Welcome
to the web site of the
City INDEPENDENT Councillors
of
www.geocities.com/cityindependents
Contact Us:
Email: [email protected]
Thursday 1st May is ELECTION DAY - Please use your vote wisely.
This site was last up-dated
The City Independents are the Official Opposition in
The second biggest group of Councillors.
The City Independent Councillors are proud of
The City Independents should NOT be confused with the Conservative Alliance. A
few so-called independents, such as Angela Miller, have joined the
Conservatives.
Lee Wanger is the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Alliance.
Roger Ibbs is the Leader.
The Conservative Alliance (C.I.A.) is NOTHING to do with the City Independents.
Unlike them, the City Independents never follow a Party line or get told how to
vote. Each issue is addressed on its own
merits. The local people come first, not
a Political Party.
Who
funds the City Independents?
Each member pays their own way.
No anonymous donors! Each person
pays their own election expenses out of their own pocket.
Who pays for this web site?
This site
is provided free by Yahoo.
Unlike certain Labour
Councillors up for election, none of the City Independents has their photo
circulated in glossy Council ‘newsletters’ at taxpayers’ expense.
The City Indepependent Councillors are:
Ann James
Chell & Packmoor
Rita Dale Berryhill &
Hanley East
Randolph Conteh* Hartshill & Penkhull
Ian Mitchell Hartshill &
Penkhull
Barbara Beeston Hartshill & Penkhull
Derek Capey Fenton
Brian Ward Blurton
Derek Hall Blurton
Margaret Pyatt Meir Park & Sandon
Christine Follows* Meir Park & Sandon
Terry Follows* Trentham & Hanford
* These 3 Councillors are standing for
re-election on May 1st.
Also standing as City Independent are:
Jan Bridges Chell & Packmoor
Albert Hurst Tunstall
Wendy Booth Bentilee & Townsend
John
Jackie Ward
Monica Mitchell Stoke & Trent Vale
Mick Bell Fenton
Robert Kettle Longton South
Roy Naylor Blurton
Who is the Elected Mayor?
Labour’s Mark
Meredith, who is the “61st Councillor”. He is meant to be the
leading Political Figure in Stoke-on-Trent Council. He is paid around £80,000 a year plus has
various assistants and helpers. Before
he was the Mayor, he ran a window-blind franchise in Hanley.
What is the
Elected Mayor’s Board?
This is a specially
selected group of Councillors who help the Elected Mayor get his policies
through e.g. schools closures, closing care homes, cuts to services etc.
On the
Board are:
6 Labour
members (Tappin, McLaughlin, Smith, Pervez,
3 Conservative
The Elected
Mayor and Councillor Mervyn Smith recently caused controversy when they stayed
in the South of France at taxpayers’ expense.
Click here or scroll down the page for this and more Sentinel stories.
So far there
have been 11 meetings of the Board, though members often miss meetings. The meetings are held in the evening because
most of the Board have day jobs and aren’t available to do council work.
Each member
receives an additional allowance of £7,000 a year.
None of the City Independents is on
the Board.
What’s All
this about “Spin Doctors”?
‘Spin Doctor’
was originally an American term – Meaning someone paid by politicians to make
all news – however bad – look good. (As
in “spinning a yarn”)
The Council’s
“Communications Department” has expanded considerably recently. It got rid of the existing Press Office staff
(mostly ex-Sentinel journalists) and set on consultants (allegedly on £1,000 a
day) and new managers (up to £75,000 a year).
The Sentinel ran the front page story “spinning out of control”,
about the way more and more money was being spent on ‘spin doctors’ trying to
make the Council look good, whilst suppressing the truth – not so much a Press
Office as a Suppress Office.
Because the
Council wasn’t giving the Sentinel – or the public – answers.
At the Budget
vote City Independents were at the
forefront in criticising the extravagent spending on this department - three-quarters
of a million pounds a year. Not only that, but this came at a time when the
Council was also voting to cut back on Dimensions, bowling greens, public
toilets and library services.
Sadly, it was the policy of Labour,
Lib-Dem, and the Conservative
The City Independents believe in the
public knowing the truth.
The truth
about what decisions are made and what the cost is.
After all,
it’s public money.
Each City
Independent is elected to serve the interests of their voters.
The voters
come first, not the Political Party.
The City
Independents meet at a group to share information, discuss issues, and consider
the best way to serve the people of
Unlike
political parties, the City Independents do not employ a ‘whip’, forcing people
to vote a particular way. Everyone is
free to vote according to conscience and the best interests of the people.
Issues the City Independents have been involved in.
Councillor
Ann James (Chell & Packmoor) is the longest-standing member of the group,
first elected in 1999. Until 1998, there
were 60 Labour Councillors, with no opposition.
Decisions like Ceramica and the Cultural Quarter – debts we’re now stuck
with – went unchallenged.
Lee Wanger
was once a member of the group, but was asked to leave, several years ago, when
he received a criminal conviction. He is
now Deputy Leader of the Conservative Alliance – Angela Miller’s group. They follow the Conservative whip.
Councillors Christine Follows, Terry Follows and Margaret Pyatt were so disgusted that they joined
the City Independents.
Terry and
Christine are standing for re-election, and hope Independent Candidate Gordon Perry will get elected to make the
Independent Team even stronger. They are
proud of their record on representing local people. They believe the electorate has been conned
by the Conservative Alliance. They have
been outspoken regarding the Schools Closure programme and are challenging it
at every opportunity.
City Independent Candidate Dr. Jan
Bridges (left) and
Councillor Ann James (right) played a major role in preventing
In Blurton,
Independent Councillor Brian Ward has long been a critic of Labour-led
mismanagement.
He led the Independent opposition to the proposed
fortnightly bin-collections. City
Independents such as John Davis
signed the call-in and so far we have kept our weekly collections. No thanks to
our political parties.
Brian Ward
just hopes Independent candidate Roy
Naylor gets elected in Blurton, so there will be an Independent Team in Blurton, like there is in Penkhull – an area which is already benefiting from an Independent
Team of Councillors: Randy Conteh,
Ian Mitchell and Barbara Beeston.
Ian’s wife Monica Mitchell (above) is standing as
Independent in the neighbouring ward of Stoke
and Trent Vale. Monica has a proven
track-record in teaching, council work, law-enforcement and as an advice
worker. She will be a real asset to the
Independent group.
Jackie Ward (right) , the daughter of Brian Ward, is
standing in
Other
Independent Councillors standing this year include Wendy Booth in Bentilee & Townsend.
And Mick Bell in Fenton. Both Mick and Wendy are well-known figures in
the local community – hard-working, committed, locally born and bred.
What’s
wrong with the BNP?
Some people
are easily seduced by the simplistic language and arguments put out by the BNP.
The City
Independents share concerns about issues such as antisocial behaviour and
racial tensions. But inciting hatred and
conflict is not the answer. We need
legitimate debate – about infrastructure, schools, the NHS, housing, and so
on. We need sensible solutions – and
these require hard work, not simplistic slogans.
That’s why you need a Councillor who actually turns up to
meetings, makes themselves available and does the work they were elected to do.
Sadly,
last year, Bentilee voted in a BNP Councillor – but he’s tied up with a
full-time job.
True, the same criticism can be
levelled at Councillors in other Parties up for election. For most of the time since election, Chell’s
Conservative Alliance
When
we researched the BNP, we were amazed at what we found. Stories of them selling merchandise imported
from China Eastern Europe . Talk about double standards.
Scroll down the page to read the stories the BNP would rather you didn’t hear.
For newspaper
stories about the immigration debate, click here.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=216097&command=newPage
Wish You Were Here? Elected Mayor goes to the South of France
with Labour’s Mervyn Smith
Elected Mayor attacks Sentinel for
criticising his visit to the South of France
COUNCIL TAX RISE – DIMENSIONS POOL
AXED
HOW THE COUNCILLORS VOTED
Basically, Labour, Lib-Dem, Conservative and Angela Miller Vote for the Tax Rise, Schools Closures, Dimensions Closure, and cuts to public toilets, library services and bowling greens.
COUNCIL BUDGET - DIMENSIONS SPLASH POOL DOMINATES THE DEBATE ON
COUNCIL TAX
THE WINNERS AND THE LOSERS IN THE
COUNCIL BUDGET
LABOUR'S SECRET
COUNCIL'S SPIN DOCTORS ARE
SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGE
STOKE COUNCIL SPENDS
£729,000 REFURBISHING OFFICES
+ recruits new head
of spin on £75,000 A YEAR
+ SPENDS £23,000 A
MONTH ON SPIN DOCTORS TO KEEP YOU IN THE DARK
http://tpa.typepad.com/westmidlands/2007/12/index.html
Audit Warning For
Council chiefs have been
told to improve the way they manage the city's finances in a report by
government inspectors.
Columnists
Tom
Whteley
THEY SPLASH OUT ON THE OTHER STUFF, WHY PICK ON THE POOL?
Council spends money on the Elected Mayor and Spin Doctors but not
Dimensions.
BNP candidate claims rape is no big deal
BNP Life insurance business fails – another BNP Letdown
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/manchester/2006/10/352517.html
BNP Election Fraud in
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/04/369101.html
BNP fined by
Electoral Commission for Failing to Declare its accounts – BNP members resign.
http://itn.co.uk/news/7a72b568bf31eaf7808c76be3b47e34c.html
City Independents Comment
This isn’t good enough. – the BNP failed to deliver. The public have a right to know how they spend their money.
DAILY
MAIL
Immigration
has unsettled the country, says Minister
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=449198&in_page_id=1770
Rising immigration could double
population of
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=496755&in_page_id=1770
DAILY EXPRESS
IMMIGRATION ‘PUTS TOO MUCH STRAIN ON BRITAIN
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/24897/Immigration-puts-too-much-strain-on-Britain-