The new cabinet - a first agenda

I have been waiting with interest the release of the papers for the new Joint Administration’s first cabinet meeting next Tuesday. This is inevitably an important committee cycle. Many policies or initiatives take some months to implement, particularly where there is a period of consultation involved, and the Council’s historic decision to avoid significant meetings in August means that the next cabinet is not scheduled until the end of September with the subsequent full council in October. By then we will be only about seven months until a new cabinet is appointed and with the late autumn dominated by planning for the next budget, time is surprisingly short. Obviously we have already seen a number of policy changes announced by cabinet members in the local press to include Shoebury flood defences, libraries and care homes but as I have already commented many of these announcements have been premature and decidedly undemocratic. However they now they have the chance to deal with this properly as they seek to change previous decisions of the council. So what do we have? Well it is always difficult to absorb all the paperwork without hard copies but on the 24 point agenda there appears to be nothing on Shoebury flood defences, libraries or care homes. I see there is a paper on utilising HRA sites for council house developments but where are the others decisions? Surely they are not hidden in one of the more general capital or revenue papers bearing in mind that we are told theses are headline priorities. If they are not taking decisions through this cycle then on what authority have the earlier council decisions been suspended? If they are not pursuing these policies then surely we should be told - particularly with regard to libraries as this has immediate revenue ramifications. Let’s hope that the opposition members who are being expected to support this administration are better informed than the general public!

C2C - a new 15 year Franchise

I am pleased to note that National Express, which has been operating the Fenchurch Street line as C2C, has announced that it has been successful in obtaining the 15 year franchise to operate the line going forward. I am sure that all of us who remember travelling on the old Misery Line will be relieved that a company that has delivered massive improvements in respect of reliability and comfort has the chance to drive further improvements over the coming years. That is not to say that everything has been perfect and I have previously commented about the issues with ticketing but this is one of the areas where further improvements and investment are promised together with new and refurbished trains, extra trains, station investment etc. Good luck to the company and staff and let us hope that the improvements are delivered quickly and further improve the service to customers.

Is it the Messiah? – no only Graham Longley

If you get the chance it is worth taking a look at Page 5 of today’s Echo which has a picture of Lib Dem Leader Graham Longley with arms outstretched and surrounded by grateful disciples announcing that he is re opening Shoebury East Beach. Following on from some of the articles and photographs published over the last few days we have clearly seen that a main priority for some members of the new rainbow cabinet is to ensure that they claim as much personal credit and self publicity as possible. Perhaps this is inevitable with a cabinet consisting of 3 different party groups and with the next election less than a year away. I think it is fair to say that Graham has not personally been out on the mud with his metal detector ensuring that the area was safe – certainly if he has I hope that the mud was not too deep! Further on the basis that he has only been in post for a few days and has not even attended a formal cabinet meeting as yet I would suggest that his input in to what has been an ongoing campaign for some weeks to get the MOD to prioritise the reopening has been limited. However the tone is set. Cllr Longley is the saviour of the town. Perhaps with East Beach reopening we will even see him walk on the water.

A voice for democracy

I was pleased to note Labour Councillor Julian Ware-Lane jumping to the support of some basic democratic principles in his blog and pointing out that some of the press statements by his party’s partners in cabinet are premature and potentially wrong. Thank goodness for someone in the new Administration speaking out. As he correctly points out it is not for Cllr Terry, the new cabinet member with responsibility for flood defences, to unilaterally announce that the current scheme is being scrapped even before the issue has been considered by cabinet and council. As he also correctly points out the agreement (so are we are told) is to revisit the decision and decide how best to proceed which could still involve continuing with the current proposal. Of course how Cllr Terry can approach any review with an open mind is difficult to understand bearing in mind his recent public pronouncements? It is also interesting to see how he would feel able to remain in post if the council decided that the previously approved scheme was the best available as it would involve him overseeing its implementation. In any event will Cllr Woodley and the other members of BERA be able to participate in the review bearing in mind that one of the alternative schemes was submitted by Cllr Woodley on behalf of BERA. Whilst this may have been acceptable when his role was limited to scrutiny it must amount to a potential interest as a member of cabinet

A great opportunity or a poisoned chalice?

It is going to be fascinating to see how the new Southend cabinet develops policies based on its agreed wish list. The greatest challenge will face Labour portfolio holders David Norman and Ann Jones with responsibility for Adult Social Care, Health & Housing, and Children & Learning respectively. No doubt they were drawn to these areas as providing a good opportunity to demonstrate their socialist commitment to increased public services and yet the reality is that as the Council has to deliver ongoing budgetary cuts the burden will inevitably fall on these 2 areas which account for a significant percentage of the overall council budget. How will they choose to identify and deliver the required savings whilst still holding to their desire to see service expansion rather than reduction. Of course one answer would be to prioritise social care over some of the more touchy feely services such as parks and culture, street scene improvements and the beaches. The problem with this approach is that it is Cllr Woodley who holds the purse strings and his empire in Thorpe has been build on demanding increased expenditure on just those types of touchy feely areas that would face significantly reduced expenditure. Of course they could try a massive hike in council tax or an unsustainable raid of the Council’s limited reserves but I can’t see either of these options appealing to Cllr Woodley and his Independent Party colleagues. What is for sure is that something is going to have to give and when it does the question will be whether the losers regard their positions round the cabinet table as more important than their political principles.

Shoebury flood defences - a change of policy

So here we go again – a further significant policy change announced via the Echo with no attempt to first pursue the democratic process to overturn a previous decision of cabinet and full council. This time it is Martin Terry’s chance for the photo opportunity confirming that officers have been instructed to cease all work on the previously approved plan for improved flood defences in Shoebury and to start to look at the alternatives. Once again I cannot help but wonder at the reaction if a Conservative cabinet had acted in such a cavalier and undemocratic way and struggle to believe that all backbench members of Labour, the Lib Dems and Indies are comfortable with this failure to follow the correct democratic approach. Of course the reality is that the alternatives were considered at great length during the previous process and it will be more than a little intriguing if the same officers now reach a different conclusion. The basis of this change is that “the public were against it”. I have been in local politics for too long to make such a sweeping claim. There was a well organised campaign to generate opposition by some who had given consideration to the technical evaluation of the alternatives but many who supported them will not have been given the chance to fully understand the complex issues involved. They were supported by some who refuse to accept the need for better flood defences in this area at all. It is always easy to get swept along by public campaigns of this type but councillors are voted in as representatives and not delegates. This reflects the reality that on most issues it is impossible to gauge the true view of “the majority” in a reliable way and it is the responsibility of councillors to hear and take account of residents but to then make decisions on what is in the best interests of the community. If not then we might as well adopt the UKIP policy of referenda on all main policy areas which would soon drown the authority in delay and additional expense. Sometimes it is necessary for elected councillors to take decisions which are unpopular with some but are still right when taking into account all the relevant factors. In the meantime let us hope that the agreed funding from the Environment Agency is not lost and that any new scheme will not result in increased council borrowing which was of course such a central part of Cllr Woodley’s campaign. Finally and most importantly let us all hope that in the months of delay which will now ensue the weather and tide conditions do not create the serious flooding which the now abandoned scheme would have prevented.

A nice beer in the Old Town.

I am not a regular visitor to the Old Town pubs these days but with friends decided to take advantage of a sunny evening and ventured down last night. We arrived at The Mayflower at about 8pm. It is a nice pub with a good selection of beer but I was surprised when at about 9.20 when ordering refills the lady behind the bar said that they would be shutting in 5 minutes and usually shut at 9pm on Wednesday evenings. Admittedly there were only a couple of tables occupied by this time and she looked around, shrugged and said the reason was obvious. My response along the lines of “Are there not many people because you close so early, or do you close so early because there are so few people?” elicited no verbal response but a look which suggested that she probably thought it was a good thing as I had clearly drunk more than enough already! We squeezed one more pint in and then decamped to the Smack. I still have fond memories of the Smack from my years in the 6th form at Westcliff High when on friday nights it turned into our alternative 6th form common room. I am not completely convinced that the layout is better now than it was back then but at least it was open with a few more punters around. Ignoring the chronic state of the gentleman’s toilet we set up on the balcony area overlooking the estuary however at 9.45pm were told that the area was shutting and we need to decamp inside. Once again the beer was good and the staff pleasant but I am not sure that either pub will draw me back on the next hot summer evening. Perhaps the Peter Boat or Billet next time!