In Touch
 

I have just received my copy of In Touch through the door and it seems that all of a sudden the councillors up for re-election have managed to find their voice after four years.

Cllr Roberts is quoted as saying 'Hyndburn is becoming a relative Council Tax haven under Conservative control.' Yes, I suppose the threat of losing our 2.5% government tax grant if we increase it had nothing to do with that decision and that most other councils in the country are putting theirs up regardless? What about the predicted increases in council tax revenue in 2013 and 2014, how does that occur without raising taxes?

I also note that the Conservatives are fully supporting an Accrington staycation this year by subsidising trips to Blackpool. Cllr Horne is reportedly looking forward to repeating it again in 2011 although perhaps this year he might request that Rishton gets an earlier pickup in rotation so that our residents can actually get on the bus after it's been to Oswaldtwistle?

Rishton is suddenly very high on the priorities list when it comes to cheques and good news but where have you been with handouts for the last four years?

The Conservatives don't deserve a foothold in our village and I look forward to seeing them off in May.

Re: In Touch
 

For one thing - Labour appeared in person, not just a leaflet pushed through the letterbox by a distribution company - the other flyers were more interesting!!!!!!

Re: In Touch
 

And cost a hell of a lot more too;)

Re: In Touch
 

No doubt that H.E. will fund it somehow:eek::eek::eek:

Re: In Touch
 

Political bribery has always been part of many a politicans armoury. The Conservative Council have always relied on such immoral electioneering and believe there is nothing wrong with it.

Such expenditure is wasteful as it does not seek best value. A pat on the back to Ken for having the tenacity and guts to pursue accountability, transparency and efficiency.

The InTouch magazine is paid for as a non political magazine but I remember one day sat in my office with teh door open catching senior officers, a senior Tory and Paul Barton talking about inTouch as a very useful Conservative election leaflet and justifying it by accusing the then Labour County Council's Vision of excluding Conservatives.

Re: In Touch
 

I suspect the talking was coming from the politicians, and the officers were listening with gritted teeth. They tend to get caught between a rock and a hard place!

Re: In Touch
 

Publicising party promises with public money is just plain wrong. By coincidence I received TWO copies of Lancashire Vision yesterday which was full of equally trite propoganda from LCC. We don't need these publications no matter who is in control and however little it costs per household we have still paid for it ourselves.

The best use for it came this morning when I was lighting the fire.

Re: In Touch
 

You're lucky, having an open fire, I can't get rid of mine, I put it in my white sack then watch it blowing around the street for days after the wagon has been.

Re: In Touch
 

O come on; methinks the councillor doth protest too much. "Publicising party promises with public money is just plain" normal in politics. And when and if Labour controls the council, I would bet a "c" note that they will continue the practice, and sanitize there actions with the usual rationalizations and political platitudes.

Every vote that I have ever cast, except locally where I vote for the person, has been for the New Democratic Party .... in English that means "Labour". They are the best of a bad bunch; but they most closely represent my personal political philosophy. However, New Deomocratic governments have been guilty of advertising their not inconsequential achievements with public money.

Re: In Touch
 

And lo, it happened last night at the Rishton Area Council meeting! A public announcement that Rishton would be the startoff point in rotation with Oswaldtwistle.

Public opinion on In Touch was a little less favourable though, with Cllr Horne taking something of a mauling over 'confirmed' spending of Rishton's £250,000 on one playing field. That didn't go down too well with a room full of pensioners who didn't think that one councillor should have final say on such a large amount of money or the community group who are a gnat's wing from securing funding for it anyway and are now likely to lose it thanks to council interference.

Why not actually listen to the residents for a change?

Re: In Touch
 

I accept that it has gone on in the past but my concern is with the here and now.

I give you my word that council-funded periodicals like this will be first on my hit list of recommendations for abolition following a change of control. Miles Parkinson is aware of my feelings on the matter and actually submitted a a firm proposal to scrap The Beacon as part of his budget on 1st March.

Accrington Web seems to have a long memory and I suspect that any backtracking of opinions will come back to haunt me very badly when the time comes.

Hold your councillors to account because your tax money pays our allowances.

Re: In Touch
 

You must get one of the new sacks Less, with a velcro strip to close them:rolleyes:

Re: In Touch
 

The statement has been filed, by the Accy Web archivist.

:D

Re: In Touch
 

Let's be honest, the Council is not where I would expect to get my newspaper from, if I want local news I will buy a local newsaper.
Just as the Council is not where I would be looking for expert advice in running a local market.
Both of these jobs should be done by the Journalists or traders that invest their livelihoods in their respective occupations.

Re: In Touch
 

I suppose it depends on what people expect from their paper.

Some like a publication full of tits.

:D

Re: In Touch
 

It's good to get a view from someone in another country .

You get things into perspective where politicians here become embroiled in issues which are not of any great political note . This is usually the case because today there are only minor differences , locally and nationally , between the main parties . Molehills become mountains . Petty party politics indulge in causing the small matters to be blown out of all proportion .
Fewer people are voting . Most of the electorate have had enough . I predict that the turn-out in May will be a record low , unless the referendum brings a few more voters out .

Re: In Touch
 

Not much of a prediction is it?
a record low unless...

hedging your bets straight away.
:D

Re: In Touch
 

First of all an apology. I meant beacon and not InTouch when refering to the Council's publication.

Lancashire Vison, whilst being produced by a Conservative County Council has a case for publication based on the costs saved from job adverts placed commercially and placed in Vision instead producing a huge saving.

Also County activities are often remote so it fills an information void.

Not so the Beacon which could piggy back Vision for adverts etc... It is in my opinion a Conservative Party leaflet paid for by Council tax payers. It also paints certain individuals as hard working councillors when it is not the opinion of everyone who I speak to that they appear to do little.

Re: In Touch
 

I think I just wee'd please stop it I am crying still.

After the chat I had with a local Accy resident very recently you dont know how funny that is. Obviously I wont post on here but you do know the person I was chatting with.

On a more serious matter, why are both not merged into one to save money if the tax payer is paying for both?

Re: In Touch
 

On a superficial level, one is county and the other is district.

On a cynical level, it is two bits of propoganda for residents to throw away rather than just one.

Re: In Touch
 

Good for you Graham . It's not often we get the "a" word from politicians . :)

Re: In Touch
 

To be quite honest I have always thought both were a waste of time, I would imagine that 95% of people just dump them in the white sack, that's where mine have always gone without being opened. I can always remember a printer once saying to me any political leaflets are only as good as it takes to read them from the front door to the dustbin, tend to agree with him

Re: In Touch
 

It used to be from the front door to the fire.

Re: In Touch
 

Those were the days Bernard:D

Re: In Touch
 

In the next couple of days, the Speaker of the House of Commons will rule on the question of whether the Government of Canada is in contempt of Parliament:eek: Two tory senators face their day in court for some sleazy money maneuvering in the last Federal Election. I've lost count of how many Ministers of the Crown are being called upon to resign for "questionable acts." The billboards promoting the governments economic recovery program ... Plan d'Action Plan .... sport a logo that is very similar to that of the Conservative Party of Canada. The tories are under attack in the House and in the media for being the biggest collection of slime balls since Mulrooney was PM. However, they are doing well in the polls; and if an election came tomorrow, they would increase their presence in the House and move from a minority to a majority position. It's not that Candians are blind to the government faults; it's that the economy is sound and getting stronger. We have come to expect the scandals and the dubious honesty of politicians. We tune it out. If the economy is fine, who gives a flying you-know-what about a little cheating and lying.

On the local level: if the streets and sidewalks are plowed, if the potholes are fixed, if the streets are safe, if the fire department arrives on time, who cares about what else the council does.

Re: In Touch
 

The plan works then, the council take credit for having a high recycling collection rate :)

Re: In Touch
 

Well I try to do my bit Dave;)