Counselling Councillors

The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) launched a report: Strengthening the role of local councillors. The CRC is an independent Government body established to provide a rural voice to Government and to provide evidence to support decisions.

I’m not a councillor (yet?) but I thought it could be interesting to learn how (if I were) I could be improved. Plus, the launch was jointly held in London and Alnwick, in the Pavilion in the Garden, the two linked by the wonder of audio/video links, and was therefore close by.

We – an audience of rural councillors, helpers and interested parties - sat in the Pavilion feeling slightly smug: we were rural. The people in the Westminster hall in London clearly weren’t (although actually most of the attendees there were also rural councillors). Our cameras showed them the trees and the fountains of the Alnwick Garden as a contrast to their panelled walls. They also showed a howling gale and snow, shortly after our chairman had commented on the lovely weather here in rural England.

I had never realised just how many organisations try to help rural areas. Some of them in attendance: the CRC; LGA Rural Commission; NE Rural Affairs Forum; Action for Market Towns; Countryside Alliance; CPRE; and of course One North East. One brave soul stood up and asked, given the turnout, who or what supported urban areas to the same extent: he had the wrong audience to get much sympathy. A real question is therefore with so much help, why do we feel left in the cold? The head of the CRC answered with the best point of the day: The Government doesn’t trust Us. “Us” being rural communities, local Government and voters. The changes the CRC recommended were mainly about increasing that trust and passing responsibility down to local Government. And from there, even more importantly, to Parish Councils who are the closest democratic body to the public.

The gulf works both ways as well: the presentation started with a series of video clips from members of the public suggesting some satisfaction with councillors, but overall demonstrating a big gulf. “I only see them when its election time”.

I heard three problems being discussed but not resolved:
- Would the Government really let go? (the CRC thought there was currently a chance of change given the emphasis placed on this and the Roberts Report for the Councillors Commission)
- In Northumberland, would the Regional Development Authority accept bottom up planning rather than setting priorities and policies from above?
- Again, in Northumberland, the new “belonging communities” strategy could devalue the (elected) Parish Councils rather than enhance them, as the CRC report recommended.

The Report made 10 recommendations, most of great sense. Underlying them all was need to fix the lack of decentralisation. I thought three were most relevant:
- Make Parish/Town plans count when Government, Regional Authorities and Councils develop and implement policies. The burden should be on others to explain why they do not follow local plans.
- Increasing the emphasis on electing Parish/Town councils to increase their accountability and support giving them more power.
- Make councillors communicate effectively to the public.

The launch concluded with the CRC’s intention to revisit the report in a year’s time to highlight what (if any) progress had been made. All in all – some good ideas and a good day. Even better as my team won the pub quiz that evening.


Since writing the above, I’ve read The Journal’s article on the Regional Spatial Strategy (“North East 2021”) which was published for consultation, by co-incidence within a week of the meeting. It shows the wishes of Centralisation are alive and well. For example, it states that the Berwick district can only have 85 new homes in for example 2015. It may be that 85 is the right number at that time; it may be too many or too few. One thing is certain: the authors and issuers of the Spatial plan have absolutely no idea which it will be. Yet any change will have to argued against “the strategy” rather than local needs having overriding importance. Yes, infrastructure has to be planned but successful things happen from the bottom up not by imposition.

It’s got to be worth responding to the consultation. The deadline is 2 April 2008.

Manifesto Meeting

I was invited to a manifesto meeting. This is because we need to have an agreed manifesto for the Conservative candidates to work from when the election comes, and to implement if elected.

One of my friends commented when I was thinking of seeking selection that my life would become full of boring meetings. That didn’t matter – most of my career has been spent trying to get something useful out of interminable meetings – but I did assume it would only apply if I was elected, rather than beforehand. But apart from my selection meeting it was my first “political” meeting so I was quite excited.

It was at County Hall in Morpeth; it’s the first time I have actually been inside the corridors of power. And there were many, many corridors. They had an interesting selection of pictures. I was particularly struck by a panel of photos of Councillors (and Aldermen) from the mid 1970s. They looked so serious and substantial compared to today’s group (and potential group). Yet the range of their responsibilities was much smaller then. I suppose a similar panel of the new Council will look just as old fashioned in 30 years time for the same reason that I feel much younger than my father when he was my age.

The meeting itself was a bit challenging: I felt sorry for the chair as she tried to control all of us wanting to make valid points about the things we were going to discuss next, or that we had just agreed. For some reason we weren’t good at talking about the things we were talking about at the moment. In the end, however, I think a good framework emerged of practical ideas focussed on helping people. It’s a good job an outline had been drafted by a few people beforehand.

Press Start to Stop: Modern morality lessons

My Hard Drive is Broken.

A couple of weeks ago my computer started to operate glacially slowly (that’s slow in the sense of their advancement not their melting, which is now apparently quick). I tried switching it on and off. Lots of times. I tried shouting at it and even hitting it. Nothing worked. I had last backed up all my data in October. I just managed to transfer all my photos before it stopped working, but nothing else. I took it to a local centre which has just told me that the hard drive has gone and that any un-saved data was lost.

I makes you think about what you would miss. I’m glad I got the photos – Christmas; Christmas parties; trip to London and a holiday in Yorkshire. The lost emails and documents don’t really matter: if they are important someone else will have them. And, actually, there is a sense of freedom similar to clearing out an attic. But I do wish I had backed up the data more recently. I think about doing it regularly. But thinking isn’t enough.

Fortunately I had another quasi computer connected to the TV. So I’ve been working - and setting up this site – sitting in front of the TV using a key board (which keps missing out letters) from a bean bag which is very comfortable to sit in but from which it’s almost impossible to get out. The only advantage is that the effort of crawling out and up probably offsets the calories from the crisps I’ve been eating as I work.



And the morality lessons:

Be prepared: have access to another computer. And a bean bag you can exit.
Process and discipline.and delivery matter: do the back ups – don’t just think about them.
And don’t assume that IT solutions will solve all your problems.

Actually – they sound like the sort of things the modern compassionate conservatives would say.

The rate for the Job

There is a suggestion that in future MPs’ pay will be set by an independent body not by their vote. It is an example of a bad habit of politicians, to set up supposedly independent bodies to be responsible for politically sensitive issues. This may be good in the short term but it takes the responsibility away from elected politicians. If it is a tricky issue then they should be responsible for it. And accept that responsibility.

An independent body would lead to no-one being accountable for MPs’ pay. A better solution would be for an outgoing Parliament to set MPs’ pay for the duration of the next Parliament. That would encourage accountability. And low inflation.

I think the same principle should apply for Councillors’ expenses.

Coincidentally, the local papers reported sizeable increases in pay for the executive heads of Northumberland County Council without the increases being discussed by Councillors. Although apparently it was procedurally correct, and done to ensure the retention of key staff during the transition to the new unitary authority, to me it shows:
- A contempt for Council tax-payers: the increases alone approximated to the average pay of people in North Northumberland.
- A strange prioritisation of expenditure. Running Northumberland County Council during the transition period should be one of the most interesting jobs in local government. Any manager needing a retention to stay probably shouldn’t be retained.

The Messiah returns. And reflections on transparency.

I went to a local pub to watch Newcastle vs Bolton (was Setanta established by pub owners to stop people watching at home?) hoping for atmosphere but the match was not that inspiring. As always, there were some strange refereeing decisions, although not too much dissent. Either on the field or in the pub.

But why doesn’t (premier league) football take an example from rugby and mike up and broadcast the referees’ comments? Broadcasting the decisions and on-field conversations would:
- be entertaining
- reduce tension in the crowd: at least people would know why the decision was made
- increase over time the quality of decisions: people take care when there is transparency
- reduce on-field dissent – because players comments would also be picked up.

The political slant is that openness and transparency of actions is always beneficial. People can accept things if they understand the reasons. And it’s much harder to hide.

My opening priorities

These are the main reasons I want to stand to contribute to the Council. Setting them out creates a benchmark to see if my views change over the campaign and afterwards.

From next year all local authority functions are going to be managed by one, unitary council. It will be a council inevitably dominated by the issues of the urban South East of the County. It’s a lost cause, but I don’t understand why we are being given one unitary authority rather than the two (one mainly urban, one mainly rural) most people clearly wanted.

I think it’s critical that the Council is held to account during the transition and afterwards to minimise the cost and the upheaval to services. Perhaps it’s because I’m an accountant and have spent my life in general management that I see this oversight function as important and one where I can add most value. My business skill is in working with people to make things work better.

The practical issues I see as most important are:

- Care of the elderly. I had a self-interest here: my mother came to live with me when she became ill. She was very well looked after by the team from the Belford Medical Practice. But I worry, especially with an ageing community, that the resources devoted to the care of the elderly are under pressure and we need to ensure that the links between Social Services and the NHS work well together and that they are adequately resourced. The problems North Northumberland GPs are having in negotiating sufficient funding to maintain their services are indicative of this. Surgeries in Belford and Seahouses have a petition to sign supporting their servces.
- 2-tier education. I know from many parents that the move to 2 tier from 3 tier education will cause practical problems in this rural area and we need to find pragmatic solutions to minimise the impact.
- Economic development. This is largely outside direct County Council control: it’s up to the private sector. But it should be supportive of local businesses, and especially of the tourist industry as the main wealth creator. It is also vital that we have more affordable housing for local people to maintain the community and allow people to live near work.
- And of course: dual the A1

The above sound a bit activist for a Tory: I said in an earlier blog that I thought big Government usually messed things up – the heart is usually in the right place but the management process isn’t. But I do think that focussed local government working with local teams can achieve results. It’s boring, but good management is the key.

The local papers: Local Homes for Local People

The local papers have a preview of part of the Beadnell parish plan. It will set out a need for more affordable housing, noting:
- well over 50% of homes in Beadnell are second homes
- the vast majority of residents want provision for affordable housing
- residents will be asked where any new housing should be built.

This is very welcome: I’m not against second homes (I couldn’t be: mine was one for a year before I moved here full time) or holiday homes. I think they are a source of revenue for the tourist and service industries which are now the major employers in this area. But they inevitably add to the problems for local people finding a home in their community.

I think it’s essential that local housing policy:
- encourages planning provision for affordable homes reserved for local people
- provides funding to support building them

This not just an issue for Beadnell, but also for the whole Division (and indeed the surrounding areas). One of the few benefits of a unitary council should be the ability to look at funding on an overall basis and ensure that council tax income from second homes is properly applied.

Meet the Candidate

I sense the first conflict between me and the local party. They are full of enthusiasm and want to have events to discuss the election and to introduce me to people. But the election is not until 1 May. That’s over three months away. The 3,500+ normal people in the ward are not going to be the slightest bit interested in the election yet. So I’d rather play it cool. But I suspect I’ll do as they suggest.

The Joy of Language

I woke up the day after selection to the sounds of the Home Secretary on Radio 4 giving details of a new anti-terror initiative. The interviewer was asking very simple questions…”What is new about this?”; “What will actually happen?”. But the Home Secretary could not bring herself to answer the questions. Sentence upon sentence came out of her mouth, full of wonderful poly-syllabic words, but all were completely disconnected and meaningless.

Is this what I will turn into as a politician? Someone who is incapable of answering a simple question by saying what they think?

They asked me lots of questions at the selection meeting. I think I actually answered most of them. But many questions politicians are asked are of the "have you stopped beating your wife?" variety. (I can answer that: I’m divorced. But not because I beat her). Or they are a complex question put in a few words without time for a full reply. So, at the meeting: “Would you put your party or your district first?” “Um..that’s a very good question.”
I said I had a core conservative principle that big Government usually gets things wrong, so it was better to have small achievable government. But accepting overriding core principles, if there was a real conflict the district had to come first. That is actually what I think – but, looking back, I can see the first stirrings of disconnected and meaningless sentences. Hopefully it will stop there.

The fundamental question of blogging

What do you put as your first sentence? Do you try a witty sideways slant at what you are going to talk about? Or do you start in a straightforward factual way? Lots of books and advice sites talk about how to set up a blog and a web site. But they don’t mention that first sentence. Or even word.

Snoopy used to start his unpublished novels:
“It was a dark and stormy night”

And it was a dark, though not particularly stormy, night when I was selected to be the Conservative candidate for Bamburgh Division in the Northumberland Unitary Authority elections. After the obligatory celebration with the local branch I had another with my neighbours. “You will have to start a blog” they said. “Er…why?” “To let people know who you are and what you are thinking”.

On reflection, they are probably right. And there’s always the chance of a book deal.