STAMFORD LIBDEMS JUBILANT!

Tories receive a resounding NO vote!

We are delighted to tell you that we have achieved great success in the Town and SKDC elections:

We have FIVE District Councillors - a gain of one seat:-

Dr. Sam I. Jalili - All Saints'
Harrish Bisnauthsing - St. John's
Chris Brough - St. John's
Maureen Jalili - St. John's
Joyce Gaffigan - St. George's

The representation at District level for Stamford is now made up of:
FIVE LibDems
Three Independents
One Conservative

This means that at least eight of Stamford's representatives at SKDC will vote positively on Stamford issues and will not blindly follow the Conservative Cabinet's instructions. We hold out great hopes that the one SKDC Conservative SKDC councillor now representing Stamford (Stamford Town Councillor Mike Exton represents the Deepings at SKDC) - will also work hard to make Stamford's voice heard. We trust that Cnllr Exton will do the same.

We have SEVEN Town Councillors - no change:-

Dr. Sam I. Jalili - All Saints'
Maureen Riley - All Saints'
John Binder - St. George's
Maureen Jalili - St. John's
Harrish Bisnauthsing - St. John's
Chris Brough - St. John's
Jane Peckett - St. Mary's

The Town Council is now made up of:
SEVEN LibDems
Six Conservatives
Seven Independents
One Labour

Stamford now has a balanced council which is not dominated by the Conservatives. This means that there will be a much more democratic governance for the town which will truly reflect the views and demands of Stamford People.

Pity your postman!

A weary please from this particular Yellow Bird, for those of you who have a letter box at foot level, preferably with a stiff brush behind it - do think of your postman! Every election time there are legions of party supporters of every political colour who return home with skinned fingers, aching backs and creaking knees having 'done their bit' for the party by delivering election leaflets. Amongst the worst letter boxes are definitely those at leprechaun level. The best are those lovely boxes fixed at eye level on the wall.

There are several categories of letter box. The aforementioned leprechaun special. The completely sealed up variety (how do they get any mail) the snap your fingers off, the 'I've got a dog who will bite your fingers off - we have a deliverer with a very short finger now, the very posh which takes ages to work out how to get your leaflet in (but looks classy), the non existent letter box (in the same catagory as the completely sealed), the reasonably kind type which can be hard to operate but doesn't scar you for life and the absolutely lovely easy to use, easy to reach post box on the wall.

Of course, some people would argue that they don't want any election literature but this is a democracy, if we don't all give you the opportunity to make your minds up on an informed level then we would be living in a dictatorship. That said, should the writer of this item be in charge of the country right now - the first new law would be to ban all letter boxes which didn't conform to the - yes of course, the delightful post box on the wall (especially if its got a pretty little hunting horn or carriage and four on it, or best of all - a yellow bird, very jolly).

Perhaps we should make this part of our manifesto - support your postmen/ladies - get a postperson user friendly letter box!

Freedom of Information Act - this concerns us all

We decided to include this item because it affects everyone of us, although it is not specifically related to Stamford.
Conservative back-bench MP David Maclean is energetically pushing through a Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill which would exempt MPs from the Freedom of Information Act. This private members bill was slipped in late on a Friday afternoon and passed through the first stage virtually unopposed with the Government doing nothing to protect the Act.
On Friday 27th April, the Debate is set to continue Liberal Democrat MPs Norman Baker and Simon Hughes are spearheading the LibDem effort to stop the bill and have vowed to keep fighting to stop it becoming law.
Britain was amongst the last in Europe to introduce a legal right of access to public information, although it is the country where it is most widely used.

Head of Department LCC Highways admits waste of Taxpayers Money

Recently a village in Lincolnshire was featured on BBC1s Central News which showed graphic shots of vehicles having to go onto the wrong side of the road to negotiate a particlarly badly placed island, causing very real dangers. The next shot was of LCC diggers demolishing the new island and the presenter interviewing Bryan Thompson (Head of Department LCC Highways) forcing him to admit that there had been a complete waste of £12000 of taxpayers' money.

Could this be the same Bryan Thompson who 'approved' Vision's one way system (which thankfully people pressure and the liaison group had squashed) has also forced the positioning of disabled parking places parallel to the kerb (against lots of advice and protests)? The same Brian Thompson who added insult to injury when he deeply offended the people attending the Town Forum recently ?- yes it is! Gives you a lot of confidence doesn't it?!

Will Quality Parish Status help Stamford Town Council?

Stamford LibDems continue to receive complaints about the 'public survey' being sent out to members of the public. The survey questions the continuance of the Town Council but does not suggest a replacement; perhaps direct rule from SKDC or Stamford Vision - or even a coalition of the two!!

Such surveys do nothing to serve democracy; neither do they do justice to the fact that members of the Town Council are unpaid representatives of the people of Stamford with no vested financial interest. They do, however, highlight what little power your Town Council currently has. This situation can, however, be reversed by obtaining Quality Parish status which will bring back many significant powers held by SKDC.

What is Quality Parish Status?

Quality Parish Status were introduced in 2002. They give a greater say to Parish/Town Councils in more elements of local government and give access to additional funds from Central government; an obvious advantage. It enables local councils to take back under their control key items such as car parking. Your LibDem Councillors have lobbied continuously for Stamford Town Council to apply for Quality Town Council status as we feel that this is essential for the future of Stamford.

Early this month (February) your LibDem Councillors finally succeeded in winning a motion by the Council to get an urgent timetable for this. Town Councillors have now received a proposed time table, dated 19th February, from the new Town Clerk - Mrs Patricia Stuart-Mogg - which recommends that an application for Quality Status is submitted to the County Accreditation Panel by July 2007 by which time all seven criteria required will have been met and confirmed.

Up to 95% of SKDC Planning Applications have no input from elected representatives

Did you know that now up to 95% of all planning applications are determined by officers at SKDC with no input from your elected representatives? Even if you raise objections to a planning application, your elected representative will not be informed of them.

This 95% which is in excess of the Government's own target of 80% was approved by SKDC's Conservative Cabinet members.

This is highly unusual. councils such as Islington's LibDem Council have currently 65% of applications determined by officers.

Cllr. Maureen Jalili would be interested to hear your views on this - email stamfordlibdems@hotmail.com or ring her on 01780 765 655