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12th January 2007 Choosing Our Candidate
I’d like to start by wishing you all a happy, healthy & prosperous New Year.
Last night, we selected our candidate to contest the newly formed Elmet & Rothwell constituency at the next General Election. We selected our candidate in a new way, by means of an open primary. Any registered elector within the new constituency boundary was entitled to come along, ask questions and vote for their preferred candidate. The meeting was absolutely packed with a roughly fifty – fifty split of members of the party and non members.
There is no doubt that the evening was a huge success and I am certain that the candidate we chose, Cllr Alec Shelbrooke, will make an excellent candidate and an excellent MP after the next General Election. Alec is a local councillor and has lived in the constituency for many years. I am really looking forward to working with him and to ensure that he is elected as part of the next Conservative Government.
The new constituency is made up of the following Leeds City Council wards; Harewood, Garforth & Swillington, Kippax & Methley, Wetherby & Rothwell. Cross Gates & Whinmoor, which were part of the old Elmet Constituency, will now be part of Leeds East. I think the changes will make this constituency more marginal than ever and even the Lib Dems may feel as if they have an outside chance.
On a personal note, I’d like to thank all those who have wished me well on being selected to contest the Wetherby Ward in this year’s local election. I would have loved to have represented Garforth & Swillington but unfortunately despite my best efforts it was not to be. I will still retain many strong links with this area, my family home is here, I will continue to play cricket for Garforth and I intend to carry on as a governor atNinelands Lane, a role which has been incredibly enjoyable and rewarding over the past few years. I shall also continue to contribute to this site and I will be working as hard as ever to ensure that Mark Phillips is re-elected in May to continue the good work he has done for this ward since 2004. Best wishes, Alan
December 24th 2006 - Merry Christmas
I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
Best Wishes,
Alan
15th December 2006 - Post Offices
Labours plans to close thousands more Post Offices across the country are extremely concerning. The Government this week announced plans to cut 2500 Post offices across the country in addition to the 4000 that have closed since 1999. In our constituency alone this would mean possibly having 6 fewer Post Offices than in 1999, a reduction of more than 25%.
Post Offices are the lifeblood of many communities, but their future is now under real threat. These cuts will hit the vulnerable and the elderly hardest. Labour Ministers need to recognise that if the local Post Office closes, often the last shop in the vicinity closes as well, and a van for a couple of hours a week is no replacement for a Post Office open full time.
The long-term future of the network will be best secured if the Post Office is opened up to new markets and new customers. Just as many pubs that were tied to one brewery are new free houses, so Post Offices should be released from their ties and made able to offer a broader range of services.
People could use their local Post Office as a kind of ‘Government GP’. Trained staff in Post Offices could then advise on a range of matters, including tax returns, pension entitlements, the opening hours of local pharmacies, how to apply for a disabled parking badge, and so on.
The Government has looked at this idea on a number of occasions and there have been a number of plans and pilot schemes aimed at using Post Offices as a ‘one stop shop’ for accessing a wide range of information and services from Government and related bodies. Despite their good intentions the Government have achieved little more on this than a small handful of pilot projects.
I believe it is absolutely possible to secure the future of the existing Post Office network by allowing them to offer a broader range of services. Closures would have a significant negative impact on people’s quality of life. Regrettably, the Government seems to have already made up its mind.
Alan Lamb
18th November – No Planning Permission Required
The forum administrator has got completely the wrong end of the stick with regard to the situation in Knightsway. The problem arose because the builder did not apply for planning permission as he claims his work falls within permitted development. Planning enforcement seems to agree with this. We will continue to explore all avenues to try and help the residents achieve a satisfactory outcome. A Town Council would have made no difference in this instance. We all have our issues with the planning department in Leeds, some well publicised others not so. Whatever your views of the planners, one fact is very clear, they are trying to enforce over complicated national laws, this is what needs to be changed. Coming back to the subject of a Town Council, I am concerned that those behind the idea, which is worth exploring, are pushing ahead far too quickly. You may want to sit down for this one but I also agree with both Mark Dobson and Cllr Phillips on this. If ultimately the people of Garforth want a Town Council then so be it, but they must be able to make a balanced and informed decision. A Town Council would mean 2 things for certain, more taxes and more politicians, neither of which I’m in favour of. I recognise some of the benefits other areas enjoy from having a Town Council and to me, the ultimate test will be whether the benefits outweigh the inevitable costs, I remain to be convinced. I would strongly urge those who are pursuing the idea of a Town Council so strongly to take some slightly more sceptical people on board to help them keep a balanced view. Like the other contributors, I am not ruling out the idea, I am simply saying that we need to debate it’s merits calmly and carefully and then the people of Garforth can make a genuinely informed decision.
4th September - Safety First When Back to School
So the summer holiday’s are over and the kid’s are heading back to school which means the roads will be back to their usual congested levels and day after day we will see the ridiculous chaos which surrounds our local schools each morning and afternoon. It seems that in the rush to get their kids to school, some people take complete leave of their senses and blatantly disregard the safety and well being of themselves and everyone else, parking illegally, (I say parking but in many cases they seem to have just abandoned their vehicle) and dangerously and frequently blocking people’s drives and then when people dare to ask them not to park in such stupid places, whether it be a teacher, home owner, governor or even the pupils themselves, they are generally met with a volley of abuse that most premiership footballers would be proud of. I have seen this many times with my own eyes and received dozens of complaints from worried and angry residents. I remember when I went to GarforthCollege a young girl being knocked down and killed outside the school one morning; I fear that if nothing is done about this problem, another similar tragedy may occur.
I believe it is possible to alleviate the problem and we all have a role to play. Firstly, we need a change in attitude. I walked to school every day when I was growing up, even when I broke my leg and had to go on crutches! A parent would always walk with us until we were old enough to go alone. Of course there will always be exceptional circumstances such as children with disabilities who have to be driven to school, I have no problem with that but for goodness sake, most people live with in walking distance of the school their children attend and those who don’t could quite easily get the bus or cycle.
Secondly, schools themselves have a role to play, they can for example introduce a walking bus which costs nothing and is relatively easy to organise. I hope this is something we will introduce at Ninelands this year and perhaps others will follow suit. This is something which is proven to work.
I think people need to take a bit more responsibility and leave the car at home. It is safer, greener and healthier and we really must act. I have discussed this with Cllr Phillips and we plan to invite a representative of each local school to a meeting along with officials from the Council and Education Leeds with the intention of forming a cohesive community wide strategy to tackle this problem. In the meantime, I’d urge everybody to ditch their car and walk bus or bike to school. Best Wishes Alan
5th May Thank You for Your Support
The election result is in and obviously I’m disappointed not to have won. I am extremely proud of the campaign we fought, myself and the team of volunteers who helped me have worked extremely hard. We fought a positive campaign based on issues not personalities, as I said we would, and we got a fantastic response. To poll over 3000 votes in this ward would normally be a comfortable victory but with a huge turnout, which is to be welcomed, it wasn’t quite enough. I would like to thank all those who helped in my campaign and the many people who sent their good wishes and support. I genuinely care about this community and while I have not been elected I fully intend to play an active role behind the scenes in trying to make it a better place for us all. The election was fought in a good spirit and I hope this can signal a permanent change to the way we do politics in this area. Most issues facing us are not really political, they just require common sense. It is clear that there is virtually equal support for both my party and the Labour Party in our ward and I think it is crucial that away from election time we try and work together to make positive changes without trying to score cheap political points.
On a separate note I would like to deal with the outrageous criticism that has been aimed at the administrators of this site. Goinlocal has always allowed its contributors to say exactly what they like without any censorship. Clear and fair rules were imposed equally to all contributors to ensure that a political balance was kept during the election campaign. I was asked to contribute questions which I would like the other candidates to answer and I did so. I also provided my own answers to these questions and to those set by the administrator. Every candidate had the opportunity to respond. It is neither my fault nor the administrators that I was the only candidate who chose to participate. I also made offers to debate with my opponents in other formats; I am still awaiting a response. If there is any blame or criticism it should be aimed at the candidates who chose not to partake, not at me and certainly not at the administrator. I have not always agreed with things that have been said on this site but I will always defend people’s right to express their opinion.
I hate to end on a bad note so I’m sure you’ll agree with me that I’m glad the election’s finally over and we can all get stuck into the usual hustle and bustle of debate on the site. Congratulations to Cllr Murray and his team, I wish them well. Best wishes, Alan.
31st March - Dealing with a Few Things that Labour have Said
As this will be my last political contribution before the election period begins, I want to take the opportunity to deal with a couple of lies that the Labour Party have been spreading around our ward and others in recent weeks. I’m disappointed that the campaign has deteriorated to this gutter level and while I don’t normally respond to such childish methods there are certain things which cannot go unchallenged;
Lie number 1 – The Conservatives want to cut the black bin service. Forgive the pun but what a load of rubbish. Let me spell it out in a Language they can understand – The Conservative led administration is not going to cut the black bin service nor is it going to privatise it.
Lie number 2 – The implication that the Conservatives privatised the grass cutting service. This was the policy of the previous Labour administration. We know that grass cutting wasn’t acceptable last year and to address this, the Conservative administration have ensured their will be 2 extra cuts this year. The real shame here is that we have only ever had 7 cuts per year, the lowest number of any major city in the UK.
Lie number 3 – Under the Conservatives there has been a drastic cut in the number of Anti Social Behaviour Orders. Complete nonsense. Only Manchester has issued more ASBO’s than Leeds and we are now using a variety of measures which has resulted in an 8% drop in youth crime.
Lie number 4 – The new administration has cut the proof of age scheme. It has not; this scheme was never funded centrally by the city council but by the community involvement teams, replaced by the area committees. Garforth’s area committee is dominated by Labour, they hold the purse strings, they could fund this scheme and they have failed to do so.
They also attack the administration for the Council Tax increase. What hypocrites. Council tax has doubled under Labour with increases of almost 10% in some years. By cutting £26 million of wasteful spending, put in place by the Labour Party, the new Conservative led administration has introduced the 2 lowest consecutive council tax rises in years while improving services for the most vulnerable in the city, tackling the 10 year backlog in roads maintenance, continuing to fund education above Government guidelines, providing funding for 3 extra police community support officers for every ward in the city, regenerating our small towns and villages, reinvigorating our parks and open spaces. Spending on social services will increase by 7% in 2006/7 to a record level of £217 million per annum. That is a record to proud of and no spin or lies are necessary.
I am determined to persevere with my positive agenda; it has received an excellent response on the doorstep and from the business owners of the town and villages. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have taken the time to get in touch and offer their support and ideas.
Finally, for those who’ve expressed a concern that I’ll have nothing to talk about in the coming weeks, fear not. I may not own that many hats, but I’m certainly not a one trick pony. I look forward to talking about being a School Governor, about some of my hobbies such as Cricket, Football and Music and also about the Carei project which is something quite close to my heart.
All the best, Alan.
21st March - Busy Canvassing
In recent weeks I have been doing a lot of canvassing around Garforth & Swillington. I have been involved in politics for over 10 years and canvassed thousands of people in different areas during that time. There are 2 big differences in opinion that I have picked up this time. Firstly, and not surprisingly, people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the present Government. I have spoken to many lifetime Labour voters who are preparing to vote Conservative this time. The feeling people have about Labour now is similar to the response my party was getting in 1997. More worryingly, is the increasing amount of apathy. There are a huge amount of people who have lost faith in politics altogether and I can understand why. The last Conservative Government gained a reputation for sleaze and self interest which the party is still struggling to shake off. Tony Blair said when he was first elected that his Government would be “purer than pure” and “whiter than white”. Since then we’ve had the Hinduja’s, Bernie Eccleston, Peter Mandelson (twice), Tessa Jowell and her husband, David Blunkett (twice) and now loans for peerages. Even the Liberal Democrats have got in on the act recently. On a local level we’ve seen a former Labour Lord Mayor of Leeds throwing lavish parties in civic hall at taxpayers’ expense and from all parties we’ve seen endless literature with claims and counter claims, attacking each other even when they agree. Is it any wonder that people are losing faith in politics and politicians? There is a real danger that as fewer and fewer people vote and take an interest in politics that the whole system of Government will lose all credibility. Those of us who do decide to put ourselves forward for election must ensure that we do all we can to improve peoples faith by promising only what we can deliver and by being honest about our proposals. We must also be honest & respectful towards our opponents. On that theme I would like to welcome Tom Murray, one of my opponents in this year’s election, to this site. I read his first contribution with interest and look forward to debating with him during the campaign. I have invited Mr Murray to debate with me in front of pupils from Garforth Community College. I think this is a great opportunity to get young people to take an interest in local politics and the school are very keen to facilitate this. I hope he will take up the offer.
All the best, Alan
9th February - Throwing My Hat in The Ring
Last night I was joined by Andrew Carter, Leader of Leeds City Council to launch my campaign to be the next Councillor for Garforth, Swillington & Great & Little Preston at my old school, GarforthCommunity College. I set out the 4 top priorities I will focus on; tackling crime, a more sensible approach to traffic calming, providing better facilities & activities for our young people & the regeneration of our town centre. Our community has been taken for granted for far too long, we do not get out of Leeds what we put in. The new council administration, led by the Conservatives, has recognised this and started to invest money into communities like ours which were neglected for so long under the previous administration. The biggest investment in roads maintenance in the country is beginning to tackle a ten year backlog. £10 million is being spent on regenerating small towns & villages like ours. Funding has been provided for an extra 2 police community support officers in every ward in the city. Millions more, over and above what the Government recommends is being spent on social services. Our parks and open spaces are being reinvigorated by the biggest such investment in the country. Of course our critics will accuse us of making cuts, and they’re right. We’ve cut waste, we’ve cut inefficiency and we’ve cut bureaucracy, delivering a four star service to the city on the lowest council tax rise in 8 years. This is a good start, but there is still an awful lot to do. During the campaign I will set out how I propose to go about dealing with the issues I’ve set out above. In some cases it will involve building on the good work that others are already doing such as the police, our schools and community groups and even the GRA. Of course as someone recently pointed out, we wouldn’t need a residents association if the Labour Councillors who represented us for 20 years had done their jobs properly, I can’t quite remember who that was… Anyone who reads these columns regularly will know that we do not respond to the personal attacks, half truths and misleading comments directed at us. I think people are clever enough to see through them and make up their own minds. As I have said before, we will not get involved in the childish political squabbles that have dogged this community’s politics for far too long. I am determined to run a positive and interesting campaign based on issues not personalities. I’ve lived here for most of my life, I think this is a great place to live, but I want to make it even better.
15th January 2006 - Class rooms with no Roof
Today I was shown a video made by the pupils and teachers of Great Preston primary and infant school. If I had not been told before hand what school this was, I would have imagined it was showing a school from a poverty stricken eastern European country. There were class rooms with no roof, bare pipes which frequently burst lay exposed. There was no hot water available and in some of the toilets no water at all for the children to wash their hands. The 2 parts of the school are some quarter of a mile apart separated by a main road, housed in buildings built in 1897 and 1934 respectively. The playground was quite literally a building site.I could go on, but I would urge anyone to contact the school and see for themselves. I was angry, upset and ashamed that children can be educated in such conditions in this country in the twenty first century. This cannot and must not be allowed to continue. I know that Councillors Phillips & Harrison have both visited the school and were visibly moved and shocked at what they saw. I am certain that both will now take up the matter on the schools behalf. As yet, I do not know all the facts and so will reserve judgement as to the best course of action to take. I will however be raising this matter with senior councillors and ensuring that they see this video and be urging them to visit the school themselves. Alan Lamb.
14th January 2006 Working Together to Improve the Area
Towns and villages outside the Ring Road have been neglected for a long time. While vast sums of taxpayers money was being poured into grand city centre schemes, places such as Garforth have been left behind. Garforth is now one of the largest towns in the city but our facilities don’t match up. To put it simply, we don’t get out of Leeds what we put in. The new council administration, led by the Conservatives, has recognised this problem and set aside £10 million for the regeneration of towns and villages across the city. Garforth is earmarked as one such town in need of substantial investment. There seems to be no dispute among any of the political parties or other organisations that this regeneration is necessary, the Welfare Hall needs, & is due to get, a facelift, we need a long term solution to parking issues assuming that regeneration will attract more people to shop in our town. The Library and other public buildings need updating and bringing into the 21st century. We need new lampposts and street furniture. The footpaths, roads and kerbs need modernising and much more besides. This project is going to be very important to our town and indeed to the surrounding villages and I hope that just for once, the childish, political squabbles that seem to spring up around every issue involving Garforth, can be set to one side and that everyone who has an interest in creating a town centre that we can all be proud of can work together. Such squabbles do nobody any favours. It’s my view that the main reason there is such apathy in the country these days is because of the petty nature of politics both locally and nationally. When we agree we should say so and work together and when we don’t we should at least be respectful in putting forward our arguments. In this way, over time, people’s faith in politics and politicians may begin to be restored. All the best, Alan.
21st December - School Christmas Dinners
Every Christmas, I promise myself that next year will be different. I will finish all my shopping long before the Christmas lights get switched on but Christmas does seem to have this way of creeping up on you and before you know it, you find yourself squeezed into shopping centres, losing the will to live, battling against what seems like the entire population of Leeds whose only objective is to get in the way and stop or turn round at the most inconvenient moments. I should point out that I do love Christmas before you have me down as a modern day Scrooge. The excitement began for me last week when I went into Ninelands Lane Primary School to help prepare the annual Christmas Dinner for 260 children and staff. I have still not quite recovered from peeling all the sprouts and chopping all the spuds but I have to say that my gravy and custard went down very well! It was truly remarkable how efficiently such a delicious meal was prepared and the kids absolutely loved it. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. A special mention to Chris who does such a wonderful job of hosting this site. All the best, Alan
25th November - Long Overdue Road Repairs and Traffic Lights
I think everyone would agree that the roads in our area and indeed in Leeds as a whole were allowed to degenerate to a completely unacceptable state. This is entirely because the roads maintenance budget was grossly under funded for 10 years in a row. As a result of this, a huge backlog of necessary road repairs has built up.When you bear in mind the amount of tax we have to pay, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that we don’t feel as though we’re off roading every time we drive around in our cars or on the bus.This is why I am delighted that the new administration, of which the Conservative party is a part, have put into place a properly funded 3 year programme to bring our roads and footpaths up to the standard they should be.
Some people have questioned the standard of work in their areas when we’ve been out canvassing which is why I wanted to clarify a couple of points. I’m quite sure that anyone who has driven down Barleyhill Road or Ringway would agree that the workers have done an excellent job of resurfacing the road in the traditional way. In other areas however, different methods have been used. One such example is around the Long Meadows area. I chatted to the contractors this week and they explained to me how this area will be resurfaced. Initially they place down the loose chippings and then roll them in to fill any pot holes. This temporary surface is then left to settle for a period of time before being sealed properly. This permanent surface is then good for at least 10 years. Incredibly, this process costs 1/50th of the amount of the traditional method. In my view this represents exceptional value for money and means far more areas can get a decent road surface more quickly.
Finally, I’m pleased to say that planning officers have indicated to both myself and Cllr Phillips that plans to install traffic signals at both Charlie Sweeps corner and the Lidgett Lane/Selby Road junction should be included in the Local Transport Plan from 2006 onwards. I am aware that many residents and organisations have campaigned for this for a long time and it is good to see the officials who are spending our money on our behalf paying attention to our wishes.All the best, Alan
4th November - A Disintegrating Transport System
Like many people, I have spent more time than I care to remember sitting in my car, becoming increasingly frustrated as I try to get to various parts of Leeds. I have seen our great city transformed as investors clamber to gain a foothold in the economy of the fastest growing city in the UK. Despite this transformation, which has largely occurred within the boundaries of the ring road, many parts of Leeds have been left behind. Herein lies the real tragedy of Alistair Darling’s decision to assign Supertram to the scrap heap. Leeds has 10 of the most deprived wards in the country. Six of these wards across three key areas for regeneration would have received substantial investment helping to dramatically improve the quality of life for some of the very poorest people in our city. Supertram would not have solved all the cities transport problems but it would have been an environmentally sound & cost effective way of getting people out of their cars and onto public transport. It is perfectly clear that the government’s preferred method is to try and tax people out of their cars by introducing congestion charging. I think most people would be happy to leave their cars at home anyway if there was a decent alternative. It is not only the fact that the Transport Secretary has abandoned Supertram but the way he has done it. I remember being promised a fully integrated transport system not so long ago but with billions being poured into London and the South East in preparation for the Olympics it seems the daily grind of getting around Leeds is set to go on for a good while yet.
18th October - The Result of Our Recent Survey
I am delighted to have been asked to join the already distinguished list of contributors to this age. I have to admit to feeling slightly out of place as I would not describe myself as a community leader nor a politician. Politicians after all get paid to have opinions whereas I merely have opinions! I have always taken a keen interest in politics and local issues and am a longstanding member of the Conservative Party. During September, a team of volunteers from the local Conservative Party delivered a survey to almost 7000 households in Garforth, Swillington & Great Preston. We received an overwhelming response from people of all political persuasions. Many people raised specific individual concerns which I have passed to Cllr Phillips who is actively following them up. The objective of the survey was twofold, to give people an opportunity to air their views and grievances and then to use the results as a powerful tool to lobby those who have the power to make positive changes to our community. The results were very clear, people want;
- a proper police presence
- roads repaired
- decent facilities for young people
- an end to the counter productive and sometimes outright dangerous traffic calming measures
- proper parking facilities at our train stations and shops
- action to ensure local businesses behave responsibly
- guarantees that developments will be in keeping with the character of the area
I am currently in the process of meeting with various people and organisations to discuss the results of the survey. Over the coming weeks and months my colleagues and I will begin to publish positive and constructive ways of dealing with some of the many issues raised. Unsurprisingly, an overwhelming majority of people were against the new licensing laws. It tells us a lot about this Government when they stubbornly persist with this ill thought out piece of legislation despite the objections of the police, the judiciary, the electorate and large sections of the media. How it can ever be sensible in a country which already has terrible problems with binge drinking and alcohol related crime and illness to increase people’s access to alcohol is beyond me. We also found that over 40% of people felt that crime had got worse in the area in recent times. Many people were particularly concerned about youth crime and finding things for young people to do. It was also the case that most people accepted the need for more mobile phone masts but that they should not be placed in residential areas. We are currently in the process of writing to all those who responded to the survey but I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. It was a fascinating exercise and I truly hope and believe that we will be able to make some positive changes to the community as a result. I’ll keep you posted. All the best, Alan Lamb.
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