Whither Europe Now?

I am a confirmed European. The world is too small for the UK to be isolated. Our most important trading partners are in the European Union - a union that has been at peace for all the 66 years of my life. If you don't think that matters go to Berlin, especially East Berlin which is now vibrant, and visit the Russian military cemetery where thousands upon thousands of Russian soldiers were laid to rest - then remember the thousands upon thousands of other Europeans who perished in the second world war.

But the European Union surely needs reform - too much bureaucracy; too much petty legislation; too little connection to you and me, the ordinary citizen; too many politicians with inflated egos; too little understanding of each other's cultures, cultures that should be nurtured and preserved rather than standardised and subsumed in the greater Europe project. And, of course, not enough budget responsibility in some parts. For those of us who believe in compromise in government, our own coalition government seems to be working, albeit in a harsh economic climate. So why didn't the same spirit prevail at the Eurosummit where David Cameron exercised a veto? Was he a poor negotiator, or did the Merkozy axis refuse to compromise?

Huge Council underspend

Council meeting 20/7/11

I am intrigued and somewhat taken aback by the financial outturn figures for 2010-11.

I think the main directorates are to be congratulated:

* Adult & Community Services has come in to within 0.3% of budget, a huge budget of £132m

* Business & Environmental Services is within 0.6% of budget

* Childre & Young People's Services within 1.5% of budget

All within any sensible margin of error.

But then:

Chief Exec’s 8% underspend

Finance and Central Services 17% underspend

Corporate Miscellaneous 23% underspend and that with a curious contingency, obviously unspent of 1.3m

So we end up with an overall underspend of £16.5m. There has clearly been some squirreling away here, notwithstanding government cutbacks.

Oh, and then there is the Area Based Grant (ABG) with another £1.85m underspend, and of course a capital carry forward, i.e underspend against the original plan of £7.8m

If I was one of our dedicated voluntary organisations, which have been squeezed until the pips squeek, or indeed one of those irate library campaign members I would be, to say the least, gobsmacked.

As a result of these underspends the county reserves have increased to £106m from £84m last year. I accept the oft-repeated mantra that reserves can only be used once and therefore shouldn’t be used for revenue expenditure. However, there must be a host of opportunities for one-off expenditure that would alleviate the present economic climate.

And there is a limit to which one can argue that the reserves have to be so large because they cover lots of different areas of expenditure – they are not all going to fail together; insurance companies don’t carry enough cash for all their customers to claim at once. They take a more realistic view and so should the county council.

Vote For Keith Barnes and YES to AV on May 5th

I live in Stray Ward and have represented the area at North Yorkshire County Council since 2005. I am now asking for your vote in the elections to Harrogate Borough Council on May 5th.

At County Hall I chair the Young People’s Scrutiny Committee. This committee reviews and challenges the County Executive on all aspects of Education and Children’s Social Services. I recently resigned as a Governor at Harrogate Grammar School , believing that the school’s decision to become an Academy was unnecessary and reduced funds available to other local schools.

Other activities include:
 Getting action on issues raised by constituents, whether it be bus stops, pot holes, untreated winter roads, excessive parking, ‘puddles’ outside shops, recycling, health visitor workloads, library use etc.
 Campaigning to improve the county council’s support for community transport, especially The Little Red Bus – a lifeline for many.
 Chairing a cross-party group tasked with reviewing the proposed waste treatment plant for the county. Having studied loads of evidence I voted in favour of the plant, believing it to be in the best interests of the people of North Yorkshire.
 Trustee of Essential Needs, the Furniture Re-Use Store behind Leeds Road shops.
 Honorary Treasurer of a Local Housing Association, actively promoting much-needed affordable housing.

We are lucky to live in such an attractive area and it has been a privilege to represent local people, all local people – but let’s not forget there are still local problems and major issues facing the town, the county and beyond. Nationally I am cautiously optimistic about the coalition government. 64% of the Lib Dem manifesto is in the coalition agreement, but please don’t forget that coalition means compromise, sometimes painful ones. Currently I have concerns about the proposed, unnecessary health service reforms and am supporting my parliamentary colleagues in their proposed modifications.

Locally I have registered an objection to the proposed new pharmacy on Leeds Road and am pleased the proposal for a new Sainsbury's nearby has been rejected.

Please give me your support on May 5th ……. And vote Yes for a fairer, more representative voting system, in the referendum on the same day.

The Liberal Democrats are having a remarkable influence in government. 64% of our manifesto is in the coalition programme, and much of it is currently being implemented. If you would like a copy of the 23 page document detailing our influence please let me know. Coalition inevitably means compromise so there are some things we wanted to do but cannot (yet?) achieve. Likewise, of course, there are things the Conservatives would have done had they been on their own in government - things that we oppose, and will continue to oppose. And to make the coalition work, both partners are having to accept things that, on there own , they would reject. Being in government has involved a steep learning curve. The media has been quick to criticise the Libdem role and slow to recognise our achievements. Having said that, the powers that be within the party do recognise the need to improve communication with our supporters and the electorate at large. We have to accept that we are the junior partner and did not win the election - that makes the achievements so far all the more remarkable. And finally, rest assured that in Harrogate and Knaresborough there is no coalition - the Tories are still our political opponents and we are fighting hard to beat them in this May's election. I hope many readers of this blog will help us do so.

The Alternative Vote System is Fairer

Contrary to the View from Westminster (Harrogate Advertiser 28/1/11), under the Alternative Vote (AV) system every vote counts and is much fairer than First Past The Post (FPTP).

It is wrong to suggest that under AV some voters have multiple votes counted, and that the principle of one-man-one-vote is broken. Under FPTP, millions of people across the country know their vote is wasted if they do not support the top two parties in their area – and in very safe seats the same applies if they don’t support the top party.

Under the much fairer and more democratic AV system, if someone’s first choice candidate comes last, that first choice vote is rejected and his or her second preference is used, and so on. This way everyone gets to contribute to the top two candidates’ votes, giving the winning candidate support, and therefore a mandate, from more than half the electorate, unlike the present FPTP system where candidates, and even governments, get elected with very much less than 50% support, leaving millions feeling disenfranchised.

In simply asking voters to rank candidates in order of preference AV is not complicated and it is used universally for all sorts of elections in many organisations. For example, political parties use the AV system to elect their own leaders!

Finally it is true that the Alternative Vote is not a fully proportional system, though a step in that direction. It is a strange argument to stress that AV is not proportional and then go on to express a preference for First Past The Post, which is completely non-proportional.

Waste plant is the best way forward

At the recent Council meeting I voted in favour of the Amey Cespa proposal, a proposal that includes Mechanical Separation, Anaerobic Digestion and Incineration. I respect those who did not. Across our constituency I do not detect a large public view one way or the other.

As a councillor my role is to take an objective view for the good of the community. After 13 half-day meetings, chairing a small working party, I think I have a better grasp of the issues than most, certainly better than most of those who signed the petitions on very little evidence. The working party report is on the North Yorkshire County Council website along with an officers' report listed for last week's council meeting.

A few key points in brief:

I am very much in favour of more recycling, re-use and less wasteful use of resources in the first place. But there will always be some residual waste. Mechanical separation and anaerobic digestion while useful, and part of the AmeyCespa proposal, cannot deal with all residual waste.

AmeyCespa and the banks will finance the new plant. Virtually all commercial risks lie with AmeyCespa. The Councils will pay a competitive gate fee per tonne for residual waste.

The Councils will benefit from any commercial waste going through the plant - the income will be shared with the contractor. The availability of commercial waste provides a buffer for municipal waste and also, as consumers, we have some responsibility for commercial waste.

I am no apologist for the private sector, but the reality is that it provides a very large proportion of our public services. (probably more than I would wish in general, but there is no way I would want the County Council to operate a waste plant.) The task of officers and councillors is to get as good a deal as possible for the public, and I believe that is happening in this case.

The Health Protection Agency and other experts no longer have concerns over health issues.

My position is based on very careful consideration of the evidence and what I consider to be best for the people of North Yorkshire.

Of course others have every right to continue their campaign

In due course I will be very happy to defend my position at the ballot box.

Coalition means compromise

I'm finally back after several months, busy chairing a waste PFI councillors' working group, then chairing the County Council Scrutiny Committee for Children and Young People, and then chairing the local Libdem party. Clearly too much chairing, so I aim to do less of that soon.

There is some consternation at the moment amongst our supporters about the coalition. We have to accept that we didn't win the election and coalition means compromise - we get some of our policies (and we have) but have to put up with some of the policies of the other coalition partner. On balance I think that stops too many extreme policies from any party.

Perhaps we should realise that we have actually been campaigning for years for compromise - proportional representation (PR) is much more likely to deliver a coalition than the present electoral system. Likewise the Alternative Vote (AV) which we all want ..... don't we?