Bird, Towe and Andrew give themselves a large payrise

We have seen tonight what the Tory cabinet councillors in Pheasey think of the voters. All the time they preach that we need cuts, that public servants need cuts and that people who are people should have cuts.

What do these three propose and vote for today ?

A share of £55,000 extra in allowances for them to enjoy. They propose this now because co-incidentally there are no elections this year and they hope we will forget in May 2014. We will make sure that they do not.

Walsall Labour today abstained from the vote as there was no policy to decrease allowances. This is a decision that is hard to understand but it should not detract from the actions of the Tories in control of Walsall.

When the Tories say that we are all in it together, then the answer is in the proof and the Tory Councillors in Pheasey think that they are above us all.

Ask your local Tory Councillors

With today's news on planning restrictions in part being lifted, maybe you should ask Cllr's Andrew, Towe and Bird a question or two.

I presume they support the Government's line on planning rules.

So if your neighbour builds a 8 Metre long monstrosity next to your house, you should remember what the Tories have allowed. It would be no good going to your local representatives to battle your case, their power to help you will have been stripped.

In Pheasey we have noticed how many people are having conservatories and extensions under the current rules. We see the consultation that occurs and see that the vast majority of them go through anyway.

We know only too well what the issue of planning can rouse in people. Some call it Nimbyism, we call it having proper consultation and doing what is right for the people and the neighbourhoods we all live in.

So if you see one of the three councillors actually on the estate, you should ask them what they would say to you if your neighbour takes advantage of these rules.

They will not be able to help you though.

Boundary Review to be Abandoned

In terms of political issues the boundary reforms are not what people care about in our normal day to day lives. However for those of us involved in politics then these meant a large change.

For Pheasey it meant staying in the same constituency as before but with a vastly different look including Oscott, Great Barr and Streetly.

After all the work and money involved in this it appears that these will be abandoned. Patrick Wintour the Guardian Political Editor has tweeted.

Clegg will says abandoned elected Lords means no strengthened executive check in Lords and that means smaller Commons must go too.

This is something we welcome as the plans made a total nonsense of keeping communities together in a coherent fashion. It will mean therefore for the next election that Pheasey will stay in the current Walsall South constituency.

UPDATE 14:!5 -

Boundary Review will be opposed by the LD's and therefore is in effect not going through

Clegg: "I have told the PM that when, in due course, Parliament votes on boundary changes...Liberal Democrats will oppose them."

Ed's prophetic speech is now a shining light

In September 2011 Labour Leader Ed Miliband delivered his first conference speech. This speech was derided by many in the Tory press and the right as being 'anti business'. That of course was rubbish and nothing of the kind. It was about protecting proper businesses from predators and sharks.

The past week has shown Ed to be totally correct in his judgement. I will reprint the passage below from his conference speech as every word now resounds amongst the British public.

Let me tell you what the 21st century choice is:

Are you on the side of the wealth creators or the asset strippers?

The producers or the predators?

Producers train, invest, invent, sell.

Things Britain does brilliantly.

Predators are just interested in the fast buck, taking what they can out of the business.

This isn’t about one industry that’s good and another that isn’t.

Or one firm always destined to be a predator and another to be a producer.

It’s about different ways of doing business, ways that the rules of our economy can favour or discourage.

Look at what a private equity firm did to the Southern Cross care homes.

Stripping assets for a quick buck and treating tens of thousands of elderly people like commodities to be bought and sold.

They may not have sold their own grandmothers for a fast buck.

But they certainly sold yours.

They aren’t the values of British business.

It must change.

It must never happen again in the new economy we build.

We must learn the lesson that growth is built on sand if it comes from our predators and not our producers.

For years as a country we have been neutral in that battle.

They’ve been taxed the same.

Regulated the same.

Treated the same.

Celebrated the same.

They won’t be by me.

We need the most competitive tax and regulatory environment we can for British business.

But when I am Prime Minister, how we tax, what government buys, how we regulate, what we celebrate will be in the service of Britain’s producers.

And don’t let anyone tell you that this is the anti-business choice.

It’s the pro-business choice.

Pro-business on the side of the small businesses who can’t get a loan.

Pro-business on the side of high value manufacturing that can’t build its business because of the short-termist culture.

Pro-business on the side of the British company losing out to its competitors abroad when their government steps in and our government stands aside.

Independents allow Walsall to be in Condem control

News from Walsall Council tonight that the three independent councillors refused to vote against the vote of confidence in Walsall Council's current leadership.

Walsall Council tweeted 

Cllrs Chris and Paul Bott have both said "not voting" as has Cllr Pete Smith

The result is 28 for the motion, 29 against and 3 neutral so the motion proposed by Cllr Coughlan has been lost

So now the council will be run by a Condem coalition  with the Lib Dem's propping up a defeated Conservative party for two years as no elections in 2013 for the council.

Phone Mast to stay, Tory run Council to blame

Due to the incompetence of Tory led Walsall Council we now see that the high court bid to remove the pone Mast at Waverley Avenue has now failed. From the Great Barr Observer

Due to the incompetence of Tory led Walsall Council we now see that the high court bid to remove the pone Mast at Waverley Avenue has now failed.

As Pheasey Labour Party found out in March through a FOI request at that stage the action had cost £18K and that figure was sure to rise and will make a new request to ask the total cost of this action 

As Pheasey Labour Party found out in March through a FOI request at that stage the action had cost £18K and that figure was sure to rise and we will make a new request to ask the total cost of this action. 


The battle is over now, because the Council Planning department could only send a rejection notice by 2nd class letter. The local Tory councillors like to pretend that they supported the residents but the truth is that this was pushed all the way by Valerie Vaz MP and without her prompt action we would not have seen this tested in court.


I would like to personally thank Valerie for all her hard work in this matter in trying to support the residents against an incompetent Tory council.

Labour Dominates the West Midlands

After the recent local elections this is a fantastic map found on the UK VOTE Website.

It shows just how much labour now dominates the West Midlands and the Tories located to the outer edge of the conubartion. Walsall's governance has not yet been decided and will be concluded on Monday. I hope the opposition parties have the good sense to know we won the last two elections and should have a shot at running the council.