I met Bayo Alaba at the Surfers against Sewage protest and he was an absolute gentleman. We may have been standing for different parties but he treated me, a disabled person with complete respect and I have nothing but respect for him in return. Standing for different parties makes no difference to that. We stood together on the beach against sewage in our community.
I don’t get angry about much, but the way the representatives of the local conservative party have spoken about him, been caught doing it and then cynically apologising is not acceptible in a civilised society. Coconut is a racist term. It is describing someone as black on the outside and white on the inside. I hate even having to type that. You can see the exchange below between Conservative Cllr Reece Smith and Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Gavin Haran. Just imagine what they say that hasn’t been captured in black and white.
Here he is getting a photo taken with Anna Firth and Ron Woodley at a commemoration of the D-Day landings. I wonder did they leave early after this.
This is the main question asked of any change in goverment policy and rightly so. It is our money as a society that is being spent after all. So here are the main ways we the Liberal Democrats will pay for what they plan to do to make the UK a better place to live for everyone.
Our manifesto will to fund investments in the NHS, social care, childcare, and the environment through a major tax increase on the wealthy. Launched by Sir Ed Davey today (10th of June 2024), it includes higher capital gains tax, levies on frequent flyers and private jet users, and increased taxes on banks, digital services, oil companies, tobacco companies, and polluting water companies. Together, these aim to raise £26.8bn.
We also propose a 4% tax on share buybacks and reversing bank tax breaks to raise additional funds of approx. £1.4bn. We want to reinstate maintenance grants for disadvantaged university students immediately and improve social care provision.
But won’t the billionaires (like Rishi Sunak) just find loopholes or move their money further offshore? It is expected that 30 per cent of theoretical extra revenues might be lost through this “behavioural change” as wealthy individuals tried to avoid the new rates, but that this was factored into these revenue calculations.
To quote Sir Ed: “Most people will pay the same or less. If you are very, very wealthy — 0.1 per cent of the population — you will pay a lot more tax. Multimillionaires and billionaires will pay a lot more.”
The Southend Foodbank was set up in 2013, seeded by the Trussell Trust. And it spends £20,000 a month feeding people from five food banks around the city. Think about that. People in our community actually could be starving if it were not for the generosity of a few. It is run by volunteers too like Simon and Cass. They have about two volunteers in at a time to carry in over a ton of food that is bought (wholesale prices) from the big supermarkets.
Many are working people, they’re not ‘scroungers’. I met one lady on my way there who had just dropped her 5 year old with ASD off to school. She also had a 13 and 16 year old to support. She was a great person to chat to, smart and funny. she deserved huge respect.
There’s a saying that if we paid our teachers what we paid our bankers and if we paid our bankers what we paid our teachers our society would be richer (in the real sense of the word), healthier and happier. All that trickles down from the rich is misery. I was there to pull weeds and donate. I was graciously given a tour and my questions answered. I didn’t take photographs because I was there to help them not to help my election campaign.
Me (left) and Councillor Paul Collins, Liberal Democrat Group Leader (right).Councillor Dave Poulton (left) & Councillor Robert McMullan (right), representing Eastwood Park Ward.
Afterwards, I met with my fellow Liberal Democrats who were holding a surgery at Kent Elms Library to discuss the cost of living crisis and other priorities they have to serve the people of their wards and Southend as a whole. We will work together along with other Councillors and MPs to do everything we can to end the worst problems of our community.
The cost of living is due to the greed of landlords, gas/oil companies and a government that taxes workers far more than those who own capital. The solution is switch the burden of running our society to the top .1% They can afford it. We could make food banks vanish in weeks.
On 5th July 2024, the NHS will turn 76 years old, coinciding with the announcement of the next general election results. The dire state of A&Es is a stark reminder that the NHS’s founding promise—to care for everyone, regardless of wealth, from birth to death—is in jeopardy. The future of the NHS hinges on voters ensuring that politicians prioritise its preservation. As Nye Bevan said, “the NHS will only survive if there are folk with the faith to fight for it.” This general election must be a fight to save the NHS.
The quality of care at Southend University Hospital is experiencing a continued decline. According to the Southend Echo, there are plans to “re-designate” Southend Hospital’s neonatal unit. This change would result in premature babies born before 32 weeks being transferred to either Basildon or Broomfield hospitals for care, rather than remaining at Southend. Home cancer treatments are being suspended and worst of all, 600 jobs are being cut. This is to tackle a £100m deficit. Why is there a deficit? Not enough money from the government or mismanagement? Yes, both of those. And where is the £118m Anna Firth keeps telling us she’s ‘secured’. Promises, promises and out of touch as ever.
So much money was stolen or wasted during COVID while we banged our saucepans for the NHS workers. Just remember that when you vote on the 4th of July. the furlough scheme cost £4bn, what about the other £28bn?
I received an alert on the 17th of May to say Southend University Hospital was being inspected. Last July’s inspection had an overall rating of “Requires Improvement”. That’s like failing an MOT quite badly. The results will take about 2 months, but if it was this month, we’d have been in the bottom quarter. Essex Live reported: “Pipes were leaking in rooms where a patient was being nursed, more than 200 pieces of equipment needed reviewing and in Southend Hospital there were more than 700 repair jobs that needed finishing”
Nothing should come before our health and care in terms of priorities. HMRC collected£827.7 billion in taxes in 2023 to 2024, an increase of 5.0% from the year before. Where is it going? Here’s a summary of what’s going on that the Conservatives and our previous MP Anna Firth don’t want you to know, especially before the election:
Closure Announcement: A ward at Southend Hospital is set to close on 1st July.
Notice to Staff: Staff were given 4 weeks’ notice and must choose new areas to work.
Ward Description: The closing ward is the only general medical/Endocrinology ward, with high acuity and 27 beds. It takes patients directly from A&E, the acute medical unit, ITU, and HDU step-downs, has the highest turnover, and provides the most discharges.
Operational Impact: The ward closure is not due to seasonal pressures and is a well-established area. The hospital, already facing bed shortages, will lose 27 more beds.
Additional Closures: Another ward has closed 7 beds, also not related to seasonal pressures.
Future Bed Demand: There is an expected high demand for the closed beds shortly after the closures.
Executive Communication: The hospital executive team has not adequately supported or communicated with staff about the closures, with the CEO stating the risk to patient safety was a risk he was willing to take.
Changing Reasons: Reasons for the closure have varied and included no consultant cover, a consultant leaving (which was untrue), patient length of stay issues, and finances, but none have been clearly confirmed.
Staff Confusion: Staff remain unsure of the true reason for the ward closure.
Conclusion:
The closure of a critical ward at Southend Hospital has raised concerns among staff about patient safety and the hospital’s capacity to manage patient care effectively. The reasons for the closure have been inconsistent, and communication from hospital leadership has been insufficient. This is OUR National Health Service. Not a piggy bank for private companies. Do we REALLY want to be in a situation like for Americans where getting sick bankrupts you?
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has made a significant policy promise: if our party wins, they will fund free social care at home. This is a big deal because social care has been a major failure area for the Conservatives over the past 14 years. Despite many promises, the Conservatives have done little to address the issue.
Sir Ed has personal experience with caregiving, having looked after his mother, grandmother, and disabled son. He proposes raising £2.7 billion by reversing a tax cut for banks to pay for free personal care at home, including help with washing and medication for everyone in England who needs it. Care workers would also get a higher minimum wage, £2 more than the national minimum. However, this plan doesn’t cover the costs of residential care.
Sir Andrew Dilnot, who led a major social care review, has urged the main parties to take social care seriously. Labour has promised new national standards and fair pay agreements for care workers, and to investigate the treatment of migrant care workers after reports of exploitation.
The Conservatives have been in power for 14 years and are blamed for the lack of progress in social care. Boris Johnson promised to fix the crisis in 2019, but his government failed to follow through. Our proposal is a necessary step towards much-needed social care reform.
Yes, that’s me holding the sign in the green t-shirt with the casettes on it. Possibly should have worn a shirt if I’d known I’d be posting the photo! The solution to problems like this in our society, come down to us using the law to control the worst extremes of capitalism. Water and Sanitation is a human right. Here’s is what we the Liberal Democrats will change to make clean water happen and compel water companies to work for us.
Scrap Ofwat. We, the Lib Dems, want to completely overhaul the industry by scrapping the regulator Ofwat and turning water companies into “public benefit companies” that put the environment before profits. Below is Lib Dem MP Tim Farron on Radio 4’s Today programme, talking about our plans to get sewage out of rivers and off our beaches. (I added this radio interview the 30th of May).
Get the Tories out of power. There is no hope of change from the Tories. In April 2024, Conservative and Labour MPs, including Anna Firth, voted to further weaken Ofwat’s powers to do something about the water companies. Here are the details. We can have clean rivers, fair water prices and infrastructure investment. Only about 120 miles east of Essex in the Netherlands, 100% of sewage is treated in line with EU legislation. In the UK it is what? We don’t even know!
The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign was started because many women born in the 1950s were unfairly affected by changes to the state pension age. In 1995, the Tory government decided to equalise the state pension age for men and women, raising it from 60 to 65. However, these changes were implemented with little notice, leaving many women with insufficient time to adjust their retirement plans. As a result, these women faced unexpected financial hardship and uncertainty. The WASPI campaign seeks to address this injustice by demanding fair compensation and better communication from the government regarding future pension changes.
WASPI crowdfunded £100,000 to pay for legal action in order to challenge these changes. Justice is not at all ‘open’ in this country. We all have a right to agitate and protest. We can be WASPS and I stand with these women.
Finally, WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) have won their case and should be compensated immediately by the incoming government, following the ombudsman’s recommendations. It only amounts to between about £1,000 and £3,000 each. It’s especially frustrating that The State Pension Age (Compensation) Bill was dropped due to the general election being called when far less important bills were pushed through.
The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Conservative Party’s plans to spend £2.5 billion on National Service would lead to cuts to vital services in Southend.
The Conservatives have said their plans would be paid for by slashing funding for local areas through the Shared Prosperity Fund from 2028-29, which funds projects that boost jobs and living standards, improve public services and build pride in local communities.
This fund has provided £1,338,755 of funding for Southend from 2022 to 2025. Thirteen local projects have been funded, but details have not been published by the council yet.
The Liberal Democrats said it showed the Conservative Party had completely the wrong priorities, and called on the government to reverse their plans to slashed troop numbers by 10,000 instead.
The Conservative Party has already done so much damage to people’s living standards and public services in Southend with all their chaos. Now they want to slash funding for local services to pay for their hare-brained plans for a National Service, which are nothing but a desperate distraction from the government’s record of failure on the NHS and economy.
If the Conservatives were serious about defending Britain’s security, they would reverse their plans to cut the Army by 10,000 troops.
This is about more than dogs on the beach. It is about the special relationship between humans and their dogs and our rights to free roam on the shore. Yes, the council can legally stop us from going on the beach during the summer and yes dog poo is bad. We almost had a solution three years ago when 58% supported it. This time the consultation didn’t even mention a dog beach. How is a that a fair consultation?
However. Who’s beach is it? It’s everyone’s. I’d include all plants and animals in that too. The environment needs to be respected and protected. A minority, according to the council’s own consultations are stopping the rest of us using this beautiful and free amenity. We have even proposed a compromise, only a small part of the 7 mile stretch? The answer was still no.
The PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) has been renewed for another 3 years. It is disproportionate and unreasonable, but we can’t afford to bring it to court and petitions, consultations and protests have done nothing. I think the council sees our beach as an asset to sell to visitors on behalf of a narrow about of businesses in the area. I’m all for businesses and making a living, but some balance is needed. Dare I say it, a more Liberal and Democratic balance…
You can join the Southend Dog Beach Campaign here. Remember, every dog has it’s day.
Old Leigh really is the jewel in the crown of Southend West and I intend to keep it that way. We also have a wonderful array of creative artists producing sublimely beautful works inspired by our lovely Estuary.
I was there today and took some photos. Then had a well-earned beer in the Peterboat.
