Donal OHanlon

The AGM of the Council Group last night - I won’t tell you what commitees etc. I’m on just yet, so all you sweaty-palmed Tories can keep on sweating!

We welcomed Mary, our newest Cllr., and paid tribute to all our workers, who make campaigning easier for us. We also reviewed the election campaign, but all you furrowed-browed Labour spies can look away now, because I’m not telling you any of our secrets! (We know you just copy what we do, even trying to pinch our slogans!)

Now it’s time to go through all the old post that’s been piling up during the election, and deal with the normal events of everyday life, as well as trying to update all the stuff I’d promised to do once the organised madness subsided.

Strangely, I’m looking forward to shopping for some new clothes for my hols (I know - I normally hate it!) This wierd transformation in attitude has probably come about because I’ve noticed that there is a trend in women’s clothing for the “scrunchy” look, and I too fancy some clothes that never need to be ironed (although in men’s size & styling!!!)

Right - just time for a brew, then back to the real job for a while (and it’s still only 8.20am!)

Donal

This should be a fairly quiet time as a Cllr, but casework keeps coming (especially as a result of canvassing) and there are big decisions to be made:

• What Scrutiny Commissions to be on next year
• What other Council groups to be involved with
• Group decisions on how “politically vocal” to be next year

 These are behind-closed-doors discussions, so ’nuff said for now - more to follow soon.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on the following:

• Securing the gates to St Mary’s park & requesting an internal barrier to prevent dogs/kids going straight onto the main road, following the alterations to the lights outside the gates (top of St Annes Rd)
• Enquiring about the double yellow lines on Bury New Rd outside said park
• Reporting asbestos fly tipping (how mad can people be?!?!) - with thanks to the public for that
• Thanking our helpers individually, for stakeboards & posters, delivering leaflets etc.
• Chasing up the closure of Prestwich cash office - who/why/where/when was the decision made?
• Considering road improvement schemes for 2008/9
• Chasing up outstanding work (e.g. the partially painted M60 J17 roundabout)

On the subject of that roundabout - some numpties still can’t follow the coloured lines, so I’ve asked for much better signage coming south from Whitefield.

Also been doing loads of my own stuff:

• Sorting cars out (tax/insurance/servicing etc.)
• Gardening/weeding
• Seeing family/friends
• My will & funeral arrangements (Really! - No wonder I’m a bit grumpy at the moment!)
• Refereeing
• Playing football & going to the gym
• Walking the Pennine hills, whilst my wife & her friends did the same route on horseback
• Oh yes, and a full time job, too!!!!

Not repeating the previous detail, more a ditty about the roller-coaster of emotions that goes on.

Richard was counting Ann’s votes for Sedgley, and at one point was convinced she’d lost to a Tory who sent out leaflets calling himself “Action Man”, without indicating he was a Conservative candidate! My heart sank - I was feeling empathy for Ann, and pity for myself that I’d have to speak to such an edgit on a regular basis (You should hear about some of his tactics!)

Then a little later, the bundles started piling up & I saw that Ann’s pile was slightly bigger, and my heart rose. Hurrah! The people of south Prestwich were not, after all, deceived by such a man! Why did I ever doubt them? After all, they vote for sensible politicians all the time!

I am now basking in the warm glow of satisfaction, that we Councillors, the wider team of candidates, the supporters and well-wishers have achieved a Golden Glow (the LibDem Party colour) over Prestwich tonight. 9 Out of 9! Brilliant!!!!

That picture of Ivan scuttling off is just priceless, by the way……….

Liberal Democrats at Bury’s election count last night:

Here’s our new team of Councillors in St Mary’s Ward - Donal O’Hanlon, Mary D’Albert and Richard Baum…… Labour MP Ivan Lewis sneaks past behind.

Lib Dem Councillors elected last night Mary D’Albert, Vic D’Albert and Ann Garner with some of their group colleagues Steve Wright, Wilf Davison and Donal O’Hanlon.

More pictures here

Liberal Democrats have continued to move forward on Bury Council making another gain from Labour and holding off a challenges from the Conservatives. This is the fifth election in a row in Bury where we have made gains.

Full results to follow, but in our key wards in Prestwich the results were as follows:

Holyrood
Vic D’Albert (Lib Dem) 1632
Labour 669
Conservative 852

St Mary’s
Mary D’Albert (Lib Dem) 1308
Labour 1013
Conservatives 692

Sedgley
Ann Garner (Lib Dem) 1488
Labour 906
Conservatives 1238

Across Prestwich the share of the vote was:
Liberal Democrats - 45%
Labour 26%
Conservatives 28%

The Liberal Democrats now have ALL NINE councillors in Prestwich. We’ll be doing our best all year round to stand up for the local community.

Across the motorway Lib Dem candidate Julie Baum put in a stunning performance to move into second place with a 50% increase in the Lib Dem vote.
Besses
Julie Baum (Lib Dem) 614
Labour 1084
Conservatives 584
Others 354

Well done to all our candidates, but particularly to re-elected Councillors Vic D’Albert and Ann Garner, and to new Councillor Mary D’Albert.
A huge thank you to the whole Lib Dem campaign team for a stunning result. Full results to follow.

Please don’t forget to vote in the important local elections on Thursday 1 May 2008. These elections will decide who will represent you at the Council for the next four years.

Hard working local resident Mary D’Albert is the Liberal Democrat Focus Team candidate on Thursday.

Important Information
- Polling Stations are open from 7.00am - 10.00pm
- You don’t need your polling card to vote
- If you have a postal ballot, but have not yet sent it in, you can complete it as normal and take the completed envelope to your local polling station on the day.

Polling Stations in St Mary’s Ward
Rainsough and Heathlands Road area - Rainsough Mission
Agecroft Roads, Butt Hill, Barn Hill, Prestwich Hills etc - Butterstyle Primary School
St Anne’s Road, Carr Clough, Lowther Road areas - St Andrew’s Church, Woodward Road
Prestwich Village - Longfield Centre Library

If you need any more information, or need a lift to the polling station call our helpline on 0161 798 0117

Thank you!

What are we trying to achieve in getting Libdems elected?

1. Rid Prestwich of the influence of The Labour Party, who have proved that they are really just Tories wearing red dresses.
2. Employ another hard-working, committed reliable resident to work for the people of Prestwich.
3. Ensure that the Tories don’t get overall control of the Council, so that the LibDems can keep a close check on whoever runs the Council, as the largest party (it won’t be us this time, but one day it will be!)

4. Increase democracy, by giving more power to the people. Why should central govt. ring-fence how we spend money locally? Do they know enough to make decisions on our behalf?

What is interesting on Question Time?

1. Spending money on hospitals, education etc. is not the answer, it is part of a solution to make the Country better. The people want results, with clean hospitals, less littering, better credit responsibility etc. Labour have spent money willy-nilly, and have not focussed on results but soundbites.
2. Abolishing the 10p tax rate makes low-waged people pay more.
3. The 40% tax rate band is closer now to the “Average Wage” of £26k (at £33k?) than it ever has been, in percentage terms, so more & more are paying higher rate tax.
4. Why should “working parents” be given tax breaks but those who choose not to have children be penalised?
5. Zimbabwe is what kind of a problem? Life expectancy is low there (37); unemployment in at 80% (per Lembit Opik); the legal position of the elections is an outrage!
6. Talking & the pen are still mightier than the sword, but the value of money is getting too important, and we should remember that there are other things that are more important than money.
7. Is Jacquie Smith a typical lying toad, who should not have made an announcement about extra police during the run-up to local elections, or was she simply mistaken?
8. Lembit said dissolve the motives of terror, don’t just employ 300 more terror police (as we did in N. Ireland).
9. Politicisation of the Civil Service has occurred, and we do nothing to reduce this. Have Bury Council employed an ex-Labour employee/candidate in the Communications Dept., who has recently left?
10. Do we have too many “foreigners” in the Country? How many do you know on a personal basis? What do you know about them? Are any doing a job the same as you?
11. Was Enoch Powell partly correct in his view, when he gave his speech about “Rivers of Blood”? Do you know what he actually said?
12. Will these “foreigners” go elsewhere, as the economy falters?

What other important topics are on my mind?

1. Why should some children get money to go to school or college, yet pay college fees to go to Uni? (It’s means tested, that’s why!)
2. Why have Labour failed to redistribute wealth, which is part of what they were really about, originally?
3. Fuel duty is abominable at present, but the Government has achieved what exactly, in terms of public transport? Now they propose a TIF bid for Gtr Manchester, for which we will pay much higher tax in the future, because 2/3 of it is a loan!
4. Is the impact of Local Councillors restricted, because central government has a very tight leash by “ring-fencing” how we spend our cash? Either you trust a Community to make a decision (you trust them to vote for you, after all) or you don’t. What is the point of a local council, given the restrictions they include!

What personal questions arise today?

1. Should I change my car? I have an LPG-powered Jaguar which I bought 2 years ago as a 6-year old car. It’s lovely, cheap & relatively eco-friendly to run, but LPG has gone from 36ppl (at it’s lowest) in August 2006 to 60ppl (at motorway services). Some information I have read says that cars do not become carbon neutral until they are 14 years old – should I run my car (which does 20k per year) for that length of time? What kind of car would I go for anyway?

2. Thankyou!

A quick thankyou to the couple who returned my wife’s handbag. They found it on Lowther Rd, and returned it immediately on Sunday morning – it shows that Prestwich is full of trustworthy souls. Good job too, it was a Radley bag, a Christmas present from me!

Sunday 18/4/08

I was sat down enjoying Foyle’s War on ITV (instead of watching a bunch of Luvvies pat themselves on their backs for doing their job) when the power cut came on. It just reminds my wife (the candidate) of the 3-day week in the ‘70’s – who was running the country then?

There’s not much to do without telly, radio, no lights to read etc. Thank God for my head torch!!! It came in useful during the “inferno” on hols last year, and now once again we have the usefulness proved.

Good job that I charge up the laptop battery – a full 5.58 hours left!

The last significant power outage was on 31.10.07, less than 6 months ago – I will have to ask the question, “Why does it keep happening in Prestwich?” On that night I was in a full Council meeting, and asked a question related to the power loss – clearly some lessons seem to not have been learned!

Enough for now….

Election statement to readers of the Bury Times:

Liberal Democrats across Bury have had a brilliant response from local residents. People are telling us that they are fed up of Labour closing post offices, taxing poorer people and watching the economy slide. People are uncertain what the Conservatives stand for, and haven’t noticed any improvement since they took over last year.

Liberal Democrats in Bury have three clear priorities:

We want safe, thriving communities across Bury. People must feel safe in their own streets and communities. This isn’t just about tackling crime, it’s about stronger, united communities. That’s why we’re opposing Post Office closures and why we secured massively increased funding for children in the Council budget. It’s also why we have always opposed the unfair and divisive congestion charge.

We want Bury to be the greenest Metropolitan Borough in Britain. Last year Lib Dems secured blue recycling bins for every house, and this year more money for parks and cleaning. We cherish Bury’s beautiful environment. We will work hard to protect it.

We believe in giving power to local people, not keeping it at the Town Hall. This means that decisions should be made locally in the six towns that make up Bury. It means local people making decisions at the most local level about the services that effect communities.

On May 1st we have a choice - A return to the 21 years of neglect under Labour’s rule in Bury, uncertainty under the Tories, or a clear vision for a better Bury from your local Liberal Democrats.