Campaigning in Aldridge

Just returned from campaigning out and about in Aldridge. We split our time between the Coppy Hall estate canvassing residents and then moved onto Aldridge Town Centre. I joined Anthea Mcintyre and Dan Dalton who are Conservative MEP candidates and also Councillors John Rochelle, Eddie Hughes and Keith Sears – plus other activists. The weather was good, people’s spirits are high and we were well received by people. Clearly MPs expenses has had an impact on everyone but I think although people are rightly angry about this issue, most acknowledge that we have a very hard working and principled MP in Richard Shepherd. I hope he will consider standing for Speaker of the House of Commons – we need someone to defend the rights of people in the Commons, just as he has done for us in Aldridge-Brownhills for thirty years.

Enjoy your bank holiday – lets hope the sun continues to shine!

Follow up and bail hostel

Well I didn’t expect to have over 400 page hits over the last 24 hours! I’ve had an interesting mix of messages from councillors and the public. Two things and then i’m moving on:

- An experienced Northampton Borough councillor once said to me, “I like to believe in something and debate policy as much as the next but it shouldn’t get personal and we should be able to go to the pub afterwards and still be able to have a pint together.”

- My message to people on Children’s Services – i’ve been in the job just 25 hours. Please give me the time and the chance to get to know it and do something with it.

Moving onto Aldridge North – I attended another protest outside of the bail hostel on Saturday. Residents are determined to keep the pressure on the Probation Service. Cllr Garry Perry has posted about it on his blog and he will ensure that it is kept on the Safer Borough Partnership agenda until it is closed.

There is some confusion over a meeting with the bail hostel people. I haven’t received an invitation, nor have the other elected representatives. I find that a bit odd seeing as the Probation Service spokesperson said we had been in the Express and Star.

In the meantime I am trying to set up a meeting with the Council, Probation Service and Ministry of Justice to see if we can breathe some life into their idea – now of two years ago – to look for an alternative site. Work in progress… will keep you updated.

Possibly the worst Council meeting yet

I’ve just come back from a meeting of Full Council and return feeling completely deflated.

I guess I thought i’d return full of enthusiam as tonight is the night Council appointed me as Cabinet Member for Children’s Services. What a fantastic opportunity – both for me and for all young people and children in the Borough!

This was a massive portfolio so the Leader has decided to take Building Schools for the Future out of the portfolio and into the hands of Regeneration. The Leader has also decided that he will personally deal with the issues around Sneyd School, because it is such an important issue. As such therefore this issue is largely in the hands of the Leader. This then gives me time to learn about Children’s Services – education, child care, adoption, contract management, youth services… the list goes on! Hopefully when I get to grips with it I can begin to have a positive impact.

As the saying goes “you can’t eat an elephant in one sitting” so i’ll be doing what I can to learn about the portfolio section by section over the next few weeks and months. I’ll post more about this position and my hopes another time and focus back on the Council meeting.

What I witnessed today was nothing less than shameful. Councillors shouted down councillors, councillors spoke and others heckled so loud they couldn’t be heard, councillors picked arguments with the Mayor, the public gallery booed councillors as they voted name by name and tried to shout down speakers. Councillors of all parties joined in. One councillor who made his maiden speech was heckled and jeered – even in the Commons people get a chance with their maiden speech. I just didn’t get it. It didn’t achieve anything.

I sat there and genuinely wondered why i’d become a councillor. We’re all supposed to be “corporate parents”, community leaders and role models and yet the behaviour from many people was bullying and intimidating. If the people of Walsall had seen it then none of the 60 of us would be reelected. Some people must think its a bit of fun but if teachers held staff meetings like that or children behaved in a classroom like that then there would be serious consequences. Why would any person give up their evening to sit there and accept that behaviour? I just hope other Council meetings don’t head that way or I may think twice about my participation in them.

Planning permission granted for mining memorial

The final administrative hurdle has been passed for the Walsall Wood Mining Memorial to be build on Oak Park. Planning permission was granted by the planning authority yesterday. Coupled with Council’s decision to give permission for it to be built on the land then it should be all systems go! Will post an update as and when.

All change on Walsall Council’s Conservative Group

The Council’s thirty-four Conservative councillors met on Friday evening to elect a new leader, deputy leader, treasurer and secretary for the group. Cllr John O’Hare was stepping down as leader to take up position as the Borough’s Mayor.

The group elected Cllr Mike Bird as Leader, Cllr Adrian Andrew as deputy leader, Cllr Rose Martin as treasurer and Cllr Barbara McCracken as secretary.

As the Conservatives have thirty-four seats out of sixty the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group will also become Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council (subject to a vote at Full Council).

It is also Mike Bird’s job to select the cabinet – a group of councillors who take the executive policy decisions and look after a portfolio/department. I was suprised to receive a call from Mike on Saturday morning to ask me to join the cabinet as the portfolio holder for Children’s Services and Young People. This is also subject to a vote at Council.

Some people may think I am a little young to be on the cabinet but it is only by doing a job and getting stuck in that one can gain experience. I won’t be perfect at the job (who is?!) but I will do my best.

The Conservative group meet again on Wednesday to iron out the committee places and chairmanships. There will be some changes for Aldridge North and Walsall Wood as I will no longer take a place on the Development Control committee this year – Keith or Anthony will take over. I also won’t be on Corporate Scrutiny anymore – a committee i’ve really enjoyed – but hope to still get involved with the communication and new media working group.

So all change and some interesting challenges ahead. My first question to readers then – what do you think of Children’s Services in Walsall? What works, what doesn’t work and what should I look at first?

New job…

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while. I started a new job two weeks ago and i’m still settling in. It is now the end of the municipal year so when I post next i’ll explain the party political group structure and what happens at our Annual General Meeting on Friday when we pick the new Leader of the Conservative Group, who will in turn become leader of Walsall Council. If you have any questions on this then post in the comments and i’ll try and address them in my post.