Merry Xmas

Ho ho ho, its that special day! I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Xmas and a wonderful new year. Looking forward to speaking with you all in 2013

Big thank you

To our nurses, doctors, police, fire brigade, ambulance, midwifes, coast guard, emergency phone operators, breakdown services and many many more people who work over the Christmas period to keep us safe, THANK YOU!

Your work is sometimes overlooked but you are in our hearts over the festive season, its nice to know you are there!

alternative service delivery

More and more, the Council is working with "partners" to deliver our services. Some of those partners are for example: Cormac Solutions (limited company, 100% owned by Cornwall Council)...

After attending one of my Audit Committee meetings, a risk was raised with regards to the fact that the Council need to have tight control over how the companies are run in order to meet our standards and regulations. This raises an issue, in that if you tighten controls over arms length companies too much, you might end up making the company "a department of the council". 

What do I mean by this, well I will tell you. if the council, for example is too rigid on its regulations on tendering, the companies will only be able to purchase services from other companies "approved" by the council. That means that the council might risk not getting value for money from a tender because the council is unable to get proper competitive bids. That is why sometimes, we see some very expensive contract being awarded, because not all companies out there can apply, only the ones that has previously been "approved" by the council. 

With the Conservatives who run the council taking it more and more down the this route we are getting more and more into a sticky situation.

Don't get me wrong, I do approve of regulations, but we need to be careful we are not too rigid or too controlling with our partners. We must get the balance just right, otherwise we might as well do it all "in house".

If Thatcher showed use nothing its that privatisation done badly (without competition) is a terrible. You only have to look at water and the trains to see this, but it seems the Conservatives in Cornwall have not learnt there lesson!

1000+

Id like to thank those people who are reading my blog, I have just gone over one thousand views! That might not be much to full on blogging fanatics, but I want to connect with local people in what ever way they find easiest / most useful to them. This shows me that people are interested in local politics enough to have a look at my blog, so I will keep going. If you have any questions or comments please just say, its what i'm here for ;-)

Checking up on developers

Yesterday at the Audit Committee meeting, I know it sounds boring, but its important you read on, (Click to see the agenda Item) we discussed section 106 agreements. These are a way in which the council can get some payback given to the community for allowing planning applications.

I want to draw your attention to a problem that I believe need fixing quickly and you can help get money back for our community.

My understanding is that in Sep 2012 the external auditor picked up that there was a risk that developers were not paying the council their agreed section 106 payments. That the council did not have a good control on what had been approved vs what has been built vs what was due for payment. 

This was a manually looked after process and some section 106 agreements might have fallen through the gaps. This is unacceptable.

I am glad that Cornwall Council are now taking the necessary steps to fix that situation, but I do not want any former applications in my patch to be missed.

I urge people in the Bude, Stratton and Grenville areas to contact me if they suspect any planning application in the past five year that this may have happened with. If you remember a section 106 agreement on a planning application but think it might not have happened come forward so I can check that we have collected the money (please not older then 5 years).

I'd like to know

 What sort of content you would like to see on my blog? I've only been blogging for a few months now so I need your help to shape my blog. I want to do my best to give you a glimpse at what I do as a Councillor, who I am as a person and what I'm fighting for, but what would you like to know?

Watch full council live

I'm off to Truro again today to stand up for our part of Cornwall and try to bring some common sense to the Full council meeting. We will be discussing the Governance review - how the council is run. Cornwall local Plan - how many houses we should build in the future and the Strategic Partnership for Support Service - should we part privatise some of our services. 

Icy roads

We are all extra busy at this time of year, but it is more important than ever that everyone takes their time on our roads. Its cold outside and exposed rural areas like ours suffer from Ice, more so because of having untreated back roads and lanes.

Community groups on social networks

I think that social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are growing in importance to both Councillors and community groups. I regularly get people contact me on my facebook page to ask for help with this or that. As for community groups using them, the importance of this was proven a few years ago when Bude Sea-pool become under threat from Cornwall Council. within hours of finding out the news a local Lib Dem Councillor had set up a face book group and was promoting it on twitter and in the media. Within weeks there were 4,000 members from here at home and across the country and the world.

Keep an eye out for your neighbours

The festive season can be a magical time of year, but it can also be a very lonely time for some people. Please take an hour or two out of your Christmas to make contact with neighbors who might not have their families to spend time with. Elderly people are often lonely at Christmas, but anyone, no matter what their age, can miss their love-ones at this time of year. A little effort on our part will make a massive difference to someone who is feeling a bit down. I know it sounds cheesy but making someone else smile is sometimes the best gift you can give and its free!

Looking forward to hitting the doors

There is lots to do as a Councillor, but nothing is as important as getting out in your patch and asking if anyone has any issue they would like my help with. I have just had some new cards printed with my contact details on, so if you get one through your door in coming weeks its cause I called. I know we are fast heading toward Christmas and if you are too busy to talk just say so, I will not mind. On the other hand if you have a mince pie and a cup of tea going spare don't be afraid to invite me in ;-)

The Leadership Crisis

I came across a very funny Youtube video the other day and I thought I would share it with you all.. It is very much for those of you who closely follow the inside workings at County Hall (so not many, but those of you who do will love it). My guess is that it is written by someone very close to the front line in Cornish Politics cause although it is funny it is very close to the bone with a lot of the points it makes! Enjoy...
Click to view "Leadership Crisis" by BunkerCC

Don't forget local shops

With Christmas just around the corner (sorry, but its true) our thoughts turn to buying gifts for our love ones and friends, among other things. In this day and age it is very easy to get on-line and look for all the things you need, but I would urge you to take a trip to your local shops. Keeping local shops open is vital to keeping a beating heart in our community and if we don't use them they will die and not be replaced. No matter how big or small your purchase local shop keepers will be glad to see you and I'm sure the service you will get will be great.

Independence day part one

I am often out on the doorstep speaking to people about their issues and campaigning for my community. At election time I am knocking on doors asking for your support and occasionally people mention "Independent" candidates. I thought it might be interesting to lift the lid on "Independents". First you might notice that I use Inverted commas when referring to this elusive bread of politician, why is this? Well there are many reasons which I will go into over time, but the first is that the "independents" at Cornwall Council are a group! let me say that again, there is an independent group at Cornwall Council. If it wasn't so misleading to the public it would be funny. The best bit is that 29 out of 31 "independents" are part of this group which has a leader and deputy. The other two are known as stand alone independents, which is what I thought they were all meant to be.

It's time people know the truth about this lorded and "honourable" breed so there is more to come on this subject

Postal voters, take your chance

Over the last few days postal votes for the Cornwall and Devon Police and Crime Commissioner have been delivered. This is a very important role and if the wrong person gets in things could get scary quickly. I am supporting Brian Blake who is a former policeman and is standing for the Liberal Democrats  If you are a postal vote, please use your vote!

The ballot for this position is happening on the 15th

Guy Fawkes Night

As you know tomorrow is Guy Fawkes night. It is quite amusing that at a time when Parliament is so unpopular so many people celibate the thwarting of an attempt to blow it up.

Fireworks are great fun for most people and I hope that everyone chooses to go to proper organised events rather then trying to do it at home. There are a number of reasons this is the best way to join in. First it is safer and that is very important. Second as a pet owner, I feel it is better for pets to not have fireworks going off for hours on end over many days.

Enjoy your night tomorrow!

Councillor vote for pay rise

Yesterday Cornwall Councillors voted to give themselves a pay rise of 25%. This is a shocking situation where Councillors are force to vote on there own income, but that is what the law says must happen. What I found most interesting about this vote though is how the different groups voted (on what was a free vote). This is possibly the only poll you will ever see Labour top in Cornwall..

How each group voted on the question of increasing their own money:

Labour 100% in favour
Mebyon Kernow 75% in favour
"Independants" 73% in favour
Conservatives 50% in favour
Liberal Democrat 50% in favour

So as you can see the Lib Dems and the Tories where split down the middle. The Independants, MK and Labour were heavily in favour of raising their own wages.

For the record, I did not vote for this increase.

We must stop DevonWall

Conservative plans are still in place to have a new parliamentary seat combining Cornwall and Devon (Bude will be part are this plan). I am working hard with my Lib Dem colleges to stop this, not because I don't like Devon (Devon is lovely), but because Devon and Cornwall are separate places with separate issues. They must be respected and have there own representation.

This is a case of the Tories playing politics with boundaries that have existed from time immemorial and they must be stopped. I will be talking to Dan Rogerson our local MP about this issue and I suggest you do the same.

you can email Dan on contact@danrogerson.org to let him know how you feel about Cornwall and Devon being kept separate!

Why I voted for Jim Curry

After they kicked their own leader out the Conservatives and Independents went into a frenzy to see who would replace him!

It was quite worrying and disorganised with lots of back biting (even after the vote to get rid of Cllr Robertson) as there were many people being put forward and it took them hours to come up with the final choices from each group (Ind and Con - I am going to have to blog about the INDEPENDENT GROUP soon).

In the end it came down to Jim Curry (con) and Neil Burden (ind) from the administration parties.
They both came before the Liberal Democrats asking for our support, but for me the vote came down to one thing! Who would pledge to stop the undemocratic and unpopular privatization plans that were being pushed through. The answer came back that only Jim Curry out of the two candidate was against this plan and so on that basis only he got my vote.

Jim Curry won the election by 3 votes and I will be working hard to hold him to account not only on privatisation but across the board.

Lib Dem Bloggs

As a Liberal Democrat I feel its really important to keep the electorate involved in what I'm doing. I really enjoy keeping local people up to date with some of the things I am doing as their Cornwall Councillor. It is only possible to post about a small fraction of what I am doing, I would not want to spend to much time blogging and not enough time working for my community :-)

If you would like to see what the Leader and Deputy leader of the Cornish Lib Dems are up to look here:

Cllr Jeremy Rowe Blogg - Leader of the Lib Dems
Cllr Alex Folkes Blogg - Deputy leader of the Lib Dems

Lib Dems acted with decorum

While the chaos and backstabbing was happening within the Conservatives and Independent groups regarding getting rid of Alec Robertson and replacing him, I am proud to say that the Lib Dems acted with extreme decorum.

Our leader Cllr Jeremy Rowe gave an very honest and subdued account of why the (then) leader of the council found himself in the position he was in. In a situation like we faced on Tuesday, Conservatives and Independents ripping themselves apart, it would have been easy for the Lib Dems to be vitriolic and join in with the attacks. I am glad to say that this did not happen and that we acted the professional manner the public would have asked for.

Council leader had to go

Last Tuesday was a dramatic day in Cornish politics and I am glad to have played my part. If you were not one of the over 1000 people who watched it live, Conservative leader of Cornwall Council, Cllr Alec Robertson was thrown out of his position by a vote of 63 to 49.

It is never pleasant when a leader allows a situation to degenerate into a one where the only option left is to take a vote of no confidence but that is what happened. Speaking to Mr Robertson a few days before I told him that I would not wish this on anyone but that is lack of respect of democracy had left the council with no choice.

The new leader is Cllr Jim Curry (more to come on this)

SERCO's false data

I am disgusted and outraged that a company who are supposed to look after the health interests of local residents like us have admitted providing false data to the NHS to serve its own ends!

This is a scary example of a private company putting profits above people and it should not be allowed to happen. Click to read "SERCO false data" on the Guardian website

This leaves me even more concerned about the plan by Conservatives on Cornwall Council to privatise more of of our Council services. They are pushing this though despite it being deeply unpopular and at what cost to the local taxpayers!

SERCO are leaving our area short

I have been working alongside other local Lib Dem councillors,Nigel Pearce and David Parsons, to fight to get back proper out-of-hours medical cover for our area. 

SERCOs decision earlier in the year to move the emergency doctor away from Stratton to Launceston left a lot of people facing real problems. Constituents who were having problems with the service, including

slow response times, misdiagnoses and long distance travelling late at night to see a GP, contacted us. I was concerned that the areas I represent were receiving an even worse service than the rest of Cornwall and we have been fighting their cases alongside trying to undo this terrible decision.

More than 200 people attended a public meeting and SERCO’s bosses were pressed to reconsider their decision, so that patients needn’t go all the way to Launceston or Bodmin to get out-of-hours care.

After a few meetings with SERCO, we agreed a 3hrs clinic Saturday and Sunday, but this is only a step forward. We want to make sure that we get the best possible local services. Nigel, David and myself are working with MP Dan Rogerson to monitor the service to ensure that we are getting an adequate cover out-of-hours for the area.

Supporting local community projects

Every year as your Cornwall Councillor I am assigned a pot of money (£2,195) to be
spent on local Community Projects. Recently I have helped the following groups:

Kilkhampton: Grenville Rooms Management

Poughill: Bude Life Centre, Bude(Mencap) Gateway Club and
Friends of Bude Sea Pool

Launcells: Launcells Mens Skittles Club and Launcells Parish Hall

Morwenstow: Morwenstow Mens Institute, Morwenstow Pre
School, Morwenstow Methodist Church and Woodford Methodist
Church

Marhamchurch: Marhamchurch Playpark Ass., Marhamchurch
Village Hall, Marhamchurch Revel Committee and Marhamchurch
Youth Club

If a group you are involved with has a capital project that needs some financial support please get in touch so I can help you complete the forms.

Minimum wage rise

Yesterday saw the coalition goverment raise of the minimum wage for people age twenty one and over from £6.08 to £6.19 an hour. I have to wonder if this would have happened without the Liberal Democrats in power?

Lets look at some of the facts:
The first national system of wage regulation was brought in by the Liberal Goverment in  1909.
The national minimum wage system we have now was brought in by the Labour goverment in 1999; it was supported by the Liberal Democarats and opposed by the Conservatives.

Click to read "the history of the uk's minimum wage" on Total Politics

Many Conservatives still oppose the minumim wage, they just don't shout about it very often! In 2009 a Conservative MP backed by a number of his colleges tried to introduce legislation that would water it down
click to read "minimum wage tory bill"

So the answer to my opening question is that we (the mortals) will never know, but my feeling is no, the Lib Dems were vital in this happening.

Conservatives "infighting" over privatisation

A few weeks ago I wrote about the fight against unwanted privatisation within Cornwall Council.
Click to read "fight-unwanted-privatisation"

It seems the argument is growing with the Conservative leader of the council coming under fire over being undemocratic. Even his own deputy his got the knife out.. Alex Folkes explains the attack letter in his blog:
To veiw "explosive-email" on Alex Folkes blog click here

Let me know what you think of this issues?

Well done Brian

Unfortunately on this occation, I have not been selected to stand for the Liberal Democrats to be the candidate for the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner. It was a very close vote and I would like to congratulate Brian Blake who will be going forward to fight for the Lib Dems. 

Appeal for information

Detectives are continuing to make inquiries into the armed robbery which took place at the Shell garage at Fraddon, next to Kingsley Village at around 10.30pm, Monday 17 September.

Click to read BBC news story 

If you have any information regarding this indecent please let the police know as soon as possible

Click here to view the Devon and Cornwall police appeal

Gun Crime must be cracked down on as quickly as possible. It is a virus that I have seen grown in Brazil and it must not be allowed to get any form of foothold in our country!

Benefit fraud

I read a story today about a £73,000 benefit fraud trial with took place in Exeter Crown Court.

Twitter

If you would like to follow me on Twitter my user name is @BudeDolphin
I like to keep people who are interested up to date as much as possible, both here and on Twitter.

Question about problems facing the police

Q) What do you think the major problems facing the police force in the 2 counties are? 

Policing priorities poll

I have started a "policing priorities" poll on the right hand side of the blog. I hope that you will take a few seconds to let me know your priorities are for the Cornwall and Devon Constabulary. Feel free to just vote or leave comments too if you would like...

Question about community involvement

Q) Over the years, apart from either political or paid work, what has been your involvement in the community? 

A) I am a School Governor, member of the Bude Canal Marshes and Valley, Former honorary vice-president of Bude Cricket Club, I am part of a local natural Beekeeper group (I have Bees) and help with beach cleaning days organised by Surfers Against Sewage.

As the Police and Crime Commissioner, I will involve as many people and groups in making decisions, setting priorities, budgets and targets as possible. I will provide the important link between Police and Community.

Question about urban and rural areas

Q) Do you perceive any differences in policing needs & priorities between urban and rural areas? 

Jazz hands

It was very exciting being Bude Mayor during this years Bude Jazz Festival... Well done to all those involved, I had a great time as i'm sure everyone else did. This event is really good for our area and helps show of how lovely our region is.
Click to read "all that jazz" news story
Click to read "Bude jazz fest hits" news story

Question about demographics

In the interests of openness I will be posting questions that I have received regarding my campaign to be Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner. Interest has been high and I have received many questions, but will put them up one at a time, with the answer I gave.
Q) What do you think have been the greatest demographic changes Cornwall and Devon in the last 15 years? 

Fight unwanted privatisation

Conservative led councillors at Cornwall Council are trying to privatise services via the back door.

Last week a majority of Cornwall councillors, including myself, voted against the privatisation of council services. Even though they lost the vote, the Conservative and Independent cabinet (who run the council) have chosen to ignore this democratic view and have proceed with privatisation plans anyway.

Reforming the police service?

Let me be clear, I do not feel the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner is to sweep in and tear the police service apart. Overall we have a very good police service and if elected I would look to build on its strengths and minimize its weaknesses.

Record of success

Some of you may be asking yourself, "can Paula win this election against the Conservatives, Labour and Independents?" Well I think the answer is YES!

Why am I standing for this role

I feel it is important that you understand why I am standing for this role. Below are just a few of the reasons I  am fighting to be Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner.

Good response

Just a quick post to thank everyone for their kind word over last week or so. I love campaigning anyway, but it is really encouraging to here all the positive remarks and comments.

Being a business woman

I have owned my own business for a number of years and worked seven days a week 9am till 10pm. The bit I loved the most was my customers and making deliveries to elderly ladies. 

Feedback

Just a quick note to say that I would really welcome your feedback on my campaign. I would love to hear your views, so please feel free to email me, call me or post comments on any of my posts.

A fresh pair of eyes

While campaigning some people have said to me, "it is good that you bring a fresh pair of eyes to this new role, but don't you need to be a policeman to be the Commissioner?"

It is important that everyone understands that the Chief Constable, who has long experience & detailed knowledge of policing, heads the police service and will be in charge of operational delivery. 
The Police and Crime Commissioner is not just another police man, but someone who should see things from a different perspective, represent people and ask difficult questions. Having not been in the police service I would enter this role with no baggage and no preconceived ideas.

A little more about me

I talk to anybody and everybody and try to make myself very approachable. For me, people are the key and I am eager to listen and learn about their lives. Every action creates a reaction and I am always asking the “why?” question.

Video blog - thanks for the support!

Lib Dem members on why they are supporting me to be Police and Crime Commissioner for Cornwall and Devon 

To view the VIDEO click here 

To view the VIDEO click here 

Cyber Crime

As reported today by the BBC, the government has highlighted to businesses the importants of guarding themselves against cyber crime BBC - Business warned over Cyber Crime.

Freedom

We all want to be able to live a free life, but some of us take our freedom for granted. Having lived abroad, in a city with two million people and were the crime rate is really high, I do not.

Question everything!

My father is a professor in Bio-chemistry , he educated me to question things and have an inquisitive mind. He taught us to use lateral thinking, solving problem through an indirect and creative approach, and that mind sets can hinder the effectiveness and speed of problem solving. 

Protecting your civil liberties

Without civil liberties where are we as a society? Rights and freedoms are fundamental to building a free, fair and open society and protecting civil liberties lies at the heart of this.

Pledges in detail part 1

"I pledge to continue to work hard to promote Liberal values"
I have been a member of the Liberal Democrats for many years and a Liberal my whole life, it is in my blood.

Should there be a PCC?

This is a question that lots of people feel very strongly about. I personally wouldn't have picked a system that puts so much power in the hands of one person.

Cutting re-offending

Justice is not just about punishment (though it has its part to play) but it is also about rehabilitation and reintegration.

Supporting communities policy one

Here is a one of the many Lib Dem policies that I will endevour to deliver if I become the Cornwall and Devon Police and Crime Commissioner:

Thank you street cleaners

In this years Bude Carnival (as Mayor) I paid tribute to the people who keep our streets clean. Much like the police most of their work goes unnoticed, but equally if they did a bad job all our lives would be badly affected. So once again thank you to all those people who's work, when done well, goes unnoticed.

Squatters' rights

As reported on the BBC yesterday, from today it is a criminal offence to inhabit a house that does not belong to you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19429936

I welcome this change and frankly don't know why it has taken so long to make it. Caution should be taken when dealing with squatters who are homeless and in this cases, the Police must work with local authorities who have a legal duty to help those people.

Tough enough for the role?

I am very determined. At interview for my last four jobs I was always asked: “but are you tough? You will have to work with and manage people that are far older then you and have been doing their jobs for years. They might not like you telling them what to do.” I always replied yes, obviously, I am tough if I need to be, but my experience has shown that a woman’s gentle touch works far better in most situations then an aggressive behaviour. Falling that, I do use the tough approach. I stuck to this plan when and not only did I got the jobs I excelled within the companies - so it works.

Victims of crime

I understand what it feels like to have your freedom restricted by both crime, and the fear of it. I have been a victim of crime on a number of occasions. I have suffered from anti-social behavior, theft and even gun crime.

Family continued

Thank you to those of you who have given me positive feedback about putting personal information on my blog. I want to be as open with everyone as possible, so here is some more about by family background:

Education and work in Brief

At university, I became involved with politics as a member of a liberal party and took part in the running of the university students union. I graduated a Bachelor in Business Studies in 1992 and took on a position at IBM as a trainee.

Police & Crime Commissioner Role

So what is role I am fighting for? 

Community minded

I feel that am well respected within my community and I have a reputation of the person that 'gets things done'. I always tell people, that as you progress on the political ladder, from town councillor to Unitary, It can be easy to lose touch with your community and get sucked into meeting after meeting. That is why I make a special effort to talk to local people as often as I can and participating in many different community groups. 

A little about my family

When you are involved in politics it is very easy to talk about policies, but I wanted you to know a little bit more about me as a person, so here goes. Here is a little about my family: