My Thoughts On: Roads

The original aim to build a major A/M27 trunk road all the way from Honiton to Folkestone will never be realised, but the Adur flyover at Shoreham and the Southwick tunnel were major improvements years ago which solved problems eastwards around Brighton. Whatever happens in the future these two constructions will have to be used as it will be too expensive to do any different.

Going around Worthing is quite another matter now compared to what it was 20 years ago, made all the more difficult by such developments as Lyons Farm etc. There are so many “pinch-points” (Sussex Pad lights, North Lancing’s Manor roundabout, Busticle Lane lights, Lyons Farm, Grove Lodge roundabout, Offington Roundabout) that dualling on its own will not solve and bridge/tunnel solutions for these would be hugely expensive, deeply unpopular and very disruptive.

The IKEA and housing proposals (I shall talk about these in another post) at New Monks Farm would take out the Sussex Pad pinch-point, but this may be a big and unpopular issue for those who live on Coombes Road and Lancing College. Original proposals to go up the valley behind Hoe Court and then tunnel under Barton's Farm in North Lancing might have helped (these were proposed in the 1970 and 80's) but the South Downs’ National Park and cost will make that barely worth contemplating.

This leaves the Steyning bypass/Long Furlong proposal which would cost less to dual but has problems at the west end, going through Clapham and Patching re-joining the current A27 route.

From the East Worthing and Shoreham constituency viewpoint this might be preferable but it has been talked about for a long time and adequate funding needs to be provided. And I don’t want to appear to go all “Not In My Back Yard” regarding the bypass essentially avoiding the constituency in the main, but the constituency options seem too problematic.

Regarding the other major thoroughfare in East Worthing and Shoreham, it’s hard to see what can be done for the A259 particularly at Shoreham. Rush hour traffic on the A283 link from A27 to A259 is a huge problem that may impact on proposed bypass solutions. Good public transport is important and should be a priority. School journeys clog up local roads at morning rush hour times so is there a case for staggering starting times for schools? Although how this would fit with teachers is also a consideration, and one that is often forgotten by politicians.

Whichever option is pursued, lack of popularity will be an issue, but there’s one thing for sure, something needs to be done and local politicians as well as representatives in Westminster need to help make it happen.

My Thoughts On - Fox Hunting

This might seem quite a specific topic for a blog post, but since I've been asked the following question numerous times, I just want to make it very clear:

If there was a parliamentary vote on the re-introduction of fox hunting I would vote: No.

I hope that satisfies anyone who was wondering.

My Thoughts On: Education Funding

A synopsis:

3000 headteachers from 14 counties have written to parents to highlight some issues that they may want to ask their electoral candidates about during the campaign. They include:

• £3bn cut in funding for schools.
• The difficulty attracting quality teachers.
• The difficulty recruiting in some subject areas.

They haven’t mentioned the £6bn spent, over the market rate, on potential free school sites because they are the preferred school type of this government.

They haven’t mentioned that the conditions (marking, planning, continual exam tinkering) teachers work under are driving them away, with recruitment in some subject areas not hitting targets for 5 years in a row.

Party politics is harming our children’s education and that is a major part of why I am standing as independent candidate in this election.

If you want to read the whole article, then read on.

All my thoughts:

My daughter’s school, as well as around 3000 other schools from 14 counties, have sent a letter to all their parents explaining why schools are facing financial difficulties.

The government and Department for Education are claiming two things:

1. Education funding is at record levels.
2. They are introducing a “Fairer Funding Formula” to redistribute the record funding more equally around the country.

Along with the letter there is a list of suggestions that parents can challenge parliamentary candidates with. These include, in no particular order:

• £3bn being withdrawn from the schools budget in England, which will mean a fall of around £400 per pupil per year for many school according to the banners many schools have hanging on their gate.
• Recruitment, especially in subjects such as Maths, Science, English and Computer Science is becoming problematic as schools can’t compete financially with business for these teachers’ skills.
• Class sizes increasing as the number of teachers a school can afford are falling.
• Reduction in the subjects a school can offer meaning that students find it increasingly difficult to choose an education path that enthuses them.
• Extra-curricular activities can no longer run as schools must save money.

These are all extremely valid and this issue is a major driver behind my decision to stand as an independent candidate in this election. What is not included is the following:

• The Department for Education have spent £6bn on paying over the odds for potential free school sites. These schools don’t actually exist, but £6bn has been spent because the current government like free schools. Free schools can be very good; they can also be very bad (some have been forcibly closed). Free schools have just as much chance of succeeding as any other type of school but cost, according to the National Audit Office, around double what other schools cost.
• Increased class sizes mean extra work (marking, setting tasks and so on) for teachers who are already hard to recruit. Whilst the hours may seem great (and the holidays of course) many hours outside of the perceived school day are taken up with marking, planning and preparation with this becoming an ever increasing issue as class size grow, and remember this happens for no extra pay and this eats in to family and social life.
• With diminished funds to attract staff the only teachers schools can afford are inexperienced ones because they are at the lower end of the pay scale. Inexperienced teachers can be brilliant but the general consensus in the profession is that 10 years experience produces a “good” or “outstanding” teacher.
• The continual changes in curriculum based upon nothing other than the current incumbent of Minister for Education’s preferences is demoralising for teachers and is another reason why schools are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit.
• Targets in teacher training for maths, physics and design technology have not been met in 5 years, yet figures are boosted by over-recruitment in other subjects meaning that maths, physics and design technology lessons are regularly taught by non-specialists.

Party politicians only give the version of facts that favours their party’s policy, and omit facts that show them in a poor light, therefore the general public never get the complete story. This doesn’t help anyone.

This is why we need independent candidates, if only to keep party politicians honest.

My Thoughts On: Brexit

My campaign is based around the needs of East Worthing and Shoreham but I have been asked about Brexit and ultimately the deal struck will affect the constituency.

Nailing my colours to the mast immediately, I voted to remain in the EU but Brexit was the preferred option for the majority so we must aim for the best deal we can get.

I’m not sure that Theresa May’s aggressive tactics regarding negotiations are helpful; they got Greece absolutely nowhere and the other EU countries are a lot bigger and more powerful than the UK, whether we like it or not. “Negotiation” is the key word here.

We’d be naïve to think that we can have all the benefits of being in the EU (free movement of our own people for example) without paying any membership, but I’ve no doubt a workable deal is achievable.

However, once a deal has been struck, the general public should decide whether that deal is a good one, so give them that choice again. The campaign to leave was based around a hypothetical “life after Brexit” vision dreamt up by members of the leave campaign alone, not facts as they weren’t available at the time and won’t be until Mrs May has struck her deal.

If the majority still vote to leave then fair enough.