Cllr David Sammels

Following on from my anecdotal comment that I thought I had seen a significant increase in the number of repossessed properties over the past few months, it would seem that nationally there has been a 17% increase in the number of repossession orders.

This is a very worrying trend - and one of the most obvious indicators that families are struggling to meet the very demanding increases in the costs of living that we are currently facing.

With repossessions it is very often young buyers who have really stretched themselves to get their foot on the first rung of the housing ladder who are first to be hit hard by an increase in mortgage repayments.  I hope that the Government can really make some solid moves to help banks pass on cuts in the basic rate of interest to consumers.

Despite Gordon Brown huffing and puffing and demanding that the high street banks do so, there has been very little sign of this happening.  Whereas most of the banks are obviously not obliged to do anything Brown may say, it’s very telling that Northern Rock (obviously wholly owned by the Government) has also failed to take appropriate action.  

If Brown wants a privatised toy bank to play with then he really ought to follow through on the commitments he expects from other retail banks.

I am pleased (again) with Boris for having moved so swiftly to implement his promise to ban alcohol on public transport in London.  From June 1st people drinking on the tube, buses, the DLR and other public transport will be asked to leave the service at the next stop.  From next year it will be made illegal and punishable by spot fines.  In order to help enforce it he will be employing hundreds of new PCSOs to protect people on London’s transport system.

Here in Swindon I have been involved in setting up the two alcohol exclusion zones where the police have the right to confiscate alcohol from anyone drinking in public (not just young people or people who are drunk and disorderly as is the case outside of the zones.)  The two current zones cover the town centre / Broadgreen area and the Northern Orbital shopping centre.

Ideally I would like to see this kind of law in place right across Swindon.  It doesn’t mean that the police would confiscate a bottle of wine from a couple having a picnic on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but it would allow Officers to use their discretion to tackle problem areas without the need to go through a lengthy process involving the Licensing Committee.  Unfortunately, the Government’s rules do not currently allow us to legally make this a Swindon wide policy.

Good on Boris for making it happen in London - tackling “low level” crime strongly is the best way to also have a knock on effect on worse crimes.

I just wanted to give a quick update on the flooding meeting last night; I need to wait for Thameswater and Council Officers to come back to me with the answers to some questions before I can fully write up the minutes and outcomes.

It was great to see so many people attend from both Beechcroft Road / Foxley Close and Marsland Avenue / Headlands Grove, and that many people who couldn’t make it took the time to send questions which I will be chasing answers for.  The meeting was very productive and we had time to take all of the questions that residents wanted to ask.  Thames Water and the Council officers were very receptive to the action list that we have compiled, so I will be pushing to make sure that we stick to it as closely as possible.

Many thanks to all who attended.  If you didn’t make it then feel free to get in touch and I will be happy to pass questions or problems onto the relevant people to ask or resolve.

Josh Chesterman, Youth MP for Swindon, and Jennifer Renard, his deputy, have recently launched a new website.  It can be visited by clicking here.

They are also about to be given a regular column within the Advertiser and I have arranged for them to take over one of the meetings of the Children and Young Peoples’ Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December.  They will make the decisions about the subjects to be discussed, have an opportunity to quiz senior members of the Council, and have any recommendations they make forwarded to the Cabinet for further consideration.  

This is all part of our of our 50 Promises; where we pledged to put a Youth Forum in place and help give young people in Swindon a voice.

I have just received a warning from the Council that there is a bogus charity operating in Swindon.  It’s called “Helping Arms” and has been distributing bags asking for second hand clothes to donate to the third world.  Sadly, the charity is completely bogus and it’s likely that the clothes are being sold for profit instead.  They have been known to operate up and down the country.

Trading Standards and the police are working togther to apprehend the criminals involved in this scam.  If you know anything that might be useful to them then you can call them on 01793 466 155.  If you want to donate second hand clothes I am sure that the many very worthy charities in town that rely on donations will be more than happy to accept them!

It seems to take quite a lot to keep track of what Labour are up to.  It would seem that the Labour Party is suffering from collective amnesia once again.

At the last General Election the Conservative Party pledged to introduce a points based immigration system; similar to the very successful model that was introduced in Australia by our sister party, the Liberals.  This would mean that non-EU nationals who wanted to work in the UK would receive points on a variety of issues (possessing shortage skills, speaking English, having relatives here and similar) and those meeting the appropriate threshold would be eligible to move here.

Labour, quite predictably, started screaming racism.

And yet it now appears to be Labour Party policy, with Cabinet Member Andrew Burnham MP currently espousing the current Labour policy of points based systems on The Daily Politics…

Still no original ideas Gordon?

A quick reminder that the public meeting on flooding in Upper Stratton is tomorrow evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm in Committee Room 6 of the Civic Offices on Euclid Street.

Thameswater and the relevant Council Officers have confirmed their attendance, but the Environment Agency will not be present as they don’t believe they are responsible for any nearby water sources.

If you can’t make the meeting but would like to be sent a copy of the minutes, then please feel free to get in touch.

The main headline about the local elections last week was Boris Johnson’s election as Mayor of London.  It was a pretty resounding win in the end, and obviously enough, the Conservative Party is rather over the moon at his victory.

One of the first steps Boris has to take in his new role is to appoint people around him; and I am very encouraged by his first choice.  He has appointed Ray Lewis, who runs the Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy in Newham, as Deputy Mayor for Youth.  I listened to Ray speak at a conference about Compassionate Conservatism a couple of years ago, and he is a real authority on youth work, especially within the most challenging inner city areas.  If we are to effectively tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the UK then we really need to address the disaffection of young people.

I have no doubt that all eyes are going to be on London during the run up to the next General Election in order to see what a Conservative Government has to offer.  If Boris surrounds himself with a host of equally able individuals then I have very high hopes indeed.

Well, I think I have just about recovered from the massive ordeal that is election time!  As much as I enjoy meeting even more people around the ward than usual, it is a pretty exhausting experience; especially election day itself.

In St Philip we were very honoured that Sinead Darker was elected with a majority of 529 votes (slightly larger than my majority of 23!)  I am looking forward to working with Sinead in continuing my work representing Upper Stratton in the Council chamber.

Two other thoughts whilst I reflect on the election are that firstly, it’s quite worrying just how many houses in Swindon have been repossessed lately.  I have been assisting Conservative candidates right across North Swindon and there has definitely been a noticeable increase.

And secondly, if you are looking to lose weight, forget fad diets and join me on the campaign trail - I think I have lost about a stone and a half over the course of the campaign!

I am becoming increasingly disgusted by the abolition of the 10p tax rate.  As it is election time at the moment we are knocking on even more doors than normal; and the story is so often the same - “Why is a Labour Government clobbering low paid workers?”  

Despite the promised U-turn, this assault on people on low incomes is clearly worrying everyone.  I have spoken to many students, retired people and part-time workers who are really feeling this in their pocket.  Add to that the inflation on food and fuel that is being seen (according to the AA the average price of a litre of fuel has moved from £1.03 to £1.09 since the start of the year!) and many people will really need to tighten their belts.

A very sorry saga.