Anyway - that was it - bar a bit of ad-libbing.
Cllr Garner was up first up - keen to advise me on maggots - and the benefits of Jeyes fluid in my bin - just like he does all those people who write to the Herald about the same problem.
I was also accused by Cabinet members of getting my figures wrong on the amount spent on antisocial behaviour. £1.8m - so they say. Well - maybe they’re right (although I didn’t actually mention any figures - did I?) but if Tamworth Council is spending £1.8m on what is called anti-social behaviour then I’d like to know how ASB is defined - because it’s doesn’t seem to be being spent trying to trap offenders! I’m going to dig into these figures and find out exactly what the money is spent on - but I suspect by far the largest amount of it will be on salaries - (Cllr Jeremy Oates seemed to want to give me some figures but they didn’t add up to £1.8 million - £400,000 on the street warden scheme perhaps?) and for other people whose work is not solely against anti-social behaviour.
It also seems I’m irresponsible when it comes to Tamworth’s recycling regime. They’ll never ever, ever, ever (we’ll have to wait and see what that means!) go back to weekly black bin collections - no matter how much people complain (so much for being supposed to represent the people!!). And climate change means they have to have recycling says Cllr Garner - even though I did try to point out that actually recycling at least some items was more damaging the environment than using landfill (paper and glass for instance - see this page for more details) I still cannot understand why this Tamworth Tory administration so diligently fulfils everything the Labour Government wants it to do without a word of complaint and without even mentioning that actually it’s purely because of the Labour Government demands they are forced to do these things. You would have thought they would have jumped at the chance!
Also Cllr Danny Cook was insistent that the Council weren’t giving away £500 million of Tamworth’s Housing stock and other assets.(ie - belongs to every person in Tamworth!). And anyway he thought it was a great idea that these things should be given away to private (sorry - buzz word is “Social” - but I can’t see any real difference!!) landlords. Cllr Lee Bates thought it was giving people what they wanted and they were going to let the tenants vote on it. So that’s OK then?? A few thousand tenants - most of whom don’t even pay their own rent get to decide - on a few measly and heavily propaganda-ed bribes of better things to come! Fall for that one and they will feel fools.
Of course there was a fair bit more - as you can imagine - but I think I drew the majority of the Tory flak. What I will say is that at least in these debates in the Council (the Mayor) is scrupulously fair and gives me a good crack o’ the whip! I know it doesn’t get me anywhere - but it is nice to get it off my chest!
Couldn’t say anything about the Anker Valley of course (seeing as I’m taking the council to court on it!) but Tory Cllr Bruce Broughton put in a fair piece against all the housing development going on. Which pleasantly surprised me as it was his party that pushed it through on the Local Plan.
Likewise anybody reading this who thinks I’m wrong on any details or whatever - I’m easily contactable - you’ve only got to call. But I will say that putting everything I have for thinking the way I do into a short speech - or even onto this web-site - is just not practical. But - finally - just to show you I do research and think about things - and don’t make rash statements - here’s two links to Global Warming. And after listening (one link’s a number of short videos) or reading these you’ll probably get the uncomfortable feeling that you’ve been conned too!
Global Warming - What you are NOT being told. (five short videos from NON-Governmental scientists) http://www.friendsofscience.org/index.php?ide=3
Also this link to these quotes (note the one signed by 17,000+ non-governmental scientists!!)
Recycling - this link from this web site - but at least it gives two sides from a contributor called Jamie who thinks I'm just a lazy ***! http://www.chris-cooke.co.uk/recycling.html
And if you ever have an odd hour to spare - and if you never,ever want to look at the world the quite same way again nor feel safe! - try this. 9/11. Very, very uncomfortable!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4429289437231286745
