AND THEN THERE WERE 8 - YES EIGHT !

At tonight's Budget Council our Labour amendment (3% increase), inclusive of an amendment we accepted from Cllr Ian Stephens on continuing capital budget slippage, secured EIGHT votes. So that's 2007 - 2; 2008 - 5; and now 2009 - 8. At this rate of increase a Labour budget will be agreed in February 2013.........

Anyway thanks this year to Cllrs Hancock, Joyce and Stephens again for their support a second-year running; and to Cllrs Bishop, Churchman and Humby.

A last minute, fag-packet 'amendment' from the Liberals (see last year) - which wanted to defer budget-making for another 2 weeks until a 'robust and deliverable' budget had been compiled - secured 3 votes - their group leader being absent having been presumably consigned to outer Siberia by his parliamentary candidate for speaking before thinking the other week........

The Conservative proposal for a 3.5% increase in Council Tax - that hammers young people, vulnerable people, and tax payers, and that maintains a County Hall political spin machine at huge public expense - was then voted through by all the 28 Tories present, with 11 votes against - all opposition members present.

WHY WE DO IT......

Last Tuesday I issued for the third successive year on behalf of IW Labour an alternative revenue budget for the IW Council. Once again this alternative is in the public domain well in advance of the Full Council meeting and offers a real alternative to what the Council Tories are proposing. Council finance officer have confirmed that it is a balanced and credible alternative and I hope that we once again get increased support this year.

The other opposition groups - Liberals and independents - have offered nothing so far, which would make it four successive years without anything substantive being offered from those quarters on budgetary matters.

I am asked each year, Why do you do it when you know it will lose ? Deborah and I do it because we feel that being an effective opposition matters in a democracy. Not for us the long sulk of the spurned (aka Island First).

We also do it because we have something to offer. We think offering an alternative budget strategy that does not hammer young people, vulnerable people, and tax payers, that does not maintain a spin machine at huge public expense, is worth doing - and it tells people that whilst Labour may get bad press nationally these days, at a local level there is a living, breathing, and thinking Labour presence that means business. The local Tories know that, which is why they fear us so much to make petty complaints

Having said that getting 6 votes out of 48 next Wednesday would be a success for us this year. It would be one more than last year and would not have depended on 24 non-cabinet Tory sheep steering it through. And you never know this year our Liberal friends might just realise that opposition is a serious business, particularly for those who have serious intentions for the future.

LABOUR COUNCIL BUDGET AMENDMENT - A 'RAINY DAY BUDGET' THAT SAVES ISLANDER'S MONEY

Deborah and I put out the following press release for tomorrow morning:

At the IW Budget Council meeting next week Island Labour councillors will propose a Council Tax increase for this year of 3% ......... 0.5% less than what is proposed by the ruling Conservative administration, and a full 2% below September's RPI on which State Pension increases are based.

The highlights of the Labour Budget amendment (attached), to be proposed by Labour budget spokesperson Cllr Geoff Lumley, are:

1. Reinstatement of £311,000 that the Tories plan to cut from services for people with learning disabilities;

2. Reinstatement of the £128,000 the Tories are planning to cut from the Youth Service;

3. Reinstatement of the £92,000 the Tories are planning to cut from School music lesson subsidies;

4. A £500,000 reduction in the overall efficiency target to help relieve pressure on jobs and a 'no compulsory redundancies' commitment;

5. A £25 increase in the annual Residents Car Park Permit (providing income of £150,000);

6. Cancellation of the expensive and largely unread 'One Island' Council publicity magazine, saving £59,000;

7. Abandonment of the £3/4 million Environment & Neighbourhood Officers scheme, replacing it with a £300k Community Wardens scheme;

8. Doubling the Tory proposals for a reduction in the Councillors Allowances scheme - to £100,000;

9. A £250,000 cutback in the Conservative Council's massively expanded £940,000 Communications operaton;

10. A targeted reduction by 10% in Children's Services Mainland Placements, realising £310,000;

11. Abandonment of Schools Reorganisation, saving £250,000 in extra costs.

Overall these measures will realise £968,000 towards reducing the Council Tax increase and the scale of general efficiencies required.

Labour has also decided that it will for the first time in this 4-year Council propose the use of Council Reserves, in recognition of the impact of the recession on local service delivery. However, rather than using £3.9m as the Tories are proposing, they will reduce this by £250K - to £3.65m - precisely the money saved from abandoning school reorganisation.

Cllr Lumley is likely to say, "Over the last three budgets this Conservative Council have benefited from well above average Government grant settlements and a settled national economy. Even the local Liberal Democrats acknowledge that. At such times sensible people with spare money put plenty aside for the next rainy day. However, this Council has squandered over £20 million of reserves and balances on outside consultants, petty vendettas with senior staff, and shoring up its budgetary incompetence. It now leaves us in the position where we need to use reserves in a limited way in recognition of the recession, though that will leave little room for manoevure the year after next."

He concluded, "For the third year running the Labour Group will have proposed a below inflation increase in Council Tax. The first time we got our own 2 votes, last year we got 5. Maybe this year a few more will come over to our way of thinking, at least in part. The message for June 2009 continues to be 'Island Labour councillors will never be spendthrifts with your money'."

GUILTY, AS DICTATED !

A complaint that I had breached the councillor's code of conduct was made recently. The complaint was about my use of councillor's 'headed paper' for allegedly political purposes. The complaint was made in the last fortnight by the Chairwoman of the IW Conservative Association..........

Under the Council's procedures for standards complaints I was NOT told about this complaint until last Wednesday, AFTER the Standards Committee had considered the complaint and found me guilty. At any minute I half expect the Stasi to break down my front door and hurl me from a ferry into the Solent.

The punishment actually meted out though was to have a Council officer I do not know contact me last Wednesday out of the blue to tell me that they wished to discuss a complaint with me. When I made contact I was advised of the committee's formal decision (no paper copy until Friday) and reminded that I must not use headed paper inappropriately. I thanked the officer for the reminder.

My heinous crime was to introduce myself early last December (by letter on headed paper) to people who will live in the new 'Newport East' ward after June this year. This new ward largely constitutes the ward I currently represent. I guess the offending sentence was, "As a consequence of this Boundary Review, I want to introduce myself to you as the current (Labour) IW Councillor for Pan, who is planning to seek election for Newport East in June 2009. "

I probably am guilty of the breach of code in its strictest sense. However, I object to not having the right to defend myself, to the complaint being formally discussed by people without my knowledge, and to the way the verdict was communicated to me.

I believe that I am a scrupulous councillor in the things that really matter to people. I also believe that I understand what natural justice is and had cause to express my sympathy to a leading Tory councillor 3 years ago after a particularly badly-handled complaint against them.

This has left a very bad taste and I have asked the Labour Group leader to make a formal complaint. I could have kept quiet about it, but I rarely keep silent when anyone has been mistreated - even myself.

PAN: BEST COMMUNITY PROJECT

At the Local Government and Heath Services 'Sustainable Communities' national awards in London last night the Pan Neighbourhood Partnerhip (PNP) was awarded the prize as Best Community Project in the country. This is like winning a BAFTA if you work in these fields of public activity

This was a fantastic award for all those involved - whether it is the small band of PNP staff and their management board members, those in the IW Council responsible for Community Services, the Pan Development Project team, and (not least) the active Pan residents.

The PNP project is now into its fifth year of seven years Government funding for sustainable community development and regeneration. This was evidence that the money has been put to good use over the last 4 years.

As the IW Councillor for Pan and a PNP board member I feel so proud of the excellent work being undertaken within the community.