Oops! Wrong again

Wrong....1

I am not the only one who could be criticial of the Government’s approach to Afghanistan.  However, the approach taken by the Sun newspaper over an honest and genuine mistake by the Prime Minister is, frankly, disgusting. 

He may the leader of a Party that has ‘lost it’ and a Prime Minister in a Government that has run out of steam but to use a mistake in a handwritten letter as some sort of political weapon is repulsive.  As far as I am concerned, this is the third major blunder by the paper. 

Wrong....2

I wonder if Kelvin Mackenzie wrote personally to the families of the 96 who were killed to offer his sympathy and, more important, regret at what his paper had done?  I doubt it.

I’m pleased to say that, while I was a Regional Press Officer, I never once returned a call from any Sun journo.

Doorstep survey report

Last night, our team of volunteers called on homes in around 20 roads.  It was a cold night but, it turns out, well worth it.  Today, when the numbers were crunched in our Campaign Centre, our two teams had identified around 60 new supporters – ie people who had not previously been known as Conservative supporters.  I don’t usually comment on the ‘process’ of local politics but these figures surprised me. 

The area we were in had always been one of the parts of town with no great love for any party and were you were as likely to be smiled at as told to naff off.   Is the political ground shifting?

Shanghai’d…Wirral Council’s Great Leap Forward

I used to think the Great Leader had a plan, not necessarily a five year plan or a great masterplan but, well, just a plan.   Now, I am not so sure.

How could anyone who has witnessed the last 12 months of this Council not be totally appalled that there is going to be a trip to Shanghai, paid for by us? 

It seems that Labour, having cut lollipop ladies to saved £38,000, is now going to spend £10,000 to send some officers to China for the World Expo and a further £18,000 to sponsor the exhibition stand of Liverpool City Council.

The Big Switch On

Mary Connolly, Steve Williams, Leah Fraser, Beryl Jones and the Mayor, Andrew Hodson

Saturday saw the Mayor, Andrew Hodson, slip in to the Coach and Horses for a swift pint.  No, I’m joking.  He actually was guest of honour for the switch on of the lights around Moreton Cross.  I went along and was warmly welcome by Beryl Jones of the Moreton Community Lights Association.  This group of volunteers have done a great job to raise the money to pay for the lights and Andrew was, as usual, brilliant with everyone who attended.  Thanks also to Ben and the staff at the Coach and Horses, plus Insanity Beach, for the hospitality and entertainment.  Pity about the weather!

Upton Park

Sadly, the Council had to be called out last week to tidy up the mess around the ‘tree house’ in Upton Park.  Arson was the main problem but it had become a bit of an eyesore.  Thanks to my Street Warden in Pine Tree Grove for letting me know!  The Council has collected most of the rubbish I think but a return visit is required to bring the place up to scratch.

Green Action Day at Leasowe Common

Chris Blakeley, Leah Fraser, Steve Williams, Alex Jones, yours truly and Maria Byrne

Thanks to all those who turned up to our latest Green Action Day.  We chose Leasowe Common this time and collected around a dozen bags of all kinds of rubbish, not least Tenants Extra, which remains the drink of choice for the people using (and abusing) the Common.

I have since received feedback that someone who uses the Common was unimpressed that we left the (sealed) bags of rubbish near the car parking area.  We did this for two reasons: Biffa are happy to collect the litter for us and also, while we are happy to give our time to do this, we don;t think it’s unreasonable not to take all the litter away in our cars to the tip.  I’m pleased to report that Biffa collected all the bags yesterday, as arranged.

If you would like to nominate a grot spot near you for a Green Action Day, email me at ianlewis@wirral.gov.uk

Leasoweside

Last week, I met with the Streetscene Manager at the junction of Leasoweside and Leasowe Road.  A resident, with a brother in a wheelchair, contacted me about the problem of tryiung to cross Leasoweside, caused by the location of the dropped kerbs and the problem of flooding nearby.  I’m pleased to report that the drians will be unblocked and the Department will also be looking at providinng new dropped kerbs that will make it easier for people in wheelchairs, or with prams and buggies, to cross.

The Autumn Club

Yup, another article about flooding and/or poor drainage.  If you have a water phobia, don’t come to Leasowe…

Good news for the older residents who visit the Autumn Club (no! not you Leah!).  Some time ago, Sue, who runs the club, complained to me about the problem of flooding along the path that leads from Twickenham Drive to the centre and 7 waves.  After several meetings, phone calls and emails, I have finally received the news that Sue wanted to hear: the work to fix the problem has been carried out.  My thanks to Jim Lester at Wirral MBC and also to the contractor E A Reed & Sons.  Hopefully, this will solve the problem and avoidf any more soggy feet.

Grissom I ain’t…

Most of the time, I like Wirral’s media – four good local papers plus several radio stations. 

Like any local ‘politician’ or someone who has worked in media, I know that if I make a mistake, I can expect to be pilloried in print and, if I achieve a success, I must fight like hell to get it covered.  That’s political media for you. 

Wirral’s Great Leader, instead, keeps blaming the ‘media’ for all his ills.  Presumably he thinks that by comparing one of our papers to the Scum Sun he will endear himself to the reporters.  Er.

But, like politics, media is changing and it’s becoming more ’social’, a la Twitter.  So I LOL’d (that’s ‘laughed out loud’) when I read this blog posting by the ECHO’s Wirral reporter about my ‘Tweets’ on Twitter:

Does the knowledge that Leasowe and Moreton East councillor Ian Lewis is a fan of CSI colour our perception of him?

Surely a guy who can appreciate the trajectory and impact of a 9mm hollow-point bullet into a human brain is a man who could be trusted with a schools budget?

First, I only started watching CSI six weeks ago and while I quite like Grissom, the red haired one in Miami is slightly creepy.   But, now that he mentions it, I have sat in full council meetings considering the impact of a 9mm into the heads of certain colleagues…

I do not, however, wish to run the schools budget.  I’d much rather take the politicians out of that altogether and, instead, trust the teachers and governors.

Time for change in Moreton and Leasowe

Normal service resumed…

One of the good things about staying at my parents’ is the absence of email.  Sadly, there is also a lack of web.  Hence the lack of any news updates for a week or two.  I’m mainly back at home in Wallasey now so normal service should resume. 

In response to an article I posted about the Greens, Chris Menzies suggested I should add a link to the Libertarian Party.  So I have.  Meanwhile, the Greens’ top NW mover and shaker asks about Conservative prospects in Liverpool…

Steve Williams for Moreton West & Saughall Massie

Steve Williams, a resident of Saughall Massie, has been selected as the Conservative Candidate for the by-election in the neighbouring ward of Moreton West and Saughall Massie.  This follows the sad death of Cllr. Suzanne Moseley.

I’ve known Steve for a while – he’s been helping our campaign and he knows the area really well.  He is currently chairman of Parents Against Drug Abuse and, during the day, he runs his own computer business and is a member of the Wirral Committee of the Federation of Small Businesses. 

All in all, an ideal candidate for Moreton!  the by-election takes place on Thursday 26 November and you can follow the campaign here: www.moretonconservatives.com