More top quality journalism from BBC East

A report on this morning's news about a UEA professor appearing before a House of Commons committee saw the chairman of the science committee called "Phil Willis MP (Lib Dem)" labelled on screen as "Phil Woolas MP (Labour)". The very fact that Mr Woolas is a government minister and is therefore not able to chair a commons committee would have sent any decent journalist scurrying for the keyboard to get this changed, but it does show the level of journalistic knowledge at BBC East.

Remember, it was BBC East who invited the Green Party to the Norwich North debate but excluded UKIP. The BBC claimed the "Main four" were represented, but the Greens trailed in a poor fifth and UKIP came fourth.

Of course, the BBC did get the name right of a Green Party Councillor in another report.

Why do the BBC employ people to report on politics who quite clearly don't understand it ?

Watch for new pot holes on the Reepham Road

This is a public service announcement

Can I stress to all my local readers in Thorpe Marriott who come home from Norwich on the Reepham Road to be very careful of a massive pot hole on the Reepham Road as you head back to Thorpe Marriott. The pot hole is about 50 yard before the turning in to Long Dale on the Reepham Road.

I have reported the pot hole but given Norfolk County Council's recent record on fixing pot holes in this area, it may take some time.

One thing is clear from the Tory blogs, Osborne did not do well in the Chancellor's debate

Looking through the main Tory blogs tonight, not one posting has been done after the Chancellors debate on Channel Four.

Now if Osborne had done well or even slightly well, the Tories would have been crowing about it. Their silence speaks volumes about Osborne's performance.

Tory election poster

With thanks to Freemania

The sordid squalid deal that can explain the Murdoch empire's support of the Tories

Today the News of the World announced it would be backing the Tories at the next general election.

In the meantime, Ofcom are probing Sky TV and their stranglehold monopoly of the pay TV market with recommendations to force Sky to be more open to competition. You know, the same competition that "free market" thinkers, the ones the Tories claim to represent, say is the cornerstone of this country's business model.

The problem is, as the Robert Peston article makes clear, the Tories don't support Ofcom. Indeed, they may abolish Ofcom and allow Sky TV to maintain their monopoly position.

As Robert Peston writes;

This is what Mr Cameron said last July: "with a Conservative Government, Ofcom as we know it will cease to exist. Its remit will be restricted to its narrow technical and enforcement roles. It will no longer play a role in making policy."

Also, News Corporation's most-widely-read newspaper, the Sun ("wot won it"), has switched allegiance from Labour to the Tories - and is currently heaping opprobrium on the government in its pages with what reads like undisguised relish.

So it is clear to me the the Tories are buying support from the Murdoch empire in return for letting them dominate and have a monopoly position.

Of course, Cameron could prove me wrong by letting the Ofcom investigation in to Sky go ahead but what are the chances of that happening ?

Tory praise for Vince Cable

The Tories don't like Vince Cable. They don't like the fact that he is trusted by people because he speaks common sense, has a dry unplanned humour that seems natural and unrehearsed, and they don't like the fact that he has been proved right so many times and provides a sharp contrast between himself and the Tories George Osborne

It was Vince Cable who said that Northern Rock might have to be nationalised whilst the Tories claimed the plan was ridiculous. In the end Vince was proved right whilst the Tories never ever produced a plan for Northern Rock other than to oppose whatever the government suggested.

It was Vince who talked about more regulation of rogue banks whilst the Tories were moaning about there being too much regulation on the financial sector.

Vince too has real world experience as a someone with real responsibility in one of the world's biggest companies. Vince's knowledge is based on working his way to the top, living in the real world and not having things handed to him on a plate by virtue of his old school tie.

So it is rare but refreshing to see a Tory pointing out that Vince Cable is leading and the Tories following in his wake.

The truth is, if you want Vince Cable, you need to vote Lib Dem.

You don't have to be stupid to be a Labour MP but ...

If evidence is required as to why voting Labout can be a liability, THIS is it.

Who would send an email begging for help in the General Election to their main opponent TWICE !

Hat tip to Andrew Reeves

UKIP and racism

Tory blogger Ellee Seymour has an interesting story about a UKIP poster in Cambridge that has been defaced, which bring to mind the contradictions that UKIP is.

I blogged last year about the UKIP leaflets in the Norwich North by-elections and the fact that, to my mind, they bordered on being the sort of leaflets the BNP would be proud to deliver. The only problem is that whenever I have met UKIP people they are a long way from being racists. Most UKIP people I have met are actually pretty decent people who are polite, thoughtful (unlike the Tory who swore at me at the Broadland Council meeting this week), and genuinely in politics for the best of reasons.

So it does beg the question why their leadership nationally persist in trying to out do the BNP. UKIP needs to become more than a protest vote and if they are to be taken seriously, they need more policies than just immirgation and Europe.

Back in the swing of campaigning

After three years of literally doing nothing in the way of political campaigning haven taken a complete break after standing down from North Norfolk District Council, I am now firmly back in the swing of things.

As many of you will know I gained a council seat from the Tories 10 days ago in Taverham North, and in the process of knocking on doors and speaking to local residents, we found so many issues that affect people locally that we are now rolling the whole campaign out to neighbouring wards and taking the political fight to the Tories on issues where local people feel very let down by the Tory County Council and the Tory run District Council.

So tomorrow we are delivering leaflets in Drayton, with the rest of Taverham due to get leaflets in the next few days.

The fact is though, like anything in life, you can simply do too much of something you enjoy and can start to fall out of love with something that you actually care about deeply. For me politics was so important for so many years, but after nearly 20 years of political campaigning I simply tired of if it and started to hate any involvement in political activities. I never tired of representing local people, but I got fed up with the sniping, the negativity and the constant relentlessness of political campaigning.

Now, however, refreshed and enthusiastic, I have never enjoyed my politics more. There is so much to be done in my ward and in neighboring wards to ensure that people have a voice, and it's like starting in politics all over again.

Lord Dale ?

Is it just me or do I detect a "Pick me ! Pick me !" in THIS posting ?

I know Iain is not one of the options, but I guess if you can't get elected and can't get selected, you could always get appointed ?

The problem is that the Lords loses legitimacy if it is filled with placemen who have failed in their attempts to get in to the House of Commons. Personally, I think the Tories have been crazy not to have selected Iain Dale in one of the many vacancies that have appeared in the wake of the expenses scandal, so perhaps this is a way for him to become a parliamentarian. I think Iain would do a good job and David Cameron could (and almost certainly will) do a lot worse.

Should we be at all surprised ?

So after the budget we are all worse off. Any surprises in that ? I would hope not. The fact is this country's finances are in a mess and more needs to be done about it. The problem we have is that nobody trusts the Labour government to do anything about it and finding anyone who has any real faith in the Tory alternative, George "Gideon" Osborne is like looking for needle in a haystack.

The long and the short of it is that the one person people do trust to tell the truth is Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable and the only way you will get him in number 11 Downing Street is to vote Lib Dem.

In the meantime, take with a pinch off salt the fake shock from the Tory press that the budget has left people worse off. To deny that the budget would be anything other than one that would make us all poorer in the short term is the very worst kind of politics, but something that the likes of the Daily Mail indulges in every day.

The last reaction I expected at my first full council meeting

I've always viewed it as very important to show respect for people in whatever position they are in, and this is as true for elected representatives as it is for anyone else, whatever party they represent. So I had hoped for the same degree of respect in return when I entered the council chamber on Wednesday night for my first full council meeting. Sadly, this was not entirely the case.

As I walked in I was heckled by one Tory Councillor who then started swearing and ranting at me. Now I know defeat in an election can be difficult to take, but I felt it showed a lack of decency and manners that this councillor could so publicly choose to act in such a way.

I think it is incumbant of all elected representatives to show each other respect and good manners both in the way they deal with issues, but also in the way questions are answered. For all our political differences, the Leader of the Council (Cllr Woodbridge) does this impeccably and also made a point of welcoming me. I have to thank Tory Councillors Mallett, Ward and Carswell for their politeness and warm welcome also.

One issue which seemed very odd from my previous experience on the Lib Dem run North Norfolk District Council was the way the Tories try to cut off debate by moving to go to the vote before all those people who had indicated to speak were given a chance to join the debate. This is something that did not happen in North Norfolk as the ruling Lib Dems would always allow the Tories to have their say. In my view it shows a hollowness to your arguments if you are not prepared to listen and joing in a debate but instead wish to stifle the opposition.

Overall, the meeting did not really discuss much except that the council seems to be adopting eminently sensible plans in the way that kennels, catteries and pet shops are expected to raise and maintain the high standards expected by the law. I actually wanted to make this point to council and give the council a pat on the back for a sensible approach. Sadly, because the Tories wanted to cut the debate short (remember my elections leaflets moaning about the lack of thorough consultation ? - It happens at council too !), I was not allowed to make this point.

Next for me is an official induction and a proper ID card and a new leaflet to my ward. All I need now is be proper PC to be fixed as it packed up on polling day of all days.

First Broadland "Full Council" meeting

It's my first "Full Council" meeting tonight at Broadland and I am rather looking forward to it.

The agenda is not very full and it does not appear to be anything particularly controversial to be discussed, but should anything remotely interesting be said or anything that affects Taverham and Thorpe Marriott be put forward, you can be assured I will write about it and let local residents know.

Council tax income spent in Norfolk in order to fight something the Tories could have killed off in Parliament

Local councils across Norfolk are still up in arms, quite justifiably so, over the government's decision to grant unitary status to Norwich. During the whole process a small fortune has been spent on legal fees and propaganda by councils in Norfolk on both sides of the debate. However, it is the actions of the Tories this week that has come in for much criticism, particularly form the local press in Norfolk in the form of the Eastern Daily Press (EDP) who in a complete about turn for them seem suddenly to hav woken up to the fact that Cameron's Tories are strong on rhetoric, but totally lacking in the courage of their convictions when it comes to making real decisions.

As the EDP headline makes clear, the Tories could have taken action in the House of Lords to deal with the ridiculous decision to grant Norwich Unitary Status, but instead they sat on their hands and put forward a motion with no teeth, no power, and essentially, broke their pledges to "fight the Norwich Unitary bid".

Meanwhile, back in Norfolk, Norfolk County Council are still taking legal action (and no doubt spending a lot of council tax in come as a result) against the Norwich Unitary decision. Now I don't blame Norfolk County Council for doing this, but doesn't it tell us a lot about the Tories nationally that they could have acted in parlaiment to kill this off, but instead they did nothing and let people in Norfolk shell out on legal action thus putting greater pressure on the council tax payer ?

Remember, the invasion of Iraq was NOT about oil

You will remember Tony Blair telling us that the war in Iraq was in no way linked to the fact that Iraq is one of the world's major sources of oil.

Everyone asked the question why it was that a poor impoverished country like Zimbabwe with a despot in charge was being left alone by international forces whilst Iraq faced the wrath of the US and the UK. People wondered back in 2002 and 2003 whether if Zimbabwe had oil, would Mugabe be allowed to get off scot free, but no, Tony Blair said it was definitely NOT about oil.

So we should, I imagine, all be shocked to hear that Tony Blair is now being paid by a foreign oil company with interests in Iraqi oil field. No ? Neither am I.

Are you raising the level of debate Iain ?

Today Iain Dale wrote one of his daily Lib Dem attack stories and sadly (again) totally misses the point.

The story Iain is trying to push is that "Lib Dem MPs are just like the Tories" when it comes to having dodgy MPs. Of course Iain would love this to be true, but with dozens of Tories standing down after expenses allegations involving heli pads, duck houses and numerous other spurious expense claims, Iain somehow wishes to link this to four Lib Dem MPs who took it upon themselves to raise an issue affecting their expenses and claims.

No credit is given by Iain that these Lib Dem MPs reported themselves to the parliamentary ombudsman to see whether their rent arrangements actual conformed to the rules. Likewise, Iain fails to mention that the actual block of flats where these Lib Dems made claims is infact occupied by Tory and Labour MPs who, it appears from the news, have failed to report their circumstances to the parliamentary authorities.

So the question is Iain, why are Tory MPs not being as honest and open as Lib Dem MPs ?

FX - Tumbleweed passes by with the distant sound of a church bell ringing.

Thank you Taverham North and Thorpe Marriott

As many of you will know, I won the Taverham North local council by-election held yesterday by 159 votes.

The result was

Conservative John Griffin 471 - 41%


Green Party Jennifer Parkhouse 54 - 4.5%


Liberal Democrats Nich Starling 630 - 54.5%

I just want to say a massive thank you to all those people who voted for me and all those people who offered kind words verbally, through emails, twitter and on the phone before and since.

People in Taverham North were obviously keen to vote and are enthusiastic about the idea of having a councillor that will be visible and active in the community. This point was made to me more clearly than ever yesterday when person with a lot of local political knowledge asked me outside the polling station "Who is the Tory taking numbers on the door ?". When I explained "That's the other Conservative Councillor for Taverham North", the reply was "But I've never seen him before !" The fact that local people have no idea who their councillor for the last six years is is a shocking indictment of the way Taverham and Thorpe Marriott have been taken for granted for so long.

So what's next ? Lots of local problems to write letters about, lots of issues to get involved with and lots of thank yous to say and write.

More than anything else though, I don't take lightly the responsibility that comes with being a councillor, I've been a councillor before and I know it requires dedication and hard work. Similarly, my pledge to keep residents involved and ruly in touch with what I am doing on the council and the issues I am taking up is one I will definitely be keeping. Residents despair of politicians who turn up one every four years and expect to be re-elected, thats why turnouts keep falling and people have such little trust in politics.

So local people can expect to hear from me regularly whilst I am representing them and I can promise too that whilst being a Lib Dem, my first priority is and will remain Taverham North.

So again, thank you everyone.

It's polling day

Polling day in the Taverham North and Thorpe Marriott by-election is today !

If you want a truly local candidate who actually lives within the ward, then vote for me today.

The polling station is Hinks Meadow Community Centre, Kingswood Avenue, Thorpe Marriott, Taverham.

Polls open from 7am to 10pm.

Campaign almost over

Well its now reached that time that almost every political campaigner enjoys, the preparation has been done, there is nothing more that can be done to persuade voters or issues to campaign about, and it's all down to how many people get out to vote tomorrow.

I have to say I have really enjoyed the campaign. I've met a lot of people, got to know neighbours and people who live in my area so much better and feel that whatever the result, I have benefitted from the campaign in so many ways.

More than anything else though, I am convinced that my area is better off because of this election campaign happening. For too long issues that affect us here have been ignored. Our roads in Thorpe Marriott are a mess, grit bins are empty or broken, decisions are made about gritting roads, streetlight and the NDR, and local people are kept in the dark by our Tory councillors who fail to turn up to meetings or who fail to deliver any leaflets telling voters who they are or what they are doing except at election time.

People in Taverham North and Thorpe Marriott have woken up to the things that are happening locally and they will know, whatever the outcome of the election, that the Tories must continue to be pressed on their decision making.

There will be plenty of oportunities to reflect back on the campaign but I feel we could not do any more and win or lose, I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. To any local voters looking in at this blog, thank you for taking the time to visit and please use your vote tomorrow at Hinks Meadow Community Centre, Kingswood Avenue, Thorpe Marriott from 7am to 10pm.

Surprise surprise ! The BNP's new anti racists views are still racist

I suppose we all ought to be surprised and shocked to find out that the BNPs new non racists non discriminatory rules are actually still racist.

It doesn't matter how many times the BNP deny it, the very point of the BNP is that they are a racist party, that is the reason for their being and the reason for their support. Trying to deny it is like claiming that Manchester United are not a football team.

Former leader of Euro Conservative joins the Lib Dems

The former leader of the Conservative MEPs in Europe has joined the Lib Dems.

Edward McMillan-Scott fell out with the Conservative Party when he dared to oppose David Cameron's plans to form a new European alliance with a rag tag bunch of nationalists, racists and homophobes.

Mr McMillan-Scott highlights the very real concerns that many have about David Cameron in that he should be judged by the company he keeps and his actions more than his platitudes and talk show appearances.

More information on the defection  HERE.

A hole in the ground and a very big lorry

After I reported a number of potholes in Taverham and Thorpe Marriott in recent weeks, Norfolk County Council finally came along to fill in some of the pot holes. Good news ?

Well, not quite.

What is odd is that holes that I specifically reported have been filled, but my online reporting mentioned "numerous other holes" in the vicinity of the main holes. So what have Norfolk County Council done ? They have filled the biggest holes, but sometimes holes just a few feet away have been left.

Isn't it utterly ridiculous that a team of men come out in a very large lorry to fix one hole but then through procedures and paperwork from the Council they seem to be unable to fill in other holes whilst they are there !

Tesco getting their just desserts in Sheringham

For almost as long as I have been involved in Norfolk politics, Tesco have been trying to bully, buy, threaten and harrass their way in to the town of Sheringham. After numerous failed applications, constant "tweaking" by Tesco so as to constantly resubmit plans and wear North Norfolk's planning department down, the planning committee held their nerve and opposed Tesco's latest plans whislt accepting a rival plan from Waitrose. All I can say is good.

I have been at planning meetinga when Tesco have been there. Their arrogance is shocking. They make sweeping statements, rubbish valid data, sometimes choose choice data from those sources that they choose to rubbish at other meetings, and whilst doing this they constantly like to bandy round threats of legal action, whilst letting it be known they have the most expensive lawyers and can "break" councils.

To Tesco it appears that local planning rules and locally elected officials are secondary to their aims.

So I say well done to North Norfolk District Council for having the nerve to ignore threats and provide a new shopping experience through Waitrose which will support local businesses thus avoiding the inevitable and well recognised Tesco methods of driving local indepdent butchers, bakers, greengrocers out of business before raising prices.

Idiot commentary over PMQs

I got to hear PMQs on the radio yesterday as I was travelling to go on a PE course at lunchtime. What struck me was how much the listener missed because of the patronising and self indulgent commentary of the BBC presenter talking over the top of it.

Rather than hearing the debate we got a constant interruption from a BBC man who explained that "Asking a question there about Lord Ashcroft" and "Jack Dromey is blah, blah blah" or "By William he means William Hague when he was Conservative Leader" or sometimes just waffle that could be said quickly in four words but was instead turned in to a 20 word sentence.

Why not treat the listener with some intelligence ? What not explain the subtle nuances after the debate has ended ? Why not just let is listen ?

Prime Ministerial Debates will be good for democracy

It is good news for the electors and for democracy that Prime Ministerial debates have been agreed between the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives with the BBC, Sky and ITV. However, I fail to understand why the SNP cannot accept why they will not be taking part.

The SNP is not standing throughout the whole of the UK and their leader could never be Prime Minister. So for them to moan about not being involved is just plain stupid.

I wrote a few months ago how the Cornish Nationalists could similarly moan about being excluded from the Prime Ministerial debates if they wanted to be childish, but unlike the SNP, the Cornish Nationalists seem to have a more mature attitude.

Tories and Labour squabbling like children in the playground - "But he's doing it too !"

When I am dealing with a disagreement between children, when it is clear they are both in the wrong and both behaving in a way that is not acceptable, I let them know that the argument "I'm doing it because he is doing it" or "But he's doing it too", are simply not good enough reasons for doing something.

If it is wrong then it is wrong, whoever is doing it. So whilst I agree with Iain Dale that the Labour Party are showing stunning hypocrisy in criticising Lord Ashcroft's tax status, it is actually no defence for the Tory Party to say that they are doing it because Labour are doing it.

That was the argument many MPs made in making false expenses claims. It didn't wash then and it doesn't wash now.

There is, however, another subtly difference between labour and Tory tax dodgers making donations. The Labour people do not have a hand in the political strategy of the party. They make donations, but do not seek influence within Labour. Compare this to Lord Ashcroft who plays a major role in the Tories target seat strategy. This is a point the Tories choose to ignore when making comparisons.