BNP ODDS TO WIN A SEAT -
888sport - 11/4
BETFRED - 3/1
BLUESQ - 11/4
William HILL - 12/5
BNP ODDS TO NOT WIN A SEAT
888sport - 1/4
BETFRED - 2/9
BLUESQ - 1/4
William HILL - 3/10
Friday, 2 April 2010
VOTE MATCH: GENERAL ELECTION 2010
This is quite an interesting interactive piece in todays on-line Telegraph:
Vote Match is a guide which helps you determine your preference for the 2010 UK General Election by matching your views on the issues most important to you with each political party's policies.
Click on here and give it a try:
Vote Match is a guide which helps you determine your preference for the 2010 UK General Election by matching your views on the issues most important to you with each political party's policies.
Click on here and give it a try:
SOME INTERESTING NUMBERS
THE LATEST TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE BULLETIN ON COUNCIL SALARIES ABOVE £100,000
At least 1,250 council staff nationwide get that salary or more. These are NOT elected councillors but paid staff. Our share of that in Wigan is:
Joyce Redfearn, Chief Executive; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £196,268; 2008-2009 £200,891; increase of 2.4%.
David Smith, Executive Director;Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £159,733; 2008-2009 £147,493; DECREASE of 7.7%.
Bernard Walker, Executive Director; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £150,035; 2008-2009 £137,101; DECREASE of 8.6%.
Sue Johnson, Deputy Chief Executive; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £108,265; 2008-2009 £136,725; increase of 26.3%
Martin Kimber, Executive Director; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £114,385; 2008-2009 £133,907; increase of 17.1%.
Nick Hudson, Executive Director; Total Remuneration 2008-2009 £125,531.
I'm making no comments about those salary levels (and some of the increases) other than to say that if you NEED more than £52,000/year (£1,000/week) then in my personal opinion you must have a lifestyle problem. That's just my personal opinion.
Having said that, and speaking as an outsider (Welsh) who has lived within the jurisdiction of 14 different councils in my life, and Wigan for some six years now, Wigan is one of the two best councils (the other exceptionally good one was High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire) I've experienced.
Wigan is Labour is Labour is Labour, and has been seemingly forever. High Wycombe is Tory is Tory is Tory and has been seemingly forever. I wouldn't say one was first best and the other second best - they are just the two best.
I won't name the worst council I've experienced, but will say the first three years there it was Labour-controlled, and the second three years it was Tory-controlled. It was equally bad in both cases.
From what I've just written I've arrived at the conclusion that what decides whether you have a good council or a bad council does NOT depend on the colour of the political control, but rather the quality of the paid staff (all the paid staff, not just the highly paid staff). So maybe the salaries listed above are justified? I don't know other than my personal comment above about needing more than £52,000/year. Make your own judgements, the comment column here is available.
However, I will describe an observation I've made over the past few years: the people who complain the most about the council seem to be people who've never lived within the jurisdiction of any other council. So how can you know the council is bad or good or average if you've nothing to compare it against? If you do complain about the effectiveness of the council, please try and imagine how bad a council can be, if you think Wigan's bad.
I'll probably get it in the neck for saying those things ... but they are what I think, and a can say nothing different.
Those numbers were awfully big though, weren't they!
Morg
.
At least 1,250 council staff nationwide get that salary or more. These are NOT elected councillors but paid staff. Our share of that in Wigan is:
Joyce Redfearn, Chief Executive; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £196,268; 2008-2009 £200,891; increase of 2.4%.
David Smith, Executive Director;Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £159,733; 2008-2009 £147,493; DECREASE of 7.7%.
Bernard Walker, Executive Director; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £150,035; 2008-2009 £137,101; DECREASE of 8.6%.
Sue Johnson, Deputy Chief Executive; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £108,265; 2008-2009 £136,725; increase of 26.3%
Martin Kimber, Executive Director; Total Remuneration 2007-2008 £114,385; 2008-2009 £133,907; increase of 17.1%.
Nick Hudson, Executive Director; Total Remuneration 2008-2009 £125,531.
I'm making no comments about those salary levels (and some of the increases) other than to say that if you NEED more than £52,000/year (£1,000/week) then in my personal opinion you must have a lifestyle problem. That's just my personal opinion.
Having said that, and speaking as an outsider (Welsh) who has lived within the jurisdiction of 14 different councils in my life, and Wigan for some six years now, Wigan is one of the two best councils (the other exceptionally good one was High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire) I've experienced.
Wigan is Labour is Labour is Labour, and has been seemingly forever. High Wycombe is Tory is Tory is Tory and has been seemingly forever. I wouldn't say one was first best and the other second best - they are just the two best.
I won't name the worst council I've experienced, but will say the first three years there it was Labour-controlled, and the second three years it was Tory-controlled. It was equally bad in both cases.
From what I've just written I've arrived at the conclusion that what decides whether you have a good council or a bad council does NOT depend on the colour of the political control, but rather the quality of the paid staff (all the paid staff, not just the highly paid staff). So maybe the salaries listed above are justified? I don't know other than my personal comment above about needing more than £52,000/year. Make your own judgements, the comment column here is available.
However, I will describe an observation I've made over the past few years: the people who complain the most about the council seem to be people who've never lived within the jurisdiction of any other council. So how can you know the council is bad or good or average if you've nothing to compare it against? If you do complain about the effectiveness of the council, please try and imagine how bad a council can be, if you think Wigan's bad.
I'll probably get it in the neck for saying those things ... but they are what I think, and a can say nothing different.
Those numbers were awfully big though, weren't they!
Morg
.
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