GE2015: Lincoln's Labour Party Select General Election Candidate

Lincoln Constituency Labour Party have held a closed primary and selected their candidate for the next General Election.

Members of the party have selected Cllr. Ms Lucy Rigby, Labour (Halloway Ward (Islington Council) to be their candidate. Cllr. Ms Rigby was first elected to her local council in 2010, and is reported to have helped campaign for Labour candidates in the Lincoln City Council elections last year, which saw the authority return to Labour control. She is a lawyer by profession, with experience in Private Practice and the Office of Fair Trading as well as having worked at the Hague and practised EU competition law in Brussels.

Criticising the selection, one local activist, Mr. Edward Mayers, on the Labour List website, said:

"It would have been a much easier sell for Labour to select a local candidate in my opinion.

Lincoln's previous Labour MP, Ms Gillian Merron (1997-2010), had a background as a local government officer, and as a UNISON and NUPE trade union official, before becoming involved at a senior level with the Labour Party's 1992 general election campaign.

Decision Day: Nettleham Infants School Governors to Discuss Academy Status

The Governor's of Nettleham Infants' School, on All Saints Lane, will today consider if they should pursue moving to Academy Status.

An academy is a school that is directly funded by central government (specifically, the Department for Education) and independent of control by local government in England. An academy may receive additional support from personal or corporate sponsors, either financially or in kind. They must meet the National Curriculum core subject requirements and are subject to inspection by Ofsted.

Academies are established in a way that is intended to be 'creative' and 'innovative' in order to give them the freedoms considered necessary to deal with the long-term issues they are intended to solve. 

In terms of their governance, academies are established as companies limited by guarantee with a governing body that acts as a Trust. The governors also act as the Trust's Board of Directors (they are legally, but not financially, accountable for the operation of the academy). The Trust serves as the legal entity which the school is part of, and the governing body oversees the running of the school (although the day to day management of the school is, as in most schools, conducted by the principal and their senior management team, who are appointed by the sponsor).

Should the governing body decide to pursue Academy status then a consultation will begin with parents and the wider, local community to canvass their views. This will finish on Saturday, 21st April 2012.

UPDATE
The consultation will now take place between Tuesday, 17th April and conclude on Friday, 25th May.

Nettleham Parish Council Wants Answers On Police Custody Suite

Mulsanne Park Pavilion was packed with nearly one hundred local residents from Nettleham this evening; for what was widely expected to be a routine meeting. However, events took a dramtic turn over the weekend when Mrs. Sue Turnbull, of Washdyke Lane, instigated a campaign to raise awareness, that the plans for a new operational facility, at the Police Headquarters on Deepdale Lane, were due to be discussed.

For the multitude who attended their were audible gasps when they were informed that they would need to sit through over an hour of discussion between the Parish Council and Mrs. Manjeet Gill and Mr. Mark Sturgess, Chief Executive and Director of Planning at West Lindsey District Councl respectively. Undeterred, shortly before a quarter to eight, the Chairman, Cllr. Terry Williams, moved the item up the agenda to take as the next item; and discussion began.

A number of speakers from the floor put questions to Inspector Stubbs, who was representing Lincolnshire Police. He wanted to stress that talk of a massive custody suite was misguided; that in fact what was being considered was a replacement facility to the West Parade Police Station in Lincoln.

Parish Councillors sought answers from Insp. Stubbs. After nearly an hour of discussion, questions and answers Cllr. Giles McNeill proposed that a suitable letter be drafted to the Deputy Chief Constable asking for a dialogue to commence with the Parish Council. Further that they arrange an Exhibition to explain the plans to local residents and make themselves available to attend a Public Meeting, convened by the Parish Council. This was seconded by Cllr. Mike Spencer and unanimously agreed. Cllr. McNeill said, following the meeting:

"Residents of Nettleham are demanding answers, and the Parish Council has said it will facilitate this. This is such an important issue that we must get the fact about what is proposed. It was really good to see so many residents of the village turn out and demonstrate their strong feeling. Now we absolutely must act, and act quickly, to ensure that people get the information want and deserve."

Details of a facebook page that has been set up as a focus for the campaign can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/CampaignForG4SToHearNettlehamsVoice

Custody Suite Plans Likely To Cause Controversy at Parish Council Meeting

Following on from Lincolnshire Police's announcement about the possibility of establishing a new custody suite at the Nettleham Headquarters on Deepdale Lane local campaigners have begun the process of making their voices heard loudly and clearly.

The message they want to send to Mr. Barry Young, the Chairman of Lincolnshire Police Authority is 'No'.

In a letter to Parish Councillors Mr. Young says:

"[T]he media had been told in general terms that G4S intended to build a new operational deployment base incorporating a state-of-the-art custody suite somewhere in the county.  No location was given. During interviews following the contract signing, reference was made to the building being constructed, subject to consultation and planning permission, on the Headquarters site at Nettleham 

"The important point here is consultation.  It was not our initention to spring any surprises on our neighbours, and this letter is to assure you and your fellow councillors that Nettleham Parish Council will be an important part of the consultation process. We like to think we have always been good neighbours, and we can assure you that we will do all we can to ensure this remains the case."

However, in an unsigned letter, posted on a number of notice boards in the village and delivered to a number of homes for circulation, states that:

"When criminals are released from the new Nettleham cell block where Do [sic] YOU think they will go? They will be released into the village and can look for places to burgle to raise funds for the drink or drug habit many of them have, or try to take cars to get back to where they have come from."

There is properly a lot of concern about this proposal, regardless of how embryonic it may be. Tonight's Nettleham Parish Council Meeting is expected to seethe with resentment.

Stagecoach Should Explain Decision to Reduce Bus Services

Edward Leigh MP has called on Stagecoach Lincolnshire to explain to local people the company’s decision to cut services along the number 3 route from Lincoln to Grimsby, which serves Nettleham, Dunholme and Welton.

Our local Member of Parliament, has responded to the significant change to the Number 3 service from Monday 2 April 2012. Which will include the loss of an hourly connecting bus service between the south east and north east of the Gainsborough Constituency during the daytime. Through journeys will now end during the middle part of the day with the last through departures from Lincoln and Grimby at 8:40am and not resuming until 1:40pm.

Stagecoach have admitted that they are eliminating less economical services because of the Department of Transport’s twenty percent reduction in the Bus Service Operators Grant, equivalent to an additional 39p to the cost of a gallon of diesel. But talk of local authority intervention might be overly optimistic, given the £1.3m savings to the county transport budget and the need to find £125m in savings to put the County Council budget on an even keel. Edward Leigh said:

"I am relieved that the cut to the Number 3 service won’t be as deep as originally proposed, but it is still regretful that those who will need to travel outside the peak period will have their options severely curtailed. 

"In rural parts of the country such as ours, providing connections by regular public transport is challenging, but important. I’m not convinced Stagecoach have made a proper case for curtailing the Number 3 service. This follows from their cuts to Sunday and Bank Holiday services from last year.

"This situation is the responsibility of the bus company, and I hope they find more imaginative ways of responding to public demand. They can’t solve their problems simply by demanding subsidies from taxpayers who are hard-pressed to make end’s meet already. All this underlines the overriding importance of cutting the vast deficit we have inherited from the previous government."

Conservative Party Chairman Welcomed to Lincolnshire

Conservatives across Lincolnshire will be welcoming the Conservative Party Chairman, Baroness Warsi, to a reception this evening.

Cllr. Mrs. Rachel Hubbard, Conservative (Lincoln Bracebridge Division), who is the County Chairman will welcome Baroness Warsi with representatives of the constituencies of the Lincolnshire area, which includes both North and North East Lincolnshire as well as the County of Lincolnshire.

The visit comes swiftly, following the defection of Roger Helmer MEP to the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which followed an acrimonious period between Mr. Helmer and Baroness Warsi, waged publicly in the press, over his resignation and the succession of Rupert Matthews. The Chairman can undoubtedly expect the forthright views of local activists to be expressed to her this evening. At the 1922 Committee, of Conservative Members of Parliament, last week it is reported that Baroness Warsi received a hostile reception - and not just from the usual suspects.

It is believed that the Party Chairman will present an award to the Lincolnshire Conservative Policy Forum for the response to the NHS policy paper circulated in 2011.