So, the results are in...

...and they weren't for me. That said, 298 votes is a lot more than I dared expect, and I only just missed out on beating the Lib Dem into fourth place. Best wishes to the re-elected councillors- John Squire and Basil Cane- for the next four years and thanks to those people who did vote for me.

There are several things that struck me about the results: first of all, most people either voted for both Conservative candidates or only one of the others- which suggests that they either didn't want to vote for more than one (and wanted to maximise their candidate's chance) or they were using it as an anti-Tory protest vote: the non-Conservative candidates got roughly the same number of votes combined.

Secondly, the willingness of people to vote for candidates who did no campaigning at all, either because of tribal political loyalty or because they see local elections as a way of passing a verdict on government. Admittedly, I could-and should- have done more, but it amazes me that some candidates take an election so lightly that they don't bother and still get a fair few votes.

Finally, when they were shaking the ballot boxes out and sorting the papers into bundles, it was apparent that a substantial chunk of the votes in Brixton weren't for the two winning candidates- far less so in the other two boxes- which suggests that an election in Brixton would be far closer than it would be in a combined Wembury and Brixton ward: there could be a number of reasons for this. Given the willingness people in Yealmpton and Newton and Noss showed in booting out sitting parties, it might have led to a completely different result.

Wembury and Brixton: where's the link?

It's always struck me as being a bit odd that two completely separate villages with different issues, priorities and community features have been lumped together as one council ward. I remember at the time it happpened that there was some opposition, and when I've been out and about in Brixton this week, a few people have picked up on it, and they don't seem very happy.

The story, basically, is this: until 1999, Brixton had one councillor and Wembury had two. The Boundary Commission reviewed the situation in 1997 (there is a link at the bottom, you need page 22) and decided that to even out the population distribution, the two wards would be combined and have only two councillors. At the same time they cut the number of councillors from 44 to 40- meaning that not only did we lose out, but the voters in the district lost their representatives on the whim of an unelected body. Despite clear objections from both sides, and an expressed desire by Brixton Parish Council to be in with Yealmpton- which would be far more logical- a bad decision was made.

Fast forward to 2007, and it is obvious that this needs to be looked at again. I think that Brixton needs- deserves- it's own representative, either alone or with Yealmpton, particularly with a whole new town being built on it's doorstep.

The two communities- apart from being several miles apart- have little in common and no real shared sense of community, unlike Brixton and Yealmpton (which you can walk between. Ever tried walking from Brixton to Wembury?). Brixton is a older village whereas Wembury is a more modern creation- OK, Down Thomas isn't but Wembury village and Heybrook Bay are. Brixton hasn't gone through the same redevelopments that Wembury has in recent years. Brixton has industry and an agricultural hinterland. And so on.

This unfairness needs to be sorted out- both sides are losing out. I will campaign for Brixton to get it's own councillor once again.

http://www.boundarycommittee.org.uk/files/dms/devon-south-hams_6439-6043__E__.pdf

Bins: are they a load of rubbish?

Lots of people have been talking about the bins, and whether having them collected once a fortnight will lead to problems in the summer. Mine was definitely a bit fruity when it was warm last week! I know that a lot of people- including me- don't buy the government's line that fortnightly collections are OK, and suspect that it's a money saving thing.

I was struck by a letter in the Daily Telegraph last Saturday from the leader of Chelmsford Council, Cllr Roy Whitehead. The link is below. He argues that weekly collections are not only nicer and more hygienic, but that they encourage people to recycle more.

We're all keen on recycling for all kinds of reasons, but I think that the way that some councils approach it is not the best: I'm quite keen on having a box or really tough bag for garden waste (think of those brambles) similar to the ones people in Plymouth have, and using plastic crates for cans, bottles and paper: this would cut down on all those multi-coloured plastic bags we use in the South Hams- far more environmentally friendly.

South Hams DC has made some really good progress- ninth best in the country for recylcing and so on- but needs to look again at things. It's an ongoing thing, but I think looking at re-usable boxes is the way ahead.

And we need to get rid of those fortnightly bin collections, before we think the whole thing is a load of rubbish.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/04/21/nosplit/dt2101.xml#head2

And some stuff on the South Hams

On to South Hams- which is the really important one for a fair chunk of people- we need to look at a whole set of stuff: affordable housing has to be the main aim, especially with the Sherford expansion- as I say above, the very thing that makes the South Hams such a nice place to live is in danger of killing it- and to be fair, the district council have it as their top priority. The problem is that the current system- of housing ‘associations’- is basically a re-tread of the municipal housing of yesteryear. No one wants to live in a council house (that they’ll admit anyway), and whatever they say, these organisations are basically taxpayer funded with, in many cases, no right to buy for a long set period. The government- including the previous one- is to blame for this: serious encouragement of old style almshouses is needed, but that is coupled with a proper reform of the benefits system- something way outside the remit of local councils, sadly. The problem is made worse by the money that is meant to go to affordable housing from the increased tax on second homes being stolen by Devon County Council so the Liberal Democrats can fund their expensive promises. At the same time, we need to seriously start regenerating the local economy: there are so many opportunities here in Wembury and Brixton to start developing local businesses, and encourage a new set of entrepreneurs. To make the South Hams viable, and not a haven for retired people who won’t be working or for people with yachts or second homes who happen to appear every so often, we need to do several things: the first is to create a land bank of suitable sites for development across the district- we can’t try and ‘zone’ things anymore. The second is to try and attract high wage light industry to the area, and the third to develop the local food industry more: at the moment, we’re very keen in promoting a relatively small number of producers. We need to promote a lot more to make our area seriously viable. At the same time, we need to be careful that we don’t fall into the ‘arts led regeneration’ trap- once the public money runs out what happens?-, or focus too much on tourism- we need to diversify and start putting things in the easily accessible A38 corridor, possibly around the Langage Energy Park.

The other major thing- the elephant in the room, really- is Sherford. The time for whinging has gone: it’s happening now, and we have to make the best fist of it. There will be a whole set of new local facilities there, and we have a reasonable chance of shaping what happens. The people still shouting can be left behind: it is too late and they have missed the boat. I’d rather have a whole in the head than have a whole new town, but the challenge now has several sides: with a new secondary school, pressure on Ivybridge can be relieved- which will potentially create a whole new community focus away from Plymouth. At the same time, there will be the opportunity for economic development in easy reach of the ports and the Devon Expressway, and reasonable quality housing that massive chunks of our end of the district lack, as well as some renewable power and park-and-ride space that could end up being really useful, and a test bed for further plans. The other major side to this is the expansion of Plymouth: without question, Plymouth City Council will have their eagle eye on this, and may try and grab Wembury and Brixton in the next ten years: remember that until the late 1960s Wembury and Brixton were part of Plympton- not that long ago.

At the same time, I’m going to push like hell for local independence: we are far too centralised in this country. I’m not in favour of an extra tier of regional assemblies- unless we’re going to throttle national government back so that it barely does anything- but I do want to see locally elected police chiefs, locally enforced penalties for anti-social crimes, more powers for parish councils, locally accountable health services, an end to pointless and expensive government targets and a whopping great overhaul of council tax so what we pay in actually reflects what we get. We need more freedom for local people to decide what is best for them using their money.

Finally, council tax is too high- perversely, the council that collects it is the one that gets almost nothing from it. I will vote against any increase in council tax.

If I am elected in May, low taxes, affordable housing, a sustainable local economy and a serious engagement with the Sherford development will be top of my list.

My ideas for Wembury Parish Council

Four years ago I was elected to Wembury Parish Council and am running re-election and for election to South Hams District Council this year. I've always thought it was a pity to be elected unopposed- something that hopefully won't happen this time- because I wanted to see some real ideas come out.

Four years later on, what have I achieved? My manifesto covered only a few things: I wanted no rise at all in the Parish precept- the bit of the council tax we get-, to relocate the village hall, school and doctor's surgery onto one site and to sort out the state of the pavements and footpaths. That was about it.

What's happened? This year, I was very proud to propose at Finance Committee a zero rise in the precept which is a cut in real terms- and only couldn't cut spending because of the cost of training new councillors. The village hall/school moving plan is being investigated by the County Council- mainly because the school really needs to be sorted out, and real progress has been made with the pavements and footpaths. I'm not going to claim it's a brilliant record in office but I do think it's pretty good. I’m also not going to claim credit, but it is important that these things get bumped up the priority list. So, what now? The parish council needs to reassess it's priorities: this year, I will be pushing for a separate planning committee to give things the serious going over that residents deserve, as well as a broader restructuring of the council so that members hold portfolios related to each other: it's crazy that one person is the contact with the other councils on highways and one is the contact for footpaths. I'd also like to see the council focus more on promoting local businesses: we have some amazing businesses in Wembury and Brixton that have real potential to grow and help keep young people in the area: at the moment we're in danger of becoming God's waiting room and, perversely, the very thing that attracts so many people to live here is also killing the area. We need to couple this with affordable housing. On top of that, I will be pushing for an absolute cut in the precept and promise to vote for no increase under any circumstances.

Basically, this time my manifesto will be focussed on reforming the council, affordable housing- with house prices now nudging the 300k mark, we need to seriously get moving on this- and making sure we have a sustainable and decent economy here in Wembury and Brixton.

So, here it is...

Yes, after much nagging and procrastinating, here is my blog. Expect more in the coming days as I work out how to use it!