Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Don't take it so seriously ... We weren't being too critical when we pointed out the lack of activity on the Boston Conservative Business Network website, and we just thought it amusing that that site above all other couldn't spell our MPs surname correctly. Now we find the site has vanished from the world wide web. That's what we call a sulk.
Last with the news ... What do they do all day at the Boston Standard? After all the rumpus over council leader Richard Austin's decision to start a blog, and its rapid demise pending the addressing of concerns by the opposition, we find a small story tucked away on page eleven headed "He's blogging." Not only is he not, but the reason why is quite a story in its own right. But not in the Standard.
Headline of the week award ... Also goes to the Standard for "Wildlife stroll through cemetery." We're pleased to hear that the voles et al treat the place with respect and don't break into a run!
Even handed ... But let's not forget the Target. After all these years you would think they had an adequate picture library of traffic jams in Boston. Apparently not. Otherwise why would the photo illustrating a letter from Mike Borrill of the Boston and District Bypass Pressure Group be packed with red London buses?
What's it mean? ... Can someone tell us what it means to call in an administrator - as Fogarty's appears to have done, according to an announcement in the local press. It sounds ominous.
Why Manny? ... We asked last week why the Borough Council was devoting webspace to the winning entry in a Weetabix haystack competition. The council tells us: "The council was asked to give its support by the creators of the sculpture. It was considered to be a good opportunity to promote the area, given that the sculpture won the national prize; and the council has the power to promote the area's 'well-being'." We get it - "Come to Boston and see a haystack shaped like a mammoth. That'll set the local tills jingling. Incidentally, can anyone tell us when was the last time the council used this amazing power to promote the local well-being.
That's better ... We thought that a much better promo for the town appeared in the Daily Telegraph earlier in the week. After the paper ran a piece lamenting the poor state of Britain's war memorials, a Boston reader wrote in praise of the "A Town Remembers" series of local histories which describes the lives of everyone named on the town's memorial.
Back in a week ... We're taking a well earned rest after more than a year's continuious blogging. See you again on Monday 9th November ... unless there's something earth-shattering to report. Please keep your e-mails coming in the meantime.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Friday, October 30
Thursday, October 29
The truth about being a Boston bobby
A former Boston policeman - who's moved on to another force "due to politics," - has written to Boston Eye to comment on our recent postings about Police Community Support Officers, and the poor quality of service we believe the people of Boston get from their local force.
He says:-
"I fully understand this blog's opinion of their local bobbies, and it is similar to that shared in similar areas across the UK.
"As a recently moved on Lincs bobby, I despaired at the fact that the humble bobby was working all hours of the day, usually many more than scheduled, going from job to job with impossible aims (eight hours to deal with 30+ incidents in a 200+ mile area with a crime workload of 20-40 crimes and also being responsible for anything urgent that came in.)
"You'd be very lucky to find officers in the station during the day and night - save those with prisoners or the dreaded paperwork.
"PC's get no positive press as it's all about Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
"There were, and no doubt whatsoever, breathtakingly amazing results being had by very good Boston officers, but they would never be passed to the media etc.
"But you'd find a page spread about a PCSO at a coffee morning instead!
"You may struggle to change your view, but I admire the vast majority of your Boston PC's - you'll never know how tough a day is for them, but the snippets you see (or don't see) will never show it.
"If a PC doesn't perform to a suitable standard, they're heavily criticised and monitored.
"A PCSO can often spend a vast percentage of their day in the office and get nothing but praise.
"The PC's just deal with crime and incidents, they don't get involved in litter picks etc, as previously reported.
"I miss Lincs Police as the area is superb, but I despised the politics so went elsewhere.
"When I was there I had an average of 35 crimes on the go, had a daily allocation of 10-20 incidents which were not urgent, then had to drop everything all too often for a road crash or shoplifter which would take about 5-7 hours each to deal with when all done. With a nine hour shift, the chances of getting anywhere were not really in my favour. I would say easily that every officer desperately yearned to go out and do their traditional job (foot patrol, getting out on proper patrols) but they had no chance every single shift.
"That's why you end up with no action against cyclists riding on pavements. It would take ten minutes to issue a ticket on the side of the road plus about another ten at the station to write it up and do pocket book etc. When you've got 35 crimes on the go, 15 incidents on your area to attempt to deal with and you've just heard that Asda have got 2 detained (they used to delight with about 5-10 shoplifters A DAY and that's just one shop).
"When I first started at Boston, each shift had 12+ officers, now they usually parade 3-7. When I started it was before Boston saw foreign nationals arrive, so that figure is even more scary. It used to be all too often the case that every officer on duty had a prisoner and there was no one left! Things like that scared me too much (tho' it goes on all across the country!) I moved forces to one where the Government acknowledge it's existence and pays it a better amount so they can buy a few more staff (and of course PCSO'S) but on the whole the money makes every difference.
Regards
One of them old fashioned things called a Constable!
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
He says:-
"I fully understand this blog's opinion of their local bobbies, and it is similar to that shared in similar areas across the UK.
"As a recently moved on Lincs bobby, I despaired at the fact that the humble bobby was working all hours of the day, usually many more than scheduled, going from job to job with impossible aims (eight hours to deal with 30+ incidents in a 200+ mile area with a crime workload of 20-40 crimes and also being responsible for anything urgent that came in.)
"You'd be very lucky to find officers in the station during the day and night - save those with prisoners or the dreaded paperwork.
"PC's get no positive press as it's all about Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
"There were, and no doubt whatsoever, breathtakingly amazing results being had by very good Boston officers, but they would never be passed to the media etc.
"But you'd find a page spread about a PCSO at a coffee morning instead!
"You may struggle to change your view, but I admire the vast majority of your Boston PC's - you'll never know how tough a day is for them, but the snippets you see (or don't see) will never show it.
"If a PC doesn't perform to a suitable standard, they're heavily criticised and monitored.
"A PCSO can often spend a vast percentage of their day in the office and get nothing but praise.
"The PC's just deal with crime and incidents, they don't get involved in litter picks etc, as previously reported.
"I miss Lincs Police as the area is superb, but I despised the politics so went elsewhere.
"When I was there I had an average of 35 crimes on the go, had a daily allocation of 10-20 incidents which were not urgent, then had to drop everything all too often for a road crash or shoplifter which would take about 5-7 hours each to deal with when all done. With a nine hour shift, the chances of getting anywhere were not really in my favour. I would say easily that every officer desperately yearned to go out and do their traditional job (foot patrol, getting out on proper patrols) but they had no chance every single shift.
"That's why you end up with no action against cyclists riding on pavements. It would take ten minutes to issue a ticket on the side of the road plus about another ten at the station to write it up and do pocket book etc. When you've got 35 crimes on the go, 15 incidents on your area to attempt to deal with and you've just heard that Asda have got 2 detained (they used to delight with about 5-10 shoplifters A DAY and that's just one shop).
"When I first started at Boston, each shift had 12+ officers, now they usually parade 3-7. When I started it was before Boston saw foreign nationals arrive, so that figure is even more scary. It used to be all too often the case that every officer on duty had a prisoner and there was no one left! Things like that scared me too much (tho' it goes on all across the country!) I moved forces to one where the Government acknowledge it's existence and pays it a better amount so they can buy a few more staff (and of course PCSO'S) but on the whole the money makes every difference.
Regards
One of them old fashioned things called a Constable!
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Wednesday, October 28
"Our county councillors must do more for bypass"
A letter today from Michael Borrill of the Boston and District Bypass Pressure Group calls for urgent action to ensure that the fight for a bypass for Boston is stepped.
And he calls on our seven county councill members to do more to make the case for the town.
He writes:-
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
And he calls on our seven county councill members to do more to make the case for the town.
He writes:-
Dear Boston Eye
We are now fast approaching the festive season when the roads
into Boston will be increasingly congested.
Already during the last few days the tailbacks and grid locks in the usual places have been seen and the “major road improvements” due to take place have not started.
Talking to people over the last week or so the general consensus is that “we will not
get a bypass”.
This negative talk is not helping but it is understandable when no sign of any activity or lobbying from our elected representatives is seen to be taking place.
Much activity is taking place with our road infrastructure in other parts of the county, yet a Bypass for Boston is not mentioned in Local Transport Plan being prepared to take us up to 2016.
Lincoln City and Lincolnshire County Councils are now working with Network Rail to help solve the level crossing situation in the city.
This is obviously a situation which needs addressing due to the increased rail traffic which will be through Lincoln in the next few years.
There is a proposal to build a bridge over the rail crossing at Sleaford with developers contributions and Lincolnshire County Council are seeking a solution to the rail crossings in Spalding by way of a further bypass for Spalding.
So what about Boston?
Well, Lincolnshire County Council with the support of Boston Borough Council are to construct a further lane of traffic over two rail crossings in the town. Surely the answer would be for Network Rail to provide a contribution towards a bypass rather than spend monies on developing the level crossings in Boston to provide further
road capacity over the crossings, which incidentally, will not help the congestion
problems in the town.
The Local Transport Plan was on the agenda at a recent Highways meeting at County Hall, but I do not see any mention in the minutes that any of our local county councillors in attendance raised the issue about the non mention of Boston. I do respect that Councillor Ray Newell brought up Boston’s case as a recent full council
meeting but what are our other county councillors doing?
Pressure must be put upon Lincolnshire County Council, and I would like to suggest that all the Boston Borough County Councillors seek an urgent meeting with
Councillors Martin Hill and William Webb.
Party politics must not be allowed to get in the way of a solution to our town’s infrastructure problems.
Michael Borrill
Vice Chair
Boston & District Bypass
Pressure Group
Wyberton Fen
Boston
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Tuesday, October 27
Blog row rumbles on ...
The official response to the issues raised by the controversial "Leader's Blog" has been issued.Acting Chief Executive Chief Executive Richard Harbord said: "There have been some concerns raised and in light of those concerns Boston Borough Council will be putting formal arrangements in place for the editing and publication of the Leader's Blog. Until those arrangements are in place the blog will remain off-line."
For what it is worth, in our view, Councillor Austin was not writing a personal blog.
He produced a party political broadcast by the Boston Bypass Independents, writing as the leader of a group he tells us comprises free spirits, yet whom he seeks to command by inference.
Phrases such as these have the ring of someone who is not writing for himself ...
... most were telling us ...
... We‘ve persuaded them ...
... don’t think we’ve given up on a bypass ...
... The Audit Commission gave us some bad reports ...
Then there is the issue of how this blog was came about.
By all accounts it was the work of the Borough Council's IT department, and an argument has been made that any work done in this connection was part of their normal daily workload.
However, we wonder what the IT boys (and girls) would have said if, for example, the leader of the Tory Group, or the Better Boston Group, or the Independents or (for he is surely his own leader within the council) the BNP, had dropped into that busy back room and asked for a similar service.
The answer, we are sure, would have been .... sorry.... no can do.
But as it was not, there is then the question of the cost of the time used to create this blog.
If an individual lacks the technical skill to create and publish a blog, then the time spent by someone who has no such shortcoming has a price - and at IT rates it is a high one.
Councillor Austin's blog - if it was produced by council staff in council time - has effectively been billed to the ratepayers ... and that is unacceptable.
All other councillors who blog do so independently of the borough website, in their own time, in their own words, and at their own expense.
We think that Councillor Austin is right to blog and to tell the ratepayers his side of the story, but unfortunately, once again, he has let his imperiousness rule the day.
He may be the leader of the council.
He is not the King of Boston ... more and more he is emerging as an Old Pretender - a sort of Bonny King Dicky ... see our photo for an idea of what this may look like ...
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Monday, October 26
Opposition united against Leader's blog
We hope to hear today the "official line" on what must be the shortest political blog in history.
It appears that Boston Borough Council Leader Richard Austin may not have appreciated the possible consequences if it is true that he asked for the council's IT department to run up a blog for him in office hours.
The Dear Leader's biggest critic is Conservative Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, and to appreciate his feelings, you need to read the developments in full - which you can do by clicking visiting http://www.smgblog.co.uk/.
But the opposition parties are united in their reaction to the blog, which was really nothing more than a party political diatribe, and not what many of us expected.
Councillor Brian Rush of the Better Boston Group has also joined the debate.
In an e-mail to Boston Eye, he says:
It appears that Boston Borough Council Leader Richard Austin may not have appreciated the possible consequences if it is true that he asked for the council's IT department to run up a blog for him in office hours.
The Dear Leader's biggest critic is Conservative Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, and to appreciate his feelings, you need to read the developments in full - which you can do by clicking visiting http://www.smgblog.co.uk/.
But the opposition parties are united in their reaction to the blog, which was really nothing more than a party political diatribe, and not what many of us expected.
Councillor Brian Rush of the Better Boston Group has also joined the debate.
In an e-mail to Boston Eye, he says:
"The Conservative group must be feeling a little smug as they see another of their inspirations stolen by Councillor Austin, with the unveiling of his 'Leaders Blog,' reconfirming the suitability of the 'sheep' tag.You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
"Nevertheless, it might be welcomed by those that have suffered on the sidelines, but only, of course if we could be sure the content would be reliable and accurate, and enthused by the possibility, that his litany of blunders will be a matter of record for all to see.
"The first thing we must question is, how this is being funded?.
"Is to become, as indicated in his first blog, a political platform for the Boston Bypass Party?
"Is it funded in any way, by taxpayers?
"Can we be given assurance that no resource originates from within West Street by this exercise?
"If such an assurance cannot be given then will the content be completely non political, and subject to scrutiny by opposition leaders prior to transmission?.
"I am not convinced that the words used were all his own work, and if I am right, then why should the people be forced to invest a single penny in a biased political propaganda project?
"Anyone who has been privy to past communications 'authored' by Papa Dick will instantly be aware that his skills in this department are suspect.
"Notwithstanding my reservations being addressed regarding funding, I will take great interest in what he has to say, provided the content published is open and honest.
"I welcome such opportunity, if all can get an insight into the goings on at council, and that we are exposed only to accurate and reliable information, and not a dressing up or down of the facts.
"This in itself may be too much to expect; his ineptitude, failures or refusal to do so up to now, may be a habit too hard to break, as he and his uninspired group continue to stumble from one unresolved crisis to the next.
"I do hope that he invites comment, so that he and his group will get to learn just what the voting public think of them.
"I wonder then, how long wool it be, before some young buck in the flock rams it home that this shepherd is yewsless!"
Friday, October 23
Breaking news .... leader's blog vanishes!
Visitors to Boston Borough Council's website can no longer access Leader Richard Austin's controversial blog.
All reference to it has disappeared from the front page of the site, and following the original link generates the following message.
We have asked Boston Borough Council for comment, and will keep you up to date.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
All reference to it has disappeared from the front page of the site, and following the original link generates the following message.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Week ending 23rd October
Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Ark at this ... Was is just bad timing, or did someone with a wry sense of humour decide that in the week which saw the launch of Council Leader Richard Austin's blog that another major item concerning Manny the Mammoth and Family should be given prominence on the Borough Council's website. We suppose that it could have been worse - Manny, a creation in straw who won a competition run by Weetabix - could have been a Dino-straw! On the same point, we wonder why the piece appeared on the borough website at all. It's clearly a story for our local newspapers, but unless the borough is trying to claim the credit we would have hoped that there were more important stories of interest to the Boston public that could appear.
You Kenny believe it ... We were staggered to read on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's excellent blog the news that Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Paul Kenny has made no fewer than thirteen complaints to the borough council's Standards Committee in just nine months. Apparently only two of these complaints have been investigated so far - at a cost to us, the taxpayers of £2,145.40. Surely it's time for someone to whisper in Mr Kenny's ear that wasting this sort of money on largely trivial issues is an abuse of the democratic process. Apart from that, we always thought that politicians were meant to be thicker skinned. We think a better idea for Mr Kenny, would be to save the £500 deposit that he'll need to fight next year's general election, and take up something far more prosaic than politics.
Now we're all rat-payers ... We were browsing through some old County Council highways surveys during the week, which show that well before the Boston Bypass Independents were elected and took the credit, much if not all of what is currently being trumpeted by the BBI had already been done. One thing that bemused us was the frequent use of the word "rat run" to describe routes taken by frustrated drivers wanting to avoid the frustrating traffic queues that used to exist. Given that we the Boston public are the "rats" in question, we think that alternative, politer nomenclature might be considered in the future.
What will they turn out for? ... We join Boston's rector in being "stunned" by the attack in Boston Stump in which vandals scaled scaffolding and hurled masonry from a church roof last weekend. However, we are doubly stunned by the words of the police. According to reports, PC Martyn Chambers said: "I am determined to do everything I can to catch those responsible and bring them to justice. We will be checking CCTV images to see if can identify the offenders and are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information about those responsible to come forward." Hang on a minute. Where were the police when all this was going on? The offenders wouldn't be able to clamber down and escape that quickly, and the police station is just yards away. Reading between the lines, we assume that the police couldn't be bothered to attend at the time. Disgraceful! Meanwhile, in Skegness, the cops have set up "Operation Riviera" to "crack down" on cyclists riding on the pavement. Police said "robust action" was needed to stop pedestrians being harmed. One added: "There are genuine concerns someone is going to be seriously hurt if we can't put a stop to it. We need to get the message across that cycling on pavements is inconsiderate, a nuisance and also very dangerous." It's the same story here in Boston, only ten times worse, and the cops have promised action many times. Somehow, as usual they have failed to deliver the goods.
Tory-ble mistake ... We've just noticed that the links to our MP's website from the Boston Conservative Business network wrongly names him as Mark Simmons rather than Simmonds. Gosh! You think they'd know better.
Bed blocking ... a reader had cause to visit a friend in Pilgrim Hospital on Monday. Visiting starts at 2pm, and the car park was all but full. By 2-45pm, cars were parked on grass verges, concrete dividers, and gaps which should have been kept clear for other users. What is going on here? The Pilgrim need radically to re-organise the way it handles visitors and their cars.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Ark at this ... Was is just bad timing, or did someone with a wry sense of humour decide that in the week which saw the launch of Council Leader Richard Austin's blog that another major item concerning Manny the Mammoth and Family should be given prominence on the Borough Council's website. We suppose that it could have been worse - Manny, a creation in straw who won a competition run by Weetabix - could have been a Dino-straw! On the same point, we wonder why the piece appeared on the borough website at all. It's clearly a story for our local newspapers, but unless the borough is trying to claim the credit we would have hoped that there were more important stories of interest to the Boston public that could appear.
You Kenny believe it ... We were staggered to read on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's excellent blog the news that Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Paul Kenny has made no fewer than thirteen complaints to the borough council's Standards Committee in just nine months. Apparently only two of these complaints have been investigated so far - at a cost to us, the taxpayers of £2,145.40. Surely it's time for someone to whisper in Mr Kenny's ear that wasting this sort of money on largely trivial issues is an abuse of the democratic process. Apart from that, we always thought that politicians were meant to be thicker skinned. We think a better idea for Mr Kenny, would be to save the £500 deposit that he'll need to fight next year's general election, and take up something far more prosaic than politics.
Now we're all rat-payers ... We were browsing through some old County Council highways surveys during the week, which show that well before the Boston Bypass Independents were elected and took the credit, much if not all of what is currently being trumpeted by the BBI had already been done. One thing that bemused us was the frequent use of the word "rat run" to describe routes taken by frustrated drivers wanting to avoid the frustrating traffic queues that used to exist. Given that we the Boston public are the "rats" in question, we think that alternative, politer nomenclature might be considered in the future.
What will they turn out for? ... We join Boston's rector in being "stunned" by the attack in Boston Stump in which vandals scaled scaffolding and hurled masonry from a church roof last weekend. However, we are doubly stunned by the words of the police. According to reports, PC Martyn Chambers said: "I am determined to do everything I can to catch those responsible and bring them to justice. We will be checking CCTV images to see if can identify the offenders and are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information about those responsible to come forward." Hang on a minute. Where were the police when all this was going on? The offenders wouldn't be able to clamber down and escape that quickly, and the police station is just yards away. Reading between the lines, we assume that the police couldn't be bothered to attend at the time. Disgraceful! Meanwhile, in Skegness, the cops have set up "Operation Riviera" to "crack down" on cyclists riding on the pavement. Police said "robust action" was needed to stop pedestrians being harmed. One added: "There are genuine concerns someone is going to be seriously hurt if we can't put a stop to it. We need to get the message across that cycling on pavements is inconsiderate, a nuisance and also very dangerous." It's the same story here in Boston, only ten times worse, and the cops have promised action many times. Somehow, as usual they have failed to deliver the goods.
Tory-ble mistake ... We've just noticed that the links to our MP's website from the Boston Conservative Business network wrongly names him as Mark Simmons rather than Simmonds. Gosh! You think they'd know better.
Bed blocking ... a reader had cause to visit a friend in Pilgrim Hospital on Monday. Visiting starts at 2pm, and the car park was all but full. By 2-45pm, cars were parked on grass verges, concrete dividers, and gaps which should have been kept clear for other users. What is going on here? The Pilgrim need radically to re-organise the way it handles visitors and their cars.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Thursday, October 22
Oh blogger! We didn't want a bypass after all
Boston Borough Council's Leader Richard Austin has dragged himself kicking and screaming into the electronic age with his very own blog site.
And, in a piece of remarkable political cynicism, he is asking readers to believe that they did not, in fact, vote for what they thought they did when they elected the Bypass Independents on 3rd May 2007.
"What did the people of Boston really want when they elected the council two years ago?" the Dear Leader coyly asks.
"Of course they were sick of the endless traffic queues and wanted a bypass, but most were telling us they were fed up of the way the council was being run."
Well, that's not our recollection from their manifesto, but apparently, those of us who are "realistic" knew we wouldn’t get a bypass overnight.
And, not for the first time, we are being offered jam tomorrow in the shape of a reformed council.
Councillor Austin claims that the damning reports of the Audit Commission became the "ammunition" needed to speed up reform. He salutes his own brilliant idea of an Improvement Board (though some say this would have been imposed on the council in any case) and says that together with the new acting Chief Executive, Richard Harbord, we can now move forward at speed. Which we're going to have to do of course, since Mr Harbord's appointment on 1st August was for six months and is therefore already almost half way through.
You can read Councillor Austin's blog in full here http://www.boston.gov.uk/LeadersBlog/
His blog is accompanied by his "official" photo.
You know the one we mean; the one with the slightly sneaky smile you associate with someone who has passed wind in a crowded room, but is confident that the stench will never be traced back to him.
Look at the picture again if you don't believe us.
Incidentally, talking of blogs, we clicked back through the years to the Bypass Independents' post election blog which is still online, and despite promising "this blog will be updated regularly to keep you informed on our progress, the latest issues and developments and also to give you the chance to comment and/or pose questions in an open forum," has remained stagnant for more than two years.
On Saturday, 12 May 2007, beneath the headline "What we stand for" the BBI proclaimed:
"Boston Bypass Indepedents (BBI) were elected at the local elections on a manifesto of getting Boston moving by getting a bypass built for Boston. We were accused by our opponents of being a single issue party but the electorate soon saw through this political smokescreen, voting the old guard out and a virtually brand new council in to power.
"The BBI firmly believes in having no sacred cows, no person nor issue immune from scrutiny or criticism, and questioning all aspects of the council's work. We want to reflect the views of the electorate and promote Boston as a good place to work and live.
"The BBI also stand for:
"Short-term traffic-flow improvement, a better bus service, a review of car parking charges, better public toilets, more recycling, less litter, reducing anti-social behaviour, more off-street parking for residents, and full investigation of the affairs of the Princess Royal Sports Arena."
Strange, we don't seem to see any mention of changing the way the the former council was being run.
Councillor Austin, it would seem, would have us believe that we dreamed that part of it.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
And, in a piece of remarkable political cynicism, he is asking readers to believe that they did not, in fact, vote for what they thought they did when they elected the Bypass Independents on 3rd May 2007.
"What did the people of Boston really want when they elected the council two years ago?" the Dear Leader coyly asks.
"Of course they were sick of the endless traffic queues and wanted a bypass, but most were telling us they were fed up of the way the council was being run."
Well, that's not our recollection from their manifesto, but apparently, those of us who are "realistic" knew we wouldn’t get a bypass overnight.
And, not for the first time, we are being offered jam tomorrow in the shape of a reformed council.
Councillor Austin claims that the damning reports of the Audit Commission became the "ammunition" needed to speed up reform. He salutes his own brilliant idea of an Improvement Board (though some say this would have been imposed on the council in any case) and says that together with the new acting Chief Executive, Richard Harbord, we can now move forward at speed. Which we're going to have to do of course, since Mr Harbord's appointment on 1st August was for six months and is therefore already almost half way through.
You can read Councillor Austin's blog in full here http://www.boston.gov.uk/LeadersBlog/
His blog is accompanied by his "official" photo.
You know the one we mean; the one with the slightly sneaky smile you associate with someone who has passed wind in a crowded room, but is confident that the stench will never be traced back to him.
Look at the picture again if you don't believe us.
Incidentally, talking of blogs, we clicked back through the years to the Bypass Independents' post election blog which is still online, and despite promising "this blog will be updated regularly to keep you informed on our progress, the latest issues and developments and also to give you the chance to comment and/or pose questions in an open forum," has remained stagnant for more than two years.
On Saturday, 12 May 2007, beneath the headline "What we stand for" the BBI proclaimed:
"Boston Bypass Indepedents (BBI) were elected at the local elections on a manifesto of getting Boston moving by getting a bypass built for Boston. We were accused by our opponents of being a single issue party but the electorate soon saw through this political smokescreen, voting the old guard out and a virtually brand new council in to power.
"The BBI firmly believes in having no sacred cows, no person nor issue immune from scrutiny or criticism, and questioning all aspects of the council's work. We want to reflect the views of the electorate and promote Boston as a good place to work and live.
"The BBI also stand for:
"Short-term traffic-flow improvement, a better bus service, a review of car parking charges, better public toilets, more recycling, less litter, reducing anti-social behaviour, more off-street parking for residents, and full investigation of the affairs of the Princess Royal Sports Arena."
Strange, we don't seem to see any mention of changing the way the the former council was being run.
Councillor Austin, it would seem, would have us believe that we dreamed that part of it.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Wednesday, October 21
Staff in the firing line as merger talks go on
Plans to merge Boston Borough Council services with other district authorities seem to be in as much of a mess as ever. A report to tonight's Borough Council Cabinet looks at the future strategy following the decision not to merge some back office services with South Holland and East Lindsey District Councils.
It says that no further discussions have been held with our neighbours, as it was felt that a period of "reflection" should be allowed before considering a way forward.
That sounds a little at odds with the anti-Boston ranting that's been coming from them next door - broadly along the lines that they wouldn't touch anything to do with Boston with a bargepole.
Meanwhile, it seems that the Borough's put upon staff aren't seeing any end to their trials and tribulations.
Acting Chief Executive Richard Harbord tells the Cabinet that they are being asked about the future of their services whilst other neighbouring authorities are being contacted in relation to their shared service provisions.
Talks are also being held with private companies about partnerships and areas where immediate action can take place, with the idea of producing an improvement plan for the Cabinet next month.
Mr Harbord says: "I have made it quite clear to staff that there is going to be considerable change to be faced and that a variety of ways of providing services will have to be discussed."
But all these ideas come at a cost to staff, with what looks like proposed cuts of around five per-cent.
The original services to be merged were customer services, finance, human resources, information technology and revenues and benefits.
One of the reasons that this plan foundered was because Boston alone among the three authorities did not have the money to fund the change.
And yet now, Mr Harbord reports discussions on a range of other services - including elections, democratic services, planning, economic development, performance review, and property.
"Staff are being seen by me at all levels in the organisation to deal with any questions they may have but also to put across a message that we are now free to follow the most cost effective path for each service which will ensure controlled costs and enhanced performance. I am seeking staff’s views on the way forward for their service.
"I am seeing managers with the same message but asking them to ensure that their views for investment and change can be afforded.
"I have a general aim of reducing employee costs by 5%.
"At the same time we are speaking to all local authorities over a wide distance to ascertain what they are doing about shared services and whether there is any scope to work together.
"We are also breaking down the Tribal (consultants) report to see which of the five services contributed most to the overall savings, which will help form our views as to future priorities.
I have also seen three private companies to start discussions about strategic partnerships which would see them putting up the investment for us in return for a share of the savings accruing. They would manage the service but the staff would remain as our employees on secondment. This has been done elsewhere with great success.
"There are also areas of immediate action such as payroll where costs are being sought for outsourcing the service to be compared with the costs of investment in a new system."
We have nagging doubts and fears about all of this, and await next month's promised report with interest.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
It says that no further discussions have been held with our neighbours, as it was felt that a period of "reflection" should be allowed before considering a way forward.
That sounds a little at odds with the anti-Boston ranting that's been coming from them next door - broadly along the lines that they wouldn't touch anything to do with Boston with a bargepole.
Meanwhile, it seems that the Borough's put upon staff aren't seeing any end to their trials and tribulations.
Acting Chief Executive Richard Harbord tells the Cabinet that they are being asked about the future of their services whilst other neighbouring authorities are being contacted in relation to their shared service provisions.
Talks are also being held with private companies about partnerships and areas where immediate action can take place, with the idea of producing an improvement plan for the Cabinet next month.
Mr Harbord says: "I have made it quite clear to staff that there is going to be considerable change to be faced and that a variety of ways of providing services will have to be discussed."
But all these ideas come at a cost to staff, with what looks like proposed cuts of around five per-cent.
The original services to be merged were customer services, finance, human resources, information technology and revenues and benefits.
One of the reasons that this plan foundered was because Boston alone among the three authorities did not have the money to fund the change.
And yet now, Mr Harbord reports discussions on a range of other services - including elections, democratic services, planning, economic development, performance review, and property.
"Staff are being seen by me at all levels in the organisation to deal with any questions they may have but also to put across a message that we are now free to follow the most cost effective path for each service which will ensure controlled costs and enhanced performance. I am seeking staff’s views on the way forward for their service.
"I am seeing managers with the same message but asking them to ensure that their views for investment and change can be afforded.
"I have a general aim of reducing employee costs by 5%.
"At the same time we are speaking to all local authorities over a wide distance to ascertain what they are doing about shared services and whether there is any scope to work together.
"We are also breaking down the Tribal (consultants) report to see which of the five services contributed most to the overall savings, which will help form our views as to future priorities.
I have also seen three private companies to start discussions about strategic partnerships which would see them putting up the investment for us in return for a share of the savings accruing. They would manage the service but the staff would remain as our employees on secondment. This has been done elsewhere with great success.
"There are also areas of immediate action such as payroll where costs are being sought for outsourcing the service to be compared with the costs of investment in a new system."
We have nagging doubts and fears about all of this, and await next month's promised report with interest.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Tuesday, October 20
Concern about immigration doesn't make us racist
Last week's county council by-election put Boston back in the national newspaper spotlight, with a full page in the Sunday Times at the weekend airing the issues of immigration after the poll for Boston North West almost saw Borough Councillor David Owens win the seat for the British National Party.
The newspaper pointed out that Boston's population has grown by 25% in recent years through the arrival of an estimated 15,000 immigrants .
And it asked the question about the elephant in the room - "Why is immigration still the issue that dare not speak its name in British politics?"
It made the point that "the people of Boston are not alone in their concern about migrants.
"A YouGov poll last month showed immigration as the issue of most concern to voters after the economy."That is unlikely to change in the near future.
"Figures to be released this week by the Office for National Statistics are expected to show that Britain’s population will expand by nearly two million during the course of the next parliament alone, almost half because of immigration. It is likely to fuel anxieties about immigrants undercutting wages and putting extra strain on schools and hospitals."
The Sunday Times quoted newly elected Tory councillor Andrea Jenkyns as saying: "There’ve been problems with them (migrant workers) going to the toilet in public and they’ve been stealing ducks from the pond to eat."
In her blog Councillor Jenkyns adds: "I also stated that anti social behaviour issues do need addressing in Boston. It doesn't matter where in the world people come from, we all just need to pull together to address these issues and make Boston a safer place to live'."
In his blog, Councillor Owens wrote: "The message is simple, the BNP have achieved in 11 months what no other political party has ever achieved in Lincolnshire before, they have managed to completely destroy both the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties and offer to the electorate a REAL alternative to Tory rule."
The Sunday Times agrees.
"In Boston, the level of support for the BNP means local politicians cannot afford to ignore immigration in the way national leaders have," it says.
Whilst we think that the newspaper is right, we are sorry to say that somehow we don't think that Boston's rulers have the stomach to grasp this particular nettle.
The problem is that people seem to think that anyone who raises the issue of immigration is doing so because they are racist.
The two can be separate and distinct - and usually they are.
We are sure that the people who voted BNP last week did so because they are fed up with the pressures being placed on the town due to excessive immigration.
Pressures such as antisocial behaviour, crime, the surge in houses in multiple occupation, the strains on local health and education services.
To worry about things like this is not to be racist, and the sooner our local politicians realise this and start to address the problem, the better.
We cannot believe that anyone is seriously suggesting that almost nine per-cent of the population of Boston North West - and by extension of Boston as a whole - is racist.
To do so would be to insult the decent people of the town and borough.
Meanwhile, we're not helped by quotes from one local woman in the Sunday Times piece.
"I’m not racist,” she insisted. "I love watching Will Smith on the telly."
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
The newspaper pointed out that Boston's population has grown by 25% in recent years through the arrival of an estimated 15,000 immigrants .
And it asked the question about the elephant in the room - "Why is immigration still the issue that dare not speak its name in British politics?"
It made the point that "the people of Boston are not alone in their concern about migrants.
"A YouGov poll last month showed immigration as the issue of most concern to voters after the economy."That is unlikely to change in the near future.
"Figures to be released this week by the Office for National Statistics are expected to show that Britain’s population will expand by nearly two million during the course of the next parliament alone, almost half because of immigration. It is likely to fuel anxieties about immigrants undercutting wages and putting extra strain on schools and hospitals."
The Sunday Times quoted newly elected Tory councillor Andrea Jenkyns as saying: "There’ve been problems with them (migrant workers) going to the toilet in public and they’ve been stealing ducks from the pond to eat."
In her blog Councillor Jenkyns adds: "I also stated that anti social behaviour issues do need addressing in Boston. It doesn't matter where in the world people come from, we all just need to pull together to address these issues and make Boston a safer place to live'."
In his blog, Councillor Owens wrote: "The message is simple, the BNP have achieved in 11 months what no other political party has ever achieved in Lincolnshire before, they have managed to completely destroy both the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties and offer to the electorate a REAL alternative to Tory rule."
The Sunday Times agrees.
"In Boston, the level of support for the BNP means local politicians cannot afford to ignore immigration in the way national leaders have," it says.
Whilst we think that the newspaper is right, we are sorry to say that somehow we don't think that Boston's rulers have the stomach to grasp this particular nettle.
The problem is that people seem to think that anyone who raises the issue of immigration is doing so because they are racist.
The two can be separate and distinct - and usually they are.
We are sure that the people who voted BNP last week did so because they are fed up with the pressures being placed on the town due to excessive immigration.
Pressures such as antisocial behaviour, crime, the surge in houses in multiple occupation, the strains on local health and education services.
To worry about things like this is not to be racist, and the sooner our local politicians realise this and start to address the problem, the better.
We cannot believe that anyone is seriously suggesting that almost nine per-cent of the population of Boston North West - and by extension of Boston as a whole - is racist.
To do so would be to insult the decent people of the town and borough.
Meanwhile, we're not helped by quotes from one local woman in the Sunday Times piece.
"I’m not racist,” she insisted. "I love watching Will Smith on the telly."
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Monday, October 19
Politicians, not pussycats!
So, Miss Andrea Jenkyns is once again the county councillor for Boston North West after a brief period in the wilderness following a technical knock-out.
The result of last Thursday's by-election was:
Andrea JENKYNS, Conservative - 597
David OWENS, British National Party - 581
Pamela KENNY, Labour - 204
Michael SHERIDAN-SHINN, Liberal Democrat - 160
The electorate was 7255, and the turnout of 1543 was a poor 21.3%.
Compare this with the result last time:
Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative - 463
Colin Westcott, British National Party -374
Alison Austin, Boston Bypass Independents, 283
Richard Leggott, Independent - 279
Pam Kenny, Labour - 205
Paul Appleby, Liberal Democrat - 130
Andrew Bakewell, Independent - 82
The electorate was 6746 and the turnout, at 1816 was the lowest of the seven county council Boston seats up for grabs at 27%.
The difference between the two front runners was just 16 - enough for a recount.
So what do we learn about the state of Boston politics from all of this?
First and foremost is the surge in people registering to vote.
Councillor Owens, in one of his blogs in the run up to the campaign, wrote: "Call me a cynic, but it looks like someone’s been busy signing up our Eastern European guests, as there are an additional 185 newly added in the last few weeks!"
In fact the difference in the electorate between 4th June and 15th October was 509, which seems a dramatic increase in such a short time.
We doubt that this is due to a sudden upsurge of interest in local politics, so presumablly someone, somewhere has been cracking the whip.
The other thing that we think should prove to be a lesson to our local politicians was the decision by some of them not to contest the seat for a second time.
Councillors Alison Austin of the Boston Bypass Independents, and Independent Richard Leggot have both been publicly thanked for deciding not to stand this time round. So has Councillor Anne Dorrian, but as she didn't fight the seat in June, we set little store by that.
The editors at Boston Eye decided not to contest the seat either ... but no-one bothered to thank us for that!
We assume that the decision of previous candidates not to stand was taken because they believed that this would pave the way for a Conservative shoo-in, and wanted to be seen to be nice.
How wrong can you be?
Among last Thursday's winners and losers, Councillor Jenkyns gained 134 votes compared with 4th June whilst Councillor Owens gained 206. Labour's Pam Kenny lost one vote between the campaigns (no, don't titter, titter ye not!) while the Lib Dems gained just 30.
When Councillor Owens was elected to Boston Borough Council almost a year ago, the leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin was gobsmacked.
All he would say was: "I think this will have serious implications for Boston and I want to reflect on the implications on this result."
We wonder what old stone face would have said (or not said) if the inaction of his party and others had contributed to the election of one that clearly leaves him lost for words!
Besides, these people are supposed to be politicians, and an election is an election.
Afterwards, Councillor Jenkyns was reported to have said that she was relieved to have been returned to office. She said she understood the area had problems with anti-social behaviour.
"I know we have certain issues in Boston and that is why the BNP had come up through the ranks. But a lot of their issues are national issues which we can't do much about at a local level - but I am so relieved."
Councillor Owens was reported as saying that the closeness of the vote should send out a message to the mainstream parties.
"People need to start listening. We got 581 votes, that is 581 people who are not happy with the status quo and very nearly tipped the balance of it."
Helped by the so-called "politicians" who stepped aside when they should have been campaigning.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
The result of last Thursday's by-election was:
Andrea JENKYNS, Conservative - 597
David OWENS, British National Party - 581
Pamela KENNY, Labour - 204
Michael SHERIDAN-SHINN, Liberal Democrat - 160
The electorate was 7255, and the turnout of 1543 was a poor 21.3%.
Compare this with the result last time:
Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative - 463
Colin Westcott, British National Party -374
Alison Austin, Boston Bypass Independents, 283
Richard Leggott, Independent - 279
Pam Kenny, Labour - 205
Paul Appleby, Liberal Democrat - 130
Andrew Bakewell, Independent - 82
The electorate was 6746 and the turnout, at 1816 was the lowest of the seven county council Boston seats up for grabs at 27%.
The difference between the two front runners was just 16 - enough for a recount.
So what do we learn about the state of Boston politics from all of this?
First and foremost is the surge in people registering to vote.
Councillor Owens, in one of his blogs in the run up to the campaign, wrote: "Call me a cynic, but it looks like someone’s been busy signing up our Eastern European guests, as there are an additional 185 newly added in the last few weeks!"
In fact the difference in the electorate between 4th June and 15th October was 509, which seems a dramatic increase in such a short time.
We doubt that this is due to a sudden upsurge of interest in local politics, so presumablly someone, somewhere has been cracking the whip.
The other thing that we think should prove to be a lesson to our local politicians was the decision by some of them not to contest the seat for a second time.
Councillors Alison Austin of the Boston Bypass Independents, and Independent Richard Leggot have both been publicly thanked for deciding not to stand this time round. So has Councillor Anne Dorrian, but as she didn't fight the seat in June, we set little store by that.
The editors at Boston Eye decided not to contest the seat either ... but no-one bothered to thank us for that!
We assume that the decision of previous candidates not to stand was taken because they believed that this would pave the way for a Conservative shoo-in, and wanted to be seen to be nice.
How wrong can you be?
Among last Thursday's winners and losers, Councillor Jenkyns gained 134 votes compared with 4th June whilst Councillor Owens gained 206. Labour's Pam Kenny lost one vote between the campaigns (no, don't titter, titter ye not!) while the Lib Dems gained just 30.
When Councillor Owens was elected to Boston Borough Council almost a year ago, the leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin was gobsmacked.
All he would say was: "I think this will have serious implications for Boston and I want to reflect on the implications on this result."
We wonder what old stone face would have said (or not said) if the inaction of his party and others had contributed to the election of one that clearly leaves him lost for words!
Besides, these people are supposed to be politicians, and an election is an election.
Afterwards, Councillor Jenkyns was reported to have said that she was relieved to have been returned to office. She said she understood the area had problems with anti-social behaviour.
"I know we have certain issues in Boston and that is why the BNP had come up through the ranks. But a lot of their issues are national issues which we can't do much about at a local level - but I am so relieved."
Councillor Owens was reported as saying that the closeness of the vote should send out a message to the mainstream parties.
"People need to start listening. We got 581 votes, that is 581 people who are not happy with the status quo and very nearly tipped the balance of it."
Helped by the so-called "politicians" who stepped aside when they should have been campaigning.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Friday, October 16
Week ending 16th October
Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Close call ... Conservative Andrea Jenkyns has won yesterday's County Council by-election for the Boston North West ward with 597 votes. Fenside borough councillor David Owens of the British National Party came second with 581, Labour's Pam Kenny third with 204, and Mike Sheridan-Shinn of the Lib Dems last with 161. Turnout was even lower than on 4th June at 21.25%. Of the blogging candidates, Mike Laggy-Last seems to have decided that the election didn't happen! More on Monday's blog.
Losing BID ... After our criticism of Boston BID amongst other letter-waving organisations which all claim to be working for the greater good of Boston business without any visible evidence, we note that Spalding has rejected a similar idea. The Spalding Business Improvement District ballot showed an overwhelming dislike of the proposal, with only 71 votes in favour out of a total of 285 votes cast. It seems that whatever Spalding does Boston doesn't, and vice versa. The trouble is that we have a nagging feeling that the good burghers of South Holland are tending to take all the right decisions, whilst here in Boston we are taking all the wrong ones...
Freedom of speech ... We are delighted to read on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's blog that the footling complaint against him by Labour's wannabe MP Paul Kenny has been thrown out. We also have to say that we are staggered to read that Mr Kenny then apparently decided to take matters further by raising the issue with the police. Councillor Singleton-McGuire says it in a nutshell, when he writes: "I honestly believe this person must be on another planet to the rest of the human race."
I am what I am ... Our thanks to Borough and County Councillor Michael Brookes for taking the time and trouble to explain his position vis-a-vis being an "independent" Independent, or a "Lincolnshire Independent," after our piece on last week's blog "Who are the REAL independents?" Councillor Brookes tells us: "I am a true Independent and have joined the Independents group at Lincolnshire County Council, I am not a Lincolnshire Independent or any other flavour of Independent. The reason for joining this group is to ensure that I qualify for seats on council committees and for mutual support, seats are allocated to political groups on a proportional basis dependent on the number of seats they hold on the council. A member on his own does not qualify by right for a seat on any committee except Full Council which only meets four times a year. The day to day work of the council is done through the executive and its various committees so it is very important to be involved in this. The Independents do not have a whip and are always free to vote as they think best, unlike the other political groups who can have the whip applied when thought necessary. My aim is to act in the best interests of the people of Boston Rural Division who I represent. I hope this clarifies my position as an Independent on Lincolnshire County Council and thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond." We thank Councillor Brookes for that, but still wish that between them Lincolnshire Independents and Lincolnshire County Council could decide who exactly is where on their lists. Talking of independents ...
Time's up! ... 19 weeks after he lost his former seat to Conservative Paul Skinner, Boston Borough Council's Dear Leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin has partially abandoned the inaccurate claim on the Lincolnshire Independents' website that he represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. Whilst his front page entry has gone, the launch details of the party still list him as treasurer and as county councillor for the seat he lost on June 4th. As well as that the Lincolnshire Independents' site is still glaringly inaccurate.
Forward planning ... This coming Monday's meeting of Lincolnshire County Council's Highways, Transport and Technology Scrutiny Committee includes a verbal report from the Assistant Director for Highways and Transport on the issues raised by Councillor Major (not retired when at Lincoln) Ramonde Newell about the quality of temporary road works signage. Let's hope he's keeping in mind the need to ease the forthcoming chaos when we're landed with a year's worth of roadworks outside Aldi and around the Sleaford Road level crossing which are apparently being done to show that they won't work to further the case of a bypass.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Close call ... Conservative Andrea Jenkyns has won yesterday's County Council by-election for the Boston North West ward with 597 votes. Fenside borough councillor David Owens of the British National Party came second with 581, Labour's Pam Kenny third with 204, and Mike Sheridan-Shinn of the Lib Dems last with 161. Turnout was even lower than on 4th June at 21.25%. Of the blogging candidates, Mike Laggy-Last seems to have decided that the election didn't happen! More on Monday's blog.
Losing BID ... After our criticism of Boston BID amongst other letter-waving organisations which all claim to be working for the greater good of Boston business without any visible evidence, we note that Spalding has rejected a similar idea. The Spalding Business Improvement District ballot showed an overwhelming dislike of the proposal, with only 71 votes in favour out of a total of 285 votes cast. It seems that whatever Spalding does Boston doesn't, and vice versa. The trouble is that we have a nagging feeling that the good burghers of South Holland are tending to take all the right decisions, whilst here in Boston we are taking all the wrong ones...
Freedom of speech ... We are delighted to read on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's blog that the footling complaint against him by Labour's wannabe MP Paul Kenny has been thrown out. We also have to say that we are staggered to read that Mr Kenny then apparently decided to take matters further by raising the issue with the police. Councillor Singleton-McGuire says it in a nutshell, when he writes: "I honestly believe this person must be on another planet to the rest of the human race."
I am what I am ... Our thanks to Borough and County Councillor Michael Brookes for taking the time and trouble to explain his position vis-a-vis being an "independent" Independent, or a "Lincolnshire Independent," after our piece on last week's blog "Who are the REAL independents?" Councillor Brookes tells us: "I am a true Independent and have joined the Independents group at Lincolnshire County Council, I am not a Lincolnshire Independent or any other flavour of Independent. The reason for joining this group is to ensure that I qualify for seats on council committees and for mutual support, seats are allocated to political groups on a proportional basis dependent on the number of seats they hold on the council. A member on his own does not qualify by right for a seat on any committee except Full Council which only meets four times a year. The day to day work of the council is done through the executive and its various committees so it is very important to be involved in this. The Independents do not have a whip and are always free to vote as they think best, unlike the other political groups who can have the whip applied when thought necessary. My aim is to act in the best interests of the people of Boston Rural Division who I represent. I hope this clarifies my position as an Independent on Lincolnshire County Council and thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond." We thank Councillor Brookes for that, but still wish that between them Lincolnshire Independents and Lincolnshire County Council could decide who exactly is where on their lists. Talking of independents ...
Time's up! ... 19 weeks after he lost his former seat to Conservative Paul Skinner, Boston Borough Council's Dear Leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin has partially abandoned the inaccurate claim on the Lincolnshire Independents' website that he represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. Whilst his front page entry has gone, the launch details of the party still list him as treasurer and as county councillor for the seat he lost on June 4th. As well as that the Lincolnshire Independents' site is still glaringly inaccurate.
Forward planning ... This coming Monday's meeting of Lincolnshire County Council's Highways, Transport and Technology Scrutiny Committee includes a verbal report from the Assistant Director for Highways and Transport on the issues raised by Councillor Major (not retired when at Lincoln) Ramonde Newell about the quality of temporary road works signage. Let's hope he's keeping in mind the need to ease the forthcoming chaos when we're landed with a year's worth of roadworks outside Aldi and around the Sleaford Road level crossing which are apparently being done to show that they won't work to further the case of a bypass.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Thursday, October 15
Voting day - and Labour leaflet seems off-target
Today is voting day in the by-election for the Lincolnshire County Council ward of Boston North West, and we hope that all of you who are eligible to mare your 'X' in the box (don't worry, it's not a signature) will exercise their democratic rights.We've been looking through the blogs of three of the candidates who have been keeping the electorate in touch with their campaigning - the BNP's David Owens, Conservative Andrea Jenkyns, and Liberal-Democrat Mike Sheridan-Shinn, and looking at a couple of leaflets from the non-blogging Labour candidate Pam Kenny. David Owens, who already represents Fenside Ward on Boston Borough Council, tells readers: "It is interesting to note that there seems to have been very little activity in the urban parts of the election district (other than a sudden increase in registered voter's from the EU states), and it leads me to wonder just what are the other parties are actually doing! I have been out and about for the last 4 weeks and have seen the Tories once, Labour on two occasions (delivering the same leaflet, over two weekends) and the Lib Dems twice. To date, I think Labour have put out two leaflets, one of which was a smear against the BNP and the Tories, the Lib Dems two leaflets, and the Tories two leaflets. Don't get me wrong, they may well have done more , but I have not seen it."
For the Conservatives, Miss Jenklyns - who briefly held the seat until Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Paul Kenny (husband of Pam) managed to get her declaration declared invalid, is brief and to the point. "I am still keeping my campaign positive as I really don't like negativity full stop, I much prefer to concentrate on the positive."
Lib-Dem Mike Sheridan Shinn says: "Its so nice to get such possitive (sic) feedback. It's great to know that people are pleased that The lib-dems are out and about meeting and talking to residents..now that phase one of the campaign is complete. Its now time to launch phase two which is very exciting and i know my supporters will like it....... "
We hope that they did, as we have no idea of what it is.
Lib-Dem Mike Sheridan Shinn says: "Its so nice to get such possitive (sic) feedback. It's great to know that people are pleased that The lib-dems are out and about meeting and talking to residents..now that phase one of the campaign is complete. Its now time to launch phase two which is very exciting and i know my supporters will like it....... "
We hope that they did, as we have no idea of what it is.
Then we come to the Labour campaign leaflets.
The attack on the Tories is clearly aimed at the hearts and minds of the less fortunate in the ward, pointing out that the toffs want want to bring back fox hunting, increase inheritance tax allowances for the wealthiest 3000 people in Britain, take people off incapacity benefit and on to job seekers allowances - thus reducing their income from the state by £25 a week, make us work longer until retirement, and freeze pay.
Labour, on the other hand, says the flyer, has introduced the minimum wage, concessionary bus passes, a £350 winter fuel allowance (an incorrect figure, according to the Government's own website) child care vouchers, free TV licences for the over 75's, and Surestart centres.
But what we like most about the Kenny campaign is when it switches its venom to the BNP.
"What have the BNP done for you on Witham Ward?" the leaflet shrieks.
Well, we can tell you, Mrs Kenny.
The answer is nothing - because the Witham Ward ward on Boston Boston Council doesn't have a BNP representative - in fact is has two Bypass Independent stalwarts, Graham Dovey and Jim Blaylock.
We assume that Mrs Kenny was launching her attack on Councillor Owens, whose ward of Fenside forms part of the Boston North-West ward on Lincolnshire County Council.
You could laugh if it wasn't so pathetic.
Happy voting.
The attack on the Tories is clearly aimed at the hearts and minds of the less fortunate in the ward, pointing out that the toffs want want to bring back fox hunting, increase inheritance tax allowances for the wealthiest 3000 people in Britain, take people off incapacity benefit and on to job seekers allowances - thus reducing their income from the state by £25 a week, make us work longer until retirement, and freeze pay.
Labour, on the other hand, says the flyer, has introduced the minimum wage, concessionary bus passes, a £350 winter fuel allowance (an incorrect figure, according to the Government's own website) child care vouchers, free TV licences for the over 75's, and Surestart centres.
But what we like most about the Kenny campaign is when it switches its venom to the BNP.
"What have the BNP done for you on Witham Ward?" the leaflet shrieks.
Well, we can tell you, Mrs Kenny.
The answer is nothing - because the Witham Ward ward on Boston Boston Council doesn't have a BNP representative - in fact is has two Bypass Independent stalwarts, Graham Dovey and Jim Blaylock.
We assume that Mrs Kenny was launching her attack on Councillor Owens, whose ward of Fenside forms part of the Boston North-West ward on Lincolnshire County Council.
You could laugh if it wasn't so pathetic.
Happy voting.
Tell us the result if you hear it first.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Wednesday, October 14
Too many B's in our alphabet spaghetti
In yesterday's piece about the Market Place plans, we mentioned that one aspect of the proposed redevelopment is to enhance the local economy.That prompted us take a look around at what sort of help is available for local business - and we've come to the conclusion that the town is top-heavy with organisations that talk the talk ... whilst we seem a little light on organisations that walk the walk.
Apparently local business are falling over themselves to sign up for the Business Support Programme we mentioned a few days ago.
This is something new - basically a series of talking shops that embrace most of the buzzwords of modern business, which take place at the doomed Endeavour Business Park ... another white elephant that cost a fortune but is largely unoccupied.
Then we have such things as BARC - Boston Area Regeneration Company "an independent regeneration company which is working to bring about the Local Area Masterplan."
That in turn works closely with BAP - the Boston Area Partnership, which has similar good intentions for the prosperity of the town.
Now factor in the role of BID, which seems to specialise in clearing litter and weeds and operating another virtually invisible level of security called the Town Rangers (hi ho silver!)
But let's not forget BACC - the Boston Area Chamber of Commerce - which numbers amongst its objectives generating more business through networking events, "introductions to perspective (sic) buyers" and commercial leads, business advice and international trade services; plus better business through training, seminars and workshops.
And what about the BCBN - the Boston Conservative Business Network - which has nine main objectives including raising the profile of Boston as a shopping destination, funding and grants for start up businesses, creating the right environment for business growth - we're sure that you get the picture.
However, according to its website, its first meeting is in March ... and it took some time to discover that this referred to last March - and there appears to have been no report of any activity in the time since.
So many "B" organisations (the "B" is for Boston, by the way.)
And yet between them they seem incapable of promoting a Christmas Market for this year, and worse still cannot get the town centre shops to agree common opening hours on a Sunday ... or whether to open at all.
Pity the visitor who pays the town a visit on a Sunday for a little peaceful shopping. Some shops open at 10am some at 10-30, and others at 11am. Then some no longer bother.
One visit is probably enough to ensure that you don't take the trouble a second time.
Contrast this with Springfields at Spalding, where opening times are universal and adhered to, and where parking is cheap, and the choice of where to shop is a one horse race.
However, according to its website, its first meeting is in March ... and it took some time to discover that this referred to last March - and there appears to have been no report of any activity in the time since.
So many "B" organisations (the "B" is for Boston, by the way.)
And yet between them they seem incapable of promoting a Christmas Market for this year, and worse still cannot get the town centre shops to agree common opening hours on a Sunday ... or whether to open at all.
Pity the visitor who pays the town a visit on a Sunday for a little peaceful shopping. Some shops open at 10am some at 10-30, and others at 11am. Then some no longer bother.
One visit is probably enough to ensure that you don't take the trouble a second time.
Contrast this with Springfields at Spalding, where opening times are universal and adhered to, and where parking is cheap, and the choice of where to shop is a one horse race.
Not only that but the County Council has even laid on a bus service to take you there for the next six months. Or Lincoln if you prefer.
Nice work.
It's time for someone to take a serious look at the alphabet soup that comprises Boston's approach to business.
It needs reorganising - hopefully well in time for Christmas.
It's time for someone to take a serious look at the alphabet soup that comprises Boston's approach to business.
It needs reorganising - hopefully well in time for Christmas.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Tuesday, October 13
Market Place plan moves forward - but slowly
Plans for the redevelopment of Boston's Market Place are up for discussion tomorrow when a report goes before the borough's Overview and Scrutiny Policy and Projects Committee.
Regeneration of the Market Place is considered vital to improve the look of the town and develop the local economy.
Two million pounds is available for the project, and in August, a local firm - Anderson and Glenn Architects of Frampton Fen - were commissioned to undertake a study and produce a heritage development plan for the Market Place and surrounding area.
For once we can applaud a decision taken by the council by breaking the big firm mould that they have opted for in the past, and moving away from London and other big city based consultancies to find a firm that not only has greater expertise, but actually seems to care about the work in hand.
A look at the Anderson and Glenn website shows that they have a long and highly successful history working with conservation projects. They include Alford Manor House, Ayscoughee Hall in Spalding, Boston Guildhall, the Bridge Street renovation in Horncastle and work at Fydell House, and Hussey Tower.
In fact, the only black mark in our book was the wretched Haven Gallery - but perhaps they were having an off-day!
The timetable becomes a bit attenuated in the future, with a specification for the Market Place refurbishment in January 2010 with detailed design production and consultation for the scheme followed by tendering to commission the building works.
But then we wait from January until December before the final design is agreed, with building work starting in January 2011 with completion about six months later.As we've said before, this is a once and for all chance to get the Market Place right, so perhaps the 12 month thinking time isn't so bad after all.
The only problem is whether or not someone will then come along with new plans for the West Street area - the last of which collapsed when the company behind the scheme fell off its perch.
Before that, the Market Place was said to be an integral part of the bigger plan, and we hope that nothing will be done to the Market Place that we will later regret in the light of future developments.
For what its worth, we think this is an opportunity to dump the insane use of Strait Bargate as a rat-run for the Into Town bus service.
We also think that much impact could be gained at relatively small cost by opting for a Regency style theme for the Market Place area, imposing the colour scheme and signage of the days when the Market Place was at its commercial height.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Regeneration of the Market Place is considered vital to improve the look of the town and develop the local economy.
Two million pounds is available for the project, and in August, a local firm - Anderson and Glenn Architects of Frampton Fen - were commissioned to undertake a study and produce a heritage development plan for the Market Place and surrounding area.
For once we can applaud a decision taken by the council by breaking the big firm mould that they have opted for in the past, and moving away from London and other big city based consultancies to find a firm that not only has greater expertise, but actually seems to care about the work in hand.
A look at the Anderson and Glenn website shows that they have a long and highly successful history working with conservation projects. They include Alford Manor House, Ayscoughee Hall in Spalding, Boston Guildhall, the Bridge Street renovation in Horncastle and work at Fydell House, and Hussey Tower.
In fact, the only black mark in our book was the wretched Haven Gallery - but perhaps they were having an off-day!
The timetable becomes a bit attenuated in the future, with a specification for the Market Place refurbishment in January 2010 with detailed design production and consultation for the scheme followed by tendering to commission the building works.
But then we wait from January until December before the final design is agreed, with building work starting in January 2011 with completion about six months later.As we've said before, this is a once and for all chance to get the Market Place right, so perhaps the 12 month thinking time isn't so bad after all.
The only problem is whether or not someone will then come along with new plans for the West Street area - the last of which collapsed when the company behind the scheme fell off its perch.
Before that, the Market Place was said to be an integral part of the bigger plan, and we hope that nothing will be done to the Market Place that we will later regret in the light of future developments.
For what its worth, we think this is an opportunity to dump the insane use of Strait Bargate as a rat-run for the Into Town bus service.
We also think that much impact could be gained at relatively small cost by opting for a Regency style theme for the Market Place area, imposing the colour scheme and signage of the days when the Market Place was at its commercial height.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Monday, October 12
Boobies on the beat ...
We had a brief dig at Boston police in Friday's "Week Ending," and still there never seems to be a shortage of opportunity.Now, they want more people to sign up as special constables for the borough, adding even more to the army of invisible uniforms that we never see around the town.
All these people, we are told, serve with PRIDE - a force acronym for Professionalism Respect Integrity Dedication Empathy.
Given their track record to date, which has seen Lincolnshire Police come top of the list of forces whom the public trust the least, and more recently top of the forces with the largest number of complaints from the public we just wonder where policing in the county is going to terribly wrong.
At the weekend, we read the case of two Lincolnshire parish councillors who are due in court today accused of criminal damage after they cut the wires of a faulty alarm system on an empty house whose ringing had kept villagers awake for months. Throughout that time, the police ignored requests to do anything about it, never attended the alarm calls, and only sprang into action eight months after the alarm was cut to arrest to elderly councillors acting in the best interests of the parishioners.
Now we hear that Lincolnshire Police are offering four "hardship" grants of up to £500 to help towards any charitable or worthwhile cause.- the money coming from the Police Property Act Fund.
We don't want charity - we want action.
On the coast, they have launched "Operation Crack-down" to ban shopkeepers from selling eggs to under-18 year-olds in the run up to Halloween in case they throw them at someone.
We don't want kids being bullied - we want action on serious anti-social crime
With an eye to the festive season, the police are inviting students to design a corporate Christmas card for use by the force this year.
We don't want the Chief Constable getting Christmas cards on the cheap - we want ojur police out on the streets and hard at work.
Nearer home we have read in the past few weeks of the passive nature of policing in Boston.
A con man who robs an old woman in Staniland Road is branded "despicable."
We don't want evaluations - we want action.
The police send photos of a dozen warrant dodgers to the local papers with a call to the public to track them down.
We don't want to to their jobs for them - we want action.
Three men try to force their way into a car driven by a young woman with her 14 month old daughter in the back - and the police advise drivers to lock their car doors ...
We don't want these people not to be able to get into our cars - we want police action to stop them from trying.
Children as young as seven are seen playing on scaffolding in Boston's High Street. A policeman is quoted as saying: "My greatest concern is that there is going to be a serious accident ...."
We don't want Mystic Meg style predictions - we want action.
The best Boston police have come up with in recent weeks is to hide tracking devices on unlocked bicycles, dump them in places where they are certain to be stolen, then turn up on the "thief's" doorstep for an easy knock-off. It used to be called entrapment.
If every police force in Britain was as idle and hopeless as ours, the country would be in a state of anarchy.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Three men try to force their way into a car driven by a young woman with her 14 month old daughter in the back - and the police advise drivers to lock their car doors ...
We don't want these people not to be able to get into our cars - we want police action to stop them from trying.
Children as young as seven are seen playing on scaffolding in Boston's High Street. A policeman is quoted as saying: "My greatest concern is that there is going to be a serious accident ...."
We don't want Mystic Meg style predictions - we want action.
The best Boston police have come up with in recent weeks is to hide tracking devices on unlocked bicycles, dump them in places where they are certain to be stolen, then turn up on the "thief's" doorstep for an easy knock-off. It used to be called entrapment.
If every police force in Britain was as idle and hopeless as ours, the country would be in a state of anarchy.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Friday, October 9
Week ending 9th October
Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Whew! ... We must have got yesterday's assessment of the run-up to the Boston North West county council by election badly wrong. We see in one of our local papers that "election fever" is hitting the ward. Not if some of the candidates' bids for your vote are anything to go by. Labour's Pam Kenny, believes that voters will value her 20 years' experience as a nurse, and Lib Dem Mike Sheridan-Shinn berates stay-at-home voters claiming that "last time only seven per-cent of you chose the councillor that 100 per-cent of you got." In fact the turn out at Boston North West - whilst the lowest of any of the seven county wards - was twenty-seven per-cent. Should Mike S-S get elected, will someone please ensure that he's kept away from any of the finance committee posts. Incidentally, "election fever" is just one of those well worn cliches used by our local hacks. Our other favourite is that our local police are "pounding the beat...."
Talking of elections ... it's been a while since the Boston Standard gave us a chuckle, but we're grateful to them for lightening up the coverage of the Boston North West county council by-election. The paper reports the reason for the contest is because the initially successful Tory candidate Andrea Jenkyns was "illegible" to stand. Shurely shome mishtake, as Private Eye would say....
Adding up ... We note with interest during a visit to Lincolnshire County Council's website the arrival of adverts urging us to shop at the likes of Boden and John Lewis. Is there a lesson here for cash-strapped Boston Borough Council? A few ads would not only enliven their pedestrian website but bring some much needed extra cash into the borough's near empty coffers.
Ten out of ten ... to Boston Borough Council for managing to drive Stephen Walker Travel out of the town after more than a quarter of a century. We always thought that the town had far too many locally run businesses, and hopefully this will make some of the others sit up and take notice. Mr Walker reports that he was unable to agree new lease terms with the landlord - ie the borough which owns the Assembly Rooms. Was the council simply being greedy and hiking the rent to stupid proportions, or is it trying to to clear the decks to make the building more attractive to other possible bidders?
Cop out ... Boston has police officers, we have Police Community Support Officers, we have Special Constables. Then there are the Town Rangers and the Pescod Square security staff who help prevent the glass falling out of shop windows in the precinct by leaning firmly on them to hold them in place. So it beggars belief that an elderly woman can be shoved from her invalid scooter and robbed at 2-15 in the afternoon. As you might expect, not one of these phalanges was in sight, so the police are left with their usual lame plea for witnesses. To make matters worse, the appeal has only just been issued - despite the attack taking place on Monday 28th September ... almost a fortnight ago. No wonder police are known as plod!
Still counting ... another week goes by, and Borough Council's Dear Leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin clings to the inaccurate claim on the Lincolnshire Independents' website that he represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. It is now 18 weeks since 4th June, when he lost his former seat to Conservative Paul Skinner.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Whew! ... We must have got yesterday's assessment of the run-up to the Boston North West county council by election badly wrong. We see in one of our local papers that "election fever" is hitting the ward. Not if some of the candidates' bids for your vote are anything to go by. Labour's Pam Kenny, believes that voters will value her 20 years' experience as a nurse, and Lib Dem Mike Sheridan-Shinn berates stay-at-home voters claiming that "last time only seven per-cent of you chose the councillor that 100 per-cent of you got." In fact the turn out at Boston North West - whilst the lowest of any of the seven county wards - was twenty-seven per-cent. Should Mike S-S get elected, will someone please ensure that he's kept away from any of the finance committee posts. Incidentally, "election fever" is just one of those well worn cliches used by our local hacks. Our other favourite is that our local police are "pounding the beat...."
Talking of elections ... it's been a while since the Boston Standard gave us a chuckle, but we're grateful to them for lightening up the coverage of the Boston North West county council by-election. The paper reports the reason for the contest is because the initially successful Tory candidate Andrea Jenkyns was "illegible" to stand. Shurely shome mishtake, as Private Eye would say....
Adding up ... We note with interest during a visit to Lincolnshire County Council's website the arrival of adverts urging us to shop at the likes of Boden and John Lewis. Is there a lesson here for cash-strapped Boston Borough Council? A few ads would not only enliven their pedestrian website but bring some much needed extra cash into the borough's near empty coffers.
Ten out of ten ... to Boston Borough Council for managing to drive Stephen Walker Travel out of the town after more than a quarter of a century. We always thought that the town had far too many locally run businesses, and hopefully this will make some of the others sit up and take notice. Mr Walker reports that he was unable to agree new lease terms with the landlord - ie the borough which owns the Assembly Rooms. Was the council simply being greedy and hiking the rent to stupid proportions, or is it trying to to clear the decks to make the building more attractive to other possible bidders?
Cop out ... Boston has police officers, we have Police Community Support Officers, we have Special Constables. Then there are the Town Rangers and the Pescod Square security staff who help prevent the glass falling out of shop windows in the precinct by leaning firmly on them to hold them in place. So it beggars belief that an elderly woman can be shoved from her invalid scooter and robbed at 2-15 in the afternoon. As you might expect, not one of these phalanges was in sight, so the police are left with their usual lame plea for witnesses. To make matters worse, the appeal has only just been issued - despite the attack taking place on Monday 28th September ... almost a fortnight ago. No wonder police are known as plod!
Still counting ... another week goes by, and Borough Council's Dear Leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin clings to the inaccurate claim on the Lincolnshire Independents' website that he represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. It is now 18 weeks since 4th June, when he lost his former seat to Conservative Paul Skinner.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Thursday, October 8
Don't be scared to ask ...
There's just a week to go to the by-election for the seat on Lincolnshire County Council representing Boston North West, and presumably it's all very exciting out on the street.
But for more distant observers, it's the non-event of the year.
After all the insult trading that followed the forced resignation of the original winner, Conservative candidate Andrea Jenkyns, it's all gone very quiet indeed.
Miss Jenkyns has blogged on how well her door to door campaigning is going, as has BNP candidate David Owens, the Borough Councillor for Fenside, who is also sounding very upbeat.
Labour's candidate, Pam Kenny, wife of the man who wants to be Boston's next MP, is said to be invisible on the hustings and has no presence on the internet that we can discern.
Mike Sheridan-Shinn, for the Liberal Democrats, has a dedicated blogsite entitled "Vote Mike Sheridan-Shinn" - but it remains mired in the history of the Lid Dem conference a fortnight ago.
During the last elections, it was possible to visit an entertaining website called Votewise, a free public information service that tells you when a local election is held in your area, who the candidates are and what they stand for.
This time, all it has to offer is the line ... "Boston North West, Lincolnshire - CANDIDATES UNCONFIRMED, polling on 15th October 2009."
Doubtless potential voters have little stomach for the ballot box after so many of them backed the Boston Bypass Independents with such a disatrous result.
But elections are important, and if you live in the Boston North West constituency, we would urge you to get out and vote, and if you have any questions for your candidates, get in touch and ask them now - rather than bleat about shortcomings after the event.
Even if you don't live in the constituency, the people seeking your vote should be asked any questions you have that are pertinent to their role in the future life of Boston - so don't be afraid to ask.
The full results for Boston North West on 4th June were:
Andrea Jenkyns - Conservative 463
Colin Westcott - British National Party 374 Alison Austin - Boston Bypass Independents 283
Richard Leggott - Independent 279 Pam Kenny - Labour 205
Paul Appleby - Liberal Democrat 130
Andrew Bakewell -Independent 82
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
But for more distant observers, it's the non-event of the year.
After all the insult trading that followed the forced resignation of the original winner, Conservative candidate Andrea Jenkyns, it's all gone very quiet indeed.
Miss Jenkyns has blogged on how well her door to door campaigning is going, as has BNP candidate David Owens, the Borough Councillor for Fenside, who is also sounding very upbeat.
Labour's candidate, Pam Kenny, wife of the man who wants to be Boston's next MP, is said to be invisible on the hustings and has no presence on the internet that we can discern.
Mike Sheridan-Shinn, for the Liberal Democrats, has a dedicated blogsite entitled "Vote Mike Sheridan-Shinn" - but it remains mired in the history of the Lid Dem conference a fortnight ago.
During the last elections, it was possible to visit an entertaining website called Votewise, a free public information service that tells you when a local election is held in your area, who the candidates are and what they stand for.
This time, all it has to offer is the line ... "Boston North West, Lincolnshire - CANDIDATES UNCONFIRMED, polling on 15th October 2009."
Doubtless potential voters have little stomach for the ballot box after so many of them backed the Boston Bypass Independents with such a disatrous result.
But elections are important, and if you live in the Boston North West constituency, we would urge you to get out and vote, and if you have any questions for your candidates, get in touch and ask them now - rather than bleat about shortcomings after the event.
Even if you don't live in the constituency, the people seeking your vote should be asked any questions you have that are pertinent to their role in the future life of Boston - so don't be afraid to ask.
The full results for Boston North West on 4th June were:
Andrea Jenkyns - Conservative 463
Colin Westcott - British National Party 374 Alison Austin - Boston Bypass Independents 283
Richard Leggott - Independent 279 Pam Kenny - Labour 205
Paul Appleby - Liberal Democrat 130
Andrew Bakewell -Independent 82
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Wednesday, October 7
Who are the TRUE independents?
"Independents" these days are seldom what they seem.
There was a time when they were exactly what they proclaimed, but now, as at Boston Borough Council for instance, the independent controlling party has a distinct leadership structure.
At County Council level though, we are left a little bemused.
Lincolnshire Independents was established in July last year, and since last June's elections appears to have undergone some changes of membership.
But the issue of who's really who is not especially clear.
If you visit Lincolnshire County Council's website and seek the list of independent councillors,you are presented with the following:-Bill Aron (Horncastle & Tetford,) Chris Brewis (Sutton Elloe,) Michael Brookes (Boston Rural,) Graham Dark (Spalding South,) John Hicks (Stamford North,) Ramonde Newell (Boston West,) Marianne Overton (Branston & Navenby,) and Jim Swanson (Spilsby Fen.)But Lincolnshire Independents own list is a little different.
The same members listed are: Bill Aron, Chris Brewis, and Marianne Overton and Jim Swanson.
But it then goes on to name Boston Borough Council's leader Richard Austin as the member for Boston South - even though he lost the seat to the Conservative Paul Skinner -
Mike Williams (Grantham East) which the County Council says is represented by Conservative Paul Carpenter, Craig Leyland (Woodhall Spa) which the County Council says was held by Tory Denis Hoyes, at the last election.
The Lincolnshire Independents' list does not include Councillors Brookes, Newell, Dark, or Hicks.So it appears that the Lincolnshire Independents list is a mish-mash of elected councillors, some of whom claim allegiance with the formal party and some of whom do not, plus candidates who failed to make the grade at the elections in June.
As far as we are concerned, the only ones who matter are those who represent Boston.
Councillor Newell, for instance, claims to have opted to join the independents so as to get a coveted seat on the county's Highway's Committee - even though he was elected as a Boston Bypass Independent candidate.
Councillor Brookes, as far as we are aware, stood as an "independent" Independent, but appears on one list but not another.
We really would like some clarification on all of this, as Lincolnshire Independents (the group) will surely prove at some point to be a party with an agenda - and we think that it is important to know where Boston's elected representatives stand.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
There was a time when they were exactly what they proclaimed, but now, as at Boston Borough Council for instance, the independent controlling party has a distinct leadership structure.
At County Council level though, we are left a little bemused.
Lincolnshire Independents was established in July last year, and since last June's elections appears to have undergone some changes of membership.
But the issue of who's really who is not especially clear.
If you visit Lincolnshire County Council's website and seek the list of independent councillors,you are presented with the following:-Bill Aron (Horncastle & Tetford,) Chris Brewis (Sutton Elloe,) Michael Brookes (Boston Rural,) Graham Dark (Spalding South,) John Hicks (Stamford North,) Ramonde Newell (Boston West,) Marianne Overton (Branston & Navenby,) and Jim Swanson (Spilsby Fen.)But Lincolnshire Independents own list is a little different.
The same members listed are: Bill Aron, Chris Brewis, and Marianne Overton and Jim Swanson.
But it then goes on to name Boston Borough Council's leader Richard Austin as the member for Boston South - even though he lost the seat to the Conservative Paul Skinner -
Mike Williams (Grantham East) which the County Council says is represented by Conservative Paul Carpenter, Craig Leyland (Woodhall Spa) which the County Council says was held by Tory Denis Hoyes, at the last election.
The Lincolnshire Independents' list does not include Councillors Brookes, Newell, Dark, or Hicks.So it appears that the Lincolnshire Independents list is a mish-mash of elected councillors, some of whom claim allegiance with the formal party and some of whom do not, plus candidates who failed to make the grade at the elections in June.
As far as we are concerned, the only ones who matter are those who represent Boston.
Councillor Newell, for instance, claims to have opted to join the independents so as to get a coveted seat on the county's Highway's Committee - even though he was elected as a Boston Bypass Independent candidate.
Councillor Brookes, as far as we are aware, stood as an "independent" Independent, but appears on one list but not another.
We really would like some clarification on all of this, as Lincolnshire Independents (the group) will surely prove at some point to be a party with an agenda - and we think that it is important to know where Boston's elected representatives stand.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Tuesday, October 6
The audit? - it's impossible to figure it out!
We don't know about you, but balancing the books after a week's shopping is about as far as we get when it comes to financial calculations.That's why it's so depressing to find that whilst Boston Borough Council has published its unaudited statement of accounts online so that any of us can take a look, there's nothing much by way of explanation, so all we have are 78 pages of closely packed information and no key as to what it all means.
Perhaps this is deliberate.
At the weekend one of the heavyweight Sundays published a piece about how local authorities are using their own publications to stifle investigation and debate from their local papers.
And we feel sure that when the news of the audit reaches our local press, there will be little by way of explanation or interpretation about what it all means.
This cuts both ways.
If the borough wants to use an absence of information and interpretation as a way to bury bad news, the opposite is true where any good news is concerned.
Skimming the pages, the impression we take away is that there's more bad news than good...
A council with a net worth of £10.5 million should make a bigger surplus than a meagre £13,000. The net worth was down by £8 million on 2007/08. mainly because of the pension fund liability, which increased by £5.365 million to reflect the expected decline in the value of investments heldby the pension fund, due to the current economic climate.
A corporate restructure during the year, saw staff cuts and redundancy packages of almost £140,000.
So, we're employing fewer staff and paying them to leave, whilst at the same time topping up their pension pots by almost half of the council's current value.
And whilst staff numbers are being reduced, there are now two earning between £50 to £60 thousand compared with one a year ago, and a newcomer in the ranks earning between £80 and £90 thousand - two posts alone that almost equal last year's redundancy costs.
If this is called value for money, we're glad we don't have an account with the Bank of Boston Borough!
And whilst staff numbers are being reduced, there are now two earning between £50 to £60 thousand compared with one a year ago, and a newcomer in the ranks earning between £80 and £90 thousand - two posts alone that almost equal last year's redundancy costs.
If this is called value for money, we're glad we don't have an account with the Bank of Boston Borough!
Meanwhile, £1 million was used to pay off another debt incurred by the Boston Sports Initiative, whilst the mystery million pound loan is still on the books - despite promises to track it down and find out what it's for.
In his comments on the figures, the auditor raises questions about the council's relationship with Boston Sports Initiative - who run the Princess Royal Sports area - and whose funding from the council expired at the end of last month (we'll believe it when we see it!) as well as the Boston Area Regeneration Company.
He adds that, having regard to relevant criteria specified by the Audit Commission, he is not satisfied that, in all significant respects, Boston Borough Council made proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ending 31 March 2009 and did not put in place adequate arrangements for:
having a sound understanding of its costs and performance and achieving efficiencies in its activities;
the commissioning and procurement of quality services and supplies, tailored to local needs, to deliver
sustainable outcomes and value for money;
producing relevant and reliable data and information to support decision making and managing performance;
promoting and demonstrating the principles and values of good governance;
managing its risks and maintaining sound systems of internal control; and
planning, organising and developing its workforce effectively to support the achievement of its strategic priorities.
You can read the report by visiting http://www.boston.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=1577&Itemid
If, after doing so, you're any wiser, we'd be interested to hear your comments.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
He adds that, having regard to relevant criteria specified by the Audit Commission, he is not satisfied that, in all significant respects, Boston Borough Council made proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ending 31 March 2009 and did not put in place adequate arrangements for:
having a sound understanding of its costs and performance and achieving efficiencies in its activities;
the commissioning and procurement of quality services and supplies, tailored to local needs, to deliver
sustainable outcomes and value for money;
producing relevant and reliable data and information to support decision making and managing performance;
promoting and demonstrating the principles and values of good governance;
managing its risks and maintaining sound systems of internal control; and
planning, organising and developing its workforce effectively to support the achievement of its strategic priorities.
You can read the report by visiting http://www.boston.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=1577&Itemid
If, after doing so, you're any wiser, we'd be interested to hear your comments.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Monday, October 5
Two such different letters ...
Today sees our 300th blog - and we devote it to a look at two letters.
The first is an e-mail from Boston Borough Councillor David Owens to local MP Mark Simmonds MP, following that astonishing "swoop" on Witham Country Park which shocked many people when they saw the state of the "campsite" used by migrants living in the park.
Councillor Owens calls on Mr Simmonds to attend one of the many meetings that Boston Borough Council has been arranging, to add his support for and assistance in developing a strategy to resolve the ongoing issues relating to this problem.
"I am of the opinion that we, along with other local authorities should lobby government, in order to get a clear and definitive pathway that assists in the resolution of these challenges, additionally I expect you as the Member of Parliament for our area to take an active interest in this matter as assist in the resolution and successful conclusion of this situation," he writes.
Attached to the e-mail is an account of the most recent meeting following the clearing of the park involving - among others - the police, Department of Communities and Local Government and other Boston Borough councillors.
The ten moved on from the Witham Country Park were Russian, Latvian and Polish. Only one qualified for bed & breakfast accommodation. Most of the rest, whilst all here legally, had criminal records, with two on bail, and the police are looking into how bail was granted to people with no permanent address.
Meanwhile, the Department of Communities and Local Government has praised Boston's approach to the problem and supported the setting up of a bye-law to outlaw these sort of camps in the future - and given Boston Borough Council £10,000 to assist with this problem, and a series of actions is to be taken - including seeing how the council in nearby Peterborough deals with a similar situation.
The second letter also concerns immigration - albeit indirectly- and comes from our old friend Councillor Ramonde (Major retired or not, depending) Newell and takes the form of an information blitz following his claims at the last County Council meeting that Boston is the largest town in Lincolnshire - something that provoked laughter and shouts to the effect that this title was held by Grantham.
This time, Councillor Newell has added a few more arrows to his quiver of authority in his letter to the County Council chairman, adding the qualifications BA ACP FCIPD MCMI Cert Ed. after his name.
Phew!
"You may remember that when I spoke to the above amendment, I stated that the town of Boston (which I represent), was the largest town (in terms of its population), in the whole of the Administrative County of Lincolnshire – though it does not have an inch of bypass," he writes.
"There were a number of councillors present who were either unaware that the town of Boston had the largest population in their authority, or thought that Grantham, had a larger population. I was unable to demonstrate that Boston does indeed have a larger population, because of lack of time. Hence this, my letter.
"I give below seven 'proofs' that Boston does have the largest population in the Lincolnshire Authority. Only figures taken from a single source, which gives the population of both Boston and Grantham, have been used. The reference of these sources are given."The list contains seven website addresses, two of which are the same, and one of which doesn't connect.Although individually the list shows Boston as bigger than Grantham, looking across the figures, the smallest population for Boston is 34,420, and the largest for Grantham is 35,000. So really, the whole exercise is pointless.
Councillor Newell goes on to quote "other enormous increases" in Boston’s population - many of which relate to immigration, and others to birthrate and the high increases in houses in multiple occupation.
There then follows an unrelated blather about traffic flow in Boston and planned future road improvements. As if population size is in any way related to bypass provision.
Just to hammer his 'proofs' home, Councillor Newell has copied his letter to 74 Lincolnshire county councillors, 31 Boston Borough councillors, three officers and three local newspapers.
Two councillors.
Two letters.
One joins with others to seek solutions to problems, whilst the other obsesses on proving himself right rather than addressing the problem.
We also think that it's more than a little vain to claim to represent the town of Boston, when you are merely one of seven county councillors who between them represent the borough as a whole.
We are lost for words...
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
The first is an e-mail from Boston Borough Councillor David Owens to local MP Mark Simmonds MP, following that astonishing "swoop" on Witham Country Park which shocked many people when they saw the state of the "campsite" used by migrants living in the park.
Councillor Owens calls on Mr Simmonds to attend one of the many meetings that Boston Borough Council has been arranging, to add his support for and assistance in developing a strategy to resolve the ongoing issues relating to this problem.
"I am of the opinion that we, along with other local authorities should lobby government, in order to get a clear and definitive pathway that assists in the resolution of these challenges, additionally I expect you as the Member of Parliament for our area to take an active interest in this matter as assist in the resolution and successful conclusion of this situation," he writes.
Attached to the e-mail is an account of the most recent meeting following the clearing of the park involving - among others - the police, Department of Communities and Local Government and other Boston Borough councillors.
The ten moved on from the Witham Country Park were Russian, Latvian and Polish. Only one qualified for bed & breakfast accommodation. Most of the rest, whilst all here legally, had criminal records, with two on bail, and the police are looking into how bail was granted to people with no permanent address.
Meanwhile, the Department of Communities and Local Government has praised Boston's approach to the problem and supported the setting up of a bye-law to outlaw these sort of camps in the future - and given Boston Borough Council £10,000 to assist with this problem, and a series of actions is to be taken - including seeing how the council in nearby Peterborough deals with a similar situation.
The second letter also concerns immigration - albeit indirectly- and comes from our old friend Councillor Ramonde (Major retired or not, depending) Newell and takes the form of an information blitz following his claims at the last County Council meeting that Boston is the largest town in Lincolnshire - something that provoked laughter and shouts to the effect that this title was held by Grantham.
This time, Councillor Newell has added a few more arrows to his quiver of authority in his letter to the County Council chairman, adding the qualifications BA ACP FCIPD MCMI Cert Ed. after his name.
Phew!
"You may remember that when I spoke to the above amendment, I stated that the town of Boston (which I represent), was the largest town (in terms of its population), in the whole of the Administrative County of Lincolnshire – though it does not have an inch of bypass," he writes.
"There were a number of councillors present who were either unaware that the town of Boston had the largest population in their authority, or thought that Grantham, had a larger population. I was unable to demonstrate that Boston does indeed have a larger population, because of lack of time. Hence this, my letter.
"I give below seven 'proofs' that Boston does have the largest population in the Lincolnshire Authority. Only figures taken from a single source, which gives the population of both Boston and Grantham, have been used. The reference of these sources are given."The list contains seven website addresses, two of which are the same, and one of which doesn't connect.Although individually the list shows Boston as bigger than Grantham, looking across the figures, the smallest population for Boston is 34,420, and the largest for Grantham is 35,000. So really, the whole exercise is pointless.
Councillor Newell goes on to quote "other enormous increases" in Boston’s population - many of which relate to immigration, and others to birthrate and the high increases in houses in multiple occupation.
There then follows an unrelated blather about traffic flow in Boston and planned future road improvements. As if population size is in any way related to bypass provision.
Just to hammer his 'proofs' home, Councillor Newell has copied his letter to 74 Lincolnshire county councillors, 31 Boston Borough councillors, three officers and three local newspapers.
Two councillors.
Two letters.
One joins with others to seek solutions to problems, whilst the other obsesses on proving himself right rather than addressing the problem.
We also think that it's more than a little vain to claim to represent the town of Boston, when you are merely one of seven county councillors who between them represent the borough as a whole.
We are lost for words...
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Friday, October 2
Week ending 2nd October
Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Wilting red rose ... We always thought that politics was not a place for the unduly sensitive - but Boston's prospective parliamentary Labour candidate Paul Kenny seems determined to prove us wrong. Not content with ousting Andrea Jenkyns as Conservative county councillor for Boston North West, he then silenced borough Tory councillor Myles Larrington's blog by formally complaining about an item he wrote. Now he's decided to take offence at remarks in another Conservative councillor's blog, and is again using the formal complaints procedure as his weapon of choice. The latest offender is Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, who, we are happy to say, seems determined not to be intimidated. Fortunately, Boston Eye is immune to formal complaints procedures, so we can say how bemused we are at the way Paul Kenny alternates between being a Labour attack dog to criticise other politicians, but adopts the injured innocence of a wounded member of the public when his victims bite back. We would expect him to be bigger than this, and hope that Boston's Standards Committee will treat these frivolous complaints with the contempt they deserve.
Video nasty ... Is Councillor Ramonde (Major retired or not, depending) alone in thinking that his performance at Lincolnshire County Council a fortnight ago was disastrous, embarrassing and a classic example of how not to deliver a speech? Apparently. Rather than keeping quiet, we hear that he read out his epistle at the last Cabinet meeting, and started to do the same at last Monday's full council meeting. Fortunately, he was prevented from going on for too long, but not before he had told the council and members of the public how he was standing up for Boston and that you could view his speech on the County Council WebCam, giving details of where to find it etc ... Even the Mayor was forced to intervene …
First off the blocks ... Boston North West Conservative candidate Andrea Jenkyns e-mails to say that her blog is now in campaign mode, after our report that said the electronic hustings seemed lacklustre rater than lustrous. That's one step ahead of the opposition, but her main campaign site is still devoted to her resignation rather than anything more positive. Still, Lib Dem wannabe Mike Sheridan-Shinn continues to regale us with news from the party conference on 22nd September ... Lloyd George knew my father etc, etc ....
Insult-ans of spin ... What is it that Lincolnshire County Council has against Boston? A press release this week trumpets the delights of two new bus services between Boston and Lincoln, and Boston and Spalding. Among the benefits, the county's Principal Transport Officer Paul Harvey, says: “These new Sunday services will provide improved access for shopping, especially during Christmas and the sales ....." As ever, Boston Eye reads between the lines, and sees this as an invitation from a Lincoln-based council to the people of Boston to spend their money in Lincoln and Spalding in the run-up to Christmas. It's all we need, isn't it? Someone going to this amount of trouble to lure spenders out of town at such a critical time of year. Once again we can thank Brylaine Travel for providing the transport. It seems they're not simply content with ruining the ambiance of Strait Bargate. Now they want to help ruin any chance the town has for prosperity as well.
Here there be tygers ... An unexpected fall-out from Boston's decision not to merge services with South Holland and East Lindsey district councils has to be the question of where the new merged office will be located. South Holland is headquartered in Spalding, and East Lindsey at Manby. The distance between the two is almost 50 miles and a drive of well over an hour. Had Boston decided to play, the borough would have provided a convenient central point for a new merged office. We will be interested to see how this geographic handicap will be overcome. We fancy Stickney as the new hub!
Top of the cops ... Lincolnshire Police go from strength to strength in topping the league tables. Not long ago they headed the list of forces in whom the public felt least confidence. Now they have recorded the highest increase in complaint cases in the country. The Independent Police Complaints Commission revealed this week that the force considered 383 complaints in the last year - a rise of 46% on the previous year. The average increase in complaint cases across the country was 8%. A total of 722 allegations - 66% up on the previous year - were recorded against the force last year. Most of the allegations - 26% - related to neglect or failure in duty, with slightly less - 21% - about incivility, impoliteness and intolerance, and another 8% related to assault. Perhaps we were wrong to criticise our police for hiding in their offices, or holding "surgeries" in local supermarkets rather than "pounding the beat." It seems that we're a lot better off when they do!
Still counting ... another week goes by, and Borough Council's Dear Leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin clings to the inaccurate claim on the Lincolnshire Independents' website that he represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. It is now 17 weeks since 4th June, when he lost his former seat to Conservative Paul Skinner.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Wilting red rose ... We always thought that politics was not a place for the unduly sensitive - but Boston's prospective parliamentary Labour candidate Paul Kenny seems determined to prove us wrong. Not content with ousting Andrea Jenkyns as Conservative county councillor for Boston North West, he then silenced borough Tory councillor Myles Larrington's blog by formally complaining about an item he wrote. Now he's decided to take offence at remarks in another Conservative councillor's blog, and is again using the formal complaints procedure as his weapon of choice. The latest offender is Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, who, we are happy to say, seems determined not to be intimidated. Fortunately, Boston Eye is immune to formal complaints procedures, so we can say how bemused we are at the way Paul Kenny alternates between being a Labour attack dog to criticise other politicians, but adopts the injured innocence of a wounded member of the public when his victims bite back. We would expect him to be bigger than this, and hope that Boston's Standards Committee will treat these frivolous complaints with the contempt they deserve.
Video nasty ... Is Councillor Ramonde (Major retired or not, depending) alone in thinking that his performance at Lincolnshire County Council a fortnight ago was disastrous, embarrassing and a classic example of how not to deliver a speech? Apparently. Rather than keeping quiet, we hear that he read out his epistle at the last Cabinet meeting, and started to do the same at last Monday's full council meeting. Fortunately, he was prevented from going on for too long, but not before he had told the council and members of the public how he was standing up for Boston and that you could view his speech on the County Council WebCam, giving details of where to find it etc ... Even the Mayor was forced to intervene …
First off the blocks ... Boston North West Conservative candidate Andrea Jenkyns e-mails to say that her blog is now in campaign mode, after our report that said the electronic hustings seemed lacklustre rater than lustrous. That's one step ahead of the opposition, but her main campaign site is still devoted to her resignation rather than anything more positive. Still, Lib Dem wannabe Mike Sheridan-Shinn continues to regale us with news from the party conference on 22nd September ... Lloyd George knew my father etc, etc ....
Insult-ans of spin ... What is it that Lincolnshire County Council has against Boston? A press release this week trumpets the delights of two new bus services between Boston and Lincoln, and Boston and Spalding. Among the benefits, the county's Principal Transport Officer Paul Harvey, says: “These new Sunday services will provide improved access for shopping, especially during Christmas and the sales ....." As ever, Boston Eye reads between the lines, and sees this as an invitation from a Lincoln-based council to the people of Boston to spend their money in Lincoln and Spalding in the run-up to Christmas. It's all we need, isn't it? Someone going to this amount of trouble to lure spenders out of town at such a critical time of year. Once again we can thank Brylaine Travel for providing the transport. It seems they're not simply content with ruining the ambiance of Strait Bargate. Now they want to help ruin any chance the town has for prosperity as well.
Here there be tygers ... An unexpected fall-out from Boston's decision not to merge services with South Holland and East Lindsey district councils has to be the question of where the new merged office will be located. South Holland is headquartered in Spalding, and East Lindsey at Manby. The distance between the two is almost 50 miles and a drive of well over an hour. Had Boston decided to play, the borough would have provided a convenient central point for a new merged office. We will be interested to see how this geographic handicap will be overcome. We fancy Stickney as the new hub!
Top of the cops ... Lincolnshire Police go from strength to strength in topping the league tables. Not long ago they headed the list of forces in whom the public felt least confidence. Now they have recorded the highest increase in complaint cases in the country. The Independent Police Complaints Commission revealed this week that the force considered 383 complaints in the last year - a rise of 46% on the previous year. The average increase in complaint cases across the country was 8%. A total of 722 allegations - 66% up on the previous year - were recorded against the force last year. Most of the allegations - 26% - related to neglect or failure in duty, with slightly less - 21% - about incivility, impoliteness and intolerance, and another 8% related to assault. Perhaps we were wrong to criticise our police for hiding in their offices, or holding "surgeries" in local supermarkets rather than "pounding the beat." It seems that we're a lot better off when they do!
Still counting ... another week goes by, and Borough Council's Dear Leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin clings to the inaccurate claim on the Lincolnshire Independents' website that he represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. It is now 17 weeks since 4th June, when he lost his former seat to Conservative Paul Skinner.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Thursday, October 1
"Leadership at fault for merger plan collapse"
Boston's failure to agree to merge back office services is due to a failure to communicate, says a senior member of the Better Boston Group.
Councillor Brian Rush slams "childish selective sharing of information ... " and
"The Leader`s desire for personal glory hunting and self promotion"
Dear Boston Eye,
The refusal to join the proposal for merged services has a lot to do with whether we are ready for it or not.
One would be forgiven for thinking that we as a council have been sitting around on our spongy bits, doing nothing to progress this project - and to a degree one would be right.
I'll return to this later..
It is a fact that both South Holland and East Lindsey District Councils appear to have confidence in the merged services vision.
No doubt both their groups of councillors have been able to evaluate the impact of the potential savings that can be made, and only a fool would be unable to see that there must be value in pursuing such aspiration.
Although I am hesitant to believe that one can cut staff, relocate administration, resulting in an upgrade of service level, and enhance quality of front line services, all at the same time, if it works then it really is a great trick.
A trick that is influenced by a couple of factors - one being, if existing services are over expensive and unsatisfactory, it could of course be the quality of staff that delivers the service.
So in order to rectify such a situation, a cleansing process must be carried out (this will be at a cost!) It was also logical that the first tranche of services selected by the three partners were administrative in flavour - Information Technology, Revenues and Benefits, Human Resources, Finance, and Customer Services - simply because they are the most transferable.
But bins, grass cutting, and crematoria etc ...?
All a bit physical, or constructional, so they don`t transfer too easily.
Or it could be that executive roles in management are not good enough. Maybe even perimeters and expectation are either too high or too low, or flawed in purpose and design. Maybe the best savings would be found here.
I'll vote for that.
In any case, whatever the problems, with effort, thought and proper evaluation, they can be overcome.
And I guess, or hope, that South Holland and East Lindsey, have the expertise and desire to make merged services a raging success. I am somewhat disappointed, but not surprised, that we as an authority could not be part of a project that has the potential to deliver improvements of municipal services to our 'Boroughfolk' -but the decision was the right one, and now I will tell you why.
It must be understood that if you really want to be a progressive, dynamic organisation, then it is vital that all those involved are committed, and all those committed are involved.
If a particular product or vision is to stand any hope of success then a team must be built that are capable of pursuing a clear and calculated result. That team must be based on trust.
In order to turn the vision to reality there must be a complete absence of 'private personal agendas.'
They have to want to deliver, know why they are delivering, then, how they will deliver, and embrace and utilise every skill and resource that is available to them to do so. It is a fact that discussions between the three authorities began many months ago, and regular meetings took place thereafter, options investigated, plans evaluated, course set.
So what went wrong?
The 'C' word -- communication.
The usual childish selective sharing of information was adopted.
The Leader's desire for personal glory hunting and self promotion would, as always, cloud important issues that concerned Boston in the proposal.
Star Chamber members of his ruling group would as usual, unquestioningly stand united; less important members would be fed pure rhetoric, thereby keeping all on board.
Opposition Members, huh! They would be to a large degree isolated.
And Boston would lose.
The original path of direction had been set by the former Chief Executive and Councillor Austin, and despite the warning bells ringing loud and clear, he would, as always, stay loyal to Mr Gallagher, as he did till the eleventh hour.
Then the divorce took place!
Lack of readily available finances, low performance levels, flawed decision making, and doubtful managerial skills. Lack of leadership and direction etc, etc. Audit Commission, Government Office for the East Midlands ....
Suddenly a change of Chief Executive personality and mind set, and the course of direction was re-examined.
The now misdirected Leader, became instilled by a furiosity to realign and catch up; now he wanted to communicate, but the opposing team were playing away, even some of his own Bypassers.
Now I wonder if he will be dropping in for a coffee at South Holland or East Lindsey any time soon, and will he be welcomed.
Doubt it!
Councillor Brian Rush
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
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