Councillor Paul Varnsverry

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Following a concerted campaign, over several months, by residents and parish councils, backed by Scott Collins and Paul Varnsverry, Parliamentary Candidates for South Northants and Northampton South respectively, Northampton Borough Council has submitted an objection to the plans for a quarry to be opened at Milton Malsor and Collingtree.

Speaking today Paul Varnsverry said “This will be a great relief to the residents of East and West Hunsbury who would have been affected by the airborne dust and noise from the quarry and the hugely increased industrial traffic from the quarry travelling along the Towcester Road via the Hunsbury roundabout and adjoining roads in their route to the M1 and beyond.

Scott Collins, Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in South Northants said “The plan for the quarry so close to the villages of Collingtree and Milton Malsor was always going to draw opposition but the decision to include it in the County Council’s Minerals Plan is quite frankly ridiculous and should have been dropped whilst still in the hands of the County Council.” Commenting further Scott said “The effect of this quarry will be massively detrimental to the local residents across Milton Malsor, Collingtree, East and West Hunsbury and I am glad that the Borough Council has seen the sense in objecting to the proposals.”Cllr Paul Varnsverry also said “As councillor for West Hunsbury I have received a number of calls from very concerned residents and I am happy to be able to go back to them to assure them that the Liberal Democrat Borough Council has heard their concerns and supports their views that the quarry will be detrimental to the lives of the people on the Hunsbury estates.”

A national exhibition that informs members of the public what is involved in being a Councillor visits Northampton’s Guildhall in March.

“Be a Councillor” is a Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) project, launched in January 2009, which is organised by the Leadership Centre for Local Government. It gives members of the public who are interested in standing for election as candidates an insight into what is involved in campaigning and the role of a Councillor.

Events are being run for each of the three main political parties and for the Liberal Democrats it takes place at the Guildhall in Northampton on Monday, March 16th 2009, between 7pm and 9 pm. Refreshments will be provided.

To reserve your place, please contact Paul Varnsverry and he will make arrangements for you. Closing date for applications is March 6th.

Comment – Paul Varnsverry

“I don’t believe what I read in the papers, They’re just out to capture my dime” 

These lyrics, from singer-songwriter Paul Simon’s track ‘Have a Good Time’, really do ring true in public life.

Last week, the Media Standards Trust published an important report, citing falling circulation figures as a reason for newspapers’ decline in journalistic integrity. Putting sales above standards, from national dailies to weekly freesheets, is on the rise.

A recent survey by YouGov found that only 7% of its 2,024 respondents thought that UK newspapers behaved ‘responsibly’. YouGov highlighted the industry’s self-regulatory approach – through the Press Complaints Commission – as not fit for purpose in the twenty-first century.

I saw none of the above reported in the local press, and yet there is one area where newspapers cannot take all the blame for slipping standards.   

Looking through the letters pages of the local press, you would be forgiven for believing that the vast majority of Northampton’s residents are baying for the blood of every Liberal Democrat Borough Councillor. Hardly an edition goes by without a letter slating the administration at the Guildhall for ‘its manifold failures’.

Some of the accusations are wide of the mark and relate to areas outside the Borough Council’s remit. Others are outright fibs – the story about the Borough increasing parking charges being one. (In truth the Lib Dems have frozen fees for three years in a row, despite a 25% hike in on-street parking by County Hall’s Conservative councillors.) 

But it shouldn’t be left to ‘tit-for-tat’ exchanges - a real turn-off for the majority of voters - to set the record straight; even if the newspapers think these help them to sell extra copies. Local newspapers should correct such letters retrospectively, if they insist on printing them. Alternatively, a footnote stating the facts could easily be added, allowing readers to make up their own minds. Lazy journalism or falling standards? Again, you decide. 

Characteristically, these letters show common uses of language, layout and style. Indeed some are entirely repetitious, restating the same inaccurate statements verbatim. It would seem that many of these letters are written by the same antagonistic individuals. (Recent letters have even been traced to neighbours, friends and family of political activists.)  

Why do opposition parties – and one party in particular – feel they need to resort to public deception by inventing waves of ‘outrage’ where none exist? Why are they unwilling to declare their political allegiances when writing letters that criticise their opponents? Of course, there is no requirement for them to do so, but is it right that they should write as if politically neutral when in fact they are not? 

For the record, the Liberal Democrats have not and do not need a writing pool to contrive letters in the local press. As a party, we are tough enough to defend ourselves – on the ground, through the letterbox and at the ballot box. We will also correct the deliberately misleading statements of our opponents.  

To paraphrase Paul Simon: 

“Don’t believe what our opponents write in the letters pages, They’re only out to peddle political spin.”  

Residents living near a parkland are celebrating after learning their efforts to safeguard the site against development have been backed by the Liberal Democrat cabinet at Northampton Borough Council.

Far Cotton Recreation Ground will receive “Town Green” after two local residents associations supported efforts by local cleric, Reverend Ted Hale, to convince Northampton Borough Council that the parkland warranted protection.

Addressing the cabinet on Wednesday evening, Reverend Hale - speaking on behalf of Far Cotton Residents Association and Friars Residents Association - commended the council and its officers for their support and assistance, describing it as “a good example of councillors and the people working together” and adding that that 99% of respondents to a consultation questionnaire had backed the proposal.

Councillor Paul Varnsverry, addressing the cabinet in support of the proposal, praised Reverend Hale, saying that in his address to cabinet Reverend Hale had been “extremely modest about his role as the main driving force behind this campaign.”

Councillor Varnsverry then added “The third anniversary approaches of the start of the Delapre bund protest, which arose because the Conservative administration of the time simply didn’t care to listen to the concerns of the people of Far Cotton and Delapre. The way in which this application for Town Green status has been processed by the Liberal Democrat administration is a superb example of what is possible when an administration is interested and does hear what the community is saying to them and works with the community.”

The Tory opposition at Northampton Borough Council is being hammered with criticism from opposition councillors and members of the public alike after every single one of its councillors failed to turn up at a key meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday evening - despite reports about their poor attendance featuring in the local press six weeks previously!

In December, the Chronicle and Echo revealed that Conservative Borough Councillors were continually failing to attend important council meetings, with only half of their members attending the full council meeting on December 8th 2008 and none at all taking part in crucial interviews to appoint key directors or meetings relating to housing development in Northampton.

Paul Varnsverry said “The Tories have simply given up and they are continuing to fail their electors just as the failed the entire population of Northampton following their four disastrous years in power, which left Northampton Borough Council as “The World’s Worst Council” They could and should have raised their game after December’s press. They have sent a clear signal to the people of Northampton that it is a case of “Vote Blue: go home”. 

“Even their newest recruit, elected less than two weeks before the cabinet meeting, failed to show - entirely contradicting his pre-election pledges and a letter published in the local newspaper just two days before the meeting where he said he would “work hard” for his electorate.”

“This has not gone unnoticed by the people of Northampton. Residents served by Liberal Democrat councillors know what it is like to be served by good councillors, who are active in the community, have excellent attendance records at council meetings and are making a positive difference to people’s lives - unlike the stay-at-home Tories.”

A new scheme to fight crime, which has seen reoffending rates cut to less than five per cent in areas where it is running, is to be introduced by Liberal Democrat controlled Northampton Borough Council. 

Liberal Democrats at the Guildhall are preparing to introduce borough-wide orders to enable police and neighbourhood wardens to tackle alcohol-related antisocial behaviour. Paul Varnsverry says “These new powers will ensure anyone who is under the influence of alcohol and acting in an antisocial manner can have their drink confiscated and be forced to move on. If they do not comply, they will be prosecuted.”

The implementation of a borough-wide “Designated Public Places Order” will not, however, prevent responsible consumption of alcohol; for example at a picnic. 

Improvements at Liberal-Democrat controlled Northampton Borough Council are recognised in three independent reports.

Following an assessment visit by a team from the Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA), their report states “The council now has a strong political and managerial leadership team in place” and highlights “..the dramatic improvement in the finance service… This was a failing service which has now been released from government monitoring”; adding ”The council should be proud of this achievement.” 

A significant comment from the authors of the report emphasises the point that “The team believe that after a number of previous false dawns for the council the right Leadership and structure is in place to continue the strong improvement that has already been delivered.” Hot on the heels of the IDeA report, the Government Monitoring Board, which has been involved in how the council has been running for a considerable time, has indicated that – subject to ministerial agreement – Northampton Borough Council will be removed from government intervention within a matter of weeks. 

Finally, local government minister John Healey has stated that under Liberal Democrat control, Northampton Borough Council has made “huge strides” along the improvement path.

Paul Varnsverry said “Following twenty years of Labour neglect and Tory incompetence, the people of Northampton are starting to see what the Liberal Democrat can achieve in just 20 months. There is still plenty to do to achieve the goal of Northampton Borough Council being amongst the best-performing councils by 2013, but we are on the right path.”

The New Duston by-election, called following the sad death of Councillor Liz Tavener, has occupied much of my time since my last posting.

Our candidate, Marion Allen-Minney, placed fourth, with a difference of just fifteen votes covering second to fourth places. We were the only party to increase both share and number of our vote in an acknowledged Tory stronghold where we have not campaigned to any significant extent before.

Numerous political fibs appeared in Tory campaign literature. Chief amongst these was the outrageous lie that the Lib Dems have increased car parking charges in Northampton. Untrue! The Liberal Democrat administration at the Guildhall has frozen fees in the council’s off-street car parks for the third successive year.

It was their “country cousins” at Conservative-controlled County Hall  who hiked on-street parking charges by 25%.

Their content of the Tory campaign literature was as cynical and dishonest as their response to the rebuttal literature we issued.