The pictures opposite show the devastation after a robbery of my Home Cinema shop in Manchester. Horrific aren’t they? However, these pictures were not taken on Tuesday following the rioting and looting in the North West of England, they were taken exactly two days before Christmas day, 2003.

As I listened to Salford, Manchester and London traders on Sky News describing how their businesses and livelihoods had been destroyed by criminals during the violence last week, the memories of 2003 came flooding back.

Unlike some shop and business owners who were targeted in these recent attacks, I had no warning whatsoever of what was about to happen. We were just about to complete a busy Christmas period, however we still anticipated two good days of trade before we closed for the Christmas break. Personally, from a business owner perspective, I was looking forward more to our New Year sales. We had stocked up accordingly and were expecting brisk business.

I can’t recall the exact time I received a call from the alarm company, but I believe it was around 9pm. While always a worry, our alarm could be temperamental, and on occasion had been set off by vibrations to the shutters or inebriated individuals falling into the shop front. However, I always made haste to get to the shop as quickly as possible “just in case”.

As I approached my shop, I instinctively knew something was wrong. A traffic jam on Bury Old Road at 9pm on a week night? My heart sank. Fearing the worst, I bypassed the traffic by driving on the wrong side of the road (it was impossible for anything to be coming in the other direction, as I soon discovered).

On abandoning my car half on the road, half on the pavement (facing the wrong way!) I could see the reason for the traffic jam. A pickup truck that had been used to “ram raid” my shop had reversed back into the road, completely blocking it in both directions. A scene of complete devastation awaited my arrival. The alarm was sounding incessantly.

The truck had been driven straight through the shutter, demolishing the small wall below the windows. Inside, the energy of the truck and movement of the metal shutter had obliterated the first few rows of DVD Players that were previously sitting on display. Outside the front door, a 42” plasma TV was abandoned, smashed.

Police were on scene and it transpired that a squad car had been close by when the shop was attacked, but unfortunately the perpetrators had managed to evade capture. I was heartbroken at the complete and utter destruction of the successful business that I had built up from a “back bedroom hobby” to one that employed two people full-time, on a good wage.

Perhaps the hardest job was the telephone call to my father (who had left his previous job to join me and help us expand). In a bitter addition to the horror, when the Police allowed us entry to turn off the alarm system (still blaring), my dad slipped on the debris and broke his arm.

The criminals who robbed us and destroyed our livelihoods that Christmas in 2003 are no better than the mindless yobs who decided to get whatever free “stuff” they could and damn the consequences to others. Many hard working shopkeepers, business owners and shop staff have lost their primary income and in some cases (due to indiscriminate arson), their homes as well.

I know how they feel. They feel the pain and anguish I felt that night 7 and a half years ago and they want the guilty to be caught and punished. Justice yes, swift justice if possible – but it does not have to be rushed. The Police have always had my admiration and I am incredibly grateful for their help in 2003 and earlier in the year (February) when our business was attacked by machete-wielding robbers who almost killed my father in a senseless attempted robbery which landed them exactly zilch in “swag” but scarred us both for life. The Police have an incredibly difficult job to do, with limited resources and an almost unlimited “clientele” to serve, protect and sometimes arrest.

This is why I will not criticise the Police for the decisions they made in last week’s riots, nor in their inability to catch the idiots that attacked me and my business in 2003. I work alongside Police Officers and have heard, first-hand, their varied tales of arrests and incidents they are involved in on a daily basis. These days Police Officers are expected to put their lives on the line (and some have died doing so) with the risk that if they “get it wrong” they might lose their jobs, their pension, sometimes their liberty and maybe their lives. It’s a constant worry to Police Officers that the suspect resisting arrest today could sue them tomorrow for assault or “using excessive force”.

We need to let our Police Officers take the gloves off and police as the moment or event dictates. If a riot is in progress, Commanders should have the ability and power to declare a different set of rules that apply for that particular problem. This would allow officers on the ground the freedom to do more without worry of being hauled before the courts themselves.

I am not advocating giving Police Officers permission to do whatever they like, simply a return to proper traditional policing, rather than acting as a social worker. While I hope that we don’t see events like I experienced in 2003 and many other people experienced last week repeated any time soon, we should act now and free our Police from the “handcuffs” that the last two governments have shackled them with.

The English Democrats party is forcing Salford to hold a referendum on an elected Mayor for the city after they handed in a 10,000 name petition. Under the Local Government Act introduced by Labour, if 5% of the electorate petition the council and the signatures are correctly matched to names on the city’s electoral roll, a vote on the issue will be triggered automatically.

Last September at their party conference, the English Democrats launched a bid to increase the number of directly elected mayors across England, and Salford has become the first city to receive a referendum as a result of their campaign.

In a press release Robin Tilbrook, the English Democrats’ Party Chairman said “…Salford City Council was the first to achieve the necessary 5% of voters signatures to trigger a referendum under the Local Government Act 2000.”

Robin continued “All the British Establishment Parties nationally have pushed for elected Mayors to sort out the abysmal standards of both local government decision making and of democratic accountability but at the local level their councillors have usually been too busy looking after their own interests.

But why Salford? The organiser of the petition, Stephen Morris, does not live in the city and at a recent full council session, Salford’s 60 councillors voted in favour of retaining “a strong leader” and cabinet executive, so it seems clear that Salford’s democratically elected members do not share the same appetite for an elected mayor as Mr Morris and his party.

While I may count Salford’s leader, Councillor John Merry, as a political adversary – I do accept that he was elected fair and square in a local government election and that his colleagues who (by virtue of their numbers) control Salford City Council, have decided he is the man to lead them.

Councillor Merry said “[This] is not the first time English Democrats have cost us large sums of money. A mayoral election is likely to cost the people of Salford £150,000 and the organiser lives in Bury.”

If a YES vote forces Salford voters to directly elect it’s leader, rather than the members of the largest party on the council, I can only imagine how difficult running the city would be if a political opposite were to win the right to lead members of an opposing party.

Following an emphatic NO result in the AV Referendum just over a year ago, the voters of Salford have demonstrated their views and the preference is clearly to retain the status quo. I question the motives of the English Democrats, given the recent rejection by Salfordians of major changes to our electoral system.

Arnie Craven, Electoral Reform Society Council candidate added “Anything that may increase democratic engagement is to be welcomed. However the current rules surrounding directly elected Mayors unacceptably diminish the powers of local Councillors. That’s why I am calling on the Government to adjust their plans for elected Mayors in our cities, so as to ensure hard working Councillors retain their powers of scrutiny & oversight”

And given the Conservatives are considering not standing candidates in elections for the new elected police commissioners which are due to take place next May I am surprised at Tory support for elected Mayors, although in Salford perhaps it offers them a slim chance to wrestle leadership of the council from Labour control.

Nationally, the Liberal Democrats are currently calling for candidates interested in standing as Police & Crime Commissioners to undergo the parliamentary approval process, as all Lib Dem candidates will be required to be on the Party’s list of approved parliamentary candidates before being allowed to stand under the party banner.

However, no such call has gone out to local parties with regard to potential Lib Dem Mayoral candidates who may be considering standing. If Mayoral and Police Commissioner elections go ahead next year, certainly in Salford, it’s entirely possible there will be no Conservative or Liberal Democrat candidates, potentially leaving the door open for well-funded BNP or English Democrat candidates to grab power by the back door. Locally, Labour have yet to announce if they intend to put forward their own candidates to fight these elections.

I’ve just heard that the Natwest bank are running a new Grants Scheme for local groups.

In each of their local markets they are offering three community projects the chance to win awards of £6,000 each. NatWest won’t be deciding the winners, but it will be up to local people who know the projects and what will benefit your area most.

If you know a local charity, organisation or group which you think would benefit, please ask them to register at: www.natwest.com/communityforce by 4th September.

Salford City Council has opened an electronic book of condolence, to send messages to the people of Norway and the families and friends of the victims of the horrific attacks on 22 July, in Oslo and at the island of Utøya.

Councillor John Merry, Leader of Salford City Council, has added his own message as follows “I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those affected by the tragedy in Norway. I have been moved by the way in which the nation has come together to support each other in these difficult times.”

All the messages received from the people of the City of Salford will be presented to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London.

If you would like to leave your own message you can access the book of condolence via the following link
http://www.salford.gov.uk/condolences.htm

Last month, Peter Flanagan of Pendlebury in Salford was confronted by machete-wielding intruders at his home. He has been quoted as saying he “did what he believed necessary” to defend his home and family and fatally stabbed one of the burglars.

The day before the break-in, Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters he intended to “put beyond doubt that homeowners and small shopkeepers who use reasonable force to defend themselves or their properties will not be prosecuted”. Who knew that this clarification of the law would be tested the following day?

Now the CPS have agreed with Mr Flanagan that he acted in self defence after being woken by noises downstairs in his house shortly before midnight.

Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said “On investigating the disturbance he was confronted by intruders, one of whom was armed with a machete.”

“People are entitled to use reasonable force in self-defence to defend themselves, their family and their property,” he said.

But is killing someone reasonable force? We haven’t had a full and clear picture of what exactly transpired, so it would be folly to suggest Mr Flanagan went too far at this stage, but I hope that now the CPS has agreed not to charge the Pendlebury homeowner for simply defending his family and property, that the full facts are released.

I firmly believe that homeowners should be allowed to do whatever necessary to “STOP” intruders, but they should go no further and not be tempted to take the law into their own hands (thereby becoming judge, jury and executioner).

Nine years ago a father who stabbed to death a burglar he found in his family’s home was jailed for five years after being found guilty of manslaughter. Barry-Lee Hastings, 25, stabbed Roger Williams, 35, a total of 12 times after mistaking a jemmy in his hand for a machete but Old Bailey Judge Brian Barker told Hastings that he had gone too far and his actions were not justified.

And more than a decade ago Tony Martin was convicted of murder, replaced with manslaughter on appeal when he shot and killed one burglar and wounded another who had both entered his home. Martin served three years of a five year sentence for the crime.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said legislation was needed to clarify what force could be used, and that, if a householder stabbed a burglar, the householder would not be prosecuted.

“What they’re not entitled to do is shoot them in the back when they’re running away,” Mr Clarke added.

The Ministry of Justice is quoted by the BBC as saying it is “looking at ways of clarifying the law so people are clearer about what this means”.

I call on the MoJ to move quickly and set out what homeowners can legally do to protect themselves when they are faced with burglars entering their homes armed with deadly weapons.

In today’s Times, 115 Liberal Democrat councillors (including 14 Lib Dem Council Leaders and almost 70 opposition and group leaders including Councillor Norman Owen, Leader of the Salford Lib Dem Group) have called for the scrapping of Conservative-proposed plans for Police and Crime Commissioners. You can read more about the story at LocalGov, thereby saving you having to pay News International for the privilege of reading the story.

I personally urged Councillor Owen to sign the letter and I am very glad his opinion is the same as mine, that there is a clear need for a separation of the police and politicians. The recent hacking scandal has proven just that!

It worries me that the might of a political campaign could result in the appointment of a Police and Crime Commissioner who is neither qualified for the job nor capable of taking on the huge responsibility that comes with the role.

Take for example Greater Manchester Police, currently the worst performing force in the country, which employs 8,232 police officers, 332 Volunteer Special Constables, 782 Police Community Support Officers, and 4,068 members of police staff and an annual budget of £524.1m
(according to Wikipedia). The new Police & Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester would be expected to set the strategy, be responsible for the allocating of resources and setting targets for the local force, but would have no influence over the management. How will installing an unqualified commissioner to take on the monumental task of turning around GMP’s performance achieve that?

I cannot think of a more confusing situation having a politician in charge of the (supposedly) politically-neutral police!

The coalition government should scrap this idea immediately and I agree with the supporters of the letter to The Times which calls for them to be replaced with police boards that will work with local government.

I am grateful to the Salford Star for once again being “ahead of the curve” and exclusively revealing that the University of Salford, located on the border of Langworthy and Irwell Riverside wards in Salford, is planning to remove the famous lion logo (opposite) and replace it with the word “Manchester”.

The current lion logo proudly states “The University of Salford” although some of their letterheads do also state “A Greater Manchester University” – which I do not have a problem with.

If the proposed logo does, as the Salford Star mockup below suggests, simply say University of Salford Manchester, then this is a backward step and they should quickly re-think the idea.

The University of Salford has proudly stated it’s home in it’s logo since it became a fully-fledged University in 1967 (in fact, Salford University can trace it’s origins back to 1896, when it was the Royal Technical Institute, Salford).

So why does The University of Salford think now is a good time to suggest they are in Manchester when their new MediaCity:UK building at Salford Quays is on the brink of opening? Perhaps it may have something to do with the fact that a recent survey of students in a poll for accomodationforstudents.com showed Salford University to be the worst university in the country in which to study. Manchester University was voted the joint second best place to study.

The University of Salford management board should think again, reverse this terrible decision before it is too late, and stick with the traditional logo.

Lastly, I call on Salford Council and all 60 of the city’s ward councillors (including all 6 from both Langworthy and Irwell Riverside wards) to denounce the decision to change the logo to “University of Salford Mancheter” and call on them to support me in arguing for return to the traditional logo we know and love.

Tens of thousands of public sector workers, many of them teachers, are expected to strike on Thursday, in England and Wales. Currently public sector workers largely enjoy more generous pensions than their equivalents in the private sector and the Coalition Government has acknowledged the growing difference in approach between the private and public sectors. The private sector long ago realised the rising cost and substantial risk involved in offering final salary schemes, based on years of service and end of career earnings, made them unsustainable.

The Coalition Government has a responsibility to ensure that pensions in the civil service are both fair and sustainable in the long term.  As it stands, by 2015-16, £10bn per year will be needed simply to meet the gap between pension contributions and payments to the unfunded pensions they support. In difficult economic circumstances, we simply cannot ignore public spending in an area that will more than double within five years.

The cost of public sector pensions has spiralled out of control in recent years, with benefits paid out of the five largest schemes rising by a third in real terms over the past decade. The problem is that most of these are not funded, so the burden falls on the taxpayer. To give some idea of the scale, the value of unfunded pension liabilities was put by the government’s actuary’s department at £770 billion in 2008.

Councillor Norman Owen, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Salford Council said,

“I fully believe that public sector workers deserve a decent income when they retire. However, presently, most civil servants have a system that is far more generous than pension schemes elsewhere in the public and private sectors.  We must create for the Civil Service an affordable and flexible pension package with a sustainable balance between pay and pensions that is appropriate to the times. I think it’s also important to bear in mind that restraint is being shown across the board – private sector employees have already seen final salary schemes close and returns from defined contribution schemes fall.”

Councillor Owen added:

“As a former shop steward myself, I know that unions have the right to strike, but it is completely wrong For the PCS, NUT, ATL and UCU unions to continue with this strike action whilst negotiations are still ongoing with the Coalition Government. However, I agree with  the Coalition Government’s steps to ensure the long term sustainability of public sector pensions, while reducing the existing inequality – something Liberal Democrats campaigned for before the election.  As you know, John Hutton published his report into public sector pensions in early October in which he emphasised the need for fairness when it comes to pension reform so that the lowest paid workers are protected.”

Salford City Council has been praised by the Deputy Prime Minister for taking an innovative and forward thinking approach to supporting complex families.

In his speech to the Local Government Association, Nick Clegg gave the example of a particularly complex family of five that Salford City Council has worked with to get their lives back on track, saving tens of thousands of pounds in the process.

Speaking about complex families at the conference, Nick Clegg said: “Their complex problems mean they can end up seeing dozens of professionals across public services – but those professionals aren’t always joined up, making it near impossible for anyone to get an overall picture of what that family needs.

“Community budgets are budgeting for real life, breaking down the barriers between different parts of the machine, and treating people with troubles like human beings, not figures on a spreadsheet.”

Before Salford’s Better Life Chances team worked with this family, they were costing the taxpayer more than £200,000 per year on top of the normal costs for public services, with more than 250 interventions form a wide range of agencies, including the council, police, housing and NHS in a one year period.

Their chaotic lifestyle meant they used more than 109 hours of police officers time across 58 call outs resulting in five arrests and the children being placed on supervision orders. There were also five occasions of them ending up in hospital due to overdoses, self harm, stabbing and assault, as well as two housing injunctions taken out against the family.

By taking a more proactive approach to working with the family, Salford City Council and their partners have helped them to get their lives back on track, while also significantly reducing the impact they have on public resources. The outcome for this particular family was a saving of more than two thirds of the £200,000 cost of reacting to the problems in this family’s lives.

The work involves a wide range of agencies sitting around a table to look at a family’s problems in their entirety, rather than each agency dealing with individual family members. By sharing what they know and finding solutions for the family, the Better Life Chances team reduces the strain on the public purse.

In the case of a family in Salford, the team worked with them to deal with their debt problems and look at ways to get them back into work. This reduced the mother’s anxiety, meaning she was less dependent on the health service, as well as lowering alcohol consumption which reduced the chances of the family becoming involved in antisocial behaviour. This ultimately has a positive impact on the younger members of the family as they have more stability at home and are therefore more likely to re-engage with the education system, increasing the likelihood of their success further down the line.

Councillor John Merry, Leader of Salford City Council, said: ““For some time now we have been developing this new approach to dealing with families that seem to have been failed by the state and yet cost the most to support. My main aim is to help everybody in Salford to achieve their full potential. For some families this takes more time and work so we have to find ways of working right across public services that suit the family whilst also reducing the money we are spending on them. Allowing single agencies to lead rather than all trying to do our thing is definitely the way forward here “

Source: Salford City Council

I was reading today on Richard Baum’s blog (Bury Lib Dem campaigner) how following the change in political leadership on Bury Council (from Tory to Labour, decided by the draw of a short straw) that the new leader of Bury Council has started a “leader’s blog“.

This is very similar to Sir Richard Leese’s leader’s blog over on the Manchester City Council website.

Bury campaigner Richard Baum makes a good point when he states that while it could do with opening up comments, it’s a step in the right direction and should be applauded.

So, I ask, when will Salford’s Council leader start his blog? He’s already on Twitter, commenting on local politics as @JohnDMerry and is well known for frequenting the comment threads on this blog, Joe O’Neil’s “cut and paste” website, Steve Cooke’s blog and Iain Lindley’s site so he’s clearly not a “technophobe” by any means.

I think a leader’s blog would be a great way to engage Salfordians and would be saying this no matter who the leader of Salford Council was (or whichever party they represented). Come on John, engage your public, what do you say?

Don’t forget tomorrow (Tuesday 24th May) there will be a residents meeting at the Moorlands Sports & Social Club (the former Weaste & District Conservative Club) on Liverpool Street at 4pm.

Representatives from Urban Vision and Palmer Demolition will be in attendance to give a brief overview of their plans for the site and to answer resident’s questions.

Langworthy ward Councillor Lynn Drake will be chairing the meeting and I will be on hand to collect questions, should residents not want to ask them personally.

The other ward Councillors have also been invited.

This is not a political meeting, it is purely for concerned residents to find out what is happening with the former school site during demolition and to learn about future plans for the site once cleared.

The Manchester Evening News is today carrying a story that Salford Council has been vindicated in it’s sale of land to Tesco, despite Salford Shopping City owners Salford Estates attempts to halt the sale by launching a judicial review.

Salford Estates complained that the Council did not get the full value of the land from Tesco but judges disagreed and said the information the council received over the cost of the deal from independent experts was ‘proper’ and was taken on board by planning bosses. The court heard there was ‘no proof’ that the land was worth more than Tesco paid.

Additionally, the judge said considerations on behalf of the council were ‘properly taken’ and bosses decided ‘rationally’ to take up the Tesco deal.

Ruling out reversing the planning permission, the judge  added: “The council did not act irrationally or on an error of law.”

I blogged about this pending case back in January when I was unconvinced by assurances from the Councl that everything was above board. I was wrong when I said “a dodgy land deal was done” – is it has now been proved there was nothing wrong with the land deal between Tesco and Salford Council.

While I still find it odd how Salford Council handled a £4m “pre-payment” from Tesco (which paid for the new Willow Tree Primary School) the judicial review has proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this was neither a ‘bribe’ nor involved corruption on any part by any council officer or councillor. I was wrong to suggest this in my January blog post.

I call on Salford Council’s Monitoring Officer to quickly respond to my January complaint  and a issue a formal response to the above affect, as it would be my preference not to 100% rely on the Manchester Evening News for the full facts in this case.

As of last week the ‘free’ bulky waste collection in Langworthy came to an end. Since the start of Langworthy’s SRB5 re-generation the council has collected bulky waste free of charge and this has helped to combat (but not eliminate) the fly-tipping that has plagued our ward in recent years.

All this has now come to an end in a short-sighted cut by Salford’s Labour Council.

The new charges are £24.14 for up to four items (excluding builder’s rubble, bricks, concrete, paving flags and other heavy items and gas bottles).

However, all is not lost. Salford Community Transport ‘New to You’ have been providing local residents with a free collection service for  re-usable bulky waste items such as beds, suites, drawers, washing machines and tumble dryers for some time now. This will continue.

Salford Community Transport ‘New to You’ is a charity which collects good quality unwanted furniture for the re-supply to families and individuals in need and will collect any reusable household items free of charge, such as Beds, Three piece suites, Washing machines, Tumble dryers, Wardrobes, Chest of drawers, Dressing and dining tables.

Bulky waste items need to be in good condition and not flat packed, damaged or in need of dismantling for transport.

To arrange a collection of re-usable bulky waste items or for more information please call Salford Community Transport ‘New to You’ on 0161 736 8852 or email: salford@communitytransport.org.

Alternatively, you can also donate your unwanted furniture at the Lumns Lane Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Back in March I wrote about the now closed Seedley Primary School and how residents who live adjacent and nearby were worried about what was going to happen to the site.

Langworthy Lib Dem Councillor Drake who lives next door to the school building (and whose gated alley joins the school building wall) was concerned that given Salford Council’s lack of maintenance of other buildings locally there was a danger the school could become unsafe so she attempted to get assurances from the Council over the school’s future.

No information was forthcoming until a demolition notice was posted on the lampost outside on Liverpool Street indicating the school was to be demolished in May 2011.

As residents have not been consulted or their concerns allayed about the affects the demolition will have on adjacent homes, as well as the future plans for the site (both short term and long term) we are calling a public meeting for all residents concerned to talk with officers about the situation.

The residents meeting will be on May 24th at 4pm, either at The Moorside Sports and Social Club (formerly the Weaste & District Conservative Club) at the junction of Liverpool Street and Seedley Park Road or at the All Souls Church on Liverpool Street at the junction of Derby Road. Watch this space!

While 4pm is hardly an ideal time, it was the only timeslot we could get Urban Vision and representatives from the demolition company to agree to. It’s hope a further residents meeting can be held at a later date in the evening to update residents who cannot attend this one.

I’ve had a short break after the local elections and while I didn’t get the result I wanted in Langworthy (or indeed across Salford as a whole) I’m proud to have stood for what I believed in (and still do!). For those that have not seen it, the result was:

• Elected: LOVEDAY, Gina (Labour)
• Electorate: 9,256
• Votes cast: 2,415
• Turnout: 26.1%
• Majority: 1,032
• Void votes: 23
• Status: Labour hold

Tomorrow is polling station and the polls are open from 7am-10pm. Here is a list of polling districts and polling stations in the Langworthy ward and remember, you do not need your polling card to vote (although it makes it a bit easier for the poll clerks to find and identify you on the voting register).

QA Langworthy Cornerstone, 451 Liverpool Street, M6 5QQ

QB Fit City Clarendon, Liverpool Street, M5 4AY

QC Fit City Clarendon, Liverpool Street, M5 4AY

QD Temporary Building, Visitors Car Park, Willow Tree Primary School, Greenland Street, M6 5TJ

QE Temporary Building, Lower Seedley Road, M6 5WL

QF Pendleton Gateway, 1 Broadwalk, M6 5FX

QG St. Paul’s Primary School, Cross Lane, M5 4AL

QH Pendleton Gateway, 1 Broadwalk, M6 5FX

QI William Sutton Trust Community Centre, Doveridge Gardens / Seedley Road, M6 5NQ

QJ Community Room, 15 Springbank, Brentwood, M6 8RH

QK Halton House, 36 Eccles Old Road, M6 8RA

If you’re unsure what polling district you live in and do not have your polling card to hand, please feel free to telephone the Lib Dem Office on 0161-736 5500 and we will look it up for you.

Remember to vote STEVE MIDDLETON for Langworthy, an all-year-round hard worker who lives locally.

While  I’ve been out and about in Langworthy knocking on people’s doors and delivering leaflets, I’ve been asked a few times why local residents should vote for me. Beyond the obvious “I’m your neighbour, I live on your street”, here are a few of the other reasons and local Salford Lib Dem policies and promises I’ve mentioned on the doorstep:

• Change full council sessions and as many public council meetings as possible to “family friendly” times, which would allow greater transparency by allowing more local people to attend council to see their councillors working for Salford.
• Seek to move from the current Cabinet system at the council, replacing it with the more accessible and accountable committee system. People are fed up with decisions being made behind closed doors rather than in public. We would make the council more open.
• Cancel Salford’s In Life magazine saving over £330,000 per year and instead support local media with the council’s statutory public notices.
• Consult residents properly on developments that affect them. Labour’s control of Salford Council has meant that for far too long, public consultations have been little better than a sham. The Liberal Democrats on Salford Council will push for proper consultations that are well publicised, do not appear/disappear suddenly and do take account of the majority of views.
• Stop the demolition! Lib Dems support the building of new houses and refurbishing of existing “tinned up” houses in Langworthy and Broughton. We want to put a stop to any further demolition unless the building is dangerously unsound until all avenues of regeneration have been exhausted.
• When we vote on policies or budgets in Council Salford Lib Dem Councillors will never forget we are representing our wards, before our party. That means that sometimes we will vote differently to each other. We are not ‘whipped’ to vote the same way as the party leader or to follow “party policy”. A vote for a Lib Dem Councillor in Salford is a vote for an individual not another sheep in the flock.
• Salford Liberal Democrats listen. Whether through our Focus newsletters, knocking on your door, sharing our email addresses and telephone numbers with as many people as possible or sending out surveys, we’re always asking your view.  Your priority is our priority, if it matters to you it matters to us.  How can we effectively represent you if we don’t listen to what you have to say? The more we listen, the more we learn about and the better we serve the communities we represent.
• Salford Lib Dem councillors and campaigners work hard all year round, not just at election time.  Not just attending the meetings but working in the community.  Not just because you’ve called us, we know people are busy and don’t get round to reporting that annoying pot hole you hit every morning, we’ll go looking for issues as well.

Salford Liberal Democrats – Local People, Local Party, Local Action.

I was watching the BBC’s Politics Show on Sunday and there was a very interesting feature about how much of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifest promises had become reality. Lib Dem blogger Mark Pack wrote a brilliant and succinct blog post about the BBC segment and I shamelessly reproduce it here:

Sunday’s Politics Show featured the results of research by independent academics into how each party in the Coalition Government is doing at getting its polices enacted.

The conclusion? Three-quarters (75%) of the Liberal Democrat manifesto is being turned into government policy, compared to noticeably less (60%) of the Conservative manifesto, as illustrated in this screenshot:

(For a sample of those Lib Dem policies being put into action see the excellent site What The Hell Have The Lib Dems Done?)

Conservative blogger Tim Montgomerie and Lib Dem blogger and Federal Policy Committee (FPC) member Linda Jack were both interviewed to discuss these results and other aspects of the coalition’s future.

Local community website SalfordOnline have asked all candidates standing in this year’s Salford local elections three questions. As it’s taking them a while to post the answers, I thought it’d be worthwile me posting my own answers on my blog:-

1) Why have you decided to stand?
As a resident of Langworthy I really care about my neighbourhood and feel that we are under-represented in the community and on the council. I want to make a difference to the quality of our lives in Langworthy, by ensuring that Salford Council are more pro-active in helping to reduce crime and finishing the regeneration of our ward. I would vote to ensure that taxpayer’s money is not wasted on marketing spin, glossy magazines and consultants and instead spent in our community to provide services to local residents. Somebody needs to stand up for Langworthy and it’s clear to me that if our elected representatives do not live in our area, they cannot understand the problems we face and what we want – I see the problems for myself every day and my neighbours tell me what issues they face every day.

2) What do you see as the main problems affecting your area?
Salford Labour have failed to complete the promised re-generation of Langworthy and, like many other parts of the city, we are left with tinned-up houses and fenced off grassed areas where good, solid family homes used to be. While the Lib Dems in government have backed the PFI project for Pendleton, which will give the area a much needed facelift, it comes years later that it should have. Labour have forgotten Langworthy and allowed many of the council-owned and maintained buildings in the area rot to the point of collapse, two examples of which are the Langworthy Hotel and the shops on Liverpool Street. Drug farms are becoming an increasing problem across the ward, along with anti-social behaviour which is usually alcohol-related. Finally, our roads have deteriorated to such a state that last year Labour’s leader admitted the council had a £100m backlog of road repairs with no possible way to reduce that backlog.

3) How would you go about solving those problems?
The Liberal Democrats in government have approved the Pendleton PFI project which is a welcome start to begin the regeneration of the area, but there are still many homes and streets across the whole ward where improvement is needed. Salford Lib Dems will be pushing for improvements to homes across the area so that they reach the decent homes standard and insisting that council-owned property is properly maintained and looked after. Many of the drug farms that have been closed down by local Police teams have been inside socially rented council houses and the Lib Dems on the Salford Council are committed to evicting tenants who allow their homes to be used to cultivate drugs, something Labour seem hesitent to do. Anti-social behaviour should not be tolerated and many occurences have been fuelled by alcohol – as Langworthy has far more licenced premises than any other ward across the city, we would put a temporary hold on granting of any further licences to sell alcohol and immediately order a review of those premises currently selling alcohol in the area. Alcohol retailers have a duty to their neighbours and we would encourage them to work with the council to ensure that alcohol is sold responsibly and legally. Finally, I am happy to report that Lib Dems in government have recently granted Salford over £608,000 to immediately tackle road repairs across the city which comes on the back of £100m which was earmarked for potholes in February. Lib Dems in government have recognised that potholes and poorly maintained roads are a danger to all road users and brings the total extra funding to £200m since the election.