Please go to my new web-site

I won't be updating the Beardy-Blog, as I've decided to concentrate on the more serious www.southwestindependent.eu website in the run up to the elections for the European parliament on June 4th

Results

At the close of play on Friday, I was a pipped at the post, and fell into 7th place.....thats not great when its only the top 6 who are on the on the ticket for the real election. My hearty congratulations to the successful candidates...hopefully they will be in the vanguard of a new era in politics, where people rank above parties.


STOP PRESS.....the Jury Team website is only showing 5 candidates in the South West, so it looks like someone has dropped out? Does this mean I will be pulled off the subs bench?

The reason we need change.....

There has been some interesting items in the news today. Has the political gravy train finally hit the buffers? For a quick recap of some of the most flagrent "troughing", have a look at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/21/mps-expenses-list .

The Government has just announced its proposals for reform of MPs pay and allowances http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8010034.stm .

In my view its too little, too late - in terms of the specific proposals:
a. A flat rate allowance is NOT the answer, and especially not at the rate suggested in the news ~£170 per day on top of salary!!! Outrageous - a mximum should be set to cover a reasonable hotel and meals if necessary, and payments should be only made against receipts;

b. What is the justification for a London allowance? The most I'd give would be a free Transport for London travel card;

c. ok

d. A good start, but not far enough. All staff should be recruited through fair and open competition, and be selected by an independent interview board;

e. There should be a requirement for receipts for all claimed expenditure, and these should be publically available online within 30 days of the claim;

f. No second jobs - full stop.

g. Why reinvent the wheel? There is a perfectly good Civil Service pension scheme, which surely if its generous enough for thousands of Ciil Servants, I can see no reasonable argument for MPs to have more generous provision;

h. Why is Northern Ireland dfferent to any of the other regions?


Another news item caught my eye - A British member of the European Parliament has been charged with false accounting and money laundering http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8008994.stm

Obviously this case is now before the Courts, so it would be unfair to comment on the specifics, but if the case is proven, then the abuse of trust should be punished to the full extent of the law. The UK public deserve better than this....

And finally..... here is an interesting link to a leaked EU internal audit report on MEPs allowances. I think it makes interesting reading. http://wikileaks.org/wiki/The_Galvin_Report:_Audit_of_160_EU_Parliament_members,_2008 While the content of the report is bad enough, the fact that it is not publically available (apart from WikiLeaks) is a travesty.

Its time to clean things up, and the power to do it is in the hands of the public.

Campaign news - Monday

Text voting closes in just 4 days, and currently I'm ranked 5th out of 12 in the South West region, with the next lowest candidate hot on my heels - please, if you haven't voted yet, text WILBAR01 to 86837 before Friday.

I've been quiet for a few days (which as anyone who knows me will agree is out of character) - I wanted to take stock on where we are with the poll, and where it could potentially go. I'll be updating the other website www.southwestindependent.co.uk tonight with some thoughts and policies - please let me have your comments.

Remember, 4 days to go and every vote counts!!

Campaign News - Wednesday

A slight slip down the rankings to 5th place out of 11 - a new candidate on the South West list has made roaring progress since the weekend, and is slightly ahead....can I regain the lead? Only time and text votes can tell.

I've contacted a number of local papers in the region, and I'm hoping that this, allied with some general publicity from Jury Team will give my total a boost.

The other website www.southwestindependent.co.uk is up and running, and contains my electoral pledges - please take a look and let me have your thoughts and comments.

Thanks for your continued support - remember to vote if you haven't already - just text WILBAR01 to 86837 - and keep spreading the word!!

New Website

I'm setting up a new website http://www.southwestindependent.co.uk/ which will have content on very shortly. This website will be written in a more serious vein that the beardy-blog, and will set out my commitments to the electorate, in the vent that I am successful in the European election.

After the Bank Holiday......

Well, the long weekend break is but a distant memory, but it provided an opportunity to reflect on how things have developed over the last week or so. What started as a vehicle to rant at the system and its failings has subtly changed...I've been quite touched by the support I've received, and it confirms my belief that there is a mood for change.

This blog was always intended to be light-hearted, but I'm having a rethink about the best way to connect with a larger audience, so I'll soon be launching a more formal website. A quick look at the sums shows that to be elected, candidates need to poll around 200,000 votes.....a challenging target to hit I think you'll agree.

The good news is, we smashed the target for the weekend - I'd aimed for 40 votes, but at close of play tonight, we have the fantastic total of 45 - this keeps me in 4th place out of 11, although some of the other candidates are making real headway and collecting votes.

I understand from Jury Team that the final phone poll totals will determine the position on the election list, so to be in with a real chance, I need to make a concerted effort over the last 10 days of phone polling - so, if you haven't already done so, please, text WILBAR01 to 86837. Word of mouth can be immensely powerful - if you believe in what what I am trying to do, then please spread the word.