Portsmouth

[Admin Twaddleford]

NOC - LD minority administration
Elects by thirds
Current composition: LD 17, Con 16, Lab 6, Oth 3

[Khunanup]

Half the defending councillors are not standing again this year as it stands.

The following retire this year (all voluntarily other than Drayton & Farlington where the incumbent lost reselection):

Charles Dickens - Stephen Morgan (Lab), first elected in 2016 (MP for Portsmouth South since 2017, Labour Group Leader 2016-)
Copnor - Neill Young (Con), first elected in 2012 (Cabinet Member for Children & Education/Education 2014-17)
Drayton & Farlington - Steve Wemyss (Con), first elected for this ward 2005 (by-election), previously councillor for St Thomas (1998-2004) & Havelock (1987-95) (Former Conservative Group Leader, Cabinet Member, Committee Chair etc.)
Fratton - David Fuller (Lib Dem), first elected 2007 (by-election) (Current Lord Mayor and previously Lord Mayor 2016-17)
Milton - Will Purvis (Lib Dem), first elected 2012 (Former Chair of the Education & Young People Scrutiny Panel and Governance, Audit & Standards Committee)
Paulsgrove - John Ferrett (Ind), first elected (as Labour) 2012 (Labour Group Leader 2013-16, left Labour 2016)
St Thomas - Tom Wood (Lib Dem), first elected 2016 (Cabinet Member for Resources)

Defending Councillors:

Baffins - Darren Sanders (Lib Dem), first elected 2012 (Cabinet Member for Housing)
Central Southsea - Steve Pitt (Lib Dem), first elected 2016 (Cabinet Member for Culture & City Development and Deputy Leader of the Council)
Cosham - Matthew Atkins (Con), first elected 2019 (second place in double election) (Opposition Spokesperson for Children & Families)
Eastney & Craneswater - Me (Lib Dem), first elected 2012 (Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing & Social Care)
Hilsea - Donna Jones (Con), first elected in 2008 (Conservative Group Leader, Leader of the Council 2014-18)
Nelson - Leo Madden (Lib Dem), first elected (as Labour) 1991 (by-election), lost in 2015, re-elected in 2016 (Council Leader 1994-2000, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care 2006-2014, left Labour 2007, joined Lib Dems 2008)
St Jude - Hugh Mason (Lib Dem), first elected 2004 (Chair of Planning, Deputy Leader of the Council 2008-2014)

[gwynthegriff]

Feb 20, 2020 20:26:06 GMT Khunanup said:

Fratton - David Fuller (Lib Dem), first elected 2007 (by-election) (Current Lord Mayor and previously Lord Mayor 2016-17)

Would this be normal practice in Portsmouth? Certainly wouldn't be round here.

[Deleted]

Feb 20, 2020 20:44:45 GMT gwynthegriff said:

Feb 20, 2020 20:26:06 GMT Khunanup said:

Fratton - David Fuller (Lib Dem), first elected 2007 (by-election) (Current Lord Mayor and previously Lord Mayor 2016-17)

Would this be normal practice in Portsmouth? Certainly wouldn't be round here.

certainly seems very close together. I knowvof maybe two or three people who've had 2 stints at mayor over a decade or 2 but not over 5 years

[Khunanup]

Feb 20, 2020 20:44:45 GMT gwynthegriff said:

Feb 20, 2020 20:26:06 GMT Khunanup said:

Fratton - David Fuller (Lib Dem), first elected 2007 (by-election) (Current Lord Mayor and previously Lord Mayor 2016-17)

Would this be normal practice in Portsmouth? Certainly wouldn't be round here.

No. Partially it's down to there not being a huge groundswell of people who want to do it (in Pompey it's a very time demanding, intense position due to the Navy etc) partially because politics in the City can be quite fractious so there's fewer still members who are seen as able to raise above the politics.

[Khunanup]

Feb 20, 2020 20:26:06 GMT Khunanup said:

Half the defending councillors are not standing again this year as it stands.

The following retire this year (all voluntarily other than Drayton & Farlington where the incumbent lost reselection):

Charles Dickens - Stephen Morgan (Lab), first elected in 2016 (MP for Portsmouth South since 2017, Labour Group Leader 2016-)
Copnor - Neill Young (Con), first elected in 2012 (Cabinet Member for Children & Education/Education 2014-17)
Drayton & Farlington - Steve Wemyss (Con), first elected for this ward 2005 (by-election), previously councillor for St Thomas (1998-2004) & Havelock (1987-95) (Former Conservative Group Leader, Cabinet Member, Committee Chair etc.)
Fratton - David Fuller (Lib Dem), first elected 2007 (by-election) (Current Lord Mayor and previously Lord Mayor 2016-17)
Milton - Will Purvis (Lib Dem), first elected 2012 (Former Chair of the Education & Young People Scrutiny Panel and Governance, Audit & Standards Committee)
Paulsgrove - John Ferrett (Ind), first elected (as Labour) 2012 (Labour Group Leader 2013-16, left Labour 2016)
St Thomas - Tom Wood (Lib Dem), first elected 2016 (Cabinet Member for Resources)

Defending Councillors:

Baffins - Darren Sanders (Lib Dem), first elected 2012 (Cabinet Member for Housing)
Central Southsea - Steve Pitt (Lib Dem), first elected 2016 (Cabinet Member for Culture & City Development and Deputy Leader of the Council)
Cosham - Matthew Atkins (Con), first elected 2019 (second place in double election) (Opposition Spokesperson for Children & Families)
Eastney & Craneswater - Me (Lib Dem), first elected 2012 (Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing & Social Care)
Hilsea - Donna Jones (Con), first elected in 2008 (Conservative Group Leader, Leader of the Council 2014-18)
Nelson - Leo Madden (Lib Dem), first elected (as Labour) 1991 (by-election), lost in 2015, re-elected in 2016 (Council Leader 1994-2000, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care 2006-2014, left Labour 2007, joined Lib Dems 2008)
St Jude - Hugh Mason (Lib Dem), first elected 2004 (Chair of Planning, Deputy Leader of the Council 2008-2014)

As mentioned on the PCC thread, Donna Jones will now not be defending her Hilsea seat as she's just been adopted as the Tory candidate for the Hampshire PCC election.

[neilm]

Is that definite?

[Khunanup]

Feb 29, 2020 19:11:45 GMT neilm said:

Is that definite?

It's what I understand to be the case from someone who was at the selection meeting today.

[cogload]

8 LD defences with Cllr Khunanup the most vulnerable of the 8 has now been given an extra zing for next year as who represents the Portsmouth Tories? Jones' decision to seek a nice payday by doing sod all work as P&CC means that the only just lidonthepot state of the Pompey Tories may start boiling over and gives the minority LD administration another year to sort out the parking issue(s).

Apropos to this the buttering up of Claire Uddy has been smart politics with her Baffins team mate being left out in the cold.

There are other mines bobbing along in the Solent. The decision to invest 30m quid to attract cruiseliners into the Port is a sensible piece of long term thinking however Corona will kill the traffic in the short term. In a already poor city the spending review will certainly have a detrimental effect on basic services; plus of course the government seems dead keen to remove local government from the planning system so the plethora of former grand Victorian terraces which are being converted into HMO slums and empty commercial property reimagined as 21stC hovels will continue apace with the subsequent fallout on the built environment for which the Council will get the blame.

[finsobruce]

Mar 14, 2020 20:33:16 GMT cogload said:

8 LD defences with Cllr Khunanup the most vulnerable of the 8 has now been given an extra zing for next year as who represents the Portsmouth Tories? Jones' decision to seek a nice payday by doing sod all work as P&CC means that the only just lidonthepot state of the Pompey Tories may start boiling over and gives the minority LD administration another year to sort out the parking issue(s).

Apropos to this the buttering up of Claire Uddy has been smart politics with her Baffins team mate being left out in the cold.

There are other mines bobbing along in the Solent. The decision to invest 30m quid to attract cruiseliners into the Port is a sensible piece of long term thinking however Corona will kill the traffic in the short term. In a already poor city the spending review will certainly have a detrimental effect on basic services; plus of course the government seems dead keen to remove local government from the planning system so the plethora of former grand Victorian terraces which are being converted into HMO slums and empty commercial property reimagined as 21stC hovels will continue apace with the subsequent fallout on the built environment for which the Council will get the blame.

As a title for a play or novel, that could hardly be bettered, or indeed buttered.

[matureleft]

We must be grateful that this guy will be out of the frame next time. He apparently stood as recently as 2019 and has a substantial record beyond assaulting horses.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-53610926

[Devil Wincarnate]

Aug 1, 2020 9:07:28 GMT matureleft said:

We must be grateful that this guy will be out of the frame next time. He apparently stood as recently as 2019 and has a substantial record beyond assaulting horses.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-53610926

That's the second time in recent years that someone has been convicted of that offence, the last one I recall was a Newcastle fan.

At the Manchester City v Sunderland League Cup final, the Sunderland fans were singing "Have you ever seen a Mackem punch a horse?  Have you f***".

[cogload]

Two other unknown knowns to factor in:

1. The local government carve up whereby Dom tries to enforce his algorithmic viewpoint on the shires.
2. All postal ballot if there is a huge Covid/winter flu meltdown.

[john07]

Aug 1, 2020 12:17:18 GMT Devil Wincarnate said:

Aug 1, 2020 9:07:28 GMT matureleft said:

We must be grateful that this guy will be out of the frame next time. He apparently stood as recently as 2019 and has a substantial record beyond assaulting horses.

Was he singing the Horse Wessel song?

As he was a UKIP member, I think we should be told.

[myth11]

What is The local Lib Dem problem with proposed interconnector as I thought it was Lib Dem policy.

[Khunanup]

Nov 2, 2020 11:50:17 GMT myth11 said:

What is The local Lib Dem problem with proposed interconnector as I thought it was Lib Dem policy.

The issue with the interconnector is that it ludicrously goes through the most densely populated urban area on the entire south coast, makes landfall on an island meaning that it has to be additionally tunneled under a harbour before making landfall again, will cause huge disruption to the lives of tens of thousands of people, that 90 miles of coastline is closer to where the cable leaves the French coast and that the entire proposal is driven by National Grid & Aquind wanting to keep their costs down rather than any kind of actually considering human impact of their convenience.

My own objection ran to 1300 words so even that is just the briefest of summaries.

It's not right to say this is a Lib Dem things, this route is opposed by all five councils the cable is planned to go through and all parties within those council areas. It is not against interconnector cables, just against this bonkers scheme. A scheme with do many holes in it you wouldn't even be able to catch a tadpole.

[unrepentantfool]

Nov 3, 2020 5:39:12 GMT Khunanup said:

Nov 2, 2020 11:50:17 GMT myth11 said:

What is The local Lib Dem problem with proposed interconnector as I thought it was Lib Dem policy.

The issue with the interconnector is that it ludicrously goes through the most densely populated urban area on the entire south coast, makes landfall on an island meaning that it has to be additionally tunneled under a harbour before making landfall again, will cause huge disruption to the lives of tens of thousands of people, that 90 miles of coastline is closer to where the cable leaves the French coast and that the entire proposal is driven by National Grid & Aquind wanting to keep their costs down rather than any kind of actually considering human impact of their convenience.

My own objection ran to 1300 words so even that is just the briefest of summaries.

It's not right to say this is a Lib Dem things, this route is opposed by all five councils the cable is planned to go through and all parties within those council areas. It is not against interconnector cables, just against this bonkers scheme. A scheme with do many holes in it you wouldn't even be able to catch a tadpole.

Why don't they change the route slightly to land somewhere near Gosport or Hayling instead? Open countryside will be much easier to build through.

[myth11]

Nov 3, 2020 5:39:12 GMT Khunanup said:

Nov 2, 2020 11:50:17 GMT myth11 said:

What is The local Lib Dem problem with proposed interconnector as I thought it was Lib Dem policy.

The issue with the interconnector is that it ludicrously goes through the most densely populated urban area on the entire south coast, makes landfall on an island meaning that it has to be additionally tunneled under a harbour before making landfall again, will cause huge disruption to the lives of tens of thousands of people, that 90 miles of coastline is closer to where the cable leaves the French coast and that the entire proposal is driven by National Grid & Aquind wanting to keep their costs down rather than any kind of actually considering human impact of their convenience.

My own objection ran to 1300 words so even that is just the briefest of summaries.

It's not right to say this is a Lib Dem things, this route is opposed by all five councils the cable is planned to go through and all parties within those council areas. It is not against interconnector cables, just against this bonkers scheme. A scheme with do many holes in it you wouldn't even be able to catch a tadpole.

I expect more battles such as this because to get most out of renewables you need to move vast amounts of power and that means cables which are a planning nightmare. I can see the national grids thinking here as Lovedean substation its the only major north-south link in the area also the further east you go the more "full" the grid is. I also guessing the National grid wants to avoid putting up new cables in the south downs National park. DC cables beat AC cables over distance in terms of power lost so going the shortest short would likely cause higher wastage levels. 

[Khunanup]

Nov 3, 2020 17:48:23 GMT myth11 said:

Nov 3, 2020 5:39:12 GMT Khunanup said:

The issue with the interconnector is that it ludicrously goes through the most densely populated urban area on the entire south coast, makes landfall on an island meaning that it has to be additionally tunneled under a harbour before making landfall again, will cause huge disruption to the lives of tens of thousands of people, that 90 miles of coastline is closer to where the cable leaves the French coast and that the entire proposal is driven by National Grid & Aquind wanting to keep their costs down rather than any kind of actually considering human impact of their convenience.

My own objection ran to 1300 words so even that is just the briefest of summaries.

It's not right to say this is a Lib Dem things, this route is opposed by all five councils the cable is planned to go through and all parties within those council areas. It is not against interconnector cables, just against this bonkers scheme. A scheme with do many holes in it you wouldn't even be able to catch a tadpole.

I expect more battles such as this because to get most out of renewables you need to move vast amounts of power and that means cables which are a planning nightmare. I can see the national grids thinking here as Lovedean substation its the only major north-south link in the area also the further east you go the more "full" the grid is. I also guessing the National grid wants to avoid putting up new cables in the south downs National park. DC cables beat AC cables over distance in terms of power lost so going the shortest short would likely cause higher wastage levels. 

As I say, it's all about convenience and low cost for National Grid, no consideration of disruption of actual human beings. Lovedean substation is actually on the cusp of the national park and the cable will just pass through the park.

Along the 90 miles east where the coast is closer to where the cable leaves France, the national park doesn't hug the coast the whole way and of course finishes at Eastbourne so there is scope that doesn't include the national park at all, but that would take investment.

Lovedean has been slavishly kept to in this whole project and there has been no oversight or strategic planning from the government. That's the unsaid issue here, it's currently an unregulated free-for-all with all the interconnectors, it's like railway mania all over again...

[myth11]

Nov 3, 2020 20:47:41 GMT Khunanup said:

Nov 3, 2020 17:48:23 GMT myth11 said:

I expect more battles such as this because to get most out of renewables you need to move vast amounts of power and that means cables which are a planning nightmare. I can see the national grids thinking here as Lovedean substation its the only major north-south link in the area also the further east you go the more "full" the grid is. I also guessing the National grid wants to avoid putting up new cables in the south downs National park. DC cables beat AC cables over distance in terms of power lost so going the shortest short would likely cause higher wastage levels. 

As I say, it's all about convenience and low cost for National Grid, no consideration of disruption of actual human beings. Lovedean substation is actually on the cusp of the national park and the cable will just pass through the park.

Along the 90 miles east where the coast is closer to where the cable leaves France, the national park doesn't hug the coast the whole way and of course finishes at Eastbourne so there is scope that doesn't include the national park at all, but that would take investment.

Lovedean has been slavishly kept to in this whole project and there has been no oversight or strategic planning from the government. That's the unsaid issue here, it's currently an unregulated free-for-all with all the interconnectors, it's like railway mania all over again...

Big win for the interconnector as the EU top court rules in its favour.