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Top Newcastle Lib Dem unmasked as author of lewd and offensive comments

I was deeply disappointed to read in the national press yesterday that a senior Newcastle Liberal Democrat has been posting lewd and offensive comments about other politicians on the internet under a fake name.    Greg Stone – who is a councillor in North Heaton as well as Newcastle Lib Dems’ choice to stand for Parliament in Newcastle East — was revealed to have been writing the abusive comments for over a year. He attacked politicians from both the Labour Party and the Conservatives, and singled out female MPs for particularly harsh treatment. I don’t want to repeat any of the things he wrote, but you can read some of the more printable ones in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph and today’sJournal.   This sort of vicious and personal attack has no place in Newcastle politics. Quite apart from the sexist and personal abuse that Cllr. Stone’s comments contain, this is exactly the sort of thing which turns people off politics today. At the end of a year in which British politics has been brought to a particularly low ebb, politicians of all parties should be working hard to restore people’s faith in our political system and the good that it can achieve.   That’s why I have written to the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Newcastle North asking him to condemn his colleague’s behaviour. I’ve also asked him to tell the people of Newcastle whether he thinks Cllr. Stone is still fit to represent local people in the Civic Centre — let alone, as he hopes, in Parliament. You can read my letter here, and I’ll be sure to let you know what reply I get.   Stephen Parkinson Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle North   For more information, see news story here.

Closure of the Small Pool

CLOSURE OF THE SMALL POOL, By Martin Sharman, Conservative Spokesman for East Gosforth It takes a spectacular kind of political incompetence to find two well-meaning community groups and manage to pit them against each other in a fight to the death where there can only be one winner - and guaranteeing one loser. But this is precisely the situation that Newcastle city council have engineered in their bid to gain lottery funding for "MyPlace", a young people's project proposed for the city centre. The dispute arises over the location for the proposed scheme - part of the City Baths complex on Vine Lane which houses a 25-yard pool, the smaller of the two pools at the Baths. The pool would have to be demolished in order for the new project to go ahead, understandably upsetting the 45,000 annual visitors to the pool.  They made their feelings clearly known at the full council meeting on 4th November, with boos and hisses aplenty aimed at the controlling "Liberal" Democrat group. The obvious question this debacle poses is: why was this location chosen, when it was obvious the damage to swimming it would cause, and the strong opposition which would arise? Cllr Nick Cott (Lib Dem) let it slip in his speech that the overriding consideration in deciding the location was "time frame". Unfortunately, things done in haste are rarely done well, as it has proven here. Interestingly, the meeting to decide the location (there being ample alternative locations) was held in private between two councillors and an officer.  What was discussed in this meeting, and how was the decision made?  Intriguingly, there are no minutes to inform us. Of course there are the usual "Liberal" Democrat failures here writ large - a disregard for proper consultation, a lack of clarity in financial planning, and a money-grab from distant wards in the city which would adversely affect residents there who have important needs of their own.  None of this comes as a surprise. What is astonishing is how two worthy groups of residents, each with their own needs and concerns, have been told that only one can survive, at the expense of the other; both are now engaged in a political battle for survival.  Whoever wins will leave psychological scars on the other that will take years to heal.  Quite the opposite of community cohesion, and for a local authority to have created this situation of its own volition is nothing short of a scandal. Whilst I have every sympathy for the youngsters who want the new facility built - Newcastle is in desparate need of youth facilities, as residents of the West End have been telling the council for years - they should be aware of the dangerous precedent which would be set if this plan went ahead.  The principle that any long-established community facility could be removed and demolished at any time by a fickle council interested only in gaining government funding for the next big project is a dangerous and unacceptable one.   Next time it could be MyPlace itself that's at risk. The council accepts that plenty of mistakes have been made over this project.  It's time for them to hold their hands up and admit the Vine Lane location is simply the wrong choice, and make amends with both parties.  If they do not, this issue will continue to gain momentum, and it won't be a pretty sight.  Indeed, they may not have much of a choice, as funding for the project depends on demonstrating community support, something that the council, through its own actions, has destroyed. MyPlace should be offered another location - one that is not already someone else's place.

Brighton Bomb, 25 Years On

MY REFLECTIONS ON THE BRIGHTON BOMB, 25 YEARS AFTER MY GREAT-GREAT UNCLE WAS KILLED BY THE IRA, By Dominic Llewellyn, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle East

Twenty five years ago, five people – including my great-great-uncle Tony Berry – were tragically killed in the Brighton Bomb. Five lives and many other livelihoods were destroyed or damaged in a moment of hatred; the murdered and those who were injured were fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends to so many.

Tony Berry’s daughter, Jo, has over the past ten years built a relationship with Patrick Magee, the Brighton bomber. This has not been without controversy, but they now stand on platforms together speaking of hope and peace for Northern Ireland. Some have praised her work, others have criticised it.

The path of forgiveness – especially where there has been such pain caused by an act of such hatred – is so emotive and it is not my place to judge people as to whether they walk that path or not. One thing forgiveness does is put the person you are forgiving on the back foot; it can be a moment of victory and not surrender. I think Oscar Wilde was right when he wrote “always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much”.

Another famous quotation poignantly states “to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you”. My own small experiences of forgiveness in my life are that it has enabled me to be free, I also believe that in South Africa forgiveness was an enabling and not disabling force in Nelson Mandela’s presidency both between him and his perpetrators and in the country at large.

A quarter of a century after the bombing, Northern Ireland is – in the main part – at peace, its people are at peace with themselves, the IRA have decommissioned all their weapons and the British Army has ended all military operations. As with any peace process, trust needs to be rebuilt over time and warring parties need to learn to work together. There has been real progress, but there are still wounds. Both Tony Blair – for his work in the Good Friday Agreement – and John Major – for his role in getting the peace process rolling - deserve significant credit for their works in Northern Ireland.

This week, Hillary Clinton has been at Stormont urging politicians once more to work together and the Prime Minister has also spent time in the province over the past week. I may not be a Labour Party supporter, but I for one hope and pray that Gordon Brown’s role in Northern Ireland helps continue to build on the success so far of the Northern Ireland peace process.

High Pay

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS & LABOUR SQUABBLE OVER HIGH PAY

By Martin Sharman, Conservative Spokesman for East Gosforth Ward

I've seen nothing more ridiculous than Labour and the Liberal Democrats trying to outdo each other at this month's full council meeting on the subject of restricting people's pay.

 It seems the left are obsessed with reducing "inequality" as an aim in itself. Of course I am in favour of helping those on the lowest incomes better themselves and earn more, particularly if this is done by developing skill sets and motivation than simply increasing the level of state-sponsored benefits.

However, in their quest to reduce "inequality", the left have realised that they can achieve their stated aims, not by helping to increase the incomes of those at the bottom, but by restricting the incomes of those at the top.  This statistical trick would indeed reduce inequality - by making everyone, on average, that little bit poorer.

 Scant on detail but high on rhetoric, this debate was illiberal leftism at its most bizarrely illogical.  Using the recent economic troubles as a smoke-screen, the suggestion was that a "high pay commission" be set up to restrict the incomes of those who are deemed to earn "too much."  Little time was given to the details, leaving unanswered questions such as:

·         How much is "too much"?

·         What happens to the money that is not paid to these individuals?   Does the state take it or does it languish in the coffers of banks?

·         What happens when the tax take reduces because there is less money being paid and spent?  Do we increase tax rates to compensate?  A double-whammy vicious circle.

·         What happens when these high-flyers decide to move to a country with less a restrictive (and more sensible) remuneration policy?

The city councillors are fond of trying to outdo each other on another topic: their enthusiasm for Newcastle United.  I wonder how they would feel as their high pay policy kicked in, one by one the stars of their favourite team left to pursue the higher wages available elsewhere?  It would be an own goal worthy of Damien Duff.

The current problems with some banks can be blamed on a potent cocktail of overborrowing motivated by short-termism in bonus payments to investment bankers mixed with an alarming lack of scrutiny from shareholders.  The market responded, reinforcing the natural braking effect of a free-market economy, complicated only by the socialist knee-jerk response of throwing taxpayers' cash at the problem: privatising the profits yet publicly underwriting the risks.  An unholy mess.

We should be focused on high achievement.  Work is the only true way out of poverty, not handouts or restricting pay.  Those at the bottom of the earnings pile should be encouraged to gather new skills through free adult education schemes, and put their newfound skills into practice in a place of work.  Yes, easier said than done, and certainly a lot more difficult than capping pay, but the only long-term solution to the problem of poverty.

I am proud of the high achievers in this country, and believe they deserve the market rate of pay, however high that might be.  As long as they pay their taxes, the state should keep its nose out.  Our high achieving sportsmen, musicians, executives, and yes, bankers, should be free to live and work in this country without fear of losing their incomes.  We should be proud of them, aspire to match their success, and reinforce the belief that, no matter how humble one's beginnings, anyone can achieve greatness in this country.

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