Sack the Chief Executive

Well it's not often I find myself in agreement with an Elected Mayor, but this time I think he's got it exactly right.

According to the Mayor; "The chief executive has a very wide range of responsibilities, some at least of which I believe overlap with the newly elected mayor, particularly providing strategic direction.

"It's for that reason that I've come to the conclusion, partly to save money but also because of this overlap of roles, that the chief executive's role can be removed from the organisation and that's the proposal that I'm making."

Fantastic news. Some real changes being made!

Unfortunately for Hartlepool it's not Stuart Drummond making this announcement. It's Leicester's first elected mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, who has announced plans to scrap the position of chief executive at the city council.

After just a few weeks into the job Soulsby has come to a conclusion that Drummond has failed to reach even though he's well into his third term in office. One of the quotes from Sir Peter echoes something I said when I was a new councillor back in 2002! The mayor added: "There's no legal requirement for us to have a chief executive but we do have to have a head of paid service."

Exactly! We don't need a Chief Executive! Bring back Town Clerks I say!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-13421828

The fight to save St.Hilda Ward

One of the "issues" that emerged during the local election campaign was the proposed merger of St.Hilda Ward with the existing Stranton Ward to for a new "Heritage" ward. Apparently the existing councillors are very much against it (well John Marshall and Tim Fleming, the independent two anyway) and they, along with Shane Moore, the Conservatibve Candidate in the recent elections are all going to campaign to "Save St.Hilda Ward"

It's a shame the two independents didn't start the fight a little bit earlier. At the Council Meeting of December 16th 2010 the whole council agreed a set or proposals that included the formation of Heritage Ward. Only one of the three ward councillors was present at that meeting. The Labour John Marshall, and he of course voted for the proposal. Shane also needs to check with his Conservative Group Leader, Ray Wells, since all the Conservative Councillors voted with the Labour Group (as indeed the usually seem to do) in favour of the proposals. The Tories even went as far as to send a separate e-mail to the Electoral Commission to stress how fully they supported the plans for Heritage Ward!

Tim Fleming did have his name on a letter from the "Independent Association" but this seems to be mainly a plea to retain Elwick and Greatham as separate "rural" wards. The body you would have expected to be most active in protecting the integrity of St.Hilda Ward is of course the Parish Council. This body has so far made no representations about the proposed changes.

I personally wrote to the Electoral Commission some time ago and the UK Independence Party (Hartlepool Branch) made a formal submission to the Electoral Commission back in August 2010 suggesting the existing ward boundaries be unchanged and simply reduced from three Councillors to two.

I wish the campaign by Tim, John and Shane every success. However I think they have left it a little bit late to start! Still better late than never to jump on the bandwagon!

Toys out of the pram

I've really upset the St.Hilda Ward Conservative Candidate, Shane Moore! I wonder if he was really naive enough to believe he was going to win the seat? I actually finished where I thought I would, second place, however I did think the Labour Candidate would be the one taking the seat rather than Tim Fleming. However, I'm glad it was Tim.

Anyway, I've apparently posted "blatant and shameful lies" about Mr.Moore on my blog on Election day. Well I've checked up and I only made one post on my blog on election day. I am happy to acknowledge that when Shane told blatant and shameful lies about me made a couple of "mistakes" he did change them when they were pointed out. So in the same spirit if he'd care to tell me which are the "blatant and shameful lies" in my blog then I'd be happy to correct any "mistakes" I've made. Of course I was able to point out errors of fact in Shane's postings, like Hurworth Burn is NOT in Darlington. I never complained about what he thought about me, he's entitled to his own opinion, as am I. When it was commented that Shane himself doesn't live in the ward there was a rapid rebuttal that where he lived was on every leaflet he sent out. Unfortunately for Shane this was in fact not true. That "mistake" was down to the printer apparently?

Having said all of that, congratulations to Shane Moore on polling 4th with more votes than Ruben Atkinson, I'm sure the Tories, Labour Party, the remnants of the Lib-Dems and a number of members of the Council Hierarchy are delighted with your performance and pleased to be keeping me out of the civic centre for another year.

Still can't let it go!

Even after the votes have been counted the Shane Moore still can't let it go. Why does he feel the need on his blog to refer to "the absent fringe party candidate"

It's over, Tim won, I was second. How would it have hurt him to just acknowledge my name, the fact I stood for UKIP, accept the result and move on without another dig?

Still, that's (unfortunately) politics today. Never pass up an opportunity to belittle your opponent. Now it's back to the real world!

"The Allisons"

This video was posted on a local message board. I think it was meant to be taunting me! Actually I found it very amusing. Wonderful that some people obviously have nothing better to do that their lives are brightened by my "humiliation"



The lyrics say "It's hard but I'll pull through" which is not quite right. I'd say "It's politics and I've already got over it!" I have much, much more in my life than Hartlepool Council Chamber. So Congratulations to Tim Fleming, St.Hilda Ward Councillor for another 12 months at least.

Thank you and good night!

Independent (Fleming) 360
UKIP 359
Labour 356
Tory 168
Independent (Atkinson) 45

So Tim held the seat. Congratulations to him. Now I'm going to bed.

Election Day

So the big day dawns. It's been a strange campaign. There were 5 candidates, the sitting independent defending his seat, a former Lib-Dem Councillor also now an Independent, a hard-working Labour supporter (well that what he said on his leaflet) now standing as a conservative but (again according to his leaflet) he's more of an independent really, a Labour Candidate and me.

The campaign has been a bit strange to say the least. The Independent defending his seat put out one leaflet and then sat back probably expecting the pub vote would get him back in. If he was relying on his record to speak for him then I don't think he'd have much to shout about. The second independent put out one leaflet then disappeared from view. The Labour candidate also kept his head fairly well down as I think he's hoping to win by default so the less he says the fewer people he upsets. The Tory candidate came roaring out of the starting gate and went onto the attack, against me! Not sure why I had to be his target, surely the sitting Councillor is the one to beat? Possibly Tory Central Office (the one he claims not to listen to!) were telling him it didn't matter who won as long as UKIP didn't?

Anyway, I wish good luck to all the candidates, in all the elections, all round the country. I'm sure there are some Labour, Conservative or Lib-Dem candidate who are honest, decent, hard working people, who want to make a positive difference, unfortunately I'd be very hard pushed to name any of them! Of course the Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dem loyalist (are there any Lib-Dem loyalists any more? Didn't they all join the Tories!) would say the same about UKIP.

UKIP have some high hopes in the Welsh Assembly Elections where PR gives us a real chance of getting seats. In the council elections around England we will get a reasonable number of votes but realistically very few seats. UKIP's support is growing and is very widespread but this of course means it is very thinly spread in most areas and that makes winning seats very difficult. Nearly 1,000,000 people voted UKIP in the last General Election in 2009 but we didn't get a single MP. That's one reason why voting reform is so badly needed, unfortunately the reform on offer, AV, won't actually make all that much difference, which of course is exactly why it has been offered.

Anyway, that's it for me. If I win then I'll spend 12 months bashing my head against a brick wall in the Civic Centre trying to make a difference. If I don't win then I'll be forced to get on with my life without the giddy pleasures of the Hartlepool Council Chamber and thereby associating with people whom I wouldn't like to have as guests in my own home!

snide comments and supposedly clever remarks attacking me personally

Love it when people are reduced to making snide comments and supposedly clever remarks attacking me personally since it just shows they have nothing of any real substance to come at me on. Just for clarification I have leafleted the Central Estate many times in the past few years since I send newsletters out all year round, not just when there is an election due!

PS Interesting how the truth can be flexible for some people. It's ironic someone claiming they are off to their "home ground" on the Headland when they don't live in the ward either! Very funny!

Centre of the Universe

Well Central Estate was definitely the centre of the universe this afternoon. At one point I was delivering leaflets with the Labour Party just in front of me and the Tory Candidate just behind me! Given the choice I'd rather have had both of them in front of me! I never like having my back exposed unless it's really necessary! Of course last time I was on the council I was stabbed in the back so many times it was hard to find room for more knives so the attacks had to be more frontal. This reduced their ferocity quite a bit. Its easy to slip a knife into someone's back using innuendo, whispering campaigns, anonymous leaflets, etc but it takes more courage to attack someone straight on!

Clear Favourite!

It was a glorious sunny day in St.Hilda Ward today and the welcome I received on the doorsteps was equally as warm. The consensus was I should be clear favourite but some people are worried the No Hope Tory and the Also Ran Independents might block me on the rails and so allow the Labour Candidate to sneak the win again. So I suppose that makes it a two horse race!

Time to get your bet on! Just make sure you back the winner.

For a Councillor who has a proven record of fighting for St.Hilda then there is only one choice!

Put your cross against Stephen Allison on 5th May

My Election Address!

Click on the picture below to open a larger view

Newcastle win Permiership Title!

Just imagine if the Premiership Title was decided by AV rather than the current unfair system where the team that wins the most games then automatically wins the Title. How biased and unfair is that? Taking today’s placings then the first team eliminated would be West Ham, then Wolverhampton and Wigan. Unlikely that these teams will give their second preferences to the likes of Blackpool, Blackburm or Birmingham. I definitely can’t see West Brom giving anything to the Brummies!

Then Aston Villa would go, unless of course West Brom and Birmingham rallied round and gave them their second preferences, which might keep Aston Villa in the race a bit longer.

Sunderland and Newcastle then next to face elimination but everyone likes the Geordies (or dislike them less than everyone else!) so maybe Newcastle will stay in and Stoke will get the push. At this point, I would think Aston Villa would run out of second choice votes. Getting serious now into the top 10. Can Fullham keep ahead of Bolton and Everton? Unlikely so they go. Newcastle still hanging in there as Everton wouldn’t give their second choices to Liverpool or a London Team!

Liverpool goes next and their second choices are between Newcastle, a Manchester team or a London team. On the basis they vote for who they dislike least it pushes Newcastle further up the ranks and Manchester City are eliminated. Their second choices are Manchester United (never in a Million years!), Chelsea, Arsenal or Newcastle. I think the Geordies would get it again. Arsenal are next to go! Choices are now Chelsea, Manchester United or Newcastle. No contest, the Geordies all the way.

The last three are Newcastle, Manchester United and Chelsea. It’s down to the second choices of the Stamford Bridge Crowd to decide between Manchester United (Who beat them for the last three seasons) or Newcastle, who never beat anyone!

So, the Premiership winners under AV are the Toon Army!

Haway the Lads!

Hartlepool Mail Profile

Need to submit a 200 word profile and a photograph to the Hartlepool Mail today. This was the piece that last year the Labour candidate didn't have time to do! Of course that helped to maintain the illusion that he was the Independent John Marshall! Name recognition works wonders!

Anyway, here goes, 200 Words.......

For eight years I was privileged to be a Councillor for St.Hilda Ward. My priorities were to speak out for the residents, to champion their causes and to inform them what really went on in their civic centre. These will be my aims again after 5th May. Speaking out, challenging and informing is not popular with Harlepool’s political class. In 2010, I lost my seat, to Labour Councillor John Marshall. Afterwards many people admitted to confusion over the name.

I am the only candidate to use his own money to produce ward newsletters; I was the only Councillor questioning the costs of the Tall Ships; almost alone, I voted against Council Tax rises; and, despite what other candidates now claim, I was the ONLY Councillor who stood up against the spiralling wage rises for top officers.

Since my departure, St.Hilda Ward has missed my strong voice. The ward now needs someone like me to defend the interests of St.Hilda and its residents. Don’t fall for Labour, Tory or Independent spin this year. Please give me the privilege of representing your interests again on 5th May. Thank You.

Read my blog at http://steveallison107.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StephenAllison

Not voting FOR something is NOT the same as voting AGAINST it

According to a leaflet that came through my door this week it is (apparently) a fact that no Conservative Councillor voted for the Chief Executive's Pay rise. Well that may well be true BUT I suspect that would have been just as accurate to say "it is a FACT that no Conservative Councillor voted AGAINST the Chief Executive's Pay rise"

During my time on the Council I noted a distinct tendency for the Conservative Councillors to vote with their Labour colleagues. If they didn't vote "for" then they often tended to abstain, but never, or very, very, rarely did they have the backbone to vote against. I seem to recall the Lib-Dems mostly did the same. They rarely actively opposed anything by voting against the Labour Whip, they just didn't vote for it.

Year on year increases in Council Tax, unopposed by Conservative Councillors who then tell you they didn't vote FOR it.

Freedom of Hartlepool for Peter Mandelson, unopposed by Conservative Councillors who then tell you they didn't vote FOR it.

I don't think abstaining is what most people want from their councillors! They want people who speak their minds and nail colours to masts. A weak exclamation "I didn't vote for it" is just pathetic you also didn't take the opportunity to vote against it.

Mind you look at the voting record of some of the "independents" on Hartlepool Council and they are hardly good examples of active opposition to the Labour Whip. If you act like a Labour Councillor, talk like a Labour Councillor and vote like a Labour Councillor then have the balls to stand for election as a Labour Councillor. Don't hide behind another party or a claim to be independent!

Hartlepool Tops National Poll

The Chief Executive of Hartlepool Council is the top of the national list of pay rises for Chief Executives.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377711/Named-shamed-Council-bosses-refuse-freeze-pay.html

Now is this a bad thing? Hartlepool being mentioned in the national press? I'm sure the Mayor told everyone how good this is? According to him things like this are at least "putting Hartlepool on the map"

Isn't that what the Mayor says about things which cost a lot of money and are of dubious benefit to the town. It's all worth it because it puts Hartlepool on the Map! What are the hidden, intangible benefits of having a Monkey Mayor, a massively in the red Tall Ships Race and the Chief Executive with the fastest rising salary in the country? I'm sure the Council will tell us soon?

Every councillor is now claiming they didn't support the wage rise! Is there an election coming any any chance?

How a bank bailout package works

It is a slow day in a damp little Irish town. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the town, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

The hotel owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the pub.

The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note.

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

Hurworth Burn TS28 - Look it up

Well the local election campaign hasn't even really started and the mud is already being slung. The half truths, lies and misdirection have started. "Steve Allison doesn't even live in the ward. He's really from Darlington you know!" So what are the half truths, lies and misdirection in that statement

The half truth is the first part. I don't live in the ward. I haven't had my permanent home address in the ward since I got married in 1990. I did have my permanent home there for most of my life prior to getting married and have retained my business address in the ward since I first became self employed in 1986. So I am in the ward most days of the week. Both my parents live in the ward, which is another reason that I am there fairly regularly, and until they passed on, all my grandparents were residents of St.Hilda Ward. So there is the half truth.

The lies and misdirection are relating to me living in Darlington. This is not true. It is a LIE. If I was charitable I would say the misdirection is just ignorance of local geography. However, as this is politics then it is probably a deliberate error.

My home address is in Hurworth Burn. This has a TS28 post code and an 01429 telephone dial code. According to my Sat-Nav it is 8 miles from the Borough Hall and as I drive it almost every day I know it takes about 15 minutes maximum. Hurworth near Darlington has a DL2 post code and an 01325 telephone dial code. Hurworth is 30 miles from the Borough Hall.

So there is the LIE and the MISDIRECTION. I do not and never have lived in Darlington. Since the Grand Central Train Service started running through Hartlepool to Kings Cross I don't even go to Darlington to catch a train any more! I suspect the people spreading these half truths, lies and misdirection are fully aware of the real truth but then politics is a dirty game to some people and they don't care how low they go!

What you see and what you get!

The 2011 elections are now upon us. In the 2010 local elections the Labour Party stood a candidate with the same name as a long time Independent Councillor from the same ward. Labour of course denies any confusion was caused! However I think most people accept there was enough muddying of the waters to allow Labour to sneak back the seat.

There was no doubt much rejoicing in the Labour Party (and the Tories and the Lib-Dems) at my removal from the Council Chamber and I also heard there were quite a few Council Officers who were also openly delighted at my departure.

So, what a difference a year makes! The Independent Councillor, who’s name was used last time by Labour, now appears as the Proposer for the Conservative Candidate. So maybe he's not quite so independent as he's been making out all these years? Another former Independent Councillor for the ward has decide against a fourth attempt to get the seat back and instead is supporting the Labour Candidate as his proposer. There is no Liberal Democrat but one of the two independent candidates is a former councilor, for a different ward in the town, where he was, guess what, a Liberal Democrat. The St.Hilda Liberal Democrat Candidate last time is this time standing in another ward. Strange that his principles let him do that, especially as he was keen last time to point out my home address isn't in St.Hilda Ward!

There has long been a question mark in my mind over the true allegiances of some “independent” councilors. In St.Hilda ward this year there are some true colours being shown and some former colours being quietly painted over. Red, blue and orange are all there under the “Independent” flag.

Over the top lads!

I completed my nomination form yesterday so it looks like my name will be on the ballot paper for St.Hilda Ward on 5th May.

Hartlepool politics of course are a perfect illustration of what is wrong with our system. I always thought in politics you were supposed to question and test the other side's proposals, look for weaknesses and ways to improve their ideas or suggest alternatives that would lead to what you would see as a better result for the town and its residents. This testing and probing was meant to produce better decisions and avoid knee jerk reactions and the domination of political dogma over practical and realistic, workable decisions.

In Hartlepool however the political culture is to see any attempt at a contribution from the other side as a personal attack. Never mind what they suggest, just belittle their motives for suggesting it, cast aspersions on their mental capacity for thinking anything different, insult their integrity and of course accuse them of being negative and committing the ultimate sin in Hartlepool Politics "talking the town down"

Just look at how the Mayor reacts to anyone who dares to question him these days. He doesn't deal with the points made, he just goes red in the fact and unleashes a torrent of sarcasm and bile at the individual who dares to suggest there may be an alternative way of doing something.

The same for Brash and his minions.

Classic inferiority complex behaviour! The mistake they are making is thinking inflexibility and refusal to discuss alternatives are signs of leadership and decisiveness. Yes leaders need to be decisive but they also need to be adaptable, flexible and ready to innovate.

The Mayor and the Council in Hartlepool are like the Imperial General Staff during the trench war of the 1914-18 war. They are unable to see any alternatives other than going over the top again and again and again. Unfortunately anyone suggesting this might not be the best tactics is guaranteed a place in the first wave in the next big push. The Mayor and Council have no real new ideas or radical thinking but they will make sure no-one who does is ever allowed to come forward and challenge them.

SHOULD I STAND FOR ELECTION IN MAY?

Last year the voters of St.Hilda Ward gave me my marching orders as their Councillor and decided they preferred to be represented by a Labour Party Member.

After the election, many people admitted they had been fooled by the name of the Labour Candidate and asked if I intended to challenge the result. I did not as there were no legal grounds to do so. Since then the new Labour Councillor has become known as the invisible man! It seems evident that the established political groups in Hartlepool were more interested in removing me from the Council Chamber than in providing real representation for the residents of St.Hilda Ward.

Of course, the planned changes to ward boundaries in 2012 are being designed by Labour to tighten their grip on the Town. St.Hilda Ward is identified for abolition and a new ward “Heritage Ward” planned to merge the Old Borough of Hartlepool with part of the current Stranton Ward. The only possible reason being that Stranton is one of the safest Labour Seats in the town!

Since May 2010, there have been no Councillor’s Newsletters distributed in St.Hilda Ward. This is because the ones I use to send were written, produced, distributed AND PAID FOR by me out of my own pocket!

Since May 2010, the Tall Ships Race has been and gone, leaving behind a massive Bill for the people of Hartlepool. Now the other councillors are having to admit the doubts I was expressing were right!

Since May 2010, the Chief Executive of Hartlepool Council has increased his salary by £10,000 and received a £19,000 lump sum back dated payment. All of the councillors now claim to have opposed this rise. Where where they when I was objecting to senior officer’s out of control salaries?

However, the most blatant piece of political opportunism was last month when the councillors decided to object to the increase in the UK’s payments to the European Union. I joined UKIP in 2004 for exactly this reason. Why didn’t these councillors support my objections years ago?

So the question I am now asking myself is “Should I stand for re-election to the Council on May 5th?

I would like to think my voice has been missed!

I know many people from outside the ward were delighted to see me gone. The Hartlepool Labour Party, Conservatives and Lib-Dems all pleased at the result. I have been told there were even celebrations in some offices in the Civic Centre! Especially as I was no longer able to pursue my investigations into the sale of council property at rock bottom prices and the secrecy and “Pink Paper” culture could continue unchallenged to hide the truth about what goes on behind closed doors in Hartlepool Civic Centre!

So, should I stand on May 5th?