The Bishop's Stortford Flyer Magazine Bishops_Stortford_Flyer_Jul2018_For_Web | Page 14

Local Matters with Mione Goldspink
The Flyer

In the blue corner with Colin Woodward

Local Matters with Mione Goldspink
Finally the EU Withdrawal Act is in place after over 1,300 amendments and with over 250 hours of debate . All of this of course on top of a Remain bonus of the £ 9m spent on a leaflet sent out by a previous Govt to all households in the UK essentially putting the case for Remain and much spent by both sides on putting the IN / OUT case before the Referendum , ( and no , it wasn ’ t ‘ advisory ’ as we were clearly told at the time that the outcome would be implemented ); as well as frequent leaks and Project Fear / threats Press Conferences by EU and Remain sympathisers . As if any negotiations , let alone something as complex as dealing with a hostile EU bureaucracy and 27 other nations , ( most being net ‘ takers ’ from the EU budget ), wasn ’ t enough of a challenge . The ‘ People ’ s March ’ for the spurious Peoples Vote , ( patronising and arrogant as many of those participants interviewed were ), still tries to present the myth that we didn ’ t know what we were voting for and the likes of Anna Soubry , MP , facing deselection now suddenly bleat about healing division after some of the shocking things she has said from the beginning about those who dared to vote leave , ( and not there is no defence for some of the outrageous threats that she and other Remain die-hards have received ). It is in fact remarkable that in our Parliamentary system she and others have had such a free hand to
rail and rant and then vote using every attempt to scupper Peoples Vote 1 ie the Referendum . I for one am not falling for the now well tried EU supporters ‘ keep on voting until you vote the way we want ’ as we have seen previously in other nations on various past treaties .
Turning to more immediate local matters I read of the Herts & Essex ‘ groundbreaking ceremony ’, (‘ read ’ as no local Ward Cllrs were invited but HCC and EHC sent senior cllrs ) and I know that the immediate neighbours are concerned about heavy construction traffic and ultimately that there will be genuine community access to the facilities . ( Often with schools this hasn ’ t effectively materialised once Planning has been secured ). The local County Cllr and residents are quite focused on mitigating the inevitable traffic issues and ensuring eventual community use . We also had a small but significant Traveller incursion on Parsonage Field and I must commend our local Safer Neighbourhood Police for their prompt and sensitive containment of the situation and community liaison resulting in recovery of the Field within three days .
Colin Woodward County / District / Town Cllr
colin . woodward @ hertfordshire . gov . uk Twitter : ColinWoodward00
The theme of this year ’ s Town Carnival is “ Celebrating Bishop ’ s Stortford ”. I am writing this article just before Carnival Day , so I am wondering how all the various organisations that take part will demonstrate this theme . Will there be models of the old Malting buildings ? Will there be floats of narrow Boats , taking our goods to London by river ? What about our Norman Castle and Mound ? or the Roman skeleton in our Museum ? Will St . Michael ’ s Church and Windhill be depicted ?
But , maybe the Carnival participants will opt for more modern items . They might celebrate our excellent Schools , or the Railway station , to signify a commuter town . They might portray some of our flourishing dance and theatre schools or sporting clubs , or our talented amateur dramatic and music groups . There are U3A , Rotary clubs , helping Organisations and Church groups , and many more .
Whatever the Carnival Procession or the Fun Day on Sworder ’ s Field depict , I am sure they will show what a vibrant , active Town we inhabit , and how fortunate we are to have a dedicated Town Council which organises such a lovely event to for everyone to enjoy .
I have a warm appreciation for the Town Council for its work on the Carnival , but , I have no such good feelings towards the Tory-controlled District Council . This
seems determined to press ahead with spending £ 20Million of tax-payers ’ money on a big new Theatre . I have yet to see any evidence that this might be a viable project . For instance – How many Theatre companies have said that they would definitely come here if we had such a theatre ? How many people have said that they would definitely use it ? How will the money be found to support the Town Museum if the Rhodes Centre activities are all re-located ?
The District Council also seems determined to push ahead with its plans for a huge , 6-storey , car park at Northgate End , in spite of real worries about the increased Traffic congestion , and the closeness to domestic dwellings .
This same Council is now appealing for volunteers to serve on its “ Shaping Stortford Steering Group ”. This meets once a month , on a weekday , from 15.30-17.30 , so no one in full-time employment will be able to attend . What an insult to the working population ! What a farce !
The Conservative District Council ’ s attitude to people and to democracy leaves much to be desired .
Mione Goldspink
Chairman , Bishop ’ s Stortford Liberal Democrats
email : mionegoldspink @ hotmail . com

Bishop ’ s Stortford & Sawbridgeworth Labour party

The creation of the NHS 70 years ago on 5thJuly 1948 , free at the point of need , independent of personal wealth , funded from shared general taxation , was a huge improvement on what
Alex Young came before .
Pre WW2 you had to pay to see a doctor . Hospitals were run by charities or local authorities or were voluntary , like the ambulances . The state only got involved to collect and paying out limited health insurance for workers . The unemployed and non working family members were not covered apart from some maternity support . In the first year of the NHS there was a huge wave of people treating ailments they previously could not afford to . There were 17 million pairs of glasses issued in the first 3 years .
The principles of the NHS were developed during the war and included in the ‘ cradle to grave ’ welfare system proposed in the Beveridge report . Churchill blocked implementation of the report during the war on cost grounds and preference for health insurance . In the 1945 election Labour offered to implement Beveridge and continue the wartime managed economy repurposed to create full employment . Unsurprisingly people chose jobs , housing and a decent welfare state , winning a huge mandate to create the NHS .
70 years of NHS funding has followed a pattern . Every Labour government increased funding above its long run average of 4 % in real terms , where every Tory government funded below average , except Ted Heath . Funding has grown from 3.5 % of GDP when created to about 7.7 % now , an expansion common to all developed nations ’ healthcare .
Would health Insurance be better value ? Not even close . The US spend in total 17 % of GDP and still have 28 miliion people uninsured and 2 million every year declaring bankruptcy due to medical bills . It is not a case of whether
we can afford it , we can , but what kind of health service we want ?
The NHS is world class in quality of treatments , with its policy of centres of specialism . The failings are in speed of detection , such as for cancers . This is due in part to delays in getting appointments , caution in spending money on low probability patient testing and lack of public health screening programs ( whose budgets along with capital budgets are currently being raided to fund front line hospital care ). An essential fix is reversal of social care funding cuts that have filled more expensive hospital beds through lack of home support .
Alex Young
Bishop ’ s Stortford & Sawbridgeworth Labour party – Central ward . Contact me at Stortford . labour @ gmail . com
14 THE FLYER | JULY 2018
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