Owen Temple

I don’t know if Alex Watson OBE, leader of Derwentside District Council, reads this website (or whether he’d want to admit to it if he does) so he may be unaware of my “First 100 Potholes” target. Nevertheless, I have to congratulate him on notifying Durham County Council of a most impressive pothole  to the rear of Duncurin House (the old Medical Centre on Medomsley Road).

Strictly speaking this one doesn’t qualify for my competition as it is in a back-street, but it is impressively apalling and capable of doing some serious damage.

We’re now a week into my campaign for pothole action from the Highways Action Line, and I’ve had to send a chaser since my original email is still unacknowledged. This is not a promising start.

This morning I received a pocket guide of Liberal Democrat policies. It’s designed for anyone who wants to know more about our policies.

Many people are “born into” their political party and it doesn’t matter what the policies are. They just support the party like they support their football team - through thick and thin, excellent or rubbish.

Politics isn’t best practised that way. We get the chance to shape and influence policy. When we cry “foul” the party has to listen.

 Of course, no party has a monopoly of truth and we all have aspects of policy where we are not completely in tune with party thinking. The key question is, “Broadly speaking does this party head in the direction I want to take?”

So if you want to know if The Liberal Democrats are heading in the direction you want to take, click this link. pocket_guide_may_2008_final.pdf .

I look forward to your comments and any debate we can generate.

As we all now know, the original Sports Village proposal (of which this is an artist’s impression from “Inside Derwentside, Winter 2006″) has had to be toned down because the money the council had hoped to attract for the project simply was not forthcoming.

Nevertheless, the project remains a key issue in the run up to the new unitary council, and is a priority for Derwentside in its last year as a council. According to the Draft “Transition Plan” to be presented to the council’s Annual Meeting next week, “Options are currently being developed for content of the new facility. Members will be asked to determine this content during early summer.”

That makes it essential that all those with ideas and opinions on this issue voice them NOW. The Deputy Chief Executive, John Pearson, is the lead officer for the project, so let him or your local councillor know your thinking. We’ll only get this one last chance to get this project right.

The 27 Lib Dem councillors on Durham County Council held their first group meeting on Tuesday night and wasted no time (or aggro) in electing Nigel Martin as Liberal Democrat Group Leader, a role which he held in the previous council.

Nigel was obiously delighted to be leading this much bigger and stronger team, and committed us to being a vigorous and constructive opposition.

Our role is critical. Whilst there is only a small majority of eight for the Labour party on this council as a whole, the opposition outside the Liberal Democrats is fractured.

No doubt the 22 independent members will be committed to the needs of their immediate electorates, but it remains to be seen whether they can make common cause on the big issues that need to be tackled county-wide, from raising standards in education to creating a coherent industrial/commercial infra-structure, from developing a recycling strategy across the county to reducing health inequalities.

The Conservatives too (one of whom was elected as a “local Conservative”) remain an unknown quantity.

What that means is that it is up to Liberal Democrats to lead the thinking which will be required to ensure that the Labour Party is held to account in every area, and to the spirit of its unitary “bid” with its promise to devolve power to local communities. It’s an exciting challenge. Thanks to the electorate we have the team to meet it.

Well done the Lib Dem team in Consett North. You’re not just renowned in the North East of England. News of your famous victory has spread to Austin Texas (prizes for those who spotted that the picture was not Consett Civic Centre) from where we received this message:

“From the Owen Temple of Austin, Texas to the Owen Temple of Consett, I’d like to pass on congratulations and wishes of good luck in your public service.

Our first and last names (and Google searches) made me aware of your campaign, and I followed your blog with interest. Just wanted to drop you a note to say hello.”

It’s customary for new employees to be judged on their first 100 days. I’ve decided on a different target for my new role as county councillor - it’s the first 100 potholes.

This particularly fine example is by the island to cross Villa Real Road, quite close to the Number One roundabout. This is an extremely busy road, and with the roadway narrowing at this point it’s a real hazard to cyclists. I have emailed it (along with eight others in Gladstone Street, Romany Drive and Spencer Street) to the Highways Action Line. Obviously they won’t get the email till Tuesday, so we’ll start the countdown then.

If you want to email me your favourite (!) pothole please give me the precisest possible details and, if possible, a digital photo. There’s only one rule - for the moment I will exclude “back-streets”. It’s not that they don’t matter - clearly they do - but until we’ve got front streets up to first world standards I am going to give them priority.

You’re right. This should have been posted yesterday, but yesterday passed in such a rush and by the time I got logged on I was too tired to do anything.

It’s been a tiring six weeks, and I simply could not have been elected were it not for my terrific co-candidate Natalie English and two groups of people:

1) a tireless band of about ten helpers who put out our leaflets, addressed and stuffed envelopes, worked the printer, and worked on all their friends to get behind us

2) the voters of Consett, many of whom had a real struggle of conscience before breaking the ingrained thinking of a lifetime, and who trusted us to work harder and smarter for Consett than our rivals.

I’ve been touched by the number of phone calls urgently wanting to know if we’d made it, the heartfelt congratulations for me and commiserations for Natalie.

The task is only just beginning, but it will be a whole lot easier in the knowledge of how many people willed us into getting it.

And just one final thought. The people of Consett have told Councillor Clive Robson and me that they require us to co-operate to deliver what Consett needs. It’s a challenge which I hope means we can both put behind us the ill-will that emerged during the campaign. The future well-being of Consett is more important than any inter-party rivalries.

My thanks to all of you who helped to make this happen. It was a hard fought fight and my biggest sadness is that Natalie ran the second slot so close without quite managing to get it.

With less than five hours to go before polling stations close at 10.00 p.m., there’s still everything to play for.

By 4 o’clock, after nine hours of voting time, only around 10% of the whole electoral roll had cast their votes in a ballot box at a polling station. Of course, lots of people have yet to go and vote after work, and lots more have already cast their votes by post, but here are three things to think about if you haven’t voted yet.

1) If turnout is low, just a few votes could swing it. Please don’t let yours be the missing vote that would have made the difference.

2) If you have a postal vote that you haven’t sent in, you can still make it count by completing it, sealing it, and delivering it to your local polling station.

3) If you’ve lost your poll card, don’t worry. You are entitled to vote with or without a poll card, so long as you are listed on the electoral roll. Just tell the clerk who you are and where you live.

Please use your vote.

I’m off to say “Good morning” to Consett and am far too busy for a blog. But please do remember to vote today. The race in Consett North could be close and your vote could make all the difference.