A year ago today my Grandpa died. I wrote about it in my old blog and as the last of the old generation passed away and we all moved up one, it cemented for me the fact that I wasn’t a kid any more.

It’s odd how days can begin normally and then, because of what happens on them, stay with you forever. My dad’s generation had the day JFK died or John Lennon died. My generation had Diana and 9/11. I remember odd little things about those days that I’ll never forget. The types of everyday normality that go unmarked all the time, but because of their context suddenly become flashing beacons of a bygone time - just the trivia - the fact that I went to see Wolves play Bury the night before Diana, and that I sat watching “Cats and Dogs” in the cinema after 9/11 thinking it was the most preposterous thing to be doing in the world at that time.

Just thinking about that bloody film with it’s crazy talking cats makes me feel ill because of it!

And we all share memories of days when people we love go away. Three of my grandparents have died in the past few years - touching ordinary days with immortality by demonstrating the fact that people themselves are mortal. I remember the t-shirt I was wearing when my grandma died; the pub I was in when I found out that my other grandma had died. And most vividly of all, maybe because it was most recent, I remember Grandpa last year.

I remember the book I was reading (about JFK, oddly enough), the fact that I was half watching Chelsea play Barcelona on ITV, and the fact that when the call came through to tell me he’d gone I had a pizza in the oven which I retrieved, blackened, about 20 minutes later when I’d rung round lots of relatives.

All very odd the things we remember…

I like it when life throws up coincidences. Little bits of symmetry or nice touches which wouldn’t look out of place in slushy romance novels. I like thinking about people I haven’t seen in ages, and then seeing them the next day. I like it when I predict the unfeasible to a hopeful friend and then it happens and makes them smile. I like how things happen on certain days - just in time to remind me of something. And today is one of those nice completions of the circle, because tonight I am making my first speech to Council.

I’ve asked a couple of questions, but never stood and made my case. Lots of Councillors never do at all. But I’ve been elected to say things, and say things I will. It’s the next step in this big adventure of being a Councillor, of serving the people of my ward and making a difference.

I think it’s nice that the dates coincide, because I know he’d be proud. We all lose people we love, and have to move on, and it’s sad of course. And now, the sadness isn’t raw but it’s there when I think about it. 

I’m nervous, I must say. No matter how many times I do a presentation at work I still get butterflies. And this is worse because there are people waiting, just waiting, to shoot me down. I don’t know if I believe he can see me, but I might look up and think he’s urging me on when I stand up tonight. Wherever he is, I’m glad that a year after he’s gone I can do something to make him smile.

Rick

Tonight’s delights include a third meeting of the scrutiny sub-group on alternative models of service delivery. Now it is decision time, and we record our findings ready for them to be reported back to main scrunity in a couple of weeks.

And then after that it’s scrutiny itself. A short agenda tonight, so hopefully we will be out of there by sunrise, which occasionally I begin to doubt will actually happen.

I have to go to these meeting right now, hence the short posting…

Good news on Prestwich’s slow-but-not-entirely-forlorn journey toward Didsbury status today - the new Croma restaurant has opened its doors.

There’s one in Chorlton (think Prestwich but with more crime and houses at twice the price). Another in Manchester (ditto but thrice the price). Another in Leeds, and bizarrely, quite a few on the eastern sea-board of the USA. And now one underneath the Radius flats in Prestwich. Hooray.

I’ve been to the one in Manchester, and jolly nice it is too. Pizza and a drink for the price of a Domino’s, and much nicer to boot. So get down there and support the local economy. A stone’s throw from the Met station, there really is no excuse not to.

And with a bit of luck this is the first of many new shops opening under the flats.

Rick

I am back from London. Back to Manchester, with any semblance of relaxation and any trace of rejuvenation wiped clean from my soul the moment it occurred to me that the first thing I needed to do on arrival was board a creaking and late Metrolink all the way to my rainy house.

London is a wondrous place. Not wondrous because it is wonderful (although much of it is), but because a gigantic proportion of it leaves me gaping in a slack-jawed trance, wondering things. The entire place is like any other city squared, and then squared again, and then cubed, to the power of eight. The people, the buildings, the transport… Living in Manchester I get the impression that I’m part of a global city. But compared to London it’s like living on the straw-covered stable floor of a one-house hamlet in the wilderness.

My hotel was in the City, a part of town I hadn’t even ventured anywhere near in my dozens upon dozens of visits to London before. That in itself sets the place apart from anywhere else. A visit to another city in the UK means seeing pretty much everything in a weekend. I could spend a year in London and not get past the first chapter of the brick-sized guidebook I took with me.

I was close by The Gherkin. I have no idea what its real name is, and I don’t care. Because here is a thirty-odd story office building shaped like a pickled cucumber. It’s a miraculous feat. And just one of many improbable buildings around virtually every corner. I don’t know when glass became so strong that entire cloud-touching mega-towers could be built entirely out of it without so much as a concrete pillar in sight, but it really is something to behold.

And the place is so busy… I stumbled back to my hotel at about 1am one night and it was no less noisy and crowded than twelve hours before. The whole city reminds me of an airline terminal. Always a stream of people milling around, half of them rushing, half of them shopping, most of them with big bags. A thousand different ethnicities and I’ll never see the same face twice.

That’s not to say I didn’t recognise half the people I saw. I don’t know if this is a modern symptom of going to university and living in a world where people move round lots, but on every tube escalator and around every corner I saw half-forgotten faces of people I thought I might have known. I didn’t know them of course, but it was very off putting. Like being on the edge of drunkenness and forgetting you’re at a school reunion.

There’s no peace. In the middle of the night the sirens and the taxis… And you need to be a billionaire to live far enough back from the street to escape the noise. I am (unsuccessfully) selling a flat here at the moment for a price which wouldn’t buy a roof-tile in London. It’s just plain mad. My contemporaries in five-years-out-of-university-type jobs will be lucky to afford anything there ever. The man who served me my “Angry Whopper”meal at Euston station would have to save up every penny of his wage for twenty years to buy a one-bed flat.

They still have the Underground though, the frequency and reliability and overall quality of which makes our Metrolink a genuine laughing-stock. And they have free travel for kids. Which we should have too.

I met old friends. I walked a lot. And it was fun. But I don’t think I could live there. It’s relentless and after a while I’d get accustomed to the wonders and then what would be the point of being there at all? London’s a treat. I like to take the car and go somewhere green and quiet. And you can’t do that there.

I’m back now though. With meetings this week, and a speech to Council on Wednesday, which I wrote today. More of this later in the week…

Rick

I am off work for a week, and heading down to London tomorrow for a few days to visit some old friends and relax with my camera, a good book and lots of time.

Before that I have a Lib Dem group meeting tonight where we will talk news and political machinations for a few hours. And then tomorrow morning it’s the first meeting of the GMPTA Service Improvement Sub-Committee for this municipal year. And I will take to that meeting my suitcase, because I’m heading straight to the train station afterwards.

All of which is great timing because, just as I am going to live in an hotel for five days, our shower packs up. I have been enduring ice cold showers this weekend, and hopefully by the time I return our landlord will have magically fixed it! Oh for the end of my rental days… Not much longer now, I hope, and then the delights of plumbing problems will be mine alone to solve.

So it’ll all go quiet on the blogging front for about a week…

Rick

At this morning’s meeting of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA), Labour presented a motion praising the government;s extension of the concessionary fare scheme which gives OAPs free bus travel. Lib Dems wanted the motion to be less sycophantic and much more challenging to a government which has presided over bus fares for young people climbing rapidly. When the Lib Dems proposed an amendment calling for free bus travel for young people now, Labour voted it down.

I am happy that OAPs travel for free on buses. The more people who travel for free on public transport, the better. So why not young people as well? Young people have no access to private transport of their own (except through parents), and probably a lot less money than OAPs. They also have to travel to school each day, in Manchester that’s at 70p per journey. And lots of people in my ward have to get two buses to schools in Bury. That’s £1.40 each way, or £14.00 a week just getting to and from school. It isn’t right.

Of course it will cost money to make the journeys free. But if money can be found for white elephants like ID cards then it can be found for real schemes that will make a real difference, like this one.  Young people need to grow to love public transport if they’re going to carry on using it as adults. They don’t need to think that it’s expensive.

I join Labour in congratulating the government for their work in giving OAPs free travel. But serious governments don’t rest on their laurels and bask in praise. They keep progressing. That’s what we challenged Labour to do today by calling for an expansion of the scheme. Sadly, they said no, and so children continue to pay over the odds to get to school on the bus.

Rick

With 24% of the vote, I scooped the silver medal in Bury’s “I’m a Councillor… Get me out of here!” And with 36% of the vote, Cllr Cath Berry wins and becomes the Borough’s Youth Champion. So well done Cllr Berry!

Regardless of the result, I had great fun answering the questions of young people from across Bury in the last two weeks. It was a very worthwhile experience which allowed me to explain more about me and my role to the voters and citizens of tomorrow. And although I am disappointed not to win and have the chance to represent the views of young people in Bury, there’s always next year!

Rick

We’re into the last 24 hours of “I’m a Councillor… Get Me Out Of Here,” the competition organised as part of National Democracy Week to elect a Youth Champion for Bury. I have been up against five other Councillors in the past fortnight, answering questions from young people from across the Borough. And now there are just two of us left after four evictions.

My colleague (and our Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate) Cllr Vic D’Albert was unceremoniously booted off today, leaving just Cllr Cath Berry and me left. You can visit the site at www.bigvote.org.ukand read my manifesto. I don’t think you can ask any questions or vote without being part of a participating school, and in these days of faked phone-ins and competition scandals, I don’t want anyone trying! But spread the word about the site and take a look anyway - lots of Councillors from all over the place answering questions about everything.

I think it should be made a permanent thing! At the moment anyone can ask me a question through the Council’s website, but the answers aren’t published anywhere, and I could just ignore them if I wanted (I don’t, of course). If I had my way we’d have to answer them all and our answers would be there for everyone to see, just like this competition is!

I’ll let you know if I win tomorrow. And best of luck to Cllr Berry too! 

Rick

A number of my friends have started a Facebook group calling for me to be installed leader of the Lib Dems. This was a nice surprise… There are five members so far. Unfortunately none of them are MPs, so can’t count towards the 7 required. Also, I am not an MP, which also throws somewhat of a spanner in the works. So I don’t think Messrs Huhne, Clegg etc are losing sleep over it. Yet.

Today I have a couple of meetings. First up this afternoon there is a meeting of the Alternative Service Delivery Models sub-group, where we get to talk through options for alternative service delivery ideas with Council officers and Trades Unions. A lot of my questions from last time have been answered, but now I have more.

And then tonight it’s the Local Area Partnership where, amongst other things, we have a presentation on street cleaning. Given that this issue is one that seems to irritate local people more than any other, I hope to have a full and frank discussion about what can be done to make Prestwich cleaner for all of us who live there.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Rick

I’m still in a state of shock about the Ming thing. And the more I think about it, the sadder I get. Ming’s own absence from the steps of Cowley Street when the statement was read out on his behalf only adds to the image in my head of a dejected old man wandering lonely back home having been told he’s too old for the pub dominoes team.

Everyone seems to be of one mind that the decision was right, even if the chatter leading up to it was entirely wrong. I suppose we all looked at the depressing polls, came to the conclusion that they never lie even if we wish that they did, and hoped that he’d do the best thing for the party. And, as always, he did. Despite the fact that when it comes to the crunch the polls often do lie, and we do better in elections than predicted.

Thirty six people have asked me today whether I am going to run for the leadership. I assume they were all joking. They certainly did.  Although given that I only need seven MPs to back me to run, this means that I am ONLY 7 MPs SHORT OF HAVING ENOUGH SUPPORT TO RUN!!

But let me categorically rule it out now. The rumours have to stop.

Leadership elections make parties look silly, in my view. Splitting off into camps, exposing ourselves to scandal. A second one in 18 months makes us look doubly silly. I hope it’s over quickly, and that media savaging is merciful, if present at all.

Rick

It seems a slight over-reaction to endure a second-rate Sinatra impersonator on Friday, then resign the leadership of the Liberal Democrats on Monday. But that, unfortunately, is what Sir Menzies Campbell has done. And the Rochdale dinner at which we were both present a few days ago has turned out to be just about his last such engagement as leader.

The question as to whether the ear-shattering crooning of our dinnertime entertainer is the sole cause of his departure, or whether there were other, less obvious, reasons, is obviously one which will vex commentators for days to come. But regardless of the reasons, I for one am sad to see Sir Ming depart.

If ever there was a sign needed that in today’s politics, the man to win an election and the man to run a country well cannot be the same man, then this appears to be that sign. Ming was many things - a statesman, a man of experience, of honour and of gravitas. Just the traits necessary to lead a serious, thoughtful party. But he wasn’t photogenic. He was old and he looked older. He was robotic in movements supposed to rouse the faithful. And whilst his words were earnest and full of depth and meaning, often-times their weight drowned out their inspiration.

That wasn’t always the case. Friday night’s speech did as good a job of rousing the grass-roots faithful as any showy note-free Cameron lecture. But with his words, even then, I couldn’t help feeling that I was listening to someone not unlike my Grandpa. A wise old man imparting the fruits of his life to the next generation. Clegg or Huhne or Laws or whoever the next guy is. I listened to Sir Ming out of reverance and respect, rather than loyalty to his vision or the thought that he could lead us into some promised land. Now that responsibility falls to someone else. Someone doubtless younger, better-looking, and probably able to speak without notes. Whether the sophistication of his ideas disappears along with his autocue remains to be seen.

It’s a shame that nowadays we seem to judge the strength of a leader not on the quality of his ideas but on the snappiness of his soundbites. I hope that we find a new leader who can do both things well.

I wish Sir Menzies well. I never met him in person, although I saw him close up on several occasions. His service to the party is immense, and continues to be so. Iain Duncan Smith, the last major party leader to have been deposed having never fought a General Election, has gone on to something of a revival within his party, and is now treated with reverence as a man of new and exciting ideas. I hope that Sir Menzies, who had plenty and still I’m sure has more, enjoys a similar future. His is a talent which the party needs in the background and contributing, even if his days as leader are at an end.

Rick

Friday night in Rochdale with Ming was fun. Bury Lib Dems took a couple of tables-worth of people to the dinner, at which Ming’s speech was the undoubted high-point. I do think the decision to accompany our main course with a Frank Sinatra impersonator singing at the volume of a jet engine was unwise, but other than that it was an enjoyable evening.

Ming spoke with passion and conviction about Lib Dem strengths in local government - how in places like Rochdale we’ve come from nowhere to lead the Council and return an MP in the past few years. The same was true in Ming’s own constituency years ago, and it shows that the old maxim is true - where we work, we win! And it holds true in Bury as well. A few years ago we were the Holyrood party, but now we’ve worked with Focuses and community issues in Sedgley, and then St Mary’s, and now we’ve got 8 of 9 Prestwich Councillors, with more gains to come I’m sure.

As ever I purchased loads of raffle tickets on Friday noght, and was rewarded with absolutely no prizes. I think I am cursed never to win anything at raffles. In the past people have said that it’s a good thing because it might turn me off gambling, but to be honest it just makes me want to forget small-fry charity draws and bet my savings on a horse race instead.

The rest of the weekend was spent leafleting (Saturday afternoon), watching the rugby (Saturday night - not normally my bag but I was strangely entranced by it, I must say…), and wandering through parks / having a pub lunch (Sunday).

And here we are back at work…

Rick

Tonight I am going to Rochdale for dinner with Ming Campbell.

This is not though a candle-lit soiree involving just the two of us, a bottle or two of wine and some increasingly risque comments, unfortunately, fun though that would certainly be. I wouldn’t take him to Rochdale for that. Especially not now that Croma is almost up and running in Prestwich Village. Nothing impresses a date more than some great-value pizza just a stone’s throw from my house.

Instead, this is a fund-raiser and mass party event held by Paul Rowen, the Rochdale MP. And it’s in the town hall.

Lots of us are going, and I feel a bit like Tony Sprano in that members of both my “families” will be in attendance. There’s my mother, and my Lib Dem associates.

Happily, unlike Tony Soprano, my mother isn’t trying to kill me, and I won’t have to deal with inter-gang violence over the dinner table. There will be representatives of lots of other local Lib Dem “crews” there though, so I hope the conversation doesn’t turn deadly over which has the most effective Focus newsletter. The last thing I need is Ming getting blood-spattered.

Rick

Last night I attended the Prestwich Community Development Working Group, where lots of exciting things were on the agenda. From an update on progress in Rainsough to a re-affirmation of our commitment to working with Salford to achieve improvements there, to an update about the Butterstile Children’s Centre, and the proposed Ball zone for Polefield. It’s only been three weeks since the last meeting so there’s not been any major progress, but all of these things are still on the agenda and will be worked through.

We also took a look at some grant applications and were able to allocate some of the money in local funds to some worthy causes.

Tonight I am starting to put together the new St Mary’s Focus, which will be printed next week and delivered from the week after. Which is fairly depressing because I know full-well that there’s plenty of the current batch still to deliver. No rest…

Rick

It was great to see Labour nicking our policies yesterday for the pre-budget report. If they won’t call an election, I suppose the next best thing is to keep us in opposition but apply our policies to the country all the same. The news that aviation taxes will be charged on planes, not passengers, is an idea of our’s (passed by Liberal Democrat conference in 2004). Taxing non-domiciles more is another (passed by Liberal Democrat conference in 2007). And so is raising the inheritance tax threshold (passed by Liberal Democrat conference in 2007)
But beneath the headliune grabbing initiatives, the announcement of falling growth and the tightest spending round in a decade is the worrying result of ten years of neglect by Gordon Brown.For too long The Prime Minister callously disregarded the mounting problem of personal debt, fuelled by irresponsible lending.With households now facing 160% income to debt ratios and spending a fifth of their income servicing existing debts, it has become inevitable that spending and growth will fall.The news on “non-doms” was good, I thought. The Liberal Democrats have long called for action on non-domiciled individuals and I welcome any proposal which ensures they pay their fair share of tax.  However, it is peculiar that after criticising the Conservatives for an unworkable charge on non-doms, the Chancellor has opted for the exact same thing. Surely it makes greater sense to tax these individuals as UK citizens after a set period of time.

I though the Inheritance Tax proposals were good too, as much of the worry faced by those inheriting only moderately-sized estates is now removed.

Obviously I am interested in the local government settlement, and the crushing spending squeeze on local government it seems inevitable that Council Tax will rise by as much as 5% each year. This will mean that Council Tax will have more than doubled since Labour came to power. There needs to be serious reform of the system to make Council Tax fairer to those on low incomes.Health spending growth is halving and doesn’t even reach the 4.4% requirement recommended by Sir Derek Wanless of the minimum amount of spending necessary to improve health services.It seems like the Government has ducked the tough choices which needed to be made on public spending, rather than cutting wasteful projects such as ID cards, Child Trust Funds and the NHS IT Scheme and reallocating the money saved to front line public services. So a mixed picture yesterday, but a worrying time ahead for an economy which seems like it may struggle in the months to come.

Rick
 

Yesterday saw the start of the “I’m a Councillor… Get me out of here” competition. For the next two weeks, to coincide with Local Democracy Week 2007, five Bury Council colleagues and I will be answering questions from young people from across the Borough. In the second week one of us will be “voted off” each day, until the eventual winner is crowned Bury’s Youth Champion. This is a national event and there are Councillors from all over the country linking up with schools and colleges in their local areas.

Yesterday I received 8 questions, on a variety of topics from youth crime to skateparks, and from cinema prices to whether or not I like ham! You can see my answers, my manifesto for young people, and all the details about the other competitors and the event itself by visiting the website at www.bigvote.org.uk

Rick

Last night I attended a training session at Bury Town Hall on budget setting. Also in attendance was the Executive Member for Finance. I don’t know whether to feel happy that he was conscientious enough to attend, or worried that he needed to be there… It’s a bit like boarding an aeroplane and seeing the pilot carrying a copy of “Flying for Dummies.”

It was an informative course, and now I know much more about Council budget setting than I did in the past. And it isn’t simple! So much more money is needed just to stand still, once you’ve added in inflation, rising staff costs, grants ending here and pension costs going up there. I don’t envy the accountants charged with balancing the books, but I do know that now I am much more able to join my more experienced Lib Dem colleagues on the Council in proposing alternative budget ideas which are fair, green and sensible. We did it last year with the Blue Bin Budget, and we’ll do it again this time round I’m sure.

Rick

I don’t like to bash the opposition for the sake of it, but the new Sedgley Tory leaflet deserves a mention for its sheer cheek. I urge you all to take a look at it for comedy value, because it does a better job than anything we could put out about the deceitful nature of the local Conservatives.

The Sedgley Conservative spokesman has attempted a “before and after” photograph of a road which he claims has had some “slow” markings painted on it after his plea to the Council for action. Unfortunately, his ”before” shot is exactly the same photo as his “after” shot, only cropped slightly so that the “slow” markings aren’t shown. And I mean it’s exactly the same. The angle is the same. The trees are the same. Even the parked cars are the same! It isn’t “before” and “after” so much as “after” and “after, but a bit smaller.” How stupid do they think we are?

So if you want free Photoshop lessons, I suggest you get in touch with the local Tories. They have clearly mastered the basics of reducing size (if not editing to make them look a bit different…). If you want an honest and hard-working local Councillor, don’t vote for the party that tries to convince you of hard work by cropping photos and hoping nobody will notice.

And all this from the party who’s St Mary’s candidate at the last election, Stephen Morris (third place in May in my ward), has recently defected to the English Democrats, a tiny party on the fringes of politics who were formerly known as the English National Party.

So in St Mary’s we have a right-wing defector, and in Sedgely we have a man who thinks that the way to win votes is through deception and first-grade Photoshop.

They clearly think we’re very stupid indeed…

Rick

I must say, I’m not overjoyed with our announcement today in favour of fixed term parliaments for the UK. I think the policy is unnecessary, a rash reaction to a once-ever electoral fiasco from Mr Brown, and likely to do the party and the country more harm than good.

In a Presidential system, fixed terms are vital. They stop abuses of power and prevent dictators seizing power for decades. But here in the UK nothing more is needed than we have now. Elections are every five years, or sooner if the Prime Minister calls it. Of course the PM is likely to pick a time when he’s most likely to win, but let’s have faith in the people of the nation to back the party they want. If it’s the government of the day, then so be it.

Making elections a definite every four years could have a number of negative effects. Firstly, no matter how dissatisfied the nation is with its government, they’re stuck with it for four years. If it takes us into wars we don’t want or imposes hated taxes, there’s nothing the public or Parliament can do for four years. And why would any government do popular things in its first two years? Better to save them up for the last two, surely?

If an election produced no overall control, then we’d be stuck with a coalition for four long years. Four years of deals and compromise, with no way of settling things. If the government had a tiny majority at an election, they’d still be able to govern for four years even if the polls said it had disappeared completely and an election the next day would throw up a different result entirely. And what if we Lib Dems wanted power in a situation like this? We couldn’t share it with another opposition party because we’d be static for four years, the government limping from one crisis to another.

And what would happen if the leader of the government changed? So many people have clamoured for Mr Brown to go to the country to get a mandate to govern (not that he needs one from the country when they’ve already given one to his party, and his party have given one to him). With fixed terms he couldn’t even if he wanted to.

For all Mr Brown’s faults with the non-election debacle, maybe one positive was that it got people talking about politics and government. It was exciting. People didn’t know what was going to happen, and it was about as close to “fun” as politics can get. Let’s not do away with that either.

Rick

So Mr Brown has decided not to call a General Election, and 50,000 political activists from every party under the sun breath a collective sigh of relief / joy that they don’t have to pound the streets in the autumn cold handing out election leaflets. Much as I like election campaigns, one per year is enough I think.

I am not the first to say it, and I won’t be the last, but I think our Prime Minister has scored a big own goal with this one. Not with the decision itself, perhaps, so much as the way it was made.

Many of the best own goals seem to take an eternity to cross the line, as the seemingly impossible scenario of a defender bashing the ball into his own net plays in slow motion to the slack-jawed crowd. This particular own goal really has taken a long time to be scored though. Mr Brown started kicking the ball goal-wards weeks ago, by refusing to rule out an election. And by refusing to extinguish the rumours immediately, he was always going to watch that ball creep towards his goal in real-life slow motion.

The opposition parties (mine to a certain extent, but certainly the Tories), have been excellent in seizing the opportunity to make Mr Brown look in turn both scandalously opportunistic and incredibly spineless. When it looked for all the world as if opinion polls were steering the PM towards a “yes” decision, he was made to look like he was going to the country not for its benefit, but for the Labour party’s. And when the polls steered him the other way, he was made to look too scared to risk it.

Why it was ever even considered is a mystery to me. So some people moan about the fact that Mr Brown was never elected Prime Minister. Well, nobody has ever been elected Prime Minister by the people. We vote for MPs and these MPs represent parties who form a government. We elected Labour to govern for upto five years in 2005, and Gordon Brown was fairly elected to lead that party just as Tony Blair was before him. And we’re halfway through that five year period. To call another election so soon after the last would indeed have been opportunistic and not in the interests of the country. Labour were elected to govern, and that’s what they should’ve been left to do.

Which is exactly what Mr Brown should’ve said. Now though, he’s admitted he thought about it, and the only explanation that holds muster as to why he’s had a better idea is that he thought he might lose. He chooses now, this moment, to talk about finishing the job of governing. Why didn’t he say this in July? Now he looks weak and indecisive, and running scared of policy decisions from the Tories which play to middle England marginals but are probably paper thin in terms of realism.

It’s good news and bad for the Lib Dems, I think. Good news because no matter what the opinion poll yo-yo-ing was doing between Labour and the Tories, we stayed the same on 16%, and we may well have got whooped in lots of seats. Bad news because if Gordon Brown decides on May 2008 (which I know is looking an outside bet to May 2009) then the situation might be even worse. Good news because Ming Campbell said the dithering was bad for the country, that we were able to fight the good fight, and that Gordon Brown looks silly for choosing now to say “no.” Bad because David Cameron said all of these things louder and more convincingly.

All of which, I know for sure, is of little interest to the people of this ward who still want their streets cleaned, their roads mended and something done about the type of kids who demolished some roadworks signs outside my house this afternoon and walked off laughing. At least now we can spend the next few weeks concentrating on that, rather than anything else.

Rick

I would say that the biggest practical difference in my life in the last five months since my election is the amount of post I receive! And this week my post-bag has had another couple of concerned letters about Gardner Road in it.

At the moment there are no speed restrictions other than the regular 30mph limit on this road, which is increasingly becoming absolutely packed with residents’ cars on both sides. Added to this are the trucks and other vehicles going to and from FDK Kitchens, and I think a lot of residents are worried that it won’t be long before there is an accident on this stretch of road. Given the large numbers of families in the area, this is particularly worrying.

Lib Dems have long supported 20mph zones around schools, and I wonder whether any local people have a view on whether we should press for similar restrictions in the Gardner Road area? I welcome your views on this subject, and if there is a consensus of opinion I can press the Council to act.

Rick

This morning I handed in my notice at work, as I have accepted a new job. At the moment I work for Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council as a Senior Performance Improvement Officer, but the time has come for a change and I am leaving local government as a career to work for the NHS. I am joining Pennine Care NHS Trust as their Business Planning Manager.

Pennine Care provide mental health services for most of eastern Greater Manchester, including Bury. I am glad to be staying in the public sector, and now with my professional and Council work I can keep working for both the NHS and local government, which are both areas of huge importance to me and to the country.

The future of our NHS is vitally important, and it will be hugely exciting to be joining it at a time when it is perhaps more than ever at the forefront of political debate. Lord Darzi’s interim report Shaping health care for the next decade has been in the news this week, and already the signs are that its publication may be more to do with political expediency than carefully thought-out policy planning. I hope not, but like many others working in the NHS I am sceptical that this report may turn out to be nothing more than another political stunt ahead of a possible General Election.

Remember that it has only been three months since Gordon Brown launched this review, promising to talk to those on the frontline in the health service. How much can he have listened while engineering all the talk about elections?

The key to providing better services to patients is making the NHS more responsive to local communities, not a plan imposed on the whole country by ministers sitting in Whitehall.

As the weeks and months go by I will learn more about the NHS from the inside. Although I will be sad to leave Oldham, I will remain active in local government through Bury Council (without being restrained by the conflict of interest of being a local government officer in Oldham, which is a bonus), I am already looking forward to December when I can start this new challenge.

Rick

Last night was the inaugural meeting of the Scrutiny sub-group analysing the Council’s proposals for alternative models of service delivery.

At the moment we are still at the “invitation to tender” stage, which is right at the start of a process which will see a full options appraisal and may end up with that resulting in no action being taken. On the other hand, it may result in a major contract with a partner, so it’s important stuff. It was a good discussion last night and we all got to grips with the issues. There is a lot to talk about, and I have contacted the Council this morning with some further questions which will form the basis for the next meeting.

In the end we will be reporting back to the Council’s Executive with recommendations on how best to proceed.

Also in the last few days, I have been dealing with casework about a number of issues - from pigeons on the precinct, to speeding cars on Gardner Road. And from litter on Butterstile Lane (again) to the land between the Post Office and Tesco, I am currently investigating these issues on behalf of local people. I hope to bring you news on them all in the coming days.

Rick

Great news yesterday that an agreement has been reached to re-build my old school, and not have it re-locate to a part of Heaton Park.

I was a pupil at King David Junior School until 1992, and even then the buildings were old. So 15 years on, my advanced mathematical skills tell me that they are likely to be 15 years older. The school (and especially the high school) has made tremendous strides since that time, and is now one of the top performing schools in Manchester.

Subject to Executive Committee approval later this month, Manchester City Council is to consult on new proposals to create a single campus to replace the existing King David infant, junior and high school provision and create a single £20 million  state of the art campus incorporating  nursery provision, a new all through primary school formed out of an amalgamation of the current separate infant and junior schools, and an 11-18 high school.

This is great news for both the school and the park. I don’t think anybody wanted a school on the park site if it could be avoided. It was nothing to do with racism as Bury South’s MP would have you believe. I am Jewish, a former pupil of the school, and against the move to the park. It’s possible to be pro-Jewish and pro-parks at the same time.

My congratulations to the Heaton park Action Group for this success, and to Manchester City Council for coming up with the goods that will ensure a successful future for KD, improved community relations and save our lovely local park.

Rick

Having honed my scrutiny skills over recent months (today is the five month anniversary of my election…), today I became the scrutinised one as I attended an occupational health session in order to be approved as fit and proper for a new job I hope to start. In the end I achieved a tick in the “Not likely to keel over and die at the first sign of work” box, but only after an 8am probing that I am not to keen to repeat.

I had never been to Occupational Health before, and was quite nervous that I would be prodded and jabbed by strange hands and cold bits of metal. I had worn a nice shirt, and when confronted with a nice nurse was actually not entirely uncomfortable with the thought of having to take it off. But in the end I didn’t even have to take off my overcoat. All they did was test my eyes (which seemed odd, since this is the only part of my body that is clearly malfunctioning and requires me to wear glasses the whole time…).

The nurse asked me a few questions about my health, including the romance-killing “have you ever had a urinary infection?” And then I was sent on my way. No needles, no beakers, no arm-squeezing. And on my way by 8.15.

Rick

I didn’t make it to Watford in the end. The engagement party had to go on without me. But don’t worry, as far as I’m aware the wedding is still going ahead.

My car decided that 5 years and 89,000 miles under my ownership was just about all it could take, and made Watford Gap services (which, for the uninitiated, is a surprisingly large distance north of Watford) its final resting place. A dashboard light came on, all the power went off, and the AA man did a kind of tutting / head shaking manoeuvre which is nature’s quickest way of saying “this is going to cost you hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pounds to fix.”

Apparently the engine was telling him that a coil had broken, but upon replacing it, the car was just as broken as before, and thus his best guess was that it was something to do with “the computer.” My momentary pleasure in discovering that my battered Punto contained any computer technology at all was replaced with the gnawing terror that wherever said technology was, it was bound to be buried beneath complicated engine components and require skilled technicians to dismantle it. And, as I have found to my cost, mechanics don’t come cheap. It is cheaper to pay a QC for his labour than it is the man from the garage.

My AA cover is at the “We’ll come to try and fix your car, but if we can’t then you’re marooned forever until you pay the recovery firm a large sum entirely of their choosing” level. Thankfully Tamsin has the gold plated rescue card which meant we were transported home in the back of an exciting truck. And en route I decided that there should be no messing around, that I needed a car that wouldn’t break at the first sign of Watford, and that I needed it ASAP.

So yesterday I purchased a new car. A Peugeot 207. And I pick it up after work today, allowing it to make its debut at the Resource and Performance Scrutiny Commission at the Town Hall this evening. It has exciting new automotive technology that I am not used to, including a fully functioning lock on the boot, windows that don’t leak when it rains, and an engine which doesn’t sound like a pack of angry leopards when stuck in traffic. I am very much looking forward to its arrival.

Rick