The week ahead...

Monday
On public holiday with no Council duties to perform.
Tuesday
On annual leave to look after my kids who are off school due to an in service day. I am hoping to take them along to the Slaemuir Gala Day in the morning. I have a Council pre-agenda meeting at 3.30 and a meeting of the Woodhall Task Group at 5.30.
Wednesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
12.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock
1.30 Weekly Meeting with the Chief Executive
3.00 Inverclyde Alliance Board Pre-agenda
4.00 Meeting with the Chief Executive and Councillors Ahlfeld and Wilson
5.00 Weekly meeting of the Labour Group
7.00 Meeting of Kilmacolm New Community Centre Company Board.
Thursday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
1.30 Leave work to travel to Port Glasgow
2.00 Walk round of the Kelburn estate with River Clyde Homes' staff and tenants' representatives.
Friday
At work all day with no Council duties to perform.

A spot of bother...

I see that the new Lib Dem Con coalition government is in a spot of bother following the resignation of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Lib Dem MP David Laws.

This surely must be one of the quickest ministerial resignations on record.

While I am not particularly interested in Mr Laws' private life, if he wanted to protect his privacy surely the best thing to do would have been not to claim any expenses at all. By all accounts he did not need the money.

As you would expect, Mr Laws' friends and colleagues have closed ranks behind him and are telling the world what a thoroughly decent man he is. That may well be the case, but they were not as forgiving to some other MPs who made mistakes.

And of course this case just goes to expose the hypocrisy of Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg, who portrayed his MPs as white than white when it came to claiming expenses and blamed MPs from the other two major parties for abusing the system.

Looking to the future...

We had the first meeting of Inverclyde Constituency Labour Party last night since the General Election.

While naturally disappointed at losing the election, members drew comfort from the fantastic results we had across Scotland, including in Inverclyde where David Cairns was re-elected with an increased majority.

We nevertheless recognise the challenges that lie ahead.

We need to ensure that we are an effective opposition to the coalition government at Westminster and under our new leadership win back voters in those areas of England where we lost seats to the Tories.

We need to begin our campaign now to win next year's Scottish Parliament elections and ensure that as the biggest party we have the opportunity to form an administration.

We have to use the Scottish Parliament campaign as a launch pad for the 2012 Council elections, where we aim to retain control of the Council.

Despite our overwhelming victory in Inverclyde on 6 May, we cannot afford to be complacent.

We will need to work very hard over the next two years if we are to win these elections.

A pleasing aspect from the General Election is that we have recruited a number of new members who want to play their part in convincing local voters of the importance of electing a Labour MSP and Labour Councillors.

Shortly after I joined the Labour Party in 1983 we suffered a crushing defeat at that year's General Election. The mood in the party at that time was quite despondent as we knew from the scale of the defeat that it would be a long time before we would be back in power, and so it proved.

In 2010 I believe we have reason to be a bit more optimistic about what lies ahead.

Green light for new Arts Guild

With the award of a grant of £378,000 from the Big Lottery the funding package is now in place to allow work to start on the new £9m Arts Guild Theatre at Greenock's East India Harbour within a matter of weeks.

When my Group took control of the Council in May 2007 we were determined to make this project happen. This has required a substantial financial commitment of £2.5m, a not inconsiderable sum in these days of financial austerity.

We were prepared to make this commitment not just because the new theatre will hopefully act as a catalyst for the redevelopment of this area of our waterfront but also because we believe that the promotion of the arts is an important part of our strategy for the social and economic regeneration of Inverclyde, helping to enrich the lives of residents.

I am very much looking forward to the opening of the new theatre in 2012.

Comet Festival Gets Go Ahead

I am pleased to report that the Council today approved funding of £13,000 for the 2010 Comet Festival Gala Day, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 26 June.

Council Officers having been working with the newly reconstituted Comet Festival Committee on planning the gala day and the confirmation of this funding from the Council means that they can now get on with the job of delivering a fun filled event that the whole community can enjoy.

Congratulations...

Congratulations to Head Teacher, Stephen Parsons, and his staff at St Stephen's High School on receiving a good report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe).

As a Ward Councillor and a parent, I am delighted that the school has received such a positive report.

With Port Glasgow High School having received a similarly good report last year I believe that both schools have a solid foundation on which to build further improvement as they move towards working in closer partnership in the new shared campus.

I am confident that a bright future lies ahead for secondary education in Port Glasgow.

The week ahead...

A varied week ahead:

Monday
7.00 Start work in Glasgow
1.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock (stopping off at my optician's in Port Glasgow for a check up on the way)
3.00 Meeting with Inverclyde Women's Aid
4.00 Meeting with Inverclyde Council on Disability
5.00 Meeting of the Council's Strategic Leadership Forum
Tuesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
12.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock
1.30 Meeting of the Regeneration Committee (this was postponed from 6 May due to the General Election being held that day)
3.00 Chairing a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee
6.30 Surgery in Kilmacolm Community Centre
7.30 Meeting of Kilmacolm Community Council
Wednesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
1.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock
2.30 Weekly meeting with Chief Executive
4.00 Meeting of Peter Stanton Memorial Trust
6.00 Meeting of St Michael's Primary School Parent Council
Thursday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
3.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock
4.30 Reception for Grand Central Savings
5.00 Meeting with Councillor Ronnie Ahlfeld
Friday
On public holiday from work but not from politics. In the morning I am due to be in Edinburgh for a COSLA Leaders' meeting; in the afternoon I am meeting with my Labour colleagues David Cairns, Duncan McNeil and Trish Godman; and in the evening I have a meeting of Inverclyde Constituency Labour Party.

Fires in the Clune Park area

As a ward Councillor, I am naturally very concerned by the story in yesterday's Greenock Telegraph on the regular fire raising taking place in the Clune Park area. Residents should not have to live with this very real threat to their safety.

This problem reinforces the need for the Council and the Scottish Government to reach an early agreement on the long-term strategy for Clune Park.

It is also highlights the need for the Council, Police, Fire and Rescue, landlords and local residents to work together to make the area safer in the meantime. I have asked Council officers to invite a representative of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue along to the next meeting of the Clune Park Task Group on 14 June, so that we can discuss what further action needs to be taken.

A busy evening...

At 6.00 tonight I attended a meeting of the re-established Comet Festival Group to hear about their plans for a gala day on Saturday 26 June and to discuss how we can find the funding to support their plans.

At 7.00 I attended a meeting of the Slaemuir Tenants' and Residents' Association, where the main topic of discussion was anti-social behaviour, with a panel of experts drawn from the Council, River Clyde Homes and Strathclyde Police.

It was pleasing for me to see a good turnout of people at both meetings who are genuinely interested in what is going on in their community and are prepared to stand up to be counted.

Where was the Opposition?

Over the last year or so we have heard from local SNP and Lib Dem politicians how important it is that the Council does something to address the flooding problems in the area.

Today we had a special meeting of the Council's Safe, Sustainable Communities Committee to consider early action proposals from officers. The Opposition groups are entitled to five members on the Committee and the Administration six. While the Administration was able field six members for this important meeting there were no Opposition members present at all.

While I am sure that some Opposition members had legitimate reasons for their absence, the Council allows them to nominate substitutes from within their own group to stand in for them.

The fact that not one Opposition member turned up speaks for itself.

The quorum for a committee is six members, so if only five Administration members had turned up the meeting would have had to be postponed and the proposals within the report delayed.

So much for dealing with flooding being a high priority for the SNP and Lib Dems!

Labour Group Annual General Meeting

I am pleased to say that I was unanimously re-elected as Leader at tonight's Labour Group Annual General Meeting. It is good to know that I retain the full confidence of my colleagues.

As well as electing our group officers, the AGM is an opportunity to look back on the past year and reflect on our achievements. In his report the group chair, Joe McIlwee, outlined a long list of achievements of which I think we can be rightly proud.

We are clear however that our job is not done. There is much more we want to achieve in the remaining two years of this Council and many challenges we will have to face, not least the impending reductions in public expenditure. We will face these challenges as a united group with a clear sense of purpose and a common set of values.

Other office bearers elected at the AGM were:

Depute Leader - Iain McKenzie

Chair - Joe McIlwee

Vice- Chair - Robert Moran

Secretary - Jim Clocherty

Update on Parklea redevelopment

As regular visitors to Parklea playing fields will know, work is well underway on the first 3G pitch, which is costing £680,000. Completion was to be at the end of May but this has been delayed a few weeks due to inclement weather at the start of the contract. The pitch should however be fully operational by the end of June.

Design work is well advanced on the new community stadium (which will provide a home for Port Glasgow Juniors) and changing pavilion. Before work can commence on the stadium a new car park and road infrastructure have to be constructed. Work should start on the car park and road this summer.

This summer should also see work on upgrading the drainage of 4 of the 8 grass pitches. These pitches will be out of action until July 2011. Work on the remaining 4 grass pitches will be carried out in summer 2011 and pitches available for use a year later.

This is a very exciting project and I am pleased that things are moving forward.

The total investment being made by the Council in Parklea is £6.4m.

The week ahead...

A bit of a quieter week Council wise but a busy one at work as I have my auditors in:

Monday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
3.00 Leave work to travel to Port Glasgow
3.30 Meeting with Bardrainney Tenants' and Residents' Association
5.30 Meeting of the Gibshill Task Group
Tuesday
At work all day with a surgery in the evening at St Francis Primary School from 6.00 to 7.00
Wednesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
12.00 Leave work to travel to Greenock
1.00 Meeting with Officers
2.30 Weekly meeting with the Chief Executive
4.00 Special meeting of the Safe, Sustainable Communities Committee to discuss the Flood Action Plan
4.30 Weekly meeting of the Administration Group
5.30 Labour Group Annual General Meeting
Thursday
At work all day again with meetings of the Comet Festival Group and Slaemuir Tenants' and Residents' Association in the evening
Friday
Another full day at work

Disillusioned by the Lib Dems?

In the last few days record numbers of people have joined Labour. Many former Lib Dem supporters are shocked at their party joining forces with the Tories.

If you are one of those disillusioned with the Lib Dems why not think about joining the Labour Party?

Details of how to join can be found at www.scottishlabour.org.uk

Lib Dem Con...

So we have a new government - a Lib Dem Conservative coalition - with David Cameron promising a "historic and seismic" shift in British politics.

The coalition agreement between the two parties - it is hard to believe that it is less than a week since the Tories were telling us that a hung Parliament would be a disaster for the country - commits them to reforming the political system, including:

A referendum on the Alternative Vote system for general elections (to try to prevent any single party getting an over all majority ever again) ;

Fixed-term Parliaments (to try to ensure that the Coalition remains in power for the next five years), with the next election in May 2015 (in the same month and possibly on the same day as the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections - I wonder who had that bright idea?);

55% of MPs required to bring a government down in a confidence vote (to ensure that the Tories and Lib Dems stay in power for the full 5 years) rather than the current position of a simple majority of MPs;

A cut in number of MPs and equal size constituencies (to reduce the number of Labour MPs).

Isn't it great to have two parties in government who are so committed to putting the interests of the country before their own self interest?

A Statesman to the end...

I was greatly impressed, although not surprised, by the dignified and statesman like way that Gordon Brown announced his resignation as Prime Minister tonight. I believe that he can be justifiably proud of the service that he has given to our country and the Labour Party.

While Gordon may have failed in leading Labour to a fourth term, personally I believe that to deny the Tories an over all majority was a remarkable achievement in the circumstances.

I wish him and his family all the best for the future.

We live in interesting times...

Just when it was looking like the Tories were about to strike a deal with the Lib Dems we find that the Lib Dems were going behind their backs and speaking to Labour. As most people in politics know, you simply cannot trust the Lib Dems.

Personally I am very disappointed that Gordon Brown is stepping down as the Leader of the Labour Party. I genuinely believe that he is the politician most able to lead the country's recovery from the current world-wide economic recession.

I accept however that Gordon has made his decision because he believes it is in the best interests of the country.

Setting aside my distrust of the Lib Dems, I have mixed feelings about any potential Labour coalition with the Lib Dems.

It could be argued that such a coalition would be in the best interests of the country as it would stop the Tories getting back into power. Equally it could be argued that it would be in the Labour Party's long-term political interests to go into opposition and allow the Tories and Lib Dems to run the country in the hope that they make a mess of it, the coalition falls apart and the country swings back to Labour at a subsequent election.

It is anybody's guess how this will all pan out.

My sneaking suspicion is that the Lib Dems and Tories will end up doing a deal.

In the meantime we mere mortal Councillors have to get on with our normal business, which in my case today meant chairing the Policy & Resources Committee pre-agenda and attending Port Glasgow High School Parent Council.

The week ahead...

It is back to normal this week as we wait for our political leaders to form a government (I wonder what our defeated Lib Dem candidate thinks of the prospect of his party going into coalition with the Tories?):

Monday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
2.00 Leave work to travel to Greenock
3.30 Policy & Resources Pre-agenda meeting
6.30 Meeting of Port Glasgow High School Parent Council
Tuesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
2.00 Leave work to travel to Greenock
3.00 Special meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee
4.00 Meeting of the Education & Lifelong Learning Committee
7.00 Meeting of St Stephen's High School Parent Council
Wednesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
1.00 Leave work to travel to Greenock
2.00 Meeting of the Central Gourock Working Group
2.30 Weekly meeting with the Chief Executive
4.30 Weekly meeting of Administration Group
5.30 Weekly meeting of Labour Group
Thursday
At work all day. In the evening I am due to attend a meeting of the Board of Kilmacolm New Community Centre Company.
Friday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
1.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock
2.30 Meeting with SPT
4.00 Members' briefing on Flood Action Plan

Its not over until its over

It was a very long and tiring day yesterday (and this morning) but ultimately successful locally with our candidate David Cairns being re-elected with an increased majority. It was also pleasing to see the excellent results from across Scotland.

Nationally things obviously did not go as well, which was not unexpected.

Personally I think that given the circumstances, to have deprived the Tories of an over all majority was a remarkable achievement.

The biggest surprise of the election was the poor showing of the Lib Dems given their standing in the opinion polls. The Clegg bubble was well and truly burst.

His ego however is firmly in tact. Having just had a very disappointing night you would have thought he would have shown a degree of humility.

Not our man Clegg. He simply ignores constitutional convention and decides that David Cameron should be given the opportunity to form a government despite the fact that we still have a Prime Minister.

I did warn my colleagues that if there was a hung Parliament the Lib Dems were more likely to do a deal with the Tories than they were with us.

It will be interesting to see in the coming days just how firm the Lib Dem commitment to electoral reform really is.

Watch this space.

Lib Dem Candidate at it again...

I see that our Lib Dem candidate is at it again, attacking the Labour led Council Administration in today's Greenock Telegraph for only providing funding for 5 additional teachers in our recent budget proposals.

How many times do I have to remind this young man that his Lib Dem colleagues on the Council voted against this funding for additional teachers and included no funding in their own budget proposals for increasing teacher numbers?

Lib Dems saying one thing and doing another. Nothing new there then.

Our Lib Dem candidate of course would have us believe that if Nick Clegg is swept into power at Westminster we will see increased teacher numbers in Inverclyde schools.

Not withstanding the fact that the Lib Dems are telling us that public expenditure will have to be cut, as we all know Education is a devolved matter and therefore any decisions on teacher numbers will be made by the Scottish Government and individual Councils.

If the Lib Dem candidate is interested in influencing education policy in Scotland he is clearly standing at the wrong election.

The week ahead...

A crucial week:

Monday
A Public Holiday but no rest for the wicked. I will need to find some time to cut my grass (weather permitting) in between leaflet drops.
Tuesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
1.00 Leave work to travel to Port Glasgow
1.30 Meeting with the Council's More Choices More Chances team
3.00 Meeting of the Council's Safe, Sustainable Communities Committee
6.30 Campaigning
Wednesday
7.30 Start work in Glasgow
3.30 Leave work to travel to Greenock
4.30 Weekly meeting of the Administration Group
5.30 Weekly meeting of the Labour Group
6.30 Last minute campaigning
Thursday
Decision day. I have taken a day's annual leave from work to put my services at the disposal of our election agent. As usual, it will be a very long day with the polling stations open from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. I will be attending the Count in Greenock's Waterfront Leisure Complex and hoping for the right result (and an early declaration!).
Friday
At work all day, although when I start will depend on when I get to bed the night before.

"It's the economy, stupid"

It has been interesting during the election campaign watching the Tories and the Lib Dems trying to blame Labour, and Gordon Brown in particular, for the economic challenges the country faces. Anyone following the current crisis afflicting Greece knows that this is absolute nonsense.

The whole world has been affected by economic fall out from the banking crisis that started in the United States and many countries have suffered much worse than the UK. This is not an accident but is a direct result of action taken by the Labour Government led by Gordon Brown.

The recovery however is very fragile and the wrong decisions taken now could send the UK back into recession.

Do we really want a novice like George Osborne - who is he I hear you ask - running our economy?

Unlike some, I have a long memory. I can remember what Thatcherite economic policies did to working class communities across our country in the 1980s and 1990s.

That is why I will be voting Labour on Thursday.

Into the last lap...

After a late night at the Provost's annual charity ball (a great night was had by all and a tremendous sum raised), I was up early this morning to go leafleting in central Greenock.

With the general election having become more like a presidential campaign, we can be forgiven for forgetting that we actually live in a parliamentary democracy and that on Thursday we are voting to elect the 646 people who will serve in the House of Commons for the next 4 or 5 years.

We are being told by the Lib Dems, and some of the so called liberal press, that the election is now a two horse race between David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

What utter nonsense.

Even on the most optimistic opinion polls for the Lib Dems, they have no chance of winning the most seats in the House of Commons never mind an overall majority.

It is certainly the case that on the basis of the opinion polls Labour faces an uphill struggle.

That really should not come as a surprise.

We have just come to the end of the first ever 3 term Labour government: a fourth term was always going to be a huge challenge, given some of the mistakes we have made over the last 13 years, the MPs' expenses scandal and the current world economic turmoil.

The fact that the Tories are not running away with the election clearly indicates that the majority of voters remain to be convinced that David Cameron's new look Conservative Party really is fundamentally different from the party that was roundly rejected in 1997 after 18 years in power.

While there is no doubt that Labour Governments have made a number of mistakes over the last 13 years they have also done much to improve the quality of life of many people in our country. Gordon Brown has played a huge part in this and, in my opinion, in terms of substance is head and shoulders above both Cameron and Clegg.

That having been said, I come back to the point I made earlier: the only people voting for Brown, Cameron and Clegg on Thursday will be in their respective constituencies.

On Thursday we will be voting for who should be the MP for Inverclyde.

Fortunately, in terms of style, substance and any other quality you care to think of, our Labour candidate is head and shoulders above any of the others.