Two whole months will have passed in two days’ time since the general and local elections. I have been told it’s time I restarted my blog, so here goes. What may turn out to me a more significant vote than those on May 7th takes place today in Greece. Will the Greek people reject a […]

I guess all parties at one time or another panic when elections loom and say things they might later regret. That may well be the case with a recent video starring Conservative council leader and Ashdon candidate, Howard Rolfe, and the parliamentary Tory candidate, Alan Haselhurst. When we began the quest for a new Local Plan in January to […]

I was on a hustings panel last Friday for district council candidates. It took place in the Friends’ Meeting House in Saffron Walden and was hosted by Walden in Transition. The six panelists represented the Conservatives, the Greens, Labour, the Liberal Democrats (me), Residents for Uttlesford and UKIP. It was well run. Apart from a few […]

It must be election time again. Uttlesford Tories, fresh from the defeat of their Local Plan, are trying (in vain) to pass the burden onto their opposition; this time the Liberal Democrats. This linked page from last week’s Saffron Walden Reporter says a lot about Conservatives. Firstly, the letter from Mark Hayes: in the midst […]

Last night saw the last meeting of the full council at Uttlesford. I expected it would be pretty uneventful as the agenda seemed mundane. I predicted a 45 minute meeting; it lasted 75. Everyone was being nice to fellow councillors who are standing down at next month’s election. I paid tribute to members from all parties, […]

Uttlesford’s Liberal Democrats have launched their manifesto for the local elections on May 7th. Their “Six to Fix” top priorities are set out below. Our Six to Fix will set Uttlesford on a path to a better district and a better council. Our manifesto programme ranging from homes to jobs, our local environment, to regaining […]

I sent the following letter to local newspapers. It has not appeared in today’s Walden Local, though that paper has covered the issues in editorial columns in previous weeks. Sir An annual £9 council tax cut for someone living in a five- or six-bedroom house is not even going to buy an evening meal out […]

On the day that Conservative Sir Malcom Rifkind stood down after telling the BBC that he was worth far more than his MP’s salary of £67,060, the Conservative leader of Uttlesford District Council is quoted saying that a £4.25 Council Tax refund to all householders is not worth the postage. See this article from the Saffron […]

An intouch leaflet from local Conservatives came through doors in Stansted at Christmas. Readers must decide for themselves whether the current ruling party at Uttlesford District Council is in touch or out-of-touch with the real world with its claim of being “more advanced in the development of a Local Plan than many other authorities”. Is the […]

I have requested a statement on yesterday’s local plan rejection from council leader Cllr Howard Rolfe at tonight’s meeting of Uttlesford’s cabinet. Cllr Rolfe has replied that he will make a statement and that I and other members will be given the opportunity to respond. Top of my list will be to find out what […]