In depth

Key Policies.

I will bring information to the public wherever possible through this website.

I will seek to stop dissemination of incorrect or misleading information.

I will give public access to everyone through this site of my voting record at council meetings. Something which is not easily availiable from any other candidates.

I will, as far as is practical, with help from the on-site polls, vote for the policies that my ward electorate want. NOT neccesarily what I desire or my party enforce upon me.

I will implement a system where, should 50% of the electorate in my ward express a desire to remove me as a councillor then I will stand down with immediate effect. A democracy should be judged by the ability of the elctorate to remove the elected representatives.

I will implement policies from time to time based upon what the people of Lees desire in the true spirit of democracy.

More general policy.

General.
Without speaking to every member of the ward it is impossible to know exactly what everyone wants. I hope to gauge the views of the constituency through open forums, regular meetings and via the interactive polls and forum on the website. There will be occasions when I might change my own views or policies in order to encompass the views of the people of Lees. This is, I believe, what democracy actually means. If 51% of the people who express an opinion what something to happen then that is what I should stand up for. Otherwise what is the point of electing a REPRESENTATIVE ?
Dictionary definition - rep·re·sen·ta·tive
standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority b : of, based on, or constituting a government in which the many are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election

Top

Racism
I don't really care too much where a person was born, what colour skin they have, what their religious beliefs are, or particularly what their history is. None of those items hold any bearing over how I see those people right now. Talk to someone in a chat room on the internet and the last thing people ever ask is what colour your skin is or which deity you worship. Talk to somone with your eyes closed and through a voice disguiser and you would not guess a person's ethnicity or religion. I'm really more interested in whether a person is a good person or a bad person.
I believe that a very easily addressed problem is the common belief that any one group is being favoured at the expense of another. In practice that is rarely the case but I will fight for the CORRECT information being delivered to everyone, initially through this website. As an example, there is a common view on Fitton Hill that some "Asian" areas are being funded to a disproportionate degree. That view is reversed in some "Asian" areas where the belief is that Fitton Hill is being funded to a disproportionate degree. Neither view is absolutely correct but while the public are not privy to the actual facts the views will prevail and strengthen. One of my policies is that the public will be granted access to all relevant information. The public would be best served by being shown information, not by having to search for it.
I have no time for silly divisive policies where the main aim seems only to be to pander to any one group. As an example, the community centre in Glodwick. This is a community centre. It is in Glodwick. It should be called the Glodwick Community Centre. It was named the Pakistani Community Centre (PCC). Why? It is not only for Pakistanis as the name would suggest and that name (in my opinion) will put anyone off from visiting it who is not a Pakistani and that clearly is divisive and unhelpful to all sides. Before I am all too easily branded a racist I would point out that the example above is one I am regularly reminded of by people in Lees. The Holts Village community centre, Hathershaw community centre, Failsworth community centre etc etc etc describe where that centre is and the fact that they are community centres. If any of those were called for instance the English Community Centre or the Motor Cyclist Enthusiast centre that would be equally as wrong as a community centre is for the whole community, not any one section.
Another rather specific point with which I disagree is the printing of materials and literature in several different languages. The main language in Oldham and this country is English, therefore council literature should be printed in English. I fail to see how printing in other languages (be it Welsh, Hindi, Russian or Romanian) would either encourage people speaking those languages to speak English or make English speaking people more accepting of other cultures. This is one of those policies where people are kept apart by the use of separate language and I am in favour of the majority and of inclusion. Keeping communities apart with ill thought out ideas like these clearly outweighs the benefits of covering all bases for everyone. How does it benefit the speakers of a minority language by saying effectively “you are different, we have to treat you as a special case, you are not like the rest of us. You have to remain separate and different from the rest of the community”. Is that not some form of racism? Virtually all the rest of the community cannot understand the other languages and to them it reinforces the idea that minorities are being pandered to.
All the political correctness surrounding race issues in Oldham is DIVISIVE and damaging. They divide communities into“us” and “them” This council is riddled with race issues which are too "delicate" to risk addressing. This nonsense needs wiping away and we need to start treating people as Oldhamers first, last and everywhere in between, not as assets to be used to promote one policy or reach a target.

Top

Security
I do not believe there are necessarily too few police locally. Those police we do have are not free to do the job they so badly need to do. I would make more effort to see the police do we have freed from desk duties and paperwork and put back onto the streets where we need them and they want to be. To continuously campaign for more police officers is fine but you have to be prepared to pay the price of policing.
Some councillors in Oldham have made a big play about having secured more police for the Oldham area yet that same group whine about the police authority charging more for their services! You can't trumpet something as a victory and then complain that it costs money. Nothing comes for free.
People often say they are happy to pay more but then complain when their taxes rise. However, on the issue of policing, I firmly believe that people are more than happy to pay for effective policing if they see actual results.
I won't be promising anything without pointing out the costs associated and any side effects that may come with it.

Top

Health
I speak from recent personal experience when I say that the Oldham Royal Infirmary is an institution staffed with nurses, doctors and consultants of the highest calibre. Unfortunately this great institution like its counterparts countrywide, is handicapped by the government who appear only to serve the media and their lust for constant league tables and false targets. I will be campaigning at every opportunity not just for greater funding for the NHS but more importantly wiser spending of the money that is put in. There really is no point pouring water into a bucket riddled with holes.

Top

Transport
I own a car. I own a car because I cannot commute to work in Uppermill and reach the many other places I need to visit without allocating hours of time to planning for contingencies when buses don't turn up. That's why I bought a two seater car, the smallest car availiable in this country and one of the most fuel efficient vehicles on the road today. I wouldn't need it if we had the dream public transport system offered to us by succesive government and local politicians year after year after year. I will not and cannot promise pie in the sky fixes for local public transport as it is an almost impossible dream. Thats not to say that it cannot be improved. It clearly can and should be. When a bus or train is timetabled to appear and it doesn't (without good reason) I want to know why and will make those responsible accountable. I want to know why buses and trains are not the clean, safe, reliable vehicles they are supposed to be. The day public transport arrives at my door when I want it, going to my destination at the time I require in a state I would expect in my own vehicle I'll give up my car entirely. Until then I'll use the car less when I see something approaching this.
I will campaign for the parking duties in Oldham to return to the control of the traffic wardens we used to have, not a private company. I have no problem with private enterprise but I do have a problem with a company that has to turn a profit policing parking in Oldham. Of course there needs to be parking enforcement but it doesn't need to be so expensive or draconian as to turn people away from town centre shopping. I also want to see fair policing of parking. It seems some areas of the town receive special attention while others are left to do as they please. Everyone should be treated exactly the same way.

Top

Libraries, Parks, Open Spaces
In an ideal world there would be a full library in every ward and the borough would have a copy of every important book that could be requested and transferred between libraries. Each area would have green land and open spaces for people to play and socialise. Bluebirds would flitter and swoop playfully around our heads.
However in the real world that would not be possible due to financial constraints and would be impractical. We have to strike the balance. I strongly believe that libraries are an essential service and are seriously under funded. I will push for a system to be put in place whereby a book can be ordered online or at any library at any time for borrowing through the Oldham council web site.
We often hear about the “award winning gallery Oldham” but do you know anyone that has visited it? I think the money would have been better spent elsewhere improving libraries instead of closing them. As for open spaces, in my thirty four years the number of small plots of green land and trees seems ever diminishing and as I talk to people who have lived in the borough longer they paint a depressing and familiar picture of continued housebuilding and loss of green land. Within the laws of planning applications I will oppose continuing reductions in our open spaces. Lees is abundantly lucky in that we have the Linear Park, Lees Park, the large playing areas near Station Road, playing fields near Phillimore Street, the park near The Red Lion, the "Cat Park" on Stamford Rd and many more. These are assets for the area. We live in a green part of the borough and I would like to maintain that.

Top

Other parties
BNP (FULL TITLE - British National Party)
I certainly do not agree with the majority council view that this party should simply be ignored. Like it or not the BNP are a legitimate party and have all the same rights and restrictions that any other party are afforded. The BNP should be argued down if you do not agree with them. Ignoring them and hoping they will disappear has patently failed here and across the country. I certainly would not vote for them but clearly a lot of people in Oldham would do and have done. These voters must be offered an alternative, not just a message of fear from the other parties. The best solution to a bad argument is a better argument, not just a louder voice.
Conservative (FULL TITLE - Conservative candidate)
They are still out there! Until the Tories look a bit more united and fight the other parties instead of themselves they will hardly be a force to be reckoned with. They are in too much disarray locally and nationally to provide a credible opposition. Unfortunately I can't comment on their policy because I cannot find anything about them locally.
Labour (FULL TITLE - The Labour And Co-operative party candidate)
Well, they do have a track record to look at and scrutinise..... If you want your money to be wasted on pet projects, if you want higher council tax bills, if you want antagonistic councillors who are driven by the party line and a deep seated fear of being "off message" then vote Labour. If you do want things like toxic materials dumping in Beal Valley for big cash returns at the expense of health or postal voting against all recommendations then Labour are certainly the party for you.
Lib-Dems (FULL TITLE - Liberal Democrats)
If you asked me which party I most cosistently agreed with, it would be the Lib Dems. Though I disagree with a lot of their decisions I do think they have done a lot of good work locally but they are still a party and no matter which individual you vote for they will be voting along party lines. If I as an independent was in place before now the Lib-Dems would not have forced through the stupid policy of charging for bulky waste removals. I also doubt that it would have happened had the Lib-Dem- councillors had a completely free vote on the issue.
NF (FULL TITLE - National Front Put Britons First)
Nothing much to say here. Again a legitimate party whether you like them or not, but I think their views are so out of tune with most of the UK that I would not worry about them seizing power. Still, any party should be argued down on their policies and record not on what one thinks they "might" do.
ANL (FULL TITLE - Anti Nazi League (and any other passing bandwagon))
Although the Anti Nazi League are not standing in Lees I think they bear mention because so many times I see the protests raised by this party and the rallies they hold so often in Oldham, jumping on any passing bandwagon, seizing on the divisions in this town. In fact all the things they slate the BNP for. I see this group as being as dangerous as the BNP or NF in Oldham as they are driven by the same hate, anger and a desire to divide and destroy. I have personally heard members of the ANL advocating violence against a particular group and asking for particular groups to be silenced, hampered or even disbanded. Well that's just where the Nazi party started. If your own message is welcome enough and people agree with it then take that message to the people.
(added 24th April - The ANL have again received coverage (during a time of legally imposed media impartiality) in the Oldham Evening Chronicle advising people not to vote BNP only this time the message has extended to "only vote for the mainstream parties". So presumeably this unelected group who cannot be bothered to stand for election now wish me and the Green party to remain unelected / unelectable. Who's next? Maybe the Tories? Maybe Labour? Perhaps the Lib-Dems? Maybe then the ANL will bother to actually stand themselves instead of using their perceived wisdom to guide your voting preference?)

Top

Religion
Everyone should have the right to free expression of their views as long as they do not impeach on another persons view.
Everyone should have the right to worship in safety whomsoever or whatsover they wish. I really don't think it is any of my concern what your beliefs are unless you want to tell me about them (and I wish to listen) and my views are none of your concern unless I tell you and you want to hear them. I am happy to tell you that personally I am not religious at all because I see the divisiveness and separatist elitism of the major and minor religions so often.
That said, I would defend your right to believe in any deity or belief system of YOUR choice no matter how odd it might appear to me. As long as it did not harm or hinder anyone who believes otherwise, then I wish you all the happiness and enlightenment in the world.
Top

Local politics
Well, after attending full council meetings and area committee meetings over the past few years I can honestly say that there are some good things being done and these are worth pointing out. Something else I will be able to do as an independent. Unfortunately there is still a great deal being done badly. I will not (unlike ALL the other candidates) be bound by the views of my party. The true benefits of an independent councillor can be seen where that councillor can have a mind of their own.
Top

Education
In an ideal world we would all have a 1 to 1 teacher pupil ratio and all attend the school of our choice. In the real world this is totally impractical but we should all have the same level playing field and common sense should be the biggest factor in determining school placements. Why for instance someone in Failsworth would get an automatic placement at Saddleworth school is beyond me. Or why an Asian person should have any harder a time getting into Saddleworth school than a Christian child would be equally beyond my reckoning. I would also have to question the wisdom of teaching any particular religious leaning in a school (apart from those funded by a religious group). Is it really vitally important that we make children believe that a person is more or less valuable based on the religion they follow? If there has to be a religion taught then is should at least be the religion of the country.
Top

Get Involved
I suppose it is a reflection of the current nanny state and the compensation culture that I so often hear the cry "when is someone going to do something about this" or "who's to blame for this". Well, this might not be a populist idea but I believe that while there can be blame and others are often supposed to carry out a job or service, in a lot of cases the things we complain about can be tackled by us.
To illustrate this point, there was a story in the Oldham Evening Chronicle a while back about a teenager who was complaining that he wanted to play in his local streets (traffic free) but couldn't because of the litter and he wanted the council to clean it up. The next line was the statement "we need to play here because there is nothing else for us to do." A nice heart-rending story.
Taking any other issues aside, I don't think it takes a genius to link the two things together here. Could the teenager not tidy the street himself? Thereby fulfilling two of his own wishes. He would have something else to do and his street would be tidy! I really don't think this is a quantum leap in common sense, indeed a few years ago this would have been the obvious answer but now it doesn't even seem to occur to people most of the time. When the council or others need to carry out their duty they must do it correctly and efficiently but surely we should do somethings for ourselves? The council do not (and contrary to some candidates statements will not) have a magic wand nor a bottomless pit of money for everything that needs doing in this town. There are occasions where the towns citizens could also do their bit. I'm doing what I can at the moment by immersing myself in an election campaign costing me money and effort for potentially no reward in order to give people a further option but I cannot do everything for everyone, nor can any other single person. Communities have to work together to solve their problems where possible but I will do my best to facilitate that. "Oldham together" should mean more about Oldhamers getting together to fix the problems than Oldhamers standing together complaining about them.

Top

Political correctness
I have no time at all for political correctness. So many times I have sat through meetings where the points cannot be made properly for fear of offending an individual or group. Political correctness costs a fortune in rewording documents, speeches etc to make the language acceptable to all and the bottom line is that some people will always be offended by what some other person has to say. I won't waste time couching all my words in pretty, PC language. I really do think it's important to say what needs to be said. If it offends a lot of people then it is clearly a policy, statement or article that is at fault. If some language occasionally offends a few people then I'm sorry but this is as close to a democracy as we have and you can vote for someone else next time.

Top

Thank you for taking the time to read all the way down to here. If you disagree with me on more of my policies than you do of another candidate then please research their policies and if you find them more attractive, vote for them, whoever they might be! I'm standing to give you an alternative. If you've not been persuaded to vote for me thorugh this site then thanks anyway for listening / reading. It's nice to know someone has bothered to find out all the facts :-) From experience I can say that you are not the typical Oldhamer !