Given the signs, I’m not hugely surprised that London Elects have decided to go with e-counting again for 2010. It’s only likely to cost the taxpayer about £1.5 million more than doing it manually… and that doesn’t seem to bother Boris, but it bothers me. The DRS release claims that, if the GLA agree to use them in 2016 too, then they will be £0.2m cheaper per election than manual counting. But based on my review of the GLA figures for manual counting, they were seriously inflated to make e-counting look more attractive (and the Electoral Commission concurred). So I challenge DRS’ claim to cost-effectiveness.
As is often the case, rather than recognising the fundamental difficulties with e-counting (or e-voting), the GLA have decided that last time’s problems were because of the supplier they chose. So they’ve dumped Indra for a joint venture between DRS Data Services and Electoral Reform Services. (Disclosure: I’m a member of the Electoral Reform Society who own Electoral Reform Services.)
These were the same two suppliers involved in running the last Scottish Parliamentary elections, which also experienced significant problems as observed by ORG. Given his background and the sensitivity of these contracts, it is interesting that Lord (Neil) Kinnock remains on the board of DRS.
ORG will be planning to observe these elections once again. I hope they are trouble-free and improve on the experience in 2008. We’ll be watching!
The UK, in my experience, is unique in how little resources, freedom and profile our municipal government receives. Control is notoriously centralised in London, though now with some devolution for the nations other than England. All the parties talk of ‘localism’, ‘decentralisation’ or ‘subsidiarity’, but will the coalition government deliver any of that?
John Perry Barlow argues that we are in an era of city states. I’m not sure I would take it quite that far, but certainly there seems to be increasing consensus that local municipalities need to be given more freedom to self determine and drive forward their futures.
Yet in reality UK local authorities have scant ability to make any major changes in direction. The vast majority of their funds are hand-outs from national government, over which they have no control. The incomes they can control are charges such as for parking and council tax. However if council tax is increased too much (over 5%) the government steps in and blocks the change. Meanwhile many of the responsibilities a council must meet are set down in law and so cannot be avoided. Fixed responsibilities (costs) against very limited fundraising options (income) is a difficult place to be.
This is made much worse, in my view, because municipal political leadership is done on the cheap. I’m sure it’s not a popular view, but I think we need to pay local politicians more.
As a councillor I represent over 11,000 people in my ward and participate in decisions affecting the 250,000 people of our city plus the many more who visit. Because Brighton & Hove City Council is a unitary authority I’m fortunate to receive £11,900 a year before tax. Some city councillors receive as little as £4,000 a year. Birmingham City Council, the largest municipal authority in Europe pays backbench councillors £16,300 a year. I don’t think that’s enough for running a city, unless we want to leave it just to the wealthy and retired.
If I look at municipal councils overseas such as in Europe, Canada and the United States we see that, particularly for cities, councillors are much better resourced and have greater influence over how their municipality runs. There may be a chicken and egg situation going on here: Until our local authorities get more power it may be hard to argue for better resourced local politicians; but without their having more time and support we may never succeed in persuading national government to give us more freedom. Without resolving this issue the full-time council officers will continue to take the lead because elected politicians lack the time and resources to contribute effectively.
Possibly some councils are too big and need fewer councillors to make this argument more palatable to local tax payers. Regardless, if we want better local government, more local innovation and more inclusive representation we need to increase the support we provide councillors. For cities and major towns we certainly need councillors to dedicate themselves full time to their area’s future. Amateur, part-time local politicians are not enough to provide high quality leadership for innovative local government.
I spent most of the day yesterday in a conference room, then spent the evening meeting Green Party members in Crawley from our Mid Sussex, Crawley and Horsham branch. Whilst waiting for a train I was astonished to discover support for my position from a Conservative minister!
To briefly recap on the story so far: Back in February 2009 a Conservative councillor filed a formal complaint that I had breached the councillor code of conduct when I put videos, already publicly available on the council’s online webcast system, onto YouTube.
A Standards Committee hearing panel consisting of two councillors (Labour & LibDem) and chaired by an independently appointed member decided that I had breached the code. Unless I apologised to Cllr Theobald (one of the councillors in the videos) and submitted to re-training I would be suspended for 6 months. I immediately appealed this decision to the First-Tier Tribunal. The Tribunal’s principal judge agreed to hear my appeal and suspended the sanctions until the hearing. The Council have decided to oppose my appeal and to hire outside counsel (costing thousands in tax payer funds) to fight me.
The hearing is due to be held mid-October. (My previous posts on this here and here)
In the meantime I have received widespread support across the city and further afield.
Finally Private Eye also covered the debacle in July as follows:
Mary Mears, the gaffe prone leader of Skidrow-on-Sea council who won a 2009 Rotten Boroughs “compassion in the crunch” award for expressing sympathy from the deck of a cruise ship for 150 staff she had just sacked (Eye 1253), has put her foot in it again.
Last year, Brighton and Hove’s Tory supremo took umbrage at the fact that Green Councillor Jason Kitcat had posted video clips of council debates on YouTube and his blog. The footage – already in the public domain via the council’s own website – mostly consisted of Kitcat giving Skidrow’s Jag driving cabinet member for the environment, Geoffrey Theobald, a hard time about communal rubbish bins, a fascinating subject close to Cllr Kitcat’s heart. Theobald was not fussed, but Mears leaned on an obedient stooge, Cllr Ted Kemble, to complain absurdly to the council’s standards committee that Kitcat had “failed to treat Cllr Theobald with respect” and had used the council’s resources “improperly for political purposes”.
More than a year later, the panel has found Kitcat guilty n the political purposes charge and decreed that he should, er, have a break in the form of a six months’ suspension unless he apologises within 28 days. Which he has no intention of doing.
Updated 14:30 9/9/10 to add information about John Hemming’s support.
This week sees an extraordinary mass by-election in Norwich. Following Adrian Ramsay doubling the Green vote in this May’s General Election, Greens are now poised to take control of the council there.
I haven’t been able to make it to Norwich this year. But I hope to see plenty of happy Norwich faces at Green Party conference this weekend! Please help out if you possibly can.
1. Tory councillors pursuing a complaint against me since February 2009 just for putting some already public council webcast video clips onto YouTube. This has taken up a huge amount of expensive council officer time. I’ve appealed and now I hear the council are going to be hiring outside counsel to oppose my appeal. More tax payer money wasted.
3. We don’t know the exact figure but paying off the former directors who have been replaced by the new ‘strategic directors’ will cost the council up to £1 million. Once again, these costs were never approved by a full council meeting.
Conservatives nationally and locally are making ideological decisions not backed by any sound evidence or even common sense. Nobody’s perfect, but seriously, how much money tax payer money can they waste?
Licensing issues continue to be a key concern for residents in Brighton city centre, as previously noted. Despite the introduction of a ‘Cumulative Impact Area’ hours continue to get later and it’s a struggle to stop a race to the bottom. I’m really pleased that Police, residents and ward councillors have been working together more closely than ever on licensing issues. Unfortunately, that’s not always enough… For example earlier this week, despite very strong objections from the Police, the council noise team, residents and myself as ward councillor, a panel of licensing councillors agreed to extend the hours and operations for Jam (formerly the Water Margin) in Middle Street. Their decision seemed to run contrary to council’s own policies and furthers the rush to later hours, as it seems only a matter of time before other venues nearby try to extend their hours to keep up with the competition. There’s more in my release.
With limited Police resources, Operation Marble (which handles night-time economy issues Fri-Sat) can only cover so many streets and, at best, runs until 4am. However more and more premises are being allowed to open beyond that, meaning people leaving clubs after the visible Police presence has gone.
The Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) policy is supposed to go a little way to balancing the problem that each license application is supposed to be taken on its own merits. Without the CIA it’s virtually impossible to refuse applications just because there’s already too many licensed venues in an area already. However it’s not enough and East Street is a good example of where a high density of venues in one small area can cause serious problems. We need to preserve Brighton & Hove’s attractiveness for visitors, but we need to do that in recognition that it has an old town centre with a significant residential population.
Working with the residents I’ve created a film of what a Friday night is like for them. Along with the launch of this film I’m calling for a summit to bring together the council, Police, venue managers and residents to find solutions. We’ve already had some small wins by just improving communications between venues and residents. I know we can build on that. Until the licensing laws get properly sorted out by Parliament, we’re going to need a lot more of this kind of joint working to ensure that the needs of businesses, visitors and residents are sensibly and successfully balanced.
2025 update: See bottom of post for my revised approach.
I cannot claim that this method for pizza is authentic, handed down from Italians over the generations. I don’t even promise that you’ll like it. But it is what works for me.
It started about five years ago when my wife, observing that I was pretty good at making bread, suggested that I try my hand at pizza. This seemed like a huge culinary leap to me and my first searches for recipes revealed a level of pizza cooking snobbery that was quite off-putting. Could a humble home oven deliver the goods?
I think it can. This method has evolved over the years as I have gleaned more hints and ideas from newspapers, cook books and dozens of food blogs. It has also been informed by pizza tasting across Europe and North America, especially New York, Rome and Venice. The glaring ommissions in my foreign pizza tasting are undoubtedly Naples and Chicago, but I have had to make do.
The only equipment I think essential to this method is a pizza stone. This is a piece of ceramic you bake the pizza on in your oven – it helps deliver a crisp crust and sufficient heat to cook the whole thing through. They are very cheap and my one from Argos has lasted years.
As for the matter of toppings – this is fraught territory. This method will get you as far as a basic Margherita. If you want to do more, then here are some ideas from the list of favoured toppings in my household:
Tinned tuna, fresh garlic, red onion and black olives
Mushrooms, peppers and onions
Marinated anchovies, onions and olives
Pepperoni or ham, peppers and mushrooms
I find less is more with pizza toppings, but that’s just my taste.
To make about 15 pizzas you will need:
Olive oil
1kg Strong white flour (Type ‘0’ is best)
3 cups of warm water (1 part boiling to 2 parts cold)
Yeast
900g Mozzarella cheese
1 x medium onion (very finely diced)
4-5 large cloves of garlic
2 x 680g bottles of Passata (sieved tomato)
Oregano (dried)
Basil (fresh)
Put the pizza stone on the top shelf of your oven and crank the oven up to maximum temperature. If you can, close all the doors and windows in your kitchen so that it stays warm.
Depending on the type of yeast you have, you may need to activate it. Follow the directions on your yeast to make enough for 1kg of flour. Splash some olive oil into a bowl so that the sides are coated.
In another bowl put in the flour less 2 cups which you can save for later. Add a splash of olive oil, salt and if you have instant yeast add it too, then mix. Now gradually add the warm water whilst stirring with a wooden spoon.
Depending on your flour you may not need all the water, or you may need a smidgeon more so that the mix is one coherent ball that’s not too wet, not too dry and it holds together.
Dust a work top with some of the reserved flour. Knead the dough using the heel of your hands to stretch it. Keep adding flour to the worktop if you find part of the dough still sticky. Give it all a good knead but don’t overdo it – just enough so that it holds together and isn’t sticky any more when you stretch it with your heel.
Form a ball with the dough and place it in the oiled bowl. Roll the dough so it’s completely coated with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave it in a warm part of the kitchen. It will need 30-45 minutes to rise sufficiently.
Meanwhile you can start making the tomato sauce. In a good sized heavy pot cover the base with olive oil and put in the onion. You want the onion to have been cut very finely so that it almost melts into the oil. Cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally so that the onion softens but doesn brown. When soft add a sprinkle of salt and crushed garlic cloves. Stir and cook for a few more minutes then add the two bottles of passata. Cook on a medium low heat until simmering, stirring occassionally. Taste and add salt as needed, you may also need to sweeten slightly depending on the passata – I like to use about a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses for sweetening. Gently cook the sauce for another five or ten minutes then turn off the heat and cover.
If you still have time you can prepare the toppings you want to use. For mozzarella, if you have bought blocks rather than the balls, slice the blocks in half lengthwise then chop into slices 5mm thick. For mozzarella balls, remove them from the water they are packed in and gently squeeze the excess liquid from them. You can then just tear them up for use on your pizzas.
Once the dough has risen you are ready to start making pizza. Take a small chunk of dough: More than a golf ball but less than a cricket ball in size. Make sure to keep the rest of the dough covered while you are working otherwise it will dry out.
Roll the dough between yours hands until it has formed an even ball shape. Then on a work surface dusted with flour begin to press the dough into a pizza shape. Depending on your energy and patience you can either do it all by hand or use a rolling pin to achieve the desired size and thinness. Be sure to keep dusting the work surface and turning the dough over so it doesn’t stick and is even.
Carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven and lay the rolled dough onto it. The stone will immediately start cooking things so you need to move quickly now!
Use a ladle to place some tomato sauce onto the dough. Use the back of the ladle to spread it across the dough. You want it to be fairly thin right up to about 1cm from the edges – depending on how much crust you like.
Now sprinkle on dried oregano, add chunks of mozzarella, some torn leaves of fresh basil and if desired, your additional toppings. Put the whole lot on the stone back into the oven.
Now is your chance to make up the next piece of dough and have a sip of wine!
Avoid opening the oven to check on things if possible. The key to a good crust is keeping the oven and the pizza stone as hot as you can, so work fast and avoid having the stone out of the oven for long.
The pizza is ready when the edge of the crust is brown and the cheese starts to bubble. You don’t want to leave it too long or the cheese hardens. Remove the pizza stone and, as long as there were no holes in your dough, the pizza should easily slide off onto a serving dish. Enjoy!
Veggie toppings on one of my home-made pizzas
2025 update:
I’ve recently re-started making pizzas using the very same pizza stone. Having watched the superb Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci I now don’t make a pizza sauce as described above, I just use Italian tomato polpa for a fresher taste, with a sprinkle of oregano if you wish. I strongly prefer the best quality fresh mozzarella you can find, with lots of fresh basil. Oven temperature is the key to good results, the hotter the better.
From the Telegraph’s one-sided report you’d think the Commission were a bunch of no-good layabouts responsible for, among other things, the terror of the fortnightly bin collection which keeps all good Tories awake at night.
No doubt mistakes have been made by the Commission at times, and they have overpaid some top staff – but which public or private sector organisation hasn’t in recent times?
In my three years on the Audit Committee at Brighton & Hove City Council I have been struck by the conscientious, helpful and detailed work Audit Commission staff have done for the council. The Commission has also helped to make the performance of public bodies more accountable, such as with the OnePlace site which barely got the chance to get going before being canned.
All the staff are experienced and understand local government – because that’s what they do. They also are public servants and take their duties seriously. It must be especially galling that these highly skilled, dedicated staff have been given the axe in a way that, without any consultation or debate, goes against all that might be called ‘good governance’.
How on earth does Pickles think we are going to get the same kind of scrutiny of our public bodies from corporate auditors, inexperienced in local government, and who failed to prevent a litany of corporate fraud and failures? Furthermore, why are private-sector corporate auditors going to be any cheaper to hire in than the Audit Commission who didn’t need to make a profit from their work?
As public bodies continue to be rocked by the cuts and upheavals being rained down on them, I don’t think that now is a sensible time to also completely uproot the key scrutiny and overview body which works to ensure services are robust and money well spent.
If Pickles wanted some genuine savings he could have simplified the framework used to audit local government services. There would be plenty of people, including those in the Commission, with good suggestions on how to streamline the audit framework. Instead, as I understand it, he’s ditched the entire framework and now the Commission too.
I’m appalled by this political meddling in what is an arms-length commission to hold local government to account. This is yet another ill-judged, ideological and unnecessary cut which will end up costing us all a lot more in the long term.
(Updated 14/8/10 to include a link to the Liberal Conspiracy, and include paragraph on saving through simplifying the audit framework.)
This evening my colleague Sven Rufus and I sent this message to Taylor Wimpey. We’ve spent too long trying to get Taylor Wimpey to engage constructively with the community and the council’s adopted planning brief for the old Royal Alex site. They haven’t taken on board a single word we’ve said.
To: David Brown – Land and Planning Director
Taylor Wimpey South West Thames
Dear David Brown
Thank you for the invitation to participate in another meeting with you and your colleagues at Taylor Wimpey.
We have met and corresponded with you, your colleagues and contractors on many occasions in the hope of finding a positive way forward for the site of the old Royal Alexandra Children’s hospital. However these discussions have never led anywhere, you consistently have refused to take on board any of our suggestions to engage with the community or prepare plans centred on sympathetic conversion of the key buildings.
The planning brief is the preferred option for the council and the community. It is very clear in its requirements. We still hope you will offer an application that meets them.
Until then, we will see you at the Planning Committee meetings, and if necessary any further appeals you decide to lodge.
Sincerely,
Cllr Jason Kitcat & Cllr Sven Rufus
Green City Councillors for Regency Ward, Brighton & Hove City Council
Jason Kitcat 