What about Local Government?

Amidst all the flotsam of policy pledges and gimmicks being thrown out by the political parties as they fill in their fake dating app details for their electorates, something is missing. There is no commitment to respond to the immense damage done to local government services since George Osborne declared austerity in 2010. The total spending power of councils in England fell by 26% between 2010/11 and 2020/21 according to the National Audit Office. In real terms, core spending has been reduced by 11% between 2010/11 and 2024/25 according to a Parliamentary report on Local government finances: impact on communities. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive equivalent funding from Westminster, so these figures give a measure of the massive scale of decline in locally provided public services.

After the cost of living and NHS waiting times, the most heard issues from the public during the election campaign are, or were, the responsibility of local government. There are many of them - the lack of housing, shortage of community care, potholes, poor and diminishing public transport, fewer support staff for special needs children, run-down schools, the cost and shortage of nurseries, closing sports facilities and libraries, declining town centres, slow responses to planning, building and other applications, failing water and sewage services with pollution to rivers and beaches, reductions in community policing, and a woeful lack of activities for young people. 

According to the National Audit Office, the services with the greatest reduction in spending up to 2020 were cultural (-37%), planning and development (-36%), non-school education (-32%), housing (-26%), and roads and transport (-24%).  A third of all libraries closed and 14% of bus route mileage was closed. This is a staggering decline in public service provision exacerbated by the growing number of elderly requiring social care and the escalating costs of many outsourced services.

Who determines what councils can spend? Well, central government whether it is Westminster or Holyrood. They have both been merciless in stripping out grant support for councils and/or freezing council tax over the past 14 years, That is how austerity works, it means that the opprobrium for reduced public services can be devolved onto councils. The increased financial support for the NHS and the government's obsession with mega projects like HS2, Nuclear Power, Brexit and COVID have been at the expense of the provision of everyday public services for communities. Levelling up has been less than 10% of the funds withdrawn from councils. The evidence is that these funds, when allocated, have more likely gone to the constituencies of government MPs so that they can claim the kudos rather than to the most needy towns and communities. 

Staffing levels in local government have been severely reduced, knowledge has been lost, innovation and renewal has been stultified and talented staff have been replaced by consultants and outsourcing companies. It is a bleak scenario that the UK and Scottish governments have imposed on local government. Cynically, it allows them to distance themselves from culpability. The press and media are no longer interested in local issues, newspapers have been closed or regionalised under some franchise arrangements. The soap operas of Westminster and Holyrood have kept them busy with all the corruption and faux cage-fighting that exists in these bastions of our dumbed-down democracies.

Even the dozens of podcasts that invade our lives fail to focus on this narrative of despair about local democracy. They do not seem to understand that most of the life-changing innovations for people and places were designed and built by our municipalities in times when they were free from the tentacles of control and inspection, budgetary control and centralised edicts that emanate from central governments. Central governments that have never been effective in managing or delivering services, look at the defence procurement or the cost of inquiries, not to mention the cost of building or maintaining parliaments. 

Yet history tells us that most essential services were innovated and introduced by local government, not central government. Most public health measures including the provision of water and sewage, schools, hospitals, poor houses, gas works, electricity power stations, social housing, public transport, libraries, residential homes, home care, and leisure facilities all emerged from local municipal, church or philanthropic endeavours. They were refined and shared between municipalities, ensuring a rapid spread and refinement of best practices. 

Why would any progressive central government want to remove the ability of local government to  drive improvement and innovation other than to fulfil their own sense of entitlement to power? Unlike most European countries, the UK local government is not enshrined in a written constitution, it is subject to control by the central government. It is time for this to change and along with other top priorities, this should be a commitment for the next government.  Change is required to restore local democracy, change is not just a slogan,

An Alphabetic Legacy of the Tory Years

I have listened to several speeches by the Prime Minister since he announced the general election would take place on 4 July. The outgoing parliament has been one of the most corrupt and disorganised in my lifetime with more cases of sexual misdemeanors and suspensions than ever before. We have had three Prime Ministers, two of whom have been dismissed by the Tory Parliamentary Party for their indiscretions and sinking the economy. With opinion polls indicating that this has reduced the Tory vote to a mere 23% of the electorate, some contrition might have played well. After all, Rishi Sunak had promised integrity, professionalism and accountability when taking over from Liz Truss.

Forget it, he has immediately weaponised the party's social media, the right-wing press and think tanks to pour lies and half-truths about the opposition parties. His speeches, laced with lazy sound bites and the abuse of statistics, have made me apoplectic with rage. At least we knew that Boris Johnson just made up the facts as he went along, Sunak tries to give the impression that they are accurate. It confirms all the evidence that has piled up during his tenure as PM. He has delivered on nothing and his only plan is to get the hell out of Downing Street as soon as possible in the second half of the year when the election is called.

Listening to the PM as he flies around the country completely junking any accountability for his non-delivery of services or broken promises prompted me to scribble a catalogue of disasters during the l4 years of government since George Osborne launched austerity. The mistakes and incompetence of the Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak governments have devastated public services, prevented growth, kicked the righting of tragedies into the long grass and reduced the UK's influence in the world. As an aide memoir, I have listed the most egregious policies and tragedies, the MPs suspended and those most responsible and the people and organisations who have put their shoulders to the tipping point of chaos. I am sure I have missed many events, some MPs who have helped create the mess and there will be lots of individuals, donors and organisations who are equally responsible but less transparent to those listed.   

Events, Tragedies and Cock Ups  

  Austerity   

Brexit

Climate Change

          Community Care 

Contaminated Blood Scandal

Cost of Living

Covid-19

Debt

Emergency Waiting Times -NHS

Fracking

          Fuel Escalator 

Grenfell Towers

           House Building 

HS2 & Heathrow Expansion

Immigration

Insulation of Homes

Indyref 2

Justice System

King's Coronation

Levelling Up

Leveson Inquiry

Local Democracy

Metropolitan Police

NHS Reform (2013)

Oil Licences

Olympic Legacy

Partygate

Policy Soundbites

Post Office Horizon IT

Prisons

Public Services

Queen's Funeral

River/Beach Pollution

          Rail Franchises 

School Catchments & Support Services

        Skill Training 

Strikes

Trade Agreements

Train Price Ticketing

United Kingdom

          University Funding and Foreign Students 

VIP fast-track for PPE

Vote Leave Campaign

Windrush Scandal

World Beating Jingoism

XIV -years in power

Youth activities

Generation Z

The cast of MPs involved in the Tragedy

Dame Andrea Jenkyns

Dame Andrea Leadsom

Andrew Budgen*

Andrew Griffiths*

Baron Andrew Lansley

Alex Salmond*

Boris Johnson*

Chris Grayling

Chris Huhne*

Chris Pincher*

Crispin Blunt*

Lord David Cameron

Sir David Davies

 David Warburton*

Dominic Raab*

Douglas Ross

Esther McVey

Sir Gavin Williamson*

George Osborne

Grant Shapps

Sir Ian Duncan Smith

Imran Ahmad Khan*

Sir Jacob Reece-Mogg

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson*

Jeremy Corbyn*

Jeremy Hunt

          Sir John Whittingdale 

Jo Swinson

Julian Knight*

Kemi Badenoch

Kwasi Kwarteng

Lee Anderson*

Liz Truss

Liam Fox*

Matt Hancock*

Michael Gove

Baroness Michelle Mone*

Nadim Zahawi*

Nadine Dorries*

Neil Parish*

Nick Clegg

Nicola Sturgeon

Owen Paterson*

Peter Bone*

 Dame Priti Patel*

Rishi Sunak

          Robert Jenrick  

Rob Roberts*

Scott Benton*

Sir Simon Clarke

Steve Baker

Suella Braverman*

Therese Coffey

Uriah Heap

Sir Vince Cable

William Wragg*

       Yuri Geller 

        Zac Goldsmith 

*   MPs suspended or resigned or subject to criminal investigation

Supported by

Andrew Neil

Lord Anthony Bamford

Sir Charles Moore

Centre for Policy Studies

Baroness Dido Harding

Dominic Cummings

Lord Evgeny Lebedev

Elon Musk

Lord David Frost 

Duke of York

Frank Hester

Sir Frederick Barclay

GB News

Institute of Economic Affairs

Jeremy Clarkson

Kelvin MacKenzie

Laura Kuensberg

Mathew Elliot

Paul Dacre

Paula Vennells

Policy Exchange

Rupert Murdoch

Simon Case

           Tony Abbott 

Viscount Rothermere

X formerly known as Twitter

                           

Election Time, then the Living is Easy

Just Winging it in the Rain

I wasn't surprised at the calling of an election for 4th July. It is the second half of the year, and things are getting worse with the build-up of Inquiry publications requiring significant compensation funding and no room for tax cuts. Tory MPs have been scuttling the good ship lollipop with all the loyalty of Tory MPs. Rwanda was a pious hope and Rishi Sunak has become more knowingly economical with the truth than Boris Johnson was ever unknowingly aware of it. Why hang on to make the difficult decisions when you can dump them on the knighted bloke opposite.

The reaction from his party wasn't that supportive - "suicidal, crazy, shocked, confused, angry, a gamble and what a clown" were just some of the comments. Since the announcement, another 5 Tory MPs have said they will not be standing bringing the total to 73.

The public didn't share this view, it was "thank god, about time." Esther McVey, the minister of Common Sense, disagreed, she thought he should hang on as things would get better. So did the nearby crowds who drowned out the PM's election speech by playing 'Things Can Only Get Better', the D-Ream theme tune for the Labour landslide victory in 1997.

After 14 years in government, during which the UK has had virtually no growth, declining living standards, a collapse of public services, withdrawal from Europe, the emergence of many scandals from the Post Office Horizon to Grenfell Towers, the Covid response and HS2 costs as well as the loss of international influence and respect, the government had hit the buffers and delivered very little other than disenchantment. Rishi Sunak knew it and had a Plan as he repeated ad nauseam. The plan was to get out of the job as soon as possible. He would do some Californian Dreaming on American Independence Day. Living would be easy away from the imprisonment of being a makeshift Tory leader.  

Klopp's Last Sunday

Anfield Grand Departure

It was a warm May day and Jurgen Klopp's final game as the manager of Liverpool. It has been a crazy eight and a half years since he arrived at Anfield. I had recently loaded an app to follow the flight path of planes, and it allowed me to watch his flight into Liverpool on an October day in 2015. This followed the sacking of Brendan Rodgers, who had always flattered to deceive. Klopp's plane was to land at John Lennon Airport but the app showed that he continued to head for Anfield where the plane dropped in altitude and looped around the ground before heading back to the airport. A gesture that told me he was genuine, someone who would be a fan as well as a coach and manager. In his 491 games in charge, he has won a higher percentage of games, 60.9% than anyone else including Kenny Dalglish, Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly. His teams also scored the most goals per game (2.1) than any other manager. These statistics mattered less than the sheer joy of watching his teams terrify their opponents with pace and pressing. 

I had gone to Gregor's to watch the game on Sky,  I have steadfastly refused to buy anything owned or part owned by Rupert Murdoch, it is the prize exhibit in my boycott portfolio. Before the game, we went to Mugdock Park, it was overflowing with hundreds of visitors and we found the last space in the overflow car park. Emily was playing in her band, we found seats in the parkland adjacent to the bandstand and baked slowly in the summer heat until it was time to retreat to the TV. 

As a spectacle, Liverpool's 2-0 win over Wolves was not that exciting. It was the send-off afterwards that captured the mood of the players and the fans told you that this was the end of an amazing feelgood era, Klopp doesn't do special and he spent the hour after the game cuddling players, and their families, the staff and members of the crowd whom he passed. The caption on his T-shirt 'I will never walk alone', matched the occasion and was a mark of the man. Almost as good as the name of the Chinese takeaway cafe next to Anfield -'Wok On'. 

It had been a long watch so Gregor and I went for a walk in the nearby countryside on a sparkling evening. After spending time watching the red squirrels play in the massive pine trees we charged through long grass and an oak forest to find the splendid Dualt Spout, a waterfall that is a hidden gem screened from the public by the absence of any paths. The only downside is that I am picking ticks off my body two days later. A Gusto meal and rhubarb crumble at 9pm completed the day. It was still light as I arrived home at 10:30pm.

Mugdock Pond

Spot the red squirrel

Dualt Spout

Ben Oss & Beinn Dubhchraig

 

Waterfalls below Beinn Dubhchraig

Friday, 17 May 2024

Ascent:       1156 metres
Distance:    24 kilometres
Time:          6 hours 51 minutes

Beinn Dubhcraig.   978m.     2hrs 29 mins
Ben Oss                1029m.     3hrs. 58mins 

I had planned to climb Ben Lui on what promised to be another rare sunny day. First, I had to visit the Medical Centre for some stitches to be removed so the start was later than I would have wished. I also needed to acquire some hill fitness and noticed whilst waiting for the nurse that the Met Office forecast was for fresh easterly winds on the hills. If I began the walk from Dalrigh and climbed Beinn Dubhchraig and Ben Oss first, the wind would help on the 450-metre slog up Ben Lui. On five previous outings, I have always climbed the four hills together but I was no longer collecting Munros,  Beinn a' Cleibh, the undistinguished outlier to Ben Lui, could be forgotten. It is either a long out and back from Ben Lui or requires a descent to Glen Lochy and the uncertainty of hitching a lift back to Tyndrum, hitching is not as easy as it used to be.

Leaving Dalrigh and finding the right path always seems like a bit of a lottery. I did well initially helped by OSmaps online, I found the quickest route to the bridge over the river St Fillan and walked alongside the railway line before crossing it and coming to a junction of paths. I stopped to look at the map, the more obvious track headed south alongside the Allt Gleann Auchreoch, I thought this may be a better route than that I had followed previously along a boggy forest path. A walker behind me had no such doubts and went the other way and, as I discovered later in the day, he had thought of telling me that the route to Dubhchraig was the lower path which had a bridge over the river. I was walking well up the track but after a mile, I realised this was a far longer way and that I should drop down to cross the river and ascend what looked like an easy grassy slope between the plantation and the native Caledonian forest.

I dropped 40 metres to the river which was a raging torrent. It took ten minutes to find a possible crossing point that required a leap across a deep chasm, my nerves and shoes held. After climbing up the bank, the grassy glade turned out to be deep grass engulfed in boggy moss that made every step twice the effort. It took 45 minutes to cover a mile before I spotted the real path on the other side of the Allt Coire Dubhchraig. It was boggy but knew the way to the summit. I relaxed and enjoyed the climb as the path meandered its way to the summit ridge. I had probably lost 40 minutes by not taking this path from the railway line. The final half kilometre to the summit was a steady climb. It was approaching 1pm as I reached the bulky but untidy cairn. I took a few photos, rebuilt the top of the cairn in my usual style and had some food whilst a raven circled above checking for morsels. 

It is a fairly steep descent of 180 metres to Bealach Buidhe, a ptarmigan croaked at me as I passed. The path towards Ben Oss is level for a few hundred metres until a cairn from where a steep path climbs towards the 941-metre northern top. I began the climb as I saw someone begin the descent and we met about halfway up. The young woman from Biggar was at that stage of her Munro round that has taken hold of your life. So many adventures had and so many more to come, and like most young female hillwalkers she was also into outdoor swimming. She had just returned from a trip to Knoydart, and I envied her for the times ahead. As I neared the top of the climb I met a teacher from Edinburgh who was on his 137th Munro, we had another longish chat. He was about to head to Gairloch to supervise some of his school pupils and was hoping to walk the Glen Affric Munros. 

I had lost another 25 minutes in conversations but enjoyed meeting younger people who were captivated by Scottish hillwalking. The conditions were perfect and the ramble along to Ben Oss was a treat. I finished my lunch and contemplated the timings to reach Ben Lui. It was almost 3 pm and would be approaching 4:30 pm before I reached Ben Lui. I wanted to be down to listen to Dead Ringers on the radio on the way home. I continued down to Creag Dubh a' Bhealaich, but twisted my right knee on the descent. Whilst there was no apparent problem on the less steep slopes I began to wonder whether the rocky twisting descent of Ben Lui would inflame it. I am conscious that injuries at my age take weeks not days to recover and this is the prime walking season. I glanced down Coire Laoigh and spotted an obvious descent route from near the bealach. Ben Lui could wait. I took my time on the steep descent in the company of dozens of frogs and reached the Coire floor with no further knee damage.  There was the trace of a path down the west bank, a 3-kilometre walk to the track that serves Ben Lui. The conditions were benign with a cooling breeze to keep any sweat at bay.

I reached the track from Ben Lui by climbing up 70 metres, a walker was a hundred metres behind me. As we approached Connonish, I held a gate open for him as he approached and we struck up a conversation. He had been the person who had thought of telling me the route to Dubhchraig in the morning. He had managed Ben Lui and had obviously been moving well. We walked together for the 5 kilometres back to Dalrigh. He originally came from Sheffield, allowing us to talk animately about Sheffield pubs, Sheffield Wednesday, and even the mercurial  Sheffield United midfielder, Tony Currie. We had both been to Liverpool University although he was about ten years younger which prompted more stories about Liverpool, although I never got around to telling him about making a film with Billie Whitelaw. We had started to talk about hill walking, he lived in Edinburgh for many years and knew the Scottish Hills intimately and had taken to walking the Borders Hills as the sustainable alternative to going to the far north.

Without any prompting from me, he exploded with indignation about the North Coast 500 and how it had despoiled hill walking in the far north as accommodation was now either non-existent or too expensive, hotels and restaurants were full of tourists and laybyes were clogged with camper vans. We could have done a podcast on the subject. He had also walked the GR20 in Corsica and had worked for BT with colleagues whom I knew. We could probably have done a weekly podcast on places, people, mountains, football teams and big walks that we both had experienced. 

The final 5 kilometres had flown by. We were back in time so I could listen to the news as well as Dead Ringers. After a bath and a beer, I managed to stay awake for Have I Got News for You and to load my photos onto the computer. It had been a good day and sleep was calling until a cramp in my leg postponed it for a few minutes.

River St Fillan at the start of the walk

Rerouting from Gleann Auchreoch

Beinn Dubhchraig  looking towards Ben More and Stob Binnein

Ben Oss and Ben Lui from Dubhchraig

Ben Lui from Ben Oss

Ben Lui from Creag Dhubh

Looking up Coire Laoigh