Thanet District Council have announced that Ramsgate Parish Council Elections will be held early in 2009. I have just telephoned them to confirm this as there appears to be some confusion about this both in the press and on the blogs, what will happen is that a date will be set, candidates will apply, we will vote for them, those elected will become parish councillors and we get a parish council.The parish council can then decide to turn itself into a town council, take over the charter trustees and elect a Mayor.
And then what ?
ReplyDelete12.46 Here in Ramsgate there is a very real feeling that we are not getting a fair share of the resources needed to regenerate the town, exemplified by the fact that Ramsgate people voted to pay more tax in for this extra tier of government.
ReplyDeleteDue to the way Thanet District Council operates our own councillors that we have voted for have very little power to regenerate Ramsgate, most of the regeneration money that comes our way is likely to go into the port, which frankly is a mess that looses money and does nothing for the town.
We need an elected body to represent us that Thanet District Council will have to take some notice of and this is what we hope to get.
12:46, Then we have another level of bureaucracy to contend with, when any local decisions need to be made.
ReplyDeleteCould somebody explain if there is a major difference between a parish and town council other than the name?
ReplyDeleteit will all be a waste of time and money
ReplyDeleteMichael,
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that we do not get our fair share of resources in Ramsgate the way forward is NOT to create another tier of local government that will be absolutly impotent and have about as much notice taken of it as does Broadstairs and St Peters Town Council.
The way forward is to ensure that at the next election Ramsgate Cllrs are elected who can and do fight Ramsgates corner, do not waste your vote on Ramsgate First and the like who have proved that their first loyalty is to the local Tory Party. Undoubtably the last election results were skewed by the existance of RF who promised much knowing full well they would be unable to deliver.
Rear view mirror, the only difference is that a Town Council can elect a Mayor, a Parish cant, and we all know who has his eyes on that job in the unlikely event that he is ever elected. I think he believes that being Mayor will somehow give him access to the so called gravy train.
I have never heard such a load of Bollock* in all my life. Get real michael
ReplyDeleteIt does appear to an outsider that without making generalisations the Ramsgate TDC elected councillors work harder than those of some other parts - Birchington to name one, so maybe they will be able to bring improvements into the town.
ReplyDeleteThe only councillors other than Clive Hart who spoke up for their wards were Ramsgate labour ladies.
As a member of Broadstairs Town Council, I can confirm that we can do some things other layers of local government dont - and that the Town Council is probably closer to people than most of the others through daily local presence.
ReplyDeleteWhen the previous Labour administration closed community facilities all over Thanet, it was the Town Council in Broadstairs that took over the running of Park Hall and has set about replacing it with a brand new facility. With Quality status it can now do much more, and as the economic circumstances of District Councils straiten will probably have to.
Mike seems very agin the concept, but as a Town Councillor myself have always stated that I cannot deny to Ramsgate what we have in Broadstairs. I wonder what is the fear of converting current arrangements to be more democratic? Not very socialist is it!
I think the point that is perhaps being missed here is that it has already been democratically decided that we are going to get a parish council, so arguing about whether it’s a good thing or not is pointless the electorate have decided, this sort of thing happens in a democracy, like it or not.
ReplyDeleteSo now the problem for us in Ramsgate is to ensure that we get the best possible parish, town council and to look to the positive side of what it will be able to achieve, to encourage the most able people to stand for election.
And a parish has unrepealable powers to raise its own Constabulary (via elections for office of constables)?
ReplyDeleteSuch constables could, for example, arrest the public servants currently being empowered by Chief constable Fuller (who has no lawful authority to empower them) whenever such public service instant fine busybodies breach the rights to peace of a Parishioner (By talking to a parishioner without consent) (Other than by warrant)
(I think this is in Bill of Rights as well ... basically about those who put themselves above law on a bogus interpretation of anti terrorist powers)
New Labour Old Magna Carta
Short post for you Michael
Councillor Wells, precisely why have you resigned your KCC Cabinet role. Was the pressure too great? Or there any truth in the rumour that you intend to challenge Councillor Ezekiel for the leadership of TDC in the near future? Or will you rule yourself out of such a challenge absolutely?
ReplyDeleteI think we should be told.
ReplyDelete