O AND S Meeting

Labour and Wigan Council continually to say that they are listening to the public and are wanting to engage with local communities and treat all equally and fairly.

Last week I was at the O and S committee hearing taking part as a witness. This committee was listening to see if the Cabinet had done anything wrong. At the start of the meeting a local member of the public was asked if he could give a power point presentation but was told no. But yet when I called this decision a few yrs ago I never called Onside, the consultants that are helping get this project of the ground, but they turned up at that meeting and did a power point presentation for aprox 20 mins. So Wigan Council are demonstrating that if they like you they will let you waffle and do what you want but if they do not like what residents are doing they ignore them and treat them as second class citizens in their own communities.

On the funding side the Council say there is a short fall but they will simply get it. If it is that simple why not make a few more pounds and save the libraries, swimming pools and staff?

Mesnes playing field petition.

This cause is something that I am strongly supporting. I believe that the Mesnes playing field should not be sold for a youth club but retained as an open space.


Please sign the petition.


www.mesnes.co.uk/objection/


I am not against a youth facility in Wigan but the location is certainly a mayor concern as I believe other brown field sites are better to be used rather than a green open space.

Another issue with the Council doing so many cuts why and how can they give at least £400 000 per year to run this facility. This needs to be looked at as well.

The Mesnes Conservation Area Group have worked hard to retain this and they are right to do so.

Oversight? Likely story.

I have recently learnt that the Council send out a certificate to councillors once they are not councillors no more. I thought this was a new thinking only to learn it has been going for a while now. I wondered why I did not get one last yr? I asked the Chief Executive of Wigan Council if it was because I was a challenging member of the Council or was it because me and the then Mayor did not get on? The Council has come back and said it was an oversight. Likely story.

Cameron goes for runaway dads

It was a good PR day to go for run away dads. Dads that runaway and do not play a part in their children lives and more importantly do not pay for them is a must to resolve. Why should the state pick up the bill for their kids? I think the PM is right in saying this and I hope he gets them.

But what is equally important is mums that try and block their kids seeing their dads. If they pay and want to be play a part they should. I know this from a friend who pays but his ex has turned their child against him. Parents disagreement should stay that PARENTS disagreement and they should not put the kids in the middle.

Shevington Parish Council make up rules again.

Our three Parish Councillors on Shevington PC have put forward a motion to hold a referendum. Given that this was what they were elected on the back off it is right that they do this. But Labour and the PC do not like this and what to stifle debate yet again and will not allow the motion on the agenda on the basis that the agenda is full. Nowhere in the rules does it say that only a certain number of items can go on the agenda.

Over 40% collectively voted for a referendum in the recent elections. The PC quango continue to stifle debate and try and hide from democracy. Our Councillors will still push for this and we wait their next move.

How long can it take? MP's have been convicted in the courts faster.

Over a year ago two Wigan Councillors were reported to the standards committee for claiming car allowance when they did not own a car or were able to drive.

With all the scandals with MP's many thought this kind of incident was just in Westminster. But this document demonstrates that it is not. What is different between Westminster and Wigan Council is speed.

I would imagine that Wigan Council will say the time is out of their hands as it is being investigated by an external body. But so were the MP's in Westminster but that did not take this long and they allegations were worse and some even sentenced to jail. But yet these two Councillors are getting away with it.

When you go to the link click on number 13 to see the report and item 2. Here you will see the two cases and the dates when first sent to be investigated.

http://democracy.wigan.gov.uk/CeListDocuments.aspx?MID=1576&RD=Agenda&DF=08%2f06%2f2010&A=1&R=0

Whilst the report does not say who the two Councillors are we can probably assume at least one of them and that is Labour Cllr Jeanette Prescott. We can make this assumption on the basis that she went to the Observer saying she was horrified that she had got mixed up. I have put a link to the story below.

http://www.wigantoday.net/news/councillor_horrified_by_mileage_mix_up_1_205631

One thing that she did was pay the money back straight away and apologised. But what about the other Councillor. Have they done the same thing? If they had I guess they would apologised like Cllr Prescott did.

It is in the public interest that these cases are concluded and the findings made public at the earliest opportunity to try and put some confidence back that the Council is not above the law and they do not try and drag things out as long as possible to try and let people forget what has gone on.

I will be writing to the head of legal services asking if the Council has a time frame on this matter or is it a case the Council are dragging this out on purpose.

Alex Murphy and myself at our fundraiser in February at Ashfield House, Standish. It was a great night where 100 people attended the dinner with Alex as the guest speaker.

If you ever get the chance to see him do go he is really funny.

With so many having a good night people are asking if we are doing another one which we are now looking at doing at the end of Summer.