Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,798
Neil Moors wrote:A very good night for Labour, and indeed the Lib Dems. And of course, we didn't have Wales, Scotland and London.
What happens now with the Tories will be fascinating - will they gravitate back to Johnson? Will they keep with the gently as we go, sensible government style with Sunak? I suspect parts of the party will run off in opposite directions.
If they gravitate back to Boris that will definitely finish any hope of retaining power in Westminster, what they need to do is get away from their posh and or wealthy boy or girl image. I do not think Sunak can turn things around even if he does reshuffle the floating voter is ready for a change, it is what happens to whichever party happens to be in power after a fairly long time.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,859
Tories became very unpopular
Seen in some of the seats they lost , I never thought in my life time I would see them lose in Sandwich .
But even in Dover there were other casualties such as Indy C precious who's voting with Labour obviously was noted and lost his seat.
Thankfully undemocratic M Woods lost to a green.
I think Starmer does need to be careful on taking these results as one of support for Labour in next general election.
Labour shared wins with other parties .
Also people vote quite differently at general elections than local elections .
Although unknown for it, Labour should be proud of Martin garside. I don't know if he holds office locally , but throughout count he wasn't always around Labour count, he was talking and being pleasant to all candidates .
He spoke to Becky after district result bigging her up
It could have done like most Labour candidates just look after there own.
For the Tories , Sunak outside of his own party isn't popular so they hav e some serious t thinking to do .
I did see quite a number of the Tory candidates looking inwards and telling each other they were great.
Unfortunately that won't get the votes ,nor make them popular.
There are a number of seats they should have won.
That said LAbour only had a two or three seat majority so it wont be easy
Now we will see if they make any differences
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,018
Today’s the day .New council administration .Let us hope our money will be spent wisely and not arty ideas.The Conservatives w
Will find it strange in.opposition.A wake up call for some .You have to be on the ball when in opposition.Hopefully Cllr Mills will put money to good use not some pie in the sky ideas.Attract tourist by all means but not see people queuing at food banks etc.Clear thevstreets Of undesirables .There is help for these out there .Make Pencester a better place.Improve the transport links .
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,696
From my conversations with Kevin over the years I suspect their number one priority will be housing
Jan Higgins likes this
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Paul Watkins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 9 Nov 2011
- Posts: 2,226
My view of Kevin is a very sensible politician. His problem may be more his group & individual aspirations. I agree housing may well be priority & in Pam Brivio they have an experienced Lead if that’s the way they go.
A majority of two will be difficult to manage. An independent may well be the key on tight votes.
His relationship with the paid executive was always reasonable .
Arthur likes this
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
"His problem may be more his group & individual aspirations."
Not that that has ever been the case in recent chain of Tory dominance. Perish the thought.
Paul Watkins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 9 Nov 2011
- Posts: 2,226
He has a group with many news members. Some unknown quantities . It will also interesting to see how he copes with senior Trade Union roles & his Leadership responsibilities.
Paul Watkins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 9 Nov 2011
- Posts: 2,226
He has a group with many new members. Some unknown quantities . It will also interesting to see how he copes with senior Trade Union roles & his Leadership responsibilities
:
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,859
I heard you first time Paul lol
For Labour it will be trying to keep his group together, together with a number of new councillors which will create some difficulties .
There are some in the group that maybe are not experienced enough but take on roles and cause Mills problems.
As Sue says the opposition needs to hold Labour to account , and I hope the scrutiny committees will return to opposition rather than the ruling party which makes a mockery of why the scrutiny committees were set up.
A number of labour cllrs will be voting fodder for four years, but hopefully out of it some of the newbies will come good.
The interesting part will be when projects don t go down so well in the public arena , and we have seen that over the years wi t h the tories.
How that is handled.
It's a tight majority , which if nothing else won't allow Labour to run off with fancy ideas,
The conservatives hopefully locally will regroup , they had the moment in the spotlight, now it's time to ma k e Labour accountable .
It's not easy being in opposition of been in both camps .
In the chamber Labour has a few other cllrs to watch such as Bigggs , whom I understand performs well in the chamber, danger is he's not seen in the ward, so the national scene helped Labour into district this time, but four years soon passes .
Having the commitment to be leader and time will be important, and could cause some issues , where many Labour cllrs will need to step up, will be interesting to see if they can, or do.
For Mr Bartlett if he remains leader , it's about reforming,and working towards 2027, a long way off now, but does pass quickly .
How much the parties will work together could be another issue.
I was doubted on here, but did say conservatives would win a maximum of 16 seats that's if they held all the seats and won some around Deal.
They didn't thus the Labour breakthrough.
Looking at some of the seats ,even with being so unpopular the Tories could have held the council if they had sorted out th e differences in Sandwich, and made better choices in Elms Vale.
Labour cllrs will have to turn up to meetings, which could be an issue.
Looking down at the town council in Dover, Labour appears to have sacrificed it for the district although they remain the largest party, and although the opposition parties outnumber them, they have a history of division which I'm sure Labour will exploit.
Casualties there such as Mr Precious , and Mr Rix could be a real lifeline for opposition or controlling cllrs likely to be more about who wears a chain , rather than what's best for Dover .
They will be selecting t that guy at its first meeting , but with a number of newbies it's going to b e interesting how it all pans out.
Who ends up running council, who becomes Mayor.
It's small fry to Labour by looks of things, although they still hav e a few hard hitters in there .
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,018
Let’s get back to our local DDC. Council.Cllr Biggs is a very good chap seems quiet and un assuming but is very clear on his facts.David Cronk a very good link with Deal Quite a lot Of experience now .Cllr Sue Hill has returned after a short break very clear and dedicated.Cllr Pam Brivo is the star and will keep them together.I m impressed with Cllr Zozzender.Not sure if the Scrutiny knew what they were supposed to do .The main problem will be to keep working together.Thats where Paul Watkins scored .He allowed freedom and appreciated peoples skills.It will not hurt one or two Conservative Councillors to be in opposition.Now they will have to work.All hats off to Cllr Bartlett a really good chap he got the most votes I think.He has always worked for his community well respected.Dover Town Council a law unto them selves .Everyone wants to be The Mayor.Really they are a large Parish Council .They would not co operate and provide the much needed toilets.Dont know what happened to Sandwich always a good Council who knows .
As someone who chaired a Scrutiny Committee me and eleven Male Councillors What a task that was for me .I made them sit together regardless of politics .
Button
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,028
Ross Miller wrote:From my conversations with Kevin over the years I suspect their number one priority will be housing
Well, one can never have too many innovative, sustainable, eco-friendly and limited-stop buses!
(Not my real name.)
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,018
Quite.Useless can’t stop,it now.Meanwhile River Bus Service useless.Hope fully the new council will appreciate how isolated we have become.I did not vote for my Councillors not interested in the needs of our River acommunity.Still they got in.My CVOID appointment Whitfield so one of my Sons will have to take me on their day off..Busy chaps creating employment .Working in industry.We were once a nation of engineers now it’s the hospitality industry.If people don’t have jobs how can they afford take aways and coffee?.
Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,930
1.1 million job vacancies Sue.
Meanwhile roughly 5 million of working age sitting on their arses paid for out of my taxes yet local employers unable to find staff!
"Shall we go, you and I, while we can? Through the transitive nightfall of diamonds"
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Captain Haddock wrote:1.1 million job vacancies Sue.
Meanwhile roughly 5 million of working age sitting on their arses paid for out of my taxes yet local employers unable to find staff!
Sad, isn't it? Amazing how much national wealth can be augmented by migrant workers filling gaps in the labour market. Ask the Germans!
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,018
Sad reflection of modern day society.
Neil Moors- Registered: 3 Feb 2016
- Posts: 1,295
Captain Haddock wrote:1.1 million job vacancies Sue.
Meanwhile roughly 5 million of working age sitting on their arses paid for out of my taxes yet local employers unable to find staff!
This will become quite the political issue. The Brexit dream was always to replace foreign workers with British ones - but the British workers don't exist. Right now, we have to pretend its all the fifty somethings leaving the workplace during the pandemic, a contributing factor for sure but not the main cause.
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,028
Neil Moors wrote:This will become quite the political issue. The Brexit dream was always to replace foreign workers with British ones - but the British workers don't exist.
Well, according to today's FT, for the right remuneration (and all the Yorkies you can eat) - they do! "Lewis Judd will be joining a new post-Brexit army of homegrown truck drivers that the UK haulage industry has been forced to train since an acute driver shortage closed petrol forecourts and emptied supermarket shelves in 2021. Two years on from that crisis, industry leaders and logistics trade bodies report that the crisis has triggered a restructuring of the driver industry leading to higher costs and wage increases of 20 to 30 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, but also a steadier pipeline of younger British drivers.
"Judd, who until a few weeks ago was a window cleaner making £10.50 an hour on a zero-hours contract, can now expect to earn a steady £30,000 a year after he qualifies, rising to £40,000 if he is prepared to do weekends and overnight trips.
"Paul Day, the managing director of Turners Soham, a Cambridgeshire trucking company with 2,500 lorries, who has also trained up many of his own drivers having previously relied heavily on drivers from the EU, said driver supply had stabilised — but with side-effects. “The cost implications of huge pay increases have spilled over into maintenance engineers,” he said, explaining that many mechanics already held HGV licences for moving trucks round the yard, so then went back on the road when wages spiralled in 2021. “It’s forced up the wages of mechanics so transport costs have increased significantly in the last two years."
(Not my real name.)
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
be nice to have a proper bus service up hear.
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,018
I agree Brian .So many people have cars they donot understand how frustrating the bus service is .I donot use the buses now .The thought of having to hang around Pencester puts me off.The journey via St Radigunds a night mare.A lot of elderly people have gone back to using a car .
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,859
Sue
I think over the years ,together we did at least make Stagecoach , and the railways more accountable.
You recall as soon as Collor was elected and his party in control , he disbanded the committee!
MAny of these sub committees worked cross party without to many problems.
Scrutiny as committees is always a great idea , but If I recall correctly it was Mr Watkins who overloaded the committee with his ruling party, this making the scrutiny less effective.
It's a great idea to hAve these committees in place, but they need to be run by opposition parties.
You will probably agree now your party is in opposition lol .
The question remains out there of the cost and use of three councils , with today's financial issues for many people , all have to be staffed, on two of the council's with very high wages , together with a clerk plus all the staff and running costs .
On the 18th May at the town council in Dover who wears a chain around the neck will be decided as well as lots of talks going on around this (in hearing your buddy Collor is throwing his h at in the ring, which will mean another four years of Labour , with it Labour Mayors.
This is not that important, but will be interesting.
I agree with Sue on Mr Cronk.
The bus service has worsened, and doesn't look like it will improve, with car ownership to increase which will, with it cause issues .
It's early doors at the mo,
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS