komadori’s green corner

Whilst not the leaflet currently getting the blue nest hot under the collar, the latest glossy from the red nest is full-on negative campaigning. Like their blue nest opponents’ recent glossy, there are finally spun financial statements, with a 20% increase in Council Tax in the last four years compared with a 35% increase in central government funding over the last ten years (which equates to less than 13% over four years — rather less impressive).

And the council is, apparently, failing to clear graffiti. I must have been imagining the ongoing removal campaign by the council…. Oh, they’ll also ‘protect urban Swindon from over development.’ I presume local councillors from the red nest will be asking their government colleagues to reduce the centrally set housing density targets then? Perhaps not….

Anyone considering joining csma (formerly the Civil Service Motoring Association) might like to know that a sales person of theirs, who was trying to sell their car insurance, was quite happy to read out new members’ address and credit card details in a mobile phone call to his office, while sat at his stand in a staff canteen. I’ve no idea who Neil Brown is, but I do now know (okay, I’ve already forgotten, but I and several others heard it very clearly) exactly where he lives, when he was born, his partner’s name and date of birth and, if I had a pen and paper, would also know his car registration number, his maestro card number and expiry date.

This evening, for the first time, I was served a pint of beer in a glass marked not with an engraved crown but with a printed CE mark. A sad evening indeed. I suppose I should be glad that, if only in this instance, the European Union has at last embraced an imperial unit of measurement.

It seems the New Mechanics’ Institution Preservation Trust may be taking the wrong approach to save the GWR Mechanics Institute. Rather than petitioning the prime minister to save it, they should be campaigning for it to be demolished. If they wait thirty years, a council leader will then persuade developers to rebuild it. Perhaps said councillor should try persuading the developers of Swindon Central to take on the Mechanics in the same way he has persuaded those of Regent Place to rebuild the Baptist Tabernacle.

Whilst I’ve been undertaking an in-depth study of cocoa levels in eggs, the first offering from the blue nest has plopped through my letterbox. A 16 page glossy A5 booklet — clearly they have money to spare. According to the waffle on the back cover they are ‘more green, more local, more family-friendly and less arrogant’. That localness is clearly demonstrated by the vast amount about what they are doing in my ward. A big, vast zero. Not a single mention of anything specific for the people of this ward. (There is a mention of their plans for the canal, but that is primarily for visitors to the town centre — benefit to the inhabitants is just consequential.) Highlight of the booklet is the index that tells me that Page 1 is the Front Page. Wow! Such insight!

I’m less impressed which their spun financial statements, where they compare the figure for three years’ worth of Council tax rises under the previous administration, with one year’s worth of increase under their own administration. Surprise! The rise in one year (3.4%) was less than that over three years (42%). For the record, the three blue years have seen an increase of over 11% compared with 42% in the last three red years, which I’d have thought was a good enough comparison itself that didn’t need to be spun into something bigger.

I also read that “it’s the Conservatives who are repairing, maintaining and restoring the parks, leisure centres and the Wyvern.” Hmm, would that also be the same Conservatives that halted restoration of Faringdon Road Park within months of taking over, when it was only half completed, and have proposed to close the Health Hydro?

It being Easter, komadori will be busy for the next few days attempting to hatch a few chocolate eggs. Normal service will resume shortly.

Here is komadori’s prediction for the political dialogue in Swindon over the weeks ahead.

Those in the blue nest will claim that everything that the council has done well over the last couple of years has been down to them, in the face of obstruction by the NuLab government. They’ll claim you should vote for them because they’re the only party committed to fighting crime and anti-social behaviour (including graffiti), dealing with traffic congestion and protecting the green spaces in the town centre.

Those in the red nest will claim that everything that the council has done well over the last couple of years has been the result of government initiatives, which the Tory council only implemented grudgingly. They’ll claim you should vote for them because they’re the only party committed to fighting crime and anti-social behaviour (including graffiti), dealing with traffic congestion and protecting the green spaces in the town centre.

Those in the yellow nest will claim that everything the council has done well over the last couple of years only happened because they campaigned for it before the other parties were interested. They’ll claim you should vote for them because they’re the only party committed to fighting crime and anti-social behaviour (including graffiti), dealing with traffic congestion and protecting the green spaces in the town centre.

Those in the other nests will claim that the council has done nothing good over the last couple of years and their party’s one-track agenda would have solved all the problems before they even started. They’ll claim you should vote for them because they’re the only party committed to fighting crime and anti-social behaviour (including graffiti), dealing with traffic congestion and protecting the green spaces in the town centre.

Two of the main parties (the blue and yellow nests) have announced their candidates for the local elections in Swindon. In the imaginatively named Central Ward the three main parties’ candidates are Karen Leakey (from Broadgreen, in ‘Central’), Steve Pipe (from Abbey Meads) and the aforementioned Derique Montaut (from Moredon). So far all claim to be concerned about crime, anti-social behaviour (including graffiti) and preserving green space. Aah, such a diverse choice….

I appreciate this might come as a shock discovery to some but, according to the Swindon Food Bank, Swindon is normal:

Is Swindon unusual?
Official statistics reveal that 13 million people in the UK, live at or near the poverty line, so Swindon is normal. 1 in 6 adults in Swindon and 1 in 3 children live close or at the edge of their finances: one small problem away from a major crisis, such as having no food or not being able to provide basic living requirements for themselves.

It’s a pity they omitted the phrase ‘so Swindon is normal’ from the leaflets they gave out when collecting at the Old Town Co-op store last Sunday, but a worthwhile charity nonetheless.

Having had a difficult job interview this morning, I have consoled myself with a visit to the local Cadbury store. £15 spent. ’Tis a lot of creme eggs!