Light the Blue Touch Paper

[craig finton]

Are these people crazy? I thought the new committee system was supposed to be cheaper? Now it looks like it was all about greasing their own pockets. I wish I could get a £3,000 rise for a part-time job.

http://www.hartlepoolpost.co.uk

[DRiddle]

Well this should be interesting. Just a couple of weeks after some councillors offered to do additional work for FREE, it looks like there might be other councillors who will vote themselves a rise.

Here's an interesting quote...

"Whilst I accept there has been a shift in workloads and allowances are not positively comparable with other North East councils, it would be incorrect to increase the basic allowance."

That was Christopher Akers-Belcher speaking in April last year on this very issue.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the economic climate in Hartlepool hasn't exactly changed much in the last 14 months. Therefore, one can only reach the conclusion that Labour and the Tories will again vote 'no' to this rise........ correct?

I'll certainly be voting 'no' to any suggestion of a rise, and if one IS voted through i'll give the additional money to a local charity (probably not Manor Residents Association though).

The reputation of our council has never, EVER, been lower and then you go and get a situation like this.

We know they all read this forum. I DARE them to vote this through. There'll be absolute carnage next May in the marginal wards if they stupid enough to dare to try and push this through.

That wrestler from Tesco is inching his way closer and closer to Westminster every day so long as CAB is at the wheel of the good ship HBC.

Interesting times.

[testing times]

I'm having trouble believing the truth of this story. There has been nothing so far in the Hartlepool Mail. Surely councillors would not dare to vote these increases through for themselves. The backlash from the public would be one of outrage and even Labour's friends and paymasters the Unions would have something to say when their own members are having to cope with 1% increases.

[DRiddle]

It's 100% true that it's in the council agenda for the next council meeting on July 3rd. I've seen it with my own two eyes. The question is whether it'll be voted through. Personally I don't think it will. I don't think even the coalition would be that stupid.

The papers in the meeting also are written in such a way that they try very hard to justify the need for the raise. There are tables showing Hartlepool's councillors allowance is the lowest in the region. Numbers to try and show that each councillor in Hartlepool deals with significantly more residents than other authorities on average, and information to that effect.

It certainly LOOKS like it's been set up to be voted through.... they surely wouldn't though. Would they?

[not4me]

If they are going to do it then they will do it now 10 or 11 months before the next elections.

[Mican]

 Regarding the increase in allowance, before the vote perhaps the council should be made aware of the following comments.

"But council leader Christopher Akers-Belcher and Conservative group leader Ray Martin-Wells say councillors knew when they stood for the post that most meetings are held during the day and that the cash-strapped local authority can't afford the additional cost of having meetings at night."

"But Coun Akers-Belcher said: "I find it ludicrous that someone would apply to be a councillor, then try and change the terms and conditions."

In other words if someone thinks that the allowance is not enough for the work they do.  "They should not have stood for council"
 
Perhaps Mr. Wells and Mr. Belcher should be reminded of their comments and how the "cash strapped local authority can't afford the additional cost".

[one direction]

When the former (and unmissed) Mayor of Hartlepool campaigned for a reduction in the number of councillors he was reflecting the wishes of a fair number of Hartlepool residents, or a fair number of the minority who actually cared one way or the other.  Maybe he and they should have though on the quotation "Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it"  The Monkey's Paw, W.W. Jacobs.

The members in the council seats now are probably all fairly secure with the exceptions of G.Lilley and Paul Thompson (who will probably step down), Dawkins and Atkinson (who will probanly not get re-elected) and Brash and Hargreave (who may step down rather than not get re-elected). All six of those seats will probably go Labour in the way that A.Lilley's seat went t o them.

The result of this is that the Labour Group and their Tory Allies are fairly safe in their own seats and looking forward to an increase in their numbers. So they probably don't care what the tiny minority who read HTH Site care. They will take the money!

[DRiddle]

For what it's worth, when push comes to shove I don't think Jonathan, Paul or Pamela will step down. Even if they do, I personally think/know they'll be others (non-Labour) ready to fight hard for their seats.

I also don't agree that all the members are currently secure. 319 votes a different way could have lost Labour control of what should be one of the safest councils in England.

My father, who was little more than a nuisance candidate (his words not mine) got within 200 votes of Carl with very minimal effort.

UKIP came from nowhere and took seats.

I won what was probably one of the most difficult seats to win given the 'names' I was up against and the resources that those with national party backing threw at their campaigns.

There's a moral force at work within our council chamber (albeit in just a few of the seats on the floor), and a better man that me once commented that "It is the moral force which carries a movement forward".

Nothing stays the same forever.

Not even Labours hold on Hartlepool.

[clav 73]

Beck and Robinson have no hope of holding their seats I can't see any labour stooge getting in the Hart ward  any time soon it's a shame Shane Moore is tarred with RMW brush as he would walk a seat in Hart otherwise

[DRiddle]

Shane's a good lad and I agree that he'd make a good councillor, but lets not forget that literally 9 out of every 10 people who voted in the Hart Ward local election, just a month ago, did NOT vote for Shane.

I definitely agree that the RMW doesn't help his cause, but I don't think it's as simple as to say that without that link Shane would be a shoe in.

The Tory 'brand' is toxic in Hartlepool in literally every ward outside Rural West.

If you take the time to crunch the numbers, the Conservatives best chance outside of Rural West is actually in Burn Valley.

[Jeff]

Labour are finished in Hart,  Beck and Robinson stitched us up.  Just need to make sure the vote is not split......

[Stevef]

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesman said:

"Hartlepool council has an excellent track record for sound financial management and efficiency. Despite being one of the hardest hit local authorities under the Government's austerity measures, it has still managed to freeze council tax for the last four years, cut its senior management by a third, made significant savings on councillors' allowances (and introduced the Hartlepool Living Wage from the savings on those allowances) and its staff had a pay freeze for three years."

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/hartlepool-council-chiefs-defend-money-management-over-177m-liabilities-claim-1-6698048

Assuming there was any saving on Councillor's allowances, which is doubtful, the money has already been spent. So where is the money coming from for this proposed increase.

These people have had their heads in the sand for so long , they have forgotten what daylight is.

[DRiddle]

Looks like The Mail have caught up and are 'testing the mood' via this article.

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/hartlepool-councillors-in-line-for-cash-boost-1-6699565

I'm pretty confident my comment beneath the article captures the publics feelings on the issue.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

See that there's a few comments on there within a short space of time - of course, that old 'urban myth' about leaders' allowances has been raised (once again) - by SR Moore this time; Shane, dear - there really aren't any dragons at the bottom of the garden (oh, and by the way the tooth fairy is a myth, too)! 

[one direction]

of course, that old 'urban myth' about leaders' allowances has been raised (once again) - by SR Moore

NEVER let the truth spoil a nice bit of political muck racking. I wouldn't believe a Tory (or a Lib-Dem, or Labour) politician if they told me the sun was going to rise in the morning!