Forum Topic

Will Hounslow Council's five new pledges be kept ?

Hounslow's new Labour administration announced 5 pledges yesterday:1. "Action on crime with 100 uniformed officers on the streets and CCTV in crime hotspots".  Comment: this is a desirable objective but Hounslow Council is not in a position to deliver because Hounslow Council does not control the London Metropolitan Police. In addition, the new Government is unlikely to want to fund a lot more CCTV.Britain already has more CCTV than the rest of Europe combined.2. "Extra cash for schools to improve standards and new school places to give parents a better choice". Comment: this is a desirable objective but Hounslow Council is not in a position to deliver because as the outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Labour MP Liam Byrne admitted "There is no money left" after 13 years of Labour Governments. On the contrary, Hounslow like every other local authority will have to cut its spending on education.  3. "A new partnership with local businesses and housing associations to create jobs and build 2500 affordable homes to rent or buy". Comment: this is a desirable objective but Hounslow Council is not in a position to deliver because it has no money of its own to either create jobs or build houses. Hounslow had a poor record in building affordable homes when Labour was in charge until 2006 and was not trusted by the private sector.4" A 24/7 team of Grimebusters to tackle graffiti, litter, and dumped rubbish, and a direct dial phone number for immediate action."Comment: A desirable objective but will Labour deliver ? The outgoing Conservative led adminstration greatly improved Council performance in this respect compared to previous Labour administrations.5. "A fresh war on waste and a Council Tax cut for all residents"Comment: The outgoing Conservative led adminstration greatly improved Council performance in respect of waste and over-spending compared to previous Labour administrations. The Conservative led administration froze the Council Tax for 4 years whereas previous Labour administations consistently increased local taxes for 40 years. It remains to be seen if Labour can keep its promise to actually cut Council Tax in view of the large reductions in Central Government funding Hounslow will experience over the next four years.

David Giles ● 5846d22 Comments

VanessaIt is early days yet but I think so far Cameron and Clegg have done pretty well.David Laws resigned quickly and was immediately replaced by Danny Alexander, another Lib Dem. He did not try to cling on like disgraced Labour Ministers such as John Prescott, Peter Mandelson (twice), David Blunkett, Hazel Blears, Jacqui Smith, etc.The new Government's decision to publish the salaries of all public servants earning over a certain amount is a very welcome one. It shows how much these salaries and the number of public servants on high salaries have increased over the past 13 years of Labour misgovernment.The recent peeerages were announced as part of Gordon Brown's Dissolution Honours List. I think it is unfortunate that John Prescott and Ian Paisley were included and others were not.

David Giles ● 5840d

The electorate decides who will sit as members of Hounslow Borough Council or not. Others may wish otherwise, but at the 2010 Borough Elections, the electorate decided on 35 Labour Councillors and 25 Conservative councillors. In 2014, the electorate will have a chance to vote again.

David Giles ● 5840d

As the two wonder boys wittered on about a different kind of politics it'll be interesting to see if they can keep anywhere near their promises. First David Lawes and his exes, and now the list of Tory party donors rewarded with honours - some change. Strangely DG has been very silent on this.

Vanessa Smith ● 5843d

:0) deuce!

Tony Wood ● 5843d

Well okay, let me say I'd be quite happy for the last vestiges of the local Conservative Group to be removed from the council too.  How's that for neutrality?

Phil Andrews ● 5843d

You'll have to do some forum searching and show me where I've been biased,on reflection I don't think I've had a go at the LibDems yet,no doubt now they are in semi power the occasion will arise shortly.

Tony Wood ● 5843d

I said I was as politically neutral as you Tony mate.Read some of your old posts...;o)

Phil Andrews ● 5843d

Phil  That clarifies it a bit,so it's nothing to do with the Met other than that's who they'll be reporting to (Bit of duff info from someone then ;0) ).  I suppose it could be good for the Borough....with lots of provisos. I'm a bit torn as to whether I think it's a good idea or not, it's another spoke in the ever growing public surveillance wheel, but on the other hand some areas could probably do with it (drugs,burglary etc.). As you say we'll have to see how it goes.  I'm sorry Phil but I can't agree that you are as politically neutral as myself,throughout your post you have several pops at the Labour Party, I don't mind it's up to you who you don't like, but politically neutral you aren't! I'll get it right this time as last time I reminded you of an old post of yours you accused me of lying when I used the term Socialists instead of New Labour.    "I want to see the last vestiges of Nu Labour removed from the Council" (E&OE)  That isn't the language of a political neutral.

Tony Wood ● 5843d

Well Tony, I'm all for making politicos and bankers uncomfortable.  And with me being every bit as politically neutral as you are, I would be happy to join you in that endeavour.But place this new (borough-wide) constabulary of 100 - whom we've already been told will be neither police officers proper nor PCSOs - into the pot, add in the comments we've read elsewhere on this forum about the role of the wider community in local governance (viz., that residents should be seen and not heard), sprinkle in a pinch of traditional insecurity from its native Victoria Street for taste, simmer and stir, and for my money what will soon be seen crawling out will be 100 uniformed volunteers from a Legion of the Approved whose task it will be to police our communities, and to do so with a vengeance.As my current mood is not one for picking fights nor having arguments with the new administration, which has already impressed me in parts, I am happy to bank this prophecy for now.  But if what emerges from Promise #1 transpires to be a Cronies' Army sent out onto our streets to report back to Lampton Road on anything bearing a suspicious resemblance to independent community activity, under the cover of an anti-crime initiative, all I ask is that you remember you read it here first.

Phil Andrews ● 5843d

I haven't got a clue Phil,(I'm sure you'll agree).   Nope, it just puzzles me when, where and what you'll be getting and how it's going to be paid for. Thats the good thing about being politically neutral, you can question everything if you're so inclined. As I see it,the more we question those in power the less monkey business they can get up to.   They (Politicos and Bankers) have dropped Joe Soap right in it, and so says I, "Joe should make the buggers uncomfortable"

Tony Wood ● 5843d

TonyI've a nagging feeling there is a lot more to your post than is immediately apparent.  So we are talking about "residents in uniform" here, right?  Appointed by the council?Does it come with a whistle and an earpiece for receiving instructions, and should I order mine now or would it be safe to assume already that I'll not be getting past the interview stage?

Phil Andrews ● 5843d

I haven't actually seen any flyers about this, are we sure  that they said Police Officers or was it Uniformed Officers? There's a big difference and one would be more palatable to the Government and a lot cheaper too, they might even be talking voluntary uniformed neighbourhood watch thingies.  Surely it can't be 100 per ward, it'd be like rats, your never more than a few feet away from one. :0)   

Tony Wood ● 5843d

I have asked Labour representatives to explain how they plan to fund all of these schemes on numerous occasions but all I have managed to get out of them is that it has been fully costed. Fully costing is one thing, funding it is a completely different matter.So, like David, I ask again, how will these pledges, in particular the 100 extra uniformed officers on the streets in each ward, be funded?

Andrew Sibley ● 5844d

TonyYou are right. There is no way the London Borough of Hounslow can finance putting another 100 police on duty in the Borough - unless of course the new Labour administration massively increases the Council Tax which they have pledged to cut !

David Giles ● 5844d

But Boris has told the Met to save £455 million over the next 3 years,the predicted cuts are 450 coppers and I forget how many back room staff London wide.   I can't see anyway that LBH could possibly afford to finance a scheme like that,given the impending cuts in Government funding to all boroughs.   Even if they could it would be a massive sign to Government that they have far too much money and therefore don't need so much from us.That already happens and again I forgotten what it's called,some sort of clawback or other.

Tony Wood ● 5844d

Hounslow could fund all those coppers by paying the Met to put them on the streets - there is no practical reason why it cannot do this.

Ian Speed ● 5844d

Given the state of the Global economy (much worse than we're being told), I'd say that if Local Councils (any hue) and the Government can keep just some of the essential services going they'll be doing well.   All politicos make promises in good faith, that at the time seem perfectly reasonable (if true, then 100 extra police officers stretches that a bit). I suspect that the Governments recently announced Academies will get pushed to the sidelines as will other nice to haves, whilst they (the Goverment) are fire fighting at Number 11.  Only one country in the World is prepared for what's coming, China? Nope they've lent all of their money to countries that are about to default on them, America? Nope,up to their necks. Only Canada has a healthy balance sheet. Why? Because they had tough legislation in place to control bankers and who they lent to.  It's a shame that Gordon Brown sold off our gold at £200 an ounce, it's nudging £850 now.I'm not really blaming him he must have thought it was a good idea at the time. But telling the World what he was about to do in advance broke the most basic rule of investment.   Sorry if that all sounds rather glum and not much to do with LBH,it will be of course, money is money and as the man said "There isn't any".

Tony Wood ● 5845d

Britain already has more CCTV cameras than the rest of Europe combined. It appears that they have not been very effective. We have far more CCTV cameras than we have people employed to watch them in real time.Politicians like to promise the electorate CCTV cameras but I am afraid they are mainly useful as PR gestures.However, they do concern civil liberties campaigners and they do cost a lot of money. They could be dangerous tool of state control and repression if we ever again had an authoritarian government.It is a pity that the incoming Labour Council does not have something genuine to offer.

David Giles ● 5845d

Broadly I agree with you Mick, there is no subsistute for a copper on the beat. However, given the increasing problem we are experiencing where we live I would welcome a mobile CCTV to see if we could catch who is dumping rubbish in our back access roads and especially who is using our access for their dog's toilet. It really is disgusting, it is not realistic to have anyone monitoring this, as it seems to happen at odd hours.

Vanessa Smith ● 5845d

Let's hope the pledge on CCTV will not be kept. It will just be another waste of money! Even the Home Office's own research has concluded that CCTV has had negligible effects on deterring crime. It might make some citizens sleep easier in the mistaken belief that it does have some effect, but that does not justify 75% of the money available nationally for crime prevention being spent on something so spectacularly ineffective.

Mick Brent ● 5845d

I was out last night when the first meeting of the new Borough Council took place, but I did watch some highlights of it on the webcast today.  I didn't watch it in its absolute entirety because even I am not that sad, but I was curious to see how both parties would cope with their reversed roles on the local authority.The first thing I would say is that in victory the Labour Group did not exhibit the arrogance and bombast that I had expected of them.  Councillor Sharma in particular was very magnanimous, paying tribute to the hard work of many of the councillors who had lost their seats without naming anybody in particular.  Councillor Colin Ellar, the new Mayor, chaired the meeting with the confidence and command of a man who had never been away.On the question of councillors' salaries, Councillor Sharma surprised me and doubtless many other people by announcing that backbenchers' salaries would be reduced by 5% and Special Responsibilities Allowances (SRAs) by 20%.  Whilst this does not return SRAs to their pre-increase levels and whilst, in my view, the reduction in backbench allowances was unnecessary, it certainly did send out the message at a very early stage into the new council that this new administration is unlikely to be as oblivious to how it is perceived by the general public as were past Labour administrations. The promise to put 100 uniformed police officers onto the streets of each ward or even of the whole borough is going to prove extremely difficult to deliver, of course, and there have already been hints on the W4 forum that any new "officers" will in fact have a lesser status to that of PCSOs, which will in effect make them little more than a useless and ineffectual gimmick.  Even at the National Minimum Wage this will still be some commitment, but it is only fair that we should wait and see what the new administration is able to deliver before being critical.  Likewise with its pledge to cut Council Tax.For my part it does feel strange looking on as a spectator, but I have a genuinely open mind at this moment in time and obviously as one would imagine I certainly don't feel any great enthusiasm for the opposition right now.  What happens during the next four years will, in my opinion, shape the political direction of this borough for a whole generation to come.

Phil Andrews ● 5845d

You must have been living in a different borough to me if you are serious about this:4" A 24/7 team of Grimebusters to tackle graffiti, litter, and dumped rubbish, and a direct dial phone number for immediate action."Comment: A desirable objective but will Labour deliver ? The outgoing Conservative led adminstration greatly improved Council performance in this respect compared to previous Labour administrations."The costs of clearing fly tips due to the charging regime imposed for clearing household goods that had previously been free or just a nominal charge was three times the amount of providing the service. The Tory record in this respect was c**p.

Vanessa Smith ● 5845d