Death by a thousand cuts

The cuts brought about as a result of the actions of greedy bankers will cause hardship in many areas of our communities. Maybe those who are better off will not notice these cuts much, but there are many less well off who will find these cuts really hurt. The problem is that this Tory Government and so this Tory Council are cutting harder and faster than is needed. The cuts will hit areas that will have a higher cost long term


- trebling tuition fee limit which will make access to many universities restricted to young people with rich parents. This could have been prevented by Liberal MPs who broke their election promise. There is also the loss of the education maintenance allowance paid to 16 year olds help support them staying on at school .

- Those potholes in our roads I suspect will get bigger and cause more damage to both vehicles and pedestrians.

- Libraries will have both their opening hours cut and some will be axed altogether. Libraries used well can be vital to the progress of our children.

- Cuts to the music service based at the Forest will reduce access to music lessons and support over the whole of the schools in Walsall Borough.

- Our volunteers such as in the scouts have their support cut… the council currently give £12K towards their volunteer training costs and venue hire.

- Support for the most vulnerable in our society, those with disability, the elderly, the mentally handicapped both young and old will see their support cut to the absolute legal minimum, loading carers to breaking point. Those who depend on the services of Social services will be very worried about their future level of support.

- Cuts to the police force will mean a reduction in Officers available to deal with crime and criminal activity. I am sure the criminals will be waiting to take advantage.

- VAT will rise to 20% in 2011 which will mean most items will rise in cost … not much of a dent in the finances of the well off but will make a real impact for most of us.

The future of our leisure centres , their opening hours and charges are also under the spotlight. This Tory Council would like to off load these to the private sector. Certainly I will expect that most of the swimming pools attached to schools will be closed ( there are around 46 pools which may well be cut to 5 or 6)

Read my lips! No increase in tuition fees. A Promise!

FRED WINS IN BLOXWICH WEST

Congratulations to Fred for winning Bloxwich West. . The tories ( and the liberals) have been soundly beaten.

Fred ( Labour) 1142 votes. Tory 800. UKIP 91 Lib Dem 71 Green 28.

Majority 342 votes

Fred will make an excellent Councillor as he proved when he did hold that place some time ago.

well done Fred!

news from Tory run Walsall Council

We learn that the latest news to tory run Walsall from this Tory Government is that funding for the Borough has been cut by a further £6 million pounds, including over £2Million on education alone. The details are being worked out by the tory cabinet at the moment , but we await the details and will be probing especially the effects on the most vulnerable and already disadvantaged in the Borough and even more so in wards we represent.

The news that we shall not be sending any more children to Bryntysillio and that Willenhall Leisure centre will close is bad news for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds who value such opportunities. This Borough faces a serious problem of overweight children which will result in many such now children being outlived by their parents.
The committee looking at the loss by this Council of £ 3 million pounds due to poor record keeping and poor officer management met last Monday and it was admitted that the records are there but not in the right files and so claims back cannot be made. Next Monday the audit committee looks at the draft accounts for the Council and seeing that we have 91officers ( excluding education where we have 215 more) earning over £50000 a year and a chief executive earning over £190,000 a year .. that is £40000 more than the prime minister… are we getting value for money as council tax payers?

We also read that the tory cabinet in July is proposing to charge everyone for a replacement wheelie bin including those where the gree bin has worn out after 10 years service... and so the other bins brown and grey will also all be charged £18.50 but probalby going up to £25! The benefits of paying council tax are gradually diminishing!
what do you think?

The news that 1 in 5 cancer patients are having to wait over 2 months to get treatment was revealed by the Primary care trust in their annual meeting… can they imagine what it is like to have to wait that long to find out if you have a possibly fatal illness and have some treatment?


We shall as labour councillors be pursuing these issues with vigour and welcome your comments.


Regards


Cllr Ian Robertson Cllr Bob Thomas Cllr Mo Nazir

Cannabis factories run from Palfrey!

News Eight face trial in January and one in August after police uncovered an alleged ring of cannabis factories


Jun 2 2010 by Steve Bradley, Birmingham Mail

Comments (3)Recommend (3) EIGHT men, including the son of a Walsall councillor, will go on trial in January after police allegedly uncovered a ring of cannabis factories.



Ali Hayder Munir, aged 29, of Thorpe Road, Caldmore, Walsall, whose father is Palfrey ward Conservative councillor Mohammad Munir, pleaded not guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court to two counts of conspiracy to produce cannabis.



Alongside him in the dock was Shazad Zulnorain Ali, aged 29, of Brook House Road, Chuckery, Walsall, who pleaded not guilty to the same charges, which relate to police swoops in March, including a raid on a house in Roman Road, Little Aston’s swanky “Millionaires’ Row”.



Munir and Ali were granted conditional bail.



Also facing trial on January 4 are Vietnamese nationals Tien Dune Dinh, 39, Le Manh Hung, 21, Hoang Long, 20, Trung Van Pham, 35, Hung Phi Nguyen, 20, all of no fixed address, who each pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to produce cannabis. Tam Thai Pham, 42, also of no fixed address, will also face a trial on the same date having pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce cannabis. Tung Hoang, 36, of no fixed address, pleaded not guilty to a charge of producing cannabis and will face a separate trial starting on August 12.



Daniel Shemmell, 24, of Redhouse Street, Walsall, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to produce cannabis and will be sentenced at the end of the New Year trial, which could last eight weeks. Judge Martin Walsh granted him unconditional bail.



Mohammed Ikram, 34, of Delves Road, Walsall, and Asim Ali, 34, of Brook House Road, Chuckery, Walsall, were charged with production of a Class B drug and conspiracy to produce the drug, and will return to court on July 12, to enter a plea. They were granted unconditional bail.



Son Van Nguyen, 37, Linh Aka Nguyen, 48, Tung Le Nguyen, 31, all of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and will be sentenced on June 23. Huang Hoang, 36, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis, and to another count arising from the Coventry area, of producing cannabis, and faces sentencing on June 23.



The case against Hoai Thi Tran, 26, of no fixed address, was adjourned until July 12.



All the Vietnamese people were remanded in custody

Ban on use of Broadway playing fields crazy?

WALSALL’S new leisure chief has vowed to get a contaminated playing field re-opened for ball games after a seven-year delay – or closed off altogether.




Coun Anthony Harris, who has just become cabinet member for leisure, is set to counter-attack after it emerged that Broadway West Playing Fields near Pleck had banned footballers and cricketers while allowing locals to walk there and play hide-and-seek.



Pitches had been closed since 2003 because worrying levels of cyanide, copper, lead and zinc were found at the former landfill site, he said. The council had yet to find the £250,000 it needed to get the area cleaned up and possibly re-opened.



But Coun Mohammed Nazir (Lab Palfrey) said generations of sportsmen and women had used pitches at Broadway West without any ill-effects.



“In 2006 I presented a petition to the full council asking them to find some money from somewhere to bring the playing fields back into community use, but nothing has happened,” he said.



“I remember when I was a kid I used to play cricket there, and it was a good location and a good home ground for quite a few local teams. What I want to know is, what evidence there is that it isn’t safe for ball games, when for many, many years people played there and had no problems whatsoever. I will keep pressing until they come up with a proper explanation.”



He said a contractor had told him remedial work could be done for around one fifth of the £250,000 suggested by the controlling Conservative group.



Tam Fry, spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum said Walsall was a hot-spot for obesity and added: “Councils should be encouraging children to exercise rather than discouraging it with these stupid [No Ball Games] signs.”
with thanks to Birmingham Post for highlighting this issue...
this one does need investigating as it is madness not to allow sports activities when this Borough is desperate to increase such activitiy... welcome comments.

New Members flock to join the Labour Party

We learn that 15,000 joined Labour online, extra 3,000 joined off line. That's 18,000 new members in last 14 days - Remarkable.




Thus sends us a message from the people that we hold the respect of an increasing number of the electorate. Let us build on this support .



From



Ian Robertson



secretary walsall South and agent for Valerie Vaz MP

Mohammed Nazir Elected

I wish to thank all of you who voted for me to be re-elected.

Please contact me either by telephone or by message below... I promise to work hard for all residents.

regards

Mohammad Nazir

It has been a privilege to work with the people of Palfrey and Delves for the past 4 years. I am the most experienced local councillor and have worked hard to be an effective representative for the area. My postgraduate qualification and the job is also in public and voluntary sector services.

We face many complex issues locally and I believe I have the skills and vision needed to deal with them effectively and promptly. I will be persistent in following up your concerns and ensuring together that we make Palfrey, Delves and the Broadway a better place for everyone to live and work in.

I hope that, in considering how to cast your vote, you will compare what I can offer with that of the other candidates who will be seeking your support.
Palfrey & Delves deserve good representation on Walsall Council. VOTE for NAZIR.
Remember, the Conservatives have run Walsall Council since 2000!

The Palfrey and Delves Labour Party Branch will continue to campaign - we must keep up the pressure to have services for all.

Many families in Delves find life just as hard as families elsewhere - so how come other areas get programmes and special initiatives for its people and Delves does not ?

Together we ask the Conservative run Council for ACTION in the following issues and concerns:-

Litter, graffiti, the alley gating programme, overgrown trees, resurfacing our streets and car park repairs? Parking problems and the re-opening of Broadway West playing fields for local community use?.

Lack of things to do for kids is the single biggest issue raised again and again, this leads to anti-social behaviour.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! PLEASE USE YOUR VOTE WISELY ON MAY 6th

published by Ian Robertson 128 Broadway North WS1 2QE by electronic communication on behalf of Mohammad Nazir

Mohammad Nazir selected

Mohammad Nazir has been selected as the labour candidate for the Walsall Borough Local Elections also supporting Valerie Vaz as the Labour Parliamentary candidate for Walsall South


published by Ian Robertson of 128 Broadway Walsall on behalf of candidates for Walsall South