Tuesday 17 February 2009

Policy #1: Sack the Gang of Four

As MP my first job will be to create real change in Thanet – and sack the Gang of Four.

Messrs Latchford, Ezekiel, Samuel and White will be dismissed as part of a Parliamentary Inquiry into TDC as a Failed Council.

Not just a council that’s not particularly good - but deeply failed over months and years and decades.

We have the disgusting spectacle of the water being polluted and poisoned and known to all our 58 councillors and civil servants.

Root and branch reform is required.

And the first task will be to sack The Gang of Four and appoint Deputy Executive John Bunnett on existing salary not the current bloated rates, to provide a report on the failures to Parliament.

If he is unable or unwilling to do the job then a replacement will be sought.

This report will provide the basis for “Thanet Council: 35 years of failure 1974-2009” to document the people and policies that have created such a disastrous state of affairs: Margate the town that burned down and Ramsgate the town that fell down.

And economic desolation as Kent’s Jarrow.

Reform of public sector salaries and pensions is required: we are rewarding failure with automatic salary increases and feather-bedded pensions.

We seem to have lost sight of the very basic and effective principles of public sector service: to provide the functions and services that the private sector cannot or will not provide with a modest-sized public sector and modest tax-take.

Overseen and rigorously scrutinised by elected officials to ensure value.

We have the worst of all possible worlds in Thanet: expensive, over-staffed and underperforming services – led from the top with disastrous party political sleaze and a cosy club such as ChinaGate and ManstonGate.

And – because it’s a cosy club of ask no questions then little changes. Organisations are as effective as their leadership allow them to be.

Time for Change

Job cuts and salary and pension cuts are required – with rewards based on results.

TDC is a failed council with little purpose beyond tidying up the filing cabinets for the next Audit Commission failure.

Root and branch reform is required.

Failure is one thing. But we have systemic failure without hope of reform. Until now.

Sack the Gang of Four and begin the change in Thanet.

Too many East Kent MP’s are backbench pontificators and professional politicians - if there could be such a thing of value - rather than being able to lead real reform in the regions.

I can and I will.

Steve Ladyman has a majority of only 600 votes. He cannot win again.

Laura Sandys has no local knowledge or ideas.

Labour and Tory activists who believe in real change and are tired of the failures at TDC know this and I welcome them to my campaign.

Time for Change.

Policy #1: Sack the Gang of Four and provide a Parliamentary enquiry of the failures at TDC.

Tomorrow my 2nd action as MP: cleaning up the poisoning and pollution of our water supplies by TDC, KCC and Infratil.

Volunteers are required to create real change for fundraising, campaigning and running the office.

2 comments:

James Maskell said...

A Parliamentary Inquiry??? April Fools isnt for a while yet...

MPs have no power over their respective councils, unless you are saying that you advocate the abolition of TDC and that you will somehow change local government legislation in Parliament single handedly to grant MPs the power to abolish their Councils if they dont like the current leadership? The policy you advocate would not be in your hands to enact.

Please tell me your candidacy is some sick joke...

Tim Garbutt said...

Thanks James: I don't agree with your points at all.

I appreciate you're a Party activist and it's sort of a job to denigrate other views.

And even to nit-pick if you must - but to ignore major issues such as water pollution?

That way just creates the Failed Council we have to date. And wastes time in responding.

All the posted comments are largely mere politicking.

This why the public automatically distrust politicians.

On the specific issue of an MP's rights, role and procedure you are simply incorrect.

An MP as the elected representative to Parliament has huge power both specific and influence on an area. Not always rightly so, but generally it does.

For example, Steve has a column in the paper as the MP and rightly so.

A free and fair election by the public confers such extra rights and responsibilities.

And Parliament can reorder it's duties and process.

Damian Green from your party being arrested gains cross-party support for him to be released, simply for doing what an MP does. Boris sacked the London Police Chief. While Aitken and Archer and other pary's MP's (I can't think of any off the top of my head) are jailed for simple criminal acts.

Again from a politicking aspect you're in danger of confusing process and pettifogging with meaningful policies and change.

And even a bit of common sense.

Because no rulebook - Parliamentary or otherwise - covers every eventuality. It's not meant to. It's a guide for improving an area, a country and a society.

In TDC we have far more namecalling and "subclause 3" petty rulings and quoting rather than stopping Margate burning down and Ramsgate falling down.

100,000 people don't give a damn about most politics but buildings in flames and falling down are ultimately an MP's responsibility at some point.

As an activist you could have called or emailed one of your collegaues to help sort out the main matters of pollution etc.

In replying to you I'm wasting time better spent on a further chase of the Environment Agency or checking the effect of mercury poisoning on internal organs or failing to understand how any British council could possibly consider that faked consultations and 106 breaches at an airport are in any way acceptable.

I fully intend to act on these issues and other campaign promises.

A council is a social enterprise and commercial business. Above all it's the will of the people made real and for the greater good.

I won't attend the Planning meeting: councillors are paid to do that for me as a citizen. And if they do not then like other citizens I will vote them out or call for their dismissal if it's an extremely bad council.

TDC is a Failed Council. Most councils are not like this.

Will you chase up the mercury and aviation fuel pollution? Like 100,000 people you drink and breathe the stuff?

I'll copy this to your other posts and tailor some of the different points you make:

* MP would call on Parliament and TDC to close it: see power, rulebook and influence points above
* development: normal Plannning process as say Kings Hill redevelopment of airbase
* Jobs: part of the mix of companies, farms etc - as with all jobs
* Infratil Board removed noise monitors, noise and wate rpollution deliberately and repeatedly. Like a nuclear power plant company leaving the safety procedures deliberately undone.
* 106: yes, calling in the Police is one of them for major and repeated breaches - as at an international airport
* seize Infratil assets etc: Parliamentary authority (and as a citizen)
* Staff on full wages form Infratil Community Fund/seizures and reskill for new/simialr jobs
* Steve Fitzgerald: see points on Board above: there is (as with a council) a duty of care, not endangering the public and corporate manslaughter etc

From my experienc eof High Court quite franklty Judges can make any old nonesense up.

I'll detail later some points on Judicial reform.

* powers over council: see points on power, influence, rulebook etc etc

* abolish councils: of course that's what Parliament does - or any other publc organisation. There is no GLC. Usually though dismissals happen beofre then: see Boris poitn above etc.

* don't like the current leadership: not so at all - the treatment of Sandy with Standards Board and Roger with racism slurs etc is disgraceful. Again a town burns down and TDC are insulting each other. I do totally dislike the failures of policy and so on that mean a Failed Council has not and will not improve without full reform.

The public do not elect a council or pay for a council for failure. We do not expect perfection but there better be a better expectation than mercury poisoning and aviation fuel.

- Tell me when I start to sound like a politician!

We're a democracy - and I am running for a public position so by all means comment and criticise on the blog, but it's fairly pointless as Party Machine stuff unless it exposes serious flaws on an issue or has terrific suggestions for improvement.

Many thanks.