There are quite a few consultations going on at the moment. Here’s one on polling stations:
What’s it about? Polling Stations- where people vote in elections.
What isn’t it about? – it’s not about the boundaries of council wards , or which areas are represented by which councillors. That’s a different consultation…
What’s the deadline for replying? 12th September
Give me a bit more info: Well, there are 45 polling stations across the district,, from Rawreth Village Hall in the west to the Heritage Centre on Foulness Island in the east. This is a routine consultation to check that the polling stations we have a convenient for people to get to and convenient to use.
Are there any big changes planned Should I be alarmed? There’s not much cause for alarm. The only polling station suggested for closure is at Paglesham Congregational Church, which isn’t available anyway for 2015. Probably the key question is whether the polling station at Hullbridge Free Church should be replaced by one at Hullbridge Sports and Social Club:
The Free Church is well known as the polling station for the area, however the disabled access needs improving.
Disabled access is better at Hullbridge Sports and Social Club. Parking facilities are good, but those on foot have further to walk as the club is situated down a long access road.
Where can I find out more? Look at the District Council website here. And in particular download the Returning Officers comments and proposals here.
Given it’s now 2014 why on earth can’t we vote on line. I am sure we would get a much better “turn out”
But could you trust the results?
Er, why not, you could say that about a paper based system. What a strange remark to make.
OK, not the right place for this post ( and yes, it’s not local BUT ) this is Euro Claggy’s latest looney scheme. Can any reader tell me why I, as a tax payer, should fund school lunches for other peoples kids. If people make the lifestyle choice to have kids that’s fine but don’t expect me to pay for their dinners. Still the only consolatoon is that Claggy will be heading for Spain next year selling deck chairs. The man is a complete, out of touch idiot.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nick-clegg-announces-funding-details-for-free-school-meals
Just wait until Nigel is in charge…..
Oz at 3 – the thing about a paper based system is that it is quite hard to rig the results. Not impossible, but hard. And the candidates and agents can see what is going on at the count, and see that the result , whatever it is, is fairly achieved.
With electronic voting, I simply don’t know how easy it is for someone to ‘adjust’ the figures. Or to be sure that each person casting their voting is doing secretly and without coercion. Even if it was done fairly – and I accept it probably would be — some of the losers are going to easy they were defrauded.
Oz at 4 . Let’s go back a step – Why should you fund education for other peoples children? Because having an educated population is better for the country as a whole. Why should you fund hot dinners for small schoolchildren? Because from what I’ve read, giving them hot dinners will tend to improve their educational attainment and their overall health, which will be good for the country as a whole. It will also help some hard-pressed families.
I don’t like to write too much here about the Lib Dems national achievements, but thank you for giving me the opportunity Oz 😉
I completely agree with funding education, basically for the reasons stated. However, I cannot agree with funding school dinners for every child. Not every family needs that funding, they are quite capable of paying for their childrens school meals. Whilst it might sound harsh the thinking behind Oz’s comment is sound. People need to take responsibility for their own life style and actions. If someone chooses to have more children than they can afford to clothe, feed etc. why should the rest of us pick up the tab. Now if someone has lost their spouse and become a single parent, or lost their job, then yes, free school meals to help them until they get back on their feet again. When I was a school (a long time ago I admit) there were always some who got free school dinners, and I’m sure that system could easily be revived at a lot less cost. The Mail reports today that many schools are having to raid their repairs and maintenance budgets to fund free meals, which can’t be good in the long term.
I’m not really in either camp on this –
On the one hand do-gooders have actually help create a dependent type of society, where there is an expectancy ( ‘what a they gonna do about it’ ) in general and an
abuse of the hand out system – also why we are a magnet for universal strays.
So much so that there is always a ready chorus fighting for the rights of the criminal rather than the victim and it has all created a cynical outlook even in decent people.
My first day at big school was spent having the meaning of the school motto explained to me ( to thine own self be true ) and that was drummed into us week in and week out – it established self dependacy ethic, sadly missing in the world today.
This one could run and run but, someone with 2 kids already gets nearly £130 a month in child benefits. Why can’t that pay for dinners instead of the latest smart phone and trainers ?
We will never agree on this, my view is that if you make the lifestyle choice to populate the planet then you pay for it, not others. ( although of course we all pay in terms of more housing, congestion etc )
There are still free school meals for any family who are in receipt of a benefit and should still remain the same. Free school meals for all small children is not cost effective for the schools and a really good, healthy packed lunch is just as effective and the children would probably eat it because Mum made it.
I knew someone who had free school meas for her children and thought the Council should still provide them during school holidays, but she was never short of money.. How do you stop people expecting more and more and make them stand up and be responsible.
Grannyt – I think you can always quote individual anecdotes to support an argument for and against. For example, I knew one family where the father had died after working 55 years – the mother was very grateful to get free school meals for her child.
This policy helps, in a a modest way, many working families and I support the principle.
Chris, re post 12, if the dad died after 55 years at work and he started work at 15 then would have been 70. How old was the child – 30 odd !
Oz, the father left school in Bristol at the age of 13 and was still working when he died at 69, when the child was 11. Maybe I should come clean at this point and say “I was that child”!
[checks carefully to see if there’s a chip on my shoulder]