rob62
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 143
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Post by rob62 on Sept 8, 2023 0:07:15 GMT 1
I see the Lib Dems have taken this seat from the Tories to further strengthen there position as the opposition on Shropshire Council.
It proves once again that th Lib Dems are the only party capable of beating the Tories in Shropshire
The wider significance is that the ward is in the South Shropshire parliamentary seat which the Lib Dems are hopeful of taking at the General Election
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Post by martinshrew on Sept 8, 2023 9:26:44 GMT 1
Hung parliament pending.
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 8, 2023 10:24:34 GMT 1
Capital punishment has been abolished. but it's a good idea.
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Post by wookeywombat on Sept 8, 2023 11:53:06 GMT 1
Another by election scheduled for a Conservative seat on Salop Council coming soon. Three more losses and the Tories lose over all control.
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 8, 2023 15:33:41 GMT 1
Another by election scheduled for a Conservative seat on Salop Council coming soon. Three more losses and the Tories lose over all control. And someone else has to clean up the mess....
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Post by mattmw on Sept 8, 2023 17:01:23 GMT 1
I see the Lib Dems have taken this seat from the Tories to further strengthen there position as the opposition on Shropshire Council. It proves once again that th Lib Dems are the only party capable of beating the Tories in Shropshire The wider significance is that the ward is in the South Shropshire parliamentary seat which the Lib Dems are hopeful of taking at the General Election Worfield has been a very safe Conservative seat in the last two local elections when they got 75% of the vote in 2021 and 2017 and the Lib Dems only 15% - the Conservative candidate this time was the same one as 2017 so it is quite a shock result Turn out was a bit lower and there were only 8 votes in it, but as you say it will have the Conservative candidate for South Shropshire worried. As if that swing was repeated in the General election the Conservatives would loose the seat, and obviously is they lose places like South Shropshire any chance of getting re-elected seems slim. The sitting Conservative at Alverley - the location of the next by-election also got about 75% of the vote last time so will be interesting to see if the swing to liberal dems is the same in that seat.
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rob62
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 143
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Post by rob62 on Sept 8, 2023 23:21:44 GMT 1
On paper Alveley is a slight easier task for the Lib Dems. A lot depends on the quality of the candidates
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Post by martinshrew on Sept 9, 2023 9:36:58 GMT 1
Another by election scheduled for a Conservative seat on Salop Council coming soon. Three more losses and the Tories lose over all control. And someone else has to clean up the mess.... Be a hell of a mess in the Midlands, isn't the Labour run Birmingham council filling for bankruptcy?
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 9, 2023 10:07:19 GMT 1
And someone else has to clean up the mess.... Be a hell of a mess in the Midlands, isn't the Labour run Birmingham council filling for bankruptcy? Birmingham blames its position on a £760m bill for historic equal pay claims, problems installing a new IT system and £1bn in government cuts over the past decade.
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Post by wookeywombat on Sept 9, 2023 11:01:47 GMT 1
And someone else has to clean up the mess.... Be a hell of a mess in the Midlands, isn't the Labour run Birmingham council filling for bankruptcy? One of many of all hues, Birmingham being the largest
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rob62
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 143
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Post by rob62 on Sept 9, 2023 15:25:55 GMT 1
Shropshire Council is in a dire financial state and has balanced the books by eating into reserves.
The finances have not been helped by poor investment decisions by the Tory administration such as buying the shopping centres in Shrewsbury at way above market value.
The NWRR will be the final. Nail in the coffin.
Meanwhile services are being cut and Council tax increased.
I actually hope the Tories get reelected at the Council elections in 2025 to sort out the chaos they have caused. No other party should have to deal with the legacy of financial mismanagement
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Post by martinshrew on Sept 9, 2023 17:50:28 GMT 1
Shropshire Council is in a dire financial state and has balanced the books by eating into reserves. The finances have not been helped by poor investment decisions by the Tory administration such as buying the shopping centres in Shrewsbury at way above market value. The NWRR will be the final. Nail in the coffin. Meanwhile services are being cut and Council tax increased. I actually hope the Tories get reelected at the Council elections in 2025 to sort out the chaos they have caused. No other party should have to deal with the legacy of financial mismanagement That didn't matter in 2010 though I guess? When Labour left the country completely ****ed? Doesn't excuse our useless council, but the hypocrisy and short memories are incredible sometimes.
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Post by wookeywombat on Sept 9, 2023 19:23:40 GMT 1
Shropshire Council is in a dire financial state and has balanced the books by eating into reserves. The finances have not been helped by poor investment decisions by the Tory administration such as buying the shopping centres in Shrewsbury at way above market value. The NWRR will be the final. Nail in the coffin. Meanwhile services are being cut and Council tax increased. I actually hope the Tories get reelected at the Council elections in 2025 to sort out the chaos they have caused. No other party should have to deal with the legacy of financial mismanagement That didn't matter in 2010 though I guess? When Labour left the country completely ****ed? Doesn't excuse our useless council, but the hypocrisy and short memories are incredible sometimes. Welcome back to the oft used myth of Labour leaving the country ****ed. The note was a joke and Brown was widely praised for his handling of the UK economy the down turn of which was influenced by the WORLD financial crisis.
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Post by mattmw on Sept 9, 2023 20:16:53 GMT 1
Shropshire Council is in a dire financial state and has balanced the books by eating into reserves. The finances have not been helped by poor investment decisions by the Tory administration such as buying the shopping centres in Shrewsbury at way above market value. The NWRR will be the final. Nail in the coffin. Meanwhile services are being cut and Council tax increased. I actually hope the Tories get reelected at the Council elections in 2025 to sort out the chaos they have caused. No other party should have to deal with the legacy of financial mismanagement I think a lot of Councils - run by a range of political parties - will really struggle over the next 18 months, and a lot more Councils like Birmingham will emerge. At the heart of it is that about 60% of Council funds come from Central Government and these Local Government Grants have reduced by 20% since 2010, on the back of austerity. At the same time more services have been given to Councils to run, particuarly around public health and adult social care which have seen running costs go up. There are always better ways of running things and some Councils have make mistakes, but broadly there simply isn't enough money going into local government to sustain it. I expect the period between November and February when budgets are set will see a lot of 114 notices being issued That said Councils can't legally run at a deficit, but national government can, and ironically if Government was goverened by the same rules as local governmnet they would have had to issue 114 notices in 43 of the last 50 years Council tax can only go so far, and that itself has been capped by Central Government, and over the last 13 years I think we've had something like 15 different Ministers for local government which hasn't helped either. Whoever wins the next election will have to have a very serious plan for Local Government or like many other aspects of public services it could easily collapse in the coming years. With the Government set to take over Birmingham it will be interesting to see how they approach the issue - a massive cut in services; a bail out from central government; or a large increase in Council tax
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rob62
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 143
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Post by rob62 on Sept 10, 2023 0:12:41 GMT 1
I agree with much of the above but what business does Shropshire Council have buying shopping centres in Shrewsbury? Why should Council tax payer in Oswestry or Bishops Castle have to pay for a gamble which was always going to be a finamcial disaster
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Post by kenwood on Sept 10, 2023 2:12:55 GMT 1
I agree with much of the above but what business does Shropshire Council have buying shopping centres in Shrewsbury? Why should Council tax payer in Oswestry or Bishops Castle have to pay for a gamble which was always going to be a finamcial disaster People in Oswestry and Bishops Castle are using the same argument in relation to the NWRR . As costs spiral and the projected shortfall increases Shropshire Council are involved in addressing the issue of their finances . Essential services , like those protected by Birmingham Council will be secure but other services will be cut . It’s a huge battle for Shropshire Council and surely they could do without facing increased costs for the new road which , without more Government help will mean Shropshire residents Council Tax increasing . Hence those living in the more rural parts of the County will not be happy . No, I cannot see the NWRR going ahead but stranger things have happened .
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Post by mattmw on Sept 10, 2023 7:50:14 GMT 1
I agree with much of the above but what business does Shropshire Council have buying shopping centres in Shrewsbury? Why should Council tax payer in Oswestry or Bishops Castle have to pay for a gamble which was always going to be a finamcial disaster I did do a long thread on why the Council has purchased the shopping centres, which I'll try to dig out, but broadly its 1. Purchased with capital funding (on which the Council gets a limited return) rather than revenue. 2. Give the Council ownership of a large piece of commercial land in the town centre, and control on its future use, and saw us able to get around £14 million in government funding 3. In the short term the Council is able rationalise the shopping centres and offer incentives to buisnesses to move into the shopping centre, to try and maintain current retail offer until the redevelopment takes place The whole of the high street in the UK has declined in recent years, but actually Shrewsbury is performing better than many towns, and that does mean business rates are maintained which help the revenue budget of the Council. Thats not to say there arn't problems with Shrewsbury but it could be much worse. The long term redevelop of the riverside, pride hill and Darwin centres would see a wholesale change in that area with a change to a better mix of retail, leisure, and residential as well as address flooding in the area, which should if successful (and I get thats a big if) see a significant return on the investment and much stronger economy for Shrewsbury, which in tern helps support spend elsewhere in the county. A strong Shrewsbury economcy actually helps the rest of Shropshire There is also investment going into other towns too, such as the new business park in Bishop's Castle and Oswestry.
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rob62
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 143
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Post by rob62 on Sept 10, 2023 10:20:21 GMT 1
Strikes me it is a vanity project Shropshire Councils version of HS2
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Post by mattmw on Sept 10, 2023 12:56:27 GMT 1
Strikes me it is a vanity project Shropshire Councils version of HS2 Its more about changing the model of how Councils get funding and income. Shropshire Council spends about £660 million an year and 2 thirds of that go on adult social care - a statatory service Those costs are increasing rapidly (well above inflation) as the population gets older and its predicted by 2040 over 40% of Shropshire's population will be over 65 (its about 25% now) and adult social care will be much higher During the same period the Government has cuts its grants to Councils by 20% and as these make up over 50% of Coucnils income thats a big hit. Council tax can only go up by around 3% and hasn't kept up with inflation. This leads to gaps in the funding for statatory services and with the government not increasing grants, and Council tax not keeping up the core budgets for adult social, care, childrens services roads and education are all running at deficits - not just for Shropshire but almost all Coucnils With no prospect of Government funding coming, Councils are having to look at otherways in which they can make money and using Capital they hold to either purchase property or land, which they can then recieve a revenue income from is what a lot of Councils are looking at, as its either that or go bust like Birmingham. There is no doubt its a risky approach, but there are few other alternatives to look at as Councils have to provide these statatory services. I suspect a large number of Councils will go bust over the winter and be another crisis for the Government to deal with. The Government will then take them over and run them from Whitehall. To be fair to the government neither Labour or Liberal Democrates have any solutions to the funding situation either, so wont be riding to the rescuse of Councils any time soon either.
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 10, 2023 13:07:02 GMT 1
That didn't matter in 2010 though I guess? When Labour left the country completely ****ed? Doesn't excuse our useless council, but the hypocrisy and short memories are incredible sometimes. Welcome back to the oft used myth of Labour leaving the country ****ed. The note was a joke and Brown was widely praised for his handling of the UK economy the down turn of which was influenced by the WORLD financial crisis. Guess who got the benefit of selling off shares in Natwest that Gordon Brown prudently saved in the world financial crisis?
In this, their sixth block sale, the Tories sell some more of this nice little windfall provided by the previous goverment.
'NatWest is a step closer to being returned to full private ownership as the government sells c. £1.26 billion in shares back to NatWest via a Directed Buyback.
The sale reduces the government’s shareholding to c. 38.6% - down from around 84% at its peak – delivering significant progress against the government’s intention as announced at Spring Budget to fully exit the shareholding by 2025-2026, subject to market conditions and achieving value for money for taxpayers.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith said:
Today’s sale is another major milestone in returning NatWest to full private ownership as promised. The government has now sold well over half of its shareholding. The government intervened in NatWest (formerly the Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS) with the objective of protecting financial and economic stability during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has been clear that – without the government’s interventions in the financial sector – the cost of the 2008 global financial crisis would almost certainly have been far greater.'
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Post by zenfootball2 on Sept 13, 2023 14:48:32 GMT 1
Even if the majority does change, Shropshire is in a financial mess, so I expect cuts in services unless we have a new government running the country who change how local services are funded.
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 14, 2023 16:40:03 GMT 1
Even if the majority does change, Shropshire is in a financial mess, so I expect cuts in services unless we have a new government running the country who change how local services are funded. Sadly any new government won't have spare money as the Conservative government has frittered away all the money on HS2, trying to set up as a hotelier in a barge, buying faulty ppe from their chums and a host of other ill thought out spending.
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Post by martinshrew on Sept 14, 2023 16:48:31 GMT 1
Even if the majority does change, Shropshire is in a financial mess, so I expect cuts in services unless we have a new government running the country who change how local services are funded. Sadly any new government won't have spare money as the Conservative government has frittered away all the money on HS2, trying to set up as a hotelier in a barge, buying faulty ppe from their chums and a host of other ill thought out spending. Roll on the next Labour government. Everything will be perfect, they'll be no issues at all. I can't wait to every penny to be scrutinised and connections to those in charge out under the spotlight. Nothing will change, they'll be cash for friends, ill thought out spending and other vanity projects dressed up in red instead of blue. Anyone who thinks they're not all at it to varying degrees is deluded.
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 14, 2023 17:02:07 GMT 1
Sadly any new government won't have spare money as the Conservative government has frittered away all the money on HS2, trying to set up as a hotelier in a barge, buying faulty ppe from their chums and a host of other ill thought out spending. Roll on the next Labour government. Everything will be perfect, they'll be no issues at all. I can't wait to every penny to be scrutinised and connections to those in charge out under the spotlight. Nothing will change, they'll be cash for friends, ill thought out spending and other vanity projects dressed up in red instead of blue. Anyone who thinks they're not all at it to varying degrees is deluded. But it's difficult to argue that the current lot haven't competely run out of ideas, with everything they have control of now worse than when they came into power.
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Post by Minormorris64 on Sept 15, 2023 12:09:47 GMT 1
I agree with much of the above but what business does Shropshire Council have buying shopping centres in Shrewsbury? Why should Council tax payer in Oswestry or Bishops Castle have to pay for a gamble which was always going to be a finamcial disaster People in Oswestry and Bishops Castle are using the same argument in relation to the NWRR . As costs spiral and the projected shortfall increases Shropshire Council are involved in addressing the issue of their finances . Essential services , like those protected by Birmingham Council will be secure but other services will be cut . It’s a huge battle for Shropshire Council and surely they could do without facing increased costs for the new road which , without more Government help will mean Shropshire residents Council Tax increasing . Hence those living in the more rural parts of the County will not be happy . No, I cannot see the NWRR going ahead but stranger things have happened . Are we ?, personally I think the NWRR would be a damn good idea, look at the M54 , people were against that, can you imagine now without ?, likewise the Newtown Bypass which has taken loads of heavy traffic out of Newtown itself.
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Post by staffordshrew on Sept 15, 2023 12:31:35 GMT 1
If they do ever build the NWRR I hope they avoid all those efficiency sapping, accident blackspot roundabouts that the A5 has.
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Post by kenwood on Sept 15, 2023 14:32:42 GMT 1
People in Oswestry and Bishops Castle are using the same argument in relation to the NWRR . As costs spiral and the projected shortfall increases Shropshire Council are involved in addressing the issue of their finances . Essential services , like those protected by Birmingham Council will be secure but other services will be cut . It’s a huge battle for Shropshire Council and surely they could do without facing increased costs for the new road which , without more Government help will mean Shropshire residents Council Tax increasing . Hence those living in the more rural parts of the County will not be happy . No, I cannot see the NWRR going ahead but stranger things have happened . Are we ?, personally I think the NWRR would be a damn good idea, look at the M54 , people were against that, can you imagine now without ?, likewise the Newtown Bypass which has taken loads of heavy traffic out of Newtown itself. The point is can “we “ the council tax payers in Shropshire , afford to pay for this road which has already cost a fair bit without an inch of road laid . With the Council having to stump up a considerable sum to provide for social care I cannot see there being anything left to cover the ever increasing costs of the NWRR . Unless , of course this Government provides additional finances . They have a lot on their plate already what with HS2 and this RAAC business claiming even more money . I would be very surprised if this project goes ahead but we will see in the fullness of time .
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Post by davycrockett on Sept 15, 2023 16:14:02 GMT 1
If they do ever build the NWRR I hope they avoid all those efficiency sapping, accident blackspot roundabouts that the A5 has. Just the two Berwick Rd and Holyhead Rd
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