Curly's Corner Shop, the blog!

So many things that I said “No” to during the past week.

It didn’t help that “Dave’s” coalition government and the Opposition sort of joined forces to whip their MPs to vote against giving us a new referendum on our relationship with the EU, after all it is a totally different beast to the one which we last had a say about in 1973. The idea that people could register their ePetitions on the No. 10 website and if they had enough support (over 100000 signatures) they would result in a debate in the House of Commons is essentially a good one, especially as there are, from time to time, issues where it seems our MPs might be slightly out of tune with the public. However, a second petition relating to the price of petrol will apparently NOT be debated because of a lack of time in the Parliamentary calendar! Come on Dave, your government is devaluing the importance of these petitions if you cannot find time to debate them.

I profoundly disagreed too with the whole “solution” to the Eurozone crisis, this managed default of the Greek debts is a signal of much worse to come, we have spent the last two years throwing more debt at the Greeks and the Irish with other economies also being drip fed bail out funding, and let’s not forget how much was borrowed by Gordon Brown to increase the liquidity of British Banks either, I fail to see how you can solve anyone’s debts by piling more debt upon them! But we are led by the (European) nose to help create a 1.2 trillion Euro fund to assist member states who cannot manage to spend   around the same amount that they earn in revenue. Surely a result of the Brown/Obama plan to solve the banking crisis, invest spend your way out of trouble! Italy, Spain and Portugal will be next to feel the pressure of the mountain of Eurobond debts, as once again we see economies that are introducing austerity measures rather late in the day to balance their books. If we ran our household budgets in this way we would soon be looking towards a voluntary bankruptcy! Which brings us to the UK, where we too have come to realise, late in the day, that our national debts and budget deficit needed to be urgently addressed, and despite the efforts of the coalition government to bring public spending under control, those debts continue to rise and public spending continues to be a massive burden, George Osborne tells us that we are not contributing much to the European Stabilising mechanism but with deft sleight of hand we are increasing our contributions to the IMF instead, any wonder that we fail to meet spending targets? The hand of Brussels lies heavily upon the decisions made by our politicians and the whole mess has the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel musing over the future peace of Europe, possibly a rather far fetched view in my opinion, but it shapes the ridiculous writing in some of our newspapers this weekend.

Solution, allow the Eurozone to collapse and let member states reintroduce their own floating currencies, allowing a managed default based upon the exchange rate of the remaining Euro at the time of conversion to the new currency. Tell these member states that the European Central Bank will not be bailing them out in future, perhaps then we might see some fresh starts and some  growth slowly emanating from the ashes, this whole sorry affair of the last week has been more about saving the single currency and the European dream of political unity more than it has been about saving the economies of individual member states, and by playing their own small part our coalition government has nailed its flag to the mast as a lukewarm supporter of European integration. I firmly believe that ALL British politicians were wrong, wrong, wrong, not to allow their MPs a free vote during the EU debate, and that sometime in the far future the EU will collapse as a result of its utopian political and economic dreams.

Next disagreement is with Iain Malcolm, the Leader of South Tyneside Council who wrote in the Guardian during the week that councils were taking the flak for the government’s spending cuts. Was this a paid for article Iain? Anyway, pretty good at playing politics, perhaps the first stage in an election strategy for next May blaming the evil wicked Tories and Lib Dems for wreaking misery on us all but good old Labour in South Tyneside has managed to produce a budget which will not increase your council tax for e second year in succession! Can you see it coming? It may have been better and more honest of him to admit that Labour frittered away £ billions when in office, and saddled us with larger debts than we accrued through fighting the Second World War, perhaps he should have done a Liam Byrne and admitted that the cupboard was bear at the end of Gordon Brown’s tenure. He said:

The government’s cuts are brutal and ideological. Our task isn’t just to protect residents from the worst effects – it is to make them fully appreciate whose hand is on the axe.

Brutal? Idealogical? What then would Alistair Darling’s cuts have been described as if Labour had won the last election? There is no doubt that you could hardly have passed a cigarette paper between Labour and the Tories public spending pronouncements at the time, £2 bn difference within a national debt amounting to £1.2 tn is minuscule. That is where I find my disagreement with the Leader of the Council, a fair lack of honesty and a total lack of clarity over who put us all in the financial mess that we are in, he was quite happy to accept the cash that Gordon Brown’s government kept producing, quite happy to keep increasing council taxes year after year when even Brown’s largesse was deemed as insufficient. He knows, I know, and we know, that the party had to come to an end.

Because it doesn’t have to be like this. Local government has been a force for good in Britain. We will work to defend our communities by examining new and innovative models of service delivery – through trusts and co-operatives, asset transfers to the voluntary sector, strategic partnerships with the private sector or more joint working between councils.

Ah, now here are the clever little secret caveats, we WILL do it the way the coalition wants, because we DO want to make sure that there will be no increase in council taxes again! Look, yes, I know and understand that it is tough going, with very difficult spending decisions to make, but I also know that we knew this latest tranche of cuts was coming, it was NOT a complete shock,we knew twelve months ago that the “front loading” was only the first phase, this is probably the press release was made by Martin Swales rather than a Labour politician. Please take time to look again at the Gazette article, because therein lies another disagreement, some fool writing in the comments section reckons we somehow managed in the past without a Chief Executive, beats me how this sort of stuff gets into some minds. No council could be administered without a manager at the top, it matters not what he/she is titled, Chief Officer, Chief Executive, Director, or Town Clerk, we have always had a one!

Finally car parking in South Shields, perhaps one of my hobby horses, I wrote at the time of the introduction of the first “pay and display” areas in Beach Road, South Shields that it would not necessarily kill off the town centre, but also warned that it was the thin end of the wedge and that Town Hall bosses would soon extend the pay and display schemes to other areas, and I was right. I published a picture showing Beach Road populated with parked cars using the new meters, more recent evidence suggests they are not quite so popular now, for instance I can never remember seeing Beach Road so empty opposite the Town Hall, yet places such as Derby Street, Claypath Lane, and back Westoe Road are totally choked! There are even decent amounts of spaces in the town centre car parks since the charging scheme was amended, 1p per minute for just one hour is simply not giving the average shopper sufficient time, the 1p per minute charge should extend to the first two hours as a good compromise. If we can go somewhere toward attracting these motorists back to the areas where they want and need to park, then we won’t be creating as many problems for local residents who see their streets choked by other motorists, then we won’t have the thorny and expensive problems of resident permit areas!

“Big society” parking operators? OK I can go along with that, but more and more “pay and display schemes” at the wrong prices and in the wrong places is now something that seems to be creating additional problems in areas where we don’t need them.

OK, end of rant, I now have a pumpkin to carve, if I can manage to get Iain Malcolm’s face on it I’ll post a picture, I seem to remember that George Elsom looked pretty ghoulish a few years ago
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A better looking bunch

Click picture to enlarge

I bring you this from a very kindly lady from Cleadon Village, who I thank for lending me the publication “South Shields – A story of a town and its people who have lived up to their motto Always Ready” which was published by the old County Borough Council in 1974 by the then excellent Press and Communications Officer Peter Gillanders (who was virtually a one man press office). Not sure who the photograph was taken by, there are no credits shown in the booklet, but it was likely to be either Harrisons Photographers of South Shields, or the Shields Gazette.

Needless to say this 37 year old booklet is pretty worn and damaged but has survived reasonably well for a document which was sold to the public for the princely sum of 10p back then. The picture of the Council, which was incomplete as the names below show the absentees, was a fold out inside the back page and had a major fold and crease down the centre and small pieces of wear and tear around, however after making four separate scans I think I’ve stitched them together reasonably well and repaired most of the damage to bring you this looking as best as I can possibly achieve.

The first noticeable thing that will come to mind when comparing these people to the current South Tyneside Council is how well they are turned out, gentlemen all suited and booted, handkerchiefs neatly pressed and inserted into breast pockets too, and the ladies are at their smartest. Such a shame that our present bunch of councillors turn up to Town Hall meetings in scruffy anoraks, tieless, or in crumpled tee shirts looking as though they slept in them! The Mayor Cllr. Ken Srimger and the Town Clerk, Mr. R.S. Young, are looking resplendent in their official robes of office. Another point that I chuckled at as I scanned this picture was Harry Marshall’s white socks!

Our newest Freeman of the Borough, Cllr. Jim Capstick is four from the right in the second back row, the only councillor in this picture still serving today.

This is the group of councillors that I was mainly mixing with a few years later as I became Chairman of South Shield Young Conservatives, joined the Progressive Association and started out a brief political journey in South Shields and South South Tyneside. There are quite a few here who I never met or had any sort of relationship with, a few had a profound influence on a political newcomer.

Ken Charlton, in the back row, was a gentleman and a fierce combative debater who researched deeply to pin Labour down time and time again, a warm and charming man who worked his socks off for the Progressive, and later Conservative, causes. Also in the back row I remember fondly Mr. Reevel Alderson, an exemplary officer who had bags of time and patience for a new councillor. In the fourth row from the front I recall Jim Davison as a dour and seemingly humourless man inside the chamber, but outside he was entirely different and could cause many laughs with his caustic dislike of anything “Tory” , then there was Gerry Graham for many years Chairman of the Town Development Committee who worked tirelessly to improve the face of South Shields during the 70s and 80s, we still get on well now when I bump into him. You will also find in this row Dick Barry, another from the Laygate area who I found difficult to get along with, a young Bob Growcott who still has many friends down at Brigham’s Club, Jim Capstick, and the excellent Director of Education Ken Stringer.

In the third row I see Cllr. Alan Madsen before he became wheelchair bound, a colleague of mine in the Beacon and Bents ward, his wife Ann is missing from this picture, I remember Alan as having a particularly sharp mind in group meetings when at times we couldn’t see the wood for the trees. Next to him is Albert Elliott, another that I found difficult to deal with, he was a former miner (which didn’t help in the Thatcher years), and he later went on to be Leader of the South Tyneside Council. A little further along there is Lillian Jordison, who was in the same class at school as my late mother, a lovely lady who could talk the hind legs off a donkey if you let her, and next to old Bill the Mace Bearer stands Elizabeth Diamond who narrowly held her Brinkburn seat against me in the year when the Progressives came so close to gaining control from Labour. Elizabeth was very kindly  to me from then on and was often encouraging me to speak up a bit in the chamber on those few occasions that I had something to offer. A little further along I see the white haired Tom Collins, a robust figure who was a constant thorn in Labour’s side, although at times his broad vernacular must have been difficult for the Gazette reporters to decipher.

In the second row there is another future Labour Leader Vince Fitzpatrick, he too was a gentleman who had a great grasp of figures and handled his brief well, not for him the reading of a pre-prepared script as some of today’s councillors do (badly), then there is the giant figure of another former Freeman of the Borough Murtagh Diamond, again a man who was always warm and friendly irrespective of which party you represented, he was an educationalist and fiercely loyal to the Labour Party. Next is Billy Malcolm (one of three Malcolms pictured), father of the current Leader Iain Malcolm, fiercely combative and of a view “if you’re not with us, you’re agin us!”, I was Margaret Whinfield’s agent when she defeated him in a Tyne Wear County Council election for Rekendyke and Victoria, he was NOT happy at the outcome! Then there is Ernie Mackley, who I believe was Labour’s Leader back then, another ex miner, he surprised us all in the council chamber once in the middle of a speech a few years later by stopping mid sentence, apologising to the Mayor (Albert Elliott) and inserting his dentures! I kid you not. Along at the far right are old stalwarts and workhorses Harold Abey and Warden Newby, who I only met once or twice.

To the front row now, and I see Bill Owen, who had a sweet shop in Frederick Street and later somewhat blotted his copybook by joining the far right nationalists, I could never figure that out, a couple of places along is Harry Marshall one of the greatest raconteurs these parts have known, whether it be in political or sporting circles, in the chamber or at the bar! I don’t know how many times I’ve “chewed the cud” with Harry in his later years. Then Dr. John McKee who had his surgery in Tyne Dock and stood as Conservative candidate for South Shields in a couple of general elections, he was always statesmanlike, had a wonderful humour allied with immense charm and warmth, and finally Capt. George Bairnson a former seaman who was quiet and unassuming, but a lovely homely bloke.

I invite you to bring along any anecdotes and memories of this period as we saw huge changes in local government and the transformation from South Shields to South Tyneside, any stories you’d like to relate please leave them here. I’d also be interested in hearing what Cleadon, Boldon, Hebburn and Jarrow folks thought about the prospective joining up of the geographical areas back then.
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South Tyneside’s finest blotted out by dead tyrant.

This news will probably never be reported nationally and will struggle to find the first two or three pages of The Shields Gazette tomorrow, as our press go on a frenzied search for sound bites, video clips. and gruesome pictures following the killing of the Libyan “mad dog” tyrant Gaddafi, but none of that for now.

Today in South Shields Town Hall not a single dissenting voice was to be heard as South Tyneside Council first of all did its bit to help local businesses by agreeing new procurement procedures that ought to help improve the security of local jobs, now it is up to local employers to have a real go at winning council tenders as the council signalled its intentions to secure 50% of its supplies from local businesses within the next four years. Secondly they agreed a new Charter with the Armed Forces which will effectively lift some of the barriers and hurdles faced by serving members of the Armed services, ex-service personnel, and their families, when they come to re-integrate into the local community after serving their country. At last some relief and some dignity for those who have risked their lives as they seek housing, health care, rehabilitation, education, training, or employment opportunities. South Tyneside WILL NOT be found wanting. Thirdly, the Council  unanimously passed a resolution which will see Cllr. James Lowery Capstick become a Freeman of the Borough, he becomes the only serving councillor to be honoured in this way after what seems like a lifetime of service to the old County Borough of South Shields, and Metropolitan District of South Tyneside.

Jim has served for over 44 years, and it was fitting that  he received accolades from both sides of the chamber from people who were not around when he first won a seat in South Shields way back in the 1960s. The chamber was hushed and you could have heard a pin drop as Cllr. Iain Malcolm, Labour’s Leader in South Tyneside moving the motion to give him the Freedom of the Borough recalled Jim’s early forays into local democracy in an election against the late Albert Elliott in Simonside, he brought some mirth as councillors chuckled over the “on-off” relationship, Iain always wanting Jimmy off the council, and Jimmy always getting back on! He admired Jimmy’s long held and firm belief that national politics has no place in local town halls even if his party allegiance didn’t allow him to share that belief. He also went on to recall that time in the late 1960s and early 70s when the Progressives had the majority on the old South Shields County Borough Council and Jimmy Capstick served as vice chairman of the Housing Committee when George Smith was chairman. Between them they introduced the “right to buy” in the north-east, long before the Conservatives had even thought of it, they built over 600 new council homes, and sold council land to develop the Holder House estate in Whiteleas, he was also instrumental with the late Harry Marshall in building the new Temple Park Leisure Centre. Councillor Malcolm also praised Jimmy’s open attitude and approach to local politics stating that his long experience and wisdom of town hall proceedings was always worth listening to.

This theme was developed by Cllr. Enid Hetherington for the Progressives in recalling many memories that she had shared with her father, Harry Marshall, and of the friendly sage advice often offered to a new councillor by Jimmy Capstick, she kept her remarks short, not wishing to take any gloss off the occasion for her colleague.

Labour’s heavyweight from Hebburn Cllr. Eddie McAtominey then made a salutary statement recalling that period between the late 1970s and the early 1980s when Labour was licking its wounds following heavy defeats locally and the landslide election of Mrs. Thatcher. He recalled that South Tyneside Council had 66 seats back then and that 32 were Labours, 32 were Progressive/Conservative, and 2 Liberals held the balance of power (oh how things might have changed if I had found a few more handfuls of votes to defeat Elizabeth Diamond in Brinkburn eh?). Jimmy Capstick and Harry Marshall stubbornly kept Labour on their toes as first Vince Fitzpatrick and then Albert Elliott attempted to steady the ship, there were many heated debates and arguments in the chamber, indeed Eddie opined that some of the very best debates took place during that period, but Jimmy ensured that all opposition councillors had their say and concluded the debates without any hint of rancour or personal attack or insult. It was this honourable approach that marked Jimmy out as an outstanding contributor to the political life of South Tyneside.

Finally Cllr. George Elsom (always a generous fellow) on behalf of the independents painted out the picture of the times he had opposed Jimmy from the Labour benches then joined him in opposition, yet despite Cllr. Capstick being a founder member of the Independent Alliance Elsom affirmed that the recent period of personal attacks, insults, and dishonourable slurs against paid council officers and employees did not take place under Jimmy’s joint leadership. In fact he stated that Jimmy was an absolute gentleman in politics, perhaps the last of this type in South Tyneside .

Cllr. Capstick’s acceptance speech was received in absolute silence as the frailty of his years showed but belied none of his wit and wisdom as he declined any thoughts of commemorative caskets or suchlike. He was acutely aware that he has seen many changes in local politics over the past fifty years but no so momentous as Labour Leader moving a motion such as this, it just would not have happened in the past. He was alluding to Cllr. Malcolm’s profound change in leadership style which has been brought to the Labour benches opposite, despite their heavy majority Malcolm has introduced a more open type of governance and is far more likely to listen to the opposition and the wider electorate than his predecessors. Jimmy has found him approachable and amenable, and thinks this new era is developing better decision making processes. He sounded humble, yet proud of his long service, but even more proud of his family and the steadfast support of his wife Elmer, however he did drop a huge clue that his service as a councillor may soon be coming to an end as he seeks more time at home to spend with his family.

I too was (a) surprised and pleased that a Labour Leader should propose this motion to honour his opponent, and (b) kind of disappointed that only 22 people were in the public gallery to witness this event, and no doubt some of them were journalists. Jimmy Capstick may well be the last of his generation of long term well respected Progressives who set out to represent nobody but the people of South Shields and South Tyneside without any flavour of national politics creeping in, there were a good few mentions for Ken Hickman to today, another who deserves some recognition.

A special ceremony to convey the Freedom of the Borough to Cllr. Capstick will take place on 7th. November, why not go along and watch, these things don’t happen very often.

Former South Shields Progressive Councillors George Smith, Stan Smith, and Dr. John McKee were all honoured by the Queen, it would be nice to think that someone may make nominations on behalf of  Jimmy Capstick and Ken Hickman too. 

Coming soon – a very old picture of South Shields County Borough Council.

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A little light relief for South Tyneside tax payers

I’m already getting pretty tired of the lacklustre economic performance of the Conservative led coalition government still labouring under the debt burdens left by its predecessor and weighed down by the yolk of the Eurozone debt crisis, the mantras are now ineffective and sharp clear results are what we are all screaming out to see. In the absence of any real growth policy the UK economy continues to slumber and the message that Labour “maxed out” the nation’s credit card continues to be broadcast ad nauseam. Yet, even after acknowledging the massive difficulties faced in attempting to reduce the structural budget deficit, and the mounting contributions to the IMF and the Central European Bank to shore up Italy, Greece, Ireland, and possibly Spain and Portugal too, it will be hard to argue that they are succeeding in meeting many targets when the next round of public spending figures are produced by the National Statistics Office. I confidently predict that despite the reductions in spending that we will see overall public expenditure continuing to rise seemingly unabated  and the PSBN (Public Sector Borrowing Requirement) will once again be a huge area of concern, after almost eighteen months in office the coalition will not have been able to show any real impact on the important numbers that determine how the international financial institutions regard our economy. Additionally the recently announced plan to print more money inject a further £75 Bn worth of quantitative easing into the banking system will have no guarantee of reaching the parts of the economy that need it (SMEs and consumers) and almost every guarantee to further fuel inflation which is already above the Bank of England’s targets, savings and pensions are about to be eroded further.

So, it comes as little surprise that we learn today that fiscal responsibility is still not something appreciated by some officials in local government, the Daily Telegraph carries an account of how councils in England, Scotland, and Wales continue to allow Chief Executives and other higher managers to spend on corporate credit cards to fund a “work style” that many could only dream of. I know it’s only small beer in the larger scheme of things but it is indicative of an attitude that ignores a responsibility and accountability that they have to local tax payers and the way that they spend other people’s money. Local councils. they say, have racked up credit card debts of around £100 m over the last three years spending on such things as overnight hotel bills, first class travel, and gifts. However when delving deeper into the reported figure for spending which exceeded £500, we see things which perhaps might put some Chief Executives on a par with MPs during the horrendous disclosure of their expenses.

• Take a look at Essex County Council and ponder on its spending of almost £1m on “legal matters”, it turns out that most of these were the payment of fines! They also ran up huge bills at Tesco and Marks and Spencer.
• Then ponder over how Pembrokeshire Council can spend over £5m on a credit card and include what looks like the whole of its social housing maintenance bills, £500 for a gingham dress, and over £1000 for an iMac (surely a Windows PC would have done the job?). On closer inspection it feels like the whole of their operations are paid for by credit card rather than the direct paying of invoices from departmental budgets, one has to ask why?
• Aberdeenshire spent over £2500 on 60″ and 42″ flat screen TVs, almost £1000 on Nintendo DS game consoles, almost £6000 on Apple Macs and software, over £6000 on camcorders and digital cameras, over £1000 on tickets for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, they are another council who spent over £1000 on a top spec iMac Pro where a cheaper laptop would probably have done the same job. They also spent almost £5000 on theatre tickets and sent staff to just about the four corners of the earth!

Council tax payers in South Tyneside might like to know that our neighbours at Gateshead Council spent almost £44000 on their credit card, North Tyneside a whopping £1.28m over three years, Newcastle City Council under £7000, Sunderland along with South Tyneside managed to total an absolute NIL! (There may, of course be smaller amounts that fell below the £500 reporting threshold).

I am pretty much shocked at how councils have managed to use credit cards so widely, I’d like to think  their use may be a way to pay for goods and services quickly and effectively especially if they are engaging in internet shopping, I’d also like to think that they are buying at the cheapest available prices on behalf of their tax payers. However, items like Macs are more a “desirable” than a “must have”.

Any thoughts from those involved in buying on behalf of local councils would be much appreciated.

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Veteran South Tyneside councillor to be honoured

Councillor Jimmy Capstick the leader of the small South Tyneside Progressive group of councillors is to be awarded the status  of Freeman of the Borough, having served the local community for an astonishing 44 years.

Jimmy is “old school” Progressive having stuck firmly to the party’s strictly independent view about the need for local councillors to serve their town first and not to allow the politics of national parties to dominate our affairs within the town hall. It is a remarkable achievement to have gained the respect and support, not only of his constituents over that period, but also of his fellow councillors from all of the other parties represented on South Tyneside Council. Jimmy is a self effacing and quiet family man with a calm demeanour laced with an impish wit, he has opposed Labour over four decades and faced a number of Leaders in debate including Ernest Mackley, Vince Fitzpatrick, Albert Elliott, Paul Waggot and current Leader Iain Malcolm, he has been the mainstay of the South Tyneside Progressive Association since the death of former leader Harry Marshall. I first met Jimmy in the mid 1970s and he was one of the more experienced of my colleagues when I joined the Council in 1980, often providing me with insights on procedure, strategies and tactics and a guiding hand on the Council’s constitution and confusing Standing Orders at the time. He has been almost an ever present member of South Tyneside Council since its formation in 1973, with a break of one year in 1990 and he has represented Cleadon Park, West Park, and Harton wards during that time. Seriously, you could not wish to meet a more friendly and helpful local representative (despite him being an avid Newcastle supporter).

The Freedom of the Borough is not awarded lightly and only one other local councillor has received the award since 1973, unlike the City of Newcastle it does not bestow any special rights or privileges, in other words he will not be able to graze sheep or horses on Cleadon Hills or drive them along the John Reid Road! The nomination for this award has full cross party support in the council and a special motion will be put to the full council next Thursday 20th. October in South Shields town hall  when it will be approved.

Current Labour Leader Cllr. Iain Malcolm has said:

“The Freeman accolade represents our thanks and appreciation to Jim Capstick for his outstanding and distinguished service to the people South Tyneside. I am confident that this nomination will be approved and a civic ceremony to bestow the honour will take place at a later date.”

Cllr. Capstick is currently not in the best of health, but I’m sure that this award will be well received and cheer him and his family enormously, he can look back at his life and achievements in the local community with a huge amount of pride.

The South Tyneside Progressives now have their own website – here

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….so long as she tells the people of Westoe ward about them.

So after years and years of not claiming any allowance for giving up her time to serve as a South Tyneside District councillor Jane Branley has decided to join the majority of our other councillors in claiming what local government entitles her to. I have no problem with that at all, being an elected councillor, for most people, is an onerous task with responsibilities and duties which are time consuming, and unless we want purely voluntary councillors then we had better be prepared to go back to the days when only those of independent means could afford to give up their time to serve on the council. Rest assured, there are not that many people in South Tyneside who could afford to do that, and if we want our councillors to be fully representative of the people that elect them then they would have to include many who are employed, unemployed, housewives, retired people, and younger people, the allowance is there in recognition that being a local councillor these days is pretty much a full time job and without it many suitable people simply would not be interested in serving their community.

Having said that, the vast majority of councillors in South Tyneside are now earning on average around £12000 pa (taxable), we seem to have a lot of people with “special responsibilities”.

Update 20:32

I have just learned this evening, with some shock, that Jane Branley is suffering a terminal illness, and therefore I have scrubbed the majority of the above post. It would not be right, and totally lacking in compassion to add further pressure to her or her family at this time. I certainly do not expect nor wish her to respond or to make the statement that I have called for, she now deserves time for herself and her medical treament.

I offer my sincere apologies to Jane and her family if this post has seemed insensitive or caused offence, it certainly was not meant and would not have been made at all if I was aware earlier of her current plight. I wish her well, she has a huge majority and is extremely well respected in her ward, let us offer our prayers.

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You know it makes sense.

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The intrigue is quite alluring

Councillor David Potts the independent representative for Cleadon Village and East Boldon, continues to tease us with quiet revelatory Tweats concerning his rival representing the Beacon and Bents ward on South Tyneside Council, as it appears that the court case surrounding the infamous Mr. Monkey blogs in California rumbles on tediously.

In this Tweat he invites us to look at the figures regarding the business owned by Cllr. Ahmed Khan, Simply Workwear in Dean Road, South Shields: we have often had local businessmen and women represented on our local council, names such as Warden Newby, Albert Surtees,  Harry Marshall, Derek Thorpe, Bill Upsall, Maurice Piggott, and Lawrence Nolan are just a few of the many who come to mind as running successful businesses in the town. Their acumen and experience in understanding financial matters gave them valuable assistance in the examining and challenging of public finances in a way that brought some clarity to debate in the council chamber. It is also worth noting that there have also been successful businessmen representing the Labour Party in South Tyneside too.

Yet one must ask if it reasonable to assume that the public expects a level of success and competence when it comes to number crunching which can be applied in the public forum, which gives us confidence that good decisions will eventually be the outcome.

Whilst we can see that the finances of Simply Workwear do not appear to be the “rosiest” amongst those listed at Company House, and that two other companies operated by Cllr. Khan (Skorpion Recruitment Services Ltd., and Skorpion Property Services Ltd.) have been dissolved, Cllr. Khan continues to involve himself in expensive litigation. The ongoing case in the US at the San Mateo County Court in California now moves on to January 5th. next year when all parties are to present an updated case management statement. Yesterday Mr. Barrage for Cllr. Khan stated that an appeal against the Judge’s denial of the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion and a cross complaint will be filed, all of this adds to the legal costs which might fall on Cllr. Khan if he is not successful as the plaintiffs are determined that he carry all of their costs, including those so far expended by South Tyneside Council. You can keep up to date with the progress of the court case here, by searching under “case number search” for “unlimited civil” using case number 482779.

With all of the revealing seduction of a femme fatale one wonders just exactly how much we will eventually see.

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