As reported by the Bucks Free Press, the police element of council tax will be rising by 1.99% to protect the frontline. The story does not explain that the rise is about £3.19 per year for a band D property, or about 6p each week. Our Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld is responsible […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "Localism"
Why localism has disappointed?
Via BBC Worldwide, classic stuff from Yes, Prime Minister: All too true, I imagine.
Read MoreWycombe Hospital consultation meetings
A crucial public consultation on the future of Wycombe Hospital began on 16 January. It is being run by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Wycombe Hospital. This is our chance to have our say on proposals to change how NHS services are provided in High Wycombe. The exercise runs until 16 April and there […]
Read MoreLocalism Bill becomes law
Last week, the Localism Bill was passed into law. I was glad to support its passage. Through 13 years of New Labour, we witnessed continual moves towards centralised planning and micro-managing of our everyday lives. This new law will see central government interference cut and give power back to citizens, […]
Read MoreSimplifying the planning process: Enabling private sector businesses to invest and sustain growth
NB: this guest post is by Mimi Macejkova, my Parliamentary Intern and the views expressed are her own. In a recent letter sent to MPs, Greg Clark, Minister for Decentralisation and Cities of the Department for Communities and Local Government, introduces a Whitehall draft, which reforms a one thousand-page planning […]
Read MoreMicklefield and Marsh awarded £1 million funding by BIG Lottery Fund
Micklefield and Wycombe Marsh in High Wycombe will be among the first 50 small areas to benefit from at least £1 million of funding awarded by BIG Lottery Fund via BIG Local Trust programme. The funding will be awarded from Autumn 2011. Wycombe District Council and the Wycombe Partnership cooperated […]
Read MoreDave Meslin: The antidote to apathy
An excellent and timely TED talk forwarded to me yesterday: I’m encouraged by Meslin’s account of voluntarism but conscious that I don’t know if he is a consistent advocate of it: “community organisers” make me nervous… One of the worst features of our present political and socio-economic system is the […]
Read MoreThe Conservative Party | Helping local people save and run community facilities
Good news: Radical new powers will be given to local residents to protect community assets from closure and allow local people to take over the running of public buildings and community assets, Conservatives announced today. In a Party Political Broadcast to coincide with the Queen’s Speech, new policies are unveiled […]
Read MoreQueen’s Speech: 15 Bills, but only 33 days left of Parliament – Times Online
The Queen’s Speech: 15 Bills, but only 33 days left of Parliament: Labour has today promised “guarantees not gambles” as it used the final Queen’s Speech to draw dividing lines with the Conservatives ahead of the general election. The Queen set out the Government’s legislative agenda for the 33 sitting […]
Read MorePolitics in the noughties
Researching for my constituency applications, I revisited Carswell and Hannan’s The Plan, and rediscovered: To put it starkly, the political party as an organism – a complex structure bringing together local branches, clubs, activists, sympathetic newspapers, professions, trade unions, churches and pressure groups – is dying. The modern political party […]
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