Rochester and Strood by-election results

Well, after a very long night and a couple of hours snatched sleep I thought I’d write about what the heck happened yesterday.

Firstly the UKIP victory in the Parliamentary By-election. To be honest it was no big surprise. A month ago when it was announced there was a belief that it was all flash in the pan and that Mark Reckless would be handed an embarrassing defeat at the hands of his former masters or even Labour.

As the time has gone on the amount of UKIP activists, doners and support has grown (or been bussed in) and Rochester has been worked hard. This was met by the Tories and Labour who have had MP after MP down and even the Prime Minister. This was never going to be a normal election.

Ultimately the majority attained was nothing to significant. With a turnout of over 50% Mark only managed to get a majority of 3000 over Kelly Tolhurst (his majority back in 2010 was 10,000). The Tories were celebrating this last night. They know that come May when UKIP will be spreading their activists and money over a larger area of North Kent, especially if Farage is going to stand in Thanet, that Mark will see this lead eroded.

What does this mean for Medway politics in the local election (held on the same day as the General)? Well it could lead to one of two outcomes.

The first is that this victory may buoy up the local party and they will make a valiant charge snapping up council seats drastically altering the shape of the local authority. This is their aim.

The second is that with the removal of resources could force them to make tough decisions. As Mark’s lead is fairly tenuous they may be forced to through what resources they have available to keep him at the cost of local councillors.

This of course is fairly hypothetical we’d have to see.

Needless to say that the Tories are stung and will be coming for them.

As will the Labour party. Naushaba Kahn fought a tough campaign with a lot of support from the local party and Westminster elect. If anything there was a belief that this was Labour's chance to regain the swing seat with the usual right of centre voters torn between UKIP and Tories.

Although they worked hard and attracted a lot of support they failed to make much of a media imprint and ultimately ended well shy of Mark scoring only 6.713 votes.

This has massive ramifications for Ed Miliband and the Labour party, not necessarily the hard working local party.

Labour's main definition at the moment is not the Coalition and let's face it the Tories (and we've signed off on them or are guilty by association) have pushed through some really nasty stuff - badger culls, ATOS, cuts to services, tuition fees... the list is exhaustive and all along, week after week we have to suffer Ed saying he and Labour would never agree to any of this and Ed Balls promising that Labour's economic plan (whatever it is) was much better.

With the extreme views of UKIP and the unpopularity of the  Conservative Government you would have thought the swing seat may have swung back to Labour. The fact it didn't suggests another two things.

The first that voters saw the Conservatives with Kelly Tolhurst's Local girl, local issues campaign as the best alternative and didn't want to split the anti UKIP vote or, and perhaps more alarmingly for Labour, that there is a serious problem with their message.

The whole situation must be even more concerning for the Conservatives. They threw the Kitchen sink at UKIP and although performed really well coming short by a small margin in both the parliamentary and the Hoo Peninsula ward by-election (Ron Sands (CON)  got 1965 against Chris Irvine's (UKIP) 2850) they still failed, despite the resources flung, to make it closer.

As I've said, this could be a temporary blip or it could be the opening of the flood gates. Already some of the old stalwart supporters of the Medway Conservatives have already jumped ship and it might be the beginning of a landslide. There is also a general malaise against the local Tories and should UKIP erupt like a tumour with a handful of Tory Councillors going purple between now and May it could change the face of Medway's Council.

Now with heavy heart I turn to the Libdem result.  It looks awful. Geoff Juby got under 1% in the parliamentary and I gained just over 1% in the Hoo by-election. Geoff's share of the vote collapsed by 15% of its 2010 share. It is being hailed as the worse performance of the Liberal Democrats in a By-election ever...

Now this will sound like a lot of excuses but here is the truth.

Geoff worked hard, and I mean damn hard with a dedicated team of local activists with a few visits from Westminster but this was not Eastleigh. This was not to be our battle ground, not a target seat this time around and Clegg et al did not appear with armies of Libdems busing in from across the country bank rolled by HQ and shadowy donors. This was a local battle led by a local candidate backed up by local activists.

This was always going to be a battle between the Tories and UKIP.

As for me. I am ecstatic about my 1% after all I did absolutely no canvassing or campaigning. Hoo was never a seat we could have won, nor did we have any presence out there. As many regular readers know my son was born on 10th October, had his first operation on 13th and I have been busy with my family settling in George. I'm amazed I got that many votes by doing nothing and I would like to thank everyone who did vote for me, next time will be definitely different.

The two great stories to come out of this election was firstly -

Britain first only got 56 votes. This, although depressing that they got more votes than some of the Independents is uplifting (I got more votes than them in one ward by election!!!) because even the Monster raving loony party did better than them! Truly a laughing stock.

The other is the results of the Green party. They fought a good campaign with a good candidate and scored a respectable fourth place with (1692 votes) in the parliamentary and local (314 votes). This was a great result for them and I've already sent my congratulations via Twitter.

Not to take anything away from them but the rise in support may be because they are now the non-UKIP protest party.  Ten years ago that was the Libdem party (though my Mum always voted Green!) but with the Coalition we've become part of the establishment so people tend to vote for a non-governmental party. If you don't want UKIP then the next best choice is Green. We could see some serious gains by the Greens next year if UKIP continue to develop in the towns.

I know a lot of this is all speculation bolstered with educated guesses but there is so much that could happen that at this moment in time (with four hours sleep) I'm not prepared to tie my colours to the mast until February or even April.

I will however close with a warning however to the other parties. The results of last night belay how strong we are in our wards, getting rid of the Libdems in Medway is going to be a tough proposition.

World War Two monuments buried on Grain

A couple of years ago a development company hit a sticky wicket in Gillingham. Right in the middle of their proposed construction site was a set of Dragon's teeth, put in place to slow the advance of German armoured vehicles if the Wehrmacht had landed during World War Two. This really caught my attention at the time as my Grandfather, Corperal Alfred Pullen, had been working on the defences of Gillingham and Chatham in 1940 and had more than likely put them there with his team of Sappers. They had also put the large Concrete block outside what was the Town hall in Chatham.

The Dragon Teeth were built across much of Kent and have sadly been cleared following the war. Their design to hamper the enemy also hampered civil usage of roads, fields and beaches!

They do, however, survive in areas and have now been Listed as grade II as items of special interest. One surviving group is situated on the Isle of Grain and these have been defiled recently. The Grain Group stretch for some 570 meters along the north foreshore and have been  listed because amongst all the usual models there is also exceptionally rare Caltrops as well as anti-tank pimples on Concrete sleeper grid. They are listed with number 1019955.  According to local sources (and photographs that hit the web) they have been buried under a large amount of top soil that has been dumped on the beach.

Rumour has it that the soil was put there to cover up more older refuse and waste that has been there for as long as 40 years and may be leaching out into the river.

English Heritage have been contacted about the possible damage and the covering of the World War Two and they have asked Medway Council to look into it, I understand the Environmental officers have been tasked with this process. I have also heard that Peel Ports and the LRG, who own the land and are thus responsible for the upkeep of the beach and the monuments, have also been contacted by the Council.

As the history of this nation is slowly eroded by progress and time it is important to cling on to those monuments that do bear significance are properly maintained and restored. I trust that those responsible are held to account and this area restored to the way it was swiftly.

I also trust that there are no pollutants or waste under the soil, should there be then this makes a bad situation far, far worse.

Open letter to Boris Johnson from a resident saying no to HUB on Grain

To the Mayor of London, Mr Boris Johnson esq.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you concerning your proposals for an airport on the Isle of Grain or in the Thames Estuary. I

am not writing as a Liberal Democrat rather as a father, a husband and a resident of Gillingham.

I will not trot out all the arguments of environmental damage and problems of shipping, the SS Richard Montgomery etc - which you have all heard and discounted rightly or wrongly before.

What I want to do is implore you from the point of view of the residents.

The Medway towns need serious regeneration and money injected to maintain basic services and inferstructure like our crumbling road system. There is also a ready base of people here who would gladly come and work there myself included. I work in London as a CCTV operator in a National Museum and I would relish the chance of working for more money in the Private sector closer to my home.

However I, and many in the Medway towns do not want the Airport on our doorsteps.

If you could just look at the Photograph I have inserted you'll see a little Green flag which sits atop of a light amongst a sea of lights. That light is my house on Sturdee Avenue, Gillingham. As you can see I would be right under the Isle of Grain's circling aircraft. Suddenly my idyllic little corner of England will have noisy aircraft filling the blue sky and filling our ears and forcing house prices down.

Any gain we as an area would gain from the airport would soon be lost by people relocating away from the flight paths. I know that if I had the money and my wife's mother wasn't ill and local to us I would relocate to Winchester (where I went to university) on the day the first foundations went in. I do not want my children to grow up in a flight path, nor do I want Rochester's traditional and historic sleepy ethos be disrupted by constant over flying aircraft. As strange as it may seem, I do love Gillingham and my family have been residents of these towns for well over a century, my Grandfather built defences here in World War Two, my Great-great Grandfather is commemorated on the Boer War Memorial in Brompton Barracks, my wife's family are here. This is our home and although I want it to be better in some ways I also love it for just what it is and this sort of change will no doubt ruin it in so many ways and could force us elsewhere.

 Even the promise of jobs is a lure as there will be fewer jobs available. All those in Heathrow who will found themselves unemployed following your proposed Government buy out will flood to Medway as skilled and experienced workers.

I understand that you are the Mayor of London and you want to make London a world leader but the people of the Medway towns and the Isle of Grain have spoken to their elected officials on the Local Council and in Government and Tracey, Mark and Rehman do speak for the majority when they say that the Medway Towns do not want this.

I would implore you once again to rethink this and to not rule us, the residents under the flight path, out as Trivial, we are far from that and we have told our elected officials No.

Yours Faithfully

C. J. Sams

UKIP target Medway?

Are UKIP's sights on Medway?

Over the last few days we've witnessed something that a few years ago would have been considered the

waking dreams of Nigel Farage and his inner circle. Eastleigh was the first warning flare but this round of local elections have shown the possibility of them making serious gains in the future.

One possible site is Medway.

The current Conservative council has done some good work over the last decade or so and has some good councillors.

However they also stand accused of some awful cockups. Massive overspends on capital projects like the bus station, the Medway test and ofsted fiascoes, a recent budget that was so hurriedly and ineptly put together that it displayed the wrong information and even failed to balance, accusations of not consulting or providing adequate safety on the Isle of Grain, taxation and cuts that are causing severe anguish and debt amongst residents.

It would seem likely that an opposition party could make real headway against them. Indeed Labour do seem intent on making serious inroads into the Local scene and stand to make some serious gains in certain areas of Medway, often using the national problems as a way of catching peoples eyes. However there is a vast swathe of people who do not trust Labour still (mainly on National politics) and there are vast areas of Rainham, Wigmore, Hempstead and areas of Rochester who are true blue and wouldn't vote Labour BUT could turn to UKIP instead. Many high profile Conservatives could find themselves losing seats or votes being split by UKIP if their local party could get organised and funded properly.

The downside for them is that the Medway Local elections will be on the same day as the General Election of 2015. This could be detrimental to the UKIP vote as if they are a protest vote which many still think they may be, they will not see the same returns during the General election as people prefer to vote for the big two parties (maybe Libdem on a good day) but we will have to see.

On the General Election side I can't imagine them fielding a candidate against Mark Reckless who already embodies their anti European stance and I believe that Tracey Crouch is critical enough of the current EU contract and campaigning for reform so she too should be safe especially combined with her good work ethic and generally liked by her constituents. Indeed Mr Farage offered both Tracey and Mark positions in UKIP should they wish to defect when they voted "Eurosceptically" back in 2011. Rehman Chishti however seems broadly pro-European and not generating as much interest as he did prior to 2010 and could be a target seat especially as there are rumblings from Conservative supporters that he has been too supportive of the Coalition and a reported lukewarm reception to Paul Clarke's announcement as Labour candidate. Will voters be swayed by another party? It is all conjecture at this stage but food for thought.

There is genuine scope for UKIP to do well in the Medway towns given the right amount of organisation etc but obviously we will have to wait and see how things develop and transpire. I am sure that some members of the Conservative Council will be watching things very carefully.

As a Liberal Democrat member and campaigner I'm certainly going to keep my eyes open and watching things develop.

Libdem conference Votes NO to Boris Island

Peter Welch of Southend West

Whilst some political groups and commentators will still warn you off the almost inevitability of Boris Island as the "least negative option" but last Sunday a big step was taken at the Liberal Democrat Party conference.
t
Medway's very own Cllr Geoff Juby, leader of our Council group was due to speak and a good contingent of our exec committee were there too including our Chairman Tony Jeacock.

In the end Geoff was not called to speak but Peter Welch of Southend West spoke passionately and eloquently against the proposals.

Conference voted AGAINST any estuary airport.

Let's just be clear so there can be no calls of inconsistency or claims to the contrary;

The Liberal Democrats are in support of creating a new HUB airport. They are AGAINST any Heathrow expansion or development in the Thames estuary.

Hope everyone has got that.

Any way, I've attached the party email from Mr Welch and included the link to the petition.


I spoke against Boris Johnson’s idea of a Thames Estuary Airport at Liberal Democrat conference last Sunday – and won a big vote. I told conference delegates that the ideas being pushed by London’s Conservative mayor were wrong on environmental, economic and aviation grounds.

I reminded delegates of the beauty of the Estuary, inviting them to come and see for themselves:
Come and visit the estuary sometime. Come to Leigh on Sea and to Old Leigh. Gaze out across the Estuary. You will probably be surprised at how beautiful it is. Locals are always tweeting pictures of the estuary, while they wait for a train in the morning. Every day it is different. You’ll be surprised at all the wildlife, so close to London, even while the centre of the estuary is a busy shipping route. There are 300 000 sea birds in the estuary, harbour seals, even seahorses. You’ll probably say to yourself: this should be protected.
And guess what? It is!  If you destroy the unique wetlands of the estuary, you breach the Ramsar convention, you breach the Habitats Directive, and you destroy sites of Special Scientific Interest. You’d be breaking international agreements.

I told them that the Isle of Grain proposals were estimated to cost at least £50 billion, would involve building far out into the Estuary, and would that there would be no return on this investment for years and years.
Lastly I told the conference that the Chief Executive of NATS had described the Estuary as “the worst possible place to put an airport”. It would interfere with the flight paths at least four of our present airports – and the risk of bird strike would be unacceptably high.

Conference voted for my amendment - ruling out the Estuary option  - by a massive majority.

Peter Welch 
2010 Liberal Democrat candidate
Southend West

PS: We need to continue campaigning. It helps if you can forward this email to people you know who are or may be opposed. They can then sign the petition at http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/Estuary%20Airport%20Petition
A special thanks to all the people who have printed out petition sheets and collected signatures from friends, neighbours and colleagues. We have had a great response.



It will be interesting to see if Labour's members back the move in today's motion. Even more so, the reception it will receive at the Conservative party conference next week. The Liberal Democrats have stood up for common sense on this matter - lets hope the others do to.

If there is a general consensus of all three parties Nationally, as there is locally in Medway, in Southend and in North Kent then we can block this proposal and sink Boris Island once and for all.

Referendum for the airport proposal?

This was something that first surfaced at the beginning of the year. From memory it was at full Council and was voted down by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the Independent group by a sound majority. If that had been anything else it would have been dropped right?

Well... no. It's still going on and Councillor Osborne (Lab and PPC for Chatham & Aylesford) is still leading the charge on his proposals though support is gaining.

During my Leave I reaffirmed my opposition to the the referendum. Unfortunately at the time I had not slept properly in weeks, was restricted to 140 Character tweets and at the exact moment was heavily involved in a pitch battle with a 4 week old baby who wouldn't stop crying and a two year old who refused to believe daddy when he says;

You can't open the gate it is locked with a padlock and daddy doesn't have the key... Sophie stop that and- You get the idea.

Basically I could not out line why I think this is a complete waste of time so I thought I would write about it - then forgot - now been reminded by a recent post.

Right...

1. In the brief discourse Tris mentioned the AV referendum;

Public opinion was against AV, didn't stop referendum

Fair point.

There are a lot of comparisons that can be drawn between the two referendum;

Firstly its not that popular - yeah sure there's a very vocal support group but if you ask the average chap/ette on the street I'm sure there'd be a general apathy and the ultimate; What's the point? (I'm coming to that later)

The other comparison that a lot of we AV supporters found was that we all agreed with AV, all our friends on Twitter and at political meetings, the papers we read, the people on TV all agreed with AV but the public did not. I propose, and if you really think about it (go on) that it is the same with this one too. There is plenty of noise but from the same people. All the people I've spoken to think it is a waste of time. Like I said in a previous post - deafened by their own noise.

Also, similar to AV, there has been little debate on the subject especially in the local media. The average citizen hasn't really heard the debate from organisations such as DRINK or from Lord Foster etc. Indeed a while ago there was a meeting out on Hoo about the airport and it was a complete white wash of anti- airport propaganda and no one from Foster and Co to defend the project.

Further to that, the local Labour media machine has demonised anyone who thinks that the airport might be a good idea. Happened to me and I'm a no one really (for saying; Also... This hurts to admit this but... If it will benefit the nation as a whole and boost British Business for many decades then... well... can it really be a bad thing), I imagine many Councillors are running scared of even suggesting they like the idea.

How can you have a balanced and fair referendum with an automatic public bias to the idea?

Surely, any independent survey and or Consultation would take that into consideration and dismiss the results?

Especially that the window for such a referendum is shrinking. The proposals were to tack them onto the Police Commissioner's election this November - the clock is ticking and it doesn't look viable.

2. The cynic in me thinks that this is no more than a large stick to beat the Tories with. After all it is about giving people a voice and people like that. Thoughts of practicality go to the wind, there almost inconvenient.

After all, Zach Goldsmith has threatened a bi-election, Heathrow area might get a referendum! Why not here!!!! Booooo- Tories!!!!

Of course if the airport gets built, that's the Tories fault because we didn't get a referendum and if it doesn't then they can claim victory for the over all campaign... win-win

But as I say, that's me being cynical.

3. Ultimately the referendum would mean nothing.

The Government is looking to improve National airport capacity, they will be looking coolly at environmental effects, infrastructure, space, housing etc... Of course local opinion will be taken into it but let us be brutally honest - will it really matter if the Nation's needs are more important.

I cite Spock (see video - about 1:14) and you cannot argue with that logic. The NATIONAL government must make decisions for the many, rather than the few. Any referendum will look NIMBY, especially if debate has not occurred and/or there is a low turn out.

If all potential sites were to return with referendums with a No vote what would you expect the Government to do?

4. There is still no guarantee that a new airport will be built as there are options like maximising current space and ports. There is also no guarantee that there will be one built here, what with all the problems that threaten the island/Hoo environmentally and logistically which are enough to sink the project before you include the lack of political support by the Libdems, Labour and Local Conservatives nor any of the local councils.

A referendum would work out as overkill.

5. Finally, and I do concede a little ground here...

The Referendum/ bi-elections are a one shot weapon. You can only use them once and it is too soon to do that. The Consultation starts next year and as I have illustrated here, and before, there is no need to run about like a wet hen firing of salvo after salvo. It is commonly known that you hold your best hand to last, or your doomsday weapons to the end - you don't drop an H-bomb to capture a bridge.

If a referendum does prove to be the only solution, the last straw or line of defence then let it be. We have time on our side and a huge ball of possibilities to unravel well before talk of a referendum or Bi-election becomes necessary.

Right, that all said, I'm going to put my ear plugs back in and wait for the inevitable return barrage....

Speculation over Aviation Policy and Justine Greening's departure

So Justine Greening has been shuffled out of the cabinet. Even before she has cleared out her desk the media and pundits have begun speculating what this means. Like an episode of Dawson's creek or from my premarital love life everyone is sat about over thinking everything, suggesting hypothesises and second guessing every tiny detail. 

 A couple of months ago the opposition were trying to convince us all that Boris island or the Hoo peninsula scheme were the only options and that those evil Tories would force it upon us - Those blaggards! 

 Then in recent weeks Heathrow expansion has become the sticking point and aren't those dastardly Tories are going to U-turn on an election pledge. Then on the weekend there were suggestions of an airport Northwest London.  

 Now with Greening gone and the virtual unknown of McLoughlin getting the brief the spot light is going back on Heathrow. 

 I think it is time for us all to be honest...  

 No one knows where this new airport/expansion will be even if there is to be one! 

 Let's stop guessing and stabbing in the dark and wait for this consultation. When it finally comes, it will be the chance for ALL the possibilities to be weighed and debated and for everyone to have their say. 

 My personal opinion, and it is simply that and I don't say it's anything more, is that Ms Greening went because she wasn't impartial and that whatever the outcome opposition would call foul play.

This consultation is a chance to lay out Aviation policy and to finally answer the question of capacity in the country. Getting rid of internal flights in favour of HS2, moving freight capacity onto smaller airports or fields, a better distribution system that could free up space, finally abandoning the slap-dash space filling or quick fixes that have been successive Government's solutions. It will also be the time to bring to the table the reasons why an Estuary airport won't work r be so detrimental to the environment. Lets stop fearing the Consultation and work with it to achieve the aims we want. 

It would be wrong to rule anything out but it would also be wrong to say anything is definite. Lets be adult about this.

As the artillery barrage and scare mongering continues from different groups pertaining to know what is going to happen and what the Government is up too and the inevitability yadda yadda yadda it is the cool hard logic that states no one knows and I shall save all of my ammunition for the Consultation. People will be less tired of listening to the constant drone of noise and take it in the manner it is intended. Until then we should remember the wise words of Baz Luhrmann who once said;
worrying about something is as effective as solving a problem as chewing bubblegum - and wait for the consultation instead of constantly seeing signs in every perceived and real in/action.

Airport expansion, Boris Island, local Labour & responsible politics

 

A Grain of truth in fears?

I've written a lot about Boris Island and the Grain hub over the last year or so. It is rarely out of the local news or Political scope for more than a week. Some one always has an opinion or Boris Johnson makes a remark or... Its tiring really.

One of the main themes of the writings though is Labour's interpretations of the events - as they are the most vocal group upon the subject.

What usually happens is there is an event or someone (usually a Conservative but more recently Dr Huppert Libdem MP for Cambridge) and suddenly the spin cycle begins and the shouts of:

TWO FACED TORIES!

or...

THEY'RE GOING TO BUILD A BLOODY GREAT AIRPORT OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!!

but as I've tried to maintain; Nothing has been decided yet

According to today's article in the Telegraph newspaper Justine Greening may find herself shuffled out of the cabinet and into another senior position. In doing so the Government can look at expanding Heathrow as a stop gap but put it in place to happen after 2015 so as not to rupture the Coalition agreement (again) or break election pledges.

Heathrow has its draw backs with angry residents, pressure groups and environmental problems too. Other economists will argue that Heathrow expansion is a mere stopgap and a proper HUB will be needed or lose out on trade. Boris will argue that Mr Cameron has pussy-footed around it and that a chance has been lost.

The Conservatives may be playing the long game and hoping that it will either be Labour's problem in 2015 or they will have a majority and not have to worry about losing a host of seats in Kent and Essex or worry about a rebellious group of local MPs joining up with the Libdems to vote the issue down now. Who knows?

This, like so many other suggestions and extrapolations is mere conjecture and we'll just have to wait for the reshuffle.

There is NO certainty over this project, a hang over from Labour not shutting this down with the Cliffe proposals almost a decade ago.

This consultation will, I'm sure rule out the possibility of the site once and for all due to its many problems like bird strike, environmental and ecological damage etc etc...

But what if it doesn't? What if the Independent body find its a good site? To paraphrase a local Labour tweeter.

Well what if they do? There will still be room to fight it and our MPs will keep doing that backed up by our elected Councillors and environmental groups and charities. It will not be over by a long shot.

What needs to happen though is for the Opposition to stop making Political capital out of this.

Firstly there is the fear mongering. Preying on people's concerns and worries about a really serious subject and turning every sentence, every suggestion into a news worthy slogan with continued ravings that the airport is going ahead and that the Tories are out to betray us all. Its not right and its not what politics should be about.

Yes criticise the project, put pressure on the Government to think about what it is doing - that's what a good opposition does but don't do this, its childish.

Some poor sod of a councillor said a while back that he, personally wasn't opposed to Boris Island, I made a similar comment (along the lines that should it be good for the nation/economy is it really a bad thing?) both of us have been lambasted for it by Labour politicos. Is that fair? For someone's personal opinion on the matter?

Look every one they like the idea of Boris Island! BURN THE HERETIC!

Again - its not right.

Lets all be clear headed about this - lets approach this as adults and as Maria Eagles suggested: Take politics out of the equation and all of us unite against this project without the crap, point scoring and the mild hysteria.

Petition against Boris Island

We must fight Boris island Together

Two articles caught my eye on Boris Island and the Estuary airport in the last week. The first was a letter from Medway to David Cameron wanting an answer sooner rather than later on the Consultation by local reporter Alan McGuinness.

The Second was on Libdemvoice by the Secretary of the Medway Libderal Democrats… Oh wait, that’s me. Sorry, I know it is a shameless plug but if you don’t want to read it I’ll give you the general gist.

Basically having read this and the line;

Send Cameron and Clegg a message that no means no.

Well considering the Liberal Democrats, Clegg and Dr Julian Huppert MP have been vocal in our stand against it I felt it was somewhat unfair of Cllr Osborne to lump us in with the Tories on this one. However I urged the party and Nick to be even more vocal and to take a stand on this.

Then in the comments a fellow Libdem from Southend posted this link to a petition against Boris Island.

I’ve signed it and now I’m inviting all my readers from Medway who are opposed to the project to do the same thing.

There comes a time when we’ve all got to put down our Political affiliation and colours for the bigger picture and for the people we represent. Its easy for us to sit in our different coloured groups of Red, Blue, Gold and Green and be distrustful of the others or not want to link our names or party to another’s initiative but this is one of the rare issues that transcends all of this.

Should this airport be built then we will all suffer, either we stand together or we fall.

So please – please sign the petition.

The link is here.

Thanks.

Dodgy siren and Hazardous waste - the woes of the Isle of Grain



LNG plant on the Isle of Grain

There has been quite a stir on the Twittersphere over recent months with local resident Jack Hope (@jacklhope) bombarding local politicians/politicos for help and about the Health and Safety concerns of the village of Grain and the Liquid Gas plant in their proximity. It is something I have been meaning to look into and right about for sometime but time is constantly flitting past me without me being able to do half the things I want to do - It’s now only 4 weeks until my second child is born!

Any way, now I've got some wind in my sails and a couple of articles from Friday's Messenger, which saves me a lot of research time and FOI requests!

Right first off the Siren.

Now as I understand it, there was a lot of pressure from residents, led by Mr Hope, for a warning system for the villagers in case there was an emergency at the Gas plant. Although the chances of there being a problem at the plant are exceptionally low there are indeed concerns for the villagers who live in close to the plant.
The fact that should there be a major incident the residents sit under a blast or gas radius, there's only one road onto the island etc...

That's by the by though and the Council Health and Safety committee has looked into it and I do not know enough to add to the war of words and opinions on this matter so I shan't attempt to.

What can be said is that the Council promised to install it last September and this week it was tested, three loud blasts were sounded.

One minor *cough* snag was that it wasn't audible across the whole area!

Parish Councillor Chris Buckwell (con) said; I spoke to two or three villagers, one of whom didn't hear it
Nor did the local Primary school.

Councillor Mike O'Brien, respected head of Community Safety who was part of a Council team present for the test is quoted as admitting it was Work in progress and We had a whole team of officers out there investigating it and once we have sat down in the cold light of day and looked at the results properly we will know where to go next

The Siren cost £24,000 and as Councillor O'Brien says [It] wasn't legally necessary but I thought it was a good reassurance for the residents. My firm belief is the residents of Grain have absolutely nothing to fear.

I would like to remind Mike; somewhat cheekily that White Star line said the same thing about the Olympic class liners. It was considered that the safety measures in the design were sufficient enough to withstand any collision "likely" to occur and that they had the Legally required amount of lifeboats and a few extras. Cue an Iceberg and the Titanic.
What I mean is, when it comes to disasters it doesn't matter what safety measures are put in! Some one should have looked at the design specs before it was implemented and questioned if it was loud enough. Still, I'm sure its being looked at now.

Next up, a hazardous waste dump?

The Development Company Peel is in the early stages of proposing a 120 acre site right next to the village of Grain. This is not the first time that such a site has been proposed and Parish Councillor Chris Buckwell defeated the last one. Things are different now of course...

The last Government changed the rules of such building schemes saying that if it was of National importance it could over rule elected officials and locals... Well that's not democracy or respecting one's citizens. Good Job Labour.

Unelected planning inspectors will make the decision instead of Medway councillors. We're very disappointed about that. Says Cllr Buckwell.

The site itself well deal with cleaning Industrial Gas burners, using specially created bacteria to eat pollutants, soil cleansing and other measures but will not handle hospital or radioactive waste. There is also an agreement with the company that they will fully consult with the residents at every stage of the process. Ultimately though it will be up to the inspectors rather than the elected Council.

Although it is to be a wide open process and with the company giving exhibitions to the Villagers I would trust that should they truly oppose the site stringently with good cause that it would not go ahead.
Though I would strongly suggest to the people of Grain, Mr Hope and Cllr Buckwell - look at the Localism Act. An awesome bit of Liberal Democrat inspired legislation that gives local neighbourhood groups the power to fight such moves and Councils. I'm not overly clear on the details, as I said at the beginning Time is escaping me but seriously guys... take a look... it may help.

References.

Gas leak warning siren seen - but not always hear - By Dan Bloom, p 21, Medway messenger 29-6-12

Village earmarked for a SECOND hazard-waste dump - By Dan Bloom, p 11, Medway Messenger 29-6-12

Foster's Airport plan good idea? bad idea?

Local politicians are quick condemn Lord Foster's plans for the Grain HUB and there appears to be an epic battle for the high ground waiting for someone to slip and no one dares say anything positive for fear of being Politically crucified and losing votes!

Its happened once, someone broke ranks and made clear an opinion and the opposition had a field day...

A few weeks ago there was a meeting on Grain to discuss the plan but no one from Lord Foster's office, nor Boris Johnson's office or even anyone from DRINK were invited. I was informed it was a one sided Propaganda style attack upon the plans and lots of back slapping with everyone agreeing that this airport was nothing but evil and should not happen.

I always thought politics was about open debate and viewing all of the facts as well as talking to people and giving them the facts before deciding and yet anyone who dares to put forward an alternate view (much the same with city status) they are wrong, Medway knockers or out to line their own pocket.

So I thought I'd play devils advocate, push my head out into no-mans-land and advance a pro argument for Lord Foster's designs with the cons and see what people thought.


Before I start I'm going to be quite specific;

This is not necessarily my PERSONAL opinion on the matter and NOT that of the Libdem group. I'm just playing Devil's advocate and providing Pros and Cons for people to reach their own conclusions.

The creation of a HUB airport just outside Medway offers fantastic opportunities and regeneration in the Medway area and if the right deal is struck then the Towns can benefit massively.

The HUB itself is going to take about ten-twenty years to complete and is going to require a lot of labour and construction. Medway has lots of unemployed as well as graduates from academies learning construction and indeed the proposed Technical college at Brompton. Local building companies who are struggling for work in these depressed times would, if given the right opportunities, flourish as contractors/subcontractors on such a massive project.

Should Medway Council come out in favour of the scheme they could get an agreement to improve our road connection and infrastructure replacing our potholed and much neglected roads. After all a good connection to a vast array of businesses and a pool of workers will be vital for the HUBs creation and maintenance. Also the Medway towns would become vital as an overflow or cheaper alternative for hotels and we're only twenty minutes away.

Transport connections to the rest of the Country (and the World!) would once again put the Medway towns on the map. Replacing the economic void that was left for the closing of the Dockyards some thirty years ago and could bring serious cash and restructuring to our tired and weary towns. Such wealth and status could even bring Councillor Jarrett his beloved City status too.

There are other considerations too including Tidal energy generators that would go across the estuary and a new flood defence that will aid the ageing Thames barrier and help control the tidal nature of the estuary from London all the way down to the Medway towns. If handled correctly this water could even be desalinated (so I've been told by an architect friend!!!) providing the nation with a greater reservoir of fresh water meaning that droughts and hose pipe bans in the County would be a thing of the past.

The HUB would also be beneficial to the whole country providing commerce and the stopping over point for Europe. We're an hour by train from Paris, two hours to Brussels, Amsterdam, maybe three hours by train to Berlin.

There are of course the cons and these are serious cons that stop any local support in its tracks.

There is the destruction of the Hoo peninsula. Not just the environmental damage to the famous and beautiful marsh land - a vital habitat for many protected birds and the muse for Dickens, but also the villages of Stoke and Grain, their communities will be scattered and moved on in the name of progress. Should a desalinisation process occur it would ruin salt marshes and the local ecosystems which have evolved over time around the salt water. The Estuary wildlife would be forced to move on or die out causing irreparable damage.

The Medway towns would likewise change and grow, eliminating green space and rural areas beyond Hempsted and Walderslade as new housing is created. Roads will become choked with more traffic if the infrastructure is not handled correctly - and looking at the Bus station lets be honest it probably won't be- with more air pollution. There's also the pollution from the Aircraft themselves.

Ultimately is this a price the people are willing to pay?

In a Springer style "Jerry's final thought" I'm going to forward this notion for debate.

Local Politicians and politicos are fighting back the "No" campaign pretty strongly and whether they think this is the right thing is ultimately immaterial. What is more important is what the people of Medway think.
They've been told why the airport is a bad thing, the story is saturated in the local news and they have the council and all the political parties saying "No" but where is the other side of the coin?
Honesty and debate of ideas is what politics is about and it is something I truly believe should be at the heart of everything we do but I'm starting to really believe that I'm quite Niaive about that and that Spin and party bluster is the order of the day.

If the No campaign is the right course of action then it will get the backing of the people. Lets be fair to them and let the Yes Campaign also get a say and let those who believe it is a good idea champion it without fear of persecution.

Thanks for reading... Take care of yourselves, and each other ;-)