Michael Edwards for South Derbyshire

Our County Councillors hold our values and have given years of effective service, in a Council consistently rated by external auditors as EXCELLENT.     

The election on June 4th is about who runs the County Council - Labour or the Tories. 

  South Derbyshire Tories want to sell council housing, against the wishes of the tenants;

  South Derbyshire Tories have underspent on litter and dog mess collection by £80,000.

  Derbyshire Tories will privatise the running of care homes for the elderly; 

  The Tories opposed measures to help families and businesses in the recession. 

The choice is clear and the choice matters. 

Labour who've increased funding on highway maintenance    

         against the Tories who underspent the budget on litter and dog mess collection. 

Labour who've invested in homes for the elderly like the new Castle Court in Castle Gresley,  

         against the Tories who are planning to sell off the District Council housing against the wishes of the tenants. 

Labour, who've brought forward £7m of extra investment in schools and public construction projects  

         against the Tories who have refused the opportunity to build extra council housing. 

Derbyshire Tories, under a Tory Gov't -

  one in 5 children's centres would close; they don't back children's centres;  

  They would spend less on the Police and have fewer Police officers;

  Improvements to school buildings would be cancelled;

Nationally -  

  A leaflet that has "La la la la la" alongside Gordon's photo is just purile; 

  They’re still campaigning against the minimum wage;  and had a bill in Parliament earlier this month to push the argument; 

The South Derbyshire Tories are divided.  One Tory County Councillor, deselected by Heather Wheeler’s Tories, is standing as an independent.

The month of May has been intense and very wet for canvassers. Loads to say, but so little time to write it out. 

So let's start with the football.  Oh yes. 

And after all those years of superlatives about the Premier League, it transpires the Champions can win with a midfield (including the player of the year), who can't even start to compete with Barcelona.  Something wrong there.  All that energy generated by Radio 5 - wasted. 

This year has been the most difficult for following my own team, Shrewsbury Town; jusy haven't had the time.  They got to the play-offs and for the second-time in 3 years, the play-off semi-finals were some of the most intense and compelling games of football I've seen - albeit this year, I had to watch thme on TV (couldn't get tickets).  The final was a great day out, but I suspect the manager played a key player - our winger - who wasn't fit - and we didn't play to our capability. 

What next?  Britain;'s Got Talent.  

Don't watch that either, but I did catch the 10 year old Holly breaking down whilst singing "Eidelweiss" in one of the semi-finals.  A significnat story, not cos she got a re-run, but because i thought the audience ought to have known the cultural history of the song, performed during a talent show called "Austria's Got Talent, despite the Nazis".  When the singer broke down in that competition, the audience took over and sang the song.  No such joy from the TV audience. 

ANYWAY, LOADS MORE TO WRITE UP. 

Well dressing

“Votes for Women” display.   Transpires one of the group’s grandmother had been a suffragette. 

Charles Darwin display.  

Derby Silk Mill Rally 

The May Day ish rally commemorates the struggle and sacrifice of hundreds of workers who in 1834 were locked out of their places of work for 8 months because they’d joined a trade union. 

As Glenis Willmott MEP put it, hard to imagine their world, or to imagine how they’d react if they saw the progress we’ve made. 

Always more to do, but is the event pertinent to today’s world?  Maybe, maybe not, but we should remember.  More is made of the Tolpuddle martyrs who were from the same era.  

Anyway why not take the reason for a party?  Well I say party; the vim had kinda gone after 2 ultras had taken up 40 minutes with pretty dull speeches.   

Derby Fabians 

A welcome opportunity to rehearse my aims and aspirations for what I hope to achieve in Parliament on Friday, May 1st. 

Tory PPCs are out of step 

So it seems Tory PPCs are more out of step with public opinion than might have been expected. 

South Derbyshire Tories are getting even deeper into the mire over their cover story for selling off council houses to a housing association. 

This party that want to “keep their tenants” now say they’d do so if the contribution for the construction of the council houses in the first place was waived. 

This after the initial fear expressed was only that the figure was set to go up. 

In all this, they charge that the scheme is a Labour scheme. 

It’s not. 

The payback scheme was introduced by the Tories in the 1980’s. 

Not like the South Derbyshire Tories to disown anything from the Thatcherite era. 

Trip to school 

Fingers crossed for another set of record results by the year 11s of our school.  Pertinent for me to remember how many hundreds of people would be leader their adult lives with better opportunities if the investment and reforms in education had been brought in 18 years earlier.

Newhall Sure Start  

A quick trip around the Children’s centre and a chance to rehearse the debate over such provision. 

The Tories don't support Children's Centres.

The allowances scheme for MPs has been inexplicable – people cannot relate to how it works (why reward people for spending more money?); it's not like any scheme they've come across at work.  

I am pleased that any future allowances and expenses claimed will be fully published and this should deal with any future applications of poor motive.

I believe any future scheme should draw upon the way workers get expenses in general.   

There should be a new code of conduct, and this should draw upon existing codes of conduct (including Nolan’s 7 principles).    

I have found that members of the public regard the position of Member of Parliament (and even of Prospective Parliamentary Candidate);  they are aware of the help an MP can offer to the community and for themselves and they want the opportunity of such help (witness the significant caseload that is dealt with);  they want their MP to be an advocate to express values and opinions.     

MPs’ reputations would be enhanced if they were seen to be advocating policies and values rather than asking deferential questions;  (“Exchanges with the Minister” rather than “Questions to the Minister”). 

Public debate has moved towards reform of our democracy;  what is bizarre is that many of the ideas for instant reform are far from instant – fewer MPs (vs. the legal processes for defining new constituencies); PR (vs. huge legislative change with no electoral mandate);  -  or barking (Cabinet Ministers not to be MPs). 

I think the way business is transacted in the Commons and the manner in which MPs are seen to be sidelined (scrutinising Gov’t rather than being a part of it) requires a reform that brings the MPs who support the Government into the process of Gov’t;  that such a change should see MPs agreeing actions;  and that such a change offers greater opportunities for MPs to show they make a difference;  too many of our MPs’ talents and experiences are wasted.   

We are missing a commonly understood code for what would make good government, and this should be profoundly political (in Labour's case, our values of - fairer outcomes, achieving together, help those who need most help, the environment;) and as well as testing against the required elements of good management (ambition; planning, performance management; capacity, credibility, culture; legitimacy). 

it's important that those who've broken rules or exercised poor judgement are held to account.  It's frustrating that due process will take the time it does.