OPINION: LABOUR COUNCIL GIVING PUBLIC LAND AWAY TO HOUSING DEVELOPERS AT BARGAIN PRICES AT CHRISTMAS WITH SPECIAL DEALS DONE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Yet ANOTHER Labour Robbery of Public Assets

 

  ... AND THE TORY COUNCILLORS APPLAUD LABOUR FOR FOLLOWING TORY POLICIES ON HOUSING! 

by Andrew Pope - Independent

Former Independent Councillor Andrew Pope

This is a really interesting timing of the Council's announcement, just before Christmas, that the Labour-run Council will be giving away public land to developers at bargain prices, including below the market rate. This is confirmed in the report that went to the Labour-run Cabinet of councillors on 20th December 2022. 

In the report approved by Labour's Cabinet, the option to sell all land at best market value was not recommended in the report. And the details are to be dealt with under what is called "exempt matters" which means that the public will not be able to see the details.

We have offered Southampton City Council the opportunity to comment on the proposals and answer our questions.

Why did they release this press release just before Christmas (copied below this article in case they decide to delete it*)? 

 

Labour's Withering Rose
in Southampton

It's almost like the PR lackeys at the Council, under the instruction of Council Leader Labour Councillor Satvir Kaur didn't want the public to know about giving land away to developers and not delivering value for council tax payers and local residents, which councils are required to do by law - and for good reasons. 

So it is interesting timing that they put the press releases out just before Christmas, hoping that nobody would notice. 

Residents have noticed and they are not happy about it.

Sweet deals for developers is what former Tory Housing Spokesperson Cllr Peter Baillie advocated for years, but Labour are doing it and carrying on Tory policies.

It's like residents say back to me now - Labour or Tory, same old story. 

Labour have broken their own promises. How do I know? Because I was in the Labour Party for ten years, including as a Labour councillor before I decided to become an Independent and quit Labour.

In the 2012 Labour Manifesto for the Council, and in public statement after public statement, Labour councillors including the Cabinet Member for Housing Councillor Warwick Payne pledged for council-owned homes, not giving the land to developers. 

But the Labour Council, which has controlled the Council for nine of the ten years since 2012 - and approaching ten years now, has failed to deliver those  council-owned homes over ten years and broke their pledges over housing. Now I have the stats to prove it, obtained directly from Southampton City Council. 

Not only did Labour fail miserably on council-owned homes. They also failed to live up to the 2012 Manifesto pledges which already used weasel words to deceive the public into voting Labour. 

How do I know? You can't see their pledges on the Labour Party's website because they have removed them. They do not want to be held to account for their failed promises. 

But fear not. I have copies. Why? Because I was a Labour councillor and I co-ordinated the 2014 Labour Manifesto. The first part of this process was auditing the delivery or not of the pledges from 2012. 

When I was doing this, I went to the Leader of the Council Simon Letts and told him that Cabinet members did not know their portfolios and did not know what the Council was spending millions of pounds of public money on. 

And those Cabinet members certainly did not want accountability for failing to meet the 2012 pledges. I suggested to those Cabinet members that they be sent to scrutiny to account for the pledges. They did not want that at all. I'm sure that you can work out why not, because they knew that they had not met many of the pledges.

One of the many reasons that I left Labour in 2015 and became an Independent councillor was Labour's failure to deliver the council homes that they promised. 

And even when I was a Labour councillor, I spoke up in the Council Chamber at Scrutiny meetings to criticise Councillor Warwick Payne as Cabinet Member for Housing, and that he did not have a grip on his officers to provide leadership to them. That was because I put residents first, not party loyalties.

Councillor Payne was eventually removed as Cabinet Member for Housing and replaced with none-other than the current Leader of the Council Councillor Satvir Kaur. Worryingly, Councillor Kaur is now Labour's preferred candidate to succeed Alan Whitehead as the Labour MP for Southampton Test, which is the constituency in the West of the City.

Let's not forget that it was Councillor Kaur who could not answer my questions in the Council Chamber about the millions of pounds of public money that she spent on the Arts Complex, instead of on essential public services. That's why we used the Labour Highwayman graphic on our leaflets. 

The Internal Audit Report
on the Arts Complex
That I Gave to the Echo

 

The graphic would just as easily apply to the Tory councillors too, because the only councillor opposed to the Arts Complex / Studio 144 millions was me. The Tories supported the profligate millions. 

I was the one councillor of forty-eight City councillors who challenged the Audit Committee and the Chief Financial Officer. I was the one councillor who took the information in the Internal Audit Report (see extract above) to the Daily Echo who put it on the front page, quoting the former Leader of the Council Simon Letts saying that he did not care why the Arts Complex was over-time and over-budget.

Councillor Kaur could not answer my questions about the millions. But Councillor Kaur did not replace Councillor Payne as Housing Cabinet Member until after he was the same Councillor who said that residents of tower blocks did not want sprinklers. I had it in writing and Cllr Payne's false claims are still on this website. 

Daily Echo April 2017
During Our Sprinklers Campaign

I said in early 2017, before the Grenfell disaster, that sprinklers save lives and it was a campaign that I led across Southampton to have them installed, exposing the failings of the Council to protect residents on fire safety - in the Daily Echo, on Wave 105 FM, BBC Radio Solent, ITV Meridian News and BBC Radio 5 Live. Sprinklers have saved lives and property in Southampton, including in Millbrook Towers in the ward where I used to be a councillor. 

New figures that I have obtained on what was actually delivered on fire safety by the Council and what is still to be delivered MANY YEARS after Shirley Towers and Redbridge Towers fires are however very concerning and we have published on that already, with more to come.

Now - thanks to figures obtained directly from officers of the Council - I have a whole lot more evidence on the Council's failures on housing - FOR TEN YEARS OF FAILURE ON HOUSING, by Councillor Payne and Councillor Kaur.

It really is just another case of Labour or Tory, same old story. Meanwhile, Southampton Independents will continue to stand up for residents and businesses in Southampton.

* Council press release, 20th December 2022

Southampton City Council approves first Affordable Housing Framework sites

Today (Tuesday 20 December) Southampton City Council approved the first set of council-owned sites to be transferred to Affordable Housing Providers as part of the new Affordable Housing Framework which was approved at Cabinet earlier this year

20/12/2022

This is one of the tools the council will use to ensure more affordable homes in the city which includes continuing to work towards the direct delivery of council homes.

The framework will allow the council to use its own land to address the significant need for affordable housing in Southampton and will provide the opportunity for development of social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership properties which will help people get onto the housing ladder and own a share in their home.

The first set of council-owned sites are either vacant sites, empty buildings or have an approved decommissioning plan in place meaning that delivery of the much-needed new homes can be achieved quicker. The first set of sites will provide an estimated total of up to 300 homes.

The council anticipates that several providers will be appointed and the framework ready to move forward early in 2023.

As of October 2022, there were a total of 7,508 households on the housing register with wait times ranging from 1 year and 4 months up to over 11 years. The council has set a target to increase the supply of affordable housing by 8,000 homes by 2040 which will help to reduce the wait times for those on the housing register.

Councillor Lisa Mitchell, Cabinet Member for Housing and the Green Environment, said: 

“We know that poor quality housing has a significant impact on residents’ health and wellbeing, which is why it is so important that we provide good quality affordable housing so our residents can achieve a high-quality life and we enable people to live independently for longer by supporting their mental and physical wellbeing.

“The new affordable housing framework will accelerate the delivery of new homes and help us work towards our commitment to providing at least 8,000 affordable homes by 2040.

“We will work with Affordable Housing Providers to build new homes and work in collaboration with partners to provide more affordable housing and build better, stronger and more resilient neighbourhoods that foster city pride”.

UPDATE (9/1/23): PETITION AGAINST LABOUR-RUN COUNCIL'S CRAZY PROPOSALS ON PORTSWOOD HIGH STREET (BROADWAY)

One of our emblems

UPDATE (9/1/23)

Our Andrew Pope appears in the Daily Echo. We said that we would listen to residents and act on their concerns. The full article appears below (without the image used by the Daily Echo):

 

Former Councillor Andrew Pope
on BBC South Today

 

"‘Are you prepared to stand for council in May?’

This is the question being asked by Southampton Independents, a campaign group run by ex-independent councillor, Andrew Pope.

In his letter, which was hand-delivered to households in the city, Mr Pope called on people to ‘act’, in response to what he calls a ‘crazy’ road scheme in Portswood.

The letter reads: “Is enough enough? Will you act? Are you prepared to stand for council in May? Southampton needs Independent councillors. Will you join residents to stand up?”

Southampton City Council’s Portswood Broadway plans have attracted huge interest over the last three months, including petitions, council representations and media coverage.

Southampton Independents, who signed the now closed ‘SAY NO’ petition, claim that the petition’s 821 signatures only represented part of the total number of those who disagree with the plans.

Mr Pope said: “Southampton Independents have listened to residents and businesses. Their concerns must be listened to and the Council’s proposals for Portswood Broadway by the Labour-run Council must be abandoned.

“Because the vast majority of residents are opposed to the plans to close off part of the main road, causing chaos in the area, Southampton Independents

have listened and acted. We have signed the e-petition on the Council website.

“We have expressed the concerns of residents to councillors that you had to ‘sign up’ on the website first and that this put people off signing. Despite this

barrier, 821 people signed it before it closed on December 31.”

Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for transport and district regeneration, said that the recent public consultation will ‘ultimately help shape’ the Portswood Corridor scheme.

He said: “As a council, we want to work with all interested parties to agree a scheme that can be supported and progressed.

“We are currently compiling a report which includes the results of the public consultation. The report, which will be made available in February, will outline key concerns and areas of support raised by the public and will include an officer recommendation on how to address these concerns.”

---

Southampton Independents have listened to residents and businesses. Their concerns must be listened to and the Council's proposals for Portswood Broadway by the Labour-run Council and Labour Councilor Eamonn Keogh, must be abandoned.

 

We have signed the petition on the Council's e-Petition site.

 

We recommend that you also sign the petition. You only have to register a name and email address. So far, there are 812 signatures. 

 

Another e-petition in support of these damaging proposals for residents and businesses has achieved only one quarter of the number.

 

The petition against the proposals reads:

 

"We the undersigned petition the council to abandon the current proposal to close part of Portswood Broadway to through traffic.

The limited benefits of the proposed scheme will be far outweighed by significant and unacceptable adverse impact to local businesses and residential neighbourhoods which includes 3 Conservation Areas. There is already a traffic problem in the surrounding areas without potentially another 12,000 cars a day adding to the congestion and pollution. We all want a greener environment but shifting one problem and creating another i.e. traffic from an A road (a major road intended to provide large scale transport links within or between areas) to a residential area is NOT the answer."

Contact us to tell us what you think about these proposals and why the Labour-run is hammering motorists across the City.

Women’s Football versus Men’s Football - What Did Saints Fans Say?

England versus Wales
at St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton
Photo: Andrew Pope

by Andrew Pope, 28/12/22

Do you agree that the five issues below are the most important for Saints Women’s fans now, when compared with men's football?

Or do you think there are other issues that are more important? 

If so, what are they and why do you think they are more important?

You can comment below - comments are moderated - or you can get in contact at sotonindies@gmail.com or on the Facebook page at Southampton Independents (@SotonIndies).

Southampton Women’s Football Team plays in the second tier of English womens’ football, called the Barclays Womens’ Championship. This article discusses the most commonly-raised issues from fans from the Southampton FC Women’s Supporters Group. The Group is not affiliated with Southampton Football Club (“Saints”), but is registered with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) as a supporters club.

In November 2022, I asked these fans, via their moderated Facebook group the following question: 

“The women's game is developing. What do you want to see brought over from the men's game and what do you not want to see brought over?”

There were 33 comments from the 22 fans who responded*. Whilst this gathering of data is not scientific or academic, it is purely qualitative and time-specific. It does not reach the magic 100 for surveys of public views and is not necessarily representative of the views of all fans of the Saints Women’s team.

However, the issues that emerged were as follows. It is, at the least, a starting point in airing the views of fans of the women’s team versus the men’s team and the fan culture from men’s football that fans would and would not like to see brought over to women’s football.

The most common issues raised by fans during the discussion were:
    • professional referees were needed in the Barclay’s Womens’ Championship because the perceived standard during the first few months of the season was too low
    • play-acting, cheating or diving should not be brought into women’s football
    • criticism of the food and drink at St. Mary’s Stadium
    • the desire for a family-friendly atmosphere with more singing and chanting but not violence, drunken behaviour, swearing or other “agro” as in the men’s game
    • player pay was mentioned by some fans. There was not agreement between about whether women should be paid the same as men, or how or whether that would be realistically achieved.

Other issues were raised, but none of these were raised by more than one fan.

Data was gathered in November 2022, analysis was done and this report was written by Andrew Pope, who is a former Independent Southampton City Councillor and NCTJ-trained journalist of Southampton Independents. Andrew is also a Saints Women’s football season-ticket holder. Andrew was also the lead campaigner for the successful Southampton Independents campaign for Safe Standing at St. Mary's Stadium (see photo below and other articles on this website).

Andrew Pope at the rail seats demo
during the Safe Standing campaign
for St. Mary's Stadium

Royal Mail Strikes and Disruption: Open Letter From Local Branch of the Royal Mail Union, the CWU

 

Striking Workers On Southampton Picket Line
Photo: Rob Hayhurst, used with permission

 

The above photo shows striking Royal Mail workers on the picket line in Shirley, Southampton. On one of the strike days, 14th December 2022, our investigator Andrew Pope who is a business owner and former postman, went to speak with them, to listen to their views about the dispute and to reassure them that the dispute would be reported fairly by Southampton Independents. 

At the picket line, Andrew met Rob Hayhurst from the Wessex South Central branch of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and asked for a statement.

On the eve of more strikes on the 23rd and 24th December 2022, an open letter has now been received from Mr Hayhurst. 

It is offered unedited and in full. And here is the header from the letter "An open letter from your postie and their union":

Header of Open Letter from CWU

"

• We have successfully delivered Christmas for over 500 years and we want to continue to do so.

• We deliver 6 days a week, with Posties doing on average a half marathon every day in all weather conditions!

• As keyworkers we delivered to our customers every day whilst the country was in lockdown.

• Posties don’t want to strike, but the CEO is looking to asset strip and wreck your postal service! He’s served the company for less than 2 years and does not care about the customer, the staff or the industry!

• He wants to close this customer service point.

• He claims we’re losing 1 million a day! We’re not and this will be bourne out in financial figures that come out in April. It may also help if they hadn’t of given over half a billion pound to shareholders during a massive cost of living crisis!

• They have not offered 9% not even close and what they have proposed for our terms and conditions means nobody would want to do this job anymore. We can’t keep staff as it is! We may as well go work for Amazon, same conditions, same pay, much easier work ie not walking a half marathon everyday.

• Bringing in new recruits on significantly inferior terms and conditions, how does that benefit the economy or young people who want to make a life for themselves, maybe get a mortgage.

• The CEO claims we are turning into a parcels company! If that’s the case why is our Royal Mail fleet in the worst state our RM mechanics have seen in 40 years, Why are our Personnel Digital Assistant(the things you sign when you get a parcel) the worst in the industry.

• Our union isn’t frightened of change, we embrace change! But modernisation is not gig economy employment!

• WE ARE HARD WORKING DECENT CONTIENTIOUS WORKING PEOPLE WHO TAKE PRIDE IN THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE! IF WE HAD ANY OTHER CHOICE, WE WOULD DO IT! BUT WE DON’T

#StandByYourPost"

 

 

UPDATED (22/12/22) - OPINION: Why Is Privately-Educated Rishi Sunak's Conservative Government Causing Chaos Across The Nation?

 

Rishi Sunak
(Source: HM Treasury)

UPDATE (22/12/22): Today's Mirror and Telegraph front pages have quite different headlines. 

Mirror 22nd Dec 2022
(Source: BBC News)

Telegraph 22nd Dec 2022
(Source: BBC News)

Having repeatedly said it is nothing to do with them and done by the supposedly "Independent" pay board, the Government appears to be offering a deal, according to the Tory-friendly Telegraph. Whereas the Labour-friendly Mirror front page tells quite a different story. 

Both have their own editorial narrative, which could be construed as misinformation or even (deliberate) disinformation or "fake news", depending on your point-of-view and the level of sourcing they provide to evidence their headlines. Neither of them are headlined - OPINION, though!

---

by Andrew Pope, Master of Social Sciences (Global Politics and International Relations, Southampton University, 2010), small business owner, former postman, union representative and Labour and Independent Councillor and Parliamentary Candidate

 

Southampton Independents has investigated the claims of the Prime Minister and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak about his connections with Southampton, and with Southampton Football Club ("Saints"). 

We have published some of the results of those investigations. National media outlets have conducted investigations too and in a democracy worth anything, so they should be.

A Meteoric Rise of An Out-of-Touch Prime Minister in A Failed Government

Why have we done these investigations? Because it is relevant to Southampton, it is relevant to our democracy and because in Government, whether Chancellor or PM, Mr Sunak regularly mentions his family and his background in Southampton, including in attempted defences of his performance and of the Government. 

In a democracy, Member of Parliament (MPs), Ministers and Governments must be held to account. They are public figures that deserve some privacy. But where the line is drawn is an open question and the actions of the public figures themselves can drag the private into the public realm.

Mr Sunak tries to make out that he is in touch with the common man and the common woman, and has regularly used examples from Southampton. He is clearly not in touch, based on his actions and inaction, and it is more of the image-cleansing that we have already commented on. His rise has been described as meteoric. How and why that was requires examination, especially in the light of the image-cleansing that has accompanied his rise.

The revelations about Mr Sunak's wife's wealth and tax status prompted Mr Sunak to complain that his family was being unfairly targeted. Perhaps he had a point, if he himself did not drag matters out of the dark and into the light.

Yet Mr Sunak himself was quoted in the Daily Echo using his parents as a defence when under attack by the Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Sunak said:

"Whenever he attacks me about where I went to school, he attacks the hard-working aspirations of millions of people in this country. He's attacking people like my parents."

 

Daily Echo, 1st Dec 2022

So Mr Sunak himself has politicised his own family. The personal has become the political by his own hand.

When a politician exercises rank hypocrisy like this, they are rightly open to criticism and to being derided, whether by public figures or the public at large.

And it has very real consequences for the citizens of our country.

Demagoguery and Damage

Saints legend Matt Le Tissier has derided Mr Sunak's claims that "Le Tiss" was his favourite player. Le Tissier said that he didn't care about it when interviewed (apparently) in Southampton on GB News by Nigel Farage. The Leader of the Conservative Group on Southampton City Council, Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry, appeared on the same programme. Cllr Fitzhenry got a hard time from Farage. 

Despite his own ill-advised public comments, the Saints legend Le Tissier received an ingratiating love-in from arch-demagogue Farage. You can draw your own conclusions as to why a populist like Farage would do this. And you can probably work out why the damage to Cllr Fitzhenry and "Local Conservatives" was engineered by Farage, even if it might be deserved.

Whomever in the local Conservative association thought that Fitzhenry's appearance was wise, might reconsider that decision. Perhaps it was Fitzhenry himself, having recently become Leader of the Conservatives again after being ousted by Marley Guthrie.

Out Of Touch With Working People

Mr Sunak attended private education. And he was filmed in the Southampton home of his parents saying that he had "no working class" friends. It does not take a genius to work out why, when he only attended private education, ending up at Winchester College after private schools, as reported by the Daily Echo. Michael (Lord) Ashcroft's book describes this.

An out-of-touch education leads to out-of-touch decisions. This has been the case throughout successive Labour or Conservative governments, going back decades in the case of the former and centuries for the latter.

Why is Mr Sunak's education and his lack of contact with the majority of the population of our country relevant? Because he makes decisions that are out-of-touch. I contend that it has been educated into him. And he has had a privileged upbringing and education that was ironically funded, at least in part, by the taxpayer via the NHS as both parents received NHS payments as GP and Pharmacist.

And the litany of industrial disputes facing our country show how out-of-touch he is with working people.

The chaos caused by the Conservatives is so bad that "advent calendars" of strikes have been produced for the entire month of December.

 

Royal Mail Strikes

Should the public sector workers, whether posties, nurses, railway staff or paramedics be blamed for wanting a fair pay settlement under sustained high inflation? 

No, when it is Rishi Sunak's actions and inaction that have caused the chaos in public services and the rampant inflation and cost-of-living crisis that workers face.

Mr Sunak is responsible, whether as Chancellor, as a member of the Government and now as Prime Minister.

And still Mr Sunak and his Government refuse to intervene, despite being the chief causes of the economic crash and resultant disputes over pay and conditions.

Why? How?

It is elected representatives that have to be held to account. That is what should happen. Indeed, if the United Kingdom is a democracy worth anything, that is what must happen.

Labour or Tory, Same Old Story

Like they did in the 1970s under Edward Heath, the Conservative Government will probably lose out due to these disputes. And they will lose the next General Election.

It is probably only a question of how much they will lose, not whether they will lose.

And that is what their failure deserves.

Whether a Labour Government will be any better...well, perhaps we should look at the 1970s again and the disastrous mismanagement of the economy by the last Labour Government under Gordon Brown. That is what led to the Tories gaining power.

And in the not-too-distant-future, a crackdown on workers' rights will result, whether under a Labour or Tory Government, making working people even worse off than they are already.

Labour or Tory, same old story...

UPDATED (22/12/22): CWU Responds and Small Business Responds - Royal Mail Dispute and Strikes: CEO Writes Open Letter To Customers

 

Royal Mail Industrial Dispute

UPDATE (22/12/22): We have now received a response from the CWU, "An open letter". It is on a new page, here.

---

UPDATE (21/12/22): Despite repeated attempts to get a response, including repeated contact by phone and email, and having spoken to them on the picket line in Southampton, neither the Communication Workers Union national media or the local Wessex South Central branch of the CWU have provided a written statement regarding the dispute. We were promised, by the CWU rep on the picket line, a full copy of the below statement that was posted on the Delivery Office. Sadly, as more strikes loom prior to Christmas, the statement has not been received.

CWU Strikes at Royal Mail

Strike Day at Shirley Delivery Office, Southampton

---

UPDATE (13/12/22): Royal Mail will be going on strike again tomorrow. At the beginning of last week, we asked the Federation of Small Businesses *FSB) to respond to the disruption and the strikes. Here is their official response, given exclusively to Andrew Pope by the FSB. Tina McKenzie, Policy and Advocacy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said:

“We urge both sides to do their best to find a landing zone for compromise, in order to allow for a reliable postal service that small firms across the country rely on to serve their customers.

“It’s no secret that small businesses are facing difficult trading conditions, with consumer confidence near a current record low, and with many facing higher energy bills even once Government support has been factored in, as well as elevated costs in other areas.

“Disruption to postal services being added to the mix is not something that will be welcomed by small firms, especially during the festive period, when both receiving and sending out goods and products is crucial to margins.

“Small businesses would be well advised to plan ahead, to see if alternative methods of sending and receiving can be found. Customer communication will also be key – letting customers know as far in advance as possible when they should order by to avoid disappointment.”

Southampton Independents has still not received any response from the local branch of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) or the national media officer of the CWU. We have chased.

---

UPDATE (9/12/22): Contacting the local CWU branch to offer them a Right of Reply was very difficult, as the contact details that they gave for multiple forms of contact were wrong. The email was wrong and their contact link was wrong, leading to a "404 error". Nevertheless, we have contacted the phone number they give out and left a message offering them a Right of Reply. To date, we have had no response from the Wessex South Central branch. Neither have we had a response from the national contact of the CWU.

ITV News is reporting that there will be a rally at Parliament today. They write:

"Royal Mail workers will stage a rally on Friday in their thousands, to mark another strike in the increasingly bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions."

---

(8/12/22): The CEO of Royal Mail has written an open letter to residential customers and businesses. It is copied below, in full.

Southampton Independents acts for residents and businesses, while everybody else dithers and apportions blame, especially Labour and the Tories.

The Daily Echo has reported that Southampton Royal staff had been "told to prioritise parcels over letters", although the veracity of the claims made in the article, including the source of the photos, have been disputed. 

However, postal staff have confirmed to Southampton Independents that parcel services are being prioritised, and eBay have been telling their sellers that the Tracked 48 and Tracked 24 services are being prioritised during strike action.

eBay Royal Mail Postage Service

We have contacted the Federation of Small Businesses and asked them what they are doing to get resolution in the dispute. At the time of writing, we are still waiting for a response.

We have also contacted the Communications Workers Union locally and nationally to offer them a Right of Reply to the CEO's letter. While we wait for their reply, follow this link here to read what the union says on its website about the dispute.

The CWU confirm their strike dates on their website as:

"Friday 9^th December
Sunday 11^th December
Wednesday 14^th December
Thursday 15^th December
Friday 23^rd December
Saturday 24^th December"

And they have a set of Q & As on their site, for example:

"Why is the CWU in dispute with Royal Mail over pay?

Our Royal Mail members have had an unagreed 2 per cent pay deal imposed on them.

This is at a time when RPI inflation is currently running at 11.8 per cent and when Royal Mail has announced Group profits of £758 million and when the company is paying out many millions to private shareholders.

In a national strike ballot over pay, our Royal Mail members voted by a 97.6 per cent majority to take action."

Southampton Independents investigator, former postman and activist for the CWU, Andrew Pope, says:

"There are two sides in every industrial dispute. But enough is enough. This dispute must end now. Both sides must resolve the dispute. The Government must act to protect the economy. Members of Parliament must act to protect their constituents."

---

From Royal Mail:

"An open letter to our customers
 

    
Dear <customer or business>,
 
At Royal Mail, we know this is the time of year when you rely on us most.

So we deeply regret that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is planning further strikes on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December 2022.

Last week we delivered around 700,000 parcels during strike days and recovered service quickly. I want to thank personally more than 11,000 of our employees who came back to work during that last strike.

But the task gets more challenging as Christmas nears. So we’re asking customers to send Second Class mail by 12 December and First Class by 16 December 2022.

We’ll do everything we can to respond. And we're doing everything we can to settle this dispute.

Eight months of talks with the union. A pay offer of up to 9% over 18 months. But even before the strikes we were losing £1m a day. So we can only afford that offer if the union stops resisting the changes needed to deliver what you, our customers, ask for today.

You’re sending 60% fewer letters than you used to, and the number keeps on falling. You’re sending more parcels, which you want delivered quickly, including at weekends.

We’ve also listened carefully to our employees. Existing employees who aren’t required to work Sundays won’t be required to do so. And we’re introducing family-friendly options to help with our need for more afternoon working.

We are bringing in new recruits on different contracts, but their terms, conditions and pensions will still be the best in the industry. This is not the gig economy. We have a generous voluntary redundancy scheme and are NOT making compulsory redundancies.

We are the only people who deliver a universal one-price-goes-anywhere service to the whole United Kingdom, and we know how much you need us.

We urge the CWU to call off these damaging strikes. And we’ll do everything we can to deliver Christmas.

For everybody.
 
Yours sincerely,

Simon Thompson
CEO, Royal Mail"

On Mass Immigration and Our Economy, It's More Labour And Tory - And The Same Old Story

 

We Left The EU Didn't We?

 

According to the Government and Members of Parliament, the UK has "left" the EU. Have we noticed? What impact has it had on mass immigration? The Conservatives' version of "Brexit" does not seem to match what people voted for in 2016.

Before the 2016 EU Referendum, people were promised that the UK would "take back control" of our borders.

Yet statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the:

 "highest net migration since the Second World War and is far higher than pre-Brexit levels."

And it is the same old story with our economy as well as mass immigration, with Labour or Conservative governments "in control" (except they haven't been in control as it's been repeated failure and chaos):

• the cost of living has spiralled out of control, with people worried about heating their homes and paying for basics including food
  
• our economy has tanked after 12 years of mismanagement and chaos in Government by the Tories, who - let's not forget - took over from Labour's Gordon Brown who also tanked the economy
• massive strikes across the board, crippling our economy and with continued below-inflation pay increases
• mismanagement of our NHS and economy during the Pandemic
  
• threats of unemployment and a two-year long recession by the Bank of England

It doesn't seem to matter who is in Government, it is the people of Southampton who suffer.

Here is what the Southampton Independents candidate for Southampton Test at the 2017 General Election, Andrew Pope said at the time. 

 

Former Councillor Andrew Pope

 

Andrew was not elected, but he listened to what the people of Southampton said, and represented their views.

So what about the current MPs for Southampton? There are three.

1. Southampton Test has a Labour MP, Alan Whitehead. He voted against leaving the European Union. Has he acted to limit mass immigration?
   
2. Southampton Itchen has a Conservative MP, Royston Smith. What has he done to bring mass immigration under control?
3. Romsey and Southampton North has a Conservative MP, Caroline Noakes. What has she done to bring mass immigration under control, as a Government Minister?

Have these Labour and Tory MPs represented you?

They have not respected the vote at the 2016 EU Referendum.

These MPs and their Westminster parties have done very little to bring mass immigration under control. If they have done anything, it has not worked.

It's more Labour or Tory and the same old story.

Who do they represent? Because it does not seem to be the people of Southampton, or the views of the people of Southampton at Westminster.

These MPs put themselves and their parties first.

 

HAVE LABOUR LEARNED ANYTHING ON FIRE SAFETY?

The Daily Echo On Our Campaign

It seems not.

In 2017, we began a campaign on fire safety in Southampton City Council buildings. They didn't want to listen. Labour councillors didn't want to listen. 

Councillor Warwick Payne - responsible for housing - said that residents didn't want sprinklers. Our campaign continued. We forced them to install sprinklers in tower blocks.

We published the evidence of fire safety failings on our website. BBC Radio 5 Live's Adrian Goldberg spoke to Councillor Andrew Pope who showed him the failings. As shown in the video, a fire safety expert was appalled at what we found.

Five years later, have Labour learned anything? There are still serious fire safety concerns. 

And now, there are reports of incidents at Roundhill Close following concerns raised by residents about fire safety. Labour councillors are asleep at the wheel at the Council, and they are still putting residents at risk. 

 

 

The "Leader" of the Council, Labour Councillor Satvir Kaur was also Cabinet Member for Housing. She is responsible for the failings.

 

Meanwhile, the Council don't want to answer our questions on fire safety. We have a habit of getting answers though. 

 

INDEPENDENT REPORT CONFIRMS THAT SOUTHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN RUN WRONGLY FOR YEARS

Labour or Tory, Same Old Story

We said Labour or Tory, same old story. And residents agreed. They still agree.

 

Now, this independent report from a council watchdog confirms it. The report was commissioned by the Council itself.

It is damning of how the Council has been run by Labour and Tory councillors.

Co-founder of Southampton Independents and former Independent Councillor Andrew Pope says:

Former Councillor Andrew Pope
on BBC South Today

"While Labour and Tory councillors bicker with each other, and incredibly with officers it seems, residents continue to suffer.
Meanwhile, the CEO Mike Harris rose through the ranks, having been involved in scandal after scandal that did down our City and its people, including:
- Kentish Road respite centre
- Oaklands swimming pool
- and the doomed Arts Complex over which I received nothing but excuses from Mr Harris when I asked questions of him and the previous Chief Financial Officer Mel Creighton.
Do residents really want this sort of stuff to continue? Then you need to act with other residents. Get in touch and we will help you."

Our contact details are here.

UPDATE (13/8/22): VICTORY! Andrew Pope Succeeds In His Campaign For Safe Standing at Southampton FC and St. Mary's Stadium

 

Daily Echo 10th August 2022
Our Campaign Win!

 

UPDATE (13/8/22): After 5 years campaigning, with our increased pressure on Southampton FC producing our victory, officers of Southampton FC have finally announced in public that they will be bringing safe standing in. It happened at the Fans Forum earlier this week. Saints' admission was in response to a question from Adam Blackmore of BBC Radio Solent. Southampton Independents had been in touch with BBC Radio Solent prior to Southampton FC's announcement, to inform them of our campaign victory.

Andrew Pope Demonstrating Rail Seats
At A Media Call He Organised in Southampton in 2018

We have great news. Another campaign win for Southampton Independents and Andrew Pope. We've won on Safe Standing at St. Mary's.

We have given the Daily Echo an exclusive on our 5 YEAR campaign for Safe Standing a St. Mary's Stadium. They write:

Daily Echo Website Late on 9/8/22

"The step forward for safe standing is a victory for former independent city councillor Andrew Pope who has been campaigning on the issue for five years. 

He says it would improve the atmosphere and matchday experience for both home and away fans.

Now, he's been contacted by Saints to say they are looking to 'adopt and embrace' safe standing."

Daily Echo 10th Aug 2022

 

Andrew, who is a former Southampton Independents councillor, said:

Andrew at St. Mary's in 2018

"I am delighted that after five years of leading the campaign for Safe Standing, that Southampton FC have finally confirmed to me that they will be doing a trial and that I will be consulted on the designs, which I understand are imminent.

I would like to thank Tim Greenwell of Southampton FC for listening to me on my concerns regarding fan safety and for confirming this trial, Jon Darch of the Rail Seats Roadshow and Ann Ramage of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority.

I would also like to thank the Daily Echo for covering the full course of my campaign over the five years.

As for Southampton City Council, their responses to my Freedom of Information requests have been an embarrassment to our City. They denied the existence of the campaign, their own letter to Southampton FC and even that the Full Council meeting happened. I am considering complaining to the Information Commissioner's Office."

Southampton Independents listened to Saints fans.

Southampton Independents acted for Saints fans.

Labour and the Tories were nowhere to be seen. They do not listen to residents. They do not act for residents.

Southampton Independents does provide leadership. But it also listens to and works with Southampton residents.

Andrew adds:

"We've had it confirmed by the Council in their second FoI response to me - the Labour-run and Tory-run councils did nothing. That's not just my opinion. It is a fact proven by Southampton City Council officers. 

Just the one letter - in four years - was sent by the Council on safe standing. And that was ordered by the motion that I forced through the Council! 

The contents of the letter by former Labour Leader of the Council Christopher Hammond were very weak. He didn't bother to consult me before sending his letter form of limp lettuce. So I had to up the pressure.

And it is just as well that Saints fans did not rely on the "Executive taking the lead" as written to me by Labour Councillor Dave Shields after he and the other councillors majority voted for my motion. Because the FoI response PROVES he and successive Labour or Tory councils did nothing!

It's another campaign win for me and Southampton Independents, but most importantly, for Saints fans and Southampton residents. That's what Southampton Independents exists to do."

England versus Wales
St. Mary's Stadium

 

Southampton Itchen Conservative MP Royston Smith's Appalling Record on Climate Change

 

Southampton Itchen MP
Conservative Royston Smith
(Photo: Parliament)

"Royston Smith consistently voted against measures to prevent climate change"

Southampton Independents wants to see clear action from Southampton councillors and Southampton Members of Parliament. One of the MPs is Royston Smith, MP for Southampton Itchen in the East of our City.

According to independent analysis by TheyWorkForYou.com:

"Royston Smith consistently voted against measures to prevent climate change"

TheyWorkForYou shows that Royston Smith voted against dealing with climate change right from when he was first elected in 2015, and the last vote they tracked was in 2021.

Last year, the Daily Echo reported that Royston Smith "hit out as climate pressure rises", responding to an attack from Southampton Test Labour MP Alan Whitehead on the Conservatives' record on climate change:

"Tory MP for Southampton Itchen Royston Smith has claimed that the government has 'ambitious plans' to tackle climate change."

Andrew Pope, a former Southampton Independents councillor who stood against Alan Whitehead for Southampton Independents in the 2017 General Election, responds:

 

 

Andrew Pope Campaigner on Climate Change

 

"Royston Smith's record is appalling on climate change. It is proved by his voting record.

 

Alan Whitehead also attacked the Conservative-run Council. The Conservatives only had control of the Council for just one year in the last ten, since 2012. So if he is going to attack the Council for its lack of action, then it is Labour that has failed to act on climate change here in Southampton. And Alan Whitehead's time is up.

Labour prefers to pretend it is taking action, but when I campaigned for the Council to install solar panels on all of the Council housing, the Labour-run Council was not interested. 

 

Many of the climate change ideas of the former Labour Leader of the Council Richard Williams, were lost when he resigned in disgrace for misleading councillors, for misleading council officers and for misleading the public.

It's yet another case of Labour or Tory, same old story. Southampton Independents will fight to prevent the damage to wildlife, to Planet Earth and to humans, caused by the failure of successive Labour and Tory Governments to stop climate change."

 

 

Southampton Independents
Supporters in 2018

One of Our 2018 Campaigns on Environment

 

Southampton Independents Supporters
At The 2017 General Election