Final CCTV Locations

I decided to go down fighting on the Hyde Park CCTV scheme. In the end they delayed the original decision, held another committee meeting, got the officers to prepare a proper report and then....

reconfirmed the original decision. You win some and you lose some. However if nothing else I have proved the point that you can't table sloppy reports and there is such a thing as due process. The good news is that because of an underspend we may well get a third camera anyway.

I'll be pressing for quick installation of the two chosen sites which are

- Junction of Royal Park Road/Hyde Park Road

- Junction of Queens Road / Royal Park Road.

Area Committee

The charmingly named Inner North West Area committee met tonight and set a new record at 3 hours and 40 minutes. Its technically a full council committee but being hip liberals we have turned it into a public meeting. It was emotional through out and bad tempered at times. The most charitable explaination was that we are suffering indegestion. We have taken far to many initiatives, we have over worked the area management office and two years into the Joint Administration we are suffering a "Delivery Gap".

The less charitable view would be that we had the first hints of political mortality tonight. The Area has fairly intractable problems surrounding Landlordism and multi occupancy and many of the local activists are beginning to wonder if we will fail to deliver just as Labour did?

Would such a view be fair? Yes and No. I'm actually intensely pround of many of our Area achievements. A fundraising officer that has raised 7 times her salary in funds and built huge capacity in local groups in terms of Fundraising skills. An award nominated Community Planner post that has helped local groups fight off dozens of bad planning applications. A community clean up team that was the eventual model for a city wide initiative.

I could list dozens of small ways we have proded, poked, cajoled and persuaded the Council to do things that it would not otherwise have done. That is what Area Committees were set up to do. However the quirky independence we have shown seems not to be enough anymore. The question for the next year or two is wether we can excercise sufficent influence at a central level to get the Council to challenge the very vested interests the area suffers from.

I put my two penneth in as usual on lots of issues. I had marked up my papers in advance and hit a few moving targets as the meeting went on. I was pleased to see slow progress on Parking Enforcement, The Great Student run, Policing in Central Headingley and Planning.

If the relavent people have gone away with a flea in there ear then so much for the better. If it is the first whiff of decay then thats not so good.

And my own view? I don't think the local Labour party has made the intellectual journey needed to come back in North West Leeds. I'm confident that they won't provided that we Lib Dems rapidly learn one important lesson. That being in power is harder than being in opposition and that large public sector empires need vision, drive and ruthless performance monitoring.

On Patrol

Since being elected 6 years ago I have tried to do regular foot patrols of the ward. I take a note book and pen and just walk sometimes at random, sometimes in a planned area. I pick up case work, see how Council services are doing and am generally nosey. It helps (if that is the most appropriate phrase) if you have a ward as dirty as mine and with as much planning infringement. Bumping into so many residents is the up side.

Tonights "patrol" was slightly different in that I went upto Headingley "Town Centre" just after the England match had finished to survey the carnage and see how the varying agencies were coping. I spent 40 minutes wandering about and on an objective level it was fairly unpleasent. How a surburban centre and a Victorian stone Conservation area at that became a glass and chrome fronted drinking strip is a long story.

On a relative level I was actually pleasently surprised. The local police division seems to have got the mega phone delivered message that we are sick of them tolerating badly managed pubs and drunken anti social behaviour. There were 12 PCSO's out patroling who were well deployed and doing a very good job. It was amazing really the difference it made to the atmosphere as was all to apparent when they left enmass an hour after the game finished. Within 10 minutes the atmosphere had changed signifigantly and I headed home. Enviromental Health will be getting a rocket ( which will be ignored from previous experience) but having gone to have my prejudices confirmed I was encouraged that some messages may have gotten through.

That said I continue to wonder how a society that takes 42% of GDP in tax can tolerate such public squalor and blame a lack of resources for the problem.

Silent Night

The population of Leeds 6 continues to decline with Students and House sharers clearing out for the summer on a daily basis. Everything seems quieter. The shops are begining to close an hour early, its possible to get to the bar in local pubs, streets are developing that erie feel as more and more houses are empty. The quiet is my favourite bit. The 24 hour aspect of a large student population can be very stimulating but with some streets 90% multi occupancy it can also be overwhelming at times.

Walking between the park and my friends house tonight on a summerish evening I could almost hear the silence if that's not to pseudish thing to say.

However the Aural peace is matched by a visual onslaught. The landlord skips on every street are already over flowing, the detrius of a years shared house is dumped on the street and the summer period house extensions/dormers/basement excavations have started as landlords try and get yet another room into a property.

The process will complete with change over day next weekend. The vast majority of properties turn over on 30/6 - 1/7. My collegue James has coordinated the Councils response this year but so far the omens are not good in terms of cleansing and enforcement. I don't envy him the task. Howver for the time being I'm just enjoying the silence and being able to leave the windows open on a warm summer night.

Pop Culture Ramblings 2

I have just seen the simply quite beautiful " Love and Monsters" from Dr Who ( which could easierly have been called every Geek is an Island). It reminded me on many levels of Jose Chung's from Outer Space arguabley the greatest ever X Files episode (although I would argue for Clyde Bruckmans finale repose).

" Love and Monsters" deals with myth, obsession and lonliness. There is a danger that by spoofing obsessive fans you begin to talk only to obessive fans who will pick up on the reference fest that the script offered. However the kids would have been suitabley scared by peter kays brilliant cameo. The two themes that seem to be developing are the Doctor as a Mythic Hero and the build up to a great loss and tragedy. I was stunned by the plot device where a young child comes down the stairs in the middle of the night and sees the Doctor a bit like Santa by the Christmas tree. Except of course we learn in the closing scene that the child has repressed the view of his dead mother who the Doctor had failed to save. So a kind of Anti Santa.

I may not be able to watch the end of this series I thing its going to have something really really bad happen.....

Meanwhile I caught Jonathan Ross doing more damage to the Cameron brand than Paxman will manage in a Million years. Isn't it interesting that dear old Dave will ditch so much of the negative cultural baggage of the Tory brand but when it comes to illegal invasions he's still true to the cause?

Earliest Political Memory

I remember watching Play School but my mother making me switch it off because some thing called " History" was being made on the other side.

I watched this odd woman in a blue dress walking through a black door.

I was so frustrated that I burst into Tears. Which was quite precient as it turned out.

Question Time

Well, Well, Well. I thought this was a very confident performance from Charles albeit with a clearly supportive audience and some soft ball questions. Not being out shone by the Mega Wattage of Germaine Greer is quite an achievement. It also should be said that there are easier come back performances than Question Time. He must surely have been tempted by the GMTV sofa of Richard and Judys book club.

However he must, must know that his " I wouldn't rule it out" response to the possibility of him comming back as Leader, will make (unhelpful) headlines. I notice he also side stepped the teetotal question. As a medical matter he's entitled IMHO to 100% non disclosure but he needs to make that argument not avoid the question.

Can he carve out a "Big Beast" role for him self? I do hope so. The party would benefit enormously from his talents,charisma and warmth. However he must be well. I thought he looked a little pale and drawn.

So come back Charles, but be 100% fit and know what it is you are comming back for and to.

Calm amongst the Storm

Amidst the maelstrom of yesterdays Council meeting two things struck me.

The first was the impressive debut of Cllr Mohammed Iqbal the new Lord Mayor, chairing a difficult meeting. I suspect once he has got his feet under the table he's going to be a tough cookie but a very dignified one at that.

Compare and contrast with poor old Chris Beverely of the BNP. He sat through the whole precendings looking vaguely disoriented ( as in fairness any sane person would) all alone on a seperate bench. It was interested to seem him looking bereft at the half time buffet as everyone was blanking him.

What did amuse me though was when he laughed along with everyone else at one of the Lord Mayors jokes before deseperately stopping him self and imposing an aryan stoney faced calm.

Chris, its OK to laugh at Asian peoples jokes. Even if you are a Neo Nazi !

Full Council

My gut instinct was that yesterdays Full Council meeting would be particularly bad tempered. And so it proved. I suspected the Joint Administration, rattled by the election results would go on the offensive and the Labour Group bouyed by the same results would also go on the offensive. The resulting clashes weren't particularly pleasent and went on for 8 hours.

Full Council's start at 2pm (although I sneaked in at 2.50pm) and with half an hours break for a buffet go on till the participants ware themselves out. Having stayed for the Whipped votes and put my two penneth in on the Woodhouse Moor Car Park I walked out at 9.10pm with still two motions to go.

In many ways it set the landscape for the year ahead. The Labour Group do seem to have picked themselves up and produced a few flourishes that smacked of a proper opposition. They seemed to have picked key themes and fielded credible teams of speakers who actually spoke rather than just give way when the time came. I liked the stunt where by all 40 of them waved a copy of a Focus leaflet in unison during a speech denouncing its content. After two years in power there are also enough quotes now from us to be quoted back at us on occasions like these.

The debate over the grass cutting contract was where they drew most blood. The Chaos in the service is now in its second year and we are in mid June. If things continue for the rest of the summer with attendent negative press coverage then we will sustain further damage. A recovery plan is in place but then they said that in Mid June last year as well...

That said I'm still scoring the meeting as a Score Draw. So much of what Local Councils do is dictated by national Government that its easy to shift blame onto them. The Tories had a good go about Post Office Closures and made some telling points about how little our 7 Labour MP's deliver for the City from their own government. The new Lib Dem Executive member for Children's Services made an impressive debut and seemed to stamp some much needed authority on the portfolio. We managed (in the end) to comprehensively rebut the Labour lie that we had issued redundancy notices to employees of Roseville Enterprises. I suspect effective rebutal is a skill that we urgently need to practice. I also rather liked the use of a Council motion to launch the Older Peoples strategy which looks like a good piece of work. I've been advocating using Council meetings in this way for ages and no one has taken any notice. Its a real danger if you let an opposition dictate the agenda.

At the end of the day we still occupy the "Commanding Heights" politically with 52 seats to Labours 40 with 6 independents who are anti Labour and tend to abstain a lot. However with the clock ticking till the next election in just over 10 months time its clearly going to be a turbulent year. I wouldn't go as far as Francis Pym and caution against to large a majority but competitive political scenes deliver better for residents in the same way that competitive markets deliver better for consumers.

I will post more about this soon.

What does a Councillor actually do? (4) Email

Leeds City Council offers its members an excellent IT package (installed at home) which is wasted on an old technophobe like me. However the scary part of it is, if you aren't careful, that email becomes the centre of your existence.

I have just returned home after exactly 7 days away and received in that time 111 Council related emails. If I'd been here to actually send any myself it would have been double that figure with replies. After an Hours "Triage" session this has been whittled down to 21 that need reading properly/a substantive reply/acknowledgement in some way.

That doesn't mean that the other 90 don't matter merely that I will never have time to read them in a million years. The clear majority of my constitiuent contact now comes via email. The relative ease of email encourages people not only to write to me but to start quite long discussions. All very good for democracy but it can be crippling for the work load.

The positive side of this is that there is a log of everything you do which can be useful for chasing officers etc. However that "record keeping" can encourage conservativism in officers replies and as written communication gives them 15 working days to reply!

I have to say a working person like my self couldn't function without email and its ability to be switched on at any time of night. Thats actually quite frightening when you think how modern an invention it is.

I suspect in local government terms its both a help and a hinderence.

Back in Bohemia

Within 20 minutes of getting off the train in Leeds today I had seen (a) appalling litter (b) ample graffiti (c) lagered up ingerland "fans" (d) traffic congestion (e) road rage (f) a real live hoodie gang (g) the chorus of a burglar alarms to name just a few of the joys of inner urban life.

However there was also (a) a theatre (b) a cinema (c) non white people (d) buildings over 3 storeys high (e) functional public transport (well almost)

As I turned the final corner towards my house after a week away I saw the Hindu temple had its flags up. This means a festival and I resolved to google what it would be.

Hyde Park. Part BladeRunner. Part Bohemia. But glad to be back.

Jamie Reed MP

Jamie Reed is the new MP for Copeland (which is the dreadful 70's rebranding for the Whitehaven district). He was in the same year as me at school and we were old sparring partners. The fact that he has made it to the Commons aged 32 caused me much gloom and introspection last year. The fact thats its a seat for life doesn't help either. It hasn't returned a tory since 1929 and as Labour held them off by 1800 votes in the 1983 landslide year I suspect its going to stay that way. (and congratulations to the CLP for picking a genuinely local candidate not some clone)

There was always a what we would now call a Blair/Brown aspect of our relationship. I chaired the School Debating Society, the Charity Committee, was a Pupil Governor, won the debating competition and won the school general election (SDP/Liberal Alliance Gain - thank you). I may have been clever but he was thinner, better looking and got to kiss pretty girls in grown up clubs which I wasn't cool enough to go to. I was to busy in the library with the other geeks. As I read about his latest exploits in the Whitehaven News this week and I thought about my life of bins, pot holes and noise complaints I felt very melancholy. He has that Tony Blair magic about him.

No wonder Gordon has Psychological flaws.

Pop Culture Ramblings

Could someone who "knows" post in the comments section about How TV scheduling works?

I was very, very cross to see the new CH 4 show "Transmission" clashed directly with Jules Holland on friday night. I appreciate that one is more Radio 1 and the other Radio 2 but surely both are aimed at post pub live music crowds?

Anyway I flicked between them both with the TV zapper and ended up with more of Transmission although I did enjoy the subtle Dixie Chicks set and will check out the new Radio 2 Jo Brand Show.

I think what snarred me about Transmission was that it made me feel slighty younger. I know this is a deception but Steve Jones and Lauren Laverne are much better eye candy than Jules and had a certain edginess. I was however very, very cross about the Danny Dyer interview.

This is "New Britain" Danny and if you/your agent agrees for you to get your kit off for the front cover of "Attitude" you look like a bit of a **** if you then pretend you didn't know what it was all about. You also lose points if you happily boast on national TV about taking so much E that you throw up but the oh-so-slightest-hint that you might be gay has to be rubbished in a manly manner. Rant over.

Finally I was very disappointed to see Grace go on Big Brother. Shes was a superb game player and good TV. Sadly people seem to be following the family pattern of voting out the objectionable people early. This is a national Strategic mistake as they are the interesting ones!

I fear that Mikey may slip under the RADAR as winner as a result.

Sun, Sea, Sand and Cider

I'm still on holiday. It was alledged to be a working holiday but in the end I have just collapsed and shared my time between sleeping, walking in the sun shine and getting gently sozzled on Cider in Weatherspoons.

I feel conflicted about Wetherspoons. I wouldn't go near the Leeds ones which are awful and it is of course a big chain with as much cultural integrity as McDonalds. Also lets not mention all the anti Euro beer mats and the owners UKIP inspired appearences on Question Time.

However how does a boy turn down the best selection of commercially available Ciders? The Bransty Arch pub in Whitehaven is actually a classy redevelopment of the old Bus Station which was turning into a White Elephant / Eye Sore. They have made a genuine effort to work in a bit of local History and art work and have a scheme where you can order locally produced lamb.

I feel I'm being conned in much the same way as when Starbucks has Hemp and CND symbols in its windows. I've been impeccable otherwise spending all my dosh in locally owned and manged shops doing my bit for Ghost Town Britain but I must be allowed my Cider. One week of the year where i don't have to drink Strongbow is just to good to miss.

I don't suppose you could fix some Cricket Tickets?

No, I bloody well can't.

It is the time of year when all sorts of aquaintances and family members crawl out of the wood work and contact their test- match- stadium- representing friend.

Now I'm informed its only a one day international at Headingley this year nevertheless the phone calls have come. What I struggle with are two misconceptions.

The first is that Politicans really are that corrupt. That I would have a personal stash of premium tickets supplied in a brown paper envelope in return for planning favours. Are politicans repuations that low?

The second is that the Cricket ground would bother to bribe me. They know I'm an unreconstructed moaner that bangs on about construction noise and parking problems rather than gushing over their economic impact statements over test match status.

Go and buy some! GRRR.

Site Visit

Perhaps foolishly I paused on the way home this evening to have a look at the new East stand of Headingley Stadium and at the 45 St Michaels Lane site which is the site of our next big planning battle. Can't do just to the stadium controvesy at the moment. However we are hyper scrutinising the recent signage and lighting application they have made. However if we are honest its closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. The new stand is much, much nicer than the old one and looks really up market and contemporary. However its towering over neighbouring properties and those residents have to move house or lump it.

I had managed to get myself wound up about the 45 application just looking at the plans but seeing the cramped site and the neighbouring surburban semi detached properties made me quite angry. I feel a "once more unto the breach my friends" moment comming on over this application.

And when I have more time I'm going to find a way of blaming John Prescott for it.

Young Man

Tonight I finally became a member of the New Headingley Club. The whole point of the New Headingley Club is its very definately the OLD Headingley Club of which more later.

If anyone doubts the long term Psychological damage that being a Lib Dem councillor can do to you then consider the sight of me poking round the spacious and well laid out grounds of the club, sizing up the foot print of the building and thinking " Bloody Hell, what would PPG 3 do to this? " *

I snapped out of planning mode and went inside for the monthly members meeting. I had had to deposit a fiver, a membership application and a signed sponsors sheet a few weeks ago and this was my once a month oppertunity to actually join. Being now 9 minutes late for the meeting they nearly didn't let me in. However they relented and soon I was given key fob, rule book, membership card and an introductory talk by the Chairman.

I must say I'm chuffed really. The old British Legion Club converted to a private members club a few years ago. Its a real oasis for a lot of families and older community members and is the ultimate antedote to Headingleys superpub hellish centre. The club its self has decor of a certain time period but is spacious clean and clearly very well cared for. Its also still has a huge amount of British Legion memorabilia and history (and where else would that go?)

And its mutualism at work. I am now a co owner of the club with a £1 share. I know that there is an on going conversation with the new Development Trust about a supportive relationship. All in all I feel very poor for not joining ages ago particularly given the gentle atmosphere and the bar prices.

But of coiurse the best bit was at least three references to being a "Young Man". This tells you soemthing about the average age of the other members but I don't mind that at all!

* If you don't get this reference you are better off not knowing believe me.

The Civic Hall

Spent day one of my "Holiday" in the Civic Hall today. Leeds City Council wisely invests in an excellent Home IT package and support for its members. I literally couldn't do the job without it. However there is no substitute sometimes for getting into the office and tackling the sprawling edifice by phone and face to face contact with officers.

I will post seperately on "planning" but the bulk of the day was spent meeting new planning officers, looking at plans and on the phone to senior bods in the Development Department. Given the sheer volume of signifigant applications we have at the moment it was something of a fire fighting exercise. The good news is that it looks like 3 (IMHO) damaging applications will be refused without fuss by officers. The bad news is 4 really bad ones will make it through to planning panel on 13th of July. At least this gives us time to rally the troops and see if we can get things defeated/watered down there.

My next target was the North West Area Management Office. The city is divided into 5 wedges (all of which would just about scrape unitary status on their own) and 10 area committees. Headingley is in the charmingly named Inner North West Area Committee. Its made up of the 12 City Councillors for the area ( 3 Labour, 8 Lib Dem and 1 Independent!) I'm actually a fan of the management office as its full of bright young motivated and well managed officers with a can do attitude. The problem is its just not resourced to actually manage anything. To make devolution work the committees need to be able to commision servives and monitor progress. They do their best but...

At our last meeting 10 weeks ago we funded several projects none of which seem to have moved forward very far.

-£4000 for advertising and development work at the Hyde Park Picture House. It seems a communication break down means they haven't submitted aproject brief ergo no cash released.

- £3000 for anti climb paint. This protect about a 100 properties. I have a rather different vision for this than the police. I'm also keen that the hosuing department, absentee landlords and the Universities cough up some cash. Also as the neighbouring ward is getting the CCTV I'm keen to pinch the funding for my own ward and float a area.

- £15000 for police over time in Central Headingley. should be straight forward but over two months into the financial year we have no written protocol for exactly what we are getting and when. For all we know it could be half spent by now. I'm probably sounding harsher than I mean to be but don't let anyone tell you that spoending tax payers cash is all you need to do to deliver good public services....

Finally i sorted out some street letters. We have a relatively generious budget to write to residents on matters of local concern. Two big letters written and discussed with the group office on planning drop ins we are arranging in the comming fortnight.

Thankfully not many of my collegues were around today which ment I got loads done with only a bit of gossip. In effect the next election campaign has already started with less than 11 months to go.

Nothing Changes

I listened to the beautiful "Epic of Gilgamesh" dramatisation tonight on Radio 3. Its almost certainly the oldest written story in the world (about 4500 years old) What really took me aback was how modern it seemed. Heroes, villians, gender sterotyping, love, sex, power and adventure. Even the mythology with its sky gods and fire breathing demons seemed familar to anyone that has seen Lord of the Rings.

For all the debate about advancing social changes it was quite moving to recognise a full formed human identity from the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates millennia ago.

It was particularly amusing having watched tonights Dr Who. Satans Pit could have gone off the rails with a "Dr Who meets The Exorcist" ending. However it pulled of a psychological explaination of what was going on which saved a bit of credibility. The Doctor/Rose story line is simmering nicely in a Mulder/Scully way. Where will it go?

However even with a TARDIS The Doctor still has to play out the lines of Gilgamesh. A part human/part super human hero on an adventure with a fire breathing Demon.

The old ones are the best.

Urban Myths

According to yesterdays Yorkshire Evening Post it seems that Leeds City Council has been banning England flags. To add insult to injury it has also banned its staff from looking at football related sites on the Councils internet service.

At the moment surely there can be no greater PR disaster to befall a local political party than to be running a Council that is banning England flags just in time for the first match?

Its the wrong thing to say but I did have a chuckle when I saw the YEP front page yesterday. Its a classic case of not letting the facts get in the way of a good story. It seems the management at Leeds Kirkgate market have banned strings of england flags between stalls on health and saftey grounds (they might obscure CCTV) but you can have as many flags as you want on your stall. As long as they are flat.

The "ban" on football related internet sites is just a restatement of existing policy. All private use of Council Computers is prohibited. However the "jobsworth council bans england flags" is so firmly established in urban mythology that the story had to be written. I must say If I had anything to do with council communications I would have asked for every piece of paper anywhere concerning flags and combed them for potential gaffes. I suspect that I would have waited for any problems to emerge around internet use and dealt with them on a office by office basis rather than posting (a very nicely worded) warning on the intranet.

However if a tabloid newspaper decides to do you over, then its going to do you over. I rather like the YEP, its very good at what it does and has journalism that puts most regional news papers to shame. Having a daily tabloid is also very good for local democracy. However it does mean that if you live by the sword you have to die by it. When we were in opposition in Leeds we were all to happy when the YEP did over the imploding Labour administration. We have to accept and work with its mores now we are the establishment. Both Labour and Conservative groups in Leeds have senior people that understand how a tabloid thinks and tailor their press effort accordingly. Defending control of a council is a very different skill than some of opposition campaigning. For a start off being factually correct on an issue isn't always enough.

PPC ?

I have been (very kindly) offered a place at a party "assessment day" on August 5th to try for approved parliamentary candidate status. But I have decided not to go.

I attended one just before the last election as I was angling to be a paperless candidate in one of the Leeds seats. I got a grade 3 which ment I wasn't allowed to stand which was slightly frustrating as the experience would have been useful in addressing some of the CV gaps that had been identified. Although it was a bit disappointing I didn't really quibble with the result and I would approach the whole exercise very differently if/when I go again having been through it.

Of course I am putting this off and off until it will be too late for the next election. Exactly the mistake I made last time. I suspect I just don't have the drive needed. It made me think the other day when they were selecting for the new Outer York Constituency. The new boundary projections give it a notional Lib Dem majority and if I was a young, thrusting Candidate its exactly the sort of seat I would be trying for as many people did. Maybe it will arrive one day but I am still much more inclined to take an area next to me and try and work it up than travel afar. (and of course York really isn't that far)

So despite just needing one piece of manditory training I have put the thing on the back burner. I really need to focus on doing lots of party training and building the CV points that are needed.

Don't let this put anyone else off. The day was far from unpleasent and very good experience. If anyone wants to give being a PPC a crack then the best thing is to ignore everything I have said and apply now! you have been warned!

Ten Point Tory Lead

I'm fairly sanguine about individual opinion polls. Thats why I wasn't too panic stricken in January and am not to panic stricken now. However I do look at trends and think these need to be taken seriously. Two things are beginning to emerge from the recent polls which tomorrows for the SUN confirms.

1. The Lib Dems are not benefiting from Labours national implosion (at least at headline figures)

2. For a small but signifigant number of people the stigma attached to saying they will vote Tory has gone.

Now David Cameron has got a very hard time from some bloggers over his complete lack of policy. However at this stage to be honest he doesn't need them. The Conservative brand had become so toxic that emergency surgery was needed to remove all those nasty negatives. The telling polling evidence being from Focus groups showing dramatic drops for positions as soon as they are associated with the Conservative party. Nobody will listen to any Tory policy until this surgery is complete and so far it seems successful.

Of course its easy and accurate to say that he is a marketing hack treating politics like a Soap powder brand. Or worse still that he is another Blair seeking a big tent. The fact that its a cynical excercise shouldn't blind us to the fact that it may be one that works.

Put simply by spending his first 18 months turning the nasty party into the nice party he may well convince 5% of the electorate that its OK to vote conservative again. The party needs to understand this and try and get ahead of the game.

The fact that David Cameron is seen through by we Lib Dem activists is not really the point. We were never going to vote for him anyway.

The Green Shift

Of course I shouldn't speculate on party policy on the basis of an Observer report much less so by quoting Michael Meadowcroft, however it doesn't stop anyone else so here it goes.

I hope that todays reports are true and that the Lib Dems are about to announce a plan to cut 2p from the basic rate of Income Tax in a revenue neutral package that includes Eco Taxes and a gentle squeeze on the very wealthy. I always recall the Michael Meadowcroft quote that higher taxes "were progressive but not liberal". You may very well persue a liberal outcome by higher taxes but they were not an end in them selves. I'm also minded of the saying that Generals are always fighting the last war. New Labours refusal to promise tax increases when they were needed (and indeed they did them) was fighting the last war of the 1980's when the electorate had moved on. The Conservatives very recent pledge not to cut taxes is fighting the last war of the 1990's when everyone knew that the country's infrastructure was screwed and we needed to pay more.

I very much hope that the Liberal Democrats will continue to fight the next war rather than the last one. We were brave enough to push the penny on Income Tax for education when no one else was honest enough to do it. I hope the party will be honest with its self now and recognise that the time has come for selected tax cuts. Its an absurdity that anyone on the minimum wage is paying Income tax still more so that the state takes with one hand and then gives with another with benefit top ups. Signifigant increases in the basic allowance are redistributive in that say £500 extra a year in a pay packet means much more proportionately to a check out Girl than it does to Richard Branson. I hate to say it but increases of the basic allowance were a trick of Nigel Lawson and not indexing them a trick of Gordon Brown.

If we are to propose the pleasure of tax cuts we must be honest about the pain. Aviation is a target whoes time has come. No one has to fly and voluntary taxes are always the best ones. The green shift from taxing good things like Income to bad ones like consumption is one I'm keen to defend on the door step.

If indeed we do promise a 2p cut in the basic rate we will of course be derided by our political competitors. It was ever thus. However we would be fighting the next war. Now that the tax burden has hit 43% of GDP its time to focus on delivering on the extra expenditure that we argued for. Let us also recognise just how stretched some people on low wages are. And what of the first signs of strategic thinking for the post Blair political age? Well I say hurrah! to that

Don't Come Knocking

A mini master piece directed by Wim Wenders. Its ages since I went to see a serious film so I poped to the late show at the Hyde Park Picture House. ( www.wonderassociates.com/hydepark )

Its a sort of morality play set in contemporary small town america (the seedy mid western version). A burnt out, over the hill actor past the peak of fame finally looses the plot and absconds to find himself and his family. However he finds more family than he bargained for but is reborn in the process. Hardly an original story (but then are there any original stories?) with superb taught performances from Tim Roth, Sam Sheperd, and Jessica Lange.

As you would expect from Wenders the direction is everything. Two hours breezes by as you are treated to a master class in squeezing melodrama and meaning from a taught script and small town life. I was particularly intrigued by the lighting and the use of the desert to symbolise a dark place of the soul. Perhaps its just me reading to much into things but I couldn't help wonder if the Red/Fly Over state setting for this quantity of social and ethical malfunctioning wasn't a " little bit of politics" as Ben Elton used to say.

I imagine release will be quite limited but go and see if you can. It will make you feel good about being human.

CCTV update update

A few days ago I was celebrating the fact that the technical assessment for the new Hyde Park CCTV scheme had agreed with my ideas and proposed locations.

Except it seems that it didn't. I picked up an email today replying to me asking an officer what the result of the Sub Committee meeting had been, expecting good news as everyone seemed to be in agreement.

However it seems that there was an "error" in the report I had been sent and in fact they had included the wrong location maps meaning that the Woodsley Road shopping centre had been rejected in favour of a Queens Road site. Now the report is a shoddy piece of work which I ignored because it was giving me what I wanted. I now have to make one of those pesky judgements that elected officials make.

How much political capital do I want to use on this?

There is plenty of scope to fight on on this issue and I genuinely believe the new proposed site is a poor one, and believe I know what agenda is dictating the change. £25000 is a lot to spend on a dud camera.

On the other hand further argument delays the scheme and people are being mugged and burgled every week. I have one of the two sites that I was angling for (and in politics 50% isn't bad....) and I have other fish to fry. Extra CCTV is hardly a original idea but this scheme has only really happened because I have pushed it so hard. A £50k scheme is a success in any bodies book so I should probably chalk it up in the plus column and move on.

I need to think about this over the weekend before making a decison. Hmm.

What ever happened to Jodie Dunn?

My biggest ever Byelection effort came in Hartlepool clocking up 18 days in total. I know this is a modest effort by many standards but it did allow me to see quite a bit from afar of Jodie Dunn our eventually defeated candidate. I only met her properly once when the slightly frightening Hillary Stephenson conscripted me to accompany Jodie to a community fair. " I need a man!" she said ( I don't hear this enough) as apparently sending a gender unbalanced entourage wouldn't do. Hillary never explained why.

I was very, very impressed and always hoped that she would find somewhere winable to fight or set up camp somewhere and start from scratch. I know there were some unfortunate personal circumstances and negative publicity shortly afterwards but I do hope that that doesn't stop someone who is MP material becoming one one day.

The reason for this little Hymn of praise was because I heard one of her occasional appearences as a guest on Five Live the other day and she sounded as sharp and human as ever.

This endorsement will probably serve as the kiss of death but if all else fails I still love you Jodie!

Exodus

Yesterday was the Leeds Universities Summer Ball. Its as close as anything to the offical end of the Univerity year and marks the beginning of the Exodus. Over the next 6 weeks two thirds of the population of Leeds 6 will get up and leave for the summer. Its gradual at first with the halls of residence emptying just about now with most shared houses sticking around till the last day of June when tenancies turn over and half the area moves house on a single day. By mid July anyone that is going has gone until the process flips at the August bank holiday weekend and people trickle back before the onslaught of freshers week.

Speaking personally I have never bought the " Ghost Town" critique of the area over the summer. Their are plenty of people around and population densities are such that even with two thirds gone that just leaves us at the city average over the summer. However many shops restrict their hours , most takeways close for a period and all the student dominated businesses complain at the lack of trade. Most houses on most streets are empty leaving an erie feel to streets and most landlords dump the end of year detrius in their gardens for weeks on end. In some of the worst effected areas its does look like an urban apocalypse with unbelievable quantities of rubbish being dumped causing the refuse system to collapse. And on the last weekend before the 30th of June most houses have their final parties of the year causing a massive spike in noise complaints.

I have mixed feelings about it all. I wouldn't live here if I didn't enjoy the atmosphere of which students are an essential ingredient. I haven't had a peep out of any of my student neighbours this year proving the sterotypes wrong and I certainly don't look forward to the change over weekend.

That said the summer months do give you a chance to recharge your batteries. The relative quiet, the feeling of space and frankly not feeling quite so old as I do during term time. On this basis I will stick my head on the block and say I'm looking forward to the summer months if only because its part of the unique cycle that makes this very odd community what it is.