Giving Them An Inch...

...and they are taking a mile:

Businesses seeking contracts from a London council are being vetted on their commitments to 'LGBT values'.

Camden Council will scrutinise companies and their employees to ensure they hold the appropriate beliefs about issues such as gender and sexuality.

Internal documents from the council sourced through Freedom of Information requests say: 'We are beginning to ask businesses to demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ equality before we procure them.'

That's going to throw a few spanners in the works with Muslim companies, isn't it? Assuming that it applies to all, of course... 

Are We Becoming Lawless..?

A fourth speed camera has been cut down in Cornwall in the space of a month, amid fears that vandals are copying ULEZ 'blade runners'.

The camera - located in Longdowns on the A394 between Helston and Falmouth - has been cut down at its base. It is thought the camera was cut overnight between Thursday November 16 and Friday November 17.

Well, well, well... 

Fuming Mabe Parish councillor Peter Tisdale revealed there had been a couple of incidents before the cameras went up of schoolchildren being knocked down when they got off the school bus.

And who was to blame? The motorist, or the children darting out from a blind spot, I wonder? 

'The reason we got these cameras in the first place is because there have been quite a few accidents with people turning into the garage,' he said. 'But there's also been couple of children knocked down getting off the school bus trying to cross the road.

'The cameras are not here for fun. They've got to be out of their tiny minds.

'Are they copycats for ULEZ? Is that what they're doing? Thinking they are doing some kind of good?

'No they're not. We're talking about public money criminal damage, we are going to put them back, they're there for a reason.'

They might also be far more expensive than a zebra crossing and instructions to pedestrians to use it... 

But is this a sign. perhaps, that people have had enough being used as cash cows? 

Yes, In The Basement, Behind A Door With A Sign Saying 'Beware Of The Leopard'...

Cllr Nigel Ayre, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group on the council which was in power when the bollards were installed, insisted the work was in line with a map that had been available at a public drop-in session in January.

Residents wanted 'independent shops, but also seating and greenery'. But that wasn't what they got, was it?

Vikki Hill of the 'What a load of bollards' campaign said the group's aims were simple. "This is about one thing, and one thing only - getting rid of the bollards!" she said.

Get rid of the useless bollards in the council planning department first... 

Just Stick To Fixing Potholes And Emptying Bins...

Almost a quarter of Bradford residents live in...

Squalor?  

...“food deserts” - areas where there is little access to fresh, healthy food.

*blinks* Really?  

And that number rises to almost two thirds when looking at families with less than £20,000 income a year – according to a recent survey. The figures were revealed during a presentation on Bradford’s new Good Food Strategy – a plan that aims to improve access to healthy food for people across the District.

A council plan to improve something! How can it fail?  

The strategy also calls for water to become the “first choice drink” and for local influencers to be recruited to promote healthy eating.

Oh. I guess I can see how...

But what on earth is a 'food desert' anyway? I've scoured Google Maps and can't see any place lacking in shops... 

Members of the Bradford and Airedale Wellbeing Board were told that areas were classed as food deserts if people living there would have to walk more than 20 minutes to buy fresh food, such as fruit or vegetables.

As a commenter points out, 'Bet they have no trouble at all walking 20 minutes to the benefit office!' 

Or the local mosque... 

Charlotte Ramsden, CEO of the Bradford Children’s Trust, said access to healthy food was not the only issue. She said: “There is also access to cooking facilities. Some disadvantaged families have nothing to cook with – they might have a microwave if they are lucky. To prepare healthy food they need cooking facilities.”

It's Bradford, love! I'd be astounded if there weren't cow-dung fired stoves in the backyards... 

By Lying, Dawn, Clearly....

Merton resident Dawn Spragg wrote in to ask why the council was not “actively engaging” with residents about ULEZ.

At the meeting, she asked a follow-up question, saying: “How are you as our elected members engaging with the people that elected you to advise them about the ULEZ that will be inflicted on our borough on August 29.”

The answer she got was not quite what she expected, it'd be fair ro say: 

Cabinet member for transport, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, claimed the scheme has cross-party support from Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour.

Oh, really? Reader, no. Not at all. 

This led to outrage from the leader of the Conservative group Councillor Nick McLean who said the Merton Tories oppose the expansion.

And when blatent lies won't shut up this pesky voter, what next? Take your ball and go home, of course! 

Ms Spragg’s question was one of four from the public on the ULEZ expansion. However, the other three questions were not discussed in the meeting.

When the Merton mayor, councillor Joan Henry tried to move on to the next item on the agenda she was heckled by those sitting in the public gallery, who included Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

It caused Ms Spragg to move to the microphone, where residents can speak at the meeting, to ask why the other questions were not being addressed.

Cllr Henry ordered Ms Spragg to move back to her seat but when her pleas were unsuccessful the meeting was adjourned.

Much as I hate to be on the same side as Corbyn's brother, this is not democracy.  

"It is like living in an area with no policing or government."

Just like, well, you tell me, Reader...

Each night here vendors, who set up stalls on both sides of the pavement, sell goods from perfumes to street food. However a councillor warned some may be unlicensed and illegal and vowed action will be taken.

Anti-social behaviour and fights are commonplace with one stall brawl on April 3 prompting a police visit. The road is also plagued with traffic congestion with some vehicles taking 20 minutes to get from one end to another. A concerned resident claimed an ambulance could not even get to his house for a medical emergency because of the nightly congestion.

When BirminghamLive visited the road was clogged with traffic. Drivers stuck in the queues blared their horns in frustration.

Import the Third World, get Third World markets...

Cllr Raqeeb Aziz, Councillor for Bordesley Green, said in a statement to BirminghamLive: "The Council is taking action to stop illegal activity around the Coventry Road area. The Council's Highways Department, Community Safety Team, and the Regulation and Enforcement Division are all visiting the area to take the details of those who are involved in setting up the stalls."

Really? The licensed traders and residents say different. They say they rarely see any police or council officials and complaints go unrecorded... 

"The Council is proactively pursuing individuals who don't have the relevant permissions, and are working with West Midlands Police to gather evidence and will be consulting with residents to find long-term solutions to stop this sort of activity in the future."

That'll come as a surprise to residents, who might want to point out, should this consultation ever occur, that the council should already know what solutions are needed. 

"I will continue to work closely with the Council on this issue, so that residents of Bordesley Green can continue observing Ramadan and enjoy the upcoming Eid celebrations in a safe and peaceful way, and that all relevant regulations are adhered to by traders."

There's a name for a statement like this, isn't there, Reader? 

Maybe Disabled People Should Stop Paying Council Tax?

Four councils are responsible for bringing more than half of the prosecutions in England for people abusing the use of disabled parking badges.

So, does it only happen in these four, which are Lambeth, Birmingham, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Bromley? Or are the other councils not doing their job?

The AA has raised concerns that councils do not take enforcement seriously, after the data also showed that more than two-thirds of councils, 110 out of England’s 140 local authorities, had not prosecuted anyone at all for misusing them.

Ah. Like I figured.  

The War On Personal Freedom Continues...

Innovative neighbourhoods, where everyone living in them has access to most of their everyday needs within a 20-minute walk, could be trialled...

In London?  

...in Norfolk.

The least populated and mostly rural county? What gives? Why choose this? 

Such neighbourhoods have gained popularity in the United States, Australia and Scandinavia, with the concept that people can walk to and back from services within 20 minutes - 10 minutes there and 10 minutes back.

Which might be ok in dense conurbations, and assuming you can walk, but to trial this in Norfolk makes no sense at all. Bloody Greens and Lib-Dems... 

Lana Hempsall, Conservative county councillor for Acle...

*sighs* 

...proposed a motion about the possible creation of the neighbourhoods at a recent county council meeting, which was supported by 48 councillors, with none voting against.

While cars would not be banned (Ed: at first...), the neighbourhoods would be designed so walking, cycling or using public transport might be a more direct way to reach services.

Whether you like it or not. 

Make no mistake, they want to remove personal freedoms. And the best way to do this is to remove the invention that's probably given people the most personal freedom. 

So Where Do They Go?

Low-traffic neighbourhoods significantly reduce the amount of motor vehicles within their boundaries without appearing to push traffic on to roads around their edges, the most comprehensive study yet of such schemes in the UK has concluded.

They don't evaporate, do they?

While the authors behind the research, from the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy (ATA), noted they only had useable data for just under half the 96 LTNs installed in London between March 2020 and May 2021, but said there was significant overall evidence of so-called traffic evaporation.

Oh. My mistake!

The research, which was based on traffic count data before and after the installation of 46 so-called LTNs in London, found a reduction in motor traffic within the zones of 32.7% when measured as the median, and a 46.9% drop when calculated as the mean. Of the 413 roads inside the LTNs with before-and-after traffic counts, the percentage experiencing an average of fewer than 1,000 motor vehicles a day, seen as a good shorthand for a street receptive to more cycling and walking, rose from 41% to 66%.

But surely, unless they also measure the amount of before and after cycling and walking, they can't say that that's what people are doing instead?  

The Price Of Failure...

Her son, a retired telecommunications engineer, has now received an apology and £1,000 in damages after taking Barnsley Council to court.

You might think that's a pitiful sum for hanging up on your dying elderly mother who had pressed the button she thought would bring help when she needed it... 

Outside court, Mr Belk said: ‘It was never about the money, it was about trying to get justice for my mother and get an apology from the council.

‘It was a shoddy service. The call operator should have called myself and an ambulance the second she realised my mother was unable to speak up. My mother would have been expecting help, having pressed her red button.

‘Lying on the floor in agony was a horrible thing for her to have to endure in the last few hours of her life.’

If you consider you've had justice, good for you. Me? If that was my mother they'd treated that way, I'd prefer somthing a little more...Biblical.  

Are All Labour Councillors Thick As Mince..?

...or is it just this one? 

She was immediately - and beautifully - taken to task by Twitter users. But the breathtaking idiocy of tweeting something like this about people caught in the act astonishes me. 

The immediate assumption that 'racism' drove this, as it it would ever be racist to object to this sort of disregard for our surroundings, as if people wouldn't somehow be as angry if the people doing it were a different race. 

The Council Has Spoken, Peasants!

Bradford's Council has prohibited a new ITV drama about Peter Sutcliffe's murders, called The Long Shadow, from filming throughout parts of the city including streets and parks.

To shield the surviving victims and their relatives from further pain, I suppose? 

Emails reveal there had been plans to film the series in another part of the country, but victims' families 'thought it needed to be told in West Yorkshire'.

Oh! Well, then, why..? 

One email, understood to be from Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, said: 'I'm not keen on us participating in anything that perpetuates the memory of the man, so the answer's no from me I'm afraid.'

Ah. But wouldn't it bring a boost to the area? 

The production company responded by trying to assure the council the series would not 'exploit or sensationalise the nature of his crimes'. It also offered to work with charities and support groups in the area...

However, a final email signed 'Susan' - sent in response to the matter being chased by New Pictures - says: 'I said no quite clearly I think?'

The breathtaking arrogance of that statement tells you all you need to know about how local council folk see themselves, doesn't it? 

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: 'The story of this very dark and painful era has been told many times including within well researched documentaries which have given survivors and victims’ families a voice.

'We cannot ban filming in public spaces and have not tried to do so but we can choose whether to actively support this film or not.

'Out of respect for the many people affected, we have chosen not to support this film.'

So 'streets and parks' aren't public spaces? And the 'people affected' directly by these crimes have told you they want this? But your leader knows better...at least, she thinks she does.

A Fool And (The Taxpayer's) Money Are Soon Parted...

Taxpayers face losing up to £200 million after a council 'gambled' more than half a billion pounds on a green energy scheme run by a fast-living financier, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Good lord, what incompetent council is th... 

Cash-strapped Thurrock Council in Essex...

/facepalm 

You'd think, wouldn't you, that in Essex of all places they'd be able to spot a wide-boy chancer coming a mile off? 

...borrowed £655million of public money – the equivalent of triple what it spends on services each year – to invest in 53 solar farms across the UK.

It agreed a series of deals with globe-trotting businessman Liam Kavanagh, whose integrity was later questioned by a High Court judge over £5million his company banked in 'commission'.Thurrock hoped the huge investment would generate millions in extra income but independent consultants hired by the council have privately warned that the solar farms are worth far less than required to recoup their cash.

They also raised concerns about the use of a £138million top-up investment made by Thurrock – approved after a series of meetings at London's five-star May Fair hotel between Mr Kavanagh and the council's finance chief – which does not appear to have gone into the farms. And the latest £12.5million interest payment owed to the council is months overdue, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found.

Want to bet who will be sacked and face jail time for this, Reader? 

Only One In Four..?

I'd have put it a lot higher if asked to guess...

One in four councils is promoting ‘highly contentious’ race theories in schools, a major report warns today. Town halls are using controversial terms including ‘white privilege’ and ‘unconscious bias’ in teacher training materials, research has found.

If only our 'conservative' government were as interested in this as they are in fighting like rabid weasels to get into the top spot, eh? 

Tony Sewell, who led last year’s landmark government inquiry into racism that was castigated by the Left, added: ‘As I found as chair of the Commission for Ethnic and Racial Disparities, and as this work underlines, it is increasingly apparent that a single, contentious interpretation of anti-racism has taken hold across many of our country’s institutions. Uncovering the ideological drift in schools is of vital importance both for creating a more balanced discussion on race, and for protecting the integrity of education itself.’

Oh, Tony, I think the integrity of education is a lost cause. Don't you? 

DDU began investigating after learning that Brighton & Hove City Council was recommending pupils as young as five be taught that they are either racists or victims.

Or in the case of cricketer Azeem Rafiq, both!

I've Just One Question: How..?

Tourists and second home owners visiting a Cornish sea sideside resort will have to pay to use public toilets while the facilities will remain free for locals.

All eight public toilets in the west Cornish town have traditionally been free to use by everyone, but now the local authority wants to recoup some cash without adversely affecting locals.

Surely the amount of money such a scheme will cost to impliment will outweigh any gains? So...it's not about cost at all, is it? 

The town council said it is still finalising the details of the new contactless toilets but is looking at ways to ensure second home owners or holiday let users cannot use their temporary St Ives address or share any access codes with their Airbnb customers, so public toilets are only genuinely free for locals.

You're going to find a way to stop people sharing access codes, eh? 

Cool! After that, can you get to work on a perpetual motion scheme, or energy from nothing? Or even peace in the Middle East, if you really want a challenge... 

Mrs Dwelly said: 'We will be giving residents a card or code to use on their phone so when they use the public toilets it will be free. Visitors will have to pay and will be able to use their phone or credit card to do so.'

Or will ask/pay a friendly local to swipe their card/phone for them... 

The Identity Politics Gravy Train Needs To Hit The Buffers Hard...

Council chiefs have advised staff to omit the word ‘family’ when sending Christmas greetings so as not to offend those who have no relatives.

Surely sending Christmas cards instead of 'Winterval' cards is offensive enough in the first place, to the people likely to kick up a fuss..? 

One section of the 42-page document (Ed: 42 pages! What a waste of trees...) advises workers to steer clear of linking specific attributes to chronological age’ and rather than use phrases like ‘a young and vibrant team’, should consider ‘a team made up of people in the early stage of their careers’.

Yeah, that one just trips off the tongue, doesn't it? Trust a local council penpusher to suggest using thirteen words rather than five... 

It recommends avoiding phrases such as ‘women who are pregnant’ and ‘expectant mothers’ and to instead use gender-neutral phrases like ‘people who are pregnant’ and ‘expectant parents’.

By way of elaboration, the guide also states: ‘Not everyone who is pregnant is a woman – people who are non-binary or trans men can also be pregnant.’

I'll stop you there - if you're pregnant, you're a woman. This isn't sci-fi. Normal biology applies. 

Greenwich council said: ‘Our inclusive language guide is advisory only and was designed to encourage staff to reflect on the use of language in the workplace and how it might impact their colleagues.’

Why on earth should this be necessary? Or even part of staff induction? Burn it all and salt the earth.  

We Know What You Really Mean By 'The Most Vulnerable', 'Guardian...

The Home Office has placed immigration officers in child social services and dozens of other local authority departments, in an arrangement that has raised concerns​...

That there's not enough?

...about the ability of the most vulnerable to seek support, the Guardian can reveal.

Why would it? Unless, of course, by 'most vulnerable' you mean illegals and overstayers. Still, any new initiative would be welc...

Oh! 

The on-site immigration officer service was reported by the Observer in early 2019.

So it's been running for three years? 

The revelation that the Home Office was “hiring out” immigration officials to enforce the government’s hostile environment policy was met with outrage from critics, leading many local authorities to eject the officers, and the Home Office to remove information about the service from government websites.

Any local authority that did this should have gone straight to the back of the queue for any government funding... 

However, the service has continued to operate. Records released in response to FoI requests reveal that at the end of 2021, 12 local authorities plus HS2 and TfL still had immigration officers working within them on behalf of the Home Office, including five where officers had been placed specifically in children’s services. 

The OUTRAGE! in the article is led by shadow minister for immigration, Stephen Kinnock, Mary Atkinson, campaigns officer at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and Colin Yeo, an immigration law barrister.

Do they bother to ask Mr or Mrs Average in the street whether they think it's a good idea? Reader, they do not. 

They just expect them to pay eye-watering levels of tax to fund every Tomazs, Dhama and Harsimer who comes ashore at Dover...

All You Should Care About Is That It Is Within The Law, Mark...

Sussex Police licensing officer Mark Thorogood shared his concerns at a council licensing.

He told the panel of councillors the venue only just complied with its cafe licence.

That's all it needs to do, after all... 

This required substantial food to be available at all times. It had been, he said, “pushing the limits” of what was substantial after the previous owner refitted the venue as a bar.

So..? Did you get upset when venues were 'pushing these limits' when ridiculous covid restrictions were imposed, Mark?  

Mr Theed had since refitted the premises again and police were concerned it now appeared to be branded as a wine and cocktail bar. Given its current cafe-style licence, alcohol should be secondary to providing food, he said.

But the seven-page menu initially had five pages devoted to alcohol, with no hot drinks and just seven food items. Two of those were nuts and olives.

Which are definitely food, though I can't stand olives myself. 

The food offering had since been expanded but, the panel heard, there was still no kitchen.

The regulations you're paid to enforce don't state there has to be a kitchen, do they? So move on. There must be real cases to progress. This isn't one. 

Legendary Incompetence!

Mr Walker used to rent a garage on a plot of land off Whitecroft Road, Bolton. The land was sold by Bolton Council in 2019 and now belongs to Mr Walker’s neighbour.

But he is still being sent invoices for £64.

Oops! 

“They send it every couple of months, but the council sold the land in 2019. They’re so stupid, they didn’t even know when I rang them that it had been sold.

“I’ve told them about it but still get letters. I’ve had 22 letters of these invoices with six demands from debt collections threatening me with court.”

Let them try! I suspect the magistrates will take a dim view of their time being wasted. 

Paul and Ruth Whitehead bought the land off the council in 2019.

Mr Whitehead said: “Even I’m getting letters asking me to pay the garage fee – and I own it.”

You couldn't make it up, could you? 

A spokesman for the council said: “This looks like an administrative error on our part and we’re getting it fixed.”

How long does it take?!? 

'Choice' Is Exactly What They Don't Want Anyone To Have...

...and if this isn't rejected, that's exactly what they will continue to push on everyone.

Green Party councillor Ian Middleton, put forward a motion to make sure all Oxfordshire County Council meetings are "entirely plant-based", and it was passed on Tuesday's full council meeting.

Nor was that his only demand: 

The motion also called for targeted education in schools on dietary health, food growing, preparation and waste avoidance and for the county school meals service to make fully plant-based menus available to schools that ask for them.

Because we all know schools have successfully taught all children to read, write and add up and are just twiddling their thumbs? 

However, Conservative councillor David Bartholomew feels the motion is "unacceptable" and says that veganism should be a choice.

In the normal world, it is.  

It will now be considered by the council cabinet before implementation.

And I've little hope that the 

Speaking after the meeting Mr Middleton said:"No one is taking away free choice, these changes will only affect those who wish to avail themselves of food provided by the council. What members do outside the council walls is their own affair."

But that's how these things always start, isn't it?  Impacting one small - often despised - group of people, before they move on to everyone.  

But you can't argue with fanaticism:

Mr Middleton said: "These are not choices we're making for ourselves, but for future generations. This is a very minor change that sends a powerful message to the people we represent that we take tackling climate change seriously and are prepared to play our part as community leaders".

Enjoy your taxpayer-funded food, but I'll make my own choices with my own money. And looking at the vegan offerings always adorning the supermarket 'buy it now at reduced price before we bin it' so does everyone else...