Kingston number 6 in Top 10 Chav Towns

I was sent this link by a former Kingston resident.

I admit I was not entirely sure what a chav was until I read the message board. Having done so I must admit to being somewhat depressed about the views that some people have of Kingston. Is this the Counter Culture that some of my esteemed colleagues in the party in Westminster believe we should be courting?

Is this a true picture of Kingston? You tell me?

If it is - why has it become like this?

Buyer Beware

I received today a call from an elderly Berrylands resident. She asked a fencer to come and do some work for her. He charged in excess of �450 for renewing about 6 feather panels in an existing fence. He did it badly but this was also a mere fraction of the work he had quoted. We all clearly need to be aware of this type of tradesman.

But is this simply "buyer beware". We all know that we should refuse tradesman at the door with their scams. But is it really feasible for an eldely lady to refuse payment to an angry and fit young man? Is this part of the whole issue that surrounds the way we as individuals treat each other in this society? Is this merely an extension of the "hood" culture that seems to pervade Kingston and other suburban areas?

Needless to say this elderly lady is now not only out of pocket but very concerned about the return of this guy!!

Going to the Dogs

The Council seems intent on scrapping one of our dog wardens. It appears we have two at the moment but budget constraints in one half of the Council's budget has meant that they are going to reduce that to one. That one warden will patrol the Housing Esatates as well as generally operate across the Borough. I am worried by this as it means that an area stretching from North Kingston to Malden Rushett will be patrolled by one dog warden.

As if you need an example of the real concern that dogs can cause I have had two recent examples. During the General Election campaign one of our campaigners got bitten by a dog whilst out delivering. My daughter also had an unfortunate incident involving a dog which whilst not life threatening did shake her up - she is only 2!

I am not against dogs. My mother has always had a number of dogs and still shows them today. But I do worry about strippng away a service that many will not miss until they need it!!

Take away in Alexandra Drive

There was a considerable amount of opposition to the establishment of a take away curry shop on the somewhat tranquil Alexandra Drive parade in Berrylands. A considerable number of residents objected to the planning permission to allow this. Councillors let it through anyway. (I was not able to vote as I live too close and therefore have an "interest" in the application).

But the owner is back. He apprently wants a licence to serve food from 8.00am to 10.00 pm every day of the week, even though he has not yet opened the shop. This is somewhat absurd and quite rightly residents are against this, including me.

There is quite a community around this area. People know each other and help each other when they can. There is a real fear that this type of take away will lead to an increase in litter and anti social behaviour and I hope my Council colleagues and officers think hard before allowing this application. This type of outlet is innaprrpriate in a neighbourhood parade.

Travellers to leave Upper Brighton Road

Some of you will remember during the general Election Campaign we had a set of travellers move on to the NHS land on the Upper Brighton Road in Surbiton. Well good news. After a few false starts the NHS Trust has now restarted legal proceedings to move them off. A bulletin from the trust says:

The Trust's solicitors have presented an application for possession.

The hearing will be take place on Friday, 24th June 2005 at Kingston County Court. The travellers' solicitors have asked the Trust to agree to a Court Order that the Trust be granted possession of the land on 10th July 2005 and the Trust is seeking legal advice on this offer.
It will be open to the judge who hears the Trust's application to make an order for possession or to defer the decision. The Trust is confident that the Court will make an order for possession, to take effect on 10th July at the latest.

A Council Funded Theatre

I have a great love of theatre. I spent a lot of my early years on a stage and there are parts of me that regret I have never found the time to continue. However, as a publicly elected Councillor I have a duty to protect the interests of the Council tax payers of Kingston.

The Lib Dem run Council have decided to rush through, with no debate amongst either the Council or the public, a £3m bale out of the proposal to build a new theatre in Kingston.

I support the theatre in Kingston. I am sure when it is opened it will be a marvellous addition to the world of theatre and I know with Sir Peter Hall at its helm it will be an enormous spectacle. However, is it the duty of the Council to loan money when there is evidence from across the world of theatre that it will never be repaid?

Should we be making a decision to borrow money to fund the theatre when there are other pressing needs that our schools have?

If it is to be taxpayers money supporting the theatre has anybody in Kingston ever discussed whether the people of Kingston want a theatre producing the type of shows that Sir Peter Hall will produce?

Should a Liberal Democrat administration be rushing through this decision without consulting all councillors and the public when until this moment it has been a partnership approach to the development of the theatre?

Should the Council be giving up an asset to a new private company whose largest shareholder will be another private company registered in Gibraltar? What if that Company's Chairman was found guilty in the French courts of corrpution after the Lib Dem party in Parliament was demanding from Tony Blair this gentleman’s extradition? Please do not misunderstand me, in regard to the theatre I attach no blame to this gentleman and his company as he is an international businessman who feels he is helping the theatre, but should a Council be doing business in this way?

What happens when the theatre comes back for more money next year? Are we going to say 'no' when our total investment to date has been over £7m, if the loans are not repaid?

This is a big deal for Kingston with lots of questions that have yet to be answered. This may be the last chance we have of getting the theatre off the ground but let's not mess it up by not examining properly what we are doing.

Alan Duncan to run

Actually Alan Duncan has quite a good profile and might be worth thinking about as a potential leader, he is the right age etc etc. Not sure about his intellectual rigour or his ability to convince people. Also not sure about his analysis of the problem which I copy below from the Daily Telegraph:

Mr Duncan, a social and economic liberal, warned that the Tory Party could die if it did not realise the scale of the transformation it required. "If we don't get this right we risk being in terminal decline," he said. "Marks & Spencer was a fantastic brand in good times but if you have a lousy CEO and lousy knickers you don't do well. Like M & S we need both a good CEO and better frilly knickers."

Does the Conservative party need "frilly" knickers rather than just plain utilitarian knickers? I think he may be talking 'pants'! The simple fact is that whilst M&S may well have lost its way it is still, by a long way, the largest clothing retailer in the country and fortunately they do not want to run the country.

Localisation and the move to Direct Democracy

This is a very interesting piece on a book being put together by some of the younger members of the Conservative party. There is much in this that I can agree with. Reversing the centralising nature of the state has to be a move to reingaging with people. I particularly agree that finding a way of funding localised Government other than through centralised government grant has to be a priority. It is a matter of whether the party can be brave enough to embrace this.

I will need to read the rest of the book but an agenda that calls for more localised government as well as central government looking at issues around social justice might well be a way forward.

The Leadership Contest

Considering we are not having a leadership contest yet things seem to be really hotting up. At the moment it appears that my namesake is a clear front runner but who knows how things might change over the coming months. Whatever else, now is the time to start pushing the agenda change we need to see transform the party.

There are a couple of websites that might interest you, if you are interested by this!!

A survey site has been set up to take opinions about the method by which the new leader might be elected. This can be found at the Conservative Democracy site.

If you want to monitor a leadership blog that has been set up by Conservative Home then suggest you click here.

I'm back

Sorry there have been no blogs over the past week or so but have been away for half term. Had a great time with the kids and relatives from Switzerland in a house on the beach near Chichester. You can check out the website here. A great time and the weather was not bad either. Back to work now and quite a lot of Council business this week.