I very much appreciate Guy as being one of very few elected councillors who bother to engage with the community. And it is just a few - too few. But compared to many others, he makes a good effort. There are just a few others who engage with people and not so easy to use this forum, but they do their bit. But others show utter contempt and disrespect for their wards inhabitants. Too many secret meetings, avoidance of communication,  other than through a press office underline that.  This is not Russia or America or MI5. That does not mean Guy is right every time, or has to be agreed with. Same as with Mr Todd. - or anyone else. It is after all a forum - a melting pot of opinions, ideas and revelations. No-one is an expert, but we are not fools either. Guy does tend to stay neutral or follow the party line a little too much and avoid some of the trickier issues.  Which I'm sure he has a view on but is prevented, probably by the party line or by protocols- which are sometimes an easy get out and rather contradictory in their application. But with Labour now a most confused party, it's logo ought to be the old British Rail one. Known in the industry as the 'Arrows of Indecision'. On second thoughts, that would be a more appropriate logo for British Politics and governance full stop. It's impossible to see how the changes to recycling make any difference. The same stuff got chucked out then, the same stuff gets chucked out now. The trucks are too large and slow, they are not energy efficient, they are not time and motion efficient. The Wheelie Bins have slowed collections down massively, and thus upped energy consumption and hourage. The street cleaning has descended into farce, the organisation improvements have not improved anything. More vehicles are now used. Rats are becoming more visible, detritus more common, the bins still litter streets en masse for whole days and nights. Many stink to high heaven.  Nice.  And stuff gets dumped everywhere from mattresses to babies nappies.  Lovely. Recycling Bags are cheap, easy, stowable and as durable as boxes - The boxes become brittle very quickly when weathered and will need regular replacement.. Shattered plastic is as sharp & dangerous as glass. A worn out bag a nuisance, but not dangerous. As mentioned years back, A black sack placed into a box is as effective as a wheelie bin and takes just seconds to collect.  If collected on schedule, it should not be in situ for more than a few hours. It's still the few who chuck out far too much then, who chuck out far too much now.  What's going to change that? Having them shot? The sheer absence of common sense and practicality is what ends up costing. And to top it all, one recycling centre for a massive borough that is closed to council tax paying residents 5 days a week. In what is one of the filthiest boroughs in London. How is that a public amenity? Either way, this cannot be saving money. The road resurfacing program seems to have got delayed in the traffic, the quality of works as patchy as a pothole repair. The parks are as tatty as ever. How councillors fall for such idiotic proposals with no real facts or figures is indicative of how so many council services end up being second rate and falling short of what they could be. How they sign up to contracts which again and again fall short of a full and flexible service is dire. Money gets wasted in the brain numbing bureaucracy, feasibility studies, bad research and data and a complete lack of understanding of the local districts mixed with indifference and politics. And seldom ever gets done properly. Fundamental flaws get repeated and then attempts are made to dogmatically adhere to flawed policies. Woe betide a councillor who dares to question their hierarchies egos. It does not need money to put things right, it does need enough common sense and clarity to understand the practicalities and not just a spreadsheet. But where is the opposition on all this from inappropriate developments to farcical recycling? Where are the clear policies? The full alternatives? The clear opposition with clear ideas?

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 07:31:00	John Todd
Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 08:14:00	Paul Fisher
Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 11:45:00	Vanessa Smith
Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 12:12:00	Sarah Felstead
Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 12:55:00	Mick Brent
Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 09:08:00	Guy Lambert
Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 11:47:00	Sarah Felstead
Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 11:58:00	Pat Kingham
Re:Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 12:24:00	Ian Fillingham
Re:Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 13:41:00	Alex Shpinkov
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 13:58:00	Vanessa Smith
Government bashes councils	20/03/17 16:43:00	Guy Lambert
Re:Government bashes councils	20/03/17 21:47:00	Alex Shpinkov
Re:Re:Government bashes councils	20/03/17 21:50:00	Guy Lambert
Re:Re:Re:Government bashes councils	22/03/17 09:09:00	Alex Shpinkov
Re:Re:Re:Re:Government bashes councils	22/03/17 10:28:00	Guy Lambert
Re:Re:Re:Government bashes councils	24/03/17 10:14:00	Mark Skuse
Re:Re:Re:Re:Government bashes councils	24/03/17 10:22:00	Steve Taylor
Re:Re:Re:Re:Government bashes councils	24/03/17 17:57:00	Guy Lambert
Re:Government bashes councils	22/03/17 13:59:00	Steve Taylor
Re:Government bashes councils	22/03/17 14:14:00	Steve Taylor
Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	24/03/17 08:24:00	Sarah Felstead
Re:Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	24/03/17 09:00:00	Steve Taylor
Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	22/03/17 13:54:00	Steve Taylor
Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 13:58:00	Phil Andrews
Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 15:12:00	Raymond Havelock
Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 17:58:00	Raymond Havelock
Re:Re:Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	20/03/17 19:28:00	James Homer
Labour bash Brentford	21/03/17 07:43:00	John Todd
Re:Labour bash Brentford	21/03/17 09:31:00	Raymond Havelock
Re:Re:Labour bash Brentford	21/03/17 09:43:00	Vanessa Smith
Re:Labour bash Brentford	22/03/17 14:04:00	Steve Taylor

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