Equality for all or accepting others

“Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.” – Simone de Beauvoir

Caroline Criado Perez opened her book, “Invisible Women”, with this epigraph from de Beauvoir’s, “Second Sex”.

For an enlightening exposé of today’s society, such as the design of safety jackets for women police officers or why snow clearance is a sexist issue, it’s well worth a read.

EV charging points

Devon County Council are supporting the provision of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points and provide a map at https://www.devonclimateemergency.org.uk/taking-action/electric-vehicles/ A screen grab is attached (though without a key). There is a ‘rapid’ two-vehicle charge point at Glanvilles Mill car park in Ivybridge. It was funded by Highways England. EVs should have an 80% charge within 30 minutes. These details taken from the DCC website.

DCC map of charging points in the South Hams

Voting Liberal Democrat

The following is an extract from the Preamble to the Constitution. Liberal Democracy is not just about self but about caring for others.

“The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We believe that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet and, by safeguarding the balance of nature and the environment, for the long term continuity of life in all its forms. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives.”

For more, see https://www.libdems.org.uk/constitution

From the New Statesman archive

I receive emails as adverts using previously published articles. This was in today’s (7/7/21). Do you remember Aitken and his ‘sword of truth’?

Following an investigation by the Guardian and the now-defunct Granada TV, questions were raised about who picked up the £1,000 bill for former Conservative MP and cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken’s Paris Ritz hotel room in 1993. Aitken, a government minister in charge of defence procurement at the time, had a close friendship with a businessman who had strong links to the Saudi Arabian royal family, whose aides paid for Aitken’s hotel. Strongly denying the claims, Aitken sued the Guardian and Granada for libel, but was proved to be lying, and was later jailed for 18 months for perjury and perverting the course of justice. Writing at the time when the first details were emerging, the writer of this editorial sees Aitken’s case as a small part of a greater “rot” endemic within the Conservative Party; likening it to the “Great Stink” of 1858. It is a “rot” many people still see today, following accusations of cronyism in Boris Johnson’s government.

Councils and their work

Open commentary has become much easier through social media. I had not paid much attention to criticism of our District, Town and County activities before standing for election – Council activities largely passed me by. Yet, over the last two years I’ve been able to meet many staff (traditionally, termed Officers), have seen them at work, and received help for residents, presentations, paperwork, and training.

Officers are members of our society. They live amongst us, use the same services we do, pay the same Council Tax, and likely hold opinions about their colleagues and Councillors. Many enjoy their work and are pleased they can make positive contributions to society. I have come to know them as interested in their work, interested in the role of public service, hard working, of wide knowledge and experience, and tight-lipped on the comments from members of the public and elected Councillors.

There is no great conspiracy to work inefficiently, or to spend residents’ Council Taxes without due concern. Comments or even attacks by residents through social media would be better phrased as questions to their Councillors on why the Council works with any particular approach or outcome. Indeed, Elected Members (the Councillors) set policies and the Officers implement them – so any complaints should be directed at Councillors (I’m on victor.ivybridge@gmail.com) and we can either answer, find out an answer, or liaise with others to solve a problem. If we don’t respond to you, you can elect someone else after four years.

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Council

We’re moving towards the next Full Council at South Hams. Thursday 25th will start with a briefing on how the Council staff are working towards us coming out of lockdown. For many Council staff, Covid has increased their workloads, forced working with restrictions, and involved supporting people in testing conditions.

The Full Council meeting is in the afternoon. We will have entered the pre-election period (often referred to as ‘purdah’) the previous day. Everyday business can continue but we mustn’t associate staff activities or Council actions with anything party political. There is a restriction on some Motions that have been submitted and these will reappear at the following meeting.

Mother of Parliaments

It’s not true, of course, since there were earlier parliaments. It’s also inherently frustrating as a voter for a minority party. And no, I don’t want to join the others as they don’t represent my views. It’s odd being in a party which favours inclusivity, and two parties wish to force others to one extreme or the other. They’re really happier being out of power occasionally (or, in Labour’s case, more often than not) rather than having to compromise. A dirty word? Not in every day life, where it’s the norm; just in politics apparently.

Is our system more democratic; is it democratic at all – not in the views of almost all other countries. We were once offered a vote on a system that was not Proportional Representation. The majority of the country voted against. Shame the case was not made better. Currently, the Conservatives have an 80 seat majority on 43.6% of the popular vote.

Import problems on leaving the EU

Full Council met Thursday 17th December. It was a long meeting, with my motion coming late in the day.  I introduced this nearly as follows (except the text is edited as I had no documentary support for the import percentages except as now modified from government sources).

“We left the European Union on the 31st January 2020. The Transition Period will end on 31st December 2020. We may be 3/4 of the way through a pandemic but whether we had this challenge to society, to businesses, or to personal budgets, or we didn’t – one thing is certain … 2021 will produce difficulties for all but the rich.

We are yet to find out whether we are

. leaving with a deal,

. leaving with no deal, or

. asking for an extension to the transition.

But I’ll start with the good news. There will be no customs checks on imports until July 2021 (that’s taking back control). Therefore we might be OK for food imports. Just as well as we import both food for processing and raw foodstuffs including 26% from the EU and 19% from the rest of the world.

However, you don’t build a 27 acre lorry park in Kent for no reason. Lorries not able to get out of Britain won’t be there to bring back imports. Lorry drivers will prefer to work within a free trade area rather than sit in a Kent toilet park.

It’s even said our wooden pallets won’t pass regulations.

Those of our poorer residents and those without work due to Covid have needed unusual help:

. free meals for schoolchildren (though only provided because one man had a conscience and influence); and

. a massive increase in the use of Foodbanks.

So what can we do? We’re not a charity, we’re a service provider. There are quite a few practical things that can be done but let’s not do the detail – let’s do the principle. SHDC staff contributed much time and effort with local Covid-support measures. Let us agree that staff can be allocated to identify issues; and to communicate with residents.

I encourage you to make available the resources we have to counter the worst excesses of the coming year.

Let the officers discuss the problems and identify the opportunities where the Council can help.

Let us stand by our residents.

The motion had been discussed with the Leader of the Council and was modified prior to the meeting. There was a further short discussion and then it was put to the vote.

‘Whilst recognising the valuable work being undertaken by the SHDC Officers in addressing the issues arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic Council resolves to assist those residents and businesses within the District who are affected by the import and/or export problems arising at the end of the Transition Period for leaving the European Union, using our established joint working arrangements across Devon and that are reflected in our existing work programmes and resources to do so.’

With 28 present at the time, 27 voted for and 1 abstained.

Parking payments over the phone

The convenience fee charged across South Hams car parks when purchasing parking tickets through the RingGo app has been removed. This  brings charges in line with tickets purchased at the meters.

The use of the RingGo app through the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the public to pay for parking without needing to use a Pay and Display machine.  Thereby eliminating the need to encounter multiple touchpoints and interact with others when standing in queues. 

Cllr Keith Baldry, Executive Member for Environment at South Hams District Council, said: “In the current climate, paying touch-free has become increasingly important. Since most people carry a smart phone these days, paying through the RingGo app is very convenient for consumers and this is shown through the increase in payments via the app this summer. 

“It means that drivers no longer need to queue or handle cash to pay for their parking. During the pandemic, touch-free parking is even more important as it reduces the risk of transferring the virus.”

A morning in the life of …

a District Councillor.

Just received a 2 hour briefing (over Zoom) on changes to the planning regime introduced to support businesses with us being in the Covid-19 pandemic. To see the history though, there are changes going on every now and again – what a lot of work for our professional planners at the District Council to keep up with.

For elected members, local Councillors representing a Ward (as we all do), or on the planning committee (termed, the Development Management Committee, DMC), we have the support of these planning professionals and a legal team to help us come to a decision. We can apply our local knowledge or just represent society by being part of our communities, but we cannot decide without advice, guidance and caution.

So the morning also included a little local party politics, and keeping up to date with the Police and Crime Commissioner campaigns. I hope to contact a management company for one of the new housing estates this afternoon, finalise my reading for tomorrow’s DMC meeting (with 3 principal applications), and commence writing my report for Ugborough Parish Council which takes place tomorrow night.