Equal Access to Services

I note from a recent issue of Local Government FIRST magazine ("Close Lap Dance Loophole - LGA", Issue 377) some concern at a change in licensing legislation around the regulation of lap dancing clubs.

It seems lap dancing clubs can now be licensed using the same guidelines as karaoke bars and cafes, rather than using the legislation covering the sex trade. Worryingly, the number of lap dancing clubs has doubled in the last four years alone.

It reminded me of a story I heard a while ago, about a massage parlour which began trading overnight from a private property in a residential road. Neighbours protested vigorously, and the business - which had not applied for planning permission - was asked to lodge a retrospective request for planning consent with their local Liberal Democrat controlled council.

At the subsequent planning hearing, the application was debated in depth and the Liberal Democrats won the day - allowing the massage parlour to remain, on one condition - that they put in a disabled ramp from the street.

Good to know that our Liberal Democrat colleagues are fighting for equal access to services...

St James' roads and pavements

During the recent Borough Council elections I received a spiteful little email from the LibDems to berate me for not attending the Highways Advisory Board. I take the view that we don't need a talking shop to get things done - councillors should get out in their patch and make things happen.

In both Pembury and Sherwood, I work really well with the Borough Councillors and we seem to get things done as a team, but since I've never been contacted by the St James' Lib Dems it's no surprise that roads and footpaths have become so bad. Two weeks ago I set up a meeting with Kent Highways and St James' parents.

I've been concerned about the state of the roads and footpaths in St James' for a while, and never understood why the area always seemed to lose out when it came to the normal repair and maintenance programme that seem to be a matter of course in other areas.

I agreed a plan of action with locals to address the various school routes, then took Kent Highways on an hour's 'walkabout'. They agreed with me that things have reached crisis point, and went away to work up a programme.

Yesterday I met with Keith Ferrin, KCC Cabinet Member for Highways, and showed him the photos I'd taken of potholes, broken footpaths, eroded yellow lines and zebra crossings and bad patching by the utility companies.

I only hope we can make a start in St James' before we see a major accident. Watch this space.

St James'

In the early hours of Friday morning at the Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall, the Liberal Democrats retained their seat in St James' ward.

Despite an excellent and dedicated candidate in Alan McDermott, whose campaign was textbook perfect, he lost by just three hundred odd votes to Mary Lewis.

There were some real positives to take away from this however. First, the Liberal Democrats were clearly rattled. Their candidate elsewhere in the Borough told me that morning "the Tories are smashing us to bits in St James". Second, their Leader, David Neve, saw what we could do when we fix our sights - although they won, it was with a fraction of their previous majority - and spent most of Polling Day red-faced and angry, even telling one of his colleagues "I think we've lost this".

Finally, and most importantly, the Conservatives are back in St James' after two decades - with many more supporters and a significant band of volunteers who now want to help as we begin an ongoing campaign running up to the next elections.

The Liberal Democrats, with all the usual dubious and cheap campaign tactics, have scored a hollow victory. Like it or not, the Conservatives are back in St James - on the doorsteps, on the phone and through the letterboxes.

To paraphrase the 1966 World Cup commentary, "they think it's all over". Our job is to make sure it very much isn't now.

Conservatives are for life - not just for elections

Another busy morning out canvassing in St James, with Borough candidate Alan McDermott. We were joined by Peter Dunlop, Chairman of Hawkhurst Parish Council, and Greg Clark, our MP. We canvassed several roads, and everywhere the reception was the same - really pleased that someone had made the effort to come and talk about local issues.

One couple were genuinely surprised that neither of their Liberal Democrat Borough Councillors had contacted me as their County Councillor in all the years I'd been representing St James' ward. It was even more interesting when the lady turned out to be the Lib Dem candidate's daughter! But - as we've done on so many doorsteps over the last few weeks - I gave her my number and suggested that she call me herself if she had any problems.

Our candidate, Alan, really has grown into his role. When he gets elected, he will join the rest of the small Conservative team knocking doors one Saturday each month, keeping up with local issues, and proving that Conservatives are for life, not just for elections.

Mind you, seeing the Liberal Democrats anywhere in St James' ward would be novel - even during the election campaign.

The 'Crime Wave' sweeping our country

Just sitting through a Liberal Democrat Party Election Broadcast on television, with that nice - and if you believe his self-proclamations in GQ magazine, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7324541.stm) incredibly virile - Mr Clegg. There's apparently a crime wave sweeping across our country. It must be true, because the lady on the council estate said so, and there's no way she'd get her lines wrong. She said some streets become no go areas at night - she's "terrified to go out".

The only consolation, of course, is that after the local government elections on 1st May, the Liberal Democrats will stop door knocking innocent citizens, and return to whatever it is that they do for the rest of the year.

And once again our streets will be safe to walk.

Of course, the more serious point of this indiscriminate election scaremongering is the fear it creates among the elderly and vulnerable who can't see it for the propaganda it really is. On a recent walkabout in Tunbridge Wells, one of our uniformed colleagues told me how he read a recent newsletter which spoke of "the increase in crime throughout Tunbridge Wells" from the LibDems.

Not only did he not recognise this at all in an area where crime was on a significant downturn, but it actually caused him more work because local residents, particularly the elderly, needed more reassurance that the junk pamphlet really was just that - junk.

What's good for the goose...

Whilst delivering leaflets on Thursday and Friday in St James' ward, a local constituent gave me a copy of a vitriolic little leaflet from the Liberal Democrats, which made much of the fact that the Conservative candidate lived in the village of Matfield, and should not have been standing as a candidate in St James.

They went so far as to say "The Tories have shown how much they care about St James by selecting a candidate from Matfield!"

So how much do the Lib Dems think of Culverden, Pantiles and St Marks wards, where they haven't put a candidate up at all?

And having read through the "Statement As To Persons Nominated" on the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council website - http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/upload/public/attachments/19/spn1may08.doc - more disturbing is to see that of the sixteen ward elections, the Liberal Democrats are only fielding candidates in fourteen; and of these fourteen candidates, six of them live outside the ward where they're standing:

• Liberal Democrat John Billingham from Hawkhurst is standing in Lamberhurst and Goudhurst
• Liberal Democrat Jackie Prance from Southborough is standing in Pembury
• Liberal Democrat Bob Prance from Soutborough is standing in Rusthall
• Liberal Democrat Jean-Luc Bressard from Park is standing in Broadwater
• Liberal Democrat Marguerita Morton from St Johns is standing in Southborough
• Liberal Democrat Alan Bullion from Sherwood is standing in St Johns - (interestingly, Mr Bullion complained in the local press that neither Roy Bullock nor myself - both from Lamberhurst - lived in our County divisions. It turns out that Mr Bullion - himself from Sherwood - is Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Sevenoaks!)

So tell us again, Lib Dems - what's your view on candidates living away from the wards where they're standing?

Consistently hypocritical

You may have noticed recently in the local press that Tunbridge Wells Liberal Democrats have changed their Chairman.

Gone is Dr Alan Bullion, whose misinformed comments regularly graced the Courier letters page. A recent attack was against myself and County Councillor Roy Bullock, reviled by Dr Bullion for the ultimate sin - "Not Living In Our Electoral Patch". Shame on us.

We're told that Dr Bullion is standing down as Lib Dem Chairman to allow him to concentrate on his parliamentary campaign as candidate for Sevenoaks.

And where does Dr Bullion live? Just off Oak Road. In Sherwood.

Consistency is everything in politics, and at least Dr Bullion is consistently hypocritical...