Does the Conservative candidate for North East Somerset think we are all idiots in this part of the world?
In a letter to Newton St Loe residents he gives the false impression that the Conservatives are doing all they can to defend the greenbelt and how deeply they’re opposed to the proposal of 2,000 houses being built next to the village.
Mr Rees-Mogg needs to be reminded that it was HIS party that voted in favour of the Core Strategy Spatial Options Consultation document in October. In the document there are two main options. Both of them conclude that building 2,000 houses next to Newton St Loe is favourable to building them anywhere else. If his Conservative Councillors were so opposed to it why did they vote in favour of a consultation that gives no choice to Newton St Loe residents?
At that same meeting, the majority of Liberal Democrats did not take part in the vote because we did not (and still don’t) believe the document was ready to go out for consultation. Some Lib Dems actively voted against!
Mr Rees-Mogg also needs to note that the Lib Dems have run successful campaigns in defending areas such as the Haycombe and Englishcombe Vales from development.
I rarely write letters to the newspaper these days, but when politicians give out completely misleading information, I think it is important that they are corrected.
From what Newton St Loe residents have told me, their wannabe Tory MP has been less than helpful in supporting them and listening to their views.
I don’t intend to score political points, but it’s actually Prospective Lib Dem MP Gail Coleshill who has put the residents first. She’s the one who has met with residents, liaised with the press on their behalf, attending public meetings in the village, presented petitions in Bristol and written on their behalf to the Government Office of the South West.
Friday, 27 November 2009
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Spending almost £1m on a 700yard bus lane IS a waste of money!
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In this week's edition of the Radstock Journal Labour Councillor for Paulton, John Bull, claims that spending almost £1m on a 700yard bus lane is a good use of our money!
John needs to be reminded that in 2005 the Conservatives were in charge of transport in B&NES – they have been for the last six years!
It’s a shame that he is such a keen supporter of the new Oddown bus lane, because I have been overwhelmed with emails and phone calls from residents who support my argument that spending almost £1m on a 700yard bus lane really is a waste of money.
To be clear, not in any of my TV or radio interviews have I said that I’m opposed to bus lanes in their entirety. Those that serve a purpose and encourage people to use their cars less and public transport more are great. The new bus lane on the A367 going into Bath does not do either of these.
To date, on the numerous occasions that I have travelled to and from Bath, I have not seen a bus use the lane. Money well spent? I think not! John Bull’s claim that this is not at the local taxpayers’ expense because it’s funded by central government is madness! Don’t people pay their income tax? It does not matter if the money comes from local or central government – it’s still from taxpayers’ hard earned wages.
I would also like to respond to Charles Gerrish’s comments a few weeks ago in The Journal where he claims that the Lib Dems have not come up with any solutions to Bath’s traffic problems. Where has he been for the last four months?
The Lib Dems have said on many occasions (including on national TV) that we would like to provide every single young person with a free bus pass – so their parents don’t have to take and collect them from school. Instead, many can catch the public bus. If you travel into Bath during the school holidays there isn’t any traffic! A clear indication that school traffic cause of congestion in the mornings.
The cost to provide these passes would be just half of the cost of the bus lane. Our proposals are both beneficial with easing congestion and better for the taxpayer.
I would like to invite both John and Charles to come to Peasedown St John one afternoon, and I would be more than happy to introduce them to a lot of people who are fed up with their money being wasted in this way.
John needs to be reminded that in 2005 the Conservatives were in charge of transport in B&NES – they have been for the last six years!
It’s a shame that he is such a keen supporter of the new Oddown bus lane, because I have been overwhelmed with emails and phone calls from residents who support my argument that spending almost £1m on a 700yard bus lane really is a waste of money.
To be clear, not in any of my TV or radio interviews have I said that I’m opposed to bus lanes in their entirety. Those that serve a purpose and encourage people to use their cars less and public transport more are great. The new bus lane on the A367 going into Bath does not do either of these.
To date, on the numerous occasions that I have travelled to and from Bath, I have not seen a bus use the lane. Money well spent? I think not! John Bull’s claim that this is not at the local taxpayers’ expense because it’s funded by central government is madness! Don’t people pay their income tax? It does not matter if the money comes from local or central government – it’s still from taxpayers’ hard earned wages.
I would also like to respond to Charles Gerrish’s comments a few weeks ago in The Journal where he claims that the Lib Dems have not come up with any solutions to Bath’s traffic problems. Where has he been for the last four months?
The Lib Dems have said on many occasions (including on national TV) that we would like to provide every single young person with a free bus pass – so their parents don’t have to take and collect them from school. Instead, many can catch the public bus. If you travel into Bath during the school holidays there isn’t any traffic! A clear indication that school traffic cause of congestion in the mornings.
The cost to provide these passes would be just half of the cost of the bus lane. Our proposals are both beneficial with easing congestion and better for the taxpayer.
I would like to invite both John and Charles to come to Peasedown St John one afternoon, and I would be more than happy to introduce them to a lot of people who are fed up with their money being wasted in this way.
Saturday, 23 May 2009
Support the Lib Dems on June 4th
A few weeks ago a letter appeared in the local newspapers from Sara Box, one of the English Democrat European candidates, advocating her desire to create an English Parliament.
She is absolutely right in referring to some of the great things that have happened in Scotland over the years which include the abolition of student tuition fees and free personal care for the elderly.
These achievements are not necessarily the result of Scotland having its own Parliament though. Instead, they are a result of Lib Dems being in coalition government – introducing a much fairer society for the Scottish people.
I do not believe that creating an English Parliament, as she does, is going to address some of the key problems that our country faces. The English Democrat idea of creating another layer of government will just result in another set of elections with low turnout and huge amounts of voter apathy.
Instead, what we need is strong and effective local government – where local people feel inspired and enthused to get involved with the democratic process. If we can’t get people to vote in local elections (the layer of government closest to the people) then what benefit will an English Parliament have?
The best thing Sara and the English Democrats can do is support the campaign to create an independent Town Council in Midsomer Norton – as does my party!
The Liberal Democrats have a strong track record of supporting local people in their communities. The South West Lib Dem MEP Graham Watson has worked extremely hard since he was first elected in 1994 for a better, and fairer, deal for the South West.
Instead of supporting a party that wants to create more bureaucracy, residents can vote Lib Dem on June 4th - a party that believes in putting people before politics.
She is absolutely right in referring to some of the great things that have happened in Scotland over the years which include the abolition of student tuition fees and free personal care for the elderly.
These achievements are not necessarily the result of Scotland having its own Parliament though. Instead, they are a result of Lib Dems being in coalition government – introducing a much fairer society for the Scottish people.
I do not believe that creating an English Parliament, as she does, is going to address some of the key problems that our country faces. The English Democrat idea of creating another layer of government will just result in another set of elections with low turnout and huge amounts of voter apathy.
Instead, what we need is strong and effective local government – where local people feel inspired and enthused to get involved with the democratic process. If we can’t get people to vote in local elections (the layer of government closest to the people) then what benefit will an English Parliament have?
The best thing Sara and the English Democrats can do is support the campaign to create an independent Town Council in Midsomer Norton – as does my party!
The Liberal Democrats have a strong track record of supporting local people in their communities. The South West Lib Dem MEP Graham Watson has worked extremely hard since he was first elected in 1994 for a better, and fairer, deal for the South West.
Instead of supporting a party that wants to create more bureaucracy, residents can vote Lib Dem on June 4th - a party that believes in putting people before politics.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Hard hitting campaign video
This week, the Lib Dems in the European Parliament have released a hard hitting campaign video in the run up to the elections on June 4th.
The film really brings home the importance of living as part of a community and standing up for one another.
In the end, if we don't stand up for others who will stand up for us? -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcridvxfLBo&feature=related
The film really brings home the importance of living as part of a community and standing up for one another.
In the end, if we don't stand up for others who will stand up for us? -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcridvxfLBo&feature=related
Saturday, 28 March 2009
My three-point plan
Many people lose weight in different ways, and some people find it more difficult than others.
As many people will have read in the newspapers recently I was 18 stone when I left school. It was awful – I was very unhealthy, and only ate fatty foods.
Last week, a resident wrote to me asking for advice and practical suggestions to loosing weight. In response, I wrote back with three key ideas. Let's call it my three-point plan:
1) Self discipline and will-power
2) Exercise
3) Eating sensibly
I’ll go through these one at a time –
1) Self disciple and will-power. I would encourage you to take a photo of yourself now, and stick is on the wall in your house. That way everyday you will look at it and feel encouraged to lose weight. You’ll need to mentally commit yourself to changing the way you look. This also involves changing the way you think. Often we put on weight easily because we are not very self-confident and have low self-esteem. If you start to think positively and always say to yourself ‘I can do this’ and ‘I will do this’ your attitude to life will start to change
2) Exercise. It’s always difficult to start exercising. Our bodies often get into a rut and like to do things ‘the same old way’. Start by choosing an exercise that you enjoy. For instance – if you like walking then commit yourself to walking 1 mile per day. Each day walk faster and speed up the amount of time it takes to walk the mile. Gradually, over time you will feel the walking getting easier and easier. From then try other forms of exercise.
3) Eating sensibly. Dieting does not have to be boring. Start dieting by choosing healthy foods that you like. I started with banana, yoghurt (the healthy varieties) and cereal. The good news is you can eat as much of these as you like. Eat these kinds of foods with one hot healthy meal per day. Try to completely avoid chocolate, crisps, cake, chips, burgers etc.
If you can commit to this you should see the weight drops off over a few weeks.
Ultimately, if you really want to lose weight it’s all about will power and self-discipline. I believe that we, as individuals, can do anything as long as we put our minds to it and believe in ourselves.
Remember change can happen – you just have to believe in it!
As many people will have read in the newspapers recently I was 18 stone when I left school. It was awful – I was very unhealthy, and only ate fatty foods.
Last week, a resident wrote to me asking for advice and practical suggestions to loosing weight. In response, I wrote back with three key ideas. Let's call it my three-point plan:
1) Self discipline and will-power
2) Exercise
3) Eating sensibly
I’ll go through these one at a time –
1) Self disciple and will-power. I would encourage you to take a photo of yourself now, and stick is on the wall in your house. That way everyday you will look at it and feel encouraged to lose weight. You’ll need to mentally commit yourself to changing the way you look. This also involves changing the way you think. Often we put on weight easily because we are not very self-confident and have low self-esteem. If you start to think positively and always say to yourself ‘I can do this’ and ‘I will do this’ your attitude to life will start to change
2) Exercise. It’s always difficult to start exercising. Our bodies often get into a rut and like to do things ‘the same old way’. Start by choosing an exercise that you enjoy. For instance – if you like walking then commit yourself to walking 1 mile per day. Each day walk faster and speed up the amount of time it takes to walk the mile. Gradually, over time you will feel the walking getting easier and easier. From then try other forms of exercise.
3) Eating sensibly. Dieting does not have to be boring. Start dieting by choosing healthy foods that you like. I started with banana, yoghurt (the healthy varieties) and cereal. The good news is you can eat as much of these as you like. Eat these kinds of foods with one hot healthy meal per day. Try to completely avoid chocolate, crisps, cake, chips, burgers etc.
If you can commit to this you should see the weight drops off over a few weeks.
Ultimately, if you really want to lose weight it’s all about will power and self-discipline. I believe that we, as individuals, can do anything as long as we put our minds to it and believe in ourselves.
Remember change can happen – you just have to believe in it!
Sunday, 1 March 2009
MP fails to help... again!
Last Friday I spent the afternoon visiting some of my residents in Peasedown St John – helping with various issues and listening to their concerns.
On my rounds I bumped into a young mum who is struggling to find somewhere to live. She is currently staying on her Mum’s sofa and desperately needs to find a place of her own.
She told me she had been in contact with the Council’s Housing Department to ask for her old reference number (the housing application system has recently changed) which she had lost. I was horrified to hear that they had told her ‘It’s in the basement and we’re not going down to look for it’ – If this is true I am going to go mad! A council is a public body, its councillors and staff are there to serve the people in the area it covers.
This young mum’s plight for somewhere to live re-iterates just how frantic the social housing situation has become. There are currently over 6,500 households in our area waiting for a ‘council house’. My party has been campaigning for months for many of the empty properties in the district to be brought into social housing use (similar to the case in Mendip District Council where landlords are given financial help to bring properties back into use).
At a meeting in January the Conservative in charge of housing confessed to me that he did not have any idea of the number of empty properties in the area and seemed uninterested in trying to tackle the 6,500 (and growing) waiting list.
Since becoming a Councillor in May 2007, helping with social housing problems has been a huge challenge for me. But, I got involved in politics to help people just like this young mum. It is they that need that extra bit of help, support and encouragement.
This same conversation also sparked up another issue – something else that has been bugging me for some time. The young mum started by telling me she had been to see our local Labour MP – Dan Norris. Her words to me were ‘he’s s#@t’. She had been to visit him some months ago but since has had no response and has been completely unhelpful.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. Over the past two years this is something that I hear more and more often. People go to visit our MP and he is no help at all – in fact, does not even appear interested.
It is when I meet people like this young mum and hear her story that I realise how useless and ineffective our MP is. It’s upsetting to think that the Labour Party, which was founded over 100 years ago to fight for and defend working class people can no longer be bothered to even help those that need it the most.
I must thank Dan Norris for one thing though. It was through meeting him in 2000 (when he visited my school) that I felt inspired to go into politics… and join the Liberal Democrats.
Meeting him made me realise that we had little in common and if I wanted to join a political party that really did stand up for people then the Labour Party was no longer it. (Just like this young mum, I didn’t feel he was at all interested in what I had to say and he couldn’t even give a straight answer to a question I asked him.)
My conversation with the young mum left me feeling more than ever that we need a definite change at the next General Election. Our Labour MP and our Labour government are clearly not working!
I know this won’t come as a surprise to anyone but my support will whole-heartedly going to Gail Coleshill – someone that for the last ten years has stood up for hard working people and believes in the same kind of change as I do.
Change can happen – we just have to believe in it.
For information about Gail Coleshill visit www.gailcoleshill.co.uk or www.nes-libdems.org.uk
On my rounds I bumped into a young mum who is struggling to find somewhere to live. She is currently staying on her Mum’s sofa and desperately needs to find a place of her own.
She told me she had been in contact with the Council’s Housing Department to ask for her old reference number (the housing application system has recently changed) which she had lost. I was horrified to hear that they had told her ‘It’s in the basement and we’re not going down to look for it’ – If this is true I am going to go mad! A council is a public body, its councillors and staff are there to serve the people in the area it covers.
This young mum’s plight for somewhere to live re-iterates just how frantic the social housing situation has become. There are currently over 6,500 households in our area waiting for a ‘council house’. My party has been campaigning for months for many of the empty properties in the district to be brought into social housing use (similar to the case in Mendip District Council where landlords are given financial help to bring properties back into use).
At a meeting in January the Conservative in charge of housing confessed to me that he did not have any idea of the number of empty properties in the area and seemed uninterested in trying to tackle the 6,500 (and growing) waiting list.
Since becoming a Councillor in May 2007, helping with social housing problems has been a huge challenge for me. But, I got involved in politics to help people just like this young mum. It is they that need that extra bit of help, support and encouragement.
This same conversation also sparked up another issue – something else that has been bugging me for some time. The young mum started by telling me she had been to see our local Labour MP – Dan Norris. Her words to me were ‘he’s s#@t’. She had been to visit him some months ago but since has had no response and has been completely unhelpful.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. Over the past two years this is something that I hear more and more often. People go to visit our MP and he is no help at all – in fact, does not even appear interested.
It is when I meet people like this young mum and hear her story that I realise how useless and ineffective our MP is. It’s upsetting to think that the Labour Party, which was founded over 100 years ago to fight for and defend working class people can no longer be bothered to even help those that need it the most.
I must thank Dan Norris for one thing though. It was through meeting him in 2000 (when he visited my school) that I felt inspired to go into politics… and join the Liberal Democrats.
Meeting him made me realise that we had little in common and if I wanted to join a political party that really did stand up for people then the Labour Party was no longer it. (Just like this young mum, I didn’t feel he was at all interested in what I had to say and he couldn’t even give a straight answer to a question I asked him.)
My conversation with the young mum left me feeling more than ever that we need a definite change at the next General Election. Our Labour MP and our Labour government are clearly not working!
I know this won’t come as a surprise to anyone but my support will whole-heartedly going to Gail Coleshill – someone that for the last ten years has stood up for hard working people and believes in the same kind of change as I do.
Change can happen – we just have to believe in it.
For information about Gail Coleshill visit www.gailcoleshill.co.uk or www.nes-libdems.org.uk
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