Real Northumberland Murky: June 2024

Thursday, 27 June 2024

The ‘Bitter End’ is not just nigh it's NOW!

At some point people were bound to ask ‘who is Richard Wearmouth? and at this moment in time they are right to ask.

It's not as if he is an Earl or a Lord or a member of the elite or holds a title bestowed for positive community involvement he is simply the common bully who was, along with one or two others the catalyst for the visit to Northumberland County Council of Max Caller the well known Local Government hit-man.

His fear factor methodology has kept Northumberland Conservatives both tight lipped and under control until the nation has garnered against them. With the ranks of his crew members beginning to treat him like Captain Bligh with the long boat about to be launched.

The collapse of his empire began with one of the longest serving Council members, Wayne Daley coming out criticising the campaign to keep Cramlington with Killingworth in Tory hands and as he predicted a top Conservative and her husband have left the party and their seats on two Councils, One County and Two Town Council seats has left Cramlington, Northumberland’s second largest Town not only turning to face a different party in Westminster but open to change much more locally.

The couple leaving the crumbling scene of conservatism in Northumberland are the Dunbars, hard working local members of their respective Councils, forcing a by-election in the Autumn.

But that's not all, Barry Flux a fellow Cramlington Councillors has openly told people he will not stand at the next election, but the bitter feuds that will ensue when a Labour Government has to deal with a rogue Conservative Council may force many current Councillors to throw in the towel instead of waiting until next May.

With the Tories only spending Council cash in the former Castle Morpeth area and services on the ground in a state of collapse many will not be able to stand the pressure from local residents who are not enamoured with the current state of play from County Hall with a former Conservative Leader Alex Kerr supporting Labour in this general election. It looks like there's no way back for Northumberland Conservatives as it's expected all four constituency seats will fall to Labour and so will the County Council next May.

https://fb.watch/sYcBUMQ7fq/

Tuesday, 11 June 2024

The unbelievable arrogance of Northumberland’s Tory mouthpiece as he forgets the net effects of his party’s history of cuts, poor financial management and asset stripping.

Some observers have commented on how lucky Northumberland County Council was from its inception in 2008 as an all propose unitary council that they had inherited a top class financial manager in Steven Mason who carried the Council through the austerity attacks from George Osborne from 2010 who as chancellor was following a heavily criticised economic theory from Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff who published their working paper entitled Growth in a Time of Debt, which argued that countries with a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 90 percent grow more slowly than those with lower debt levels.

With public debt increasing all over the world, the research suggested that cuts to government spending would improve growth rates — contrary to the received economic wisdom at the time, Steven Mason was incredible locking up funds to help the Council manage its way through the destruction of public services which he knew was the aim of the Tories who showed their plans were designed to draw cash from the middle and lower classes to bleed it over to the elite and the rich.

He aided the Liberal Democrats from 2008-2013 to form a working financial pattern that would protect funds and deliver projects which residents needed and reported strongly on wasteful wishes from some quarters that may have slipped the Council into a financial wilderness.

When Labour formed a minority administration from 2013 -2017 history shows that his close work with the then Business chairperson Councillor Scott Dickinson and his deputy Councillor Liz Simpson the Council built up reserves and kept services at a high delivery level and the Labour Party enlisted Mr Mason as their Chief Executive Officer, The Council went from strength to strength right through the high level Osborne and Cameron Austerity years.

Council Housing was built in areas of need across Northumberland; new roads were developed on time and services increased staffing levels as education, neighbourhood services, social services, housing, engineering and planning all flourished under the Labour banner.

Labour’s problem was their inability to fend off the Tories through their low level use of social media by their Councillors and top activists. The Tories well shared spin blaming Labour for anything and everything won the day and the mainstream media backed them at all levels at an election where Conservative Councillors were in the ascendency right across County Councils nationally the Tories took over in May 2017.

They immediately sacked Steven Mason and set about dismantling the Council residents had come to enjoy. Workers disappeared and staff bullying by Tory elected members took its place.

Confidence in the Council disappeared and it began to rely on promises from Parliamentary members to keep up their levels of spin.

Pet projects and secrecy took over from essential spend and services drifted with matters such as planning appeals increasing and costing fortunes as poverty, particularly child poverty increased beyond all expectations and a huge build up of people needing help from food banks grew out of all proportion while ‘fix my street’ reports were the only growth area opposition members could point out to Mr Caller who came in to try to steady this sinking ship. He blew the Council’s image they had developed in secret and called it dysfunctional and he also said the authority was "paralysed" by "large volumes of procedural issues", including almost 4,800 FOI requests in three years, many from "senior officers or members". It's still paralysed as the council wrestles with not enough staff in place and high levels of sickness due to stress.

The Council lost a leader and brought in another, both of whom had been involved with Castle Morpeth Borough Council an area the Council has spent heavily on dismissing others into the wilderness.

The high level Tory promises failed to materialise and secrets grew like pinocchio's nose with ever more temporary officers being recruited to ensure the delivery of costly pet projects instead of essential services. Such as A1 upgrades, 8000 jobs for Blyth no building in the countryside etc.,

Selling the ‘land of opportunity for 40 pieces of silver’: the Tories have failed to deliver best value at any stage for any service since 2017 and with the Council recording that for every person they have accrued £2,091 of debt adding up to (£672.4m)17 Jan 2024 so instead of trying to bring some of the lost jobs to Northumberland’s poorest areas the secret cabinet took the chance and sold the land in a fire sale for £110m just scratching the debt they have accrued since 2017.

What a mess! But the Tory mouthpiece can’t admit it?

https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/24372391.plea-future-government-boost-funds-local-councils/

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/council/northumberland-labour-hit-back-at-claims-of-poor-financial-management-4488700

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-61740195#:~:text=Leadership%20at%20Northumberland%20County%20Council,the%20review%2C%20welcomed%20its%20findings.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/jobs-blyth-employment-northumberland-cars-19435348

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20627898.blyth-mp-ian-levy-backs-britishvolt-plans-leaked-report/

https://www.politico.eu/article/britishvolt-bankruptcy-uk-britain-battery-bluff/

https://bedlington.uk/news/warm-welcome-for-a1-dualling-route-announcement-r535/

https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-pledges-dualling-of-the-a1-all-the-way-to-scotland-under-new-deal-plans-for-uk-2899648

https://www.theambler.co.uk/2017/10/19/multi-million-upgrade-for-a1/

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2023/Sep/Surprise-and-disappointment-at-A1-dualling-announc.aspx

https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42126

https://alnwick-tc.gov.uk/news/mayors-letter-voices-frustration-over-a1-dualling-progress/

https://www.hexhamclp.org.uk/13-unlucky-years-of-conservative-government/

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/VHPYBEiXJd4cvv75/

https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/23840074.northumberland-county-councils-capital-spend-prudhoe-since-2017/

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/15/britishvolt-gigafactory-site-sold-110m-us-private-equity-firm-blackstone-data-centre-northumberland#:~:text=1%20month%20old-,Britishvolt%20'gigafactory'%20site%20to%20be%20sold%20for%20%C2%A3110m,to%20US%20private%20equity%20firm&text=The%20site%20in%20north%2Deast,of%20Europe's%20largest%20data%20centres.

Friday, 7 June 2024

More two faced antics at County Hall is killing off Guy Oppermans rhetoric.

Unbelievable spin from Conservative Candidate for Hexham, Guy Opperman regarding his claims that the Labour Party will build thousands of houses in the Green-Belt is a sham.

His own Government has already started with their plans for increasing numbers of homes in the countryside with their announcement that farmers will be able to convert buildings on their land without planning permission being required into 10 homes per farm. With 258 farms in the National Park and 491 farms plus numerous worked smallholdings the development numbers across Northumberland have the prospect of being huge yet Guy Opperman said nothing when it skirted through parliament and is campaigning on something his Government are well set against.

But the biggest nonsense is that his Agent the ex-cop Gordon Stewart who drives out Guy Oppermans information and runs his elections and spin sits on the County Strategic Planning Committee which has been criticised by villagers right across Northumberland for the huge increase in big planning development which ignore the green belt situation even if they fall in the sacred for Tories Castle Morpeth divisions.

Residents of Longhorsley, Wooler, Amble, New Hartley, Longframlington, Ponteland, Warkworth,Hexham, etc, etc have been complaining about the number of new homes in the countryside that the Tory Party have been banging through the Strategic Planning Committee of with Councillor Stewart front and centre in agreeing with the applicants and against the spin he puts out in his MP’s name giving the go ahead for rural population growth ignoring the trust his parliamentary candidate places in him.

Appalling activities and awful for villagers who feel ignored by Northumberland Tories and the nasty party they represent.

Saturday, 1 June 2024

Did Guy have cramps when he walked through the lobby to say yeah! To 14 years of cuts for Hexham?

The unbelievable Guy Opperman, Hexham Constituency’s former MP as of this week must have one of the shortest memories in Parliament.

From 6 May 2010 until now he has sat through the debates on the Government's budgets and has never once asked why the Police budget in his area has been slashed year on year with Wikedpedia noting that Northumbria Police has had the largest cuts of any force in the UK.

His meandre through the lobby to support austerity for Hexham on a regular and ongoing basis has seen the loss of PCSOs, Police Officers and Crime Prevention employees with youth funding to help keep young people off the streets and out of antisocial behaviour episodes ground down through his support for the passing of cash from the public purse over to the elite and foreign investors. Although we now know that most dyed in the wool Conservatives grasp any opportunity to be anti-teenager, just look at the conscription promise and ask yourself the questions that other young people supporting political parties are currently asking in the press.

Yet he has decided to contradict himself as by agreeing to slash Police funding he therefore forced Northumbria Police to sell off its assets and minimise the use of others to save cash to keep police officers on your streets. Hexham Police Station was forced by Guy Opperman’s actions to close its doors at certain times of the day.

This year the Outgoing police and crime commissioner for Northumbria, Labours Kim McGuinness decided to assist Hexham and keep its front desk open a little longer to the detriment of other areas in Northumbria Police zone. Yet Guy Opperman has decided that people's memories may be as short as his and has begun a campaign to have a new police station developed for Hexham.

Hexham Town Councillors find his campaign scandalous and we codgers here at Murky would have asked them outright questions had they not brought Guy’s neglect of his constituency to everyone's attention.

It's also noticeable that support for Guy Opperman has waned so much that the Financial Times is predicting his downfall at the General Election but he won’t be missed as he has never bothered to put his hands in his pocket and purchase a property in his constituency preferring to live on the South coast.