Glenn Goodall

Last Tuesdays full Council meeting was interesting to say the least!

This was the first meeting with our Coalition running the show, and the down-beat faces of the Labour party members said it all.

It was also very clear that the two coalition groups worked very well together. This may seem strange to some (and even to me at times) but after years of Labour totalitarianism, both groups want to make changes for the better and for the good of Reading.

The first order of business:

The first item dealt with the ‘Coalition agreement‘ and, predictably, Labour had a large number of sour amendments. Each of these tried to pin the Coalition down to either an uncosted spending commitment or policy fitting Labours agenda.

However, with no attempt by Labour to discuss these amendments in advance and the fact that there were 5 (one Lib Dem was away, would usually be 6) more coalition members than Labour - this was a doomed strategy from the start!

One amendment called for increasing recycling rates. Since, under Labour, this level had only hit 30 % with other councils nearby hitting 60+% I felt this was a ‘too little too late’ gesture.  Equally, Labour had an outdated ‘one size fits all’ attitude, so the prospect of some area’s getting weekly collections was too much for them! Their ex-Environment lead said:

“residents would will get lazy if we have weekly collections”

Also during one of the debates, one seasoned Labour Councillor called the Lib Dems ‘prisoners of the Tories’ and then compared the Lib Dem group to NAZI collaborators! This was a shameful display and just shows how desperate Labour have become.

The ex-Deputy Leader of the Council stated that:

“[the Coalition have] got a lot of work to do”

Too right! Labour have left the finances in a right state and had put off making several key decisions!

The next best line from the night came from the ex-Leader of the Council who said that:

“the budget deficit is not that bad”

Yes love, the economy is SO rosey and we’ve never had it so good! Hmmmm…

Each amendment failed, some debates were closed down after going round in circles for some time, much to the protest of Labour members. Although this wasn’t ideal, the item was heard for 1 and half hours so I think they had ample time.

The finally the item passed 25 to 20.

Rest of the Business:

The next seven items passed fairly smoothly and included licensing strip clubs, finally adopting the long awaited Tree Strategy and some other procedural items.

Then it came to the motions to Council - all from Labour.

One was on the Royal mails decision to  stop using bikes to deliver post. Improving Reading for cycling is one of the Coalitions core points so this was of great interest. Unfortunately, the motion proposer seemed more interested in the views of the union reps than that of the actual workers… Labours old politics continues.

Another interesting motion spoke about signing up to Friends of the Earth’s ‘get serious about CO2′ campaign. Something I, and other Lib Dem members, have already signed up to as an individual. After having several motions of this type kicked back by Labour - this was interesting to see.

New Lead Councillor for Environment, Warren Swaine, amended this to show what the new Coalition had planned. Unlike Labour aspirations, the Coalition will actively go for measures to limit climate change. The time for gestures is over and its time for action!

The lone Green party member gave a speech at this point saying:

“..if people want me to vote for their amendments they should show me in advance”

May be if he held the balance of power or opened up a dialogue with us, rather than just with Labour, we would. But he has clearly pinned his colours to the Labour mast by voting with them at every opportunity and having a joint protest out side the Civic. Which is all actually quite disappointing because I was actually looking forward to a true independent on the Council - critisising and scrutinising the Leading group and the opposition. But from the performance that night - there would seem to be 20 Labour councillors…

He then described the amendment as

“fiddling round the edges”

I would suggest he look at his Labour chums track record as a comparison, before passing judgement!

The meeting ended at a little after 11pm…

I look forward to the next meeting, but its not till  October.

This may be old new to some, but I thought I should mention it…

Under the Lib Dem and Conservative coalition gov’t there will be no third runway expansion at Heathrow and the plans have been formally cancelled!

Both the Conservative and Lib Dem manifestos had pledges to scrap the third runway, while Labour fully supported the scheme.

In addition, any further runway expansions at Gatwick and Stansted have been refused. Also the Air Passenger Duty will be replacement of with a per flight duty - as per the Liberal Democrat manifesto.

This should have a major impact on delaying climate-change, but there is still a very long way to go…

So, it’s happened and the Coalition have put forwards their emergency budget. I’m sure we will hear countless Labour supports shouting “wont someone think of the children.”  But the facts are that after years of Labour rule they have left our country with a mountain of debt. Every minute gov’t has to spend an eye-watering £80,000 interest on the national debt racked up by Labour, that’s over £800 million a week. If action wasn’t taken now then the markets would force us into even more drastic measures as they have in Greece and Spain.

Look through the Budget and you will see key policies Liberal Democrats campaigned for being put into effect. Also, these measures will ensure that the burden of deficit reduction is shared fairly across society:

• The £1,000 increase in the Income Tax allowance will mean that 880,000 low paid workers will be freed from Income Tax altogether. This is the first step towards delivering the Lib Dem manifesto commitment to ensure no-one pays tax on the first £10,000 they earn.
• The Budget puts in place the Lib Dem promise of a new tax on banks, ensuring that they help to pay to clear up the mess left by the financial crisis.
• Top earners will pay a full 10% more in Capital Gains Tax than under Labour, with no loopholes or tapers or get-out clauses. That change helps ensure those with the broadest shoulders take the greatest strain.
• The Coalition will guarantee that pensioners get a fair deal, putting into effect the Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment for a “triple lock”, so state pensions rise every year in line with earnings, inflation, or by 2.5%, whichever is the highest. Never again will pensioners be allowed to fall behind.
• The Coalition Government will not let regions, towns or cities that depend heavily on the public sector be forgotten. That’s why this Budget establishes a regional growth fund to ensure those parts of the country get meaningful support to help create jobs and opportunities for all.
• Tackling Child Poverty remains at the heart of the government’s approach (something Labour did very little about). So while the Coalition have decided to cut child tax credits for those who can most afford it, they have increased tax credits for the poorest families and put up to £2 billion into child tax credits to help ensure children of all backgrounds get a fair start in life.

That said, I am not too happy about 20 % VAT but it has to happen, I guess. Likewise, I doubt many Labour supporters were very impressed with top-up fees when they were introduced!

Oh, and what happened to the £10,000 tax free allowance? Well, that little gem was always going to be staggered.

Honestly, I believe it’s better to have this Lib/Con Coalition gov’t in power than a Labour or Conservative minority government. They would have lost the budget and there would have been had another election. The Coalition can use the best ideas from two parties in order to tackle national debt, rather than have the same tired ideas from Labour.

Frankly, the economy is in a shocking state thanks to Labours mismanagement, and now it’s down to the Coalition to sort it out!

Harriet Harman asked the Lib Dems “how could they let down everyone who voted for them?” I am pretty sure that everyone in Labour knows too well how that is done…

——

Update: See what WAS has to say on VAT.

Despite the highly negative comments from Labour and the Green Party members regarding the local coalition and how it will be cutting every service ever… “Oh wont some one think of the children”… actually the truth is a little different.

Our joint coalition agreement has now been published so now we can be judged by our words and actions over the coming year.

Under ‘Finances and Efficiency’ there is a clear statement:

“Any cost savings will be prioritised in back office functions before front line services.”

So, in fact, no axes will be falling on child services, for example, in the first few days of the Admin… despite what the united opposition say!

At first this coalition made me feel uncomfortable, but then I realised that the negotiations were very two-way (unlike the ones with Labour) and what I was hearing about the themes of the agreement were great.

That coupled with the fact that there were already several Tories I felt I would be able to work with, brought me round to my current position.

Now the agreement is published there isn’t anything I’m not happy about, for instance:

“We will introduce a council tax freeze for 2011/12 to reduce the burden on residents.”

You may remember that we supported the Conservative proposals for a council tax freeze… but Labour shenanigans put a stop to that! Now with the full use of council resources this should be an achievable goal.

Under the ‘Environment’ heading it states:

“we will introduce weekly refuse collection in priority areas (e.g. those with a large proportion of terraced housing) in a phased programme in consultation with residents”

Now, initially I was dead against this when I heard about it before the election. But if used as part of a ‘one-size-DOESN’T-fit-all’ approach to bin collection then I’m all for it. There are some area’s in Reading which could benefit from this… but this links in nicely with the next point:

“we will review what can be collected/recycled at the kerbside (e.g. glass, food waste)”

Which is something we Lib Dems have been campaigning for! The MERF at Rivermead recycling centre can be upgraded to be capable of handling glass and, most importantly, separating glass into separate colours. So glass could go directly into the red bins.

Next:

“we will work to improve street cleaning Borough-wide”

This is a bug-bare of ours for a while. Our streets are often full of litter or leaves… something which really brings an area down.

…and then:

“we will promote the climate change agenda as a high priority”

10:10 No longer just a Labour aspiration, but we will actually do more to achieve it earlier. We have been speaking to our Lib Dem colleagues who run Eastleigh Council… one of the greenest Councils in the country.

Under the ‘Communities’ heading, I particularly like:

“we believe community cohesion is important and that there should be a Reading-wide approach to achieving this, rather than an agenda which focuses on any one community”

and…

“we will enhance joint working with other agencies to reduce crime across Reading”

Then under the ‘Housing’ heading:

“we will focus on speeding up the provision of affordable housing to address chronic housing need”

“we will use powers available to reduce the number of empty homes and improve quality in the rented sector”

Both things we Lib Dems, and in particular Cllr Daisy Benson, has been campaigning for. The fact that minor parties have jumped on this bandwagon now is surely a good thing.

So, not such a bad coalition after all. The new Cabinet is filled with some new and talented people, filled with fresh ideas and the drive to make Reading better.

Yesterday evening at the AGM of Reading Borough Council, 24 years of failed Labour rule came to an end. A new joint administration between the Lib Dem and Conservative groups, or as it has been childishly referred to as the Con/Dem group, was officially voted in. Having allowed Labour to have a minority administration for 2 year, both our groups had had enough!

However, Labour didn’t go into opposition without a bit of sulk fight. When it came to voting in Cllr Andrew Cumpsty as Leader of the council, Labour called for a recorded vote… which went along the lines of: All Lib Dem and Conservative Councillors voting ‘for’ and all Labour Councillors voting ‘against’. Interestingly, the only Green Party Councillor, Rob White, voted with Labour and against Cumpsty being Leader. In the next item, Lib Dems and Conservatives voted ‘for’ Cllr Kirsten Bayes being Deputy Leader and the following Cabinet positions:

• Finance & Service Improvement – Cllr David Stevens (Con)
• Communities, Voluntary Sector, Economic Development & Performance – Cllr Mike Townend (Con)
• Culture & Sport – Cllr Tom Stanway (Con)
• Education & Children’s Services – Cllr Mark Ralph (Con)
• Environment & Sustainability – Cllr Warren Swaine (Lib Dem)
• Community Care, Housing & Health – Cllr Daisy Benson (Lib Dem)
• Strategic Planning & Transport – Cllr Richard Willis (Con)

But again, Labour and the Green Party member voted against. So Rob White clearly pinning his colours to a Labour mast here! All I have to say is watermelon… but time will tell.

Next Labour put forward an amendment to the Item which sorts out who chairs which committee. The Coalition had decided that Scrutiny panels would elect their own Chairs at their first meeting and that the following positions would be appointed:

• Licensing – Cllr Jeanette Skeats (Cons) / Vice Chmn – Cllr Glenn Goodall (Lib Dem - and me!!!)
• Planning – Cllr Isobel Ballsdon (Cons) / Vice Chmn – Cllr Kirsten Bayes (Lib Dem)
• Personnel – Cllr Kirsten Bayes (Lib Dem) / Vice Chmn – Cllr Tom Steele (Cons)
• Standards – Mr J Hicks / Vice Chmn – Cllr Peter Beard (Lib Dem

This is designed to make the panels more democratic and less like the Labour system of appointing Chairs.

In the past this has led to Labour running the administration and chairing the panels which scrutinise that administration… Not really democratic.

Since the Council became NoC 2 years ago, Labour have ‘allowed’ opposition Councillors to chair scrutiny. It is my view that these posts should be held by opposition Councillors. However, by the panels voting for them means that they will be held by the Councillors that the panels have the most confidence in as well! Win, win?

So Labours amendment  called for this vote to be taken in public with a show of hands - which is fine, but frankly I’m not bothered how these Chairpersons are voted for. This motion failed, and I thought at the time “welcome to our world”. Labour would often vote down Lib Dem amendments in Full Council just because they could! - I didn’t manage to see how Rob White voted on this, I was told he voted with Labour but I can’t confirm that.

“I, for one, welcome our new overlords” - Kent Brockman 

Initially, I was sceptical of this new alliance but when I realised how civil and honest the negotiations had been, what the Conservatives were offering us and the lack of any change on Labours arrogant “business as usual” stance - It seemed to make a lot of sense.

Also, much has been made of potential cuts to front-lines services. In the next few days/weeks the details of the local coalition agreement will be released, and these simplistic accusations can finally be put to bed. The Lib Dem group was, and is, dead against cuts of this type and our Conservative colleagues feel the same way!

In essence, the coalition will have a new and fresh approach to local politics and running the Town. I’m hopeful that we will do the best we can to make Reading better for its residents.

So, quite a day and afterwards it was really nice to get to know more of our new Conservative allies… Even chatted to the odd Labour Councillor who were, on the whole, a bit down beat.

At times like these you need a quote from the West Wing:

Bartlet: We agree on nothing, Max.

Senator Lobell: Yes, sir.

Bartlet: Education, guns, drugs, school prayer, gays, defense spending, taxes - you name it, we disagree.

Senator Lobell: You know why?

Bartlet: Because I’m a lily-livered, bleeding-heart, liberal, egghead communist.

Senator Lobell: Yes, sir. And I’m a gun-toting, redneck son-of-a-bitch.

Bartlet: Yes, you are.

Senator Lobell: We agree about that.

———

Also see posts from Warren and Richard.

So I’m continuing to look at the coalition agreement and the bit on Civil Liberties is surprisingly good…

In a nutshell, the coalition aims to wind back on some of the authoritarian and intrusive measures Labour had introduced. A lot of this is very Liberal Democrat inspired (the clue is in the name, you know). Although I’m sure the Tories were shirting round the edges, I think the Lib Dem influence has helped them to go down the right path

These include:

• A Freedom or Great Repeal Bill. [need to watch this one - better not involve revoking the Human rights act!]
• The scrapping of ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the Contact Point Database. [YAY!!!]
• Outlawing the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.[sound Lib Dem? Cos it is]
• The extension of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.
• Adopting the protections of the Scottish model for the DNA database.
• The protection of historic freedoms through the defence of trial by jury. [Take that Labour!]
• The restoration of rights to non-violent protest. [Woop!]
• The review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.
• Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation. [Cos Labour obviously never meant them to be used on me and you, did they? lol]
• Further regulation of CCTV.
• Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.
• A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.

So a bag of goodies that I think the coalition will do very well to get sorted in five years. I would go as far as to say this makes me a LOT happier about the coalition.