After Shirley and City Centre Chaos, ANOTHER Crazy Labour Council Road Scheme To Go Ahead - at Portswood Broadway

 

ANOTHER Crazy Highway Scheme By Labour

After the chaos caused by Labour's 20mph signs on Hill Lane and Shirley Road, and months of disruption in the City Centre for no benefit to residents, Labour's cycling fanatic Councillor Eamonn Keogh is pushing ahead with another crazy road scheme as Labour's Cabinet Member for Transport.

This time it's the hated Portswood Broadway scheme, going ahead for "a trial" in 2025.

And just like in Shirley, Keogh is going ahead with it against common sense and despite huge resistance and objections from local residents. More sham consultations mean residents are ignored.

Southampton Independents' Andrew Pope spent his own time as a concerned volunteer to properly listen to Portswood and Highfield residents, and told the Daily Echo what he had found - that the vast majority of residents were against this scheme. He also contacted local residents' associations and encouraged petitions against the proposals to be signed, and encouraged residents to stand for Council.

Via hundreds of leaflets and letters and doorstep conversations with residents and businesses, Andrew found that there was huge dissatisfaction with Keogh's chaotic plans. Andrew says:

Andrew Pope, speaking when a councillor
to BBC South Today

"After my campaign to expose Labour's mistakes on the Broadway scheme, Labour lost one of their Portswood Council seats to the Greens. It seems Labour want to lose more seats in this area, because they are not listening to local residents.

Labour's Transport Councillor Eamonn Keogh seems hell-bent on ruining any productivity on our roads, and his cycling fanaticism is ruining the journeys of the 89% of people who use the car or walk in our City. Cycling and buses should be encouraged but both are a tiny percentage of journeys in our City.

Cllr Keogh shouldn't be experimenting again in our City, as his previous experiments in Shirley on Hill Lane and Shirley Road, and in the City Centre, have both failed, and wasted a huge amount of public money - when the Council is broke. It was obvious that the experiments would not work, but the Labour Council went ahead anyway.

It's time the Leader of the Council Councillor Lorna Fielker removed him from his Transport role, for the sake of our City, the Council's finances, and City businesses and residents."

Safe Standing "A Resounding Success" - Now The Next Step in Our Saints Fan Safety Campaigning

Andrew Pope Letter Daily Echo 25 October 2024

The Inquest into the death of Saints fan Simon Oakley has concluded, as reported by the Daily Echo.

Following the Inquest, Southampton Independents Andrew Pope has had a letter published in the Echo as a response to requests that he has received from Saints fans for "grab rails" in the aisles of the stands.

 

Part 1 of the Letter to the Daily Echo

Having led the seven-year-long successful safe standing campaign, with 7,000 fans in the Northam Stand better protected with rail seats, Andrew says in the letter that he agrees with campaigner David Davies and the other Saints fans that had contacted him. Andrew has written to Southampton FC, Southampton City Council and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority.

 

Part 2 of the Letter to the Daily Echo

The Sports Grounds Safety Authority has already replied to say that while it is not a legal requirement, Southampton FC could go ahead and install grab rails:

"there are no legal requirements for radial stairways leading to stadium seating areas to have grab rails (sometimes known as comfort rails). It is a matter for the stadium to consider whether they want to go over and above the legal standards."

Responses from Southampton FC and the Council are awaited.

Southampton Labour City Councillors' Job Cuts and EXTRA £3 MILLION On Consultants - To Add to Existing £9 Million

 

 

At a Southampton City Council meeting on 24th October, it was reported that a total of £12.1 million would be spent by the Labour-run Council over two years as part of their "Transformation Programme".

Previously, the total figure on consultants was "only" £9 million.

Not only would £9 million be spent on consultants Newton. An extra £3.1 million would be spent on other consultants, including those advising on "waste" and "leisure".

Co-founder of Southampton Independents and former Shirley by-election candidate Andrew Pope says:

"As a resident I find this extra £3.1m even more outrageous than the £9 million, and an admission that the Labour Administration and its officers are even more clueless than we already knew.

On the doorsteps of Shirley, the £9 million went down very badly with residents.

An extra £3.1 million will make many more Southampton residents unhappy with the way the Labour Party is running, has run down, and continues to run down the Council.

It's our money they are spending. And all this while cutting even more jobs, up to 168 of them. So much for those council employees who thought that Labour would save jobs."

Southampton Labour Councillors Abandon Prioritising Southampton People for Southampton Council Housing

 

Labour Fails on Council Housing

Do you think that Southampton council housing should be prioritised for Southampton people? 

We do, because Southampton residents do. 

Yet, just two weeks after Labour's shallow and wide General Election win, Southampton Labour councillors voted to allow people who live outside Southampton to get equal priority with Southampton people who live in Southampton.

How do we know what residents think? Because we are residents too and we've asked them about it.

When Independent Candidate Andrew Pope asked residents during the recent Shirley by-election (which the Liberal Democrat candidate won), residents agreed that Southampton residents should be prioritised for council housing over those that do not live here.

It would seem to be common sense, that those who have contributed to Southampton and who have local connections should receive something back for their loyalty to our City.

The Council Cabinet, composed entirely of Labour councillors, voted in July to water down the 10-year-long policy introduced in 2014 under Labour's Local Election Manifesto.

This Labour Manifesto was co-ordinated by Andrew Pope, a year before he resigned from the Labour Party in disgust at the performance of the Labour-run Council and its broken promises, including over its failure to build the council housing it promised in 2012. 

As reported here on the Southampton Independents website, Labour has built a paltry amount of council-owned housing, breaking another promise. It has had over a decade to do so.

 

Andrew Pope, speaking in 2017 to the BBC

 Andrew says:

"One of the Local Election Manifesto pledges in 2014 was to make the local connection essential for anyone wanting to go on the housing waiting list, which at the time was huge. And it still is huge at around 8,000 according to the Council.

I pushed for this policy to be a pledge for Labour because I had listened to local residents in the Maybush, Millbrook and Redbridge areas that I represented as a councillor who felt that people from outside Southampton were getting priority instead. And Southampton residents elsewhere felt the same, I had learned from listening to colleagues when co-ordinating the Manifesto.

I felt strongly that it was important to address this perception and to actually give priority to our own people. I made the case to my Labour colleagues at the time.

Sadly, there was resistance from some in the Southampton Labour group of councillors and also amongst Southampton Labour Party members. Some of them even called it a 'racist' policy.

But then some of them, especially the ones who have poor debating skills, used that word a lot when they could not make a coherent or reasoned argument, for example in the 2016 Council debate about the EU Referendum.

The policy is definitely not racist. It is about contribution to our City, including those who have paid council tax, and rewarding that commitment to our City by its residents. It is called the 'contributory principle' that the Liberal William Beveridge advocated for in his famous reports after World War II that led to the modern 'welfare state'.

I can exclusively reveal that a Freedom of Information request that I put in has confirmed that Southampton Labour councillors, and Southampton City Council itself under Labour rule, have capitulated to those in Southampton and Westminster who do not stand up for Southampton and its people.

Not only did they vote to water down the 'local connection' policy.

The Council's Freedom of Information response was that they did not know how often they enforced the local connection policy, because they did not have this information. 

Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the Council have not been enforcing this policy, and all and sundry are allowed to get council housing.

Southampton people are not getting priority.

Even worse, according to the report of the Cabinet meeting by the Local Democracy Reporter, Jason Lewis, the Tories have gone along with the Labour Cabinet vote - what kind of opposition is this?

It is yet another broken promise by Labour and its councillors and another case of Labour or Tory and the same old story.

I have written to the Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Frampton, and the Leader of the Council Cllr Fielker, asking for an explanation. I have also asked the Tory Group Leader Cllr Baillie why they support this policy u-turn."

Southampton City Council Shirley Ward By-Election Result 10th October 2024

 

The Liberal Democrat Candidate George Percival won the Shirley by-election on 10th October 2024, turning around a large deficit from the election in the same ward that took place in May 2024. 

The Tories and Labour candidates were a distant second and third. The only Independent candidate Andrew Pope was fifth out of the six candidates, behind the Green Party candidate. And the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate was last.

Andrew Pope says:

Andrew's recent "safe standing" campaign victory
at St Mary's Stadium

 

"I am proud of running my own campaign with no notice, as the power of calling a by-election was with the Labour Party.

Thank you to the people who voted for me. This is just the beginning of the rebirth of Southampton Independents.

People are already offering to help to campaign, because they know that the Westminster parties let them down. Independent campaigners work with others to win.

It is clear from their comments at the count that the Westminster parties threw everything at this by-election. Many people commented on the doorstep that they had much more contact during this by-election than during the recent General Election.

I congratulated George Percival on his win when I was at the count, and told him that I would immediately be campaigning to get a number of the 20mph signs removed from the ward, especially on Hill Lane. 

That campaign has already begun. Labour promised to remove the 20mph signs in May, just before the election, in a blatant attempt to influence the result of that election. 

Labour have now lost hundreds of votes in just five months, and they deserve to for breaking so many promises in Southampton and at Westminster.

As is proven by the result, residents increasingly agree with my saying on the thousands of leaflets that I delivered: 'Labour or Tory, same old story'."

 

The full result was:

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Residents Demand End to Labour and Tory Councillors' 20mph Failure

 

Vigilantes Have Taken Steps
Because the 20mph Fantasy Has Failed

Over the last few years, Southampton motorists, cyclists, lorry drivers and pedestrians have been subjected to disruption and confusion by Southampton City Council.

Labour, Green Party and Conservative councillors have pushed for 20mph "limits" to be put in place. But it is difficult to find residents who wanted them.

Instead of improving road safety, the evidence of residents who live near them suggests that the 20mph signs have created confusion and actually increased danger through frustration.

The 20mph signs have been vandalised by vigilantes. The signs can't be called limits as according to residents and motorists, the vast majority of drivers seem to ignore them and there are little or no reports of any enforcement by the Police. The vandalism by the vigilantes shows how unpopular the signs are, and how out-of-touch these councillors are.

Andrew Pope stood as an Independent candidate in the recent Shirley by-election, and asked residents what issues were important to them. 

Andrew Pope on BBC South Today

Andrew says:

"Enough is enough! There is almost universal disapproval of the safety failures on Hill Lane. The top of Hill Lane, with its two roundabouts, a pelican crossing and two zebra crossings, and more, is already dangerous.

It must be revised and measures put in place that actually work. That's where money should be spent, not on daft schemes that don't work and which cause disruption and danger.

The 20mph signs on Hill Lane are actually creating confusion and danger, and this location is one of the last places this should happen.

What is incredible is how Southampton City Council and its Shirley Labour councillors thought this would be a good idea in the first place. Now there is one less Labour councillor, after the by-election. It's easy to see why they lost.

It should be obvious that it would not work. Residents have said it would not work. The original trials of 20mph signs in Maybush Triangle, where I was councillor, did not work. The signs remained up though. It was deemed "expensive" to take them down.

But the Council ignored that data and what sensible residents thought and councillors such as Councillor Eamonn Keogh, who is Labour Cabinet Member for Transport and Deputy Tory Leader Councillor Jeremy Moulton have carried on putting the 20mph signs up. I have challenged Cllr Moulton over this, and he came back with some figures from Edinburgh, of all places.

The Council claims to have "consulted" residents. But during the Shirley by-election, finding residents who said that they had been consulted proved impossible.

In hundreds of doorstep conversations, and requests in letters to residents about the issues that mattered to them, ZERO residents said that they had been consulted about the Hill Lane 20mph signs or the Shirley Road 20mph signs. It's a fantasyland by Labour and Tory councillors who seem to have been influenced by a tiny minority of "Green" lobbyists.

I have listened very carefully to residents, and come to the conclusion that these 20mph signs on Hill Lane and Shirley Road must be removed immediately before someone is injured or killed.

The Labour-run Council claimed that it was going to do so back in May, just before the Council elections, but five months later, it has failed to do it. Their abuse of election purdah should not have been allowed by Council officers. But they got away with it. And despite saying it would be done quickly, they still haven't done what they said. Labour lost hundreds of votes in Shirley in just five months and decisions like this played a part in that.

I am calling for these 20mph signs on Hill Lane and Shirley Road to be removed NOW, and for proper road safety measures to be put in place that work, where they are thought-through and proven. That's what residents and motorists want.

I know from my work as an interviewer on the Department of Transport's National Travel Survey that the vast majority of journeys are made by car or foot (89%), whether Labour, Tory or Green fanatic councillors like it or not. Cycling and bus journeys are a tiny proportion of journeys. Even when trains are included, it's still only 10% of trips.

In a democracy, the majority should win out, not a tiny minority of cycling lobbyists. It is well-known, including by officers of the Council, that Cllr Eamonn Keogh is a cycling fanatic. Being a councillor and Cabinet Member, he is supposed to put personal views aside in the interests of our City. But Keogh seems to think it's his role to put his own, minority, views first. He's wrong.

Cyclists, motorists and pedestrians should be protected by road safety schemes that actually work, not a fantasyland of putting up some signs and hoping, which seems to be the Council's current policy."

ON 10TH OCTOBER VOTE POPE, ANDREW DOUGLAS – THE INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE – FOR SHIRLEY WARD SOUTHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL

Andrew Pope Election Address

VOTE POPE, ANDREW DOUGLAS – THE INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE –

FOR SHIRLEY WARD SOUTHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL THIS THURSDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2024

Shirley residents have had enough of political parties. I asked them. They encouraged me to stand as an Independent candidate. So I am, proving that I listen, I act. What issues matter to you? As I say in my leaflets and letters, I am here to listen and act – wisely - for residents. So that is exactly what I have been doing. Email me at sotonindies@gmail.com to tell me what matters to you.

The buses or lack of buses? The 20mph signs on Hill Lane and Shirley Road? Crime? Winter fuel payments cut by Southampton Labour MPs? Labour’s bankrupt Council? Our country run into the ground by Tory failures? Labour or Tory, same old story – do you agree? Time to vote differently…

I believe that I am the best candidate. Why? I hope that you agree with the following reasons:

·     I have eight years of experience as a Southampton City Councillor. This is more than all of the other candidates put together, with some who have no experience at all.

·     I have helped thousands of people over the years, with issues on flooding, mental health, sustainable transport, housing, power cuts, safety at St. Mary’s Stadium, sprinklers and fire safety, planning applications, noise nuisance, smoke control, parking, policing, anti-social behaviour, and much more. You can see more on the www.sotonindies.org website.

·     I have won many substantial and long-running campaigns for Southampton’s people, as shown in my positive pink leaflet, with evidence that can be clicked through on the www.sotonindies.org website that links to articles on the websites of the Daily Echo, BBC Hampshire, BBC Radio Solent and more.

·    I live and work in Shirley, running my own PopeyMon Consultancy business and interviewing the public as a professional interviewer for vital Government surveys on health, education, transport and more.

·    My pink leaflet is printed here in Southampton, supporting local business. Are the others?

·    I am not with any of the political parties. I am doing this because I believe that Southampton City Council needs independent representation again. And Shirley does too.

·    Like I did when I was councillor before in the Redbridge ward, I ask the questions that other councillors do not ask. I find out things that they do not. I take actions that they do not.

On 10^th October, Vote Andrew Douglas Pope X - for a Council run for Southampton residents.

Look for Pope, Andrew Douglas on the ballot paper when you vote. It will not say “Independent” or have a party emblem – just my name. I hope that you will vote for me. Thanks for reading.

Best wishes, Andrew Douglas Pope, Independent Candidate for Shirley Ward