Navigating the betterMiddlesbrough blog.
July 9, 2012 by rocklifferover
Welcome to the betterMiddlesbrough blog. First you will notice that there are a number of tabs across the header. These can be clicked on to view the relevant information. If you want to search through posts here on the blog, there are a number of categories that you can search under. Simply select the desired subject from the drop-down menu just over on the right hand side. This information has been posted a ‘sticky’, it will stay at the top of the blog. Regular updates and fresh posts will appear below.
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Barry Coppinger: Councillor, Political Advisor, Police Commissioner Candidate?
July 9, 2012 by rocklifferover
In tonights Gazette letters page, we are treated to the thoughts of one Barry Coppinger. Barry usually signs his letters as cllr Barry Coppinger, or Barry Coppinger, Labour Councillor for Pallister Ward.
Tonight, Barry drops his ‘councillor’ title, preferring instead to promote himself as the ‘Labour Party Candidate for Elected Police and Crime Commissioner. Could he have dropped the ‘councillor’ title, because he shouldn’t still be a councillor, nor should he be a employed as a ‘Political Advisor’ to Redcar and Cleveland Council, now that he is officially a candidate for the Police Commissioner job? But, hey-ho, rules mean nothing to not-a-councillor Coppinger. In fact, for a man who wants to be Police Commissioner, he has scant regard for the Law!
Let’s rewind to the Good Olde Days, when Barry was part of Cleveland Police Authority. It was customary for the location of meetings of the authority to rotate between the four unitary authorities of Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool.
While attending one such meeting in Hartlepool, Barry Coppinger had problems parking. In fact, he earned himself a parking ticket. Instead of humbly accepting his fate and coughing up for the ticket, Barry Coppinger had something of a hissy fit, vehemently stating that he would not pay the ticket. Further, he accused the police in Hartlepool, the Police Authority and Hartlepool Council of not allowing him to park in either the town or the police car park for an authority meeting, demanding that the authority pay the fine for him!
Having then been sent to The National Standards Board for breaching four major codes of conduct and being found guilty of doing so, he was let off, three weeks after his assertions not to pay, because he apologised! (Let’s not forget that, such an apology constitutes an admittance of guilt).
Barry Coppinger was a long-standing member of Cleveland Police Authority. He was a member of the CPA when Operation Sacristy, a major criminal investigation into members of Cleveland Police and Cleveland Police Authority, started. He was vocal in calling for Operation Sacristy to be curtailed. Sacristy is a full police investigation into serious fraud. The man who wants to be in charge of our police force publicly called for this investigation to be cut short. This investigation is potentially into himself, Mayor Ray Mallon and a number of other councillors from across the Cleveland Police area and Barry Coppinger was still a member of the CPA when he went public to ask for the investigation to be cut short. His ‘opinion’ was at odds to the official statement from the CPA, which reads “The investigation must be an independent, thorough and complete inquiry into these matters – both those involved and the public of Cleveland deserve nothing less.
He stood down shortly afterwards, claiming that he had health issues. Whether he was actually advised to go, following his outburst, or whether this was a measured move, knowing full well that he couldn’t stand for Commissioner as a member of the CPA, is open to debate. Either way, the pressing health issue which was so severe that he could not continue in his role within the CPA has miraculously vanished.
If we need to question Barrys judgement further, the Mayor of Middlesbrough, that man Mallon, had Coppinger removed from his post as Executive member for Environment (which includes a Crime and Disorder brief) after he interfered with a civil contract involving taxis, causing a huge problem for all taxi companies and souring their relationship with MBC.
And the final straw? Rumour has it that Mallon actually stood aside, opting not to chase the commissioners job, leaving Coppinger to be the assumed ‘favourite’, at least in Middlesbrough. Hopefully, voters in Middlesbrough and elsewhere in the Cleveland Police area won’t be so blinkered. After all, Mallon is backing Barry for a reason. That reason is that Mallon sees a mutually beneficial relationship between himself and his old executive member, CPA lackey and fellow accused under the Sacristy microscope. Word on the ether is that Mallon wants to control Coppinger from the sidelines.
The biggest worry is that, if Coppinger is elected to the role of Police Commissioner, he will be in a position to end Operation Sacristy before it’s full investigative conclusion. This will protect the guilty, whoever they may be. It will also leave the stench of corruption over the force, as allegations will neither be proved nor disproved. Coppinger will claim that the curtailment is the best decision, in view of the financial implications but in reality, if he and others supporting him had nothing to hide, then they would be adamant that Sacristy should continue until its bitter conclusion.
Posted in CPA / Operation Sacristy, Middlesbrough Borough Council, Ray Mallon | Leave a Comment »
Mallon: I don’t need to be here but, while I am, I want the going rate.
July 9, 2012 by rocklifferover
In an outburst at last Wednesdays Full Council meeting, Mayor Mallon requested that all councillors partake of a little game of ‘Elephant in the Room’.
Here’s how it works. Middlesbrough Borough Council need to save some more millions, so RoboMayor Ray asked councillors to come up with a way to save £1million. But the twist is that you aren’t allowed to mention the ‘Elephant in the Room’, the obvious answer, closing mima. Apparently, the fact that our ‘free’ gallery mima, which costs the taxpayers of Middlesbrough £1.4 million each year is ‘off-limits’ when it comes to cutting costs, because it’s Rays baby and he’d be publicly embarrassed if it had to close. So, to spare his embarrassment, we’ll keep on paying £1.4 million to fund the mima, just to spare Ray Mallons blushes.
But if closing mima is an embarrassment too far, then how about we revisit the mechanism by which mima is funded…
… No-one would argue that Middlesbrough has more than its fair share of under-privileged families. Having an free-to-visit art gallery, therefore, is a noble and fitting way to introduce an appreciation of art to people who otherwise may not be able to afford to visit exhibitions and workshops. So, everybody funds the gallery via the public purse into which we all pay an appropriate amount, giving everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy it. Which is great in theory.
However, this week, mima are distributing their July – November 2012 ‘What’s On’ leaflet. In it, there are details of some of the upcoming events and exhibitions, including their free ‘Art Trolley’ events and other low-cost, family-orientated activities. Great, just the sort of stuff that you would think would bring people in from the estates to give the kids something to do during the school holidays. But wait a minute, the mima brochure ISNT being distributed to those hard-up families on the estates. While the brochure WILL drop through letterboxes in Tollesby, Stainton and Eagle Park, it wont grace the doormats in Hemlington or Coulby Newham – you know, the sort of places where low income families and people getting by on the state pension, the supposed beneficiaries of the ‘free-to-use’ policy, actually live.
So, perversely, those low-income families are part-funding our free-to-use gallery for Middlesbroughs middle-classes to enjoy, while being deliberately kept in the dark about the availability of free events. How very bourgeoisie.
Anyway, there were few takers in the ‘Elephant in the Room’ round, so proceeding moved onto the ‘General Ignorance’ round. It’s a bit like it’s namesake in the tv show QI. The Quiz Master Mayor asks a loaded question then, if you give the obvious but, in his opinion, wrong answer, you are subject to ritual humiliation.The only difference was that the question remained the same – ‘How do we make major savings?’
The first to fall foul of the obvious pitfall was cllr Hazel Pearson, who has been a member of Middlesbrough Borough Council since well before Mallon was committed nine counts of neglect of duty, three of falsehood and prevarication, one of discreditable conduct and one of misconduct to a member of the police service.
cllr Pearson recounted that, back in the day when she was Mayor, the role of councillor was voluntary, the role of Mayor was honorary and unpaid. Mayor Mallon , as reported in the Evening Gazette, retorted thus:
“I am not going to work voluntarily,” said the £65,000-a-year Mayor. “I do not have to be here and I am going to take the going rate for the job – and all of you are going to get the going rate.”
Word of mouth reports also say that he referred to cllr Pearsons suggestion as ‘disgraceful’.
So, there you have it. Ray doesn’t HAVE to be here, so he clearly doesn’t NEED the job. If that is the case, then the council COULD save the £65,000 he is paid and give it to three employees that DO NEED their jobs, to support their homes and families.
You will notice the second part of his statement, “ and all of you are going to get the going rate.” Essentially, this means that, not only is the Mayor adamant that he should be paid, but he’s not going to allow councillors to choose whether or not they will work voluntarily either. So, when the next election comes around, candidates won’t be able to say that they will work for free, thus protecting the status quo. On an interesting note, there’s nothing to stop candidates offering to donate their allowances to local groups and causes! That should sort out the genuine community servants from the gravy-trainers!
Posted in Middlesbrough Borough Council, Ray Mallon | Leave a Comment »
Bent Middlesbrough Borough Councillors Falsify Minutes of Official Meeting.
July 8, 2012 by rocklifferover
It has been brought to my attention that, during Wednesdays Full Council meeting, the last for two months, as our council cant bring themselves to get together for 90 minutes during the whole of August, the customary reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, (the one where Mayor Mallon called community activists ‘terrorists’ and ‘obsessives’, and councillor Bloundelle called for the Press to be gagged, the Gazette letters page to be vetted and for forums and blogs such as this to be closed down) was omitted. This denied anyone the opportunity to question the contents of the minutes of said meeting.
Now, someone has told me that the minutes of that meeting consist solely of a ‘not verbatim’ copy of Mayor Mallons speech. While this was the reason for the meeting to be called, it certainly wasn’t the whole of the meeting.
Apparently, the bit where representatives of other groups and parties within the council expressed their condolences to the two Labour councillors whose property had been attacked, has been omitted.
Apparently, the bit where Mayor Mallon went ‘off-script’ and ranted that he ‘knew’ who the perpetrators of these attacks were and that the ‘Generals’ would be shaking in their boots, etc. has been omitted.
Apparently, the bit where the chair of the council, councillor Steve Bloundelle, spoke from his position as chair in a biased and partisan manner, has been omitted.
And, apparently, the bit where he called for the Press to be gagged, the letters page of the Gazette to be vetted and the closure / silencing of internet forums and blogs that criticise the council has been omitted.
Now, given cllr Bloundelles biased outburst, he also looked directly at one of the vilified ‘letter-writers’ who had raised his hand requesting the right of reply and ignored him, thereby refusing his right of reply and again acting in a partisan manner, from the chair. The combination of these two acts shows beyond doubt that cllr Bloundelle is not able to conduct himself impartially in the role of Chair of the Council. Impartiality is the prime requisite for the role. As such, he is not fit for purpose and should have the decency to stand down. Instead, we get this white-washed version of events spewed forth as the official minutes, thereby rendering any call for Bloundelles removal from role as unfounded.
Let’s be clear on this. The minutes of the Extraordinary Full Council meeting held on Wednesday 20th of June 2012 have NOT been ratified by the full council as a true account of the meeting. They have NOT been presented to the full council for ratification. This, again, must call into question cllr Bloundelles position as Chair of the Council, as it is HIS responsibility to ensure that protocol IS adhered to at all times. He is now abusing that responsibility by flouting protocol, in order to remove from the record his own failure to remain impartial.
Councillor Bloundelles credibility as Chair of the Council is now tarnished beyond doubt and he should, for once, act as protocol demands and stand down from the role and responsibilities of Chairperson.
Posted in Middlesbrough Borough Council, Ray Mallon | Leave a Comment »
Mallon: Respect; Do As I Say, Not As I Do.
July 6, 2012 by rocklifferover
During Wednesdays Full Council Meeting, Mayor Mallon called for councillors to have respect for one another, and for them all to work together. I’m led to believe that this was after Cllr McTigue wondered why blog writers (I’m guessing she means me) wont stand for election as councillors. Well, I can clarify, as I said elsewhere on the blog, on Wednesday morning, bef0re the council meeting, I have much more freedom of speech by remaining outside of the council. However, Joan is the third person this week to link me with standing for election.
In response to Joans comments, I understand that cllr Saj Khan retorted that it was duplicitous of councillor McTigue to take a pop at blog writers, when it’s well known within the council that cllr McTigue writes ‘anonymously’ on a number of local forums and also to the Gazette letters page.
At that point Ray had had enough and said that it would be better if cllrs could all get along and respect one another, which is an admirable notion. Only problem is that, as the meeting progressed and different councillors stood up and raised their points on a variety of issues, Mayor Mallon sat taking notes and when it came to his turn to speak, he rounded on a number of those that had spoken previously, such was his respect for them.
Additionally, cllr Joe Michna, well known in his ward as a diligent and hard-working councillor, submitted a question to the council by letter, as he was unable to attend on Wednesday. When his absence was pointed out, cllr John McPartland disrespectfully suggested that someone might find a photo of cllr Michna, so that people might remember who he is. In my opinion, cllr McPartland isn’t fit to shine Joe Michnas boots, let alone criticise the guy.
Here’s a photo of cllr Joe Michna, in last weeks Evening Gazette, expressing his concerns over the fiasco that is the new road layout on Linthorpe Road – designed and installed to CAUSE congestion!
Here’s another, where councillor Michna supports local residents after Middlesbrough Borough Council put them on a register of “Vexatious and Unreasonably Persistent Complainants” for having the audacity to write to the council as ‘active citizens’ in order to complain about issues regarding Albert Park. It appears that anyone can be put on the list, with little notification, right of appeal or a recorded qualification procedure for inclusion (ie, for any reason the council sees fit)
cllr Michna is regarded in his ward, as a diligent, intelligent, respected, hard-working and accessible councillor, living as he does among the people that he represents.
It is worthy of note that, according to the Middlesbrough Council Website, cllr Joe Michna holds Ward Surgeries in Park Ward EVERY Wednesday. Meanwhile, cllr John McPartland and his fellow Labour councillor, Pervaz Khan between them hold Ward Surgeries every month. Which means at best, cllr Michna holds his surgeries four times more frequently than cllr McPartland. At worst, cllrs McPartland and Khan take it in turns to attend Ward Surgeries, which means that cllr Michna is at least eight times more accessible to the people he represents.
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