, Boris:-

"Right now, without thinking, can you say what day it is today? For the (I suspect) sizeable majority who said Thursday, feeling rather smug at their mental sharpness, I am sad to say you are wrong. Well, not technically. Today is indeed Thursday. But the real point missed, is that it is St George's Day.

"Living in such a vibrant, cosmopolitan city you end up celebrating all manner of national and religious days. Some you celebrate as heartily as those to whom they apply. St Patrick's day is an obvious one, where every pub in the land is decked out in green.

"But St George's Day is still without fanfare, either forgotten or tucked away in a cupboard somewhere. This year, I want London to wholeheartedly celebrate. That is why the flag of St George will fly above City Hall today. I will be getting on a Routemaster bus and going across the river to the famous Leadenhall Market to join traders and Londoners in celebration.

"Last weekend, the Globe Theatre held a celebration event to mark Shakespeare's birthday. This weekend, there will be an English music festival in Trafalgar Square.

"St George's Day has been ignored in London for too long. We have much to be proud of in this great country. England has given so much to the world, politically, socially and artistically. There are many who feel that London is not just the capital of the United Kingdom, but also the capital of England.

"So I am calling on all Londoners to don silly hats, step out into the sunshine and celebrate England's great patron saint.

"Let me know what you think by commenting on the Blue Blog. It would be great to hear from you."

I'm The Only Voter In The Village

2009-04-22T09:37:00.003Z

Entitled 'One Man, One Vote', the BBC has got a great story on their website. Not about electoral reform or Robert Mugabe's latest twisted bid to retain power, but about the forthcoming Indian elections.

This man is Guru Bharatdas Darshandas who looks after a temple in a forest in Western Gujarat. He has a polling station to himself for next week's General Election. On 30th April, five polling officials accompanied by two policeman will travel to the Gir Forest to pick up his ballot. I know that the Indians took to bureaucracy like ducks to water when the Civil Service system was introduced under British Colonial rule. However, it is amusing to see that they have kept up with current British practices of public sector job creation. I await a new rash of "How many ... does it take to change a lightbulb?" jokes. I wonder if Mr Darshandas refuses to tell intrepid canvassers, who brave the resident Asiatic lions, which party he supports?

How Spin in No 10 Works - Part 1

2009-04-16T18:18:00.004Z

I've left so-called Smear-gate to the Westminster Village experts until now but there are a couple of points that don't seem to have been picked up by the political mainstream.

Firstly, one point from the unlikely political analysts popbitch.com; a website more used to throwing muck around about celebrities.

"The News of the World landed the McBride-Draper Tory smear email story so it was weird to see on Sunday they didn't run with it on the front page. Instead the tabloid had a bizarre headline, "Obama's brother in sex quiz", which sounds like something Jacqui Smith's husband would watch on TV, but was in reality a random story about Obama's half-brother being refused a visa to enter Britain.

Even more weirdly, the story was not written by a NOTW journalist but bylined Gloria De Piero, GMTV's Political Editor. De Piero is a close friend of Derek Draper, a colleague of his wife Kate Garraway, and an ex-flatmate of Damien McBride's then-boss Tom Watson.

So, surely a coincidence that this was the front page story? Otherwise I guess we'd have to assume that the uncalled for and unnecessary smearing of the family and reputation of the world's most popular politician is acceptable to the Labour Party now?"

Secondly as a footnote, it is ironic that Gordon Brown has been caught out by the release of the content of personal emails just a few weeks after a law has come into effect allowing the Government access to the contents of every personal email sent in the UK for up to a year.

Finally Gordon Brown seems to be taking media lessons from John Prescott. He finally gave an apology of sorts today and said "I take full responsibility for what happened. That's why the person who was responsible went immediately." It surely doesn't take a Cambridge PPE graduate to find a hole in that reasoning and wonder why Gordon Brown is still Prime Minister. I'm afraid it is just symptomatic of another statement of empty words drafted without thought.

This is the second worst cock-up of Gordon Brown's Premiership, the first being the bottled election. Both have been caused by his biggest fundamental weakness, his hatred of political opponents. He can play the big stage, whether it be terrorism, floods, foot and mouth or economic crisis. However, when he has the Conservatives in his sights, he is like a child in a sweet shop and cannot help himself. I was only 11years old when James Callaghan lost the election but despite the Winter of Discontent, this seems even more like someone who needs to be put out of his misery. Please, someone spare us and find him a soft exit now.