I was knocking on doors in Rodborough the other day and a number of residents expressed views on the Canal Restoration.
Most supported the idea. But some were concerned with the possible loss of habitat for various creatures and the impact of economic development along the ‘Canal Corridor’
I hear what they are saying. But I don’t necessarily agree with their, genuine, conclusions.
Done properly the Stroudwater Navigation and the Severn and Thames Canal will be an excellent environment for all kinds of life. There will be disruption while the Canal is constructed but if the Kennet and Avon Canal (and many other waterways across the country) shows that wildlife quickly return and thrive.
There will be economic benefits to communities along the length of the canal. It is the responsibility of civic leadership to ensure that the right kind of development occurs and that the opportunity for the stroud area is not missed.
Just caught this bit of news from the BBC, The European Parliament has voted to allocate £110 million from the ‘European Union Solidarity Fund’ for part of England hit by the summer floods.
This is for infrastructure repairs. Roads and Bridges etc…..
Which could be good news for the Canal?
Watch this space…..
Nick was talking about Mental health today in PMQs (Prime Ministers Questions) and raised the good point that some patients wait 3 or more years to get a therapist.
Well I agree this is wrong and Labour has done an inadequate job of improving the Mental Health provision in the NHS. Same old story, not enough money and not in the right places.
Many sufferers (1 in 6 of us will be affected by Depression of some kind) could benefit from CBT (cognitive Behavioural therapy) but its expensive! and many GPs are not able or not willing to refer patients. And the waiting lists are so long anyway (see previous point)
It also true to say that many patients need the pills. I don’t believe this latest study paint a true picture of the situation with the anti-depressants. The Drugs do a job. Please don’t stop taking them untill your doctor says you can!
My circle of friends and family include people who have suffered from poor mental health. The older I get the more my awareness of these issues increases, And as I have mentioned in previous posts I have personal insight into this area.
But that is another story…
The Police don’t want to do it anymore…. apparently and the local District does not look after it either… A bit of yellow paint would solve it… but the County doens’t have the money…?! (for a bit of paint?)
Well if its not Parking its Speeding, traffic humps, dog do, broken lights and if I look at another drain…Yarg!…. yep good old Community Politics is alive and well in Rodborough.
I love it really.
Well not the dog do…..!
So the Speaker of the House of Commons doesn’t think MPs should discuss Britain’s future in the European Union….
As I said last time this is the real question we must debate!
I’m not bothered about legal technicalities in this or that Treaty. We have Parliament for that job. Referendums need to be clearly defined.
So lets have the debate Labour and Tories don’t want. Are we ‘in’ or ‘out?’
Are we internationally involved in the world or are we ‘Little Englanders’ stuck in some introverted time-warp?
The Environment, world poverty, terrorism, crime, economy… the list goes on and on. We need Europe so why can’t we debate the ‘Real European Question’ in this country?
Ok I won’t rant on and on (and on…!) I’ll be back on this topic soon though!
Should we have a referendum on the European issue?
Well it depends on ‘which issue’
Charles Kennedy committed the Liberal Democrats to support a public vote on the ‘European Constitution’… the French and the Dutch killed that Treaty stone dead.
And now we have a new treaty called the ‘Amending Treaty.’ Is it the same as the previous one? Should we vote on it? (No and Yes… trust me I’m a politician!)
In 1993 the Tories refused to have a referendum on the Maastricht Treaty (Which established the ‘European Union’, ‘European Citizenship’ and the single ‘European Currency’) That piece of paper was much more significant to us in Britain that the ‘Amending Treaty.’
So, the Tories now want referendums on Europe (As does UKIP) But so do the Lib Dems! but on the much clearer question of ‘do we stay in the European Union or do we leave?’ That’s the underlying issue.
The Tories and UKIP are scared of the real debate. They don’t care about legalistic ‘red lines’ they want us out!
I made a slight error in my last post.
if a perfectly proportional system of voting had applied at the last UK General Election the Greens would have 1.2 MPs…
Hopefully you get my point that if you want to tackle climate change vote ‘Liberal’ not ‘Green’… and something might actually happen (I’m being sarcastic… sorry!)
Ralph Nader has announced he will be running for the US Presidency….
I have nothing against the Green Party of America except the same issue I have with the UK Green Party… They can’t win.
And they ‘take’ votes away from Parties that can and ‘would have’ made a difference.
Mr Nader wants to change his country and the world, but in 2000 his votes in Florida denied the Democrats the White House. If you are a Green or like me ‘just green minded’ then would you rather have had in the last 8 years a President called Al Gore or one called George W Bush…. Bit or a ‘no brainer’ that one!
So a vote for Green then meant that Conservatives got in…. Great result for the environment. (I’m being a little sarcastic as you can probably detect!)
Many Greens in the UK are lovely people with principles I can respect and even agree with sometimes (after all I nearly joined the ‘Green Party’) but they can’t win. They don’t stand a chance. Even with a fairer voting system they are still so small a party they would not make a difference. (Their result at the last General Election would not have got them a single MP even if the most proportional system had been used…)
Enough Green bashing. I believe the challenge we face in the UK and the USA is to change the system. The parties placed to do this in Westminster (Lib Dem) or Washington (Democrat) are the ones who can ‘implement’ policies to tackle climate change….. Not just talk about them
What is the cost of Alcohol?
Every Friday and Saturday the NHS is swamped with what I call ‘alocohol abusers’… People in their 20’s are being treated for liver disorders caused by Alcohol. A whole generation is being scarred by this ‘recreational drug.
I am a Liberal and I do believe in choice, but sometimes the state has to step in. I drink very little of ‘The Stuff’ nowadays but yes I have binged in the past. I understand the social pressure that people are under, the so called ‘cultural differences’ that seemingly justify ‘alcohol abuse.’
So what kind of choice will we have in 20 or 30 (or 10?) years time? And the cost financially will be prohibitive. Yes I know the Government get upward of £30 Billion a year from the drinks industry, which kind of explains why not much is being done about the problem.
Tax on Alcohol needs to go up. Period.
Supermarkets must be subject to restrictions on discounting of Alcohol. Strict Licenses for the sale of Alcoholic drinks must be introduced and much more effort must go into educating the public on the dangers of Mankind’s oldest drug.
And we need to introduce labels on all Alcoholic products along the lines of Cigarettes…. Then we can give people a real choice. Live or Die?…. Discuss!
The economy is on a downer and half the world is starving…
Well sometimes it seems that it can’t get any worse. Darfur, Kenya, Serbia…. just a few places that are not on my holiday list.
What strikes me about how the world is today is the fact that although our country has its problems they are trivial compared with the places mentioned above (And plenty of others)
Just picked this up from CNN
An estimated 8000 refugees have been stranded on the Chad border by a fresh Sudanese offensive against the rebels. The Chadian Government is refusing entry to the refugees….
If there is such a thing as ‘A just war’ then surely we should intervene in Sudan? With 200,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands driven across the border or trapped in camps surely the west can apply all manner of pressure on the Government of Sudan?
It may be that political and economic sanctions could be used to much greater effect (with the active support of China…) but failing that…. the UN should consider all options, including military.
I remember Kosovo and the plight of refugees there. Nato went into action to force the rogue state of Serbia to the table. This had a ’cast iron’ UN mandate, and I would like to see the UN being much more assertive in the Darfur region in the same way.
This is my private view and I don’t pretend to represent the Lib Dems on this one.
So another state another victory…
How long do we have to wait for the Democrats to choose their champion? Barack Obama would be my choice of course, but I’m not good at predicting elections and I don’t have a vote in this one!
Wisconsin marks the 9th win in a row for the Obama camp. With Texas and Ohio coming up in March (I’m answering my own rhetorical question!…) the nominee will be known to us quie shortly.
Its not that Hilary would make a bad President its just Barack would make a great one…
Sunshine and fresh air are good for mental health as well as physical wellbeing.
It’s not ‘Rocket Science’ (I just love that phrase… I should know!) but even these days many people don’t understand the link between the body and the mind.
MIND (the mental health charity) has recently campaigned on the subject of ‘ecotherapy.’ A good environment and physical exercise can be a good complement to drug therapy.
With nearly every family in the UK being touched my Mental Illness, in some way, its useful to know that its not just about popping pills.
And being out in the Sun at this time of year is pretty good anyway!
Well Mr Darling has finally plucked up the courage to do what ‘Our Vince’ told him to do months ago…
So Northern Rock is to be taken into temporary public ownership. Good. Now the taxpayer has the assets as well as the liabilities.
Poor old Labour must be dreading the ‘Murdoch Press.’ We will have to see how the markets and the media react. My main gripe with the government is that they have taken far too long to do the right thing and ’spent’ far too much of our money.
Tories haven’t covered themselves in glory either. As far as I can understand, Conservative economic policy is to let the bank go bust… at least it was last week… (or was that the week before?!) Oh well, what can you expect from the team that brought us ‘Black Wednesday?’
Nothing like a bit of canvassing to warm the blood on a cold winter day!
Yes it is true… I do work ‘all year round.’ and in all kinds of climatic conditions (Exception being freak electrical storms…)
Today I put in a good 3 hours. Knocking on the doors of the good folk of Rodborough. I didn’t stop until my brain froze up and I became partially incoherent… such is the dedication to which I approach my work!
But it’s true to say no one else in Rodborough does this! I’m not from the kind of political background that relies on being ‘Trendy’ or has a ‘Class Vote.’ Poor Lib Dems have to sweat their guts out for every vote.
But the real secret is believing in it! I do work all year round etc because I am a Liberal all year round…
Or the day, depending on orbital mechanics and testosterone levels in the Pentagon.
Yes I’m talking about the plan to ‘blow up’ that pesky US spy Sat which is de-orbiting somewhere, sometime soon…
When I studied Space Science at University I was told about the dangers of ’space junk’ and how, increasingly, manned and unmanned space flight was becoming more difficult due to the ‘junk.’
With British Space policy possibly changing towards more manned missions one has to wonder why the American military are risking an explosion in Low Earth Orbit? …. All those sharpe objects!
Can sanity prevail?
This, incidentally, is also a good time to look at the ‘Missile Defence Shield’ or ‘STAR WARS II’ as it is affectionately known across the pond. What would happen to our economy if we start ‘blowing things up?’… let alone the damage it already does to our relationship with Moscow.
Sleep safe tonight… It may never happen….!
I am not a great ‘Royalist’ by inclination but today’s speech by Prince Charles gives me hope for the future of the monarchy.
The EU was meant to bring nations and citizens together for the common good and the Prince of Wales is right in saying about climate change “Surely, this is just the moment in history for which the European Union was created?
Internationalist and green… Is Charlie a closet Lib Dem?… Discuss!
I don’t know if your area is like mine in that sometimes it seems there are more cars than people?
Parking is a horrendous problem in Rodborough. There isn’t enough space. Also, sometimes, drivers don’t park in the ‘best’ places for road safety. There several blind corners, made even more dangerous by having a car (or cars) plonked on them…. You know who you are!
There is a strip of road connecting Walking Hill into Court Way which probably needs double yellows. (Far too dangerous without them…. in my opinion and that of local residents)
I don’t want to appear to be lecturing people but if there is a perfectly good driveway then please use it…
I suspect that Rodborough isn’t alone on this one!…
A few days ago I wrote about some of the positive things happening in Botswana. There is another side to the story of Africa.
Darfur.
We sometimes here about starvation or civil war in some part of Africa, but the human disaster in Sudan slips in and out of the Media’s focus. I would like to pay tribute to the commitment of the people who continue to demand our attention for Darfur. Mr Spielberg is boycotting the ceremonies of the Chinese Games in an attempt to get that government to do more. Our own MP David Drew has done a great deal as well. There are many others, aid workers, peacekeepers, politicians…
So I will pray for Darfur and I will remember what is happening even when it isn’t in the headlines.
Yep the polls don’t look good for the Tories.
The January Guardian poll puts them at 37% (down 2) with Labour at 35% and 20% for the Lib Dems (up 2).
They are not going to win a general election on those figures… The Liberal Democrats remain the main obsticle to a conservative governmnent. I think 2008 will see the wheels coming off the Tory band wagon. Nick Clegg has only be in place for 50 days or so. A Lib Dem surge could prove rather annoying for Mr Cameron. (Public Health Warning… I’m not too great at Political predictions!)
So will the Right Wing tire of their leader? Is William Hague ready for a second go? Just how much damage will be done to the Tories by ‘Nick’s Mob?’
But on the other hand its is Labour’s turn for a leadership Challange!… David Miliband for PM?….
It may have appeared this week that the Archbishop of Canterbury dropped a clangger on the topic of Islamic Law.
I actually think he has beem deliberately missinterpreted by the media. The Right Rev Rowan Williams is a highly intelligent, considerate man and from what I can tell has been shocked by the react to his comments.
Obviously any debate containing the subject of Sheria Law is going to be ‘charged’ by preconceptions… I don’t think many people in this country intend the rule of law to be different for one group than for another. The Archbishop didn’t either I’m sure.
As far as I’m concerned if a given community want to behave and govern themselves by a voluntary set of rules thats fine if it doesn’t break UK law and if all parcipitants agree to it.
We live in a multicultural soceity and integretation means that all groups must make an effort to understand and accomidate the traditions and customs of each other. But we can only have one set of Laws… and we have Parliament to change or amend. That’s the Bristish way.
Watched a fascinating programme tonight about Botswana and the ’semi-success’ story of this aftican nation.
It seems quite often that all we hear about Africa is violence, starvation and failure. But there are other aspects that don’t always get covered by the media. The above programme did illustrate some of the problems faced by the people in Botswana (HIV, forced migration etc) but it also showed the successful diamond mining industry which funded health, education and security etc.
Africa has such incredible potential!
There is no justifiable why the citizens of this great continent can’t earn their way into prosperity and peace.
I am a Liberal and I beleive in freedom in trade. Let us in Europe and America open our markets. Lets follow the lead that China is giving and invest heavily in African Economies. Lets expand the success story of the EU across the Med and assist the creation of a similar framework for African Union.
Africa is rich. In materials, in culture and in potential….
Well they do for some.
Nick Clegg rightly identified the issue of Mental Ill Health in our society. 1 in 4 people will suffer mental illness during their lifetime. 1 in 6 of us is ‘Mentally ill’ now….
Nick talks about Britain being a “Prozac Nation” and by this he means the ease at which medication becomes the sole solution.
Lets be clear. For many people the ‘drugs do work’ and they wouldn’t be able to cope with their lives without them. I have been there.
But there are alternative, or rather supplementary, therapies. “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy” has an important part to play for some sufferers of Depressive illnesses. But 93% of GPs prescribe anti-depresents, mainly due to a lack of resources or facilities.
Mental Health care is not glamourous. I pay tribute for the work of nurses, doctors and other key workers but there isn’t enough emphasive on on being “people oriented” ….and there isn’t the money (Weavers Croft?)
The Liberal Democrats would introduce “A Mental Health Guarantee” Maximmium waiting times would be introduced and if the NHS didn’t deliver the option of ‘going private’ would be there. Local PCTs would be made democratic and real power for change in the NHS would be devolved from Whitehall to local commisioners.
Sounds good? Well for a start maybe.
What is it about Stroud?
We wanted a cimema so we built on our bus station. The temporary solution is now ‘de facto’ permenant. (split by a trunk route… hmm)
We wanted a bypass and knocked ‘Old Stroud’ building down to make way… and then stopped!
We wanted the canal to be openned…. Lets hope we get this one right!
So what is the trend? My personal view is that we are badly served by both National, Regional and local government. Too many layers, too many committees and too many quangos…
As a Liberal Democrat I would like to see power devolved to lower levels. I also would like to get rid of some of these ‘blasted’ groups that accumplish nothing. (Either that or put them under closer control by ‘elected’ representatives)
One thing I would like to see happen is to abolish Gloucestershire County Council and give the powers it holds to the Districts… GCC has failed us too many times. It does not serve Stroud well and I consider it ‘unfit for purpose’
Also it would be good if our MPs didn’t play ‘Party Games’ with our housing. But thats another story!…
Yesterday British Waterways announced that they were withdrawing from the Cotswold Canals Partnership.
While this is a body blow to the hope many people have in Stroud District I would say that we must not jump to conclusions too soon.
British Waterways Chief Executive Robin Evans says that “We have thought long and hard over this decision and know it will disappoint our partners in the project. Ultimately, however, we have a finite pot of money and the needs of our existing waterways must take priority”
It remains to be seen whether the Canal Project can continue. I certainly hope that it does and brings all the benefits to the Stroud area we have been promised. As I said, it’s a little early to jump to conclusions and certainly not the time for recrimination.
So 2,500 post offices are being culled by Labour.
Rodborough used to have 2 Offices but the last one closed several years ago. Nearby Post Offices in South Woodchester, Uplands and Ebley are now under serious threat.
Why?
Surely the Post Office should be seen as the essential center of many communities. Not everyone wants to, or is able to, use a high street bank for their financial transactions. Why should they have too?
The government is spending money on TV adds promote the Post Office while at the same time is doing all it can to undermine the ’service’ (I may be a moderniser in the Lib Dems but I’m still old fashioned enough to see the Postal Service as that, ‘a service!’)
I’m not sure where our local MP stands on this issue? He says ‘their are arguments about whether closure, and the numbers that could close, are justified or not’ (Monday 4th Feb Citizen)
I agree in that their is an argument to be had with the Labour Government (Mr Drew’s Party is Labour in-case anyone forgot) and no closures are justified under these current cuts, but perhaps I should add that I would like all parties (and those who are unaligned) to come together on this one.
Somebody once said that you have to repeat a message 3 times before it ‘gets through’…
Well I have just survived an Action Day in Rodborough where we put out #19 in our leaflet schedule!… local and national messages etc
#20 and #21 are sitting on my hard drive waiting for completion… saying the same things but with new relevance every time. Its a fact that I care about local schools, roads, housing and planning. I do work all year round, I may not like Damien Hurst’s taste in Art but I’m pleased he is committed to ‘Clean Energy’ (His promotion of Solar Energy at his Dudbridge site) I also have worked in the nuclear industry and I KNOW its a white elephant! All good stuff and I keep telling people…
But how much is too much? I think I’ll keep going untill people start running after me down the street in a vain attempt to return ‘that dratted peice of propaganda’ … and then I’ll just canvass them!….
It really never stops. We only succeed when we really do work ‘All year round’ And to do that you need a heart for your community(be it your ward or your country or your world…).
It keeps you going….
One of the things Nick Clegg mentioned during the leadership election was the challenge every ‘green’ politician has with making envrionmental sustainable policies that everyone of which everyone can be part.
The Liberal Democrats are committed to tackling the dangers of the Changing Climate. We realise that its not just a concern for the ‘Chattering Classes.’ Global Warming is going to hit everyone, rich or poor, ‘Western’ or from the ‘Developing World.
Some would argue that we need to stop the world economy from ‘Growing.’ But that is NOT going to happen folks…. No government is going to vote for permanent Recession. And where is the justice in denying a Child in Africa the same chances that a child in Europe or America has? Its not ethical to restrict Growth and it won’t happen….
We have to ’save the planet’ (well save our civilisation anyway) some other way. We have to make sure that emerging superpowers like India and China (and Russia maybe?) are fully engaged in the development of ‘Clean Technology’… We need a ‘Green Collar’ economy. There is serious money to be made in Renewables and Energy efficiency industries. Use the incredible powers of human ingenuitity and stop pretending we should ’regress’ back to the stone age.
In this country there is higher levels of poverty and lower social mobility now than in 1997. Thats an issue just as important as ‘Climate Change’. I would argue that the whole social justice and environmental reform agenda have to be linked together. There are considerable numbers of people in my home town who shop at the discount stores and not at posh ’alternative’ shops or ’Marks and Sparks’ type supermarkets.
Can they, as things stand, afford to go ‘green?’
An article recently published in the Citizen pointed out that there are 2620 families waiting for accommodation in Stroud District alone. With the development of the Hunts Grove site at stake How on earth are we going to house all these people if we don’t go ahead and build?
The Democratic process produced a local plan that clearly set down sustainable objectives for affordable housing. Hunts Grove is the best site and was approved by the locally elected body (Stroud District Council)
I can appreciate that people who already own their own homes can be anxious about property prices but surely the priority is to get the homeless into homes… And to do so without tearing up local planning accountability.
Dispersal is fine but it doesn’t address the problems of getting enough affordable housing constructed. Too often executive homes are built instead. Hunts Grove was preposed because of local transport infrastructure (which the developers would further improve… try telling me that the Slad and Painswick valleys have better tranport accessibility Mr Drew?) and it’s nearness to centres of employment.
If Hunts Grove does not go ahead god help the home seekers and the homeless, and the council tax payers. Maybe our MPs should consider the longer term view and put vulnerable people first rather than going for the ‘quick vote’ option.
