Tories and internships

There's been a lot of press over recent weeks about internships and the buying of privilege..but i bet this one in the New Statesman in February passed you by as well as me...

Tories auction off City internships to raise funds

Supporters pay thousands to get their children work experience in hedge funds and banks.

Apparently, at the £400 a head Black and White Party to raise funds for the Conservative Party, lots, including five work experience opportunities with banks and hedge funds, raised £14,000 in total.

Are we all in this together? We are, unless toy can pay for advancement!

Andrew Lansley Rap

This takes the c out of rap - love the rhyming of "health minister" with" sinister"

COWICK ROSE - April 2011 [Election Special]

The lastest issue of the Cowick Rose has been printed and should be dropping through your letterboxes in the next few days.

The Tories have been spotted

All morning, as I have been out talking to people on the doorstep, my mobile has been ringing as Labour Party members and supporters tell me that the Tories are out and about in Cowick delivering a newsletter.

About time too - it will be nice to find out what their candidate thinks about the issues of concern here in Cowick.

Eventually run into Polsloe Councillor, James Taghdissian [out of his normal suit and tie], and 3 others on Charnley Avenue.

James tries to con us into believing that this is the third newsletter, as previous ones have been strategically targeted.

Let's be clear. Since January I have had regular contact with the electors in Cowick - 3 newsletters AND an election address delivered across the ward, at least 2 targeted direct mailings to Labour supporters, and many additional areas have had letters addressing specific issues in their street.

And don't forget, many of them are available to view on this blog.

In addition, since the begining of the year I have been talking to many, many people - both on the doorstep and by phone, listening to what YOU, the residents of Cowick, think.

City profits from recycling

It has been announced that Exeter's recycling rate has just reached an all-time high of 37%, even though the weight of the city's recycling has actually gone down.

Mike Trim, the Head of Cleansing Services said "people are recycling more, but the weight has gone down slightly, by 280 tonnes on last year, because of the lighter packaging which many manufacturers are now using."

As well as being good news for the environment, it all benefits the City's bank balance, as it made a record £1.42 million from its recycling over the past year - a cash income of £834,000 from recyclets [recycled items] and another £586,000 in recycling credit.

And the amount of grey waste sent to landfill continues to fall. Compared to the previous year, the amount of rubbish sent to landfill has dropped by 1263 tonnes - the equivalent of 3.15 elephants.

Again that's good news for the budget as the City has to pay for any waste that goes to landfill sites.

Mike Trim again: "if we could convince people to recycle more, we could put at least another £200,000 into the city's pot."

Any money raised in this way goes back into the general support fund, and is used to help other services across Exeter. It also helps keep Exeter's Council Tax as one of the lowest in the South West.

Councillor Rob Hannaford, the City's Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure, said: It's fantastic news that the cleansing department have again exceeded expectations, with the help of the public, and raised more funds in this way.

"Despite this exceptional performance, I do still feel that there is a considerable amount of recycling that doesn't happen in the city.

"As figurs show, the more that can be recycled the more council services can be protected, so it is really a 'no-brainer' because recycling is helping the whole community."

So to re-iterate:

RECYCLING brings in income

SENDING WASTE TO LANDFILL costs US money

and FORTNIGHTLY collections brings in more recycling than WEEKLY

City View

One of the joys of tramping the hills of Exeter when canvassing or delivering leaflets, especially West of the Exe, is discovering there are some stunning views of Exeter to be had when out and about in Exwick, Alphington and of course Cowick.

One that particularly took my fancy earlier today was this one of the city, outside the aptly named City View on Wiltshire Close.

But probably the best views in the ward are found at the top of Exonia Park, a residential park of mobile homes.

Bulky waste collection in Cowick

Yesterday I was asked if there were any plans for the collection of bulky waste, as has happened in previous years.

To help Exeter residents dispose of unwanted bulky household items the Council arranges special collection points throughout Exeter between March and October each year. Residents can bring their unwanted bulky household items to these points.

They cannot accept items brought by vehicle to any bulky waste collection, please take them to the Exton Road recycling centre on Marsh Barton operated by Devon County Council.

I am pleased to announce that this scheme will visit Cowick between 9am and 3pm on the following dates:

Saturday 21/05/2011
Merrivale Road junction with Bowhay Lane

Saturday 29/10/2011
Merrivale Road junction Newman Road

If you need items collected between these dates, Exeter City Council operates a service to collect a small number of bulky items from customer's home (furniture, fridges, cookers etc.) for a set charge.

Costs
£15.00 for a single item; £8.00 for each additional item thereafter.

Payment is due in advance of the collection by debit or credit card. Cash payments can by taken at Customer First in Paris Street or Oakwood House in Exton Road.

Collections of a large number of items can be made on an hourly, half or full day basis. Cost is £89.30 per hour plus VAT.
Times
Collections of a small number of items are made on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 7.45am - 9.00am, 9.30am - 11.00am and 12.30pm - 15.00pm.

Collections of a large number of items can be made on an hourly basis on Tuesdays. There is a fridge and white goods collection service on Wednesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.

To take advantage of this service please contact the Council with an on-line form or phone Treasury Services Payments on 01392 277888.

Canvassing with Liam Byrne

Who says that all MPs take it easy during the Parliamentary recess?

Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is holidaying in the South West.

Yet earlier today he took the bus from North Cornwall to Exeter to join Cowick Councillor, Heather Morris, and myself campaigning West of the Exe.

And then of course, after spending several hours with us, he had to travel the 90 mins back to to his family.

Thanks Liam

Exeter Labour Manifesto

Today we publish Exeter Labour Party's Election Manifesto, for the elections on 5th May. The pledges are central to what we wish to achieve over the coming 12 months if we retain control of Exeter City Council.

There are 5 key pledges:

1. A Prosperous Exeter
To extend the success of the Princesshay development through the regeneration of the bus station site and the provision of a new swimming pool located within reach of the city centre.

2. More Housing for Exeter
To provide a supply of high quality, social rented housing within the city. This is against the backdrop of this Tory/Lib Dem government decision to implement swingeing housing cuts.

3. A Greener Exeter
To continue to make Exeter as environmentally friendly as possible. To build on Exeter’s already excellent recycling rates and encouraging further environmental improvements like those being put in place in Cowick Street.

4. More Jobs for Exeter
To encourage the creation of jobs in the city by attracting major businesses such as John Lewis Home and Waitrose and to fund providers of advice for start-up businesses.

5. Better Parks for Exeter
Exeter already has a wonderful range of parks and it is our aim to maintain and extend play facilities and equipment in parks including refurbishing the paddling pools in St Thomas and Heavitree.

In addition, there are another 37 pledges in areas such as Community, Environment, Planning, Transport, Employment, Housing, Equality, and Council Services that we aim to address.

These commitments are to be found on the reverse side of my election address

"We only hear from you at election time"

A common comment I hear as I go knocking on doors is that "we only hear from you at election time".

I had this today, with the additional quote of "you're like the police, never there when we need you".

So let's look at the truth behind the matter.

Here in Cowick there are 2 ward councillors on the City Council elected for a 4 year term, as well as County Councillor for Alphinton and Cowick, again elected every four years.

That means there is an election in Cowick 3 out of 4 years. So, yes you probably do hear from us at election time - as most of the time we are either just before, during or immediately after an election.

There was a Cowick Rose following Cllr Heather Morris' successful election in September.

I was selected to fight the seat in November and since then there have been at least 3 Ward Newsletters along with street letters dealing with very specific issues, as well as knocking on doors and phone canvassing.

Now in Cowick there are some 4300 electors living in approximately 2300 properties. That's a lot of people to get around and see. I will admit I'm only going to meet a proportion of them - but I'm doing my best.

But communication is a two-way street. All my election literature gives my contact details [address, phone and e-mail] as well as that of the local Labour Councillor, Heather Morris. Please do tell us if there are things that are bothering you.

Buddle Lane Youth Centre

Buddle Lane Youth Centre - confusing situated on Merrivale Road - held a fun day today, supported by a grant of £300 from Cowick Labour Councillor, Heather Morris.

A great time was held by all, with a free BBQ, cookery demonstrations, a treasure hunt and displays of karate, break dancing and music.

Why the Y?

Exeter is often strange in its approach to street numbering and naming. I pity the poor postman - and deliverers of election material.

The usual convention of opposite sides of the road being odds and evens is often flouted by consecutive numbers - neighouring streets are often a mixture of odds/evens and consecutive, Who decides this?

Then there is the case of the first or last house in a street not being in the correct street, but in the street around the corner. To my way of thinking, 1 Sussex Close is actually in Somerset Drive.

Or the case - like Croft Close - where the street is a loop, with odds [or evens] on the outside of the loop and evens [or odds] the roundabout-like inner side.

But I'm still at a loss to explain the convention found in Barley Farm Road - it's a Y, with the 2 arms joining up with Berkshire Drive, and the foot forming a junction with barley Lane. WHY?

Here all the roads you see are Barley Farm Road.

Road works on Barley Farm Road

Over the past few months, Labour Councillor for Cowick on Exeter City Council, Heather Morris, has been chasing Devon County Council following complaints regarding the road resurfacing work undertaken in Barley Farm Road.

We have now received the following information from Devon County Council:-
The condition of the Micro Asphalt is an ongoing problem, the extremely low winter temperatures has resulted in a high of failure on a number of sites across the county. Both our Lab and the Contractor are investigating the reason for this and until the root cause of the problem is established or the surface stabilises the Contractor is carrying out frequent sweeps to remove excess chippings.

A letter has been delivered to all residents on Barley Farm Road and more will follow on this subject as and when we know anything else...

Valid Nomination

Monday was the closing date for nominations for the City Council elections on 5th May - I had already received a letter informing me that my nomination was valid.

But today I found out who the opposition are.

And with the Statement of Persons Nominated I am probably none the wiser. Are you?

Voter ID

Over the coming weeks leading up to Polling Day on Thursday 5th May, I will be continuing the work I've been doing since the beginning of the year - being out and about in Cowick, talking to local residents about local issues and concerns and trying to find out if they are planning to vote for me.

Traditionally this is known as canvassing but it really is a form of surveying - in the new terminology of the Labour Party, Voter ID.

We don't spend time trying to convince them to vote Labour or change their minds, just get an idea of any local issues - or national - that bother them and an indication of their usual political allegiance and how they plan to vote in May.

Some residents will remind us that it is a secret ballot and that their voting intentions are a matter "between them and the ballot box" and I fully respect this element of democracy - but many more are prepared to tell us which way they vote, or if not directly, tell us "NOT Labour".

I ask them about local issues first, and then which way they vote. Some people are confused by this when they say they're against - surely I should have asked which party they support before I question them about local issues.

NO, NO, NO. Helping people with difficulties crosses party boundaries. It doesn't matter if you vote Labour, Lib Dem, Tory, extremist party or even not vote at all. I will do my best to help resolve local issues whatever way they vote. My duty in these matters will be to ALL local residents, whatever their political persuasion.

Sometimes we will canvass everyone regardless of their previous political affiliation but mostly we focus our efforts in contacting people we already know are favourable to us politically or those about whom we know nothing.

And what do we do with this information?

We use it to allow us to target some direct mailings at Labour supporters and unknowns, and on polling day it helps us concentrate our efforts on ensuring that those that have promised to vote for me actually come out and vote.

It's official - I'm the Labour and Co-op Party Candidate

I've had my letter from Exeter City Council Returning Officer, Philip Bostock, comfirming that my nomination is valid.

I am now the official Labour and Co-operative Party Candidate.