Spiking Section 3 of the Equality Act

The Government has had its eyes on the Equality Act for quite some time. Last year, I attended a consultation at the Government Equalities Office in Victoria about the future of discrimination advice. By the time I had left the building the Governments Red Tape Challenge had been launched with a plan to scrap the general duty. For the longest while they seemed to talk about launching a consultation without actually launching one when they did actually launch it is came with a raft of other proposals relating to the Equality Act. 

The consultation responses to keep the General Duty outnumbered those to scrap it by six to one.  However still like a thief in the night the proposal is not only here, but voted through parliament on a vote of 310 – 244 in that 66 vote difference 41 Liberal Democrat MP’s voted. In the 2010 election, the Guardian was urging many to vote Lib Dem to keep a Tory Government out to protect a core set of values about civil liberties. Here those same Lib Dems were vote en mass to remove the General Duty. Jo Swinson argued that it was unimportant. The governments briefing on the reasoning to remove it was it argued creating unrealistic expectations.

A significant proportion of Lib Dems at their own conference expressed concern over the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill and there seemed to be some concerted lobbying to try and get Lib Dem MP’s to at least abstain. It therefore comes as a surprise that the Conservative Peter Bottomley felt able to rebel on this issue whilst only David Ward was the only Lib Dem to do so. If you are still unconvinced about the need to oppose the changes watch the video. If you want to do something about it write to your MP using this site here. If Peter Bottomley can be on the forces protecting Equality perhaps there's still hope.

As local elections draw closer, the Lib Dems are trailing behind UKIP on many polls. In the Borough elections two years ago, they suffered heavy losses in Northampton. Some of the greatest of those were in student areas such as Trinity and St. Georges. With overwhelming more Conservative County Councils being defended in this election, and UKIP polling to get up to 20% of the Conservative vote, the May elections are expected to bring significant change.  It need not have been so for the Lib Dems. They sold their souls for a Proportional Representation referendum and still feel the need to pay for it.            

Will the last one to leave please switch off the lights

With news today that the carnival hangs in the balance it seems like it's going to be a long bleak summer with very little to look forward to. But maybe this is one thing that we really can't blame the Liberal Democrats for. After all it was athe Tory County council which gave the carnival the funding axe. Well think again, as fundemental to this situation is the fact that the Lib Dem Borough council which has given no black or minority ethnic groups any funding in this financial year or the previous one also give no money to the carnival making them realiant on a County Council grant which is no longer available as the Tory county council wishes to spend more pennies in areas other than Northampton where there might be a quite vote or two in it.

With the loss of the St Crispin's Fair and the Balloon festival it's going to be a long hot lonely summer.

Regeneration in the recession

That time of year again. You know when the kids are all sick and suddenly Liberal Democrats re-discover the areas that the represent. So with a new focus out in Kings Heath (featuring three photos of Councillors in Spencer and focus on Dallington Park and Spencer Brook ... do they really know so little of what exists North of Mill Road) what's interesting is the news that isn't there. Over the last few weeks the talk from West Northants Development Corporation has been about demlotion of some of the housing on Kings Heath. It's fairly horrifying how blasé the discussion is on the destruction of people's homes. What's more horrifying is that the demolition being proposed is not for the worst housing on the estate. Given this fact, it just does make you question to motivation of actions like this.

Kings Heath in the Springtime

In May 2005, the Silver Cornet was where we stopped to wind down at the end of a campaigning session. This is what it looks like today. I guess the derilict environment is slightly better than the wreck of the Morris Man on the other side of South Oval. Both sites have had planning permission to build housing for a good three years or more now. Doesn't stop the rumour mill of the potential of a mosque being built there. Local Lib Dems don't seem to care that the rumours exist or even that the sites remain eyesores for the local community. Clearly, with overwhelming control of the local Borough Council, they could do something about it if they really wanted to. Perhaps, the real priorities are shutting down services and axing neighbourhood wardens.

Credit carrot crunch

I've been talking to people about the market over the last couple of weeks. I've been genuinely surprised about the amount of deep, sincere feeling that the market elicits from local people. Although you come across the sections of the community that no longer go into town either because of mobility issues or just driven out of the Town centre by the prohibitive parking costs, even amongst this group of people there is a significant proportion that passionately care about the market and see it as a key feature of the towns heritage.

I went into the mobile consultation unit on the market square this morning to have a look at the proposals. Many have been commenting positively about the idea of placing a version of the historic fountain as a key feature on the entrance of the square. Aside from that there was a lot of focus on the potential of large and small events on the site rather that the core work of providing a shopping area for fruit, veg, meat, fish and clothing.

The council representative glibley commented that if the town wanted big events "We can close the market when we need to". With the potential loss of the Balloon festival impending the horizon looks like event on the market square and the the eventual ceasation of the market as traders find it hard and hard to survive with the credit crunch and a council unsympathetic to the difficulties of running a business as a local trader.

Delivery in New Duston

It maybe freezing, but delivering leaflets in the New Duston by election does really put a spring in your step. Needless to say I now have evidence on Tories doing it differently. The sight of lonely leafleters doing their own little seemingly unending patch is not something I really ever encourage. What's clear is the Tory presence seems to be from the bright young things from the North of the town (no doubt recruited in by agent David Mackintosh following his spat with Northampton North tories). He's done well in setting them to work even when they are on their own.

I've now had a better look at the Lib dem focus. Maybe it is the fact that being brought up a Bengali, I have a deep understanding of the concept of shame. Lib dem leaflets are what the more generous of us would term "apasancriti" (apologies about the spelling but it's getting it right in Bengali that counts). The correct translation is "anti-cultural" but generally bad guy talk and behaviour. The Lib dems openenly state that "Labour can't win here" when they have never came first or second (finishing seventh and eight behind the independent and SOS at the last Borough elections). They also have a go at no-show Tory councillors. A bit of a farce when they even quote Spencer ward councillors as having"excellent attendance". One of the Spencer councillors has the worst attendance rate in the Council.

Behaving badly

All political parties have people who behave badly in them. However the Liberal democrats in Northampton seem to have a little spate of them at the moment. The leader has had to deal with this

Strictly speaking that car park although used by Councillors for evening meetings in the past was more a resource for the Council to run it's day to day affairs .. the management of the huge Guildhall building ... ensuring that there is good communication across an organisation that is based across a number of sites. In my opinion, quite definately a misuse of Councillor privelidge to leave the car there for months.

Now hot on the heels is an allegation that a Spencer ward Lib Dem Councillor has gained another council house by presenting as homeless. The Councillor in question had previously had a two bed roomed Council House in St. Davids which they had sublet, whilst they lived in their partners Council House. I am advised that the two bed council house offer came within 8 weeks in the precise area of her choosing. Whilst I was a Councillor most of the casework was housing related. It's interesting that this Councillor managed to figure out the system for herself as when she needed ground floor housing for her partners mother who had failing health it was me who had to organise it.

All of this behaviour gives all politicians a bad name and taints those of us that are genuinely in it to get a better Northampton.

With both Roger Conroy and Mel de Cruz (I'll vote for an increase in pay for me despite already earning over £1000 per meeting I attend) unable to do what they say they'd like to do for Spencer, Dallington and Kings Heath, I thought it would be helpful to reflect on who else had promised to deliver for the area. I came across an old leaflets from an erstwhile contender for the Spencer County seat which had the image of Tony Woods currently leader of the Council proclaiming his undying passion for ensuring that the goods were delivered in Spencer. This passion was demonstrated at the Council meeting a few weeks ago where he was quite triumphant about charging the Need 2 Know shop rent for the year even though the Council had agreed to supporting it in the same way as a community centre (without rent). Not to put too fine a point on this, the story about the Lib dems claiming to have saved the Need 2 Know shop appeared on a Kings Heath focus leaflet in April 2007. A lib dem friend so it seems is a fair weathered friend.

Councillors ambition to be lady bountiful

The current to and fro about local councillors pay increases seems to be a story that will run the distance. What is really shocking is the lack of political foresight by so many of the players.

Clearly, offering the people who are employed by the council a 2% pay increase, and offering Borough councillors substanstially more, is a circle that can never be squared. Labour Councillor, Cllr. Joy Capstick was the first Councillor to suggest the only plausible alternative which was to spend it in her own ward.

Strangely, two of the political groups on the Borough (Lib dems and Conservatives) then suggested that they would set up trust funds to distribute the resource. Quite rightly both have been admonished by the effective and efficient Northamptonshire Community Foundation Chief Executive, Victoria Miles here. Given the very work of the Community Foundation which has made real and genuine differences to Northamptonshire communities, particularly in the way that they use funding they receive for leverage (making your pound, two pounds or even three) it's crazy to think about setting something up, unless it was simply to get political leverage. Not what Northampton communities need, not what Northampton communities want.

Why things don't work out

Door knocking in Spencer again yesterday, it was good to see the amount of support we actually had. The turnout of activists was quite a bit more than I expected and so managed to crack through quite a bit of the area. Helal Uddin from Tower Hamlets joined us as an aspirant candidate for the parliamentary selection. With the sun shining it was an exceptionally pleasant afternoon. As an area of town that has recently lost CCTV coverage (previously donated by a private sector source) there still seems to be confusion as to why Council’s still do things badly when there are opportunities to do well. On resident told me, “it’s because it’s a hung council so they can’t make decisions”. I did tell him that in fact the Council stopped being a hung Council over a year ago and actually decisions to implement the CCTV in the first place had been achieved by Labour councillors at the time within the hung Council. The Lib Dem Councillors who controlled the administration had allowed the CCTV to be withdrawn all by themselves.

Ashes to ashes ... and ambition

It's been a hectic time with those younger around me going through exam season.

Over the last few days I've heard of the death of Steve Winder. I worked closely with Steve until he left for the Liberal Democrats, but did come into contact with him as a Director of the organisation I work for. Steve worked hard and didn't take a break. Although he had aspirations (to fight for his community, to fight crime in his area, to become a Councillor) sometimes he was far to accepting of poor treatment he received. In a variety of political enviroments he was just far too accepting not having a position as "one of the favoured few". It always confused me when he clearly had the right skills to challenge - consistency and persistence. This seemed to happen which ever political party he found himself in. In the Labour Party, I and others tried to make it as inclusive as possible ... not quite sure who did in the Liberal Democrats.

His close friend Chris Swinn called me to check that I had details of the funeral and then spent the time asking if I was standing for the County elections. I told him that at this stage I wasn't sure. He then talked about the scenario if I stood for the Northampton South parliamentary seat. It seemed like a big jump from being uncertain about standing for the County Council and I told him so. "Well", he said, "you're ambitious ... and you're missed". I did quiz him a little more about what he meant but it was hard to uncover.