Trust must not waste the opportunity for boldness on hospital parking charges

Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has urged the Chair of the East Sussex Hospitals Trust, Irene Dibben, not to waste a golden opportunity to usher in an hospital parking regime that will have the full backing of local people.

On 28 October, the ESHT Board met to discuss a report on the parking situation. Whilst it intends to continue with the pay as you leave system, it seems that the Trust is not intending to release the contractor County Parking, and will only have ‘pay as you leave’ in one of the hospital’s car parks.

Speaking to the Observer this week, Nick said,

“I had asked for details of the Board meeting at the beginning of October and the Chair Irene Dibben did not respond. Having seen the notes taken at the meeting by Margaret Williams, I now understand why Mrs Dibben may have ‘forgotten’ about my email.

“Whilst I am glad that the hospital has not resiled from its promise to introduce pay as you leave parking this year, I am a concerned that the solution on offer is not as radical as we were led to believe that it would be. I am not confident that when the Trust has done its modelling, it has researched other, fairer, hospital parking packages around the country.

Chair of the Hands off the Conquest campaign, Margaret Williams said,

“It is disappointing, given local feeling, that the hospital has decided not to release County Parking from its contract, nor has it been particularly imaginative about the number of car parks to be included in the new scheme. There is the potential here for a good new tariff structure. The opportunity should not be missed.”

Nick added,

“At the cross-party meeting that I arranged in June, there was certainly an indication from Mrs Dibben that the political parties would be involved in some meaningful consultation regarding the proposals that were to go to the Board. There has been no such thing. I hope that Mrs Dibben will be rectifying this – smartish.”

Lib Dems want to change the country

Chris Huhne MP is the Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesperson.

He was on the infamous ‘Question Time’ panel last Thursday with Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP (who someone said to me this week reminded them of Quasimodo. Harsh but fair).

Chris’ view remains that it is better to drag the BNP into the sunlight of scrutiny and demonstrate how objectionable their beliefs are, than let them hide behind the notion that they are the victims of a liberal media and never get the airtime they deserve.

I agree with him. And whilst I have enormous admiration for our local Unite Against Fascism group, I differ over the issue of whether or not Griffin should have been allowed on to QT.

I met up with Chris Huhne two days after the show, and was able to tell him about how the BNP has targeted Hastings over recent weeks and months, and how local people have continued to reject them at the ballot box. He was impressed – and rightly so.

He, like me, realises that we cannot be complacent. The BNP are a danger. But in order to starve them of electoral success, we mustn’t get bogged down with questions about levels of publicity.

Rather we must address the key social problems that, in turn, make people receptive the hate that the BNP peddle. Whether or not we are tackling the poverty, the inequality, the infrastructure issues (for example social housing capacity) which the BNP manipulate for their own unpleasant purposes – these should be our key concerns.

Food for thought… But it was what Chris had to say about the Conservative Party and the forthcoming General Election which really set my Liberal Democrat pulses racing!

He is a great speaker. One of a frontbench team that is packed with talent.

Chris Huhne, Vince Cable, Paddy Ashdown, Shirley Williams, Charles Kennedy, all alongside Nick Clegg – they will be a formidable General Election outfit.

But it is the Conservatives who are getting the headlines at the moment. And Chris gave us an insight into his own experience of the Tory Party at Westminster – how there is an unpalatable sense of entitlement from Dave’s crew.

There is no doubt that the country wants a change of government. And no doubt either that the Conservatives think they are ready to occupy Number 10.

But the Conservatives offer fake change. Whether it be on parliamentary reform, MP expenses, the Environment, taxation policy.

The Conservatives can provide us with a change of government.

But in the words of Chris Huhne, only the Liberal Democrats will change the country.

To the residents of Silverhill – via Cllr Springthorpe!

[Cllr Stephen Springthorpe has asked each of the parliamentary candidates to spell out why Silverhill residents should vote for them - here's my reply...]

 

 

Dear Stephen,

Many thanks for your email.

Perhaps the best way for me to answer is first to make brief mention of my work background and the political campaigning that I have done to date.

I work locally in mental health care, in the area’s crisis resolution and home treatment team. I bring to my candidacy a significant understanding of the social problems and demography of the constituency, and may well have met some of your constituents, or their family members, in a work capacity.

Along with Margaret Williams I have campaigned to retain consultant-led maternity services at the Conquest and in Eastbourne. My passion for this subject was fuelled by having my partner rushed to hospital after a complicated home birth in November 2007.

I have also campaigned with Margaret against the unfair parking charges regime at the Conquest. The pressure that we have exerted in this matter has resulted in a commitment from the hospital to change to a pay as you leave system later this year.

I have been working in partnership with our local fishermen to try to get the Labour Government to change its mind; give them a fair deal on quota; and protect this important and historic trade into the future.

I have been a lone voice among the parliamentary candidates in questioning the advisability of the Academies model as the way to embed secondary school improvement in Hastings. I have been working hard to get the County Council to bring forward an alternative model so that local people have a real choice.

I have also been active in lobbying Hastings Borough Council to increase its recycling rates; adopt a greener approach to policy-making; and listen to local people on the refuse and recycling solutions which will work best for them.

There will obviously be other issues and campaigns that will arise between now and the General Election, but I hope that this gives a flavour of what I have been up to until now!

I hope that the residents of Silverhill will also take the opportunity to look at the Liberal Democrat manifesto before deciding which way to vote.

Our policies have been costed under the watchful eye of Vince Cable MP, whose key tax pledge – that all earnings under £10,000 will be tax-free – will, I have no doubt, make a real difference to the pockets of people in Silverhill.

Finally, in respect of how you and I will work together…

There is a long history of respect for independent thinkers the Liberal tradition. I think we will work together just fine!

Thanks again for the opportunity to put our case.

Yours truly,

Huhne congratulates Hastings for rejecting the BNP

Lib Dem Home Affairs Spokesperson Chris Huhne MP has congratulated Hastings for rejecting the BNP, despite the town being targeted by the Far Right party in recent elections.

Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hastings & Rye, updated Mr Huhne on the situation in Hastings just two days after the MP shared a panel with BNP Leader Nick Griffin, on the BBC’s ‘Question Time’ programme.

Speaking after the meeting Nick said,

“Chris congratulated Hastings for keeping the BNP out, despite the party having thrown considerable resources at the recent elections.

“We must also recognise the work of the Hastings Unite Against Fascism group – they deserve an acknowledgement for the work that they have done to raise awareness in our area.

“We must not be complacent about the dangers of the BNP, and we must tackle head-on the poverty, inequality and local infrastructure problems – such as social housing capacity – that the Far Right seeks to manipulate in order to get an electoral foothold.

“My belief is that local people want to see political parties working hard, campaigning on issues that they care about, and trying to make life better for them.

“With our pledge to keep every penny that people earn under £10, 000 tax free, the Liberal Democrats are showing that we have practical policies for helping people on low incomes to survive the recession. Local people need to know that there are mainstream parties that are willing to listen to their needs, and to advocate for their interests.”

Is this partnership between Labour and the Tories working?

I have written a number of times in this column that it’s important to say when you agree with a political opponent.

So I am glad to be able to report that I agreed with every word my Conservative counterpart wrote about STAG – \’Save the Archery Ground\’ – this week, and about the public meeting held at the Masonic Hall on Sunday.

It was a fantastic effort by STAG’s committee to get over 250 people into the hall, and the campaign they are waging is very well organised, and of enormous importance to our constituency.

The national heritage dimension of getting the right sort of redevelopment for the Archery Ground cannot be emphasised enough.

But STAG is not the only group of activist, dare I say militant, local people who are mobilising at the moment.

There were literally thousands of people marching to Save Hastings Pier last Saturday.

The Hastings & St Leonards Against Academies group is trying to put the other side of the Academies story – so that parents, teachers and young people can make an informed contribution to the consultation that has been undertaken recently. They were in action at the Hastings Old Town Residents’ Association on Tuesday evening.

What have these campaigns got in common?

Well (and some may say that I am partisan in these matters) if you look closely, is there not a kind of partnership going on – a symbiosis between Labour and the Conservatives at different levels of government – that local people are coming together to oppose?

Take the Archery Ground. STAG is currently trying to persuade Conservative-run Hastings Borough Council that the planning application by the contractor Gladedale is not in the long-term heritage or environmental interests of Burton St Leonards.

As I understand it, Gladedale, a company which has very shaky financial foundations, is already a party to other regeneration projects in Hastings; projects which have the heavy involvement of the South East England Development Agency and which have been funded (often directly) by the Labour Government.

As for the planned Academies for Hastings: the Conservative-run County Council is trying to foist this model of school improvement on the local community at the behest of a Labour Government dead-set on getting as many academies in place as possible, whatever the local community thinks.

And then there is the Pier. How does this fit the theory?

Well, it doesn’t really. But there always needs to be an exception to prove a rule…

I firmly believe that the problems these local groups are highlighting will not be helped one jot by electing my Conservative counterpart at the General Election.

This is, incidentally, someone who won’t answer questions on key aspects of Conservative policy or the Conservative Party itself; someone who has not been willing to go on the record about her core political beliefs.

I believe that our constituency would benefit from having a strong, radical, independent-minded MP who will examine these and future issues, and speak up for us at Westminster.

A Liberal Democrat MP will be a good choice for the people of Hastings & Rye.

Tim Farron MP puts down Early Day Motion in the House of Commons to protect our fishermen

When I met up with Tim at Lib Dem Party Conference in Bournemouth in September, he was appalled to hear of the current situation for our fishermen in Hastings & Rye.

He promised to act.  And as the BBC has reported today, he has made good this promise by bringing the issue to the attention of the House of Commons.

I have been working closely with Tim and his office on the issue, and hope to bring a policy motion to the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Birmingham next year.

Here is the text of the Early Day Motion:

“That this House recognises the importance of conserving domestic fish stocks and the efforts of fishermen in the under-10 metre sectors in ensuring that their methods of fishing are sustainable and environmentally responsible; expresses concern at the Government’s decision in April 2009 to reverse their proposal to give a fair percentage of the quota to the under-10 metre sector in England and Wales; regrets that many small boats such as those fishing in the England Channel are having to throw dead fish back into the sea because of the quota system; urges the Government to re-instate the percentage of the Channel quota allocated to the under-10 metre sector to ensure this historic trade is protected.”

George, Vince and the plight of our fishermen

It’s the end of the 76 day parliamentary recess.

Yes, you read it right – 76 days.

MPs are returning to Westminster to pick up their letters from Sir Thomas Legg. The expenses debacle is back in the news again.

At a time when the public finances are so tight, and George Osborne has announced that a Conservative Government would require public sector workers earning over £18,000 to take a pay freeze, there will surely be another backlash – and political heads may have to roll.

It is inevitable. If the public is to start to regain any sort of trust in parliamentarians, ‘retirements’ may have to accompany fat cheques.

But back to George for a minute…

I know it’s not fair, and people can’t help the way they look. But don’t you think he has a real B-movie-villain thing going on? Wrap a black satin cloak around him, and throw in a pair of party fangs, and – perfect: the Count.

Except, of course, that he can’t count. So says the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. His planned efficiencies are £3 billion out.

Contrast George’s message with that of Vince Cable – properly costed, and making real inroads into the structural deficit.

Whilst the Lib Dems have also bitten the bullet and agreed that a public sector pay freeze must come before cuts in services, Vince’s main focus will be the colossal and undesirable expenditure that the Government has intended for schemes such as the renewal of Trident and the hapless plan for ID cards.

But let’s be clear, it won’t just be coal face public sector workers (like myself) that will be fuming as MPs plead injustice about the expenses repayments, and bankers continue to receive their bonuses. It will be every hard-working family who is struggling to bring home enough money in the recession.

Over the last few months I have been working in partnership with our local fishermen to lobby the Labour Government to give the under-10s a fair percentage of the quota – so that they don’t have to throw dead fish back in to the sea, and so they can survive the choppy economic waters that surround us all.

Tim Farron MP, the Lib Dem Shadow on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be putting down an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons on 20 October in their support; to bring this gross injustice to the attention of the nation.

With the uproar regarding MPs’ expenses nationally, and the excitement of both Hastings Week and the ‘Taste of Rye’ Festival locally, we must not lose our focus on the fishermen.

At the moment, they must be our priority; and we must not rest until their future is secure.

Hundreds more sign up in support of our fishermen

On Saturday morning, hundreds of people signed a petition in support of our local fishermen, during the ‘Taste of Rye’ Festival.

The signatures garnered over the weekend bring the tally closer to 4,000.

The petition calls on the Minister for Fisheries to re-instate the percentage of the Channel quota given to fishermen in February 2009 which was overturned when the Labour Government capitulated to pressure from big business.

Speaking at the weekend, Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, who has been a key figure in the campaign said,

“I want to thank all the local people, local businesses and visitors to the wonderful ‘Taste of Rye’ Festival who backed the petition. I can count on one hand the number of people who were not prepared to sign up in support of our fishermen.

“Tim Farron MP, the Lib Dem Shadow for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will be putting down an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons on 20 October as the start of a process to bring this gross injustice to the attention of the nation.

“His office will be releasing details of the EDM over the next few days”, said Nick

A strong, radical voice for us at Westminster

Did you see the BBC’s ‘Question Time’ programme last week..?

I thought it was a good panel. Among them my old favourite Charles Kennedy. And the ever-tart, and irrepressible, David Starkey.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I was struck by what David Starkey said about politics and celebrity.

I can’t quite remember how it came up… Maybe they had just had the question about whether or not it was reasonable for Andrew Marr (the BBC presenter) to have asked Gordon Brown about prescription medication…

In any case, the basic premise from Starkey was that we don’t have politicians any more, we have political celebrities, and that this means that their roles have changed, and that the information we have access to about them must change.

[If I’ve remembered it wrong Dr Starkey, my apologies]

And so I started to think about my Conservative counterpart, and how we have got into a pattern lately of me sending her emails with heartfelt questions asking her what she thinks about different controversial political issues, and her not bothering to send replies.

And then I read an article in the local paper on Friday about her visit to Hillcrest School, and bristled that she still won’t answer my question about whether she supports the Conservative County Council’s proposed Academies for Hastings.

Which led me on to the number of fetes that she attended over the summer, and whether the total was the same as the number of issues that I have raised with her that she will not go on record about…

And it was at that point that I thought, hang on. Maybe Amber wants to be a local political celebrity, rather than someone with political convictions who wants to be an advocate for her community?

I know that our current Labour MP gets about the constituency; that he opens a good many fetes, and buildings, and suchlike, on top of his casework responsibilities (not to mention his Ministerial ones).

Michael too, it must be said, has a bit of the ‘local celebrity’ about him.

So let this be confessional.

I am not standing for Parliament because I want to be a local celebrity. I do not.

I want to be the Member of Parliament in order to represent the interests of the people of Hastings & Rye at Westminster.

I will do my share of openings and glad-handing, but my primary objective is to be a strong and radical voice for the constituency. To get our case heard.

I have endeavoured on my blog, and through these columns over the past two years, to tackle some of the important political issues locally and nationally, and I will continue to tell you what I, and my party, think about them.

I do not want anyone to be able to say, come the General Election, that we Liberal Democrats have not been clear about what we believe in.

I hope you will vote for it.

Hastings and St Leonard’s parents mobilise against planned Academies

I am grateful to Richard Gladstone at the Hastings & St Leonard’s Observer for covering the launch of the campaign against the proposed Academies for Hastings.

I urge local people who have an interest in education to come on board with this campaign and give their virtual support at the campaign’s Facebook page.

I, along with others, have been working away at trying to get answers from the Sponsors over a range of issues (please take a look at the documents attached to the Facebook page).

I have also been trying to get my Conservative opposite number to tell me, yes or no, does she back the Academies?

[If anyone finds out the answer to this, will they let me know?!]

Please send in your response to the consultation by 16 October – you can complete it online at:

www.hastingsacademies.org