A new political party for Plymouth?

For years Plymouth City Council has been run by consecutive Tory and Labour led disasters and without a new party little seems about to change. Unfortunately there is a huge amount of apathy within the voting public and many people either don't vote at all or vote tactically i.e. they vote Conservative to kick out Labour and vice versa.

Unless you have an extremely poor memory then you will no doubt be aware of the years of bad decisions which have left Plymouth as a glorified dumping ground with poor infrastructure and no real opportunity for improvement. Anyway, here is a brief summary of what I believe to be some of the horrendous decisions made by Plymouth City Council over the past few decades:

The building of an incinerator in a heavily populated area using outdated German technology when far better alternatives were available.
The closure of Plymouth Airport and the accompanying wrangling between P.C.C and Sutton Harbour Holdings (there is still reported to be large amount of money that appears unaccounted for).
The construction of the Life Centre, a gigantic monstrousity that cost the people of Plymouth £46.5 million in a time of recession.
The general failure to promote Plymouth as a tourist destination and a general neglect of our amazing waterfront.
Bretonside Bus Station (need I say more).
Failure to promote and protect the legacy of some of Plymouth's great artists Robert Lenkiwicz and Beryl Cooke.
Highways, Highways, Highways - After P.C.C awarded a 25 year contract to Amey we have seen a continuing deterioration in the quality of our roads as well as an apparent war on motorists, The numerous installation of unnecessary traffic lights and signage that bring Plymouth's roads to a standstill despite a lack of traffic (wait for the comgestion charge to be introduced!), Gdynia Way (again need I say more), bus lane camera fines, camera cars, increased parking charges which have a detrimental effect on local businesses, over-selling of residential parking permits, the list just goes on and on and oh did I mention the potholes?
The closure of Welby Residential Unit which was a big mistake in my humble opinion and there is a huge lack of services for adult learning disabilities within the city.
A poor planning approach to the city centre which has resulted in the Mall killing trade in the west end and causing traffic chaos on the main roads coming into our city.
Failure to protect the Old Palace Theatre aka the Dance Academy.
Let's not forget Vivien Pengelly's tax payer funded trip to the South Africa World Cup either.

I could go on but I think you get the general impression and for most Plymouth people they are already more than aware of the problems our city faces.

It seems that PCC, much like national government and large businesses have forgotten about customer service or looking after the people who pay them; we have seen cut after cut to frontline services but no cuts for council leaders or senior executives.

You only have to pick up the Herald newpaper and read the your say pages to realise how unsatisfied the people of Plymouth really are, so what can we do?

In 2010 I took the decision to stand for council, I had no idea what I was doing but I waded in blindly anyway. I did not get many votes but it was nice to understand a little bit more about how the system works and it has helped me draw up some conclusions.

1. Standing as an Independent for a local election on the same day as a national election is not a wise idea, there is simply too much tactical voting going on for any independent to stand a chance.

2. Standing as an Independent is really hard. I did leaflet every single house that I could access but it is seemingly impossible to get your points and views across in 1 leaflet. The few people who did answer their doors were fairly receptive but most people did not want to chat and i don;t blame them, I hate it when strangers knock on my door.

As an Independent I had no help (apart from my lovely Mum) to help me canvas and generally people are just reluctant to vote for an Independent with no previous political history. Add to this the fact that I was bad-mouthed by several  canvassers from one of the main political parties who used, and twisted, the fact that I am a pole dancing instructor to somehow sway people into the belief that I was some kind of demonic lap dancing whore.

Having tried and failed as an Independent I still feel passionately about Plymouth and don't want to see another 10-20 years of failing tory/labour councils who will continue to turn Plymouth into a bin for Britain so I propose another option:

How about a Plymouth Party where local people can be truly represented by local candidates who put the needs of Plymouth residents first and leave aside party politics and EU nonsense. Surely it is a common sense approach, who knows maybe we could even end up with Plymouth as it's own Republic!! OK, so one step at a time.

I have set up a facebook group for those interested and have a separate blog page which I can adapt for this purpose as we get more interest. If you are interested in becoming part of a new non-political party for Plymouth either as a candidate or simply as a supporter just contact me direct or join the facebook group.

Stay Healthy,

Sam x

Occupy Plymouth?

I am really quite shocked at the venom being aimed at the Occupy movement in Plymouth but then after the international press crusade against the Occupy movement perhaps it is hardly surprising.  I personally admire the majority of protestors (there will always be a minority who are not actually fighting the true occupy cause) for getting off their backsides and trying to force change.

There isn't a day that passes without me hearing someone moan about the economic climate we live in, we are all aware of rising food, petrol and fuel prices, we can all witness the cuts being made to front-line services yet we can also witness the continued greed of those at the top e.g. South West Water have record profits yet bills continue to rise? Plymouth City Council leaders refusing to take pay cuts whilst cutting the pay for lower paid workers.

I think what the Occupy Plymouth facebook page shows is that the protesters aren't some kind of anarchists, they aren't all 'tree huggers and hippies' (Nothing wrong with tree huggers and hippies of course) as labelled by some, thy are simply people, like you and me, who are tired of living hand to mouth whilst watching those at the higher end of the pay scale cream of the rewards of our hard work.  

Perhaps there is a misconception that the Occupy movement is a waste of time, well check out the amazing results of Occupy Iceland. Check out this video too:

Focusing back on the Occupy Plymouth movement I have to mention the Kinterbury house building which the Occupy Plymouth movement was temporarily based in before the removal by bailiffs today; Kinterbury House has been derelict since 2008, the reason for its empty state was the greed of the owners who doubled the rent in 2008 forcing the then occupants out, one such occupant was the Plymouth Family Support Services - check out the blog I wrote about them at the time.

Anyway, the main point of this blog is to say a big thank you to all those representing the Occupy Movement for making a firm stand on behalf of people like myself who are sick of being ripped off by the wealthy. I do not describe myself as anti-capitalist and I have no problems with those at the top earning more money than me but I do want a fairer divide between those at the top and those at the bottom. In Plymouth we see a chief executive (Barry Keel) on over £200,000 per year (figures from taxpayers alliance) whilst one council worker I spoke to who already struggles to live on a wage of £12,000 is having his wages cut, hours increased and pension cut, he for one would surely agree with the Occupy Movement and it's beliefs?

Stay Healthy,




Sam x