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

Last year I was 58th on the list of Iain Dale’s “top 100 Lib Dem blogs.” I have to say that in a year which saw me elected to public office, it didn’t rank as my number one achievement. But still it provided some pub-table comedy when chatter came to an awkward pause, and it did make me a bit proud to think that there are 99 other Lib Dem bloggers in the world. Which I found surprising.

This year I have made sterling progress and risen to the dizzying heights of 52nd place. I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry…

Actually, I am. Pass the tissues. Sniff… 

Rick

Tomorrow sees the start of the Lib Dem annual Federal Conference, in Brighton. I have already said that I’m not going, and I’m still not.

But this bombshell news hasn’t stopped anyone else going, and the last I heard the Conference was going ahead all the same.

Bury Lib Dems will be represented by Cllrs Pickstone, D’Albert and Andrew Garner, who will all be taking part in the debates, training sessions and fringe events.

And of course, attending the Lib Dem Blog of the Year awards to see if I win in the snappily titled category of ”Best Blog from a Lib Dem elected to Public Office.”

So look out for news of the Conference in the coming days. It will help firm-up policy ideas, and set us on the way for another exciting year for Lib Dems across the country.

Rick

I would like to wish all Jewish readers of the blog a Happy New Year. At this high holy day time it is wonderful to see so many local Jewish people coming together to celebrate Rosh Hashana. It is great to represent such a diverse ward and I am priveleged to do so.

Rick

I received a phone call from a resident a couple of nights ago. A street light near her house had not been working for a while, and despite a couple of calls to the Council, nothing had been done to sort it out.

I said I’d get involved, and lo and behold, only hours after a Councillor had raised the issue, the light had been fixed. According to the resident, it took all of three minutes to do the job.

Whilst I’m pleased to have been able to help, and happy that the light is fixed, once again I am disappointed that it took three phone calls from two people, and the sizeable prod in the back that is a Councillor ringing, to get this tiny job done. Responsive repairs like this should happen quicker and with much less effort required. On several occasions before I was elected I used the Council’s online “Report a Problem” system, and was given an immediate “RAP” number. Nothing else ever happened. Nobody rang me to ask for more details, and the problem was never ever repaired.

I am partly here to sort out the problems of residents in this regard. And I don’t begrudge it in the slightest. But I am also here to empower residents to take control themselves, and sort out problems with the Council directly. I can’t do this if these complaints are ignored. But imagine how frustrating and belittling it is for the people of Bury to be so brazenly ignored by the Council, and have to turn to their Councillors to get even the tiniest things done.

Rick