What Did The Romans Do For Us?

Fans of Monty Python will know the classic Life Of Brian sketch where a small bunch of angry insurgients are furiously comdemning the Romans. It goes like this.

Reg: They’ve bled us white, the bastards. They’ve taken everything we had, not just from us, from our fathers and from our fathers’ fathers.

Stan: And from our fathers’ fathers’ fathers.

Reg: Yes.

Stan: And from our fathers’ fathers’ fathers’ fathers.

Reg: All right, Stan. Don’t labour the point. And what have they ever given us in return?

Xerxes: The aqueduct.

Reg: Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That’s true.

Masked Activist: And the sanitation!

Stan: Oh yes… sanitation, Reg, you remember what the city used to be like.

Reg: All right, I’ll grant you that the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done…

Matthias: And the roads…

Reg: (sharply) Well yes obviously the roads… the roads go without saying. But apart from the aqueduct, the sanitation and the roads…

Another Masked Activist: Irrigation…

Other Masked Voices: Medicine… Education… Health…

Reg: Yes… all right, fair enough…

Activist Near Front: And the wine…

Omnes: Oh yes! True!

Francis: Yeah. That’s something we’d really miss if the Romans left, Reg.

Masked Activist at Back: Public baths!

Stan: And it’s safe to walk in the streets at night now.

Francis: Yes, they certainly know how to keep order… (general nodding)… let’s face it, they’re the only ones who could in a place like this.

(more general murmurs of agreement)

Reg: All right… all right… but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order… what have the Romans done for us?

Xerxes: Brought peace!

Reg: What!? Oh… (scornfully) Peace, yes… shut up!

I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw the co-ordinated attack – clearly organised by Lib Dem Cambridge “Central Office” (or whatever passes for a central office for county Lib Dems - A treehouse?  A tent made of recycled paper?  A wind turbine with a secret underground lair?) and pushed out through their noisiest activists.  Of course, the Wisbech Standard (who, as ever, are enormously happy to print the wild accusations of the minority parties) have rushed it to their website.  Nothing like stirring the pot, hey?

It’s unclear quite which criticism these Liberal Democrats are making.  On the one hand they seem to just be trying to say that we three Wisbech councillors aren’t very good.  That’s up to them.  I’ll stand on my record next year when it comes time for reelection, as I’m sure will my excellent colleagues Sam Hoy and Simon King.  There aren’t any Liberal Democrats out there that I’ve met who are working half as hard as we do.  But it doesn’t matter what I think – the electorate will decide in the proper way.

On the other hand, they seem to be suggesting that no money is ever spent on Wisbech.  Apparently the “Tories” are “Under Fire” (by which they mean the Lib Dems think it a good time to make outlandish claims because they don’t actually have much avenue for attack) for “Ignoring Wisbech” in their £472 Million Budget.

Ignoring Wisbech?  Really?  I mean, even at its most basic its such a ludicrous statement.  Items in the county budget are gross figures for spending and Wisbech has always got its fair share of all those budgets.  But then they try and shine the light on capital expenditure.  They moan that Cambridge has its Guided Bus and Chesterton is going to get its new railway.  But what – comes the plaintive cry of people who don’t live here and rarely even visit our town – have the county council spent on Wisbech? 

Well let’s see.  The new budget commits to Superfast Broadband across the county – a vital infrastructure tool for bringing business and investment in.  There still remain NotSpots where the internet is patchy or unavailable in our area and there are people and businesses who will be cheering this policy.  People have demanded that more is spent on our road infrastructure and in response to that the County has committeed a huge budget slice to that which will have direct and tangible benefits to Wisbech and the villages.

The budget protected our libraries, which communities value.  It protected smaller but much-valued services like lollypop ladies and school cycle training.  It has put in place much-needed funds to protect vulnerable adults and the elderly.  As far as I know all these services were as useful to Wisbech as anywhere else?

But they turn their blurred lens on past investment too, piping up about their Guided Bus hobbyhorse as usual.  We might remember that, troubled though it was, the Guided Bus is a world-record-breaking, successful and popular service.  But what about Wisbech?  We didn’t have a Guided Bus here, did we?  Nope.  But we did have the huge multi-million investment into the regeneration of the Wisbech Port Area and the Boathouse.  And let’s not forget the bright shiny new buildings opened at Thomas Clarkson Community College a few weeks ago about which many are already ooh-ing and aah-ing – made possibly by the BSF fund, but only through the hard work and diligence of Cambs County Council who attracted the funding, procured the delivery partners and managed the program.  (The biggest investment in any school in Cambridgeshire for a long, long time, I believe.)

Then there’s the multi-million pound investment into in new COWA Engineering and Technology site, bringing both immediately capital investment but also protecting the future of the college in the long-term and therefore preserving options for our young people.  Which was topped off by a £6M investment in a new county council building on the COWA site.  In the past the Council may have seemed distant – with it’s offices way down in Shire Hall, Cambridge (about as distant as those angryLib Dems seem, in fact.)  But this demonstrates a commitment to a county presence in the town, bringing with it employment and democratic opportunities.

What about the million pound playground in Waterlees?  A place where neighbourhood kids can have enormous fun in a safe environment.  Where local youths and parents have joined a Friends Of The Playground group to engage and take part in the future of their community? 

What about the new drainage system in our deprived North Ward?  What about the comprehensive flood defences that the county have invested it along the banks of the River Nene?  These are expensive large-scale projects the benefits of whom you’ll only see by the absence of the things they protect from.  Rainy periods elsewhere in the country lead to flooding and misery and expensive losses.  Here, action has been taken to protect the town in good time.

What about the £300,000 pound work done on the A1101 which turned the most dangerous blackspot in the country into a road where (touch wood) there has not been even a single serious accident since?  Pushed up the schedule of work, against the backdrop of a tight budget, because local people needed and demanded it?

What about the in-depth and careful work done by the Wisbech Market Town Strategy Committee, upon which all three county councillor sit (alongside, of all people, a Liberal Democrat)?    The county has taken a strategic approach to Fenland, appointing a director to lead on our issues.  A renewed focus has been put on wisbech.

The fact is that the Liberal Democrats are struggling to find a lot wrong with our latest budget.  They’d like to criticise the council tax rise, but that’s difficult because they suggested an even larger one last year.  They’ve clearly looked through what is a pretty robust, sensible document – particularly in view of the hard economic factors in the nation at large – and they’ve decided to have a pop at Wisbech.  They seem to think that the people of Wisbech will fall for their manipulative propaganda, that our town is susceptible to a bit of sour seed sowing.

I think they’re wrong.  The County Council is committed to this town and the councillors here work damn hard to make sure we get our fair slice of the cake.  We are visible, hard-working and active county councillors.  Is everything  in our town perfect?  No.  Is there more we can do?  Always.  But the Liberal Democrats can ask: “What did the romans do for us?” all they like.  I hope the people of Wisbech will give their empty rhetoric the scant attention it deserves.

Who Favours More Freedom

Who Favours More Freedom

Interesting look at the political compass. This is based on American politics, but its broad enough to recognise its theme on this side of the pond.

Coming Soon …

Coming Soon …

If you like pantomimes, or amateur dramatics, or vampires, or good family fun – or if you enjoyed our show Wild Goose Chase last year, we hope to see you in March.
-  (L.A.D.S.)

Click to view larger or print out

Surgery In Gorefield – January

Surgery In Gorefield – January

This Saturday I am holding another of my monthly surgeries. If you live in Gorefield, or indeed if you live in any of the villages in my county division, or have an interest in them – drop on by and say: “Hello!” Coffee and Cake will be provided.

Saturday January 21st
GOREFIELD “MEET YOUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR / SURGERY”
Gorefield Village Hall. 11AM – 1PM
Come along – drop in – no appointment necessary.
Refreshments provided.
Even cake. As long as you don’t throw it at me!

•Raise local issues
•Report Problems
•Discuss ideas
•Make suggestions
•Have a Chat

tel: 07831 616127 email: cllr@stevetierney.org

*please note – all costs associated with my surgeries are met by me personally. No taxpayer funds are ever used, nor will they ever be.

Queen Mary Centre, Open For Business!

Queen Mary Centre, Open For Business!

As many know, the Queen Mary Centre in Wisbech has been scheduled for closure in 2013.  I don’t intend to discuss the closure today as it’s a whole other debate.  But one of the things which were causing people concern was the suggestion that it would not be available at weekends and evenings any longer.

As one of the three county councillors for Wisbech, and at the request of several of my constituents, I looked into the issue.  It turns out not to be any sort of conspiracy to restrict access (as some had suggested), but a genuine problem related to a change in situation.  Indeed, the centre is still well-used and popular, with many diverse groups booking it.

The problem is that youth workers who have recently been fulfilling the task of opening and closing “out of hours” have changed the way they deliver services.  This means that they will be dealing directly with clients rather than using the Queen Mary Centre.  In turn, this meant that there would be nobody available to handle the opening and closing of the centre at weekends.

The three county councillors for Wisbech; Simon King, Sam Hoy and I – put our heads together and made a suggestion.  Since we all live in Wisbech we felt that we could perform the opening and closing at the centre.  Since I live the closest, I will be handling the majority of the bookings, but Cllrs Hoy and King will be supporting me to cover days where I have something else booked.  This means that the centre can continue to take “out of hours” bookings.

For those with a cynical outlook I’d like to assure you that we are volunteering to do this for free, in our own spare time.  It will mean a few extra hours a week for us looking after potential bookings, but if that means the centre can continue to be a useful venue for local people, groups and activities then we are all quite happy to do it.

I very much hope members of the public will see this as a useful way for local county councillors to get directly involved with a problem and to provide a common sense solution to it.

I picked up the keys last Friday and had the “training” required for alarms, doors and caretaking procedures.  So please – if you’d like to book the Queen Mary Centre you should go ahead and do so.  It’s open for business, even at weekends!

Freedom Of The Press

Freedom Of The Press

I feel, very strongly, that it would be a tragic mistake for this phone-hacking debacle to result in some new state regulation on the freedom of the press.  God knows, governments never miss a chance to set up a new quango to restrict, regulate and tamper.  It’s the knee-jerk response to just about every moral panic.  But if ever there was a time not to do so, this is it.  We already have perfectly reasonable laws to protect against such incidents.

In my opinion, the single most fundamental and important right we each have as individuals is Freedom Of Speech, which is part and parcel with freedom of the press.  It is the first and foremost right because, quite simply, without it any other right cannot be defended.  At its worst the press runs pointless stories, indulges in shady and unpleasant practices, pursues crass populism, cheerleads for the wrong person or cause, misleads, slants, spins and skews.  There is no media body in the world that isn’t, at some level, trying to pursue its own agenda in one way or another.  But at its best the press is a guardian against abuse of power, corruption, authoritarianism and wicknedness of every type.  It is a sentinel against the might of the State and this role is imperative for democracy and freedom to thrive.  It simply cannot perform this vital function if it has been hamstrung and gagged.

Every stolen liberty is accompanied by either fear or outrage.  When the aim is to make us less free this is achieved by making us very angry about something, or very frightened.  Under that cover, traditional freedoms can be safety dismantled.  We let this happen at our peril.  A lost liberty is incredibly difficult to restore.  You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.“- Frederick Douglass

“Without free speech no search for truth is possible… no discovery of truth is useful.“  – Charles Bradlaugh

We All Make Mistakes

We All Make Mistakes

One of the things which puzzles me about politics, both of the local and national variety, is the desperate need for political parties to look “united.” They, we, all do it.  Or, at least, I’ve yet to find one that does not.  (Maybe not the anarchists.  But who knows?)

Of course, we must be seen to be working as a team, in a collegiate way, with understanding and mutual respect. That’s right and proper.  (Although, frankly, I can’t see why that shouldn’t be true inter-party too, though I’m aware that’s a pipe dream.) But in these modern times “united” is taken to mean that we are all the best of friends, that we never, ever disagree, and that every policy has the full agreement of every member of the group.

It’s abject nonsense, of course.  Everybody knows it.  The public aren’t fooled.  The press aren’t fooled.  Nobody is fooled.  So why the pretence?

There is this strange idea that there is something wrong with disagreement.  If you’ll excuse the simplistic language – it’s a bonkers idea.  We are not all cast from the same cloned shell.  We haven’t all shared the same life experiences, nor do we all have the same backgrounds.  We each come at ideas, situations and policies from different angles.  We argue, debate, discuss, harangue, rant, rave and dispute.  We stew and simmer, revise and review, hubble, bubble, boil and trouble, convince, crow, capitalise and capitulate.

There is nothing wrong with this.  This is a good thing.

The absolute last thing any of us want or need are a bunch of faceless drones who mindlessly nod at every intoned phrase.  Received wisdom does not arrive written in stone, but is carved and chipped through advocacy, argument and challenge.  If all you want is one person’s view, echoed by obedient servants, then there are plenty of dictatorships around the world to choose from.  Though, thankfully, a few fewer now than there were.

Somewhere along the way political experts decided that the one thing the public really, really don’t like is division.  This appears to have become mutually accepted by every pundit and political philospher from here to Lands End and beyond.  And yet what is the evidence?  That some parties who were divided in the past lost elections?  This does not prove one thing led to the other.  It may be that there is a third (or fourth, or twelth) thing that creates both the division and the inadequate poll result.  I would suggest this is actually rather more likely.

Of course, disagreements and dispute must always, always be handled respectfully.  There is just no call for rudeness.  But as long as this is the case, a difference of opinion should be viewed as not only valuable, but vital.  If an entire group, for instance, who were usually astute and sensible, had unluckily happened upon a single bad policy which, for whatever reason, had escaped scrutiny.  Would those people really want the policy to roll on, unchallenged?  Would they really think it better that their friends and allies smile benignly rather than point out that maybe, just maybe, a mistake was being made?  Such things, taken to their logical conclusions, result in ridiculous, overblown, pointless battles that far outweigh the simple origins.  And who wins?  Nobody does.

We all make mistakes, right?  I know I do.  I’ve never yet met somebody who doesn’t.  Sometimes, in the ebb and flow of politics a mistake can get swept along by the current.  Caught in the tide.  This is when people who mean well, who care about what is going on, have a difficult choice.  Stay quiet and let other more nefarious individuals capitalise on the error when it’s too late?  Or just be straight-talking and honest?

Short-Term, Soft Touch, Throw Money At Every Problem

Short-Term, Soft Touch, Throw Money At Every Problem

You will seldom hear me encouraging people to read the Guardian, but on this instance you really have to read this interview piece with Ed Balls.

Since Labour keep losing badly in polls where the public are asked which party is better on the economy, and after Ed Miliband’s much-touted crash-and-burn relaunch this week, they’ve clearly had a bit of a chinwag and decided to change their strategy.  Well, fair play to them for having the courage to try something new.  But just get this : -

Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has moved to challenge accusations that Labour is not credible on the economy by telling the public sector unions that he endorses George Osborne’s public sector pay freeze until the end of the parliament, and that he accepts every spending cut being imposed by the Conservatives.

In an interview with the Guardian, Balls said: “It is now inevitable that public sector pay restraint will have to continue through this parliament. Labour cannot duck that reality and won’t. There is no way we should be arguing for higher pay when the choice is between higher pay and bringing unemployment down.

It may be (I don’t really know if Lefties are this organised or not) that Ed has cleared this rebrand with his union overseers or it may be that this really is the rude hand gesture it appears to be – whatever the case, just check out the reader comments after the Guardian article for an idea how the Far Left, otherwise known as his grass roots, feel about it.  Here’s a taster:-

“Both sides, both blue and red are both in the pockets of the City of London.”

“Kiss goodbye to re-election you traitor, on second thoughts old Ed had done for you lot”

“When did economic credibility and following the Tories to the letter become synonymous?”

“Scumbag traitor”

*cuts Labour membership card in two and cancels direct debit”

And so it goes on… for two hundred and four comments.  I haven’t been so amused by the Guardian, um, ever.  I don’t mean to be mean, as it were.  Far be it from me to revel in an opposition politician’s political self-destruction, but this Ed Balls we are talking about.  Be fair.  I’m only human.  Here’s some more:-

But with Labour badly trailing the Conservatives on economic trust, he told the Guardian: “I admit that we have a big task ahead for the future to show that we are the people to take the tough decisions.”

He tells his shadow cabinet colleagues that at this stage they have to work on the assumption that every coalition budget cut will have to be retained.

“My starting point is, I am afraid, we are going to have keep all these cuts. There is a big squeeze happening on budgets across the piece. The squeeze on defence spending, for instance, is £15bn by 2015. We are going to have to start from that being the baseline. At this stage, we can make no commitments to reverse any of that, on spending or on tax. So I am being absolutely clear about that.”

Let me get this straight.  The man who has been saying, over and over and over again since his party was trounced in the general election that the cuts are “too deep” and “too fast” now believes that all of them – every single one of them – would have to be kept under a Labour government?  Really?  Every single one of them?  Dear reader, as you know I am a self-professed free marketeer, small state Libertarian Conservative and even I do not believe that every single one of those cuts is right.  Furthermore, I’ve heard Big Ed bashing on about how terrible it was to raise VAT to 20%, about the damage it was doing to aggregate demand and blah blah blah a whole bunch of times.  We all have, haven’t we?  So convinced was he, is he, by his argument that he won’t commit to taking that – or any other tax rise off the books?  It gets better.

“If we are seen as the people that are short-term, soft touch, give into vested interests, throw money at every problem of course we are never going to succeed.”

Oh Ed.  I see where this is coming from.  You know that this is exactly how the public see your party.  Short-term, soft touch, vested interests, throw money at every problem.  You forgot “economically illiterate,” “nanny state authoritarians” and “EU sellouts” but in the face of your collapse of even the slightest trace of credibility we’ll forgive that for now.  The trouble is, nobody in their right mind is going to change that view.  You’re mostly still all the same people.  We know you still believe all the same failed ideas.  There’s nothing about Labour for somebody who believes in hard work, personal responsibility, justice, freedom and fairness to like.  The only difference is that your hard left following now doesn’t like you either.  Now you are short-term, soft touch, vested interests, throw money at every problem and a traitor to socialism.  Awesome!  Enjoy your weekend.

One Million Passengers

One Million Passengers

Straight from Cambridgeshire County Council, the following news release regarding the Guided Bus.

The millionth Busway passenger took a ride today, Thursday, January 12, on the highly successful and record breaking transport facility opened in August last year.

Christine Chandler from Colne was picked as the millionth passenger as she took her father Len Burrow, the millionth and one passenger to Addenbrooke’s from St Ives Park and Ride.

To celebrate this momentous occasion Bus operators Stagecoach and Whippet together with representatives from Cambridgeshire County Council were there to surprise them and hand over mementos of the occasion.

More than 200,000 trips a month are being taken on the worlds longest Busway since its opening in August 2011.

Christine, who is a regular user of the Busway since it opened, said:
“We use the Busway regularly to go shopping or to the hospital. It is really convenient and means you don’t have to go on the A14. It is really regular, reliable and efficient and has got us where we want to go on time. It was a complete surprise to be the millionth passenger and we are really pleased.”

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Steve Criswell, Cabinet Member for Community Infrastructure, said: “This is a massive milestone for the Busway and is ahead of our business forecasts. The Busway is proving very popular as a fast and reliable way to travel and I was pleased to see our millionth customer ride the Busway.”

Andy Campbell, Managing Director for Stagecoach in Cambridge, said: “The Busway has been a much bigger success than we had hoped for and have already had to put more services on. We are now looking at buying more new buses and running further extra services. We look forward to seeing the next million journeys.”

Peter Lee, Director of Whippet Coaches, said: “The Busway is an ideal way of avoiding the A14. We are really pleased with just how successful it has been from day one. This is a great benefit for Cambridgeshire and Whippet is delighted to be part of its success story.”

It used to be quite trendy for the opposition to rail (excuse the pun) about the Guided Bus. It was immensely funny when they called it the misguided bus (Chortle chortle) and other such imaginative wordplay. Since it was completed, and warmly received by the public it has proven popular and useful. You don’t hear quite so much of that clever wordplay now. Odd that.

High Speed Rail

High Speed Rail

Well, HS2, the much-discussed plan by government to introduce a new High Speed Rail link from London to Birmingham (and then onwards in later phases) must join the list of coalition projects I don’t really support.

To be honest, I’d quite like to support it.  I’m not, in principle, opposed to spending a lot of money on infrastructure if a strong case is made as to the value of the work.  But I am struggling to see the value of this, versus the astronomical costs involved.

What this seems to be offering is an enormous price tag (at a time when we have no money at all and should be concentrating on repaying our debts), the destruction of huge swathes of beautiful countryside and the upset of all those people who live on the proposed route.  For what? Half an hour faster journey time between London and Birmingham?

Is there really a market for this?  Given the cost of travelling by rail normally this will surely carry a hefty price tag per ticket?  Who is going to use it?  Who will be able to afford it?  Bankers, Executives, MPs, Union Officials and Civil Servants?  It seems to me that the much-vaunted “boost” this will give to the various economically-challenged areas it will visit is probably over-stated.  Sure, it will mean you can live in one city and work in another.  But you can do that now if you don’t mind travelling an extra 30 minutes.  Are people going to live in London and work in Birmingham?  Or might the reverse be more likely?

I can see the argument for having a modern, high-speed network connecting our cities rather than an older out-dated one.  But already, technology is moving on.  By the time this project is completed, I suspect HS2 wont seem quite as “cutting edge” at all.  Nor do I think it will do much to help prosperity in areas other than London.

Perhaps, in rich and luxurious times this would be a good idea.  Perhaps. But now?  I’d prefer to just use all that money to lower our debt burden.  Or, if we really must keep spending and spending, might it not be better to use such huge sums to deliver improvements in existing systems and look for innovative new designs serving different areas?  We might even have a rethink about improving air links in one way or another – but I suppose that wont happen until the Global Warming debate is settled.

I don’t feel militant about this. If it goes ahead, it goes ahead and I’ll be wishing it well and hoping it delivers.  But it feels, to me, like a massive unpaid invoice the nation doesn’t need and can’t afford.