The Russell Review

Why do I want to be a Councillor?

I have been a Town Councillor for 9 years, which has been a great apprenticeship for becoming a District Councillor. This year I have been Harpenden`s Town Mayor. I now feel I can bring to the wider district in St Albans the benefit of all the experience and expertise that I have gained from having lived and traded in this area for 45 years.

Things some not in my campaign literature

1. Being a past President of the St Albans Chamber of Commerce I have a long association with the commercial and in particular the retail sector in the City Centre in St Albans. Having been Chairman of Harpenden`s Chamber of Commerce and having run a well known retail store in Harpenden. I have a sound knowledge of both the St Albans and Harpenden`s trading centres. I was also a founder member of Harpenden First. This organisation promoted one of the most popular community events not only in Harpenden but in the whole of the County, the annual Christmas Carnival. Now run by several volunteers with Town Council support a dedicated Committee can claim the success of attracting around 14,000 people into Harpenden`s town centre on the Carnival day.
2. In recent years I have been a part time lecturer and tutor at Barnfield College in Luton teaching Accounting and Business Studies and writing and teaching a course in how to start a business.  In addition I became an adviser at The St Albans Enterprise Agency helping many to start their own business.
3. I have been very much involved in the widest range of local community activities throughout the whole district.  As well as organising town centre events I have been involved with much local charity fund raising.  Noted for my determination to complete all the tasks set for me or by myself I have had the stamina to run 3 London Marathons and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro raising around £30K.  Despite such activities being curtailed after an accident this has not held back a determination to continue battling on in any way I can.

Indeed the disability I now have, has given me a greater insight in to the needs of the disabled.

What difference can I make?

For a large portion of my life I ran a very popular retail store (C & A The Ironmongers) in the centre of Harpenden.  Jokingly referred to by some as “Arkwright – open all hours”, I became well known and trusted in the town.  Also being keenly interested in politics, having graduated several years ago at the LSE, a main focus for me has been doing everything that I can for keeping our town centres vibrant and the hub of our communities. That focus has not just been in Harpenden.  I am fully conversant with what happens and is needed in St Albans, ( St. Peters Street in particular)  having been a President of the St Albans Chamber of Commerce and am still a Director. Further having made studies in town centre management I have the experience and expertise to do much to achieve the goals of keeping our centres vibrant.

What are my top three things that I like in the District?

1. In Harpenden the care and attention given to its magnificent common for everyone to see especially approaching from the south.
2.  The magnificent Cathedral and its historic surrounds. The City has a wonderful history stretching from the Ice Age, evidenced by the pudding stones which were left behind, the ancient ruins of Verulamium on the Gorhambury estate,  the actual building of the Abbey and the two battles of the Wars of the Roses.
3.  The wide and undulating Verulam Park, with the small but attractive River Ver running through Kingsbury Mill in St Michaels.  On a summer’s day anyone can see the huge asset St Albans has in its park.

Why vote for me?

Having the advantage of such a long and wide relationship in the city and district its environment and all the people who live here not only have I built a reputation that is trusted but I have also been recognised as someone who has the dedication and indeed the stamina to actually “get things done”.

Why do you want to be a St Albans district councillor? 

I want to be a St Albans councillor because I want to make the District a better place to live and work in. I feel that a Conservative District Council will achieve this more than any of the other parties.

This is because I feel the Conservatives are more dynamic than the other parties and get things done. I would like to part of that team on behalf of Ashley residents.

Tell me three things about you that may not feature in campaign literature.

1. One of my main leisure activities is walking my dog around the Alban Way and Highfield Park areas of the city.
2. The schools are excellent, my son is currently at Cunningham Hill Junior school, I have attended one of his lessons and was very impressed with the level of teaching.
3. I also enjoy the local pubs in and around Ashley ward. Most Thursdays I take part in the quiz at the Crown.

Ashley Ward have never had the benefit of a Conservative Councillor before, I feel that having me as their first councillor would show the electorate in Ashley what the Conservatives can do for them.

Why do you want to be a St Albans district councillor?

Because I genuinely believe that while our country is in difficulty, it is time for those of with energy, skills and determination to step forward and offer our services. I believe in David Cameron’s Big Society; so where better place to start, than my own area?It’s a question of moral responsibility.

Tell me three things about you that may not feature in campaign literature.

1. Before I became self employed, I worked for large organisations including the Royal Mail, Exxon Mobil and Mars
2. I used to own a pub in St Albans!
3. I can eat pizza faster than anyone you know!

What difference do you believe you will make?

I will not let process, procedure or politics get in the way of common sense, nor will I ever hide behind paperwork. I will always play it with a straight bat. At a local level, it shouldn’t matter what colour your rosette is, it should just be about doing the right thing for our residents. If we can’t do something I will tell them why.

What are your top 3 favourite things about St Albans District?

1. The West End of the cathedral – it’s where I went in as Heidi Bancroft and came out as Heidi Allen!
2. The view from my lounge window – ducks swimming along the River Colne
3. That I feel safe where ever I am, at any hour of the day.

And finally, why should residents vote for you?

Because they will get someone who will fight for them, be honest with them and be a human being first and a politician second.

As part of my new series of canvassing questions I thought it would be useful to shine a light on some of our St Albans District Conservative Candidates.  This post covers an interview with Simon Calder, the candidate for London Colney:

Why do you want to be a St Albans district councillor? 

I want to be a District Councillor as I have always been extremely interested in politics. Last year the scouts and local football team were having some trouble associated with local politics so I thought, why not run for election and actually do something to help my community.

Tell me three things about you that may not feature in campaign literature.

1. The thing I look forward to most is my family annual holiday to Butlins in Minehead.
2. Being originally from West London I am a massive QPR fan.
3. I am very proud of the fact that my dad was thrown out of Brent Town Hall for heckling Ken Livingstone many years ago!

What difference do you believe you will make?

I believe I am in a very good position to make a huge difference. As a local bus driver I know the state of the roads and I have simple solutions to allieviate many of the congestion problems. I am also heavily involved in many local clubs as you can imagine with six children!!

My wife volunteers at a local school so I get to hear, either via my wife or passengers on my bus the actual issues that residents are really concerned about. I am not your typical Tory, I am a working class man who has to make a little money go a long way with a large family. I believe in this climate they are skills that definitely will help as a District Councillor!

What are your top 3 favourite things about St Albans District?

1. The people would have to come first. Driving my bus I get to meet so many of the public who genuinely love St. Albans as I do. This would also have to include the many people who give up their time to run clubs like the Scouts, youth football, Cadets and many more.
2. I love the fact that I can walk outside of my house and in less then five minutes I can be in a field. The amount of open spaces for my family and others to enjoy is a real blessing.
3. I also love the way you can be walking through a bustling high street onto cobbled streets and then be in a Cathedral surrounded by Roman remains. The history that we are rich in is something we can all be proud of.

And finally, why should residents vote for you?

I hope people will vote for me for many reasons. Firstly I have not got into this for selfish reasons. I have seen good honest people who are giving up their time to help communities having to fight far too hard for help.

I live, work and raise my family in the community that I want to represent and help. I am not scared to stand up for what I believe is the right decision and am always ready to listen and help. I strongly believe that the only way I can help locally is to do something about it, to do that I need votes to get in.  I am proud to live in London Colney and to work for the public in St. Albans. Becoming a District Councillor is my way to volunteer my time to the people of St. Albans.

The local and London Mayoral elections are upon us once again.  Which for anyone connected to a political party, means the next few weeks will be a great period for keeping fit.  Or to put it more more accurately – pounding the streets canvassing and delivering leaflets.

More importantly, it’s a time where we are able to get out and answer questions directly on the doorstep.  Personally, I find it a great opportunity to cut through some of the nonsense and hype that can so easily surround political campaigning and cut to the chase.

With this in mind – I have decided to bring back my #canvassingquestions series.  I started this back in 2010 during my own election and found it useful for dispelling some myths around common questions and in sharing some of the excellent questions I received on from voters.

So from next week, amongst my normal blog posts, I will be posting answers to #canvassingquestions that I have heard on the doorstep (or via local campaigners) and performing interviews with local candidates in St Albans District and the campaigners who are supporting them.

I hope you enjoy reading these on my blog, and whilst I am obviously biased towards the Conservative Party, I will do my best not to be biased in the information I provide.  I strongly believe that winning must not come at the cost of integrity or truth – so feel free to challenge me if you believe I have strayed away from this principle in my responses.

So to kick things off, I thought I’d start by answering the most common question I will likely come across “what have you been doing the past 12 months?” .  As such, please find the recent literature from across St Albans District which summarises some of the key achievements of the local St Albans District Conservatives.  Note – click on the ‘expand’ button below to view full screen.

A PDF download is also available here too - St Albans Conservatives – the first 12 months

During the past year I’ve been working to establish a new Health & Wellbeing Partnership within St Albans District.

My hope has been to create a stronger voice for residents at a local level. To bring the power of localism into the way we work to improve the health and wellbeing locally. And importantly to take advantage of the opportunities created by the new County Council Health & Wellbeing Boards.

Possibly the most crucial aspect was to create a Partnership which is driven by actions not words. Which is why we have set it up to focus on a series of task and finish groups looking at specific priorities. The current areas of focus are Obesity, Mental Health and Alcohol-Related Harm and we are already finding opportunities to reduce duplication and identify ways of sharing knowledge – which is very positive at this stage.

To make the Partnership successful, my belief is we must to deliver on, what I call, the 3 C’s which are core to success in localism:

Compassion; Look past the data, numbers and trends – and consider the impact of health and wellbeing issues on the individual. For example, an issue as common as a broken leg has more impact than just a damaged bone. It can create stresses around the inability to work, impacts the family who need to provide additional support and reduces mobility and the ability to exercise.

Collaboration; Get the right people working together to reduce duplication, increase understanding of the challenges facing different organisations and importantly to create opportunities to be more than the sum of the parts. For example, in our Partnership, we have an amazing mix of partners who are already actively engaged including charity & volunteer representatives, local NHS bodies inc. PCT, Partnership & Hospital Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Group members, Patient representatives, Town, Parish and County Council members and Healthwatch.

Communication; Create an open dialogue, be transparent about activities and importantly share learnings along the way. For example, in the most recent meeting, just one discussion around the issues of local transportation to hospitals, quickly turned into an opportunity to share contacts and put a working group together to look at how we can work together (with others not in the room) to find a solution to the problems.

Since setting up the Partnership, I’ve been lucky to be able to promote the work we are doing locally through my Third Sector magazine column and also through speaking at several conferences and local events. I even gave an interview to the National Local Government Network about the partnership which has been included as a case study in their consultation paper.

Below are some links to articles, the NGLN consultation paper and a version of the presentation about the Health & Wellbeing Partnership that I’ve presented recently.

Third Sector column – Local Government can use charities as a trusted partner and critical friend

Third Sector column – Get the right people around the table and communication gets a lot easier

National Local Government Network Consultation Paper – The Future of Local Government and Public Health