Motorists would have to pay tolls to drive on newly-built roads under plans being drawn up by the Conservatives to cut public spending. Telegraph,co,uk by Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor Published: 9:00PM BST 26 Jul 2009 David Cameron said the Birmingham Relief Road had been ‘a great success’ Photo: GETTY The road tolls are among [...]

Last week whilst out helping deliver Focus in Short Heath ward I noticed a sizable pothole in Sandbeds Road as you approach the War Memorial by the junction with Haley Street. Either side of the pothole you could see that the road surface was cracking up due to wear and tear. So being a good citizen [...]

  Members of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel agreed a recommendation to review the outcome of the discussions which took place with Office for the Schools Commission, Sneyd School’s Head teacher, council officers and the Deputy Leader of the Council, and if appropriate ask officers to have informal talks with the Ormiston Trust [...]

  Let’s cut to the chase! Everything we have seen up until now is just smoke and mirrors.   Serco’s case to close Sneyd is based on performance; clearly there are other failing schools in the Borough for which closure was not considered to be the answer.  Whether or not Sneyd should close is NOT [...]

In the wake of the Tory by-election victory in Norwich North their treasury spokesperson Phillip Hammond has called for a massive Tory majority after the next election in order that the Tories are not held up in Parliament from making the necessary public spending cuts. Hopefully there are still plenty of people out there who remember the early [...]

Environmental campaigners and trade unionists have joined together to fight the closure of Britain’s sole major turbine plant, and if it closes the Government could finish up with “egg on it face”: because they are simply losing all credibility with their so-called “green credentials”. Only last week, ministers proclaimed a green employment future for the [...]

  The date and time of the Sneyd closure “Call-in” has been set. It will be heard at the start of the regular scheduled meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel tomorrow, Thursday 23rd July 2009 at 6pm at Walsall Council House. Those who signed the “Call-in” will have the opportunity to put [...]

This article appeared in today’s Independent Newspapers and was an extract from Vince Cable’s speech to the London Stock Exchange There are large numbers of City firms and individuals doing good for Britain by doing well for themselves; providing internationally competitive financial services; and never dreaming of expecting the taxpayer to pick up their bills [...]

  Councillors have called for another meeting with The Highways Agency amid concerns about a lack of information around progress on how  the “Agency” was addressing the very real issues high-lighted by residents reports Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Shires. Regular readers of this blog will be well aware of the uproar that followed the revelations [...]

  The “Call-in” notice on the cabinet decision of last Wednesday (15th July 2009) to close Sneyd School and have a further short consultation on re-opening it as a 14-18 Academy option went in yesterday (20th July 2009). That decision can not be acted upon until the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel has had the [...]