Pioneers among the borough bloggers

We wrote yesterday about the need for local councillors to start a blog to keep in touch with voters at both borough and ward level.
As far as we knew then (see Late News, below,) only one member of Boston Borough Council did this - Conservative Councillor Raymond Singleton McGuire.
Well, there's a sort of exception in the form of Council Leader Richard Austin, who posted a test message on the Lincolnshire Independents' site on 12th August 2006, and another one on 8th May 2008 - a total of five words in the better part of three years. Samuel Pepys has nothing to fear from this man, who strangely remains listed as the Independent county councillor for Boston South - although the current incumbent may well have a view on that claim.
By contrast Councillor Singleton McGuire's blog is awash with information and opinion, and has published many letters about the Geoff Moulder Leisure Centre.
Other items on his blog include the "sensational moment" at last week's full council when the Deputy Leader Peter Jordan apparently declared that Boston Borough Council was virtually bankrupt!
Elsewhere he hits out at Councillor Austin's comments to the papers about why he commissioned the report into BARC - the Boston Area Regeneration Company - publishing on his blog his letter of reply, which says: "Councillor Austin frequently mentions that both himself, together with his Bypass Party are working together with other Councillors for the better of Boston and I quote…'Our hope is to work with councillors to improve services for the people of Boston, which is at the end of the day the most important thing and the reason why we were all elected’ I feel Councillor Austin’s article to be contemptuous and does little for a working partnership. It is a shame that Councillor Austin preaches such endearing qualities but fails to put them into practice. Sadly, this is yet another ‘showcase’ of political showmanship by Councillor Austin, and therefore let me inform your readers of the facts...."
There is positive action as well.

We can see from the blog that a letter to members of the borough cabinet highlighting the stresses being put on the Revenues and Benefits department by the recession helped lead to the creation of two extra posts in each department.
This is what the public wants to see - a councillor who is doing something and keeping the voters in the picture.
Doubtless many of his colleagues feel that Councillor Singleton-McGuire should not be blogging, and probably give him the cold shoulder as a result. We would go further and say they would probably like to ban his writings if they could.
But a council is not private club whose rules and activities are for members only, and whose decisions are kept as remote from the general public as possible.
Councilor Singleton-McGuire told Boston Eye: "There is nothing on my blog that the public cannot hear or see for themselves if they attend the meetings. All I am doing is bringing the council meeting to their front room and giving them a voice if they want to reply in the comfort of their own home. Times have changed, and technology has moved on, all I'm doing is keeping pace. My views are with, and of the public and should not to be embargoed or suppressed. I allow freedom of speech and would not publish anything that I would not say in person. With a blog I can do exactly that and let everyone know I've said it at the same time.

"There are of course matters that fall under the Information Act and I respect that confidentially."

Well said.
So come on councillors, fire up your PCs and laptops and get blogging. You owe it to your electors.
You can read Councillor Singleton McGuire's blog here http://www.smgblog.co.uk/
Late news. After this piece had been written, we heard of a second Boston Borough Council blogger. He is newly elected Conservative Councillor Myles Larrington, and although he says his blog doesn't contain much yet, he hopes shortly to post some information on last week's meeting of the full council.

Councillor Larrington's blog can be found at http://myleslarrington.wordpress.com/

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Why councillors should blog

One of the mountains of surveys currently on offer to the Boston public from the borough council asks whether people would like to see webcasts of council meetings.
In one way it's a good idea because it brings transparency to the murky world of local government, acting as an open door to the stuffy council chamber.
But in another sense it's not so good because it would encourage the prima donnas among the membership, and dissuade the shy members (and there are some) from speaking out.
But transparency is still needed. and in our electronic age, a blog is much better.
It gives our representatives a human face, rather than merely being members of "the council" - that homogenised brew of parties and personalities that always gets the blame and is never given the credit.
It's also possible for councillors to nail their colours to the mast - on council issues overall, and also things specific to their wards.
This way both the ward electorate and the broader swathe of voters can see what Councillor X thinks about issues - and more importantly, what he/she is prepared to do about them.
Tomorrow, we'll be looking at one such blog (and as far as we know, the only blog produced by a member of Boston Borough Council) and see how it's possible to inform and encourage local debate.
It also brings into the public domain issues that might otherwise go unreported - let's not forget that our local papers aren't as exhaustive in the coverage of local government as they should be.
It's an example that we think more councillors should follow.
PS - if we're wrong and there is more than one blogger at Worst Street, please let us know, and we'll place a link to it.


You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

That's cleared the air then!

The "suspicious" package which led to an RAF Coningsby's parade parade through Boston being cancelled on Thursday turned out to be a phone box air freshener.
A bomb disposal team exploded the black BT device, which was spotted in a 'phone box in Market Place, member of the public.
BT said air fresheners had been installed in enclosed phone boxes for years without problems.
A spokesman said: "Unfortunately neither the police nor the Bomb Disposal Team recognised what it was. It was something we'd never encountered before."
Aren't our police wonderful!

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 26th June

Congratulations to Borough and County Councillor Peter Bedford on his election as Vice Chairman of Lincolnshire County Council. We're sure he'll make an excellent ambassador for the county.
Why did you bother? award goes to the Boston Standard for its text and web poll on whether to keep the Geoff Moulder training pool open. Had they forgotten that the only acceptable polls are the "official" ones, as Boston Council leader Richard "Papa" Doc Austin decreed after a Better Boston Group poll showed a huge majority against Into Town buses using Strait Bargate as a rat run. Ten out of ten to the paper for the idea but 158 out of 160 votes in favour is nowhere nearly convincing enough for the respected and beloved leader.
Better late than never award earns Council Leader Richard Austin his second name-check of the day. Almost as if the letters in the press of the past two weeks have at last struck a chord, he finally got round to thanking voters who supported the BBI at the not-so-recent elections. "The results do not change our representation at the county council (are you sure? Ed) or Boston Borough Council," he limply declares, "so the electorate can rest assured that we will continue to persue (sic) our manifesto policies." Rest assured? Wake up screaming, more likely! The man can find light at the end of the darkest tunnel.
Saints be praised award of the week goes to the entry in Boston Borough Council's Annual report which celebrates among its achievements the "Official opening of St Joseph Banks Country Park." Until now the only Saint Joseph we could find was the husband of the Virgin Mary and step-father of Jesus. Still, there's always room for one more, and it's nice to see a local boy done good! For those not in the know (and there's at least one person at Worst Street who wrote it and several others who failed to check and correct it) it's Sir Joseph Banks....
Court listing under the strain award ..... Looking through the weekly parade of miscreants, we were struck forcibly by the number of traditional old Lincolnshire names among the defendants. Names such as Spychala, Marsdiewicz, Stepanovs, Malinak, Pilsniak, Pawlak, Radwan and Kaicdenko. Thirteen cases, eight such names. Surely there's a message here for the local social services and others on how to reduce the level of crime in Boston. From the evidence, it mostly seems to be down to drink and drug abuse. Address that, and last week's court list would have been halved. Oh yes, and when a defendant complains that community service is too much like hard work, and asks for a fine instead, it would be a good idea if the court refused rather than complied. It's called punishment.
Request stop. The Into Town buses would have been banned from using Strait Bargate yesterday whilst RAF Coningsby marched through the town to commemorate being awarded the Freedom of the Borough more than 65 years ago. If we had our way they'd be welcome every day. As it happened, a false alarm over a "suspicious package" in a phone box led to the parade being cancelled. Either way, the buses managed without their rat run, as they did during the week of the May Fair, so perhaps their use of the pedestrian precinct isn't quite as vital as the BBI-wash would have us believe.
Double entendre of the week award goes to the Boston Standard for this cutting. You'll get it or you won't. If you don't please don't write and ask.




You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

A rose by any other name is just as smelly!

So at the end of the day, it's all down to words and definitions.
Whilst he couldn't be bothered to answer Boston Eye's politely repeated enquiries, Councillor Ramonde Newell has told the Boston Standard the reason why the name of the Boston Bypass Independents has disappeared from the list of parties represented on Lincolnshire County Council.
He says he has banded together with other independent members so as to have "a greater stake in the political process at county level."
"What I wanted to do was get on the Highways committee. If I remained as a singleton it would have been impossible."
Councillor Newell was at pains to stress he was not collaborating with a party, but a group.
And this is where words and definitions come into play.
The thesaurus treats the words "party" and "group" as interchangeable
The county council allocates committee seats in proportion to the number of councillors in each party.
It also defines the grouping of independents which includes Councillor Newell as a political party.
Many of those listed in the "group" are members of Lincolnshire Independents, whose political manifesto declares that "they seek to represent their communities directly and thus close communication is important ... local needs consultation is more important ... Independents are elected on their own merit and thus tend to be closely in touch with their communities, committed to supporting them in many ways."
Based on that, we don't somehow see them rallying round to support Boston's claim for a bypass, when they will individually have other more specifically local issues to address.
As you might expect, none of this seems to bother Councillor Newell unduly.
His sleight of hand with terminology has achieved his hoped-for position on the council’s Highways Transport and Technology Scrutiny Committee.
"It means a great deal,” he told the Standard. "That’s what it was always about. The committee that makes decisions on Boston’s road structure is the highways committee."
All very fine, but he has ten other members of that committee to persuade, and it will be interesting to hear what, if anything, he has to say at his first meeting on 20th July.
The rest of the committee comprises three members from Lincoln and two from Grantham, one from Gainsborough,Stamford, Deeping St James and Wainfleet, plus another Boston councillor, Raymond Singleton-McGuire.
The fact that the chairman represents Wainfleet might help or hinder the Boston cause, as to support our by-pass bid could be seen as favouritism.But, ever-confident, Councillor Newell is setting his sights beyond just his fellow indies and Highways Committee members.
"I’m hoping to convince all 77 members of Lincolnshire County Council that Boston deserves a bypass," he says.
We won't hold our breath.
All we know is that politically, the name of the BBI is nowhere on the roll-call of parties at County Hall and wonder whether, as time goes by, the deal will have turned out to be worth it.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Do you like gardening? - then tell us your inside leg measurement!

It's being billed as our chance to help shape the future of Boston.
With the catchy title of "Your involvement in local decision making and the work of the Council - a questionnaire, " the quiz is just one of ten currently open consultations that the rate paying punters can complete.
But how much use is a survey like this?
Questions such as "Do you feel involved in making local decisions?" invariably invite the answer "no," and frankly, there seems little that can be done to change that state of affairs.
One that really caught our eye was the question "Would you like council meetings to be webcast?"
We think that this would be an excellent idea, as it offers a real opportunity to see our council in action - or otherwise.
Imagine being able to see first hand how our elected representatives discuss, debate and vote on important local issues.
Somehow, we think that even if the public wanted to see them in action, our councillors would not. Don't hold your breath waiting for this piece of local democracy to happen as it does with Lincolnshire County Council.
And whilst public consultation is important, we get the feeling that Boston Borough Council does it because it's cheap, easy and it makes them look good.
But a lot of the questionnaires seem merely to pay lip service to the search for public opinion.
Not only that, but every survey ends with more than a dozen "Corporate Monitoring Form" equal opportunities questions.
These questions are so detailed, and so intrusive (although there is the option to elect not to answer) that we get the feeling that the answers to this section are of more interest to the council than the purported survey.
After the usual questions about age, sex, ethnicity, and disability we move on to religion where it's possible to declare yourself without a religion, or to check one of eight boxes for popular religions, or if that isn't enough, to declare "any other religion or belief. Religions on offer include Jain - which for the uninitiated is an ancient Indian religion that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation to achieve liberation of the soul. We doubt that this box gets ticked very often in Boston.Oh, and let's not forget sexuality. You can choose from bisexual, gay man, gay woman/lesbian, heterosexual/straight, or tantalisingly "other (please specify below if you wish.")
If you're still in doubt, then the question "do you identify as transgender?" might be the one for you and if you answer yes, you're asked to indicate "which gender you live, or want to live in full-time."
Let's not forget that this is supposed to be a survey about your involvement in local decision making and the work of the council - but these self same questions are asked if you complete all the other surveys ... even down to the garden waste collection survey.
If anyone can tell us the connection between composting, religion and sexuality, we'd be pleased to hear it.
Any survey that seeks to gauge public opinion to improve the way that councils interact with the voters is helpful - but is all this peripheral stuff really necessary? It reeks of political correctness more than anything else.
And in our heart of hearts, we wonder whether - if this week were not "Consultation Week" - the borough would be that concerned about seeking our views. Surely, if they're that valuable and worth hearing, they're worth hearing all year round - not just for one week only.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

End this "Independent" myth

We wonder just how much longer the Boston Bypass Independents can continue to maintain the myth that they're nothing more more than a group of independent councillors united by the common call for a bypass for the town.
They've clung to this unlikely claim every time they are accused of high handed activity, and are doing so once again in the latest row over the filling of committee positions by opposition parties.
The opposition has reacted in a forceful way - by refusing to take up any roles as chairman or vice chairman of committees in protest. Good for them.
Council leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin is quoted as saying that the opposition was offered five out of seven chairman and vice chairman posts available to them.
"As a group of independents we are sorry to hear of the stance taken by the opposition. Our hope is to work with councillors to improve services for the people of Boston, which is at the end of the day the most important thing and the reason why we were all elected."
That all sounds very fine, but the leader's words are somewhat tarnished by the recent comments of his deputy Peter Jordan who attacked the Better Boston Group's opposition to the use of Strait Bargate by the Into Town bus service and asked: "Why is the Better Boston Group voting against the continuation of the traffic order in a recorded vote at the last Boston Borough Council meeting when the service is clearly better for Boston Borough Council?"
Not the people then?
We've said it before, and we'll say it again, you cannot have a council of "independents" when it operates a structure which has a leader, a deputy, portfolio holders and all the other fol-de-rol.
George Orwell said it in a nutshell in "Animal Farm" when he wrote the memorable phrase "all animals are equal ... but some animals are more equal than others."
In Orwell's book, the animals were pigs, but in the case of the BBI the more appropriate quadrupeds are sheep, for the rank and file members of the party do exactly what is demanded of them by their leaders. So much for independence.
Let's not forget that the core of the problem which has led to the stance taken by the opposition councillors on Boston Borough Council was a BBI attempt to block the nomination of two former party, who fell out with the leadership and set up another party.
Such petty spitefulness is quite despicable, and not what we expect from mature elected councillors who claim to have the interests of the people at heart.
In fact the whole thing smacks of self-interest rather than the opposite.
It really is time for the BBI to grow up, and for the rank and file membership to act with a truly independent voice rather than follow orders from the leadership in such a slavish fashion.
Or perhaps they are too scared?


You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Has a major change at County Hall left BBI without a voice?

Do the Boston Bypass Independents have a voice at County Hall any longer?
That's the question of the week after an apparent change of party affiliation by the only BBI member to get elected at the polls on Thursday 4th June.
A sharp-eyed reader of Boston Eye wrote to say that Lincolnshire County Council's website information on local councillors now lists Councillor Ramonde Newell as an Independent, although immediately after election day the result was plain for all to see.

And the county's breakdown of the new look council showed Councillor Newell as the sole BBI member seated among the 60 strong Tory group.
However, a look at the site on Friday now lists him as Independent under his personal entry - not only that but he now styles himself "Councillor Major Ray Newell," rather than Major (Ret'd) which he has previously adopted on occasion.

Look still further, and you will find the entry that we published at the weekend when we searched the "Find your county councillor" section by party. A search under Boston Bypass Independents produces the message "There are no elected councillors for that party."

However, a search under Independents finds Councillor Newell listed among the eight Independent councillors elected - true independents and also members of the Lincolnshire Independents, who still list Boston Borough Council Leader Richard Austin among their members as the "Independent County Councillor for Boston South" - even though he lost his seat at the recent election.
So, what on earth is going on?
The correspondent who drew our attention to the change of affiliation is very angry at what appears to have happened.
"This does make one think that democracy has gone way out of line in Boston. Here we have a candidate standing as a BBI candidate, and as soon as he is elected, changes his party.
"This is different (slightly) from situations like Richard Austin, who never actually changed his standing at Lincolnshire County Council from BBI (as I understand) although he was Treasurer of the Independent party. For someone to stand as a rep of one party and change immediately elected is contrary to his manifesto. OK, I know the BBI immediately went back on their manifesto when elected but this is a major scam on the electorate.
"There were only eleven votes between Cpouncillor Newell and Paul Mould (the Conservative candidate.)
"If Councillor Newell had stood as an Independent maybe the result would have been different.
"What if someone had stood as Conservative or Independent and immediately elected changed to BNP? There would have been a public outcry.
"I am certainly not amused by this latest piece of 'fixing' by the BBI."
Another reader asked Lincolnshire County Council's Democratic Services department if they could explain how it is apparently possible to switch parties, but they referred him to Councillor Newell for comment.
We e-mailed Councillor Newell on Thursday morning with just such a request, and sent a follow-up e-mail again on Friday morning.
So far he has not responded.
Some explaining needs to be done, but whether it will be seems very unlikely.
Can you shed any light about what's going on?

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Is BBI no longer represented at County Hall?

Do the Boston Bypass Independents no longer have a place on Lincolnshire County Council?

It looks that way if the screenshot from Lincolnshire County Council's website (above) is right.
Find out more on Monday's Boston Eye blog








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 19th June

Living in the past award of the week. We often report on the shortcomings of the Boston Borough Council website - though not as often as we could. Sometimes, the errors and omissions are corrected, sometimes they aren't. The latest that we've spotted is in the shopping guide to Pescod Square, which we are told: "boasts a wide range of top high street names including Next, HMV, Ottakars, Officers Club and Costa Coffee. The centrepiece of the square is the charming and historic medieval Pescod Hall. Pescod Hall is now home to designer label ladies store Esprit, their first store outside of London, and it is proving a huge success." Not so huge that it didn't close down quite some while ago - whilst Ottakars was taken over by HMV and its name changed to Waterstone's three years ago.
Leap of faith award goes to borough council leader Richard Austin, who reckons that occupancy of Boston Enterprise Centre on Enterprise Park will surge from a meagre 17% to a stonking 75% - equivalent to 26 more tenants joining the eight who are already there. However, just in case, he reminds us that the previous administration approved the budget and revenue implications of the centre. It's called having your cake and eating it. This whole concept has been a flop which has largely seen solely local firms relocate from expensive in-town accommodation to tailor made accommodation at rock bottom prices.
Squeaky clean award of the week goes to local MP Mark Simmonds, whose expenses are now available online along with every other member of the House of Commons. One of the few things that stood out among his incidental expenses provision which is for "costs incurred in the course of an MP's duty" was a claim for numerous copies of Decanter - "the world's best wine magazine." Still, given the mood in Westminster these days, the poor man probably needs a glass or two after work to drown his sorrows!
Here we go again award of the week. The news that the former Woolworth store in Strait Bargate is to reopen under the QD brand fills us with indifference. Yet another "bargain" store. For bargain, read cheap. Don't we have enough of these types of shop? With one or two exceptions, Boston's shopping "scene" is far too downmarket. Oh yes! And what's happening the the Merchants Quay project - which remains scheduled to open in 2012 despite the dwindling amount of time available in which to build it. Still with QD, the fact that 600 desperate people queued for hours for the chance of one of 25 jobs is yet another sign of the underlying malaise that is engulfing Boston.
Nought out of ten award goes to "local educationalists" following the news that parts of Boston are among the worst in the country for school leavers likely to go to university. Now we hear that they have promised to take action. So they also get our closing the stable door award of the week as well.
For our Let your imagine run riot on what happened next award we thank the writer of the Operation Fusion diary of Lincolnshire Police's clampdown on drugs. "Officers seized a quantity of suspected amphetamine, along with a plastic bag of a very fine white substance." Picture the scene. "Very fine indeed Inspector, would you like a toot as well, sergeant....."
Stating the obvious award of the week goes to the Boston Target for the headline -"Figures reveal the size of our obesity problem."

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Saying it with grass ... not flowers

We mentioned lightheartedly the other day the frenzy of activity on the A52 roundabout ahead of the visit by the Princess Royal, who would most likely drive past it on her visit to Boston Stump.
That roundabout carries a sign marking it out as part of the Boston in Bloom project, which sadly seems to have all but faded away in recent years.
Our picture above shows one of the two former flower beds near the town's post office.
If we were the company named on the sign, we'd take steps to get it removed as soon as possible.
Boston in Bloom once went a long way towards brightening up many parts of the town, bringing much needed cheer to areas that might otherwise remain dull and uninspiring.
We note that Boston BID is supporting Boston In Bloom this year and is promising jam tomorrow, or perhaps the day after. Whilst their support is welcome, it seems to be yet another example of a job that used to be done by the borough council being shuffled off on to the private sector. Not only that, but BID seems to be talking only about hanging baskets - not digging up these vast grassed cemetery style areas that were once to be crammed with flowers.
Certainly, Boston needs a few more flowers around the place. We noted the departure of some well established rose beds in Central Park some while ago, and hope that this is not the start of a policy to cut down on flowers in order to save money.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Cheap labour is diet for Staples

The issue of flooding is one that won't go away.
We raised it a few days ago and reminded readers that Boston is allegedly at the heart of a major flood risk area.
We made the point that huge chunks of Boston said to be at risk from flooding have never seen a drop of water, and called for negotiation between the Environment Agency and insurers to try to lighten up on home owners and businesses who are being unnecessarily penalised for a non-existent danger.
However, there are areas where flooding still occurs, which is why it's important that planners listen to the Environment Agency when they offer their opinion on such matters.
So it was surprising to learn that plans to house almost 250 migrant workers in a caravan "village" in Wrangle have been approved despite the EA's description of the site as "a very evident flood risk."
The application was made by Staples, a local firm of vegetable producers, which apparently prefers to employ eastern European "students" under the government Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
It says local workers are hard to find and that those provided by local gangmasters are also less reliable than those taken on under SAWS.
But to us, SAWS sounds more like a cheap way to employ staff and then send them packing after six months.
According to the government's UK Border Agency, SAWS allows UK farmers and growers to recruit low-skilled overseas workers solely from Bulgaria or Romania at the Agricultural Minimum Wage for a maximum of six months.
No mention is made of these people being students.
For full details of the scheme see http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/eea/saws/
But back to the flooding issue.
Staples managing director dismissed the flood risk claim by saying that it was "a once in 200 year event."
This of course is meaningless.
Once in 200 years could mean that the site could flood tomorrow.
Couple this with the information on yesterday's blog concerning Boston Borough Council's poor record on provision for people made homeless in emergency situations, and we wonder how the powers that be would cope with a flood next week that threw 250 people out on the street.
It beggars belief that an application like this can go through almost on the nod.
In a nutshell, the council has opted to approve an application that militates against the indigenous workforce in favour of a group that will impose extra strain on the local infrastructure, particularly the NHS, and also putting that group at work in an area where they could face danger in the event of a flood.
Just to save a local company (we can't call it a local "employer") a few quid in wages.
Ten out of ten once again for Boston Borough Council. We wonder whether anyone checked on the so-called "student" status of the proposed workforce, as it received no mention in the SAWS information.
It's no wonder that local people don't want these jobs.
Most of them want more than the £5.73 an hour that these European workers will receive - UNLESS they are aged 18-21, when they will receive £4.77.
We feel sure that the only problem with the gangmaster system, which has served local farmers well for decades, is that it's no longer cheap enough for the likes of companies like Staples.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Fudging the facts yet again

We wrote yesterday of the attempts by the BBI to gild the lily of its defeat at the county and local elections.
Now they're at it again, trying to make a silk purse from a sow's ear of a report by the Audit Commission in January this year.
According to the borough's irrepressibly boring website: "Action to improve Boston Borough Council’s strategic housing service is underway following an inspection by the Audit Commission."
The press release goes on to say that Audit Commission inspectors found that the borough council needed to have a greater focus on customers and service standards and reduce the time taken to process housing grants.
They also highlighted areas where the council needed to carry out more work with private sector landlords to increase housing options and ensure it was addressing the needs of everyone in the community.
The handout goes on: "The report also highlighted strengths, which included: providing a good range of easily accessible information and advice, the council’s work on providing housing advice, its work on preventing homelessness, and that an above average number of high-quality affordable homes are being built in the borough."
Councillor Brenda Owen, Cabinet member for housing at Boston Borough Council said: “It is pleasing to see that the inspector has recognised that the council is committed to improving its strategic housing service and found that there is “strong leadership and a clear vision” from the Leader, Cabinet, Chief Executive and the Housing and Property Manager. Resources are tight but we are committed to improving housing and giving the people of Boston value for money services that meet their needs. Of course the judgement is disappointing, but I am confident that actions already planned will help to improve the service for people in our community. There are a number of areas that we will be focussing on in the short term and we will be working hard to make the improvements the inspectors have highlighted as quickly as possible.”
It all sounds pretty good, doesn't it? - or at worst damning with faint praise.
But everything in the garden's not quite so rosy when you visit the Audit Commission's website and read their account of things.
We'll skip the complete list of lowlights, but in summary, the Commission's conclusions are:
Boston District Council is providing a poor, zero star strategic housing service which has uncertain prospects for improvement.
The council's housing strategy is out of date and has not been regularly or systematically reviewed. It has been slow to develop an effective affordable housing and private sector strategy, and its understanding of the private sector housing market is incomplete.
There is a clear corporate commitment to improvement, but significant challenges to its delivery.
Revised and more effective strategies and policies have yet to produce any significant improvement in outcomes for customers.
There is an ambitious programme of outsourcing and partnership working but this will not deliver service improvement or savings for a number of years and will be challenging for the council to deliver.
Effective management of performance is not yet embedded and the council has significant financial challenges which threaten the delivery of improvement.
Compare the two reports, and it's hard to imagine that Boston Borough Council and the Audit Commission are singing from the same hymn sheet.
Presumably the BBI thinks that we'll believe their version of the Audit Commission report, as they've often assumed gullibility on the part of the voters, and presumably see no reason for that to change.
If you'd like to read the real report, you can find it here
http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/housing/inspection/localauthority/reports/Pages/bostonbcstrategichousinginspection11jun2009.aspx


You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Stop moaning and get on with the job!

Now the lacklustre election campaign is over, the victors are counting the spoils, and the losers are indulging in the usual damage limitation.
The big-time losers at both county and borough level are obviously the Boston Bypass Independents, and whilst there's little they can do to gild the lily, that hasn't stopped them trying.
Our only representative at county hall, Councillor Major (Rt'd) Ramonde Newell has pledged to keep up the pressure to bring a bypass to Boston - a "forgotten town" as he calls it.
We wish him luck - especially as ... if his quote in the local press is correct ... he wrongly believes that "the County Council runs the Highways Agency."
In fact, the Highways Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT) responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network in England on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, and not subject to the whim of Lincolnshire County Council. Not only that, but a map of the agency's road network (below) does not show a single road managed by the agency in this county - they are all managed by the local authority.

BBI leader Richard Austin called his defeat an "advantage" for Boston. For once, we're in agreement with the respected and beloved leader, who goes on to say that he can now wholeheartedly give his time to the borough - which makes us wonder what he's been doing until now.
Meanwhile, the BBI's First Lady, Alison Austin, claims in a letter to the local press that the BBI's 31.8% share of the county vote means that it is still a force to be reckoned with - or should that have read a "farce" to be reckoned with. And as we predicted last week the age old excuse is that national issues took precedence at the election was trotted out in mitigation.
In another letter, the leader and his deputy Peter Jordan start their wholehearted attention to the borough by fanning the embers of an old debate which they term a "smear campaign" by two Better Boston Group councillors - Anne Dorrian and Brian Rush. "They accused us of 'doing a deal' with ... the leader of the county council, so we would not put candidates into the 2009 county council elections. We always said events would prove the truth. The elections have now been completed and the BBI have fielded four candidates."
Our memory of this debate was that the BBI was alleged to have said that they would not contest the election if they got a bypass. No bypass has been promised, and the BBI contested the elections.
The deal claim was also made on the Boston Bypass Pressure Group website, at the time it announced its disassociation from the BBI.
The website says: "At a meeting on June 25th (2008) between the Leader of LCC and the Leader and Deputy Leader of Boston Borough Council, a deal, arrangement, whatever you want to call it, was struck. What was the deal? In exchange for a date, route and support for funding the BBI would not stand against any conservative candidates at the next County Council elections. The deal was proposed by the Leader of the LCC and agreed upon. How do we know this? After a month's silence, the Leader of BBC at a meeting of the BBI executive encouraged them firstly to remove any reference to County Council elections from the BBI constitution and later informed the meeting of the above deal. This was confirmed a few weeks later when two councillors on two separate occasions challenged the Deputy Leader and were told exactly the same sequence of events."
You can read the article in full at http://www.boston-bypass.org.uk/page1.php
At the end of the day, we hope that now the dust has settled, the BBI can stop trying to convince everyone how popular and clever they are and simply get on with the job of doing the best for Boston.

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 12th June

Not with a bang but a whimper award goes to the recent election campaign. We remember the good old days when the polls closed and the count began. Candidates paced the room nervously, watching the lines of ballot papers and trying to calculate where they stood, whilst the local hacks went from candidate to candidate to get their quotes both ahead and after the result. Now indifference rules the waves. Despite everyone paying lip service to local democracy, the reality seems to be that no-one is much bothered. Look at Boston Borough Council's website. The list of candidates lay buried in the "local notices. A last minute plea to voters to do their civic duty appeared in the Boston Target ... but it was more or less closing the stable door after the horse had bolted. What a shame the appeal couldn't have appeared on the borough's website as well.
Meanwhile our Off-target award of the recent election campaign goes to the BNP supporter who stuck a party political banner over a roadside election sign belonging to Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire. He noted on his blog: "I have been round to see the BNP and asked if they can refrain from this sort of behaviour as we are not used to it around here and it would do little to help them and no doubt be detrimental to their campaign." More amusingly, the BNP wasn't even campaigning for the county council seat on Boston Fishtoft - which makes an infantile gesture seem ever more childish
Misuse of language award goes to East Midlands Trains. After being ranked 16th of of the nation's 19 train operators for reliability, they seek to excuse any likely shortcomings of the newly introduced "fast train" service between Boston and Skegness with the following offering. "They are called high speed, but because of the track we are unable to run the trains at the speed they are capable of. This is not about providing a high speed service it is about providing hundreds of extra seats for our passengers. It is confusing, but that is the name of the train." It doesn't take a mental giant to work out that the simple answer is to change the name of the train. But perhaps EMT is as short on mental giants as it is on reliability.
Misuse of language runner up goes to the Boston Standard for the report which reads: "Driving his moped while over the drink-drive limit has seen a teenager banned from the roads. ------ ------ was sat on the bike in a Coningsby lay-by with the keys in the ignition when police spotted him." Was sat? Lincolnshire dialect at its best perhaps, but not your English as she is writ.
Saying it with flowers award of the week goes to Boston Borough Council whose ground staff have been busy packing the A52 roundabout near Tesco with bedding plants. Of course, it couldn't be anything to do with next week's visit by the Princess Royal, could it? Even though any royal motorcade will come this way from Grantham.
Too old to rock award goes to us. Although we're too ancient and crabby for all this new fangled pop music, we were a little surprised at the apparent arrival from nowhere of the Boston "punk pop rockettes" Brit Chix on our screens in the finals of Britain's got Talent. Could these Chix, who have apparently been together for six years, be none other that the long running Boston girl band Ttorria? Yes they jolly well could. See the internet for the same information about both bands. Why the name change, we wonder?
Finally, our We couldn't possibly comment award goes to this cutting from the Boston Standard (below.) You'll either get the joke, or you won't

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Not a NICE idea!

What on earth are our so-called police force up to?
The latest piece of nonsense dreamed up by the boys and girls in blue is the creation of a NICE neighbourhood.
It comes from Wyberton's Neighbourhood Policing Team - known in these acronym friendly times as NPT - which is launching an initiative of that name to encourage pride and respect.
NICE is a classic example of creating the acronym and then bending words to fit it.
Without anything by way of a clue, we do not expect that you would think that NICE stands for:
N - Neighbours by name
I - Integration for all
C - Courtesy and consideration for others
E - Enjoyable environment
Residents sign up to a "Neighbourhood Pledge" and in return they are given a vinyl window notice, whilst younger residents get a silicone wristband.
NICE Neighbourhood signs will also be put on properties and fencing to support the scheme.
PCSO Nerys McGarry. who invented this piece of arrant tomfoolery, said: "Wyberton has been the focus of anti-social behaviour in the past, causing real concern amongst local residents. We've all but sorted these problems and so we feel that now is the ideal time for local residents to lead the way and show what community spirit really means.
"People often talk about times past when everyone knew their neighbours' names and there was genuine community spirit. These days with long working hours and differing strains on lifestyles, few of us will know who lives up the road or even across the street."
Other aims include bringing people from differing cultures, backgrounds and ages together; encouraging people to live side by side peacefully; and taking pride in the neighbourhood by keeping it clean and tidy.
The local NPT is planning to hold a community picnic in Parthian Way as part of the launch campaign, on July 19.
We would suggest that taking a few cans of beer along would not be a good idea, as your hosts will most likely arrest you.
And if all this is not enough to turn Wyberton into a place of sweetness and light, Boston Borough Council's Community Safety Team has funded 250 "grow your own pumpkin" pots to be given to children, so they can prepare for a pumpkin lantern event at Halloween.
We have encountered some stupid stunts in the name of law and order before, but this one takes the cake - or perhaps the pumpkin pie!
Why don't our police get on with the job of policing and our Community Safety Team do something more significant in the name of community safety? The answer is that its better than taking their roles seriously and doing some real work for a change.


You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Deputy's argument defeats council's claims on bus service

Time for some catching up after the elections dominated our blog over the past few days.
The war of words over the use of Strait Bargate as a rat run for the Into Town bus service took on a new combatant in the shape of deputy BBI leader Councillor Peter Jordan.
In a letter to the Boston Standard, he declared the service "a spectacular success" used by about 24,000 people every month.
Ever quick on the uptake, he goes on to declare that the controversial matter is that it runs through Strait Bargate.
He trumpets the county council commissioned survey of public opinion by a "professional" company which was the "only official, valid opinion poll that has been carried out." Councillor Jordan goes on to say that the poll showed that 71% of the Boston public "were either prepared to accept buses travelling through the precinct in view of the benefits or had no view. Only 29% were against."
This is where we think his argument is drifting off course.
The question in the survey did not ask whether people were prepared to accept buses travelling through the precinct "in view of the benefits."
In fact the wording of the questionnaire posed a slightly different question.
It asked: "Overall, do you think the benefits of buses using Strait Bargate to provide a cross town facility outweigh the disbenefits?"
It is possible to answer "yes" to this without approving the route taken by the buses.
People might, for instance say "yes" because they feel that the service might not run to time as well unless it wrecks the ambiance of the town's most prominent shopping street.
Councillor Jordan goes on to slate the survey run by the Better Boston Group.
"Opinion polls must be carried out by trained, qualified pollsters who know which questions to ask and, equally important, how to ask them. Secondly, they must be carried out by independent impartial bodies."
The question asked in the case of the BBG poll was quite simple - do you believe that the Into Town bus service should travel through Strait Bargate? YES or No?
This question was asked of more people than the "professional" poll and produced a resounding vote against the service using the precinct.
Amusingly, Councillor Jordan hoists himself on his own thingy as his letter draws to a conclusion. "A very high percentage of the 24,000 passengers monthly are people on low fixed income and cannot afford cars or taxis, people who can't or won't
drive, are elderly or have handicaps. This service is really helping these people."
What happened to the argument that this service was going to take cars off the roads and reduce traffic congestion?
The admission by Councillor Jordan confirms what we have argued all along - that the service is mainly used by people who wouldn't be using a car if it didn't exist in any case. Not only that, but the bulk of the passengers are travelling free ... using bus passes and contributing not a single penny to the coffers.
In a final burst of his well-loved arrogance, Councillor Jordan asks: "Why is the Better Boston Group voting against the continuation of the traffic order in a recorded vote at the last Boston Borough Council meeting when the service is clearly better for Boston Borough Council?"
The answer to the question concerning the opposition vote is glaringly obvious. People do not want duses driving through Strait Bargate.
The claim that "the service is clearly better for Boston Borough Council?" encapsulates the BBI attitude to the voters.
We don't care if it's no good for you, the voters - it's what WE want ... so stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Can lone Major have any voice at County Hall?

Yesterday we heard comment from the sharp end in the person of Better Boston Group Councillor Brian Rush, who had strong things to say about the BBI after its spectacular failure at the polls for County Council and Borough Council seats.
Optimists might say that the borough still has a voice at County Hall, and Councillor Major (Retired) Ramonde Newell is certainly vocal, as readers of the local papers as well as fellow councillors will testify.
But whereas the borough was previously represented in Lincoln by its leader, Councillor Richard Austin, this is no longer the case.
Councillor Austin's leadership role might just have given him some sort of clout in Lincoln, but we doubt whether Councillor Newell will be able to achieve much if anything as a lone voice in the wilderness.
Even the County Council's post election seating plan (above) - which may of course be literally graphic and not substantive - shows Councillor Newell isolated from the rest of the pack.
But how will the the BBI message from Boston now travel to Lincoln?
Councillor Newell is just a member of the BBI, not leader nor a deputy, and this will put him in a fairly weak position in our view - effectively little more than a glorified messenger boy when It comes to speaking at Lincoln on behalf of Boston.
Coupled with that, his majority of 11 is not exactly impressive, even less so when achieved in the ward with the smallest electorate.
Then there is the message that the BBI's disastrous performance sends to County Hall.
In the absence of any recent test of public opinion, it might have been possible to boast:"Give us a bypass or we will run against you at election time. We are very strong you know; we can win any election............ we can walk on water!"
But to fight six seats at county and local level, have your leader thrown out by the voters, lose two of the other three county seats whilst winning the fourth by the narrowest of margins - and being rejected totally at the grass roots level in the borough council elections - won't cut any ice in Lincoln.
The BBI has lost its support, something that was almost predictable given its decline through internal wranglings, and rejection at earlier by-elections - but no doubt the rout will be explained as the fault of a fickle electorate solely influenced by the sordidity of national politics.
Fortunately, the voters have shown themselves cleverer than the BBI might think, so we suggest that they try looking long and hard in the mirror and coming up with a few things that the public really wants.
Winners and losers? Well Councillor Austin is poorer by £7716 in allowances, and Councillor Newell richer by the same amount. But given the state of the BBI these days, we wonder whether it's worth making the journey to Lincoln to earn it.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Letter to the Editor

We would like to express our collective thanks to all those citizens who exercised their democratic right and cast their votes in both the County Council and European Parliamentary elections. In these challenging times with the added pressures that uncontrolled immigration into the Boston area brings, it was extremely pleasing to see that the good people of our town chose the only party that truly represents them in such re assuring numbers.
This combined with the other County council successes around the country and the election to Europe of two MEP’s demonstrates that a vote for the BNP is a winning vote.

Cllr David Owens
Colin Westcott
Anthony Turner
British National Party

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

"Boston no longer backs BBI" - Brian Rush

We promised you comment on the election results, and before our own, which will appear tomorrow, here's one from Better Boston Group member Councillor Brian Rush.
"This result was a confirmation that the people of Boston no longer support the Bypass Independents," he writes.
"To be trounced five one shows how out of touch this 'party' have become.
"Since election day some two years ago, they have sat on their political hands and done nothing to help this town, they have ignored the views of the people at every turn.
"But on election night, well, this was the people's turn.
"We witnessed the evaporation of support for what was once billed as the People's Party. Buoyed on by false hope on the 3rd of May 2007 the people of Boston got out of their armchairs and made the pilgrimage to the polling booths.
"This was to be the dawn of a new age for Boston, revolution was promised, and everything was suddenly possible.
"No longer would we play second fiddle to all the other towns in Lincolnshire, no longer would we tip our hats to the arrogance of county officialdom.
"The Boston Boys were coming!
"We would kick down the doors of County Hall and demand funding for a bypass ... we had been patient for far to long.
"No half baked, rat run, distributor road, made with a couple of buckets of Tarmac!
"No ineffective Bob the Builder road widening.
"The whole county, nay the whole nation, would hear our clarion call.
"The country would hear for the first time Boston's battle cry, A Bypass For Boston! A Bypass for Boston!
"Then on the fourth of May everything went ominously quiet, a deafening silence shattered the dream.
"Those previously promised, ever open ears, were almost immediately closed and blind eyes turned.
"History began repeating itself, nothing was changing. The bypass chant muted and diluted.
"Things we were told, were not as it had seemed, not so possible anymore, there were other considerations, protocols to follow, issues to discuss, reasoning must be the order of the day, partnerships must be built, blah blah blah!
"Self protectionist united voting, disregard of mayoral traditions, cowardly acceptance of unpopular bus routes, continuance to fund PRSA, support for underused arts centre, renewed acceptance of condemned road widening, withdrawal of support for needy causes etc etc. etc.
"The result of such arrogance was, two lost by-elections, five resignations, and now five humiliating defeats, and one skin of his teeth success for Major (Rtd) Newell - and Lincoln's going to learn to love him as much as we at Boston do (let's see how he feels about being a group of one!)
"Oh! yes it really is again the turn of the people of Boston, and they have spoken; a new chant is on its way - Bye Bye, Boston Bypass Independents.
"Peter Paine was, unlike May '07, strangely uncrowded, an absence of excitement filled the air, and the presence of a meagre group of four Boston Bypass Candidates, with three supporting bypass councillors, along with the ever pleasant Mrs Clare, supporting Councillor Clare in yet another personal disappointment.
"So where were the other 11 Boston Bypass Councillors, and their partners and families, why were they not there to throw a consoling arm around these poor defeated souls, and congratulate Councillor Major (Rtd) Newell on his massive majority of 11 votes.
"Maybe they, like everyone else in Boston are fed up to the back teeth with the leading lights of bypassers, who only excel in bypassing public opinion.
"But not this time.. "

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Tories, UKIP and Lib Dems triumph in EU poll

The East Midlands European Election results have now been declared.
The turnout was 1,228,065 from an electorate of 3,312,944
The Conservatives won two of the five seats, Labour UKIP and the Liberal Democrats each won a single seat.
Results below are listed by party, followed by the number of votes polled, the percentage of votes and the swing to or from the party.
Conservative 370,275 30.2 (+3.8) MP's returned: Roger Helmer and Emma McClarkin
Labour 206,945 16.9 (-4.1) MP returned: Glenis Willmott
UK Independence Party 201,984 16.4 (-9.6) MP returned: Derek Clark
Liberal Democrats 151,428 12.3 (-0.6) MP returned: Bill Newton Dunn
British National Party 106,319 8.7 (+2.1)
Green Party 83,939 6.8 (+1.4)
English Democrat 28,498 2.3 (+2.3)
United Kingdom First 20,561 1.7 (+1.7)
Christian Party-Christian Peoples Alliance 17,907 1.5 (+1.5)
Socialist Labour Party 13,590 1.1 (+1.1)
No2EU 11,375 0.9 (+0.9)
Libertas 7,882 0.6 (+0.6)
Jury Team 7,362 0.6 (+0.6)

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Tories retain borough seats

The results of the two by-elections for seats on Boston Borough Council were: -

KIRTON

Colin Brotherton Conservative 490 ELECTED

Liz Leonard Labour 75

Frank Martin Independent 122

Sue Ransome UK Independence Party 230

Carl Smith Boston Bypass Independent 243

PILGRIM

Paul Kenny Labour 76

Myles Larrington Conservative 110 ELECTED

Trevor Page Boston Bypass Independent 53

Felicity Ransome UK Independence Party 59

Mike Sheridan-Shinn Liberal Democrat 42


You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

A kick up the bypass for the BBI!

It was gains across the board for yesterday's Boston seats on Lincolnshire County Council, with six out of seven new councillors poised to take their places in County Hall. Only one sitting tenant, Conservative Councillor Peter Bedford, held on to his seat.
Principal among the night's losers was Boston Borough Council leader Richard Austin, who lost to the Conservative candidate. Two of the other three BBI candidates, including councillor Austin's wife Alison, also lost. The sole BBI winner was Councillor Major (Ret'd) Ray Newell who won for the BBI in Boston West, and will be the only BBI representative on the county. Again we're reminded of the famous threat by deputy leader Councillor Peter Jordan:- "Give us a bypass or we will run against you at election time. We are very strong you know; we can win any election............ we can walk on water!" That man is a caution!
The results appear below with candidates in alphabetical order. Percentage votes and numbers are given, along with a figure for the swing where applicable.
We're off for a lie down in a darkened room now, and will be back with comment after the weekend.

BOSTON COASTAL Electorate: 5696 Turnout: 2075 (36%)

Peter Bedford Conservative 55% (1142) Down 2.9% HELD

Beth Gall Labour 9.7% (202) Down 5.1%

Felicity Ransome UK Independence Party 25.2% (523) Up 9.5%

Anthony Turner British National Party 10% (208) N/A

BOSTON EAST Electorate: 6404 Turnout: 1783 (28%)

Gerry Clare Boston Bypass Independent 22.8% (406) N/A

Mike Gilbert Conservative 37.8% (674) Up 10.6% GAIN

Paul Kenny Labour 23.9% (426) Down 19.3%

Mike Sheridan-Shinn Liberal Democrat 15.5% (277) N/A

BOSTON FISHTOFT Electorate: 7643 Turnout: 2818 (37%)

Mick Gall Labour 9.8% (277) N/A

Raymond Singleton-McGuire Conservative 50.9% (1435) Up 19.3% GAIN

Ossy Snell Liberal Democrat 39.2% (1106) Down 2.5%

BOSTON NORTH WEST Electorate: 6746 Turnout: 1816 (27%)

Paul Appleby Liberal Democrats 7.2% (130) N/A

Alison Austin Boston Bypass Independent 15.6% (283) N/A

Andrew Bakewell Independent 4.5% (82) N/A

Andrea Jenkyns Conservative 25.5% (463) Down 10.9% GAIN

Pam Kenny Labour 11.3% (205) Down 27.5%

Richard Leggott Independent 15.4% (279) N/A

Colin Westcott British National Party 20.6% (374) N/A


BOSTON RURAL Electorate: 9038 Turnout: 3135 (35%)

Michael Brookes Independent 35% (1096) N/A GAIN

Liz Leonard Labour 8% (251) N/A

Jodie Sutton UK Independence Party 22.1% (694) Down 19.5%

James Winder Conservative 34.9% (1094) Down 23.5%

BOSTON SOUTH Electorate: 6123 Turnout: 2105 (34%)

Richard Austin Boston Bypass Independent 34.3% (721) N/A

Norman Hart Labour 7.2% (151) N/A

Sue Ransome UK Independence Party 21.9% (461) N/A

Paul Skinner Conservative 36.7% (772) Up 13.2% GAIN

BOSTON WEST Electorate: 5646 Turnout: 1922 (34%)

Paul Goodale Labour 15.5% (297) Down 25.2%

Paul Mould Conservative 26.7% (514) Down 8.3%

Ray Newell Boston Bypass Independent 27.3% (525) N/A GAIN

David Owens British National Party 12.1% (233) N/A

Elizabeth Ransome UK Independence Party 18.4% (353) Down 5.9%


You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

X marks the spot

Today's the day to put your 'X' in the box to elect members of Lincolnshire County Council, Boston Borough Council and the European Parliament. If you don't vote, it's no good complaining about the outcome.
Here's a reminder of the candidates hoping for your support.
And if you're having trouble reading this, have no fear - an 'X' is a vote .... not your signature!
We'll try to bring you the results as quickly as possible.

Lincolnshire County Council

BOSTON COASTAL
Peter Bedford Conservative
Beth Gall Labour
Felicity Ransome UK Independence Party
Anthony Turner British National Party

BOSTON EAST
Gerry Clare Boston Bypass Independent
Mike Gilbert Conservative
Paul Kenny Labour
Mike Sheridan-Shinn Liberal Democrat

BOSTON FISHTOFT
Mick Gall Labour
Raymond Singleton-McGuire Conservative
Ossy Snell Liberal Democrat

BOSTON NORTH WEST
Paul Appleby Liberal Democrats
Alison Austin Boston Bypass Independent
Andrew Bakewell Independent
Andrea Jenkyns Conservative
Pam Kenny Labour
Richard Leggott Independent
Colin Westcott British National Party

BOSTON RURAL
Michael Brookes Independent
Liz Leonard Labour
Jodie Sutton UK Independence Party
James Winder Conservative

BOSTON SOUTH
Richard Austin Boston Bypass Independent
Norman Hart Labour
Sue Ransome UK Independence Party
Paul Skinner Conservative

BOSTON WEST
Paul Goodale Labour
Paul Mould Conservative
Ray Newell Boston Bypass Independent
David Owens British National Party
Elizabeth Ransome UK Independence Party


Boston Borough Council

KIRTON
Colin Brotherton Conservative
Liz Leonard Labour
Frank Martin Independent
Sue Ransome UK Independence Party
Carl Smith Boston Bypass Independent

PILGRIM
Paul Kenny Labour
Myles Larrington Conservative
Trevor Page Boston Bypass Independent
Felicity Ransome UK Independence Party
Mike Sheridan-Shinn Liberal Democrat

European Parliament

Parties standing are:

British National Party
Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship"
Conservative
English Democrats Party
Jury Team
Liberal Democrats
No2EU:Yes to Democracy
Pro Democracy: Libertas.eu
Socialist Labour Party (Leader Arthur Scargill)
The Green Party
The Labour Party
United Kingdom First
United Kingdom Independence Party

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

The Boston Eye fule's guide to voting

As any fule kno, voting isn't a simple business, or Boston would not be in the thrall of the Bypass Independents.
So for those of you stuck in a quandary (which is like a quorum only if not enough people turn up you don't have to do it all over again at great expense to the council taxpayer) here are a few guidelines which you might find helpful.
Local elections: If you voted BBI last time, you made a mistake - but you probably know that already. Do not repeat it upon pain of the death of the town we hold so dear. If you voted Labour last time, you may be wondering whether the returning officer threw your voting paper in the waste bin when no-one was looking. If he did, it would have made no difference. If you voted Conservative last time, you may be thinking the same thing, but a few got through, and it still made no difference. If you voted Independent last time, you may wonder why several of your candidates got elected but it still does not appear to have made any difference. This is what Independents are for. If you voted for the Better Boston Group last time, you must have been drunk - because there wasn't one. There is now, but that largely because some of the BBI councillors were drunk at some point after the election. But again it doesn't matter because as far as the elections are concerned, there is no such thing as the Better Boston Group, so you can't vote for them even if you wanted to. Oops, we forgot the Lib Dems - but then so did everyone else.
County Council elections: If you voted Conservative last time, you installed the ruling group, which by and large doesn't appear to have made a bad fist of things. At least they increased council tax only by a small percentage, which is an improvement on the BBI, which claimed to have increased it by 0%, which is not only mathematically impossible but gives us cause for concern if they ever find the one million pounds they can't find, and which they promised to pursue with vigour some long and silent time since. If you voted Labour last time, then you've got a chance to make amends. Watch out if you plan to vote Independent for the county. There's some strange group that calls itself Lincolnshire Independents that wants to stuff everyone in its ganderbag, and already has a leadership structure in place to ensure that newly elected independents lose their independence almost as soon as they get it. Unsurprisingly this group is linked to the leader of the BBI, who is also keen on power for its own sake. See "local elections" for the Lib Dems, and ibid for the rats nest of other parties. Talking of the BBI there were no candidates at the last county elections, and we sincerely trust that there will be none after Thursday's vote as well. If you must vote BBI, avoid double acts, newcomers, gobby so-and-so's ... and anyone else not on that list.
European elections: Your guess is as good as ours. If there was one, we'd vote for the "Don't believe a word we say because we'll come up with whatever it takes to get elected and then deny that we ever said it" party (see local elections: If you voted BBI last time.....) Just shun the three main political parties at all costs to teach the thieving so-and-so's a lesson in the wake of the expenses scandal in a way that won't do any harm to the system.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Time to tackle insurers over flood "risks"

A short while ago, we celebrated the opening of Boston's £8.5 million lock link which - aside from its role in future recreational activities - is designed to act as the tidal flood defence for Boston.
We hope that this won't be the last word in the story, as we have recently heard several instances of insurance companies flatly refusing cover to householders because the town and its surrounding areas are in the highest risk category for flooding.
The fact that we have got off lightly in recent years when flooding has occurred has done nothing to dissuade insurers to relax their attitude - and of course they do not merely refuse cover for flooding - they refuse it completely. We also know of cases where - following flooding in other parts of the country - local householders have seen premium costs boosted by as much at 25% in a single year.
This can do nothing to help house prices in these troubled times, and it must also still further deter movement in the property market.
At the end of 2007, Boston topped a DEFRA list of areas most of risk of flooding, and as many as 15,906 homes in the borough were said to be in danger.
This is something over half the homes in the borough, and it is a figure that we think should be forcefully challenged.
The Environment Agency has gone so far as to say that people living on flood plains should be refused home insurance to discourage building on unsuitable land.
So where does this leave the Boston area?
The fact is that despite what has happened in other areas of the country in recent years, Boston has by and large escaped serious flood problems - and seems likely to continue to do so.
But this has not changed the mindset of the nation's insurers, who continue to regard the borough as a cash cow as far as premiums are concerned.
We think that now would be a good time for the local powers that be to join forces and press the case for a downgrading of Boston's flood rating, and for negotiation with the insurers for a more lenient approach towards the people that already live here or who are wanting to move to the area.
In this respect it may well be worth visiting the Lincolnshire Coastal Study roadshow at Boston Library tomorrow from 10am to 3pm.
The Coastal Study Group has been formed to assess current and potential flood risks alongside the implications for coastal communities and how the areas could be developed in future.
The main study began in January and will finish at the end of March next year.
It can't do any harm to pay a visit and make your feelings known.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Election fever? No! More like a nasty cold

Theoretically, we're in the grip of election fever, but it seems to us that it's more of a nasty chill than anything else.
Here we are, only three days away from European, County and Local elections, and what's going on by way of wooing
our votes?
A few leaflets have fluttered through doors, and here and there "vote for X" signs have appear in gardens and at the roadside.
But where is the spirit? Where is the enthusiasm to persuade the voter in the street to get out to the polling stations on June 4th?
It seems to us that the parties are wallowing in indifference.
Take the BBI, for instance.
They have a blog, which, so close to polling day, you would expect to see brimming with up to date news and information about the party and its candidates. But pay a visit to getbostonmoving.blogspot.com and you'll find that nothing's moved for ages - not since Tuesday 29th May 2007 in fact - a full two years ago.
Needless to say the list of elected members is hopelessly out of date, and there is nothing on the party's "achievements" since it was elected.
We note in the local press that the BBI leader Richard Austin is "stepping down" from the Lincolnshire Independents party in his bid to retain his county council seat.
Yet according to the Lincolnshire Independents website, Mr Austin is still their treasurer, although in terms of communicating via the world wide web, he remains as silent as the BBI blogsite.
Click on his mugshot "to get upto (sic) date information" and you are greeted with two test messages - one dated August 12th 2006, and the other dated 8th May 2008.
Click on the link marked "Richard Austin homepage" and you're greeted with the information "In the creation ... This domain name is held in reserve for a customer of The Web Builder."
Another political blog in the doldrums is that of Felicity Ransome who failed in her bid to win the Boston Coastal seat in July last year. Although she is again standing for UKIP, her blog remains accessible but locked in time and has not been updated since.
It's difficult to understand how individual politicians and entire parties can so conspicuously fail to grasp the opportunities offered by the internet.
But perhaps their failure tells us something about whether they're worth voting for.
Coincidentally, we received an e-mail from bypass campaigner Mike Borrill in a similar vein.
He writes: "There seems to be some dual identities parading their credentials in the forthcoming elections.
"Councillor Richard Austin is standing as a candidate for the Boston Bypass Independents yet he is Treasurer and in the Cabinet of the Lincolnshire Independents, which from their site appears to be a new political body in Lincolnshire.
"This seems to be another piece of changing the face of democracy by the BBI and if one or all of them get elected (those that are candidates) will they then immediately change to Lincolnshire Independents?
"I wonder if there is some obscure law preventing you standing as a candidate for one party when you strictly speaking are a member of another.
"As Councillor Austin is in my 'patch' I am at a loss to know which Austin to vote for! But no, I will use my Government scrappage allowance and get a new model, one that knows which way to go!"

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.