Seen in the News

[Big Kev]

Aye, it all seems to have blown over now. A lot of them are at it, a lot more than actually get caught

[Stanley]

David, Hatcha powder, why does snake oil spring to mind. I shall not be rushing out and buying it.
As for the leaflet snaffling.... it says it was a Conservative publication so that's all right then because they have delivered at least three and no doubt another will arrive before Thursday.
The question has never been answered, how can the local Tories afford so many expensive full colour glossy leaflets and Stevenson House as well?

[PanBiker]

As for the leaflet snaffling.... it says it was a Conservative publication so that's all right then because they have delivered at least three and no doubt another will arrive before Thursday.
The question has never been answered, how can the local Tories afford so many expensive full colour glossy leaflets and Stevenson House as well?

So, it's OK for local professional politicians to steal from letterboxes? Regardless of who's leaflet it was it was still wrong. It remains to be seen if his actions impact his majority which is only 80 votes at the last County Election.

Regarding leaflet production and distribution during elections. Each candidate has an allowance and many leaflets, especially with multiple elections happening at the same time are not exclusively for a single candidate. If you look at our Labour leaflet you will see that it covers. Town, Borough, County and Police Commissioner elections. Each candidate has a budget for which ever election they are standing in, the bigger the electorate for the election the larger the allowance is to allow production and distribution. It is not an infinite amount and all candidates have to return an expense declaration to the Electoral Returning Officer for scrutiny. There are financial sanctions for anyone who oversteps their budget.

You can get the information if you ask the council. So the question is, have you asked for the info?

I remember back in the 90's at the local elections when I did all the printing for the branch on our offset litho at the Weavers. We once put out over 10 leaflets during the campaign, A4 mono but still came under budget. David and myself were both burning the midnight oil on Frank Street.

[Stanley]

I gave over trying to get an answer to any questions about Tory funding years ago. I did even get Stephenson to write a letter to the paper but I think he regretted that, he had to make promises he couldn't keep.

Andrew Stephenson’s letter in BET. 26th June 2009.
ALLOWANCE MORALLY WRONG.
In response to Stanley Graham’s let­ter last week about how political par­ties pay for their campaigns.
Pendle Conservatives are the only local party whose accounts are pub­lished online, showing exactly where every penny we spend comes from and what it is spent on.
Pendle Conservatives, nor I, have never received any money directly from Lord Ashcroft. We do receive a grant from the central Conservative Party to help pay for our local cam­paigns. This is shown clearly in our accounts and is common practice among political parties to focus their resources on the seats they hope to win in a General Election.
Pendle Conservatives, nor I, do not receive any money from the taxpayer. I still have to work full time to earn a living and I spend a lot of time organ­ising fund-raising events like supper clubs, dinners and raffles to pay for my campaigns.
In contrast, since 2004/5 our Labour MP has received £90,299 to pay for his office, leaflets and adverts in this newspaper and £306,906 to cover staff costs.
This is in addition to the £81,894 we all paid for his mortgage and monthly food bills and £46,630 we paid for his travel over the same peri­od. This is all on top of his salary and pension.
We all know that elections are already skewed in favour of incum­bents in this country. Not as badly as, say, in the United States, but never­theless challenging candidates of all parties see taxpayer-funded letters to constituents from MPs and other forms of taxpayer-funded promotions which appear almost identical to pub­lications direct from the political par­ties.
To make matters worse, in 2007 Labour MPs voted themselves an additional £10,000 per annum com­munications allowance. This has allowed our Labour MP to pay for thousands of glossy leaflets with tax­payers’ cash. In my opinion, the com­munications allowance is morally wrong because taxpayers are effec­tively providing funding to incum­bents, which is undemocratic and why the Conservatives have said we would scrap it.

[plaques]

When caught with your hand in someone's pocket Point your finger and shout 'THIEF'.

A reply full of weasel words. directly is one of them. Central office grants are shown in the accounts. True, but what about other off the record payments? Gerrymandering and area sweeteners are started long before any General Election.

Just a typical political reply to be ignored.

[Stanley]

You're right Ken but I just wanted to demonstrate to Ian I had tried. So many hostages to fortune in that letter. No wonder politicians hate writing an answer down!

[PanBiker]

No point asking the politician, that's why I posted my potted version of the actualities of the situation regarding the cost of leaflets etc. The expense declarations are surrendered to the Returning Officer for scrutiny, he is the legal representative for the correct proceedings and conduct of the election. I can get you the figures about allowances if you are concerned.

[Stanley]

No thanks Ian, I have more important matters in my life.
THIS epic battle finished yesterday. Mark Selby is the snooker world champion beating Sean Murphy. Wonderful match play snooker at the highest level and all the players properly dressed. (Mind you I thought Stuart Bingham looked like a bookie in his check pattern afternoon suit and I hate those coloured shirts with white cuffs and collars. )

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the dispute over fishing that has resulted in threats by France to cut off electricity supplies to the islands. Another adverse result from Brexit and it can't be attributed to temporary transitional problems.

[Tizer]

Fishing dispute. It's the sort of thing that being a member of the EU was designed to avoid. We're regressing.

`Millions at security risk from old routers, Which? warns' LINK
The final bit sums up the attitude of the broadband providers...
`Pen Test Partners security consultant Ken Munro said the research mirrored his own. "We have been trying to convince one of the ISPs in question to fix a critical security flaw that allows several million of their customer routers to be remotely hijacked and gain access to home networks," he said. "We reported the issue over a year ago - but they have procrastinated multiple times." Mr Munro also suggested ISPs could be "reluctant to push updates to routers in case they fail in the process".'

[Tripps]

What's in a name? As Mr Shakespeare once remarked. .

Kirkland beats Milner

Mr Whipp hasn't had the best of weeks.

" Cllr David Whipp added: “It’s a shame that Rev Milner won’t be remembered at the place where he built his vicarage. We’ll try to find another way of honouring him elsewhere in town.”

[Stanley]

If you look in the Warner history you'll find that the Rev Milner was regarded by some as slightly too sharp. Described as the best beggar in the town he manage to find funding for St James' church and the Vicarage by being what we would call today 'a good fundraiser.'
I didn't know about this dispute. Why do public bodies go to law over something as petty as this.

[PanBiker]

Breaking news just seen on my phone. Apparently there is a fire in a tower block in London which is believed to have the same cladding as was used on Grenfell. History repeating itself? Lets hope not.

[jscriv]

What's in a name? As Mr Shakespeare once remarked. .

Kirkland beats Milner

Mr Whipp hasn't had the best of weeks.

" Cllr David Whipp added: “It’s a shame that Rev Milner won’t be remembered at the place where he built his vicarage. We’ll try to find another way of honouring him elsewhere in town.”

When was it called Kirkland and who named it that??

[Tripps]

Hello

It's in the aricle- comes from Church lands I guess.

"The development, off Skipton Road, which is still under construction, will be called ‘Kirklands’ after the vicarage that later became a doctors surgery and finally a masonic hall before being demolished last year to make way for the new development. "

[Stanley]

Ian. I heard a report about that fire but then it all went very quiet.
News clamp down to avert bad news on election day? Here's the BBC report of the fire in Poplar. LINK. You were right, it's the same cladding as Grenfell.

[Stanley]

Rockets, Israel and Gaza with children killed. Why is this so familiar? I am not an anti-Semitic but I am anti this dispute which goes on and on and on. Is one of the reasons why it is not criticised more because we see protesters branded as anti-Semitic?

[Stanley]

The Israeli dispute with Gaza worsens. Possibly the most disturbing report is of young Jewish men roaming the streets looking for Palestinians to attack. Is there no end to this awful animosity?

Greyhound buses have ceased all operations in Canada after a drop of 95% in passenger numbers due to the pandemic. This is the end of a century of operation. Operations in the US are not affected.

[PanBiker]

The Israeli dispute with Gaza worsens. Possibly the most disturbing report is of young Jewish men roaming the streets looking for Palestinians to attack. Is there no end to this awful animosity?

Shades of Kristallnacht. Depends who is wielding the stick.

I noticed Joe Biden commented that Israel has a perfect right to defend itself against aggressive force by rocket attack. Absolutely no mention of the state supported policy of aggressive land take over by Jewish families in Palestine, or the pre-emptive air strikes. Palestinians are not the instigating aggressors here the casualty levels on each "side" tell the real story.

[Tripps]

I read that -

"London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has said its conductors will be warned to not use the greeting "ladies and gentlemen" following a complaint from a non-binary passenger. LNER said train managers should not use the phrase to avoid offending passengers who might identify as neither male nor female. It comes after a complaint from a passenger on social media, the Telegraph reports."


It brought immediately to mind many Northern club comedians in the 60's and 70's for whom the standard opening was along these lines - from the great Bunny Lewis. I seem to have become an anachronism in my own lifetime.

[Stanley]

I agree Ian, but it's almost like David's point about 'Ladies and Gentlemen' being a derogative term for some. Anyone who criticises the Israeli attitude towards the Palestinians is immediately in danger of being branded Anti-Semitic. If you read the history most of Palestine was stolen from the Palestinian Arabs in order to find a place for persecuted Jews to live. In 1948 it was designated a state in its own right. (LINK) In my book the Palestinians have had a rough deal and anyone who speaks up in their defence is immediately attacked as being an enemy of the Jews. The extreme Zionist position is quite clear, the eventual expulsion of all the Palestinians and a 100% Jewish state in what was Palestine.
As for the LNER instruction to train managers David it's simply the latest example of an organisation trying to please everybody all the time and this is an impossibility.

[PanBiker]

Anyone who criticises the Israeli attitude towards the Palestinians is immediately in danger of being branded Anti-Semitic. If you read the history most of Palestine was stolen from the Palestinian Arabs in order to find a place for persecuted Jews to live. In 1948 it was designated a state in its own right. (LINK) In my book the Palestinians have had a rough deal and anyone who speaks up in their defence is immediately attacked as being an enemy of the Jews.

Yes, and don't we know it in the Labour Party, especially Jeremy Corbyn.

[Stanley]

Quite, a good example. Such people aren't always shining examples of rectitude but should not be vilified for supporting oppressed races.That's what 'Black Lives Matter' is all about, support for the oppressed. God knows the Jews ought to understand this, over the centuries they have been on the receiving end of more oppression than most. Think Holocaust for just one example.

[PanBiker]

Media is still reporting the retaliatory rockets from Palestine ahead of the planned and sustained air attacks from Israel and the disproportionate casualty rates.

[Stanley]

We are a very strange species... we go about killing each other.