Rackheath Eco Town and Flooding

There has been much discussion locally about the Eco Town project supported by the Labour government government and local Tory councils in Norfolk, in the face of much local opposition.

One of the main arguments against the project has been based on the concerns about flooding and the problems arising from laying tarmac over scores of acres of agricultural land. I have to say today, from my own experiences of getting to and from Rackheath in terrible rain, that these concerns are very real.

The roads around Rackheath were terrible, with some roads completely under water and other becoming rather dangerous with the edge of the road not cleardue to the depth of the water.

I can only imagine how much worse this will be if all the water that was going on to the fields was allowed to "run off" after new roads, paths and driveways are put in when 4000 houses are built.

How about turning lights off during the day ?

Norfolk Tories want to turn off most street lights at night, in a move which has angered lots of people across Norfolk. Yet whilst door knocking today I was pointed in the direction of a street light that never ever turns off, indeed, according to one residents, it may have been on for several years.

This light has been reported on a number of occasions, but nothing has been done by The Tory run County Council.

Isn't it crazy that they want to turn off lights at night in the face of much local opposition, but they are happy to let street lights stay on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And as was pointed out in a letter to the EDP yesterday, this is the same County Council who keep their own staff car park lit all night, every night.

Is it any wonder that people despair of politicians ?

When canvassing today in Taverham, I was surprised to hear from local residents that they had been canvassed by the Conservatives who were claiming to oppose a three quarters NDR "Road to nowhere".

The odd thing is I was at a Council meeting on Thursday night when the Tories voted through a new Distrct plan which supported the building of a three quarters Northern Distributor Road (NDR), without making finishing the final link to complete the road.

Is it any wonder that people can despair of politicians when they do one thing at a meeting on a Thursday night yet less than two days later on the Saturday morning they are totally denying that they voted the opposite way.

To be clear, only the Lib Dems have consistently campaigned for a complete Northern Bypass (not NDR) and if this is not possible, the Lib Dems think there should not be an NDR at all. All or nothing because anything else simply sells Taverham and Drayton short.

The fact is the Tories have, for too long, made decisions that impact and affect our area with little consideration for local residents and with a brazen lack of accountability. When we highlight their policies, they try to deny them. Let's hope the electorate send them a message about their duplicity on March 18th.

What the Tories offer Broadland

At last night's meeting at Broadland District Council to vote on the new development plan for Broadland, the council's attitude towards the NDR and the future of the eco town in Rackheath, amazingly more than one third of the Conservative councillors failed to turn up. Does an empty seat vote ?

Despite Tory councillors at the meeting telling us how important the document was that was being voted on, despite being lectured about the vital blueprint this will give Broadland for the next decade, 12 Tories failed to turn up.

If this is the way the Conservatives treat an "important" decision, you have to ask why so few turned up. The people of Broadland deserve more than an empty chair.

As for the plan itself, it was picked apart in great detail by several members of the public and by Lib Dem councillors. Despite this, the Tories argument was simply "If we don't vote this plan through we will have no plan", simply failed to address the issue that they could have promoed a better plan in the first place.

If you want an example of why the plan is flawed it can be given by the represetative of Ringland Parish Council and also the letter sent in by Felthrpe Parish. Both these villages would be badly hit by any plans for a part NDR "road to nowhere" (indeed this was highlighted by the County Council traffic projections), but both villages was classed for the purposes of the report as "non villages", meaning the way they were consulted and their ability to take new developments was not considered alongside other villages. If two villages who want some development were ignored in order for Broadland Tories to justify their need for 4000 new homes in Rackheath, how much of the report can we believe ?

Broadland Council Meeting Tonight - The Eco town and its effect on Taverham

I shall be attending my second Broadland Council meeting in two weeks tonight as an ordinary member of the public (which is ironically the same number of meetings that the former Conservative councillor for Taverham North managed in a whole year) when they discuss the Rackheath "Eco" town tonight.


The whole concept of the Edo Town is flawed on many different levels. Firstly, the standard of ecofriendliness required for building the houses is a lower standard than those standards expect of all new homes by 2016, and by 2016 none of the new houses will be built. So in effect the government has dumped 4000 new homes on prime farmland which will not be built to a higher standard than any other house in Norfolk or the UK.


Then there is the wider issue of the problems this eco town will have on neighbouring villages and those further afield.


Rackheath is to be on the NDR (Northern Distributor Road), which was first mooted as a bypass, but now falls well short of that and will stop at Norwich Airport, leaving Drayton, Taverham, Thorpe Marriott, Costessey and Ringland as the favoured alternative routes to get to the Southern bypass. The proposal to build 4000 extra homes (and further business developments) on this land means thousands of extra vehicle movements which will inevitably affect this part of the world too.


As it is, the Tory Council voted last week to hand executive powers to the Tory controlled cabinet at Broadland to allow them to make decisions affecting the eco town with little or no reference back to the whole council and opposition councillors, effectively writing a blank cheque to do as they please.


With people from the SNUB (Stop Norwich UrBanisation) group who oppose the eco town attending tonight's meeting it may put pressure on the Tories who are seemingly unable to see any problems with the eco town or the NDR.


I will report back on the meeting.

Why does it take an imminent General Election for something like this to happen ?

Is it any wonder that people so distrust central government and the whole circus of Westminster politics when decisions that seem obvious to everyone else suddenly happen with a General Election just weeks away.

The government today announced that the early release of prisoners would cease in the next few weeks, many would argue this is a cynical policy just to appeal to voters in time for the general election campaign.

No wonder so many people have lost patience with this government.

Taverham Community Cafe - What a great idea !

When out delivering leaflet yesterday I was starting to feel a combination of the cold, fatigue (I am approaching the age of 40) and a lack of sugar, so I was pleased to see the sign saying the community Cafe was pen at Hinks Meadow.

My wonderful next door neighbours (the sort of neighbours who you would pay to live next door to) help there, and at the cafe they do the usual tea, coffee and biscuits, but they also sell the most wonderful homemade cakes. So having sat down, got my breath, and bought a large bag full of cakes to take home to my wife and son, I was left to reflect on what  great idea the community cafe is.

The cafe is run by St Edmunds church, they run it every morning on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, they put on art activities, things for parents and young children, and basically do a great job of getting people in the community together.

It's one of the great things about Taverham and Thorpe Marriott that there is such a vibrant community of clubs, societies and voluntary groups who provide so many activities for people to get together.

In short, if you are at a loose end and want something to do or need a bit of a chat on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, I would heartily recommend the community cafe at Hinks Meadow.

The EDP and my name

As a friend of mine texted me this evening "Why can't Archant (publishers of the EDP) get your name right ?"

Yes, it might seem odd to some people for me to shorten my name to Nich with an "h", but I've never seen the point in shortening my name and then adding a letter "k" that isn't part of my name.

You'd imagine that after all the letters I have had printed in the EDP over the years, all time they reported on things I was doing when on North Norfolk District Council, they'd be able to get my name right by now.

I am standing for election !

Some people may have picked up on this already, but I am the official Liberal Democrat candidate in the Taverham North Ward by-election to be held on 18th March 2010.

Many people will know that I used to be a District Councillor in North Norfolk and I have taken what has been something of a break from front line politics for nearly three years. This has allowed me to properly recharge my batteries as well as spend more time with my family.

I was approached by the Lib Dems a couple of weeks ago, apparently more in hope than expectation, but given that I have never received anything outside of election times from any of the Tories Councillors who are supposed to represent me, and there are so many important issue affecting this area, I really felt it was time to make a political comeback because actually what this area needs is a strong and visible voice to represent them.

If one good thing can come of this election it will be that whoever wins is truly committed to this area. The previous councillor had, according to Broadland District Council's records, attended 37% of full council meetings and last attended a meeting last July.

So this afternoon, I start my first canvassing session since 2006. Wish me luck !

Being recognised

I went to get some petrol today in Taverham, and as I was sorting out my PIN number when paying, the chap behind the counter said "You still teaching then ?" Now most teacher will know that feeling when an ex pupil from many years ago recognises you but you cannot remember them. The odd thing was that this chap had been in a class I had only taught for one lesson a week ten years ago.

Now I do have a peculiarly good memory for names and events and I could recall his class and many people he knew. Although old classes tend to blur together, it was my first teaching job so I do remember a lot from my time at Drayton Middle School. The fact that it is such a good school and was such an enjoyable place to work was one of the reasons for me moving back to this part of the world. It is the sort of school I'd like my son to go to one day.

One nice thing was that according to the ex pupil in the garage I have not changed. That made me feel a little better as I found another grey hair when I glanced in the mirror earlier.

Grit Bins in Taverham

Given that Norfolk County Council are threatening to stop gritting roads where I live in Thorpe Marriott (Taverham), you would imagine that they would do everything they can to at least make sure that local grit bins are full of grit so that locals can use them.

Well imagine our surprise the the other day when looking at the state of some of the damaged and empty grit bins in our area with our excellent PPC Dan Roper, we opened one bin and found it absolutely full, not of grit, but with dirty water.

Only Norfolk Conservatives, who run Norfolk County Council, could think that is is sensible to stop gritting bus routes and provide us with grit bins that contain no grit, only dirty water. 

Journalist thrown out of BNP meeting for "telling lies" - Oh the hypocrisy !

You can't help but marvel at the irony and hypocrisy of the BNP throwing a journalist out of their recent meeting because, they claim, he told lies about them.

I wonder if every person had been judged by the same rules whether the BNP leader Nick Griffin could put his hands up and say he has never told a lie ?  I think we all know the answer to that question.

Gordon Brown after Piers Morgan - I like him more, but I couldn't vote for him

I can see why Labour's spin doctors encouraged Gordon Brown to be interviewed by his friend Piers Morgan after watching the interview this evening. I found the show quite entertaining and I am sure it will make a few people like him a little more (or hate him a little less). The problem for Labour spin doctors is that it's more complicated than that.

People are turned off voting for Labour not simply because of Gordon Brown. There are dozens of other facts, not the least of which was the Labour Party's support for the war in Iraq, the underfunding of our effort in Afghanistan, the state of the economy, the way that our legal system seems to side with the criminal and not with victims, the failure of the NHS to provide life saving drugs for cancer patients and a growing sense that this government has done little to reform parliament and British politics in general.

So whilst lots of people might think better of Gordon Brown, let's not forget what happened to the Tories in 1997. John Major was identified as an electoral asset. People didn't like the Tory party but they liked John Major. Did it make people vote for John Major ? Of course not.

I cannot in any way think tonight's show will have in any way harmed Gordon Brown, despite some rather desperate and often deeply unpleasant comments I read from well known Tory bloggers on Twitter, but I don't for one moment think this it is going to make people have a sudden enthusiasm for the Labour Party.

Is it time for Norfolk County Council to change their road contractors ?

Less than a year ago a mini roundabout was completely resurfaced near where I live. This was several days work, caused a lot of disruption, but was accepted by local people in Thorpe Marrott as necessary in order to prevent the roundabout deteriorating.

So what's the problem ? It already has a pothole ! Now I understand how pot holes happen. The BBC gave a helpful if slightly patronising explanation half way down THIS story, but for this to happen on a newly resurfaced and rebuilt piece of road smacks of some very bad workmanship. I have reported the pothole, but given that previous potholes reported weeks ago have not been fixed, their pledge to do the work within seven days seems innaccurate.

This wouldn't be so bad if it were a one off, but last year I tore my tyre very badly on a pothole on a newly resurfaced and rebult piece of road between Drayton and Costessey when my tyre tore of a lothole almost a yard in length. Of course, Norfolk County Council said they were not liable because they had not been previously notified of the fault. My question to them at the time was why on earth was their such sever damage to a new piece of road that had only been re-opened a month earlier ?

Given that it appears to be a running theme of work done by Norfolk County Council or their contractors, are Norfolk County Council really spending our money wisely ?

Norfolk calling Met Office. Norfolk calling Met Office

I've just seen the weather forecast live on BBC1. They make absolutely no mention of snow over Norfolk this morning. In fact, they state we will have some sleet and snow later this afternoon.

The BBC website shows the weather forecast as being like this

So my problem ? It's been snowing here for an hour and there seems little chance of respite.

Yet, again, and I tire of saying this about the Met Office, if they are unable to accurately tell us what the weather is like now, then why should we be at all surprised that they are unable to predict the weather ?

Greek economic mess highlights everything that is wrong with Europe

Lets manke one thing clear, I am not a great fan of the EU, the way it works, its institutions, its parliament or most of its policies. Like communism, the idea of the EU makes a lot of sense, but just like Communism, in practise it simply does not stand up to scrutiny.

The EU is a club whereby members are expected to follow rules, show honesty and respect for each other and work for the greater good. the problem is, it fails on all these counts.

Take Greece and her financial travails today. Each country that joined the Euro was supposed to sign up to a stability pact. It means that each country had to follow strict financial rules. The fact is that Greece never ever met the criteria, but because the rest of the EU wanted as many countries as possible to be in the Euro, the EU bent the rules, in effect tore up the rules book in order to shoe horn Greece in.

Is it any wonder that a few years later we find that the Greek national accounts are a fabrication with billions of Euros unaccounted for as the Greeks simply borrowed more and more money in order to avoid the obvious need to make cuts. The Greeks knew that they were not going to be forced to trim spending because the  EU knew that the Greeks never had the financial stabilty to be in the Euro.Let's not just blame the Greeks though. Germany, the authors of the stability pact also broke the rules, not as badly as the Greeks, but they did all the same.

So what does this tell us ? Essenially it says that the foundations on which the EU is built are works of fiction.

It'd not just the Euro though. The problems with countries across the EU is that they all break EU rules, and are allowed to get away with it.

Do you remember the French banning British beef ? They were supposedly being fined every day that they persisted in banning British beef. And what happened when several years later than the rest of the EU the French lifted the ban ? The EU let the French off ! What is the point of rules, fines and agreements if the EU ignores it respinsibility to other nations.

In truth almost everyone knows that the EU does not really work. If it disappeared tomorrow, nobody would really notice. The old story that the EU has kept European nations from fighting wars against each other is ridiculous. There are so many things that link European nations, most notably mutual trade, that claiming that without the EU we would have had a war devalues and belittles the fact that European countries have matured and grown up.

So what of Greece ? What of Europe ? In the short term, it appears the Euro will lose value and so holidays to Europe will be cheaper this year. That's at least some good news for us in the UK.

Norfolk County Council to stop gritting side roads ?

According to BBC Look East this evening, Conservative run Norfolk County Council are giving serious consideration to stopping the gritting of all side roads, with just main roads to be gritted in future. This will effectively cut off large parts of Norfolk, with roads becoming impossible to drive on and people being left unable to get off side roads on to main roads.

Where I live in Thorpe Marriott is not the flattest part of Norfolk. Marriotts way runs through the middle of Thorpe Marriott and and this whole valley will become a no go zone for buses and cars, meaning that Thorpe Marriott will be split in half because the ungritted hill will not be manageable without regular gritting. There are many other parts of Norfolk too that will suffer if Norfolk Tories have their way.

Norfolk County Council complain that some of the grit orders have been commandeered by other councils. I would ask simply why it is that Norfolk waits until January or February to order its salt and grit, presumably at sky high prices when there is peak demand, when they could have order received the grit in the summer when prices would be cheaper and delivery would be guaranteed.

Broadland saved, but Norwich to go Unitary

After a leak last week giving away the government's position on the proposals for unitary councils in Norfolk, the government today officially announced that Norwich City Council is to be turned in to a unitary authority, with no change for the rest of Norfolk. Whilst this is in many ways a good thing, particularly as we retain our local councils and will not be swallowed up by some "super council" as was first proposed, there are some consequenes for all of us, even those living outside of Norwich.

In giving Norwich Unitary status, and its schools becoming separate from Norfolk Schools, there will now need to be some duplication of resources, and many of the economies of scale which Norfolk Education Authority has will be gone as 20% of the schools budget was spent in Norwich. Teacher training centres, managers, and a whole host of other expenses will now be split amongst the remaining 80% of the county. inevitably this will put up costs for all of us.

Then there are the issues to do with children in Broadland going to Norwich schools. Many children in Broadland go to schools in Norwich like The Open Academy, Sewell Park College, Hewett, and others, and these schools will now be in a different education authority. This will cause all sorts of problems too in social services, bit this is all stuff the government know and chose to ignore.

The ironic thing is about the whole process is that the re-organisation of local government was supposed to cut costs, not increase them. According to the government's own rules, Norwich going unitary could not pass the threshold for making savings and it therefore should have been turned down. So the Labour government have managed to botch one of their final ever decisions. No change there then , they've botched up a lot since 1997 !

Why are Tory councils paying fat cat wages to so many people ?

A few months ago it was widely reported that Tory run Suffolk County Council was offering a salary greater than that earned by the Prime Minsiter in order to recruit a new chief executive. Indeed they were offering their new chief executive £70,000 more than her predecessor !

Today, I read that Hertfordshire Council, another Tory Council, has more than double the number of top earners and increased the amount the council spends on top earners salaries from £5.5 million to £13.5 million in just four years !

The truth is, if you want a lower council tax, don't let the Tories run your lcoal council.

How can we trust Labour to make laws when the break them so easily ?

The Labour Party has had an enforcement notice served on it after using obtrusive autodialer phone systems to make unsolicited calls to voters using a Coronation Street actress as the computerised voice.

The Labour party used the autodialer again in the 2009 Euro elections after already being told to stop using the system after the 2007 local elections.

In a statement the Labour Party said "it would examine the ruling and always tried to meet guidelines."

It does make you question the intelligence and morals of the Labour Party that there are two possible reasons for their failure to comply with the original legal ruling.

Either ;

1) They do not seem to be able to understand a ruling the expressly forbids them to use the autodialler system.

or

2) They deliberately and cynically chose to break the law.

If we can't trust Labour to follow laws, how can we trust them to make laws ?

Cameron's speech - Seeing through the spin

David Cameron spoke today in an attempt to blame Gordon Brown for the expenses scandal. The press seem to have allowed Cameron to be quoted, but not put any of his quotes in context.

Cameron said

"Last week we had the latest revelations from Parliament. The details might be new but the feelings they provoke are all too familiar. Disappointment. Despair. Even disgust. But as I argued in my speech at the Open University in May last year, anger at the expenses scandal is just the most forceful expression of a deep frustration people feel with our whole political system."

Indeed David Cameron might have said this, but the last time expense reform went before the house of Commons it was blocked with the great help of 21 Conservatives MPs, many of whom are members of David Cameron's front bench. If he really felt that strongly about reform, should these parliamentary expense reform "blockers" really be in his shadow cabinet ?

"It’s a system in which too much power is concentrated in the hands of the elite and denied to the man and woman on the street. We’ve been seeing the symptoms of that for years. Decisions made behind closed doors. The Houses of Parliament bypassed and undermined."

The ironic thing is, as Michael Brown, the respected journalist and former Tory MP said on Newsnight tonight, David Cameron has been the most controlling centralising leader the Conservative Party has had. He has introduced systems in to the Tory party that have manipulated who gets selected for safe Tory seats, and his words do not match his actions. and that leads us on to ...

"Money buying influence. Too often just an elite few choosing the people who become MPs for many years. We can’t go on like this."

Don't mention Lord Ashcroft to Mr Cameron. A multi millionaire who over nine years after receiving a Tory peerage, has yet to confirm if he pays full UK tax. Money, it seems clearly to me, can buy influence within the Tory Party.

"We’re just weeks away from an election. This should be the highest point in our democratic life – but never has the reputation of politics sunk so low. We’ve got to fix our broken politics and we’ve got to start fixing it now. The question is: who’s going to do it, and how are they going to do it?"

And one wonders why Mr Cameron when you make such a duplicitous speech, decrying the Labour Party but then replicating and in many cases doing exactly the same things within your own party.

"We are a new generation, come of age in the modern world of openness and accountability. And when we say we will take power from the political elite and give it to the man and woman in the street - it's not just because we believe it will help fix broken politics. It's what we believe, full stop.

We don't believe that an arrogant, all-controlling government sitting in London passing endless laws and regulations actually makes things better. In fact, on many occasions it makes things worse."

But again Mr Cameron, this does not equate or add up with your own party policies announced this week. Only yesterday the Tories were announcing plans to remove powers from local government to scrutinise and make planning decisions on new schools. Instead of locally elected local councillors making these decisions, and being locally accountable for them, the Tories propose that a minister in Westminster would make the decision. This flies in the face of your comments in your speech.

"As well as cleaning up Parliament, we’ve got to empower it. There was a time when Parliament used to stand tall, a beacon of democracy leading national debate. But people look at it now and see a place they feel little connection to, play little part in, and don’t feel proud to represent them. It all adds up to a weak Parliament – and we’ve got to get its strength back.

That must start by making people feel connected to it. They don’t right now, because they don’t feel connected to the politicians in it. To restore that link we need to restore proper accountability – we need to give people the feeling that they are the ones pulling the strings and that they hire and fire their representative in parliament."

The best way to get people to engage with politics would be to get rid of safe seats, have a system of fair votes and ensure that people's votes actually count. Of course, it is only the Conservative Party that actually opposes these plans. Hypocrisy ?

"And one of the biggest constitutional changes in our history - our membership of the European Union - has practically passed Parliament by. We are hopeless, totally hopeless, at scrutinising the European legislation, regulation and spending that affects our country."

Indeed Mr Cameron, we have given away lots of powers to the EU. too many in my opinion (as a Euro sceptical Lib Dem). But the biggest give aways in recent years were the Single European Act (signed by Mrs Thatcher without any referendum) and the Maastricht Treaty, signed by John Major without a referendum. We really should take no lessons on the EU from the Tory Party.

Alistair Campbell Breaks Down on Andrew Marr show

There was a uite astonishing moment on TV earlier.
Andrew Marr has Alistair Campbell on his show, with Campbell promoting a fictional book he has written. But under questioning from Marr about the Iraq War, and Andrew Marr making a somewhat flippant but completely understandable comment equating his fictitious book with the dodgy dossier, Alistair Campbell paused, tears welled up in his eyes, and I though he was going to sob.

Now I don't want to be seen in any way as criticising him for being emotional, indeed it shows a very human side to Mr Campbell, but for Mr Campbell to keep insisting that it is unfair for people to criticise the war in Iraq and get upset about being asked questions about it leads me to two conclusions.

Firstly, try not to start any news wars.

Secondly, if you don't like being questioned about Iraq, don't try to seek publicity for your book during the Iraq enquiry when you are bound to be asked questions about Iraq.

Accused MPs to get "Golden Payoffs"

Ludicrous as it may seem, the three Labour MPs who face criminal charges over their expense claims, are entitled to "Golden Payoffs" when standing down from parlimanent this year.

These payments which could total £65,000 are paid to MPs, depending on the length of their service, when standing down at an election, but since Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine will not have gone to court, there are no powers to stop them getting the money.

It does seem absolultey ridiculous that MPs get so many benefits when so many hard working honest people are losing their jobs with minimal payments.

Why don't the Conservatives trust local democracy ?

According to reports today, the Conservatives, if elected to power this year, would stop local councils having the right to make planning decisions about new schools, with this power being taken by central government and a minister in London making decisions instead of locally elected councillors.

This harks back to the days of Thatcher when powers were routinely taken from councils and centralised in Westminster.

Whilst local councils might not always make the decisions that the government wants, local councillors are much more accountable than a Tory minister in London who may have a safe seat in a different part of the country and is therefore wholly unaccountable for the decisions he might be making about schools. Why should an MP for Surrey East be allowed to make planning decisions about things in Norwich ? This should be left to Norwich Councillors because at least the electorate have the ability to get rid of those councilors if they don't like the decisions they make.

Why does Cameron stand by someone accused of using figures "likely to mislead he public"

It is unsurprising that the Tory press and media have tried not to mention Chris Graylings rather disturbing misuse of statistics in order to make a political attack on the government.

This government is poor enough to be criticised on its real record. Quite why Chris Grayling has to go to such lengths to make inconsistent comparisons between data is really poor, highlights his unsuitablility for high office and must make people question why it is that David Cameron is standing by him.

Are front bench spokesmen for the Tories encouraged to lie ?

Anyway, the Independent has a full listing of Grayling's gaffes for people to check out.

Update Although it is a shame that the Independent do not know that the headline "Lies damn (sic) Lies and Tory statistics" should really read "damn(ed)", from the Mark Twain/Benjamin Disraeli quote. I recall the Labour Party using the incorrect quote in a leaflet they put out to slag of the Lib Dems in 1997 saying our bar chart statistics were wrong. Actually they turned out to be only one half of one percent out from the final result.

Which Norfolk MPs will have to repay the taxpayer their expenses ?

The list of those MPs who have to repay expenses was published yesterday (Thursday), and it brought good news for some MPs, but not for others.

Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb has nothing to repay, having made no false claims, and he is joined by Richard Bacon (Tory MP for South Norfolk), Henry Bellingham (Tory MP for NW Norfolk), and Tony Wright (Labour MP for Great Yarmouth). Charles Clarke (Labour MP for Norwich South) won an appeal so will not now be asked for a repayment of any monies after initially being told to repay £743.

Those MPs investigated who have money to repay include Ian Gibson (who already stood down as MP for Norwich North), Christopher Fraser (Tory MP for SW Norfolk) and would be MP for my part of the world, Keith Simpson (Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk and Tory candidate for Broadland).

One now only wonders what the voters will make of these MPs. No doubt those MPs who ahve done nothing wrong will also have to put up with voter derision despite their innocence. Voters have every right to be angry, but lets aim our anger at the right targets.

A Unitary Norwich plus Norfolk to keep its District Councils ? - Let's hope it is true

The EDP reports that government minister John Denham, who has responsibility for making the decision about the bids for unitary status in Norfolk, may decide to keep the present council system, but allow Norwich City Council to become a Unitary Authority on its existing boundaries.

Firstly, can I say how pleased I am if this is the decision. Not because I particularly want to change education authorities (as I work in Norwich), but because I have long been an advocate of keeping the existing district councils which are more in touch and often more relevent to local people in our village and small town communities across Norfolk.

When I was a North Norfolk District Councillor I was applauded loudly by the Tory Councillors for my passionate speech in defence of District Councils and in opposition of plans by Norwich City council to take over vast areas of Broadland District Council, leaving the rest of Broadland to be scattered amongst neighbouring authorities. The Tory who was due to speak after me merely stated "I agree 100% with councillor Starling and have nothing else to add". Indeed my position and arguments against the unitary authority demands made by the Labour run Norwich City Council was praised by a local Tory Parliamentary candidate in comments sent to this blog.

We are not to know yet whether the rumours are true, but I know that people here in Taverham have no wish to be taken over by Norwich City Council. I am sure that people in the West of the County in places like Clenchwarton (where I lived as a child) and those in Diss, Bacton and Gorleston, all feared that their local councils with local offices would be abolished in favour of a remote Norfolk County Council based in Norwich.

An announcement is expected next week. Fingers crossed that we stay here in Taverham as part of Broadland District Council (despite the rather odd decisions and money wasted by the Tories locally). Given the was the Tories have mismanaged the County Council, being taken over by that body would have been an unmitigated disaster !

The lights go out in Taverham (and Norfolk)

Are your streetlights going off in Taverham ? If Norfolk County Council have their way then 665 streetlights in Taverham (where I live) will be turned off from midnight each night.

What amazes me in this is that there are so many more options that Tory run Norfolk County Council have failed to consider but so little consultation with parishes and local people.

1) Why not turn them off from 2am ? People are still returning from pubs, friends, etc at midnight, so why the arbitrary 12pm turn off ?

2) Why not turn every other light off ? It would still cut costs but would provide at least a limited amount of light for pedestrians and make people feel safer.

3) Why are they turning lights off near pedestrian crossings ? I know that in parts of Norwich and in nearby Horsford they are planning to do this, so what is the logic in this ?


If you want to know if your lights are going to be turned off, check out the list of roads in Taverham below.


ACRES WAY, ALDER WAY, ARGYLL CRESCENT, ASHGROVE, BADGERS BROOK ROAD , BARBERRY CLOSE , BARDOLPHS COURT, BECKS FUR, BELL CLOSE , BILL TODD WAY, BISHOP RISE, BRAMBLE CLOSE, BROADGATE , BROOM CLOSE, BUCKTHORN CLOSE , CAMERON GREEN, CASTLE RISE,COLEMAN CLOSE,COOPERS CLOSE, COWDEWELL, CRICKET CLOSE, FIRETHORN CLOSE, FOREGATE CLOSE, FOXWOOD CLOSE, FREELAND CLOSE,FRESHWATER WAY, GANNERS HILL, GARDYN CROFT, GRACE EDWARDS CLOSE, HAREWOOD DRIVE, HARROLD CLOSE, HAVERSCROFT CLOSE, HAZEL CLOSE, HEDGEMERE, HINKS CLOSE, ISBETS DALE, JORDAN CLOSE, JUDGES GARDENS, JUNIPER WAY, KINGSWOOD AVENUE, KINGSWOOD COURT, LIMETREE COURT, MANOR CHASE, MAPLE DRIVE, MARLAND ROAD, MARRIOTT CHASE, MELTON DRIVE, MOKYLL CROFT, MONT CROSS, MULBERRY COURT, NABER FURLONG, NORGATE WAY, NUTWOOD CLOSE, OAKLANDS, OLD WARREN, PEAKWELL CLOSE, PEDDARS WAY, PRIORSWOOD, PYEHURN MEWS, RADCLIFFE ROAD, RIVERDENE MEWS, ROOK DRIVE, SEAFORTH DRIVE, SEGO VALE, SHAKESPEARE WAY, SHEPHERD WAY, SHILLGATE WAY , SNOWBERRY CLOSE, SPRINGWOOD, STEEPLE CHASE, SUTERS DRIVE, SYLVAN WAY , THE CAINS, THE COVEY, THE DROVE, THE FALLOWS, THE MOORS, THE SEATES, THE SHIRES, THE THICKET, TRIMMING WALK, UPHALLE, WALNUT CLOSE , WALSINGHAM DRIVE , WENSUM WALK, WHEATFIELDS, WINNERS WALK, WITHY WAY, WOODLANDS , WYLDE CROFT

Has the official list of Tory "Spin" Blogs been revealed ?

Liberal Conspiracy has a list of all those Tory blogs who will, if the Tory Party has its way,be offering less in the way of objectivity and more in the way of Tory "spin" during the forthcoming general election campaign.

I myself was a regular poster on events during the Norwich North by-election, but at no point did the Lib Dems ask me to post a story on their behalf, rebut a story or become part of any online campaign.

I guess those Tory bloggers identified need to question why they blog. I am sure some of them would have no truck with being organs of the Tory Party's spin machine if the story reported by Liberal Conspiracy is true. But if they blog to offer their opinions and views on politics and the world, one would wonder why any of them would be told what to print.

If they anyone were to turn their blog in to the official spin machine of the party they support they might just put a link straight through to their official party website and cut out the blogging completely. And thris aplies to every party.

Update 22.02 - Comments to me suggest that the story and the list may not be correct. If that is the case I would genuinely be pleased as many of those Tory blogs are amongst my daily reads.

Short changed

Clare Short's testimony today to the Iraq inquiry drew applause from the onlookers, but to my mind and In know that of many others, hearing Ms Short justifying her support of Mr Blair and her mistakes in doing so only served to highlight what a fool she was and remains. But more than that, it really does make you wish that Robin Cook, the one cabinet member who did resign over Iraq, was still alive to given evidence.

Clearly Robin Cook was cleverer that Ms Short because she failed to see what the rest of us and he could see, and that was the plain fact that the war was wrong. Ms Short's excuse that she supported the war because the Attorney General said it was legal simply does not stack up with her criticism of Blair today. She complained that he made decisions and expected them to be rubber stamped. The problem was, she was one of those people doing the rubber stamping. Had she followed Robin Cook out of the cabinet, it would have increased the pressure on Blair and perhaps encouraged more ministers to speak up, develop a back bone or grow a pair !

Sadly, we'll never know what difference Ms Short having some common sense in March 2003 might have had on the government. What we do know now is that she wants to blame Blair without, in my opinion, taking any real blame on her own shoulders.

Dumbing down the business news

I've just seen one of the dumbest film clips ever on The One Show regarding the Kraft takeover of Cadburys.

Now I know The One Show does very much aim its fire at the lowest common denominator, but I had hoped for something a bit higher than The Sun business pages level of coverage from Adam Shaw, one of the presenters of Working Lunch. But no, instead we got the tripe that I just saw.

In comparing the possible loss of jobs in the Kraft takeover with other takeovers of UK forms, Adam Shaw sought to show how some takeovers can be good for UK jobs. his example of this ? Asda and the takeover by Walmart. Confused ? I should say. Mr Shaw seemed to think that comparing a shop with a manufacturing business was a good comparison. The basic fact that a manufacturer can increase UK market share by producing more overseas  whilst a retailer has to increase its UK workforce if it is to get a larger share of the retail market was lost on Mr Shaw.

Which party is wrecking election night ?

Of the Norfolk constituencies who say that are still intending to do their general election count on the Thursday night, only two appear to be doing what Iain Dale wants.

So far North Norfolk and Norwich South appear to be the only two that will not be held over until Friday.

Looking at who runs the councils, it really is very interesting.

North Norfolk Count - Conducted by Lib Dem run NNDC.

Norwich South Count - Conducted by Labour run Norwich CC.

Norwich North/Broadland Count - Conducted by Tory run Broadland DC


Mid Norfolk/South West Norfolk - Conducted by Tory run Breckland


N/W Norfolk - Conducted by Tory Run Kings Lynn and West Norfolk BC


Great Yarmouth Count - Conducted by Tory Run Great Yarmouth Borough Council


South Norfolk Count - Conducted by Tory run South Norfolk BC.

So which party is wrecking election night ?

Are police radios safe ?

THIS report about the use of the TETRA police radio system comes as no surprise to me, having sat through numerous meetings in my time as a District Councillor when we discussed the siting of the police TETRA masts across North Norfolk five years ago.

I was told by a police officer in North Norfolk that the rates of illness went up very quickly after the new masts and radios were introduced. Similarly I was told of headaches, nausea and other problems suffered by residents living near to the mast in one North Norfolk town.

My understanding is that the frequency the TETRA masts work on is different to that used by mobile phones and that the frequency is very close to that which has been known to cause tumors in rats. Similarly, whilst mobile phones only transmit a signal whilst being used, a TETRA radio works differently by being connected for long periods even when not actually in use.

I am not one to start campaigns against phone masts as I am not convinced that the evidence is there to suggest that phone masts are any more dangerous than having a wireless router in your home, but there are genuine concerns about the safety of TETRA masts and the radios that use this system. THIS WEBSITE set up to take reports from police officers who use the TETRA system is evidence of that.