Barry Stamp's Political Diary

Today’s County Council meeting was a long drawn out affair, made worse by the fact that the first hour or so was taken up with the imminent retirement of Jenny Hawkins the Director of Education. I’ve known Jenny for many years and had the great pleasure to work for her when I was employed by the County Council a few years ago. Since being appointed to head the Council’s Education Department Jenny has made immeasurable improvements to education standards throughout the County, developing both school and central services alike. She will be an extremely hard act to follow.

Even I was surprised at the number of people who turned up at David Kidney’s public meeting in Penkridge tonight. The school hall was packed to overflowing and David and his staff were running around like scalded cats trying to fit everyone in. I felt quite sorry for David, but I have to say I admire his bravery for arranging such a meeting, which from the outset was hostile to his government’s proposals. I was pleased to see a number of people clutching our leaflets so they certainly had been read and perhaps were responsible for such a good turn out. The meeting lasted nearly 2 hours and David had to field some difficult questions. Unfortunately for him he had chosen to stand in front of a couple of banners that were obviously left over from a school party which said “Happy Retirement”! Perhaps this is an omen for next year’s general election!!

I always enjoy going to Adbaston Parish Council and tonight’s meeting was no exception.  Tonight’s meeting lasted just over an hour and covered a wide range of topics including planning, anti-social behaviour in the area, the future of rural telephone boxes and the one at Knighton in particular, and the use of the internet to keep local residents informed of the Council activities and future meetings.  Adbaston might well be a small community on the edge of Staffordshire but the Parish Council take their job seriously.

This morning I meet with a group of Liberal Democrat members in Penkridge and helped deliver over a thousand leaflets.  The leaflet is the first stage in our campaign to get the Government to drop it’s plans to build the new four lane toll expressway next to the M6.  This road, if it is built would have a devastating effect of both Penkridge and Stafford.  In both cases houses are built tight up against the existing road.  As you can imagine the possibility of a new road being built is worrying many people so I was not surprised of the welcome we got out on the streets.  It’s obvious the majority of local residents feel let down by Tony Blair and his Government.  It’s also clear that not many people are supporting Michael Howard either, so for once it looks as if the Lib Dems are going to benefit.  I feel rather sorry for David Kidney the Labour MP for Stafford as it appears his Government must feel he can be sacrificed as everything they do means he looses more and more votes.

Next week the campaign team is moving on and another thousand plus leaflets will be stuffed through more letter boxes this time in Stafford itself.

Tonight's public meeting at the Friends Meeting House in Grey Friars was organised by a group of concerned individuals who are opposing the building of the new M6 Toll Expressway.  About 60 people packed the meeting and heard a representative of CPRE and Friends of the Earth explain why the plan was wrong.  I thought I had a good grasp of the situation but the couple of hours I spent there certainly helped me to clarify my ideas and look at the problem from a different angle.  However one thing didn’t change – my opposition to the scheme.  I really can’t see why a new wider motorway is needed around Stafford.  Everyone who uses the existing road agrees the congestion problems are not in the Stafford are but are either further north or farther south.  However this fact appears to have escaped the Government who seem hell bent in making the residents of Stafford suffer because other areas have the problems!

I’m beginning to dread  planning meetings!  Tonight I attended because I had called in the plan to build a new stable block at Little Onn, Church Eaton. Little seemed to have changed since I last went.  One member of the  committee again made a spectacle of himself, by shouting across the room, interrupting other members when they were speaking, and laughing at his own jokes, which by the way were far from funny.  Once again I sat there wishing the floor would open up and swallow me up so at least I’d be away from the embarrassing situation!

 The planning application I’d called in also left me in a tight spot.  I’d been approached by both the applicant and the objectors to speak on their behalf and this is exactly what I did.  However it was difficult going especially as the officers report was very negative, even though their final recommendation was to approve the plan.  I wasn’t happy with this stance and neither were the Planning Committee who have instructed the officers to report to the next meeting with an explanation as to how they can say one thing but recommend another!  At least I got the committee to visit the site before they make their decision.  However given the comments and the general mood of the meeting I would certainly not put my money on the scheme being approved!

Tonight's meeting with the Chairman of the Constituency Party - Paul Brett -  was to talk about how we can develop the party in Stafford and what our tactics should be in the run up to the next election.  After two hours at least we had a clearer picture of where we are going and the timescale involved.  Paul has been Constituency Chairman for a couple of year now and he has certainly breathed new life into the local party.  Membership has increased and everyone now has a belief that we can do well in both local and national elections.  Only time will tell!

I managed to get lunch today, even if it was provided by the County Council so members of the Efficiency Review Working Group for Development Services could meet.  It was an interesting meeting which despite it’s title was really being held to allow members to comment on the cuts in services the Director of Development services was proposing to make to meet the Council’s efficiency savings targets.  After several years of reorganising services there is very little slack left in the system and the only really way of making substantial saving is to do away with jobs and the services they support.  Trying to save £1.5million is not an easy job and I don’t envy Ron Hilton – the Director – when he comes to make these cuts.  In his report he listed a couple of dozen areas that might be considered.  To help members he had ranked then in order, starting with the ones that had the least effect on services and ending with the ones that would be really felt by the man and woman on the street.  It was clear that once you got to savings of over £500,000 more and more frontline services began to suffer and it was this suffering the committee debated over and over again!  However what we did agree on was that we should lobby the Cabinet with the fact that all service area, regardless of the annual budget, were being asked to make the same level of savings and that given that the Development Services Department had the smallest budget of all it was certainly at a disadvantage.  I’m sure our pleas will come to nothing but at least we tried!

I spent the whole day today visiting Age Concern in Stafford and Gnosall.  The experience as really been an eye opener.  It’s obvious that everyone who works in the organisation is committed to what they do and what they achieve.  The morning started off with a briefing with Kath Trask and Veron Elkin.  Kath is the Manager and is certainly switched on and motivates the staff well. It was interesting to hear her perspective on the organisation and the problems facing the elderly.  I was disappointed to learn that she spends a great deal of her time raising money to keep the organisation afloat.  This really is a waste of her talents.  While a number of the services the organisation provides are done so under contract with the County Council or PCT, the lack of permanent, long term, funding is holding back a number of projects such as extending the facilities at the dementia unit.  Without Age Concern Stafford would be a poorer place and the elderly community would suffer.

To round off the day I attended an meeting of Stafford Borough Council in the County Buildings in Martin Street.  This was quite a set piece meeting with the main item of business being to approve the financial plan.  Its clear the Conservative controlling group face a bleak few months.  Their budget for next year is already over £1million in the red but once again the opposition parties were left with the distinct impression they could balance the books without raising Council Tax, increasing service charges, or by cutting services and jobs.   Mike Heenan the Conservative’s Deputy Leader for resources gave a spirited speech that not only laid out the facts about the budget but also supported the party line that there was little to worry about.  During the debate I referred the Council to last weeks meeting of the resource Scrutiny Committee when one of Mike’s colleagues suggested that no one should have fears as Mike would put a rabbit out of a hat and balance the books.  I had to say I thought he would need a very large rabbit and a very large hat if he was to succeed.

Sunday night is not a good night for meetings, but unfortunately we had no alternative but to hold our Council Group meeting tonight.  Luckily Chris Baron offered to host the meeting in her lounge so at least we had comfort, warmth, and free coffee to keep us going.  For once the Group members agreed on our stance on a number of items so hopefully tomorrow night we should provide a united front.

Tonight I attended the Sponsors Evening at Stafford Rangers as a guest of Philip Thurlow-Craig from the Staffordshire Newsletter.  During the evening I got talking to Jim Wheeler, a guy I used to teach many years ago.  Having travelled across the world he’s now settled back in Stafford and is involved with the music businesses.  He has great plans to open a rehearsal studio, art gallery, and performance space somewhere in the town.  As he see’s it the building could be run by the community as a non-profit making venture.  Having listened to him for half and hour I’m hooked on his plans and will be supporting him where ever I can.  Unfortunately the same can’t be said for either the Borough or County Council’s who do not appear to be encouraging him in his quest.  Indeed we did talk for sometime on the long term future for the Gatehouse Theatre in the town and came to the conclusion that the Conservative run Council would not think twice if they thought they could sell the complex off to a private firm.  Jim has a long way to go if he is to get his project off the ground, but if enthusiasm is and measure of success he’s almost home and dry.

It gave me great pleasure today to officially open he new office for Tax Assist Direct in Marston Road.  I’ve know Rupert Carthy for a year now so did not hesitate when he asked me to say a few words and “cut the ribbon” – although I have to say the ribbon was in my imagination.  The event not only gave me the opportunity to talk to a number of small business men and women from the town and find out what is worrying them about the future but also the chance to explain Liberal Democrat policies to them.

David Blunkett’s dog Sadie stole the show this morning. David was giving the last major speech of the LGA Conference. It was well delivered and certainly thought provoking, but it was very hard to concentrate on what he was saying as Sadie wandered around the platform picking up what ever she could find. At one point she took a real interest in a loudspeaker that was placed on the platform just in front of the lectern. I’m sure I was not the only one to wonder what would happen if she had decided to spend a penny against the box. They say electricity and water don’t mix so perhaps Bournemouth’s electricity supply would have suffered melt down. Luckily it appeared Sadie is house trained so I, and the rest of the audience, will never find out!

Michael Howard was the main speaker at the Conference today. I have to say I wasn’t all that impressed. Indeed if the heckling from some parts of the hall was anything to go by so weren’t most of the rest of the audience. His biggest howler was his grand announcement that a Conservative Government would scrap Comprehensive Performance Assessment – a hoop that every council has to jump through to get a rating by which it can be compared with other Councils across the Country. While I support the concept of monitoring a Councils performance the CPA is taking up more and more Council time and money. Michael’s announcement was met with general support, but he then lost the good will of the audience by say the Conservatives had not yet decided what they would replace CPA with! After thirty minutes I. along with all the other non-Tory Councillors present left the auditorium convinced that Michael Howard was not Prime Minister material and that the Conservatives had little chance of winning the next election!

Alistair Darling – the Secretary of State For Transport has announced that the Government are considering building a Toll Motorway next to the M6. If this plan is implemented the new road will have a devastating effect on Stafford. Already the two sides of the argument are forming. The Conservative run Borough Council are on the side of building the road as they see it is important for the economic development of the Borough, while the residents who live near to the existing M6 are, as you would expect, against it. I’ve already pinned my colours to the mask and said I’ll oppose the scheme. So has David Kidney but as yet David Chambers the Conservative candidate has made no comment. My argument has never altered since the M6 widening debate. The Government is saying the new road is needed because the M6 is congested. However I’ve been arguing that the M6 around Stafford runs smoothly and that congestion only occurs nearer to Birmingham or Manchester. It’s clear this plan is yet another move by New Labour to work closely with big business and let them take the profits of the scheme. I’d hate to be in David Kidneys shoes at the moment because every where he turns his Government seems to be running down Stafford. In the past few months they’ve close post offices in the town, started to close RAF Stafford, and are now planning to build a new four lane motorway around the edge of Penkridge and Stafford. Tony Blair not only seems to think Stafford is expendable, but also that David Kidney is too as everything they do at the moment looses him votes!

This morning I travelled down to Bournemouth for the Local Government Association Annual Conference. Every year the three political group leaders and the Borough Council’s Chief Executive attend this event. The four days spent at the conference gives me a real opportunity not only to network with other Councillors from across the Country, but also allows me the chance to listen to expert speakers on a host of topics relevant to my work in Stafford. Also the four days away with Judith Delgarno – the leader of the Council, Jack Kemp – the Labour Group Leader, and David Rawlings – the Chief Executive allows us all to exchange ideas; explore issues that the local community; and also to pick up useful gossip about the Council and its plans!

Tonight I attended the open air production of The Comedy of Errors at Stafford Castle. This play is the latest in the long running annual series of Shakespeare Plays put on by the Borough Council as part of the Stafford Festival. For once the evening was fine and quite warm, so the whole event was very pleasant. I was disappointed with the size of the audience, and if you consider that most of the seating area in front of the stage was filled with members of the civic party, there were very few “normal” audience members there! The only problem with going to the play as part of the civic evening is that I’m sure most other people think we get free tickets which is certainly not true. In fact every year June Kelegan the Mayors Secretary who arranges the event gets a number of complaints from people who organise a party and cannot get party discounts!

After the play I was invited to meet the cast and was delighted to talk to Rene Zagger (PC Nick Klein from The Bill) – the star of the show who told me Stafford Festival Shakespeare was ranked third in Country after Ludlow and Chichester Festivals. I really not surprised considering all the work the Council puts into the event, but I do worry that as budget constraints begin to bite the Festival might become an easy target for cuts!

Tonight I spent a restful, but quit entertaining couple of hours at the Spittle Brook public house in Queensville. This was the first “Pint and Politics” evening that Stafford Constituency Lib Dems have organised. It was a real informal get together. Although politics did get discussed this was far outweighed by conversations about puppies, children, and the rights and wrongs of smoking – a habit I have to say a couple of our members did indulge in! I’m looking forward to the next evening in August.