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There isn't even a comely serf to peel my grapes anymore. Miles is such a monster. |
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As well as helping the blind to cross the road, and alert the deaf when the phone rings, they also train poodles. As well as doing everything you ever ask of them, they can also be trained to peel a grape for you. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...hiteSmiley.gif |
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I don't fancy having to clean up my act just because I wouldn't get my hands dirty in the first place. I'll peel my own grapes. |
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It takes all sorts. ;) |
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This is a great post.(would give you Karma, but I have to spread it around a bit first) It tells it like it is. Political allegiances have no place in the delivery and provision of local services. I wish that all of the elected councillors(regardless of the flag they were elected under) could use their collective intellect/skills/abilities to make the borough a better place to live....instead of using their energy in in-fighting, name calling, etcetera. It takes away the dignity and respect that the electorate may have held for that person, when you hear of the childish behaviour and name calling. Party politics needs to be removed from local elections. If this were to happen then there would be far more real progress made. |
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I think this is probably the biggest single reason why we have such low turnouts for elections in this country |
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I don't care about what political party is in charge, as long as they can do the job. The other thing about making local elections apolitical....it would do away with the mentality of spending what is in the coffers before the opposing lot get their hands on it. This makes for better distribution/use of scarce resources. Free local elections from party political bias and we would have much better services because there would be no back biting, name calling and the like. I have lived in the borough all of my life, but I cannot remember what it was like before PB and his team ran the place....but I cannot forget how PB and his cronies spent money in ridiculous ways...ways that have left the borough worse off. |
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That will hopefully leave you more money for the projects that are hard or impossible to seek external funding for. |
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Whilst i agree it certainly contributes, meself i think the biggest reason fer low turnouts,is the penny has finally dropped n folk realise that "None" of the major parties give a toss about the lot of the ordinary voter.:)
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And that, Cashy, is why political bias should be removed from local elections.
It is expected that the people who wish to be councillors have a desire to serve the community.......do they really need a political banner to enable then to do so?......My own feeling is that they don't, and that political ties just get in the way of these people doing a good job. If I wanted to be a councillor, I could not align myself to any political party........OK, I could be an independent, but in my view people(the electorate) see independents as indecisive, weak as water and because they are not aligned to any of the major political parties, they haven't much clout. |
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No Neil, I don't think I will bother.
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John, there is no disputing that PB has worked hard for his Ward,(but isn't that what he is paid to do...no medals for doing your job, even if you do it well) but it has to be said that he has got a it above himself(and that is an understatement).
No man(or woman for that matter) is bigger or better than the council they work for....and PB has demonstrated in so many ways that he thinks he is the big cheese. Big cheeses go mouldy...and some of them find their way onto the spike of a mousetrap. |
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However the Council has a huge budget and the main reason for being a councillor is not to ensure a new park bench every now and again, but to run a £30m business and remember this is about jobs and prosperity, not charity with the constant flow of £100 cheques. In that respect I stand by the view that the last lot, for whatever reason were incapable and that there are incapable Labour councils too. Whatever the faults of political alliances, anything less would be a disaster. Last year the three independents pretty much had three opposite views on every subject "because independence is their byword". Without teamwork and cooperation and with the right of veto at any time it would be chaos and carnage. Just look at Lancaster. A new leader every two months, a new cabinet every 4 months, can't agree on policies, have no way at all of making progress with everyone reserving the right to vote against. Worse; The Council is a huge business and needs to be divided up into about 14 leaders taking responsibility over different services. If each disagrees, how can the others make progress. If you start without a basis of compromise and direction how can you know you aren't wasting your time or that someone else is doing what you don't want in another position? You end up with the grotesque position of just wasting time and money on a grand scale and the whole Council collapses. You also end up inward looking as each independent fights for votes for a position whereas a leader nominates and the group is outward looking. |
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I would rather a properly recruited, experienced business minded individual run the council than the current mechanism, supported by the best people to do the job in each area of specialisation. Contracts can easily be short term defined length with the people of the town voting if we think they have done a good job and should be renewed. |
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What I said has always been my view and said frequently in public. I must have had a few slurps and was misinterpreted!
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I am using words similar to those of J.B.Priestley when he said , " Britain is not an economic enterprise . It is the home of the British people . " Those who base their politics on Marxist or capitalist ideas will always see money as the key element within our society . But people , not money , are our wealth . |
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Colin, I agree with the fact that people are our wealth.......but money is generated (in various ways) to look after the people of the borough.......and we need the best people to manage that resource.
It is easy to see how party politics can be counter productive in the use and distribution of precious resources......punch and judy politics are no servant to the people of Hyndburn I would very much like to see local government de-politicised....get everyone working together for the common good of the community......not back biting and in-fighting because they see themselves as different...purely on the banner they travel under. In local elections I never consider which party someone is aligned to........I only look at their track record for doing the job in hand....but I know that many people are blinded to who is best for the job by party politics.......foolish, but that is only my opinion. |
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Even at the national level I see no clear water between the main parties . Having no major policy differences they resort to squabbling about petty matters and making personal attacks . As for Hyndburn , what is the point of party labels ? I am sure that a body of independently minded men and women , elected because of their desire for the common good , would manage to work together , and do so effectively . |
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I don't see it being idealistic..but I do see it as being realistic.
All the councillors, regardless of their party, are in the job because they believe they have the skills to make the borough better in some way...and the electorate of their ward must think so too, or they would not have been elected. I cannot abide the petty squabbles and point scoring....it takes energy and dynamism away from their reason for being on the council...and their energies would be better used in solving the problems of the borough. |
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John...it wouldn't matter if elected members had previously fought a ward under a political banner.
The main point is, they would have been elected...chosen by the people for their skills and talents in managing some aspect of life for the borough...rather than being chosen just because they are Labour/Conservative/Independent. There would be no political banner getting in the way of them doing a good job(or precluding them from being elected if they had the right skill/talents)...and no opportunity to sling mud...backbite purely on the grounds of their political banner. They could all pull in the same direction for once instead of seeing other councillors as the enemy. It has to be a better way.........and change of this sort has to be looked at, considered and tried before it is condemned out of hand. It might even reduce the apathy in local politics...because I am pretty sure there are many people who don't vote or get involved with local politics, because of the antics of the national political parties. |
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No John, I am not missing your point......the elected candidates would not be independent at all. They would be unsponsored by any political party, which would open the way for people who have no political affiliations to stand for election...and rather than people being elected on which political dogmas and ideologies they support, they would instead be judged on their ability to serve the electorate of their own particular area.
It may be that some of the people already on the council would still be on the council, but this would be on their ability to do the job rather than which party they supported. Council business is no place to score political points, and there is no room for petty egotisitical arguments.......it is a place where the business of the borough should be conducted with professionalism and dignity. You are always going to have people with differing views, but if these views are not complicated by political dogmas, then compromise must surely be achieved in a more equitable way. I have been to many meetings in my career....meeting where ideas and ideals were very different. People work out their differences and make compromises in an adult and civilised fashion.........are you telling me that councillors can't work in this manner? And is this because of their political dogmas?...because, if that is what you are saying, then it should not be like that, and you have justified my view that things must change. I have met people who say 'that won't work'....and frequently this is because they don't want to try it, they are afraid of change, and they really don't want it to work. |
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I take your point Margaret but I can't see how 40 or so individuals squabbling over their own wards will be of any help.
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It depends on why they are squabbling...whether the motives are due to political influences(which I suspect in many intances would be the case).If labour says it day...the conservatives would say it is night.....without even looking outside.
These are unwanted and unwarranted arguments. The prime concern of every elected councillor should be to make the borough better in any way that this can be achieved...if this is not how they want to work, then they should not be on the council in the first place. If we have a council that is non political then maybe some of the barriers to progress would be removed...there would, of course, still be some differences of opinion....but most adults meet these every day in their working lives and manage to find equitable compromises. The other thing is...if we take political sponsorship out of local government then maybe people who have no political allegiance(like myself) would be enabled to be more active in the business of the borough. Not that I want to dabble in local government. |
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Inevitably if you had 35 independents they would have to form two or three teams to manage affairs and each other and you would end up back at a political structure we have now.
Independents is a utopian ideal that if it did exist would end up in grotesque unworkable chaos. Which indepndent would lead on which service and what if they had extreme views? What happend when another lead councillor has the opposite view and the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing? And if they do what they are doing but demand no compromise 'because they are independent and sticking to the will of their constituents'? It would be a charter for political gridlock. Local Govermment needs people working together and people who share a simialr sense of direction in order for the wheels to turn. |
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Graham...I didn't mean independents in the sense of the independent political party.
I am talking about a consortium of councillors........and without political allegiances, they would work more like a board room works. People would have responsibilities, according to their experiences,their skills and their talents. I don't think party politics enhances local government. It gets in the way of cohesive working. Never mind. I will just have to go on hoping that in some dim and distant future...when I am no longer around....someone will see that perhaps change is required, and that this cohesive working is better for everyone...until then, I suppose the petty squabbles will detract from the real work that needs doing in the borough. C'est la vie. |
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Anyone who joined a mainstream political party thirty plus years ago, knows the party of today is a million miles away from the party they joined as a new member. Yet still they'll blindly support 'em. Caring not about how they've changed. Just change political party for football team, and you can start to understand the unquestioning loyalty. Mainstream party politics has changed, it's just the followers who remain the same. Blinkered. |
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Is the good of the borough not a similar sense of direction? It is isn't, then it should be...and that should be all that is required. |
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The one talking the most sense on this topic is MP from Clayton-le-Moors.In my independent opinion that is.
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City of Kingston, Ontario, Canada - City Councillors
Here's our bunch of councillors. Notice that there are only twelve of them, plus the Mayor, who is elected at large. And all in all they do not a bad job; and they are an accessible group. And I don't believe that they see themselves as "Independents", or anything other than City Councillors. I haven't read all the profiles, but I'm pretty sure there is no mention of party affilliation. |
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I am not aware that their council is in grotesque unworkable chaos or political gridlock . Maybe they are just mature enough to be united in serving the interests of the people , and can discuss and debate issues , reaching decisions that are advantageous to the islanders . |
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Mayors are different. All the power is put in one person. He chooses whoever he likes. It is a model that many here are considering and I would say this, it encourages voters to think locally when voting.
Of course elect a bad one and it's the reverse. It also damages the ward based councillor whose say is next to nothing and results in a democratic deficit. The current system means your councillor has more power to change things as part of a team. Under the Mayors system descent can result in the sack. |
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Then maybe we should make the trough a saucer instead.
When people say it will never happen here, they close their minds to the possibilities, and stop looking for solutions to problems.......and the problems(certainly with the last administration - can't comment on this new one because it is too new) were that some of the councillors...notably the leader saw themselves as bigger than the needs of the borough. It was all top show.......or as my mother used to say...silk frock and no knickers. It just seems to me that we learn nothing from experience...we, the electorate of the borough will put up with the same old, same old...because it is the easiest option.....don't whatever you do rock the boat or muddy the water...it will upset the political parties......they have to look like they are worth something. But hey, what the hell do I know?????? |
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Eric,
What you doing fooling around on here this afternoon? Surely you should have your eyes glued to the TV screen, cheering on the live pictures of Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they make their stately progress through their soon-to-be north american dominion? |
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Well thats just convinced me Eric. yeh will sup wi anybody.:D;)
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Prince William performs water landings in Canada | The Jakarta Post
Oh, this is water birding. Interesting .... never read the Jakarta Post before. I wonder if they deliver in Kingston?????? |
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It's just the Canadian way Cashy, so laid back they're virtually comatose, I mean, if they were friendly enough to accept me & thousands of other British troops being embarrassing in their Towns (all in the past I hasten to add :D), what a lovely bunch of people. :)
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Even though Canada's your home, your still one of us too. Home is where your heart is, but also where your roots are. You're like one of those fancy plants they produce. A red rose, grafted on to a maple tree. :D |
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