Tories Should Leave the EPP

David Cameron is right to say that the Conservative Party MEPs should leave the European Peoples Party grouping in the European Parliament. The EPP is a centralist, federalist grouping of European political parties which support the European Constitution. A Conservative party believing in a Europe of nation states controlling our own destiny and taking back powers to Westminister can't remain associated with a group like the EPP.

The Future is Cameron

I've cast my vote for David Cameron in the leadership election for the new leader of the Conservative Party.

I have really enjoyed the leadership campaign, from the beauty parade at conference through to the last few days. It has been like a political version of Big Brother. The involvement of all the members has meant that it has been a public debate and we've had a chance to get to know all the candidates.

Cameron has got better by the day. He was excellent at the SE Hustings in Frimley last week and came across really well on radio 4 the other day. He is talking about the sorts of issues that concern people, especially younger people who can't stand Blair and are looking for an in touch and effective opposition. He has talked a lot about the environment and climate change and also action on poverty in the third world.

I think he is going to make an excellent leader and the next few years are going to be really exciting.

I hope he uses all the talents on the Conservative benches when forming a Shadow Cabinet. It would fatastic to have William Hague back and hopefully Clarke will agree to serve in a senior role.

Keeping warm this Christmas

The Echo are running a campaign on keeping warm over the winter period.

This winter is expected to be one of the coldest since 1987.

Anyone worried about their winter fuel bill is urged to call the Keep Warm Keep Well helpline on 0800 085 7000 for information and advice about benefits and energy efficiency grants.

Age Concern Hampshire also runs a free helpline on 0800 328 7154.


http://www.thisissouthampton.co.uk/hampshire/southampton/campaigns/freeze.html

Conservativehome.com

This is an excellent political blog:

www.conservativehome.com

Conference Pics on Conservatives Website

Pictures from Conservative Party conference at Blackpool are finally on the Southampton Conservatives website.

http://www.southamptonconservatives.com

Its only taken six weeks and most of them seem to be at the pleasure beach.

Full Council Meeting

Yesterday the Council held is bi-monthly full Council meeting.

Parking Problems

A lengthy debate took place on parking in the City following a deputation from residents of Ocean Village.

The broad view amongst Councillors of all parties was that John Prescott's restrictive planning rules were causing huge parking problems in City. The Government sets maximum limits on numbers of car parking spaces that can be provided for new developments. The Council's local planning plan then gold plates these rules by restricting the numbers of places even further where developments are close to the City centre or on major bus routes.

This is why developments such as the new flats in Shirley Road provide about 10 spaces for fifty or sixty flats.

The objective is to try to drive people out of their cars. The reality however is that people will not give up their cars and park on the roads. It is now a major battle in parts of the City to park outside your own house.

Over the next 20 years over 16,000 new properties are planned to be built in the City and the problem will get worse and worse.

The Council has decided to have a enquiry (an enquiry was held last year, 50 people turned up and none of the actions have been taken up by the Administration!) This enquiry will I hope have more success. I made the point that Council needs to review it's planning plan to ensure that we require the maximum numbers of spaces for new developments.


Safety in the City Parks

I asked that the Council do more to improve safety in the City Centre parks. Lighting is terrible in the parks and needs improving. We could also install CCTV and have security patrols.

Unfortuately the Administration wouldn't agree to these things on grounds of cost. My own view from researching the costs is that big improvements could be made for relatively small sums of money.

We should be doing everything we can to keep people safe at night and I will come back to the matter when the Council sets its budget for next year.

Anti Skid Surfacing in Raymond Road

Anti skid surfacing will be put in along Raymond Road before the end of the year. The plan is to do it as soon after 21st November as possible, weather conditions permitting.

Freemantle Community Centre AGM cancelled

I only just discovered that this has been rescheduled (15 mins before it started). The new date is 5th December, at 7:30, at Freemantle Community Centre, Randolph Street. Apologies if anyone has been inconveienced. Cllr Brian Parnell has agreed to Chair the meeting.

Christmas is coming

As mentioned in a previous post the Council has approved £50,000 for Christmas Lights.
This year's display will be much better with the new pedestrian area on the upper High Street included in the Christmas Lighting Scheme.
Also The Southampton Youth Brass band will be playing carols at the Bargate on Thursday evenings, and the Saint Radio Station will put together a weekend of festive entertainment, featuring live bands in December.

Freemantle Community Centre AGM

The Freemantle Community Centre in Randoph Street is having its AGM at 7pm tomorrow (7th November). Brian Parnell and I will be going along.

More information is on the Council website:

http://www.southampton.gov.uk/community/community-services/community-centres/freemantle-community-centre.asp

Flooding in Archers Road

There was serious flooding at the junction of Archers Road and Silverdale Road today, causing traffic chaos. Evetually the stretch of road was closed off and a vehicle was brought down from Poole to pump out the water. Although it is all sorted now, many drivers and residents were seriously inconvenienced and some stuck in rush hour traffic for an hour.

The problem is largely caused by the dip in the road at the junction.

I have written to the Council to see if there is anything that can be done about it, as this stretch of road is regularly prone to flooding problems.

Money from the flat developments on old Dell site is being used to resurface Howard Road and the Hill Lane end of Archers Road. I wonder if the Council could flatten road or widen the drains as part of this work.

I have also asked the Council to be more vigilant in clearing the leaves in the area. The area is covered with fallen leaves which no doubt block the drains to some extent and make any flooding worse.

The Council also needs to respond to situations like this much quicker. Local police were on the scene to direct traffic but the Council wasn't able to act for many hours.