Sticking to an election pledge

When I stood for the Town Council by-election in July 2008, I listed three priorities on my main election leaflet. One of which was to campaign for more facilities and activities for children and young people in this town. We have a higher percentage of children under the age of 16 than any other place in Norfolk. 25% of Thetford is under 16, the national average is 17%. Imagine my horror therefore when I read the latest edition of Breckland Voice (the propaganda newspaper produced by Breckland Council, affectionately known as the 'bin-rag' by some, and worse names by others). I digress. Breckland Voice detailed two pages of activities for children taking place across the district, all free! great! Errrm. No. Not a single one taking place in Thetford. (Although, not many in Dereham either to be fair). I contacted Breckland Council and asked why. Because deadlines were missed. OK. What is happening? Activities at the Sports Centre provided by Parkwood? Hold on, Parkwood are a private company, they are charging for all their activities, one was £18 per child per day! Can parents across the Saxon Ward, and Thetford afford that? No. Furthermore, they are a sports centre, activities are sports related. Not all kids like sport. The activities detailed in 'Voice' were a mix, including arts and crafts related. So the bottom line is, it is not like for like. Once again, Thetford is being missed out. Don't children and young people in Thetford deserve something to do over the summer holidays? It would be worth mentioning Norfolk Youth Service at this point, part of Norfolk County Council, whom it would appear are also inadequately serving the needs of young people in this town. I contacted the Bury Free Press and shared my frustrations. They picked up on the story, and initially wanted a photograph of me to accompany the story, I suggested they speak to the parents who had contacted me initially asking about activities for children and hence the above lovely photo of bored children, has ended up on this weeks front page. Providing more activities for children and young people is of paramount important in this town and I will continue to do whatever I can to chip away at the issue. Here is the link to the story; http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/thetford/Nowhere-to-go.5468253.jp UPDATE: From a parent who contacted me about the lack of childrens activities who's child I invited to be in the photo for the newspaper: "I couldn't believe it when I saw it, I went to buy it and noticed they got front page! I was really pleased because people will have to pay attention now :) if it gets the message through then its all worth it because our children are the future an they will determine what happens next; if Thetford is going to be a respectable place with many opportunites or whether it will be known for crime and anti social behaviour !! thanx mate for giving me the opportunity to play a part in what happens to my childs future :) xx

Norfolk Conservatives - still at it!!!

I'm no plotter - Norfolk Conservative SHAUN LOWTHORPE 22 October 2008 06:09 ANALYSIS: Norfolk Conservatives at war Cliff Jordan - considering running for Norfolk Conservative leadership The man accused of conspiring to oust Norfolk County Council leader Daniel Cox insisted yesterday he was no plotter. But Cliff Jordan said he was considering running for the leadership, after attacks from Mr Cox's supporters. The row within County Hall's Tories shows no sign of abating after a decision to de-select Mr Cox from his Wymondham seat last Wednes-day alongside cabinet member John Gretton and Christopher Lloyd-Owen. Other allies of Mr Cox also facing contests include Stephen Bett and Shelagh Hutson. Mr Gretton said last night he was launching an appeal against the de-selection move because he believed the process followed was open to challenge. The leader's supporters are angry at his treatment, while fellow cabinet member Chris Mowle claims the de-selection is a plot and personal vendetta against the leader by a cabal of Breckland Conservatives led by Mr Jordan because of the leader's handling of the unitary issue. John Gretton - 'Some of the questions were spat at me' Mr Jordan rubbished the claims and said the selection process was fair and proper. "There is no way it could be organised," he said. "I didn't know of any conspiracy, and that's the truth. "I certainly haven't been involved in any plot; I actually like Daniel Cox as a bloke and I have said so before." But he said he was considering throwing his hat into the ring when a leadership contest was due, after being baited to put up or shut up by Tories backing Mr Cox - while being inundated with calls from his own supporters to take things further. "I didn't think anything could make me change my mind and run, but I am rethinking now because it's obvious that those that are up there aren't up to it, because they are resorting to these kind of tactics," he said. "Ask Chris Mowle for evidence: he hasngot any. I am looking for an unequivocal apology from Mowle. It's almost hideous what he is doing. "They should run within the rules of the Conservative Party, that's what they should be doing. They are resorting to what I call 'low-life' tactics. "If I do go for this, there will be a radical shake-up there, that I can tell you, if I'm successful. There's a number of things I haven't been happy about." Mr Gretton, a Dereham councillor and a cabinet member for cultural services, said he believed he could act as a standard-bearer to have the decision overturned He added:"I walked into the Conservative Club that night and the only people there were other Breckland district councillors. "I certainly didn't perform well. I walked into the room and was aware of the hostile atmosphere from the start. Some of the questions weren't so much asked as spat at me. 'What do you think of unitary' was the first question. "De-selection was traditionally a very serious business in response to specific allegations or because you haven't attended meetings, or a constituent had made a complaint "They have been rather clever by trying to exploit the party constitution, but I think I can demonstrate that they have acted unconstitutionally." Mr Jordan said he was confident the rules had been properly adopted and followed. He added: "He obviously attended a different meeting to me. He was treated very courteously. The questions he was asked were put to everybody. "If it was the first question he was asked, then so was everybody else. He was treated no differently than anyone else, and that's the truth. "They can appeal and the whole thing can be gone through. It's a much fairer system; you can't run roughshod over this system, and that's what they do not like." ANALYSIS: Norfolk Conservatives at war

Norfolk Conservatives AT WAR - So Says EDP!

Norfolk Conservatives at war SHAUN LOWTHORPE 22 October 2008 08:18 There's nothing quite so heated and bitter as a family row. And Conservatives in Norfolk are going at it hammer and tongs in a very public way at the moment. Supporters of Daniel Cox point to a plot being launched against him, led by Breckland's Cliff Jordan, who is chairman of the Mid Norfolk Conservative constituency party. The cause? The leader's handling of the unitary issue, where the county council has successfully won favour (so far) with the Boundary Committee for plans for a single supercouncil including Lowestoft. In their view, the row is a revenge attack by those - and that means every other district council apart from Broadland - whose own unitary bids failed. Not so, says Mr Jordan, who from the outset has insisted there was no plot. What is happening, he says, is that the party in Mid Norfolk is making best use of rules to have a proper contest and a real debate - and the fallout is sour grapes from those who have lost out. His critics have told him to put up or shut up, and, stung by the criticisms, the signs are he is going to meet them head-on. So what is going on? There are two ideological wings among Norfolk's Tories - county and district. Relations have been strained for some time, with “district” Tories agitating for a tougher, leaner, more right-wing approach to running services - by which they mean cuts, charges, and sell-offs - to keep council tax down. County Tories, meanwhile, their eyes opened by the step up from running the parks and public toilets to the big-ticket services, ponder the savagery of such an approach and the consequences it might have on vulnerable children or older people. So, they have shied away from implementing such far-reaching measures - or gone native, as their critics might argue. Many try to straddle the two - serving as so-called “twin hatters”, as both district and county councillors (of which there are quite a lot, by the way) but at the end of the day you are ideologically in one camp or t'other. So far the “county” Tories have always been in the ascendant at County Hall. But is the balance about to change? The unitary issue appears to have concentrated the minds of wannabe county councillors who now feel that, if a new authority is on the cards, it might be time to sign up, when before they might have been happy to stay on the district councils. Several district Tories are vying for a seat at the county table, including Breckland leader William Nunn, his cabinet colleague Ann Steward and Broadland's Simon Woodbridge. West Norfolk borough leader Nick Daubney thought about it and changed his mind - but the signs are that an ideological shift could be on its way whether the unitary decision goes ahead or not. Knock out a couple of Mr Cox's supporters, whether by accident or design, and all of a sudden the sums start to shift. But divisions exist within all parties, and certainly on the unitary issue, so why are the Tories now reacting so badly? The local government review and the county's so-far-successful bid for a single supercouncil has quite definitely got up the noses of some. But the second simmering issue is a row over the cabinet's management of the County Farms, which, insiders report, sparked a heated exchange between Mr Cox and Mr Jordan when the Tories last held a group meeting. The third is ideology, and the battle for who really can lay claim to carry the torch for David Cameron's Conservatives, and just what that might mean. The Tory constitution allows for the option to challenge a sitting councillor; Mid Norfolk, where this row kicked off, has adopted that route. The fuss now centres on the technicalities of whether they did it properly and the precise details of what happened when the executive committee introduced the change at a meeting on June 18. All sides agree the meeting happened. That's about all they can agree on, so powers higher up will probably have to sort it out. Mean-time, the rest of us can only watch and wonder if this storm will blow over - or if the Tories are really hell- bent on tearing themselves to shreds.