What do Reform Councilors fear? Even Northumberland Conservatives have accepted the process!

 

A simple check on Northumberland County Council’s website shows that despite all of the fuss made last month and clear explanations in the press and on the internet from more experienced Councillors, three REFORM UK Councillors have still not had their DBS checks signed off.

As most of us have seen in recent weeks with the string of violent riots from persons unknown who jumped to Nigel Farage's request to ‘take some action’ following the tragic death of Henry Nowak who was fatally stabbed by Vikrum Digwa it doesn’t take much for local folk to stop feeling safe in their own environment when that sort of activity is either sought or undertaken.

Do we know how many of those rioters were loyal members of REFORM UK? Or how many of those persons have dodged a request for a DBS check either recently or in the past, or even if any of those rioters are from Northumberland and members of Nigel’s Party?

Public Trust is a matter that is taken seriously by Northumbrians yet it looks like REFORM UK has three elected members from Northumberland who can’t be trusted.

The Leader of the Labour Group on Northumberland County Council Scott Dickinson said last month that he believed “every county councillor should be DBS checked”. He went on to say,  “if you want to work with children, support vulnerable adults, or even volunteer in a school, you need a DBS check. So why should we make exceptions for those who vote on children’s services, meet one-on-one with vulnerable residents, or make decisions that impact the most at-risk people in our communities?”

His statements are what most people expect from their democratically elected member but REFORM UK Councillors, some of them at least, feel they are above servicing the needs and wants of others but unfortunately that is what you were elected to do and that is what you should do.

We have had a little problem with this article as although the Leading Conservative group members are all covered by DBS checks we couldn't find many press statements where they came out in favour. In fact in the Hexham Courant (link below)the long serving Tory Council leader Glen Sanderson came out on the side of his ultra right wing colleagues stating that he was against mandatory checks. Did he need REFORM UK’s Councillors support for some of his anti-working class policies?

It's unbelievable that a person with his experience as a Councillor should come out with a statement like that, as a ward councillor he can be asked at any time by constituents to attend an old people's home to meet the residents or open a fete or visit a school in the patch he represents and he knows that. Is he simply putting politics before the safety of people or has he given up on protecting people altogether?

Notes:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=999018836387466

https://www.scottdickinson.net/single-post/why-i-believe-county-councillors-should-be-dbs-checked

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/northumberland-labour-leader-calls-for-mandatory-dbs-checks-for-all-county-councillors-5244958

https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/25350786.county-council-faces-calls-enforce-dbs-councillor-checks/

Reform’s Jenrick migrant stopping plan will lead to ‘conscription’ of the white poor?

 

Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick’s plan to stop employers offering jobs to migrant workers by raising tax and national insurance payments on the migrant workforce.

This may sound wonderful to those who support the policies Reform are proposing to introduce to stop migration, but this radical plan may lead to enforced conscription into low paid employment for people living in deprived areas. When coupled with the known and publicized Reform policy ideas, the removal of the minimum wage, stopping welfare benefits and privatising the NHS will cause great angst among those employers who find the ability to attract British workers difficult will certainly put pressure on Reform Councillors and MP’s to ensure jobs are filled.

The Tory transferees into Reform are well tarnished with the ‘Victorian Values’ of their former political party when coupled with the removal of the minimum wage and pricing migrant workers out of employment will certainly lead to the middle class being able to employ ‘workers in service’at their homes without paying them enough to live on independently having to rely on their new retro employers for everything and all of the downsides Charles Dickens clarified completely in his writings.

It's a fact that  Reform UK voters are disproportionately concentrated in areas facing high levels of deprivation, economic inactivity, and poor health. The party has successfully built a voter coalition that draws heavily from struggling workers and economically challenged, peripheral coastal and post-industrial towns.

Their latest plans bursting from ex-Tory boy Robert Jenrick's lips will lock that poverty into those areas like Blyth in Northumberland for generations to come and will do nothing to support high streets, provincial commerce and foreign investors expecting that yet another Government will set the Marmot review into the annals of history losing the gains Labour has been introducing quietly over the last two years.

The winners of the Jenrick plan will be care home owners, warehouse conglomerates and middle class householders who yearn back to owning their own workforce who will be forced to fawn to their desires.

Notes

https://share.google/kllOfcDx0FcdP9swu

https://youtu.be/r1fsuZyNpZc?si=BFX3g5jLgF2dN-uS

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/06/16/reform-wants-to-release-a-racist-wrecking-ball-on-the-uk-economy/

https://youtu.be/r1fsuZyNpZc?si=BFX3g5jLgF2dN-uS

Northumberland’s secret dysfunctional cabinet caught out through closing their books to Government scrutiny

 

Car

Northumberland County Council cabinet member for education Cllr. Guy Renner Thompson has been to the press and made statements about the County Council’s shortfall in funding to build a new high school in Berwick.

In deciding to build this new school the Northumberland conservative council have decided to put 142 jobs on the line with parents and residents of Wooler and Berwick accusing the Council of not having a proper plan in place. With the huge cost of school transport spiralling even more noticeable since Trump began his war against Iran, closing schools many miles away from their proposed alternative will be a millstone around the necks of the County Council for decades to come.

The job hasn’t begun, yet the costs have been bloated much higher than inflation for a project that was published last year at running out at £50m the county's cabinet member has stated. It now has risen by 22% to £64m. In one financial year.

The rise in costs are enormous, having jumped from £22M from when the Tories were going to deliver this project in 2022 up to almost three times that cost.

The department of education who didn’t fund this new build from its inception planning stage during 2017 when the Tories took office at County  Hall and a long standing Tory Government sat in Westminster are still now dubious about the council cabinet member for education's verbal public costs.

His costs have been called out by the Labour MP for Berwick for clarity and he has asked that County Hall opens its books to Government scrutiny to ensure that the true costs are brought out.

With Government and Local Government civil servants appearing not to be convinced that Northumberland Conservatives have improved on their secrecy one jot since the Max Caller Report. It was published in June 2022 and was a damning governance review that found the authority to be "dysfunctional," "distracted," and paralyzed by internal battles between political leadership and senior management labelling the ruling Councillors ‘bullies’.

That dysfunctionality still exists as the Council have failed to deliver best value for the last nine years and are ‘famous’ in local government circles for not publishing their Key Performance Indicators and where they sit in national league tables to let its Council Taxpayers scrutinise what they pay heavily for.

How can a constantly failing Council expect to be believed when they have not bothered to deliver what people really want in order to prioritise ‘glamour projects’ that will mean very little in a few years time.

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/education/councillor-frustrated-with-government-over-funding-for-new-berwick-high-school-8664320

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62z7j830l4o#:~:text=After%20a%20consultation%2C%20Northumberland%20County,high%20school%20in%20the%20town.

https://etheses.durham.ac.uk/id/eprint/7227/

Dysfunctional Northumberland Tories start a new scrutiny panel.

New raging ‘nasty party’ has decided to ignore it to score soft political points?

Northumberland’s ‘raging nasties' have begun a campaign to expose all owners of houses of multiple occupancy across Blyth and Wansbeck in what we believe is in order to further expand ‘Fargage’s rage campaigns’ further North than Watford Gap and pressurise Landlords who have invested in increasing much needed housing numbers. As its County Council who are responsible for housing sits back and dine on their narrowing of opportunity for the young and those in need.

This is a follow-up to a Freedom of Information request from Natalie Rolls a leading member of Northumberland Reform UK Branch and an active County Councillor seeking information about homes now owned, many of them Homes of Multiple Occupancy, by the Mears Group who are a giant landlord and manage almost half a million homes and employ 5000 staff .

For readers unfamiliar with Mears it is a company which expanded rapidly during the last Tory Government to handle housing for migrant workers and asylum seekers. Ms Rolls last FOI request didn’t give the answers to expand the anti-migrant feeling into Northumberland so another method is being tried.

From their seat of power on Blyth Town Council, one of the nation's largest parish Councils they are driving up local feelings against homes of multiple occupancy.

Their new demands surround article 4 of the 2022 planning acts.

Article 4 Directions are a legal planning tool local authorities use to withdraw standard "permitted development" rights. When an Article 4 is in effect, building works or changes of use that usually wouldn't need permission now require a formal planning application to be submitted. 

Their demands are that the Council forces all smaller HMO’s to be registered and that data be open to all.

If the County Council cedes to that request Ms Rolls original request via ‘what do they know’ would be granted. We expect large landlords would take legal action against the County Council as they have a right to do under current planning law on protected data.

But we have said many times on this blog THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE PROLIFERATION OF HOMES OF MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY IS TO BUILD MORE COUNCIL HOUSES,

The target for the refresh of Northumberland Council housing stock was set from May 2013 to May 2017 at 100 per annum under the chairmanship of Councillor Scott Dickinson MBE. Labour achieved the target therefore the Council is now 900 new homes behind target as the since Conservative held council hasn’t bothered to even attempt to develop a decent number of homes.

The housing regulator The Regulator of Social Housing handed Northumberland County Council a C4 grade (the lowest possible) following a damning inspection. The review found "very serious failings,"  The Council after dragging its heels has set up a scrutiny panel to investigate the report and make some suggestions, even after a number of long serving councillors were critical of this not being a ‘working group’ with teeth to drive forward policy change.

The ever optimistic Councillor Scott Dickinson MBE leader of Northumberland Labour Group said : “As we begin to see the work programme of the Housing Scrutiny Committee take shape, I'm incredibly proud of the work Northumberland Labour put in to secure these amendments during the Council budget process”.

“These weren't just proposals on paper; they were practical measures designed to tackle issues such as damp, mould, repairs, housing standards and need, helping to improve the lives of tenants and families across Northumberland”.

“Now the real work begins. It is vital that focused action is taken on these priorities and that robust monitoring ensures the amendments we secured are delivered in full. Residents deserve safe, warm and well-maintained homes, and we will continue to hold the Council to account to make sure these commitments lead to real improvements for tenants across the county especially when we get things right and get back on track to develop a new range of much needed Council Housing stock and try to get the target set by Labour of 100 new homes per year back on track to help ever more County families in housing need”.

Unfortunately the report from the first meeting of the scrutiny panel was dire with the completely out of touch Conservative Cabinet member for housing, Colin Horncastle displaying how little he understands the needs and wants of tenants, he said:” said the council was "not happy" with the result of the February report that identified "very serious failings" at the local authority.

They were very serious failings Councillor Horncastle and you should have been supporting the correction of those failings and not protecting your own failing to understand your own subject from criticism.

His Council has gone from being judged dysfunctional, then having a housing crisis in the middle of a bullying crisis and a lack of loyalty towards residents crisis illustrated clearly through its latest shocking policy of leaving grass uncut, which shows Northumberland under the Tories is not only failing its tenants its taxpayers who aren't tenants are suffering as well. If you look around at the workings of its equality working group and its displays of toying with their subject you may see where this scrutiny panel may be heading.

With the scrutiny meeting chaired by Reform Councillor Natalie Rolls it seems to onlookers that the information she sought on HMO’s last year and could lead to social problems and rage events may be made available as the County Council often fawns to its chairs even though the data behind it is now deemed private and not to be shared.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/county-council-sets-up-new-housing-scrutiny-committee-in-response-to-c4-grading-96948

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/freedom_of_information_request_i_308

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-of-social-housing-finds-very-serious-failings-at-northumberland-county-council

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-county-council-not-happy-34068553?fbclid=IwY2xjawSQAiZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeO6rJjCK6bNc5IM3Srnt-9fkifC-Kcex3cAvm1JY26LQC_riN24wyuWKoAXY_aem_xA2Ag6z84ygWjsPqQLDDyQ#ICID=Android_ChronicleNewsApp_AppShare

Bog off? Northumberland County Council ignores their responsibilities to those in need.

 

The average band D council tax in England without adding any *Parish Precepts. stands at £2,392 whilst Northumberland County Council Tax is 8½% higher at £2,597 before parish precepts are added.

The usual massive year on year hike in Council Tax was due to this Conservative Council not applying its increased spending power allowance from the Government as a saving. Possibly as they planned to increase borrowing by millions to bail out its financially adrift development company Advance Northumberland. A project they have dropped like a hot potato as the noise via the public outcry from residents was even heard across the Tories rural heartlands fas they haven't delivered on their promise following their pre 2017 election attacks stating they would abandon the reliance of the then named ARCH and scatter it to the four winds.

They lied of course, they simply split the company into seven companies and changed its name to Advance, a dereliction of duty in the eyes of many of their supporters and it's now debt ridden shell hangs like an albatross around the necks of the County Conservative Leadership.

The County Council has a series of responsibilities that are mandatory that they have ignored and kept secret through their one party cabinet structure since May 2017 one of those services sadly left behind is that of ‘Public Health’ and the supply and maintenance of public toilets which are discretionary and not mandatory unfortunately,

Both the Blair and Brown Governments worked hard on insisting the supply and maintenance of public loos rose to match the Scottish standard in England with all their work destroyed after 2010 by successive Tory legislation and right wing party loyal Lords.

The British Loo Association has been actively campaigning to ensure Council provision gets better but it seems as if Unitary Status for Councils expects them to forget the great work of the former district councils and abandon them. Northumberland County Council has reduced its number of so-called strategic loos down to 54 and complaints about the lack of maintenance are making the press.

Northumberland has four Labour MP’s who cover the whole County and seeing the number of complaints on social media its either time for them to work as a team and force through legislation from their own former administrations and join in with the British Loo Association. It would be great for their status to bring forward legislation that may clear the NEW, house of lords giving Northumberland’s public and higher than average Council Taxpayers public toilets of similar quality to its neighbour Scotland. Or they could, in order to repay some of its debt to our local society who have to pay additional council tax to scaffold up Advance Northumberland the Conservative Councils development company get the Council’s secret cabinet  to pass the responsibility over Advance to supply and maintain public loos on the Councils behalf.

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/council/public-toilet-provision-branded-shambolic-as-fresh-call-made-for-improvements-in-northumberland-tourism-hotspot-8643033

https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/16612960.haltwhistle-public-toilets-branded-disgrace/

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1hIf0WPjTQOLFxFCPWibZHbVfX1AJccU&femb=1&ll=55.10347924684738%2C-1.4965676257612825&z=12 still not open, why?

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00976/SN00976.pdf

http://www.btaloos.co.uk/?page_id=2521

King of Northumberland’s realm has shifted, His once loyal subjects are sadly missing out?

 

In a recent social media report the Deputy Leader of Northumberland County Council in a conversation with a long serving independent councillor from Berwick upon Tweed named Councillor Glen Sanderson the Tory Leader on Northumberland County Council as the ‘King of the County’.

King Glen has always centred his realm on the Town of Morpeth where residents have been linked with the Tories for quite a number of years as regular improvements have been delivered that people want. Glen has now shifted his ‘royal favor’ away from his once loyal base into untraditional territory and has lent his sovereign bestowal to the rival town of Ashington.

His highness has been subject to several claims and regular photoshoots showing him at every opportunity he gets to boast that he was responsible for spending £336.4 million on bringing the Northumberland line to Ashington, ignoring his loyal subjects in Morpeth who expected as was promised a number of years ago this new line to terminate at Morpeth and run through to Newcastle on a more regular basis as it picks up residents who dwell in the deep South-east of the County.

His shift of benevolence towards Ashington also includes a huge new further education valued at £52m that has been situated as close as physically possible to the terminus of the Northumberland Line along with a new cinema complete with a row of restaurants costing an extra £16m. Both projects are being organised using his delivery vehicle Active Northumberland.

A number of Morpeth commentators have illustrated their social media output laced with the knowledge that food outlets are disappearing from Morpeth and its surrounds while his highness is investing public money to develop a night time economy outside of the bounds of their town.

Spending £400m+ on the Town of Ashington with no spin off benefit for Morpeth doesn’t just stop there. He has gone public on the next expensive phase of the Northumberland Line in that he is going to fund an extension to Newbiggin by the Sea at huge expense that will leave Morpeth wallowing in the growth of poverty as it falls in his objectionable plans to hack back on his Morpeth based workforce in an austerity drive to force through his plans through a most peculiar package of prudence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4pqz98vpeo

https://northumberland.ac.uk/the-college/our-campuses/new-ashington-campus/#:~:text=Ashington%20Campus%2C%20Berwick%20Campus%2C%20Kirkley

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/people/morpeth-restaurant-thanks-customers-after-permanently-closing-its-doors-8551367

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/lifestyle/food-and-drink/morpeth-restaurant-the-townhouse-announces-closure-as-owner-hints-towards-new-plans-5612922

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/25749838.tomahawk-confirms-sudden-closure-morpeth-restaurant/