30 April 2010

Do our 'Elected Representatives' represent?

It seems that some members of Somerton's Community are beginning to wonder what sort of representation Somerton now has at District level. With the Retirement Villages proposal raising its head again, Somerton is beginning to wonder exactly who is reflecting their views at Area North and that is a very fair question.



On the 27th October 2009, and with some theatricality, Tony Canvin threw down his resignation (one he had prepared earlier) and led his sad flock (ditto their resignations) from the awfully named Edgar Hall. Today, some six months later, Somerton has seen very little of its District Councillors, Messers Canvin and Beale, and the word is that they require an invitation before they will attend Somerton Town Council meetings. Which begs the question, how are they going to be able to represent their electorate if they don't attend Council meetings and hear the views of the electorate?

Well the answer is that they can't reflect the views of the wider community and, in my own view, Tony Canvin, as a Local Councillor, never did. There was only ever one view, 'Tony's view' and nothing underscored that fact better than Tony's 'resignation speech' where he said, and I quote, ".............I think now that there are members of the public that don't like the way (I'm) running it as far as I'm concerned now I will let them have a go and I'll resign, as from now." (Applause)

Tony saw Somerton's Town Council as his Town Council and the moment that he faced any real resistance from the community he had a hissy fit and stomped out in a strop. But he didn't have the courage of his convictions enough to resign from District and there is a very good reason why he didn't. The reason is that decision making lies at District and, in planning matters, it resides in the Area North Committee, of which he and Beale remain members. And this shows precisely where Tony's priorities lie. Somerton was, in many ways, a side-show for Tony and he is far too cute to give up his real power-base.

So, today, the community of Somerton need to do a couple of things if they are to ensure that their voice is heard. Firstly, Canvin and Beale need to have an ongoing invitation to attend Somerton Town Council meetings. Secondly, Somerton Town Council needs to make sure that the decisions on planning matters are clear and unequivocal and are communicated to Canvin and Beale in order that they may reflect these views at District and, specifically, Area North Planning Committee. Finally, some members of Somerton's community need to attend Area North meetings to make sure that our elected representatives don't misrepresent.

Till next time, I'm Niall Connolly

28 April 2010

Samaritans don't drive Beemers.......

Yesterday I was driving across the Levels, from Glastonbury towards Butleigh and it was a nice day. From my vantage point in the camper-van (the driving position is a lot higher than I'm used to) I had a good view of the landscape and this allowed me to observe a cow in some distress, swimming along a drainage ditch.

Now, as anyone who knows me will confirm, I'm not a country boy so I wasn't quite sure what to do but I felt I had to do something so I stopped and walked back to where the poor animal was trapped. A bit of thought suggested that the owner would be local so stopping a passing car and asking them to drive to the nearest farm, just a few hundred yards up the road, felt like a good and practical solution. And, as luck would have it, a car approached from the direction of Glastonbury so I stepped into the road and flagged it down and that was when I realised that the driver didn't want to stop. In my foolishness I wondered if they misinterpreted my wild arm-waving so I placed myself directly in the path of the oncoming car, a silver Beemer sports-car (registration WF 09 *** - I didn't get the last three numerals). The driver, revealed as a hatchet featured woman, finally slowed down just long enough to bellow at me, "I'm not helping!" and then, in best Jeremy Clarkson manner, floored the accelerator and disappeared in a cloud of shame.

So the message is clear - if you are looking for a Good Samaritan and you find a silver Beemer sports-car carrying the registration WF 09 ***, step well back.

Till next time, I'm still Niall Connolly

23 April 2010

Candidates on YouTube

A quick search on YouTube turns up a couple of clips. They are of approximately similar length so give the two principle candidates equal coverage.



and



Enjoy.

Niall

20 April 2010

The Audit Commission and 'Reports in the Public Interest'.

Anyone with even a vague interest in the goings-on in Somerton would be well advised to have a look at the Audit Commission's website, specifically the section dealing with 'Reports in the Public Interest'. 5 such reports were published on 8th April 2010 and they make interesting reading:

Long Crendon Parish Council: Report in the public interest
This public interest report has been issued in respect of the Council’s failure to prepare an Annual Return about its finances and governance for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2007.

Stoke Rivers Parish Meeting: Report in the Public Interest
This public interest report has been issued about Stoke Rivers Parish Meeting’s failure to prepare an annual return about its finances and governance for the years ended 31 March 2006 to 31 March ...

Brasted Parish Council: Report in the Public Interest
This public interest report has been issued about the Brasted Parish Council’s failure to prepare an annual return about its finances and governance for the years ended 31 March 2007 to 31 March 2008.

Knowstone Parish Council: Report in the Public Interest
This public interest report has been issued about the Knowstone Parish Council’s failure to provide evidence and explanations to support the annual return about its finances and governance for the ...

Little Brickhill Parish Council: Report in the Public Interest
This public interest report has been issued about the Little Brickhill Parish Council’s: Failure to approve the annual returns that were prepared and submitted for audit for the financial years ...

I realise that Town or Parish Council's are not meant to be particularly 'political bodies' but they are, factually, the ground floor of our rather shaky democracy. If the process cannot be regulated at this most basic of levels then what hope do we have for Westminster. Equally, I know at first hand just how hard it can be to bring facts into the open if a body like Somerton Town Council, under the previous Keenan/Canvin administration, want to obstruct such enquiries.

So when the Leaders of our major political parties spout about wanting to "regain trust" and wanting to "clean up politics" you need to ask yourself just how much do they want to "clean up politics"? And maybe more importantly, will those with an interest in the rules staying vague, will those people let them?

Till next time, I'm Niall Connolly

17 April 2010

And you're still paying............

Casting an eye over the recent payments schedule made by Somerton Town Council one particular item caught my attention:

491 6605 STOKES PARTNERSHIP LTD (Legal Fees re: FoI request) 587.50

From my own limited knowledge of the previous administration's activities, this payment most likely relates to the last 'legal opinion' that the Keenan/Canvin administration sought in their ultimately futile efforts to maintain a cloak of secrecy around Somerton Town Council's records.

Not wishing to belabour the point but anyone with a fragment of good sense might have been able to predict that the Office of the Information Commissioner would find in favour of the disclosure of Public Records. But that good sense was clearly absent within the Keenan/Canvin administration and they carried on spending public money in their efforts to keep their 'secret activities' secret, and today, the bills keep coming in.

Sadly, the Town Council cannot refuse, as I understand it, to pay these bills because the lawyers were requested to undertake work, whether it was a fools errand or not, so they are entitled to present a bill and expect payment. But might not the Keenan/Canvin administration have the decency to stump-up for these costs, incurred, as they were, in activities that were quite unjustified. And maybe ex-Cllr Beale might want to contribute to the professional costs incurred last year when the then goode councillor instigated the hare-brained scheme to knock a huge hole in the gable end of the Lady Smith Hall. From memory that was in the region of £900, once again paid for by the community.

It will be a relief when this sad saga comes to an end but it is worth reminding everyone that the Keenan/Canvin administration was making hay for almost 7 months, between April and October 2009. Those month's expenditure should be subject to exactly the same scrutiny that the External Auditor is currently giving to fiscal 2008/2009. Maybe the Keenan/Canvin administration's members should be invited to stump up for the Auditor's costs as well.

Till next time, I'm Niall Connolly

12 April 2010

Etsome Terrace - the lost opportunity.

The redundant Municipal Depot at Etsome Terrace provided a wonderful opportunity for Somerton Town Council to achieve two important ambitions for the Town - firstly, a long awaited Community Hall and, secondly, an expanded health centre. The animation below seeks to explain the progress at the site between 2000 and 2008 when Somerton Town Council sold off a chunk of Etsome Terrace as a residential development.



To me, the mis-management of the Etsome Terrace site is pretty breathtaking, especially when you consider that the proposal was handed to Somerton Town Council on a plate by Somerset County Council. All the Town Council had to do was to swap the residential element in the Dadson scheme for a health centre and the proposal would have ticked every conceivable box. So why didn't it happen? Well, the truth is, I don't know. I could speculate that the local development community didn't want Etsome Terrace being squandered on community projects when there was money to be made and that, other than Keenan/Canvin control freakery, remains my best guess.

In 2004 Somerton Town Council had the Dadson scheme (for free), they wanted a community hall and they were talking to health centre providers. All the pieces were in place yet they messed about, prevaricated, destroyed Etsome's real potential (with the Memorial Playground) and then exchanged a chunk of the site for the Tin Dunny. The bit that the Town retains is proposed as tarmac and of very limited value. In exchange, the Town has the Tin Dunny (a tawdry industrial box as far from the centre of town as you can get) and no health centre.

The real stumbling block might have been the Keenan/Canvin regime's need for TOTAL CONTROL. If the Town Council had attempted to execute the Dadson scheme then they would have probably had to do something they were pretty bad at - negotiation. They would have had to draw in the Community Hall Steering Group and all the stakeholders to undertake independent fundraising. That would have meant a loss of control and I suspect that wouldn't have been acceptable.

In comparison, the swap of land at Etsome for the Tin Dunny, no matter how bad a deal for the community, was a deal that Messers Keenan & Canvin could control and would therefore be far more attractive.

Either way, the situation that faces Somerton today is a pretty bleak one. Where is Somerton going to find affordable space for a new Health Centre? Somerton Town Council priced GPI out of Etsome Terrace in favour of residential developers and that will be a pattern that will almost certainly happen again. The development community in Somerton is just as greedy and avaricious as it is elsewhere and the money is in residential development so why should the development community accommodate a Health Centre when Somerton Town Council didn't?

So I'm left wondering how Somerton is going to find space for a new Health Centre and maybe Somerton needs a benefactor, someone with a piece of land big enough to accomodate a health centre but someone who is willing to forego top-dollar in order to help the community. I'm sure that there is someone out there, someone who can do the right thing.

Till next time, I'm Niall Connolly

8 April 2010

Lets get rid of the corrupt politicians...........

The starting gun has sounded and we are immediately entertained by the spectacle of Gordon, David and Nick trying to out-do each other in the 'butch' stakes. Who can be the toughest. Who can make themselves seem the most reliable, the most trustworthy. It really is a pathetic charade when we know the truth.

The truth is that 'politics' is a dirty and depraved business and the further up the slippery pole they climb, the dirtier and the more depraved our politicians become. It really is the grossest of hypocrisies for any of these people to talk about 'cleaning up politics' when they have absolutely no intention of doing anything of the sort. Yes, they'll sacrifice some stupid jerk who bought themselves a duck-house on the taxpayer's coin but it will be nothing more than a gesture. Pension someone off when they were heading for the exit anyway.

They'll do nothing about the real cancer that eats away at the core of our political system. They'll do nothing about the cronyism, the peddling of influence, the agreements between friends. They'll do nothing to make our political system 'accountable' because its the very 'unaccountability' that draws them there in the first place. That's what its all about.

You only have to look at how the game is played at our very local level here in Somerset. Who sits in judgement on the activities of our councillors? Their fellow councillors, of course. So who is going to take real action against one of their chums when they know that they themselves, or their mates, are up to exactly the same tricks?

So when you are asked to make a judgement about your candidate don't even imagine that your candidate has any intention of cleaning politics up in the way that you might want politics cleaned up. Ask yourself if your candidate is the least corrupt candidate and if there is a candidate who is less corrupt, vote for them. That way your wallet might just stay in your pocket for a little longer.

Till the next time, I'm Niall Connolly

6 April 2010

The Accidental Activist

Over the Easter Weekend I was invited to give a talk in Glastonbury about M&B and the 'Somerton Effect' which caused me to consider some of the less obvious aspects of what has gone on in Somerton and within the old Somerton Town Council.

In explaining the chronology of events, I have, until very recently, observed that the old Town Council only became seriously and unlawfully obstructive when I started to use the Freedom of Information Act which was in mid-2009. Whilst that might be more obviously true, the reality is that the leadership of the Town Council, Keenan and Canvin, started to obstruct my enquiries more than a year beforehand, starting with my letter to my MP, David Heath, in February of 2008. In response to my MP's enquiries, the Town Clerk drafted a reply but was instructed not to send it.

Stranger still, after the announcement of the asset swap with Edgars, I wrote to the Town Council (August & September of 2008) with some enquiries regarding the manner in which these transactions were organised. This time the Keenan&Canvin response was to instruct the Town Clerk to seek a legal opinion as to how the Town Council might avoid replying to these specific questions - not at all the actions of an organisation with confidence in the propriety of its activities.

It was this effort to stonewall my enquiries that, in effect, radicalised me. Had the Town Council been able to provide reasonable responses to perfectly legitimate questions then I suspect that I would have gone away. It was the very fact that they put effort (much more than I realised at the time) into not replying or responding that caused me to continue asking questions - a case of 'accidental activism'.

What was again underlined in Glastonbury was the fact that other taxpayers and electors have serious problems with their Town Councils, many of whom seem to be just as delinquent as was the old Somerton Town Council. The difference between Somerton and other towns is that, in Somerton, I was fortunate enough to be able to ask appropriate questions, questions which the Keenan/Canvin regime seemed fearful of answering, going as far as orchestrating a mass resignation in the hope of burying the problems.

It makes me wonder if the real reason behind the resignations was to avoid having to answer the External Auditor's questions directly, knowing at the same time that the Council's records were, thanks to the Town Clerk and his Assistant, in a complete shambles.

Whatever the truth of the matter, I hope that the 'Somerton Suiciders' will become case study material for others who wish to democratise their delinquent councils. There is even talk of a short documentary on the subject.

Till next time, I'm Niall Connolly

1 April 2010

Its the economy stupid, not an April Fool.

Over the next few months we are going to hear a lot about the economy, about how bad it really is and about who is to blame. The National Debt is going to be a hot topic of discussion and 'The Week' (Issue 759) carried a very good 'bluffers guide' to the National Debt and its implications and from it I quote the following:

How did we get into this mess?
It wasn't just down to the bankers. The cost of bank natinalisations, around £37Bn, is negligible in the general scheme of things. Ditto the cost of Britain's rather piecemeal fiscal stimulus scheme, that amounted to little more than a temporary VAT cut and the "cash-for-clunkers" scheme. The main factor feeding the huge deficit was the recession triggered by the banking collapse, during which Britain's output plummeted; but even before that crisis, the country was severely handicapped. Despite the opportunities afforded by the boom years of 2003-7, the budget hasn't been in surplus since 2001 - owing mainly to Gordon Brown's decision as Chancellor to channel wads of cash into public spending. In £2002, the deficit was £10bn; by 2008, just before the banks caved in, it had risen to £43bn.


Now, Gordon isn't the only politician to have squandered golden opportunities - he was following in the footsteps of the Iron Lady who blew the revenue from North Sea Oil on destroying the National Miner's Union (as well as what little remained of Britain's manufacturing base). But what, you might ask, does this have to do with Somerton? Well, the answer is simple. Somerton has its own, albeit smaller version of the National Debt which is, today, shored up and held at bay by the Precept. I've done a little animation which, I hope, will explain the way, year on year, Somerton's Precept has ended up being one of the highest, if not the highest, per capita, in South Somerset.



I've taken the modest Precept of 92/93 as a starting point and, as you can see, for the better part of 10 years Somerton's Precept was 'on the up' with the steepest hike being between 02/03 and 04/05 when it was approaching 500% of the 98/99 figure. Now, you have to remember that the Precept isn't 'earned income', its good old tax and it comes from you and me. Say it another way, it is earned income but we earn it and they spend it. So whilst Somerton's Town Council might have felt it was being ever so clever, what it was doing was creating its very own 'debt mountain', a mountain which the community is paying for today. (As a reference point, the black line shows what the Precept would look like if the 92/93 figures had been adjusted for 5% inflation - today that wouldn't pay the Council's admin bills!)

And what did this ever so clever Town Council do with the money? Well they went off and played at being property developers. They started buying bits of property and using good old 'cheap money' from the Public Works Loan Board to do it. They bought the land at Etsome Terrace (to build a community hall - which they didn't do) and they bought the Doctor's Surgery (a pretty crappy piece of real estate now under threat from the proposed health centre to be located on the Home Farm site, which we know won't happen but its such a good cover story) then they pulled off their piece de la resistance, the Tin Dunny. (Wasn't the Unicorn in there somewhere with a carpark deal?)

Now, the pedants in the community will note that I say they bought Etsome then they bought the Tin Dunny and will claim, quite reasonably, that the ever so clever Town Council will have paid off Etsome as a result of selling it and, in a sane world, the pedants would be right. But this is Somerton, where the clowns vie with the sheep for control of the mad-house and where the Town Council didn't bother about paying-off borrowings. No, Somerton will be paying for Etsome Terrace for a good few years yet.

So, when the Pied Piper of Pitney led his flock from the Edgar Hall last October, they left behind some intractable overheads and the new Town Council has to find some way out of the mess. I am not privy to the details but some raw figures give an indication of just how deeply Somerton Town Council or, more properly, the community (on whose behalf the Town Council were 'acting') is in debt.

Administrational overheads (staff salaries, office expenses, phones, insurance, official cars etc etc) soak up around £60kpa with the Edgar Hall costing more than £30k to keep the lights on plus the debt on Etsome Terrace (£23kpa), maintenance commitments (say £25kpa). There is also the possibility (a slight one) that an alternative location might be found for a new health centre in Somerton. If that were to happen then the Town Council would be in a difficult position with regard to its ownership of the current practice premises which only break even as long as they are occupied by the GP practice.

So well over half of our fabulous Precept is gone before we start and I'm sure that there are plenty more nasty financial surprises waiting in the wings. There are the usual maintenance costs, renewals and other overheads that will eat into the new Town Council's budget leaving precious little to be invested in the community. And I'm very tempted to ask what's new in that?

Let me direct you to an interesting movie. Its called 'Enron - the smartest guys in the room' and its all about the collapse of Enron. As a company, Enron was fine until the loonies took control and, after a few years, they couldn't leave because of the potential bad smells from the financial basement. Then the Senior Accountants blew his brains out and the whole thing came apart. Somerton's story is a little more prosaic - the implosion was accompanied by the gentle baa-ing of sheep.

Till the External Auditor reports, I'm Niall Connolly