In an effort to learn something about bins and waste management, I have been a earnest reader of Waste Matters a publication from the Leicestershire Waste Partnership.

This is a 16 page full colour glossy publication, which must cost thousands to produce. The information it contains is nothing that could not be put on a website or in an email - probably to more effect as well. Paradoxically wasteful of the waste partnership.

The summer 2008 edition contains a selection of articles on new initiatives across the County - some of them are quite good, such as making the recycling system easier for disabled people to use, a new system in North West Leics which is a rip off version of Freecycle, and steps being taken to reduce waste being generated before it needs recycling across the County.

There are also some completely pointless articles, such as the full page article on a new small roadsweeper for Charnwood, and a trip to a place in Essex - I can only imagine it was space filler.

I massively supportive of almost all efforts to reduce waste, and manage it in an environmentally sound way - which is why I dislike expensive glossy booklets promoting it. It’s very hard to make a case for recycling and waste management when it is evident that you do not comply yourself.

I await the Autumn edition.

From BBC News:

Mr Johnson was elected London mayor in May, replacing Labour’s Ken Livingstone, who had held the post for eight years.

Questioned as to whether he was finding the job hard, he said: “I am full of fire. I am like a greased bounding panther.

“My legs are steel springs and every day I get out of bed and I beat my chest. Every morning I am full of wonderment that the people of London have done the honour of making me their mayor. I really am.”

Indeed.

Spent my weekend up in the East End of Glasgow helping our campaign in the by-election.

Labour and the SNP really laying into each other, but it looks like Labour will hold on to the seat, albeit by a vastly decreased majority. The Lib Dem campaign is impressive given its small scale and team, and our candidate is excellent. I think we are going to punch above our weight.

Alex Salmond spent the weekend driving around the streets in a giant Lexus 4×4 (very green) bellowing through a loudhailer.

Two campaigning aspects I am not used to; first is the amount of far left parties - including Tommy Sheridan’s Solidarity party. Second, being allowed to attach posters to lamp posts - can’t say I’m a fan of either!

I also experienced my first ever Orange march.

The plans for the redevelopment of the bus station site recently approved by the Council look very exciting.

If the development can be made to chime with the redevelopment of the Britannia Centre, then it should be part of a real transformation of the town centre.

Between the two developments I’m hoping for a diverse mix of tenants, to avoid the ‘anytown’ syndrome.

I had the pleasure of attending a fund raising event at Twycross Zoo last night, in aid of a worldwide appeal to safeguard many species of frogs that are critically endangered.

It has been some years since I have been to Twycross Zoo and it was great to see it looking so prosperous and well maintained. I arrived too late to go on the formal tour of the site, but I did manage to sneak a look at the penguins and flamingos!

The dinner was excellent, and the charity auction raised stacks of money - I was bidding on a small statue of a chimp (don’t ask), though I lost out to a Conservative!

Excellent evenig had by all. Well done Twycross.

From Stuart Brays site:

LIBERAL Democrats in Hinckley & Bosworth have launched a stinging attack on the Conservatives for refusing to support calls to tighten up planning rules on mobile phone masts.

Currently, fewer restrictions govern planning applications for phone masts up to 15 metres in height, often making it difficult for councils to refuse permission for controversial proposals.

Liberal Democrats in Parliament recently moved an amendment to the Planning Bill which would have meant applications for phone masts would have required full planning permission and therefore be considered in the same way as applications for new buildings or change of use of existing ones.

But Labour MPs voted against the call and Conservative MPs did not bother voting at all.

Liberal Democrat Regeneration Spokesman, Cllr Stuart Bray, (Hinckley Castle) said, “Communities can sometimes be powerless to stop inappropriately sited phone masts going ahead because the planning system has fewer restrictions on them than for many other planning applications.

“This gives phone companies an advantage which is not enjoyed by other individuals and businesses applying for planning permission. Our amendment would have made the system fairer.

“I was very disappointed however to see that the Conservatives did not bother to vote for this change. They simply sat on their hands, despite telling everyone at the general election that they support this policy.

“As a result, communities in Hinckley & Bosworth will continue to find it hard to battle against inappropriate phone masts.”

David Cameron’s Conservatives talking about doing one thing, then voting the other way in Parliament - is this sounding familiar yet?

I am one of the people that Leicestershire Promotions insist on bombarding with emails proclaiming their successes, modest though they sometimes are (in the interests of fairness, they are sometimes noteworthy too).

Normally I only glance at these, but today’s missive warranted further reading as it was their Annual Report - or at least I tried to read it. Due to the subject matter of my PhD I am well versed in the lexicons of management, but this was something else.

This was a symphony of impenetrable prose and daft acronyms. Consider if you will their mission statement

Leicester Shire Promotions will help to shape and
facilitate a strong and successful destination renowned
for its progressive, well-rounded approach and its
unique blend of world-class attributes. We will
establish and develop a profile of Leicester and
Leicestershire as destinations of choice within England
and the most distinctive within the East Midlands. We
will strive to deliver one cohesive destination, which
seamlessly embraces the diversity of facets.

I freely admit that I have written (indeed, published) some absolute nonsense in the past but I recognise when I am beaten. The first sentence sounds like they are describing good Californian red wine (progressive, well rounded, world class…), and the second sentence means nothing at all.

Happily they stop talking balls after a few pages and talk about some things they have actually done - and not just sending me emails either.

Two by-election results last night…

Henley: Convincing Conservative win, Labour absolutely thrashed. Bit hard to comment on our result, though I take heart from the fact that our vote went up (absolute, not share) when turnout was down. I wasn’t involved in this campaign so I will refrain from passing comment on our campaign, as it really annoys me when people who haven’t been involved in campaigns I have worked on feel free to judge.

Burbage Parish Council, Lash Hill ward: Convincing Lib Dem win, Conservatives beaten well. I wont claim a shred of credit for this victory, as I was unable the help campaign, but well done to the team.

Lots of interesting news coming up next week!

I see the Conservatives are displeased with one of our leaflets in the Henley by-election, to the point of instructing their solicitors. This is a very common feature of modern campaigns, and is more a publicity stunt than a serious grievance. In this case particularly, since the subject matter of the complaint is rather hard to prove or disprove.

We shall see…

Just watching the BBC and caught the news about David Davis.

Very interesting situation this one, and one that presents a mortal danger to the Conservative Party - while most of the Conservative Parliamentary Party (most!) have worked hard to present themselves as more liberal than in the past, there remains a very large part of the general membership who take law, order and security as the backbone of their party.

A by-election fought on that issue could damage the party badly, especially given that it is the Shadow Home Secretary that has resigned.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out….

Hinckley Carnival seemed a tremendous success last Sunday.

The organisers had done a splendid job, and the weather came through for them, as it was a gloriously sunny day. I was alternating between the Lib Dem bottle stall and the Youth Council’s pitch at the bottom of the field.

Once the parade had finished, I have never seen a more crowded carnival field. The queue for the ice cream van was absolutely massive near us, and all the stalls seemed to be doing a roaring trade - our bottle tombola certainly did!

The Youth Council had their battle of the bands stage set up early on, and their hard work seemed to pay off with the number of young people who were there watching easily into the hundreds - this allowed them to advertise the youth council to a huge number of young people that they would not normally have access to, and I’m sure it will pay long term dividends. The bands were splendid too - a surprising mix of old, new and original material though I was disappointed none chose to cover Whitesnake.

The press seem determined to pursue the Conservative party over alleged misuse of public funds. Now, the Cconservatives have done some disgraceful things in the past - Douglas Hurd for one - but how long should they spend paying or their problems in the early 90’s?

The press need something to do. If they had half a whit between them they would focus on the inability of the Conservatives to commit themselves to anything except headlines.

Cameron has a big height to fall from.

I see that Boris has confirmed that he is stepping down as MP for Henley, as he promised when he was running for London Mayor.

Still no date for the by-election but an announcement must be imminent. Most people are expecting a resounding victory for the Conservatives, given their national improvements. I wouldn’t be so sure myself, by-elections are strange beasts and the usual form book is useless.

I have laid a gentleman’s £10 bet that the Liberal Democrats will win with a majority of 2500 - some may see that as reckless confidence, but it seems clear that the dynamics are different to the Crewe election, and the Conservatives will have a different set of problems to overcome.

I suspect they will have some difficulty mobilising their troops for a potentially safe seat - it is hard to motivate people to go to something they think is a foregone conclusion. In Crewe, they knew they were in with a chance of a historic victory and so the masses came.

The media are another unknown quantity - they can’t paint this one as a Labour/Tory fight, so they might look for new targets, and the Tories are the easiest one.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that the weather could play a role.

I should be going down to help, and I shall report back on the vibes in due course.

As most people are aware we are on the cusp of a transformation of Hinckley Town Centre.

One of the signature projects is the redevelopment of the bus station site, something that has been a difficult project in the past. Our administration has done things a little differently to normal, in that we have begun the public consultation process much earlier than is traditional - we have opted to begin consultation right from the very start of the process, before a design or contractor has been selected rather than drawing up plans and contractors and then asking for feedback.

I know which option I favour, and I encourage everyone to get involved with the consultation process and have their say.

When this development is considered along with the development of the Britannia Centre, the new Leisure Centre and other bits and bobs, then there is a very bright future ahead for Hinckley.

I have returned from deepest Cheshire - or Crewe & Nantwich to give its proper political coordinates. The result was disappointing, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort or a poor candidate. There are many reasons why the result turned out as it did, and since they have been covered well elsewhere I wont prattle on about them here. What I will say is this - look out for us in Henley, I think the result could be very different.

I use Googlemail for my council emails - part of their service is that along the right hand edge of the screen there is panel of adverts that are supposedly tailored to me and the contents of my emails.

Quite why the business of HBBC prompted adverts for ‘The cheapest Martial Arts equipment in the UK’ and ’The UK’s largest supply of swords and armour’ is beyond me. 

Something on Bill Newton-Dunn, our East Midlands MEP’s website caught my eye.

Apparently MEP’s were briefed by European Air Safety Agency (EASA) that emissions from aircraft could be cut by 12% at a single stroke, by creating a single European Airspace. Currently aircraft are subject to the individual air traffic control systems of each country, resulting in a zigzagging pattern across the continent.

If this were to be unified into a single European Airspace, then aircraft could traverse the continet, especially when coming into land, in a straight line - and thus save an enormous amount of fuel.

This seems like something that could and should be implemented, and would do more for the environment than all the Ecover washing up liquid and saved plastic bags in the world.  I hope the MEP’s pursue this!

From Stuart Bray’s site:

Liberal Democrats are concerned that Mr McMahon’s decision to retire as the dentist at the Cowper Road dental surgery could leave Burbage without a dentist. Health officials have admitted that alternative provision will be made but this could be outside Burbage. Liberal Democrat Parish Councillors Stuart Bray and Ann Hall tabled a motion at February’s Parish Council meeting urging health officials to ensure Burbage doesn’t lose this vital facility. We also want to put on record our thanks to Mr McMahon for all his years of loyal service on behalf of his 5,500 patients.

I was a patient with Mr McMahon as a child, and while I was an appalling patient, he was (still is!) a great dentist. It’s important Burbage keeps its dentist, and preferably an NHS one!