Now, I hope.
I’ve added a link on the right hand side to an elected mayor campaign page. I hope if you’re from Blackpool you will consider downloading the petition (from here) and encouraging all of your acquaintances to follow suit.
Apparently only 5600 signatures are needed to force a referendum on this issue which out of 110,000 voters is a very small number. It’s time we stopped dragging our feet on this. There is nothing at all stopping us getting a democratically elected mayor aside from our own apathy.
The current mayor is Norman Hardy and he’s 74 years old. Yeah, seventy-fucking-four. He knows nothing about modern life and he’s only the mayor because his cronies chose him to be it. Do you really want clueless old bastards like him leading the town? I don’t.
What’s worse is he thinks he is some kind of celebrity;
I have wondered, is it like winning a World Cup medal, winning Big Brother or winning an Oscar? Well, I will leave the football to Jimmy Armfield and I’m not sure about reality TV, so I’ll settle for an Oscar!
Set your apathy aside and get cracking. Download the petition. Fill it in with as many of your friends and possible. Send it off. It’ll cost you a piece of paper and a postage stamp, that’s all.
Don’t think about it – do it!
Another thing you could do to get the ball-rolling is write a letter to the Gazette with the links urging people to sign up and you can keep your identity anonymous as you can ask them to publish your letter as Philtheone, Blackpool or simply Phil. Could be worth a shot.
I’m not bothered about my name being revealed, I’ve used it many times in the Gasjet before and it’s easily available if you know where to look.
Do you think the Gasjet would be interested in publishing something like that?
I’d have thought them too entrenched within the Council’s PR machine to jump out to some random person wanting to shout out loud about kicking them all out.
Well like I say its always worth a try and personally I think it is something many people in Blackpool would support and be interested in, so why not? I mean they’re happy to give Hamish free publicity so why not a worthy cause?
True, but he’s a story. At the moment, this isn’t, it’s something that was started about a year and a half ago and failed to snowball.
I obviously don’t have the audience to create the 5600 signatures but if the blogosphere got on board with it I think we could certainly give the campaign a bit of momentum.
The link is being posted by “Mick Johnson”
74? Makes you wonder who the oldest councillor is out of interest. I know the youngest councillor is Conservative Ingthorpe councillor Tim Cox who was 26 when elected in 2007 but he is not very vocal despite being a younger councillor. Simon Blackburn is quite a young councillor and is very vocal and proactive but always for the wrong reasons with his smug arrogant misguided unfounded rants against the Tories.
You can’t blame him, that’s what Labour supporters are born like. They like to blame everyone else for their misgivings.
But I wouldn’t draw party lines in the sand in respect of the mayor. If the person was doing a good job, then they deserve the vote.
Blackburn is a gobshite, but at least he’s out there and visible.
I agree there typical attitude of a Labour supporter/politician. I also agree with your other point, if we did have an elected mayor I would vote based on the candidates and what plans they have but party politics should be kept out of it and all candidates should stand as independents not as party members. Like I say I would make my decision based on who I think is the man/woman for the job not parties. But if there was parties involved you just know idiots would vote Labour just because there is a Labour candidate without even thinking about the other candidates.
The difference with this campaign is that it opens the door for someone like you to step in and crush all these old councillors with your forward thinking vision.
You don’t need party affiliation or to be in Peter Callow’s Book of Best Friends.
Oh and also, it’s not just that he’s old. He’s old and completely out of touch. But he’s Old Labour and attracts that kind of vote. People that still think there should be a mining industry, and how everything in life is Margaret Thatcher’s fault.
Life moves at a hundred miles an hour these days and these old farts need to let a younger bunch move in with a fully empowered mayor who is neither tarnished by donations nor corrupted by cliques.
Very very well said, new Labour are bad but Old Labour are even worse, they are the worst the proper socialists who call you a ‘toff’ just for living in a nice house and getting a good career. A very good comment I heard once said ‘Socialism is all very well until you run out of other people’s money’ so true.
Socialism is about having nothing or very little and wanting everyone to be like you.
I think it’s unfair to suggest he’s a bad mayor because he’s 74. Age doesn’t make someone out of touch and experience always helps. However it doesn’t make him a good mayor either. Under the current mayor system you get to be mayor just by hanging around a long time – and there’s no real power in the position, just a lot of jollies.
I’d be all in favour of an elected mayor system countrywide(obviously quite rightly I have no say what happens in Blackpool) because the current cabinet system leaders have a lot of power and not a lot of accountability. Often you are faced in having to not vote for someone you like in order to try to remove such a leader – not a satisifactory system at all. Having said that Chief Executives of councils would be better being accountable to the public too in some way. Fylde’s in particular. There aren’t many jobs where those who pay the wages don’t get any input into who is chosen and whether they are doing well at it or not.
I agree definitely on the point about Chief Executives they are not the slightest bit accountable to the public. Its like in 2007 when much to my delight the supercasino went to Manchester (they DID NOT ‘steal’ it as some silly people say) Fisher and Weaver slammed the door on any opportunities for a Plan B. We got rid of Fisher because he lost his own seat by a massive majority and then humiliatingly much to my amusement failed to get re-elected in 2008. But Weaver is perfectly safe and the only way we can get rid of him is when he decides to step down. Then again knowing Blackpool’s luck Weaver would step down and Alan Cavill would get the job, an equally useless and pessimistic jobsworth.
I think thats a problem, yeah. If Weaver were to spontaneously combust I think he’d be replaced by one of the other useless, lazy, clueless tossers on the executive.
I’d hope that an elected mayor would step in to erase Cavill, France, Kearsley and so on. The bloke in Doncaster did it and saved his council almost a million quid a year.
That would be great, those jobsworths are a waste of money. I would happily do Weaver’s job for half of what he is paid. I am sure countless others would be grateful to get a fraction of what he earns, I don’t even 1/4 of what he gets.
Now that is one useless overpaid talentless cunt:Steve Weaver
I wasn’t suggesting directly that because someone is 74 they are therefore clueless: more that Hardy is out of touch, 74 or not.
You’re right, the mayorship should be a proper position not some ceremonial pomp that is awarded to the councillor that has scratched the most backs.
Precisely my dream team for Blackpool would be a Council Leader who is a bit younger and more in touch with 21st century Blackpool not ‘reliving the golden days bla bla bla’ no current councillors really meet that description really, The English Democrat Mayor of Doncaster as (can’t remember his name) or Rob Wynne as Mayor with proper administrative powers and Sir Howard Bernstein as Council Chief Executive. Sack ambitionless pessmists like Alan Cavill and get someone who believes in Blackpool.
or sucked the most dicks, lol
Something you’re not telling us about?
Well said TB.
As Harold has pointed someone is advertising your article on the Gazette. I must say I am quite impressed with the Gazette today. I was commenting on the Hamish Howitt UKIP thread and as usual the pro-smoking brigade came on and challenged me. One person wrote a very abusive and nasty comment which I reported (for good reason) and the Gazette removed it. But that annoying little cunt Benidorm Rock Seller keeps coming making stupid remarks and insulting me. I reported his comment and he retaliated by deleting mine, then immediately mine was restored and his weren’t. I do not go on the Gazette to be insulted.
I hear that the new trams are in jepordy, is this true?
Here we go, from the gasjet comments section:
Wonder why this story is not in the Gazette, …………
Controversial plans to build a new £20m depot for Blackpool’s iconic trams are being examined by government officials.
Councillors approved the application for the work at Starr Gate for a second time on Monday night after the original consultation was ruled unlawful.
But the government has put the process on hold while officials decide if there should be a public inquiry.
The work – part of a £100m upgrade of the resort’s trams – is continuing at the site but is opposed by residents.
A spokeswoman for the government office in the north west said officials were expected to make a decision “within days”.
I bought a Gazette today but I’ve not read this article yet but it doesn’t sound good, it sounds like the Government shortchanging Blackpool yet again. They seem to keep doing that recently they only publish a selection of articles and avoid certain ones, I wonder why?
I heard this from a mate at work who said it was on the front cover,this sounds dire mate.
Dire, yes but nothing new to Blackpool sounds like yet another grand plan this useless Labour Government claims credit for being scaled down.
If Labour scrap this, what happens then? the electrified railway? why are they doing this?
are they pulling back funding for the trams?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8454289.stm
So its technically the Starr Gate residents that have caused this?
well their opposition to the siting of the depot which was declared illegal, so its the councils fuckup here,weaver and co have fucked up here by an ilegall decision that has played into the residents hands, fuckin cunt council.
It’s frustrating news, Paul Turner doesn’t seem too stressed about it so I’m still confident we are going to get the green light on this.
I hope those rich muppets in Starr Gate are proud of themselves, they are costing the Blackpool tax payer a small fortune with their objections.
If we have a public enquiry on this it will cost a fortune and all of us will pay and still eventually come to the decision we have now, that is, it’s ok to build it at the Starr Gate site.
Well said Zim Flyer, I live not far from Starr Gate and I really don’t see what all the fuss is with building these tram sheds. They keep going on about their ‘sea view’. How many of those people actually sit there and look at the sea view? Also you can’t really even see the sea from those houses you need to go down to the beach for a proper view.
Thank god I can come on here and have an intelligent adult debate. I have been stuck with two childish idiotic pro-smokers for the last couple of hours on the Gazette site going round in circles because those idiots won’t listen to hard facts. One idiot rubbished reputabled pollsters such as Yougov and ICM claiming they rig the polls just because he doesn’t like the results and then uses Ceefax polls as ‘evidence’. Ceefax polls anyone can vote on as many times as they want. Also that stupid twat BenidormRockSeller is deleting all my comments.
[Takes a deep breath] Back on track anyway (excuse the tram pun) this is just another example where people are standing in the way of modernisation and progress, this is what holds Blackpool back all too often. I sincerely hope the Government makes the right decision.
“Progress” is the word alright TB. Can you imagine what John Bickerstaffe would have said about these Nimby’s.
Progress is supposed to be Blackpool’s motto but I don’t see much of it. I had a very strange dream the other night where I was in Blackpool town centre outside TK Maxx/McDonalds that sort of area and I had somehow travelled to the 1700′s. 300 years ago and it looked exactly the same only some of the shops had blank white windows because they didn’t exist yet although I think McDonalds was there. It was a very strange dream but I can’t help but think it was telling me Blackpool needs to move with the times.
We are getting their slowly and there is so much that needs doing but Blackpool has some wonderful people who love the town, we just need to utilise that passion in the right directions.
People like Sheepdog, although can be controversial talks alot of sense and I would like some of his/her ideas to be listened to in the same way that expensive consultants are.
Question is, why would a public enquiry be needed for siting a tram depot?
Between Nimbys and Council Nincompoops, We are getting screwed over time after time.Those people who care, have integrity and vision, are getting squeezed in this sandwich of shite.
I agree Sheepdog has some very good ideas and views like the Printworks idea for the Winter Gardens. I wish they would come on here and comment. I am passionate about Blackpool and want our town to modernise and regenerate successfully and as you say we are getting there slowly. I am just so sick of projects being shelved, scaled back or just never happening. My next big hope is on this snowdome for Central Station I really do hope it goes ahead.
I do TB but I have grave reservations,this council is only slightly better than the previous one,callow is a disgrace
Socialism is about having nothing or very little and wanting everyone to be like you; have nothing.
True Conservatism is about having the freedom and personal responsibility to reach your own potential and in turn benefit society as a whole; so why the fuck have socialism???
It does the opposite to what it claims to intend!
Very well put Harold, I couldn’t agree more. Socialism is one of those things the world would be better without. It makes me laugh at the moment Labour referring to itself as the ‘party of aspiration’ don’t make me laugh. Socialists don’t believe in aspiration. Conservatism is about saying I’ve got nothing but with hard work and determination I can be someone and get what I want. Socialism says I’ve got nothing while the ‘toffs’ have everything so I will bring them down to my level. Socialism is simply the politics of bitterness, jealousy and envy and there is no finer example of that at the moment with Labour’s bitter and childish class war.
Labour is the party of crushing aspirations by making it not worthwhile to work if you’re on benefits, by pricing everyone out of a decent university education and by applying “rich person taxes” if you are successful.
It’s the Ronald Reagan style of Government.
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.”
To say it’s a load of bollocks is being kind.
spot on mate!
Indeed and I used belive in socialism but never again!
Mayor Website has now been updated with new petition
Also, a new facebook group has been set:-
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=250192147969
I thought I would post a link to this article I found of the LEP this morning, it might be of some interest http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Residents-say-no-to-an.6081931.jp
That’s total fucking bollocks. I’ll do a post about that. Thanks for the heads up!
No problem, it is a load of bollocks I look forward to your post