"It appears that something has gone very wrong here.”

Robert Bracegirdle, 75, disappeared from his home in Goole in 2020 after struggling with mental health issues. A police search failed to find him and a coroner later ruled that he had died by drowning in the nearby River Ouse. His next of kin were forbidden access to his flat by East Riding council which promised to store his possessions until he was officially declared dead. However, when an inquest was held two years after his disappearance, the family discovered that the contents of his flat had been disposed of.

That's the sort of local council 'efficiency' we've come to expect... 

According to the housing law specialist Giles Peaker, partner of Anthony Gold Solicitors, relatives of council tenants who die without having made a will usually have to wait for a grant of probate before they can enter a property. However, in Bracegirdle’s case, probate could not be applied for until he was officially declared dead two years later, by which time his property had been disposed of. “Under the Tort (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 the council would have to keep the deceased tenant’s belongings secure and serve a notice on the administrator, executor and/or on the public trustee requiring collection of the belongings before disposing of them.” Peaker said.

And if they fail to follow that, never mind, the taxpayer will pick up the bill! Small comfort that will be to the bereaved relatives.... 

“The council told us that we were not allowed to enter the flat and remove any items because my uncle could not give permission,” said his niece, Charlotte Bracegirdle.“It said that once it had repossessed the property through the courts, it would take a full inventory of the contents and put them into storage until an inquest. My mum contacted them when an inquest date was set and received a two-line email, which didn’t even address her by name, stating that the contents had been disposed of as is ‘standard procedure’ when a property has stood empty for a long period. We suspect some of the more high-value items may have been sold.”

Shouldn't the police be involved then, as surely that's both theft and malfeasance in public office? 

East Riding council declined to respond to questions about when and how Bracegirdle’s belongings were disposed of. It said in a statement: “The council offers our deepest condolences, and regrets that the council’s actions caused distress at a difficult time for Mr Bracegirdle’s family. We acknowledge, now and at the time, that matters should have been dealt in a more sympathetic way. In response to the concerns that the family members have raised, we have changed our processes to ensure that similar cases are managed in a more sensitive way. This case is currently being dealt with by our insurers so we cannot comment in more detail at this time.”

How many other councils are doing this, I wonder? It's just another reason to ensure you have made a will. 

Have You Tried Not Making Them Welcome?

A group of caravans and associated vehicles have parked up on grassland off Ryall Road in Canford Heath. Police were reportedly seen at the site shortly after the travellers' arrival on the afternoon of October 1.

A BCP Council spokeswoman said: “We are aware that an encampment has formed at Ryall Road in Poole.

“Our staff will be attending the site today to carry out the statutory welfare and educational needs assessments.”

I really don't think that's what the residents want, do you? 

H/T: Ian J via email 

‘Gruelling’..?

A prospective Labour candidate finds it's not all wine and roses...

A gruelling schedule of door-knocking to drum up local support for candidates was encouraged, and the campaigning expectations completely took over my life. My hours were tracked mercilessly in an app by the local campaigning team that fed them back to the regional bosses.

To be fair, when you're young and naive, that probably does feel like a gruelling slog... 

In the run-up to an election, you are expected to complete five two-hour sessions a week, with an extra weekend session every fortnight on top, alongside your day job.

But she won. And then the real 'problems' started.

The real issues started when I had to go back to my day job. Being a councillor is not a full-time role, and it was one for which I took home less than £13,000 a year, despite my rent alone being £11,000.

Which if you already had a job meant your rent was paid and you had an 'extra' £2k on top of that, as well as your day job salary, doesn't it? 

A typical day would involve using my lunch break to join a council meeting on my phone and then after work, picking up a sandwich for dinner on the way to a three-hour evening meeting that would often overrun. The next evening or weekend would be more campaigning, meeting a local group or holding my ward surgery.

And it didn't occur to you that this would happen? Did you think they'd invent several hours more in the day for you to do this? 

When I was eventually signed off work with exhaustion, the mental health practitioner told me I needed to spend more time with my friends and family. But when?

You had no clue what it was going to demand of you? And that's someone else's fault, of course.

The Villain Of The Piece Isn’t Who You Think….

Hundreds of homeless families were permanently forced out of London by councils last year after many were given 24-hour ultimatums to either accept a private tenancy far away from the capital or be kicked out of temporary accommodation and left on the streets. The campaign group Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL) found that 319 households in 2023 accepted offers of a private tenancy outside London. They were often given 24 hours by council officials to accept homes out of the capital or risk making themselves “intentionally homeless” by refusing an offer.

Booo! Wicked Tories demanding value for money for the taxpayer! 

Well, no, actually... 

Five councils in the capital, which are all Labour-run, accounted for 74% of all out-of-London private discharges. Waltham Forest sent the most families outside London, relocating 67 out of 130 households outside the capital.Enfield was identified as the council sending families the furthest from their jobs, schools and support networks.

What a turn up for the books!  

One mother the Guardian spoke to in Enfield was given 24 hours to accept an offer of a private tenancy in Hartlepool in December, which she said she felt “forced and pressured” into accepting. The home the family were sent to was doors away from where a man was murdered last October.

And does no-one ever get murdered in Enfield?  

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.