The word crisis is often over-used, but the NHS is facing a genuine crisis in which its component parts are struggling with the amount of work they face and the financial and human resources which they have at their disposal. A House of Commons Briefin…Read more…
Disenfranchising the electors of Eldene & Liden
Swindon Council is ruled by anti-democratic clique. They have imposed new parish councils on non-parished areas without any democratic mandate whatsoever and against considerable opposition. They have set a ridiculous deadline with the new parishes hav…Read more…
Israel cannot be both a ‘Jewish state’ and a democratic one
“So the settler agenda is defining the future of Israel. And their stated purpose is clear. They believe in one state: greater Israel. In fact, one prominent minister, who heads a pro-settler party, declared just after the U.S. election – and I quote – “the era of the two-state solution is over,”…Read more…
The Great Western Hospital and the “beds crisis”
You didn’t need a premonition in 1999 (“We warned this would happen says pensioner over beds crisis at GWH”, Swindon Advertiser) to know that the new hospital would be short of beds. Swindon TUC helped set up an NHS Defence Campaign which cut through the propaganda of the Trust…Read more…
Park Library kept open, but…
Park Library is to remain open and funded by Swindon Council. This is a success for our campaign which raised 1200 signatures calling on the council to amend their proposal to include Park in the core Library service. Better open than closed. Yet the c…Read more…
The local government funding crisis and how to resolve it
With the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader for the second time we have been told that this has consolidated Labour as the “anti-austerity party”. Whilst this is certainly the aspiration of Jeremy and his supporters Labour can only be judged on what it does not just what it says. The…Read more…
Park Library petition – Catch 22 Swindon style
Swindon Council has refused to table Parks and East Walcot Community Forum’s petition for discussion at the November council meeting. The petition, which has more than 1,100 signatures, calls on the council to amend their proposal to include Park Library in the core provision of the new…Read more…
An attempted coup against the members
At the time of writing Angela Eagle has very generously paused her leadership campaign to give Jeremy Corbyn more time to resign. The real reason, however, is that Corbyn’s opponents are so well organised that they can’t yet agree on a single candidate to stand against him. It appears…Read more…
The surplus and the parishes
Some while ago I suggested to Swindon’s Cabinet that they should be pressing the government to abandon their target for a £10 billion surplus by 2020. As I pointed out to them if the target was break-even then the £6 billion of cuts to local government would not be necessary. They…Read more…
Heron
Here’s a picture of a heron at Shaftesbury Avenue lakes. We don’t see them very often, just occasional visits. I was lucky enough to have my camera with me on this occasion.Read more…
An assault on local democracy
According to the report for this week’s Swindon Council Cabinet meeting “a high proportion of responses received expressed opposition to the parishing of non-parished areas”. In contrast there were “a number of submissions” supporting it? What number? We are not told….Read more…
Swindon Council cuts – there is a choice
Article after article by David Renard drives home the message that Swindon Borough Council ‘has no choice’. It has to outsource leisure facilities, close Children’s Centres, transfer services to parishes and abandon funding libraries save for the central one. How does this…Read more…
The Letting Agencies rip-off
“The problems of high cost and poor standards are not confined to a few “rogue” agencies but are widespread across the industry. Many of the complaints we and other organisations have heard do not only relate to egregiously poor practice by a minority of agencies, but are widespread, and related to…Read more…
BMA strikers in Swindon
A few photos from today’s picket line in Swindon at the Great Western Hospital. A patient showing support. And Swindon People’s Assembly. Read more…
Parishes proposal: the electors must decide
This is written on behalf of Parks & East Walcot Community Forum, of which I am the Secretary. Yesterday Parks & East Walcot Community Forum discussed the Community Governance Review being launched by Swindon Borough Council – the proposal to devolve some of its services to new parish…Read more…
Swindon Council to ’empower’ local people by denying them power to decide on parishes
At the Council meeting yesterday I asked a couple of questions on the Community Governance Review which will consider whether to introduce parishes into all the non-parishes areas of the town. Question 1: “Will the administration make a commitment that no area of the town, which currently does not…Read more…
Not so much a ‘vision’, more a nightmare
This is a guest post by a Swindon Council employee who has been given a ‘vision’… A couple of weeks ago I went to an event for all SBC employees. It was called On Track To A Vision For Swindon. It was designed to present the ‘vision’ of the leader of the council, as represented…Read more…
Labour should oppose parishes move and demand referendum
Just when I was thinking that’s a good letter from Des Moffatt (“Beware Parish Plan”) he said this: “…I am not necessarily against going this way provided the citizens of Swindon know what is involved and the opportunity for well off areas to pull up the ladder is avoided.” This…Read more…
Housing Associations capitulate over ‘right to buy’
When the idea of the extension of ‘right to buy’ to housing associations was first floated housing association representative, including David Orr, head of the National Housing Federation (the ‘trade organisation’ of housing associations) were talking of fighting the…Read more…
Council Tax payers should decide
This is a letter to the Swindon Advertiser. Here’s your starter for ten points. What is the relationship between the government’s spending review due later this year and the news that the Conservative administration wants to expand the parish council ‘model’? Could it be…Read more…