People like living in Swindon - but they are less happy with the borough council (From Swindon Advertiser)

“What’s clear is residents want to feel more involved in decisions that affect them and we have been working hard to address this.”

The council are certainly not listening over regeneration, the biggest issue by far for the town.

It is truly in the hands of Councillors, they DO NOT listen to us. A lot of things seems to be thrown in the bin rather than being discussed. I cannot see the stastics are the fact or fiction, but the fact is that the Borough Councillors are at fault 100%
Anti Social behaviour is getting way out of hand, but it is not the constabulary's fault, the whole matter is on the councillors who tend to sweep the matter under the carpet. transport facilities have seem to have improved quite considerably, yet still insufficient support for disabled passengers. Drivers tend to ignore the request for help, but can be resolved in some way.
I am totally dissatisfied with the Council as for the Housing Benefit/Council Tax system, it have now kept customers waiting longer for their assessment, and often times have their benefit suspended for no apparent reason. A lot need to be done to improve the image of the Council.
Now they are thinking of putting a hotel on the former Police Station site, what about an entertainment attraction, all the councillors think about is just themselves rather than the public.
This do put Swindon on the map mas a place of neglect, too mant of those who were elected are not doing their job properly, and not at all listening to their people who voted them into office.
Just to put it in perspective, get the job done or lose your job altogether.

Unfortunately all Councils are in that unique position of being basically a monopoly with a guaranteed customer base of tax payers. What other business can put their customers in prison if they dont pay the charge set by the company?? This then leads to complacency, after all why go the extra mile for your customers when they have to come back again and again for their services. If it was a shop and you had bad service, you go to another shop, but with the Council, there is nowhere else to go. There is no real pressure to provide a good service to the residents as the staff and councillors get paid no matter what, councillors are more than likely voted in on political grounds rather than having any sort of qualifications to run a Council, so it is a recipe for disaster before you start. Add to that inept management with no accountability (who has heard of a Council Manager being sacked, the closest they get is being pensioned off with a nice fat cheque)and this rediculous "partnership" with the money grabbing contractors Capita who have no interest in Swindon past making as much money as they can out of them and you can understand why people are not happy with the service they receive. Swindon could and should be a much better place than it is, but with the current way of running the Council, I dont see things changing in the forseeable future. The words "bun fight" and "bakery" seem to to be the most used when desribing the Council in this town sadly.

The new Major of Doncaster is already ruffling feathers, he says there is no need for more than 21 Councillors ( 1 a ward).

He's also doing away with PC departments within the Council, closing translation services and many more what he describes as 'unnecessary services'.

He will no doubt feel the 'hurricane' that will descend on him from the PC and 'discrimination brigade'.

You will not be surprised to learn he is not a member of the top three parties, he's an English Democrat, good luck to him, I am sure that tens of thousands of local tax payers will no doubt praise his actions, that's assuming of course his efforts reflect in an improvement in services and /or a reduction in Council Tax.

Sorry should have been Mayor

Bobfm wrote:
Sorry should have been Mayor

Couldn’t agree more Big Fella, but I suspect he will not be allowed to succeed. He is but one man, and there are too many vested interests with a stake in preserving the Status Quo to let someone come along and make things work more efficiently. Too many backs, too much scratching.

Reallife is right, there is no great pressure to be customer focussed or provide good service. Having said that, many people who work for the council work hard and do try their best, sometimes in the face of great odds.

SBC are actually not bad at what they do, compared to some Councils in some areas I have lived. Overall I am quite impressed with them. The problem all councils have is that they can do a lot of things right but it only takes one bad experience to annoy a resident and it only takes one person to create a bad impression.

In my case, not having my wheelie bin emptied on Tuesday ticked me off. I suspect the binmen refused to take it rather than missed it.

This was just a hunch at first but when they turned up to empty it this morning (at 6.45 ) the chap at the back of the lorry yelled to the one at the front “IT’S FULL OF F**KING FLOOR TILES.” He looked like he was going to leave it again, but was overruled by the driver, just before I got involved.

Just for reference, it was not full of f**king floor tiles. There were a few f**king floor tiles in it, but on the whole it was full of rubbish. We only get a collection once a fortnight, and I wouldn’t have the luxury of filling my bin with f**king floor tiles.

If there was one aspect of the council I would change if I could, it would be to revert to weekly collections. Sadly even the council don’t have a choice about this, it is the nasty EU who are forcing them down this road.

TRL, it's the EU that is controlling 80% of what LA's and HMG do. We can only hope that at the next GE the public realise that returning to voting on tribal lines will make the situation worse.

They need to be bold again and vote UKIP. It is interesting as I posted on another thread that the two economies that will roar out of recession in 2010 are two we are not permitted to trade with on our own terms, they are China and Indian.

Bobfm wrote:
TRL, it's the EU that is controlling 80% of what LA's and HMG do. We can only hope that at the next GE the public realise that returning to voting on tribal lines will make the situation worse. They need to be bold again and vote UKIP. It is interesting as I posted on another thread that the two economies that will roar out of recession in 2010 are two we are not permitted to trade with on our own terms, they are China and Indian.

You are right.

A few years ago it used to be said that the UK did more trade with Belgium than China. That is insane.

I mean, no offence to Belgium but it’s barely a country. It’s more of a shock-absorber between France and Germany. The total population is about the same as London.

China on the other hand is a single country that consists of 1/5th of the world population. Who would you rather trade with?

People say we couldn’t survive outside the EU.

I for one would be prepared to give it a go.

TRL, once again you are absolutely right. The amzing thing is those who are pro the EU always claim we have massive trade with the EU, but they don't say is that a large proportion of that trade is just using the EU ports as a gateway to elsewhere but under EU rules it's counted as EU trade.

It's the same as when you see as joint of meat or other product which says, Product of the EC, this could literally have come from anywhere, and has just been processed in the EU, or been subject to EU tariffs.

There is so much that the public seem oblivious to that is raising the food and utilities costs in the UK because of the EU.

There is now mayhem over milk because the quotas have been slashed both here and mainland Europe. The European Farmers are blockading etc and will probably get a revised deal at the4 expense of our farmers.

Our farmers are being forced to double tag sheep because of an EU directive. Farmers feel that this is not only cruel as these tags are much larger and could scag on fences, cause infections and cost the earth to actually attach and will have no significant benefit than the system already in place.

There is also a Zebra registration Scheme to prevent theft. How many Zebra's have you seen roaming the fields of Swindon, or anywhere else for that matter.

Add that to the horse registration scheme, to track horses in the food chain which also applies to pets kept. You have to certify the horse is not for eating. Failure to do so can result in a fine or imprisonment.

The list goes on and on and on.

we should have acted and changed the council when we had the chance in May!

The Real Librarian wrote:

Bobfm wrote: TRL, it's the EU that is controlling 80% of what LA's and HMG do. We can only hope that at the next GE the public realise that returning to voting on tribal lines will make the situation worse. They need to be bold again and vote UKIP. It is interesting as I posted on another thread that the two economies that will roar out of recession in 2010 are two we are not permitted to trade with on our own terms, they are China and Indian.

You are right. A few years ago it used to be said that the UK did more trade with Belgium than China. That is insane. I mean, no offence to Belgium but it’s barely a country. It’s more of a shock-absorber between France and Germany. The total population is about the same as London. China on the other hand is a single country that consists of 1/5th of the world population. Who would you rather trade with? People say we couldn’t survive outside the EU. I for one would be prepared to give it a go.

People like you are a joke and a danger.
Stop the propaganda and start being objective.
The UK outside the EU is nothing!
What makes the UK a strong economy is its proximity to the European Market.
Why do you think companies like Honda are in the UK? they are based here in the UK because labour is cheaper and governement interference low whilst having access to great financial market.
If the UK was not part of the EU, companies would simply leave this country and based themselves somewhere else like Ireland or Poland etc...
If it wasn't for the EU the UK would be not much more than a rusting backyard for European and American interests.
The UK needs to be in the EU and needs to adopt the Euro.

They've just become even less popular then me. Just days after paying £40 for a new parking permit, I've had a leaflet through teh door saying I am prohibited from parking in my road as they want to sweep it.

No apology, no advice on where to park, just a flat out ban on a service that I've paid for (after a 60% rise).

I'm sure the use of the word 'prohibited' is deliberate so they can justify the tickets given out to people who didn;t read this flimsy leaflet addressed to 'The Resident'.

I meant less popular 'with' me, no idea why I wrote 'then'.

why is it that none of the local candidates bother to present a local set of actions for the town and its residents when the election comes?
we just vote of face value and we can only be let down when votingt his way.
Politics in this country need a radical change, and voters need to change their ways, voting for a program! rather than a vote based on class, race and what mummy and daddy used to vote!

swindonistani wrote:

The Real Librarian wrote:

Bobfm wrote: TRL, it's the EU that is controlling 80% of what LA's and HMG do. We can only hope that at the next GE the public realise that returning to voting on tribal lines will make the situation worse. They need to be bold again and vote UKIP. It is interesting as I posted on another thread that the two economies that will roar out of recession in 2010 are two we are not permitted to trade with on our own terms, they are China and Indian.

You are right. A few years ago it used to be said that the UK did more trade with Belgium than China. That is insane. I mean, no offence to Belgium but it’s barely a country. It’s more of a shock-absorber between France and Germany. The total population is about the same as London. China on the other hand is a single country that consists of 1/5th of the world population. Who would you rather trade with? People say we couldn’t survive outside the EU. I for one would be prepared to give it a go.

People like you are a joke and a danger. Stop the propaganda and start being objective. The UK outside the EU is nothing! What makes the UK a strong economy is its proximity to the European Market. Why do you think companies like Honda are in the UK? they are based here in the UK because labour is cheaper and governement interference low whilst having access to great financial market. If the UK was not part of the EU, companies would simply leave this country and based themselves somewhere else like Ireland or Poland etc... If it wasn't for the EU the UK would be not much more than a rusting backyard for European and American interests. The UK needs to be in the EU and needs to adopt the Euro.

Speaking of dangerous and ill-informed, , , ,

Bob has just quoted you a bunch of things we like to call “facts.” They are not propaganda, they are not dangerous, they are just things that are true. There is nothing more objective than the truth.

What makes you think the UK cannot have a strong economy without being tied to the EU?

There are European Countries which do well outside the EU.

Despite the fact that we are not in the Euro and (touch wood,) never will be, we have inward investment by Far East Countries.

You ask for less propaganda and then come out with some of your own, and it is a fairly typical bit of leftie self-loathing. “If it wasn't for the EU the UK would be not much more than a rusting backyard for European and American interests.”

This may come as a shock to you, but we used to be quite a big player on the world scene. What has brought us low is the huge cost of winning a European war, coupled with six decades of centrist politics that could be “kindly,” described as miss-management.

Since 1973 we have seen our Farming, Fishing, Coal, Steel and Mining industries devastated by a deceitful, protectionist, undemocratic, Federalising, Franco-German alliance which has sought to stifle innovation and drown us in un-necessary costs, bureaucracy and red-tape, all the while bleeding us dry to pay for their failed Statist, socialist model of government and dragging us ever deeper into their Federal Union.

The EU isn’t a support to a broken country, it is a dead-weight on our shoulders, holding us back. We should get out while we still can. We could only flourish.

swindonistani wrote:
why is it that none of the local candidates bother to present a local set of actions for the town and its residents when the election comes? we just vote of face value and we can only be let down when votingt his way. Politics in this country need a radical change, and voters need to change their ways, voting for a program! rather than a vote based on class, race and what mummy and daddy used to vote!

o change their ways, voting for a program! rather than a vote based on class, race and what mummy and daddy used to vote!


Voters are not the biggest problem, non-voters are.

Unfortunately you tend to get two social classes these days, the Chavs and the Chav-Nots, and the Chavs do not vote.

Non-votes (between 33-63% of the population) should be ashamed of themselves. How can they not vote? It’s only their country and their future, after all. It should be compulsory. Sadly they sit on their sofas, gorging themselves on junk food and junk tv, stuffing but not giving a stuff.

i agree with much of what has already been said but thsi result really doesn't surprise me.

doncaster is proving to be an intereting place where the people have been able to exercise a democratic right over who leads their council.

in swindon local counillors are rendered powerless unless they have scratched the right backs and been rewarded with a place in the cabinet at sbc.

the result being a bunch of councillors making decisions on things they're not qualified for and ultimately not answerable for at the ballot box.

the regeneration, removing safety cameras and the resident parking taxes are just a few examples of issues that were contentious but were pushed through by the untouchables at sbc without any meaningful discussion with the people.

if people want to have the chance to have a say on the future governance of swindon, then they can download a petition on talkswindon.org to see if we can geta referendum on the issue

http://www.talkswind
on.org/index.php?top
ic=3537.0

What began as a thread as to Councils has degenerated into a political debate trying to promote party policy. The EU has plus and minus points. The EU parliament being factually the route to becoming a millionaire in one term for MEPs. Migration being another. New laws that affect us all in a detrimental way. Restrictions on trade another. Few britons migrate to EU countries mainly because earnings are lower and benefits hardly exist-which is why they come here. Add to this that since 1998 this govt has introduced over 3000 new criminal offences most of which carry fines. Given the Police extra powers to issue tickets for fixed penalties--if you will not accept the fixed penalty you are arrested.My view being the basis of our legal system has always been innocent until proved guilty and the right to a fair hearing.On arrest you are finger printed--dna samples taken and numerous other procedures and put into data bases--facts show that despite the law requiring this to be destroyed Wilts Police rarely do so. Considering the ongoing furore over MPs expenses claims that are fraudulant and have no excemption from taxation why can they recover Council Tax--Capital Gains Tax and much more. They pass the laws--they must abide by them. Finally our Councillors are elected to serve the public and represent their views--not so--they vie for positions on various committees purely to boost their income as they get paid extra--no longer the publics representative--foll
owers of party policy--screw the public.

Our Council has deteriorated rapidly since they became paid representatives. Most councillors should never be voted in--they are because so few people vote. Those who do vote for the wrong reasons. A handful of good councillors does not make a council.

itsamess wrote:
What began as a thread as to Councils has degenerated into a political debate trying to promote party policy. The EU has plus and minus points. The EU parliament being factually the route to becoming a millionaire in one term for MEPs. Migration being another. New laws that affect us all in a detrimental way. Restrictions on trade another. Few britons migrate to EU countries mainly because earnings are lower and benefits hardly exist-which is why they come here. Add to this that since 1998 this govt has introduced over 3000 new criminal offences most of which carry fines. Given the Police extra powers to issue tickets for fixed penalties--if you will not accept the fixed penalty you are arrested.My view being the basis of our legal system has always been innocent until proved guilty and the right to a fair hearing.On arrest you are finger printed--dna samples taken and numerous other procedures and put into data bases--facts show that despite the law requiring this to be destroyed Wilts Police rarely do so. Considering the ongoing furore over MPs expenses claims that are fraudulant and have no excemption from taxation why can they recover Council Tax--Capital Gains Tax and much more. They pass the laws--they must abide by them. Finally our Councillors are elected to serve the public and represent their views--not so--they vie for positions on various committees purely to boost their income as they get paid extra--no longer the publics representative--foll owers of party policy--screw the public.

I may have missed the plus points in your excellent post.

Struggling to find plus points-this council is in an almighty mess as well as the country--no light at the end of the tunnel--just a brick wall.

The Tories are riding high at the moment.
If a Tory Government gets in next year then the pendulum will start to swing.
We could be faced with a Labour majority controlled by the admirers of Bates and Mayer. What a disaster!
A move to the County Area seems to be the only answer!

MAXWELL42

Your meaning is far from clear??

At the moment, and for obvious reasons, nobody likes politicians. It's therefore little surprise that people like living in a town but don't like the people running it.

It has ever been thus.

Only thing is, much of what we do enjoy about the town is the result of what Councils and Councillors do (and this stems back over countless previous Councils, not just the present one).

It does seem as though the current Tory Council has been as royally screwed by Mr Brown's recession as so many individuals and businesses have been.

Yes, they took too long to get our regeneration underway and yes, they could listen to what the residents want from them far more closely. They could also stop being quite so frustrating in coming up with excellent solutions to problems but then not actually implementing them (remember the promise to paint over pointless/outdated yellow lines?)

Overall, they're doing an OK job under difficult circumstances. And one thing is for **** sure, they're doing a lot better than the Labour lot proved capable of!

The Real Librarian wrote:

swindonistani wrote:

The Real Librarian wrote:

Bobfm wrote: TRL, it's the EU that is controlling 80% of what LA's and HMG do. We can only hope that at the next GE the public realise that returning to voting on tribal lines will make the situation worse. They need to be bold again and vote UKIP. It is interesting as I posted on another thread that the two economies that will roar out of recession in 2010 are two we are not permitted to trade with on our own terms, they are China and Indian.

You are right. A few years ago it used to be said that the UK did more trade with Belgium than China. That is insane. I mean, no offence to Belgium but it’s barely a country. It’s more of a shock-absorber between France and Germany. The total population is about the same as London. China on the other hand is a single country that consists of 1/5th of the world population. Who would you rather trade with? People say we couldn’t survive outside the EU. I for one would be prepared to give it a go.

People like you are a joke and a danger. Stop the propaganda and start being objective. The UK outside the EU is nothing! What makes the UK a strong economy is its proximity to the European Market. Why do you think companies like Honda are in the UK? they are based here in the UK because labour is cheaper and governement interference low whilst having access to great financial market. If the UK was not part of the EU, companies would simply leave this country and based themselves somewhere else like Ireland or Poland etc... If it wasn't for the EU the UK would be not much more than a rusting backyard for European and American interests. The UK needs to be in the EU and needs to adopt the Euro.

Speaking of dangerous and ill-informed, , , , Bob has just quoted you a bunch of things we like to call “facts.” They are not propaganda, they are not dangerous, they are just things that are true. There is nothing more objective than the truth. What makes you think the UK cannot have a strong economy without being tied to the EU? There are European Countries which do well outside the EU. Despite the fact that we are not in the Euro and (touch wood,) never will be, we have inward investment by Far East Countries. You ask for less propaganda and then come out with some of your own, and it is a fairly typical bit of leftie self-loathing. “If it wasn't for the EU the UK would be not much more than a rusting backyard for European and American interests.” This may come as a shock to you, but we used to be quite a big player on the world scene. What has brought us low is the huge cost of winning a European war, coupled with six decades of centrist politics that could be “kindly,” described as miss-management. Since 1973 we have seen our Farming, Fishing, Coal, Steel and Mining industries devastated by a deceitful, protectionist, undemocratic, Federalising, Franco-German alliance which has sought to stifle innovation and drown us in un-necessary costs, bureaucracy and red-tape, all the while bleeding us dry to pay for their failed Statist, socialist model of government and dragging us ever deeper into their Federal Union. The EU isn’t a support to a broken country, it is a dead-weight on our shoulders, holding us back. We should get out while we still can. We could only flourish.

I think that you will find that France in particular objected to the UK entry in the CEE.
M Thatcher was adamant in joining the CEE (now the European Union)
I won't go on forever, but whilst some guys are crying over the death of the mining and farming industries, you have to bear in mind 2 things: Mining industry was doomed before joining (expensive to extract and dwindling supplies)
Farming lol well how a small island can compete with the great plains of America and Europe, you do not get profitable with small farms!
3- farming and mining are hardly future industries, there is a time in a country economic development when primary sector will start declining at the profit of secondary and most inportantly tertiary sector (services for those not so switched on with economics)
Now coming to the point: since joining the EU I would like to point out that the UK experienced until very recently a long and great economic growth and everyone in this country can see that in the last 30 years our ways of life have significantly improved! there is no denial
I really pity those putting the blame on the EU when it is clearly our politicians that have failed and keep failing us.
Don't blame the EU blame Westminster!

swindonistani, swindon says...
“Now coming to the point: since joining the EU I would like to point out that the UK experienced until very recently a long and great economic growth and everyone in this country can see that in the last 30 years our ways of life have significantly improved! there is no denial
I really pity those putting the blame on the EU when it is clearly our politicians that have failed and keep failing us.
Don't blame the EU blame Westminster!”


People like you always amuse me. You give the EU credit for things that happened before it existed and over which, at the time, it had no control. e.g. people credit the EU for keeping peace in Europe for 60 years, ignoring the fact that (a) several wars have happened in that time and (b) there is a thing called NATO.

Your hypothesis is that our country has prospered in the period 1979 – 2009. We started from a low point of national bankruptcy, caused the last time Labour got involved in the economy. We have achieved prosperity via a Thatcherite process of removing the dead hand of the state from owning and runnning industries that it had no business being involved in e.g. Utilities, Telecoms etc. Financial services were de-regulated (the famous big-bang,) and the entrepreneurial spirit was allowed to flourish.

The EU is precisely opposed to all of these policies and seeks to impose state control at all levels, hence a famous speech of Thatchers in which she said “we have not removed state control in the UK only to see it re-imposed from Brussels.”

The EU is poison at the core of Europe, and will surely collapse in the next 20 years, taking peace and prosperity with it. The best thing the UK can do is stay well away.

You are correct MrBlackwell

Everyone has been screwed by this Govt over and over--at the same time bumping up their pay and paying MPS taxes.
Same applies to the Council. How the former leader-deputy leader of the Labour group is still a Councillor god only knows as he presided over the biggest **** ups in recent years--having to fund council pensions--then equal pay. His home area plastered with the double yellows--predominant
ly hit by tickets as there is insufficient legitimate parking. Yet no double yellows outside his house=WHY. Pointless double yellows--no--a source of income--and mostly are illegal--ultimately the council will be ordered to repay many millions in illegally made fixd penalties. They have been aware of this problem for many years yet continue. I do agree they have done better than labour--but better than nothing is not hard is it? In fact the constitution and codes of conduct the council has to abide by does not allow them to go against the council--which effectively means-WE WILL DO WHAT WE ARE ORDERED TO DO NOT WHAT THE PUBLIC WANT SO F/O

The Real Librarian wrote:
swindonistani, swindon says... “Now coming to the point: since joining the EU I would like to point out that the UK experienced until very recently a long and great economic growth and everyone in this country can see that in the last 30 years our ways of life have significantly improved! there is no denial I really pity those putting the blame on the EU when it is clearly our politicians that have failed and keep failing us. Don't blame the EU blame Westminster!” People like you always amuse me. You give the EU credit for things that happened before it existed and over which, at the time, it had no control. e.g. people credit the EU for keeping peace in Europe for 60 years, ignoring the fact that (a) several wars have happened in that time and (b) there is a thing called NATO. Your hypothesis is that our country has prospered in the period 1979 – 2009. We started from a low point of national bankruptcy, caused the last time Labour got involved in the economy. We have achieved prosperity via a Thatcherite process of removing the dead hand of the state from owning and runnning industries that it had no business being involved in e.g. Utilities, Telecoms etc. Financial services were de-regulated (the famous big-bang,) and the entrepreneurial spirit was allowed to flourish. The EU is precisely opposed to all of these policies and seeks to impose state control at all levels, hence a famous speech of Thatchers in which she said “we have not removed state control in the UK only to see it re-imposed from Brussels.” The EU is poison at the core of Europe, and will surely collapse in the next 20 years, taking peace and prosperity with it. The best thing the UK can do is stay well away.

Yes the UK was a great country and guess what, it got overtaken and the empire is gone and no it wont be coming back.
The time of Nationalistic grandeur is gone, thanks for europeans learning after 2 World Wars and 50 millions dead.
No the UK can never be a significant power, this country like many others do not possess the population the natural resources nor the political clout.
The only chance of stable economic development and political stability resides in cooperation and integration.
People like you have led us to war and chaos, why do you think there has been no significant conflicts / wars in Europe since 1945?
We should be glad we are part of the EU, you are a scaremonger and I hope people are not fooled by your message of fear

How many readers are like me. I never seem to get to take part in any of these so called 'Surveys'. I do beleive the current government holds the purse strings in respect of Swindon. Obviously as it is now a Conservative council we come even lower down their priorities than when Labour was in office. I beleive this Council is good for the town given their limited funds. Unfortunately it appears one or two areas in the appear to get much more from the council than others. These areas always want/need more and are never satisfied. Labour held sway in town for long enough and we did not even have a Library to be proud of. Our current MP's. are both Labour - enough said.

Swindonistani

No significant wars or conflicts in Europe since 1945.Have you just left school?

itsamess wrote:
Swindonistani No significant wars or conflicts in Europe since 1945.Have you just left school?

Maybe he never went.

There have been wars and wars and wars, often started by the idealistic left wing incidentally.


The only alternative to fighting is enforced integration apparently. And that worked sooooo well in the USSR, didn't it.

I'll tell you why I hate the EU so much. They are taking over our country, and we are losing every trace of sovereignty we possessed, and they are doing it by lies, deceit and the complicity of useful idiots. Whenever the people get to vote, they vote no.

Just once, I would like them to listen.

Well after reading all the comments all I can say is..

When can we vote on it.

IN or OUT.

WE should all be able to vote on it, not like the micks and spicks, keep voting till they get the vote they want, but the vote we want..

IN or OUT

Librarian

Wars are futile and achieve very little. I have no politics and dont know right wing from left wing. The EU is just soaking up money that no-one accounts for and there seems to be no reporting to the public what our MEPs do besides claim fat wages and unlimited expenses.
So many laws and regulations that erode our basic freedoms. We cant vote as we dont know what goes on there.
In other words just one big joke.

We cant vote as we dont know what goes on there.

Exactly, we know nothing.

Getting back to the point about Councils, it will never change as the whole system is basically flawed. Politians are elected by a vote rather than acheive that status by qualification which is crazy, would you want your doctor elected or would you want him qualified? How many successful businessmen and women were voted in to their positions? We vote in our Councillors, who may care about their communtiy and be nice people and mean well but have no idea about running a town with over 150,000 people in it. They then appoint others to run it and make descisions affecting us all (like bringing in Capita as a "partner" who definitely know what they are doing and are very good at taking Councils for a ride and ripping them off), and we wonder why its a shambles. As a previous poster said, there are some in the Council who do work hard and provide a good service, but many of them are not in positions where they can make a real difference. Sadly it is the system that is at fault, too much politics and not enough common sense and understanding!

Capita--W.S Atkins took on the most of experienced Council officers who received payments from the Council and still will get better renumeration--A council within a council--nothing changed--it just cost more--that is council logic

itsamess wrote:
Swindonistani No significant wars or conflicts in Europe since 1945.Have you just left school?

Go On then, give me one war in europe since 1945?
excluding the Balkan civl war

Oh come on now--use the net--do your research-you just named one despite your claim there was none--do you actually know how many countries there are in europe--and how many borders changed--obviously not--dont forget part of Russia is europe.

I like living in Swindon, but I'm sick and tired of reading how our judges have let convicted violent criminals walk free from court.

Especially when the only defence for their crimes appears to be that there was something weird in with the heroin they were taking.

itsamess wrote:
Oh come on now--use the net--do your research-you just named one despite your claim there was none--do you actually know how many countries there are in europe--and how many borders changed--obviously not--dont forget part of Russia is europe.

Don't go behind the bushes, I want you to tell the audience how many wars plagued Europe since 1945 and the creation of the European community!
Guys like you try to hold Europe responsible for all the malaise of today, when in fact Europeans are living in the safest continent on the planet, living with the best transport and education and health system in the world!, you might not like to hear that as europeans we stand stronger together but we do, the EU is the best thing that happened to this part of the world since the Romans! at last we stand unified and peaceful.
Things aren't easy and how could it be with so many cultures and languages but this is a very young federal entity less than 20 years, and look at the achievements.
Esa, airbus, EADS, erasmus, the Euro! dont just focus on the negatives, try to see the bigger picture, Europe is again a great peaceful continent free of US, Russian interferences!
Do you remember the fall of the berlin wall? thats what I am talking about, Europeans free at last.

Try Hungary
Try finding out where all the millions put in to Europe by us has gone--explain why so many europeans want to come here--but few of us emigrate there. Explain why France vetos any suggestion UK proposes and blocks all the ports when they cant get what they want. Count the graves of all our servicemen who died trying to liberate Europe. Count up all the European regulations that reduce our rights. Ask why Polish/czechs work here below average wage--and i am not a politician and pay taxes to see less services and cannot get any benefits in europe if i needed them. So my friend get your facts straight.

On the subject of the EU and what it means try reading what Lord Stoddart of Swindon said in a debate on the latest EU summit, and the comments from the Labour Minister. I think you will see the truth for once being aired. I will follow it by the words of UKIP Peer Lord Pearson in the same debate about the Irish re-vote.

Lord Stoddart of Swindon exposed the serious weakness in her argument by pointing out that: "...even if the British Members (in the European Parliament) voted as a group, they could always be outvoted by over seven to one. Decisions that might be inimical to this country’s best interests could be passed, irrespective of the views of the British Government or the British people".

He went on to raise with the Baroness the very serious concerns expressed by Stuart Fraser, the chairman of the City of London Corporation’s policy and resources committee, in the Daily Telegraph (23.6.09), about the ceding of control over financial regulation to EU institutions.

Baroness Royall accepted Lord Stoddart's depiction of the way the European Parliament voting can work against British interests by saying: "that is what the European Union is all about. I do not deny that." She avoided answering Lord Stoddart's second point about control over regulation by saying that she had not read the relevant article.

Lord P:

'Finally, perhaps I may remind the noble Baroness of the words of Mr Jens-Peter Bonde, the leading Danish politician, who has said that all the guarantees given to Denmark when Denmark was forced to vote again on the Maastricht treaty have been broken. All those guarantees have been broken. So, really, it comes down to the question of what is the status of this protocol. Let us suppose that there is not a treaty of accession for Croatia . Where will Ireland be left then? Surely the most monstrous deception is being practised on the Irish people and I very much regret that the British Government have gone along with It.'

Put simple the EU simply cannot be trusted.

If you are still in doubt why we must leave the EU please watch the below video, the EU simply does not want anyone to show dessent. This was a legitimate protest about the signing of the Lisbon Treaty.

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=qOcG2G_6u
C0

Never mind about europe.

How many cases have we like this in swindon.

Last year it emerged that Ealing council was accomodating Toorpakai Saindi, a single mother of seven children from Afghanistan, in a seven-bedroom, £1.2 million house at a cost of £12,458 a month in rent

TGLP I guess the colour makes the difference then. For someone who claims not to be a racist you've got a funny way of showing it.

People like living in Swindon - but they are less happy with the borough council

Well people, you keep voting them in each year...