Two blogposts from Taking Liberties and Donal Blaney worry me. Both have examples of Conservative councils indulging in what can only be described as very unConservative like behaviour.
TalkSport's Jon Gaunt has been suspended by the radio station after he called a Redbridge Conservative councillor a "Nazi" for introducing a policy of banning parents who smoke from fostering children.
And Tory controlled Guildford Council has told the owners of burger vans that unless they provide healthy foods rather than burgers and kebabs, their licenses to trade will be withdrawn.
I'm not going to rant on about it all being political correctness gone mad (although it is). What it demonstrates is that these councils are presided over by weak politicians who have little control over their officers. It's about time they learned what the word Conservative actually means.
UPDATE: Guildford Conservatives have issued a statement clarifying the position re burger vans. Bacon butties are safe!
46 comments:
Thanks for doing this one. It' about time local councils' power was reigned in.
Councils, like central government, should do little more than keep the streets clean. They are NOT guardians of our morality, our dietry habits or our private likes and dislikes. Council employees need to undergo re-training in order to learn that they are paid servants of the community, not its Gauleiters.
By the way, the Burger Van is a national institution and a part of English culture. (I am not making a quality judgement here). If they are made to provide "healthy" food, it will just go rotten in the van and traders' profits will fall.
Nope- Local authorities should be given more power and be more accountable to the electorate- just get rid of the Authoritarian Tory and Labour councillors that infest local authorities
*cough* congestion charging *cough*
There is no automatic right to foster.
If the State has found itself in the unfortunate position of having to care for children, then it probably has a moral - even parental - duty not to hand them over to strangers who engage in behaviour likely to endanger children. Like smoking.
The children don't have a choice to avoid the smoke, and the random prospective foster parents don't have the right to inflict it on children that aren't their own.
This is an issue of individual freedoms, but not for the parents - for the children. It is not patriarchy to society in general, it is parentalism to specific, named children.
I think conservatives should support the moves.
On food vans, I think it's a bit silly.
Oh no!
Don't tell me the Tories are going to be doing the insane PC thing, PLEASE!
I'm sick to death with this PC business & am looking forward to getting rid of Labour & getting back to common sence.
I remember the Tories calling Tony Blair Tory plan B, I do hope Labour wont be calling Dave Cameron Labour plan B!
Labours insane lefty policies, dont you just hate them?
Come on, Cameron has warped the Tory brand so much you cannot really blame people if they either don't know what counts as Conservative or think anything goes if it's laid down with a cheeky smile.
The days when I ate a burger or pizza on the way home from a good night out are long gone; I wouldn't have wanted a banana or some other "healthy option" though.
Why don't politicians (even local ones) concentrate on things that matter to people.
Iain, it is much worse than you think. Kebab vans and PC fostering policy are just symptoms.
The real problem is that local councils employ far too many people. Their main motivation is to claim central government money so that they can employ even more. Most Tory councillors are too weak to oppose this terrified that any budget cut will be in front line services rather than bureaucracy. As a result: (a) they can only cut budgets by trivial amounts if at all and (b) without the gumption to make dramatic changes in the structure of their local authority, they have no real power; existing official and unofficial power structures remain in place and even the most energetic councillor is reduced to mostly shouting from the sidelines.
Oh dear, one the one hand I'm glad you provided a link to the burger-van story because otherwise I might have thought you were joking; but on the other hand having now read the article I am feeling extremely irate. How dare Clifford Bell and his department treat the people of Guildford like children? It's quite simple - if one doesn't like the contents of the menu one doesn't have to partake. Any councils, of whatever colour, practising this kind of moral dictatorship deserve to be rounded upon by the electorate.
Its about time David Cameron pulled these left liberal conservatives in line.
In todays Mail - some poor guy taken to court at cost of £5000 tax payers money because his bin fell over - he won but shame on the idiot Tory Council that chased him
As a Redbridge resident, I too fumed about the apparent ban on smoking foster parents.
However, apparently it is a bit more nuanced than that re who will be judged as suitable, although I still think the whole concept of secondhand smoke is bulls***t.
The real problem for me is that once again, a Tory administration so maladroit at foreseeing the presentational problems of such a policy and therefore handling it in a far more open and sensible fashion.
It is unfortunately true that Tory councillors can be just as short-sighted and sometimes even downright stupid as those from any other Party. Associations allow the inept, the incapable and the past-their-sell-by-dates to remain in position because they are afraid to open their mouths and criticize.
Colchester (Lib-Lab coalition) also appears to be in the control of its officers. They deposited £4m of council tax receipts in the doomed Icelandic banks and no councillor was aware of it, until of course it disappeared.
Iain, I couldn't agree with you more!
Some Tory Councils seem more interested in crawling up the Labour Government's orifice than in behaving in a Conservative way and it is time for that to stop.
"The real problem is that local councils employ far too many people. Their main motivation is to claim central government money so that they can employ even more."
Too true, that's why about 25% of our council tax goes towards paying their bloody pensions. I'm convinced that 80% of all government spending is wasted. Free of the tax burden needed to fund this waste, our economy would grow and provide real jobs that add value.
it is fascinating to see Councils of all persuasions aping each other, in the same way the national parties do, to further the 'nanny state'. There ought to be clear blue water here between Labour on the one siode and the Conservatives (and liberals) on the other. Labour seeks to create a paternal relationship between Governments and citizens; Conservatives and Liberals should be creating an adult relationship between governments and citizens, with the State limiting itself to the minimum it needs to do, to enable society to function, and the rest left to the citizens to manage for themselves. Less paternalism, more personal responsibility. This focus would inevitably reduce the controls all levels of government exert on our lives, making us more self-reliant and ultimately more mature citizens.
You might like to have a look at Chris Bull as well.
HERE
So much for Tories and localism then, judging from the comment above.
Shortly after the Redbridge announcement I had occasion to listen to a speech from a Human Rights activist. It was quite a bit of fun as she tried to show moral outrage at a Council for doing this as well as say how much she wanted to protect toe Human Rights of the child to be bought up in a non-smoking family.
The burger van one is ridiculous. But the smoking/fostering one is right on. Fostering is an arm of the state which rightfully demands higher standards in health and safety. In this case the state isn't espousing a moral view just a purely scientific one. If foster parents are going to be trusted with children and having already gone through rigorous screening then why not demand that foster parents ensure their charges are safe from smoky environments. A possible side effect is also that foster parents themselves might quit smoking, lead healthier and longer lives and be around longer for their extended families who generally require more attentive parenting/support because of their situation.
Why are you surprised? All three parties are Authoritarian these days, drunk on power.
Does this mean that Toby Young will be belatedly sentenced to execution by firing squad for referring to the people who control access to celeb parties in New York as 'clipboard Nazis..' ?
You could not make it up etc...
You've hit the nail on the head Iain, far too many elected councillors the length and breadth of this country just accept half of the recommendations put in front of them by officers. They need to grow a spine!
Word verification: YOGHUT
Should Gaunty have been suspended?
Guthrum is closer than some on this, as are you, Iain. Local issues need to be decided locally, and with no enforced (or otherwise) concession to externally-imposed norm, whether these be "PC" or anything else that isn't entirely pragmatic.
Politically-motivated dogma should be kept where it belongs -- out of the decision-making process.
Scary Biscuits is on the right line; but in reality because money supply is mostly controlled from Whitehall and Westminster, what happens in practice is an entirely predictable result of the current structure.
Rather than having a go at those who are at least trying to make the best of a bad situation, it would be far more useful if critics were to devote their energies to fighting that warped and twisted "reality".
Putting themselves into the position that elected folk currently have to face, they would have to admit (if they knew what it was really like) that they could and would do no better themselves -- though I suspect very few would be honest enough to admit that publicly.
Therefore, if they truly want any real improvement, they MUST tackle the cause, rather than wasting effort on what is often in-fighting against their ideological allies.
Their main motivation is to claim central government money so that they can employ even more.
Oh really? And how, pray tell, do councils go about claiming this particular grant? As far as I'm aware, there are no grants whatsoever tied to staff numbers. I'm sure council all over the country will be overjoyed at this hitherto unknown source of funding... Or are you just spouting nonsense?
the reason councils take this action is that they've been made responsible for the health decisions of residents. They have been given targets on life expectancy and the Audit Commission measures their progress against their tackling of health inequalities.
councils that don't take any action in interfering in people's lifestyles are punished financially - that gets passed on to the council taxpayer
this is a function of central planning where local councillors don't have the power to set local priorities. No matter who you vote for they have to work to brown's targets and brown's policies
It's all fun in Redbridge!
Iain
You should have made it clearer that Tory councils are the exception here. Most silly stories come from loony left councils.
As it is, you've given the Dolly Draper brigade an open goal.
Anything that gets Gaunt off the airwaves is fine by me.
Well said, Iain.
Councillors are allowing themselves to be dictated to by - largely nulab supporting - officers with both eyee on their elitist salaries and pensions.
This is about far more than burger vans, fostering and PC moralising too.
Too many Conservative councillors are turning a blind eye to the current recession and are allowing officers to introduce money making scams, such as punitive parking restrictions, which will do huge damage to SMEs.
Wake up, councillors, 99.9%of the businesses in your towns are SMEs.
Almost 60% of the workforce in your towns are employed by SMEs too. SMEs pay the lion's share of the salaries that pay council tax and rents, officers' salaries and councillors' expenses.
Many of us are struggling to keep our businesses healthy and our staff employed in this recession.
4.3 million SMEs and our 16 million (or so) staff need conservative councils to be for us, not against us.
It has to be said that, here in Harlow, we do have a number of excellent and hard working Conservative councillors.
They see it as their job to be on the people's side and recognise the importance of SMEs and the vital jobs we create to the health of our town.
Thank you:
Councillor Muriel Jolles
Councillor Joshua Jolles
Councillor Clive Souter
If only all our councillors were like you.
Barnet is one of the worst. The Officers of Barnet Council, under Labour / Liberal control hatched a place to flood the leafy borough with fifty thousand flats. The ultimate plan was to make it a City Council in it's own right.
With the Conservatives 'in Office but not in power' the plans have been accelerated. At a time that the Councillors cost over £1,000,000 in 'allowances' they do less and seem to have little control over the grand schemes of the Officers to pursue their own agendas and maximise future Council Tax.
And to think this is all happening under Finchley and Golders Green's Conservative Candidate, Mike Freer as Leader of the Council. Maggie would be right to be ashamed of that happening in her former seat.
I have heard the Redbridge Councillor who chairs the relevant committe being interviewed on two occasions. Once on the BBC and he was shocking, listing a whole list of medical conditions it is alleged are caused by passive smoking! He sounded like all the other health nazi's we can hear on any subject, especially food.
The Jon Gaunt interview has to be viewed from two viewpoints. 1. Mr Gaunt was himself in care and fostered with a hospital matron(I believe) who smoked. He says that she turned him around and he believes that the child must come first. A child needs love not put unfair barriers towards foster parents/ or those who wish to adopt.
2.When the Redbridge councillor came on he was in a 'ready for a fight' mode and whilst Gaunt never listens to anyone and can be extremely rude to people, this individual wound him up.
At the end Gaunt apologised to the listeners for 'losing it and calling him a nazi' but I have to say I was appalled that the Councillor was a Conservative and a Conservative Council could adopt such a disgraceful policy.
If Gaunt has been suspended then there is an equal case for this Councillor to be suspended also by Cameron. There has to be fair play.
Anon @5:59 pm
That is no consolation if you live in Redbridge!
Its not all gloom and doom. Some Conservative Councillors are serving their electorates well. This from the Wirral Globe of November 7th, "TWO senior officers from Wirral Council have been suspended following claims of financial abuse.
The Globe exclusively revealed on Wednesday that a "whistleblower" had tried to alert the council to the claims - but had allegedly been given a £45,000 pay off to leave his job and "keep quiet".
Last night, a hastily-called meeting of senior executives and group leaders agreed to suspend the pair pending further inquiries.
A report by the Audit Commission addresses the whistleblower’s concerns that there was a “special charging policy” which cost vulnerable people extra money dating back as far as 1999 that had not been approved by the council and was “excessive and unlawful”.
Conservative councillor Simon Mountney had told the Globe he believes there has been "institutional financial abuse" that the Audit Commission report indicated had been "covered up".
The Department had been deliberately overcharging mentally handcapped for the services they provide and even when the whistle was blown they sought to pay off the whistle blower and hide the Audit Commission's Report from public scrutiny.Two Officers have now resigned and more should follow.
Simon thoroughly did his homework following up complaints in detail despite latent hostility from the officers slowly peeling the onion of deceit in Wirral Council Social dservices Department.
(Conservative)Councillors 1 Officers Nil
Strapworld. You need to know the individual. I served as a Conservative councillor in Redbridge for a total of 24 years from 1978 to 1990, and from 1994 to 2006 when I did not seek re-election. I was Deputy Leader for three of my last four years.
It is quite ironic that the current cabinet member for children's services should have the mentality of Peter Pan. His behaviour in public would often make eccentricity appear normal.
Prentiz seems to have no understanding how local government finance works, and how government will throw money towards councils to follow particular policies, and initiatives.
My local Conservative Council seemed to feel that extracting as much cash as possible out of this stupid government, even if it meant been used to employ people doing stupid jobs (that is a condition of the cash, that positions are created to serve that function), the argument being that it brings cash into the local economy.
Vast numbers of councillors and 'officers' are way too big for their boots; and there are way too many of them. That needs changing. Central govenment using LAs to implement more and more control and snooping over residents must also be ended.
Of course, the hopeless tories won't do that, even in the evermore remote chance they got elected. Once the liblabcons are out of the way you can expect big changes.
Cameron needs to get a grip on Conservative councillors. As many of the people who have posted here have pointed out too many councillors are at best very weak and "running scared" of council officers and at worst determined to create bureaucratic power bases. They are seriously damaging the Conservative brand at a local level. Cameron should either bring them into line or remove the party from local government.
I saw the Tory councillor from Guildford interviewed about the burger van fiasco and she clearly felt it was the business of local councillors to tell people who run the vans what they should serve and to tell customers what would be best for them to eat. The woman made no sense at all and I assumed she was a Lib-Dem until I saw the story elsewhere and it became clear she was a Tory!
In a tight general election Cameron could lose votes in key seats because of this sort of madness,, with people feeling there is nothing to choose between Tory and Labour based on what they see local councillors doing.
Its not always the officers you know - you ought to see what the Tories on the Isle of Wight are up to.
Manifesto promise to keep 3 tier education system - but have voted to change to 2 tier.
Spent £1.3m (not a typo!) on an investigation into procurement mistakes - but forgot to keep to the rules on spending that sort of money.
Lost seven councillors out of the group.
http://isleofwightcouncil.blogspot.com/
A little late perhaps but I have been pondering this over.
When I regard this policy and compare it with the careless, useless attitude of Haringey then I must come down on Redbridge's side. They are duty-bound to protect children's welfare.
A person who wishes to foster must give up smoking - should they allow an alcoholic to foster?
I speak as a one-time heavy smoker.
Not quite sure how smokers can be compared to alcoholis. Trust me,I know the difference.
Should Gaunty have been suspended? No he should not have been. He only said what a lot of people in Redbridge are thinking, but dare not say incase they have the Chronicle on their back, accusing them of racism, when it is clear that race has nothing to do with the Council's dictatorship.
Note to Mr Hampson and Weinberg (Cllr)- SUSPEND THE LAW BREAKERS - NOT THE CLLRS DOING THEIR JOB!!!
Anonymous - that could result in Weinberg suspending himself. Nice one!
[Verification word: eardis. Much shorter than "listen to dat"]
Just how many council or affordable houses have Hammersmith council built
given committment to those without homes
answer nil
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