Election Snippet 6: The Big Underlying Issue, the big deceit
In September 2015 Rotherham Council Leader Chris Read signed us up for membership of the Sheffield City Region and a new Mayor.
In true democratic style, the opinions of we the electorate were sought 3 months after announcing the decision to sign us up.
This retrospective “consultation” was primarily in the form of an internet questionnaire; started in December 2015 and concluded in January 2016.
A massive 245 people completed it, out of an election population of circa 1,200,000. The survey results paper managed to fudge whether a majority were for the proposal.
There is an unintentionally funny comment in the official report, saying how few young people responded!
So in the age of a reformed, open and transparent Rotherham Labour party, how come Chris Read signs up for something the people have historically voted against?.
Why has he failed even to discuss it with his fellow Labour Party members, never mind the people of Rotherham?
Maybe you are thinking “why does this matter? After all we are only talking about Housing, Planning, Economic Development and Transport powers.”
Or are we?
In Greater Manchester, Health and the NHS are on the agenda for devolution to the City Region Governance structure and thereby the Mayorality. A so called trial, but there are already signs that the NHS is planning for such devolution across the country. And as George Osbourne’s idea and a policy plank in his bid for the Tory leadership, one can guess he won’t let Manchester be seen to fail.
About this devolution of the NHS Andy Burnham said “I am a bit worried what I’m hearing because it does point to further break-up of the idea of the National Health Service.”
Of course this is all part of Tory Party plans to decimate what their right wing calls “big government,” to deliver it they are bringing in much more powerful Mayoralities, piecemeal and by stealth. Then future cuts to the NHS will be seen as the fault of local government.
Chris Read, I believe you know it. That even if it hadn’t struck you, it would most definitely be understood my Steve Houghton, your political mentor and would be mayor.
So has the local Labour Party and its leadership really changed, in terms of transparency and willingness to discuss the big issues openly with the people of Rotherham?
Not really, they’re just taking quick money to get out of a pickle and improve their own career prospects. Knowing that in the long run the Tories see these as cost saving measures, for services they don’t actually like.
So brothers and sister of Rotherham Labour Group, sing Chris’s anthem to the tune of the Red Flag….….“The working class can kiss my ass, I’ve got the Leaders job at last.”
Readers, be very careful what and who you vote for in May…it may not be what it seems. Ask your candidates about the proposed Mayorality.
Mary B Josephs
Rotherham Politics 
This is proof if any were needed that Chris Read cares not one jot about the people of the borough but only himself. This from a council supposedly for the working man, who have sold out to the tories, rotherham council have already been asked for £250,000 pounds as this organisation with a staff of 62 is in debt. The first payment promised by the government is supposed to be this month so we must assume that £30,000,000 will be winging its way to SCR, will ROTHERHAM see any of it I doubt as we will just be as it says a region of Sheffield thank you once again councillor Read for your concern about your electorate NOT,
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Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems have long desired to call the idea of England into question by regionalisation, either democratically or not. As England is the largest and most powerful political nation, the ‘Celtic’ nations and regions their British unionist and EU allies have conspired reduce England to a competing set of entities unable to unite against the British government and the smaller nations and regions of the rest of the UK. The completion of the deal with Manchester for devolution of health with be the de facto death of the national health service in England.
Consider the glee of the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish when negotiations come round for funding and Scotland ( if devolution to the regions continues) finds itself the largest political unit except London, able to play off ‘the regions’ of balkanised England against one another in a bloody fight against the combined antipathy of the rest of the UK.
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Utter rubbish – if the 1.2 million people living in the consultation area don’t engage that’s hardly the fault of the Rotherham Labour Group. Talk about clutching at straws.
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“Don’t engage???!” Are you trolling? Maybe if we were made aware of it for starters we may have been able to. As for the questionnaire where was it posted? I would also argue that the timing of it – December to January was tactically done over the Christmas period so even less would engage.
Communication is not a strong point though is it, South Yorkshire councils managed to spend 90 million quid on a project in the guise of digital region – which sank without a trace as no-one knew about that either. I suppose that was the fault of the public too?
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They were NOT consulted until THREE months retrospectively what is democratic about that and if the people of Rotherham had it explainedf to them maybe they would have chosen to go against SCR
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Read started all this off by being very dogmatic about not having a regional mayor, after a meeting with the South Yorkshire big guns of the Labour Party; he came to the meeting of Rotherham borough council and sold it to the sycophants. The point about the 245 out of 1.8 million was the proof of the difficulty in finding the online form and the lack of communication with the electorate of it’s whereabouts. But I suppose the anonymouse Labourite will figure some other excuse to blame the electorate and not the Labour Party.
Dave Smith
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The local councils were willing to swallow the ridiculouus Governments Northern Powerhouse clap trap. For a bribe.
They will be the purveyor of the torys cuts and austerity – that even as councils they have imposed.
Unions have opposed the city regions based on understanding politics and the consequences to the communities.
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At the council meeting Read stood up and said they would be no Mayor
On Friday two days later behind closed doors he signed up for a Mayor
The reason Labour are at risk of loosing much of its total control
So they can see a way of holding on to control by installing a Labour Mayor
They are total control freaks also I have told the two who would be in the frame for the mayors job
Richard Caborn and Mr we are all doomed Sir Steve Horton Reads mentor
Read took this on himself with no mandate from the people or full council how democratic is that
Then he says you can trust us to run our all new we have changed unfit for purpose Labour Councillors
No change same old same old
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The big deceit………
And there was I thinking it must relate to one of this week’s stories. This one perhaps:
Ukip Thanet council leader Chris Wells failed to pay tax to his own local authority
The leader of Thanet District Council was taken to court after falling behind with his own council tax payments. The council was granted a liability order by a magistrates’ court to recover the arrears and its costs, which together amounted to £2,679.10
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/ukip-council-leader-failed-to-94889/
or
The Ukip candidate who can’t spell the name of his own constituency
A Ukip candidate has been criticised after his election leaflet wrongly spelled the constituency he wants to represent. The leaflet from UKIP candidate Stephen Clee, from Penrhiwfer in the Rhondda , spelt the constituency as “Rhonnda” in a leaflet distributed across the area.
Earlier this month, Ukip declared on its website it would also be standing in the “Alan and Deeside” constituency . The real name of the North Wales constituency is Alyn and Deeside.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/ukip-candidate-who-cant-spell-11248220
or
Essex UKIP accused of false election signature
The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has been accused of using someone’s name and signature on an election form without their approval
Rupert Duke’s name appears on nomination papers for a UKIP candidate in council elections in Essex. Mr Duke, who was not a member of the party, said it was “a disgrace” and he had reported the matter to police.
UKIP’s election agent for Castle Point Borough Council said it was an “administration error”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-36124069
or
UKIP ‘duped by imposter’ claiming to be former Bradford MP’s son
THE Bradford branch of UKIP has been “duped” by an imposter claiming to be the son of a former Bradford MP.
The party had announced that a man calling himself David Rooney was being lined up as a potential parliamentary candidate for Bradford West after “defecting” from Labour, the party for which Terry Rooney held a city seat for 20 years.
UKIP had claimed the defection as a major coup, with the party’s Bradford chairman Jason Smith saying he would back the man as a local election candidate in 2018 and the party’s Bradford West general election candidate for 2020.
But the story, reported in yesterday’s Telegraph & Argus, was met with an angry reaction from Terry Rooney who called it a “complete fabrication.” And now UKIP chiefs are facing questions about how they appeared to welcome an imposter with a fabricated back-story into their local party.
“David Rooney” had claimed to be the eldest child of the former MP, saying he had left Labour to join UKIP. But Terry Rooney said the man is not his son. His real son is, in fact, called Peter and lives in Cumbria. He said: “I am appalled that this has been said. It’s a complete fabrication. I am staggered that UKIP have been taken in by this. My strong feelings now are for my family who have had their integrity traduced and don’t deserve to have been treated like this.”
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14451173.UKIP__duped_by_imposter__claiming_to_be_former_Bradford_MP_s_son/?ref=trn
or
Doublethink
Doublethink is at play in Worthing, where Ukip has been distributing leaflets that have contradictory demands in successive bullet points.
“Stop building wind farms,” says one; “let’s invest in sustainable energy,” says the other. Maybe they will be relying on hot air to power the National Grid instead?
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/the-times-diary-getting-in-the-gatsby-spirit-0vmmrfd8g?acs_cjd=true
What next?
Caven Vines revealed to be a secret lovechild of Coco the Clown?
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Can’t you think of anything else but bigoted remarks, how about Chris Read misleading people when putting the wrong postcodes in hids nomination and electoral services letting it go
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It’s all to do with money.
‘The agreement means the Sheffield city-region will have access to £30m a year of government money for 30 years, enabling it to invest in projects aimed at spurring manufacturing and innovation. Local leaders welcomed the deal, saying it would let them make bigger and better plans to develop skills, business growth and infrastructure, as well as start to redress the imbalance of power between central and local government.’
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21670501-another-northern-city-says-yes-elected-mayor-and-lots-more-money-sheffield-steals-march
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Janet Green the Internet stalker doesn’t post under his real name 63 Councillors and he only ever follows one that’s a very unhealthy obsession I think
But I fail to see what his post has anything to do with the south yourkshire labour selling out to The Conservative Goverment ?
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Chris Reed had his pants down for the greater Sheffield City Region, and around £30,000,000, come on Caven lets be frank how much would it take, for your pants down and the greater good of the Sheffield City Region, please be truthful.
Probably Janet is right, and Caven really is a clown, and may be I was all along wrong, I always had him down as a Dick.
An I ain’t even any of the above mentioned party supporter.
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What is it some of you do not understand as a REGION of Sheffield surely you know who will get the benefit, it won’t be Rotherham and this is another layer of government that is not necessary and more jobs for the boys and as I said before a SELLOUT to a Tory government
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