So, what has been happening over that time?
Well, we’ve had a Council recess of 4 weeks, which I mostly took to heart and for the first time ever did virtually nothing Council-related. I continued with casework, and looked at my Council email occasionally, but mostly I took a break, to re-invigorate myself. I really think for the first time since I got into politics, I really needed it.
We’ve had a few big government announcements; a friend got wed in a fabulous ceremony; football has continued to dominate the red-tops and the cricket has recently started to dominate all the papers; I’ve been really getting down to serious stuff in my new (real, full time) job; friends have suffered serious illness; politicians from Russia to Australia have shown a propensity for acting macho.
In Prestwich we’ve had farmer’s markets and a fairly pleasant summer, but fairly mundane by most measures.
I’ve managed to read some good books - the best of which is called “Our Kid” by Billy Hopkins. It’s about a lad growing up prior to and during WW2 in the areas just north of Manchester. He’s originally from Collyhurst, but moves to Cheetham Hill and some of his family move to Prestwich. It gives a great insight into how hard life was back then, but also how simple pleasure was derived from very simple things.
I have a list of books for the Autumn as follows:
- Not Dead Yet - Julia Neuberger (to finish
- Ivanhoe - Scott
- In Churchill’s Shadow - David cannadine (to finish)
- Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson
- The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver
- Anatomy of Britain - Anthony Sampson (1962)
Those are for fun, I also have some work stuff on Management; Risk; Health & Safety; Asbestos and other stuff to get stuck into.
I suspect I’ll have more evenings available to dothis sort of thing, as there are fewer Council meetings to attend under the new structure, and as the Officers are being allowed to run the place, there’s little for us to actually scrutinise (we can only scrutinise “decisions” of the Council).
Interesting that we’re coming up to a major watershed in political terms, with the in-year spending review. I saw some of the ideas put forward by civil servants in The Independent a couple of weeks back, and whilst many sounded interesting, some were simply humerous (if agreeable!). The explnation of how they’d save money was not explained, so I’ve summised myself in brackets afterwards:
- Make Man Utd fans live within 10 miles of the home ground (clogs up M1 & M6 presumably?)
- Stop paying winter fuel allowance to those who live abroad (saves cash?)
- Don’t give netbooks to primary school kids (they can’t use them properly anyway?)
- Tax foreign vehicles on our roads (possible clash of EU rules?)
- Leave the EU (income v expense argument?)
- Abandon the concept of “Away-Days”(jolly jape for the public sector?)
- Withdraw from Afghanistan (what is the definition of “winning the war”?)
- Stop civil service bonuses (why pay now when we pay later anyway?)
One that was not in the paper but could be considered (this is from a person with no kids but who is a governor at a Primary which is plagued by parking issues, and a secondary which I actually attended myself!) is that the delivering of schoolchildren at school by parents in private vehicles should only be deemed acceptable if:
- the school is en route to the parent’s place & time of work
- the child lives > 3 miles from the school & must use more than 1 bus/train
- the child has a disability that makes it very difficult to use public transport
- the child has attended a medical appointment or function on behalf of school or recognised community group
If it was as socially unacceptable for kids to get lifts to school as it is for drunks to drive vehicles, perhaps we’d see some societal, health & wealth benefits? Immediate benefits might just include:
- healthier children
- increased use of public transport, making subsidised routes more affordable/less subsidised
- greater discipline (time; self-awareness; responsibility etc.) in kids
- clearer roads, allowing the normal (financially beneficial elements of traffic) to get on with their journeys
Whilst the previous govt. allowed parents greater freedom of choice in where they sent their kids to school, I understand that the basic idea of reasonable proximity still applies. If so, the whole point of going to a school nearby was that kids could get there with ease!
Now many parent will claim “child safety” as a paramount issue, and the reason they drive their kids everywhere - indeed it is important. However, with more people walking, there comes a greater chance of capture of miscreants (more witnesses); less likelihood of your child being the one involved (think shoal of fish & sharks); a greater need for policing at hours when kids are commuting (hence better respect & community policing in real action at an age where youths see some good being done); and many other arguments besides. Parents could even walk their kids to school, thus getting exercise; setting a great example; operating “walking buses” with other parents etc. In this way, we’ll need fewer strangers (police/teachers etc.) to look after their offspring, and the bad kids will be spotted straight away!
OK, that was a bit of a rant, I admit, but isn’t it a fairly simple idea? With the press going on about global warming so much, isn’t this part of a simple solution that benefits business (clearer roads for deliveries, more buses & fewer cars); parents & kids (exercise, shared “together” time, reduced personal pollution etc.); schools (less parking violations outside the gates, better discipline); councils (less road repairs, healthier residents); central govt (healthier humans = reduced strain on NHS) and just about everyone else in the Country (ok - even I benefit by getting to work on time & not polluting the ozone as much!)
Give it some though - I expect to get some responses on that one…
So, we are still without proper trees in our village centre because there is a lack of cash and political will to replace those that were hacked down 2 years ago, due to disease.
