Discussions about race and discrimination amongst politicians at Uttlesford District Council at the end of last week were disappointing. Attempts were made to harness support from all political groups for a joint statement about the death in the USA of George Floyd. Sadly, only one Member of the Residents for Uttlesford majority group embraced the […]

The Liberal Democrats have published their election manifesto for the Uttlesford District Council elections on May 2nd: IMPROVING LIFE IN UTTLESFORD AFTER MAY 2019 AN AMBITIOUS LIBERAL DEMOCRAT VISION FOR UTTLESFORD DISTRICT It is in five sections: Growing local businesses and local employment Delivering housing that is truly affordable for everyone Protecting and enhancing the […]

Thursday’s budget-setting meeting was largely uncontroversial. The main changes included an uplift in staff costs to make pay at Uttlesford (UDC) more competitive with pay at other councils; an as yet undefined attempt to improve customer service standards; a lot more money to keep the Local Plan on track. On the last point, planning is about £700,000 […]

I have declined to publish or have edited on my blog several comments that have been so offensive against individual people and groups of people that they would be counter-productive and also add no value in any debate. An article today by Alex Massie from the blog of The Spectator magazine encapsulates my wider concerns about […]

I am against a CCTV camera being installed on the recreation ground in Stansted. My reasons are: no need has been demonstrated installing a CCTV camera would be a disproportionate way of dealing with occasional minor nuisance the council is not compliant with the new, national Surveillance Camera Code of Practice http://bit.ly/15y89gE You can read my […]

It seems that Uttlesford council’s website was hacked at the weekend; the second attack in recent weeks.  Anyone trying to log on was confronted with the page below. The only anarchy I have come across to date at UDC is the state of the planning system. I can’t imagine this is a developer’s prank! The action of […]

This week’s shocking rioting in our major cities has exposed the absence of local leadership. Why does the Home Secretary have to come home from holiday to express her outrage and promise action? Because the Mayor of London was also on holiday? Well, he came back too. As did the PM and his deputy before […]

There are lessons for all councils, including Uttlesford, in the wake of the Hanningfield affair. It comes down to the culture of an organisation and to the ability and willingness of those on the inside to promote openness and transparency and to welcome challenge. Checks and balances to prevent abuse of power and bullying are […]

It’s difficult to have any sympathy for a man like Cllr Paul White aka Lord Hanningfield for fiddling his parliamentary expenses. He has been found guilty today on six counts of defrauding the taxpayer. BBC: http://bbc.in/lGq9TB Herts&Essex Observer:  http://bit.ly/iLAheR Reading the reports of the trial this week was bewildering. The prosecution said he was the only person who says you […]

A move in the House of Lords to put the breaks on police commioners being elected across the country from May 2012 has relevance in Essex. Meanwhile, in Saturday’s Independent Brian Paddick, the former deputy assistance police commisioner in London, said that one person cannot do an effective job; even a democratically elected police commissioner. […]