In Central - Local Election
I hope people in Central care enough about Residents Parking to get me in as a councillor.
If I become a councillor in Central I will insist that Residents parking is sorted out.
The fact that I got elected would give me enough weight to ask the department of Transport to review the legality of the CPZ in Swindon.
I'd review the Digital City deal and definitely check up on its legality and if there has been any illegal.
I think Hitesh Patel has some questions to answer.
In Swindon south -General Election
I hope to get enough votes to raise eyebrows in the general election (and get my deposit back :¬).
I think there is a chance if people are reading up on the election online.
Swindon still seems to be undecided and if I could get people to be aware that I am standing I might have a chance.
It seems to me as if I'm being boycotted in the normal media in Swindon and by the BBC.
Only the 3 main parties get coverage.
The Swindon Pradvadvertiser has never asked me about my opinions and I had to request a few times that they add me on their web site.
I wasn't invited to the Greendown school husting either and nor have I been invited to a single husting in Swindon.
As an MP, I could hardly do any worse than other MPs and would love to stand up in the House of Commons and tell them that they talk a load of bollocks!
If I was elected, it would make Swindon more visible politically.
I can be a pain in the neck when I am trying to find something out or solve a problem.
If I get elected, I would take the seat, and after a year I would then ask for a Town poll or a poll on TalkSwindon.
If I got a negative result, then I'd I’d step down.
People could then have another go at voting without having to register their protest.
I'd also not need the full MP wage and I'm sure I could give £20k of it to Swindon charities.
People have asked me about:
- Defence and Trident.
Well I think paying to replace Trident when Obama is pushing for disarming is bit daft.
Getting rid of Trident when you are about to negotiate disarming is also daft.
I think the money for a replacement is better spent on equipment for the part of our military that is in the firing line.
Mind you I do think nuclear subs are the only safe and practical use of nuclear power.
A meltdown in a sub doesn't produce the same catastrophic results and is less likely as submariners know their lives depend on it being safe.
The practical benefit of near limitless power outweighs the negative sides in submarines.
- Housing.
I was against building on the Front Garden, but there seems to be a hard core part to SBC that will steam roll over anyone who protests.
It cost Terry King a lot emotionally and financially. Private people can't stand against councils with a lot of support.
I personally am against any more new housing in Swindon Town. I like Swindon as a big Town, but feel it's losing some of its charm as a Town.
Housing prices in Swindon used to be just below the national average.. now they are well below because I feel there is more supply than demand.
There should be more housing built but it should be social housing to replace the social ghettos Swindon has.
As an eco person, I would love SBC to be one of the first councils to partner with Affresol (http://www.affresol.com/) to provide CODE 5 - Low Cost & Social Housing for people on low incomes.
I'm sure some plots could be made available on the Front Garden or perhaps in places where the 'New Swindon' has created open spaces in central Swindon.
If elected I'd initiate contact and try to get something in place so new social housing for low earning families could be created.
Remember SBC found a forgotten account with £2 million which came from selling off Swindon’s existing social housing. Affresol can build a 3 bedroom “code 5” house for £40k excl. land costs.
These houses are as green, modern and Eco friendly as anything else I've read about.
-Parking
This isn't just a local issue. It's a national scam where councils fleece people living in the core of the town.
Many people have been clamped by private companies. Recently a friend of mine went to check out Buyology near Tesco's to find it closed.
He walked to Tesco’s to do a quick shop and came back to find he was being clamped. Cost £120 and he had no way to complain or dispute it.
Is that right? Of course not, but do politicians ever take action to retract laws that enable private 'pirate' companies like this?
I would chase this and other parking stupidities.
According to the decriminalisation of parking law, any income from parking offences are to be used on road improvement etc and not general council spending.
I don't believe this is happening. Look at the number of potholes in the roads. SBC say they only get £163,000 in income from residents parking and PCN fines.
I do not believe that is correct and will pursue this further. Milton Keynes gets ~£5.8 million in income from PCN fines and residential parking.
-Climate change: lies or truth?
Why care if its natural or human engineered? The truth is we are polluting our own environment.
Does anyone remember DDT or Alkyl mercury compounds? Often used as pesticides before. Now they are illegal.
How many have heard of the Plastic Rubbish Patch in the Atlantic where there is 3 times the amount of plastic to algae?
Have people forgotten about acid rain, or the ever decreasing Rain Forrest?
What about the fact that algae in the seas of the world are in decline? That fish stocks are lower than ever.
People are now being advised to be careful eating fish due to heavy metal content.
What about the 'Runoff' problem where rain simply runs off impermeable areas into drains, rivers and never sinks into the ground and groundwater.
It washes off oils and other pollutants into the sea.
Residents’ parking is pushing people to pave over their gardens, creating neighbour disputes and an antisocial atmosphere.
To me it doesn't matter about climate change the main danger is apathy and lack of interest in out environment.
I admire Green Peace, but wonder where they have been the last decade.
People need to wake up and get interested in their own future and that of their children and grandchildren.
The Government and education need to play a big role in this.
-Nuclear Power
Chernobyl => Belarus children
3 mile Island,
and our own Windscale fire all tell you that Nuclear is not worth the risk or the cost!
No, no, and no!
All 3 of these 'accidents' were due to human error and cooling failures.
I have been in a nuclear test reactor on a school trip in Norway.
It's amazing how simple they are; even a boy scout can build one. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn)
- Binge Drinking
Fleet Street and part of Swindon seems reserved for clubs and pubs. All the trouble starts here and then spreads out to nearby residential areas,
where people can park for free after 10pm.
Designated drivers and their often drunk comrades wander back to their cars after the clubs close and generally leave without too much nuisance.
Alas a few don't.
Why does SBC have to charge for night time parking in the town centre where there are CCTV cameras to record drunken vandals?
There would be less trouble and I believe more people would choose not to drink if they could park for a reasonable price or for free in town.
-Immigration
Why did the UK not take up the same EU internal immigration controls like most of the other EU states?
Enough said. They dropped the ball on that and that's another fine mess they have gotten us into! :-P
-Fountain, Millennium clock what's the difference?
Not much. I think the Wall is in the wrong place just like that clock was. It would be better placed in the square near the TV big screen.
I prefer the council left the junction open and clear of clutter so entertainers and acts could make Swindon a happier place to shop.
I do like the fountain sculpture better than the tree/clock thing (glad it’s gone), but it’s sited all wrong and is in the way.
Has anyone tried to sit in the fancy street furniture? Does anyone road test these things?
How about you?
If you want me to comment on anything else please email me
karstenNOSPAM@swindon.org.uk
Karsten Evans Ind. Protest Vote
http://www.swindon.org.uk/election/never_mind_the_bollocks_poster.jpg