At long last it finally seems the Council are set to approve a policy for gating back alleys. A mere three years after I first pressed for a policy to be adopted.

It has been a frustrating three years to, with many schemes unable to proceed despite residents pleas, police support and councillors support - but because Bury Council didn’t have a policy we were stuffed!

The fact is it has been proven elsewhere that closing back alleys cuts crime and anti-social behaviour dramatically and as such I will be pressing for a number of alleys to be closed as soon as possible.  In some ways it’s a shame but if it cuts crime and improves the lot of affected residents then it has to be a good thing.

This may seem like my craziest post yet but the fact is that unless politics is revitalised and revamped with new faces, new blood - and I mean ordinary people like YOU!!!  then it will prove disastrous for this country - leading to poorer Government, (even more) out of touch politicians and terrible decisions.

WE  NEED YOU NOW. And I don’t mean the Lib Dems alone. All the mainstream political parties. If you care about the area you live in, your community, your town and the issues that affect you, the do something about it. Talk to the local political parties and either join one of them or get involved helping out to start with.

Only by community minded local residents getting involved and influencing the parties will our politics become more representative, more vibrant and dynamic and more effective. So go on get involved - we don’t bite you know, and you might even enjoy yourself! 

I read with interest local Conservative, Mr Grosskopfs comments in last weeks letters. Mr Grosskopf starts with a mistaken understanding of Gordon Browns economic policies and then goes on to provide a kindergarten explanation of how a Conservative Government would make everything in the garden rosy.

Fist of all, and anyone who know me knows that I am no defender of Labour policies, but I will grant that Gordon Browns economic policies have sought to end boom and bust in our economy despite Mr Grosskopfs comments last week. It is the methods employed in ending the boom and bust economic cycles previously suffered that has led to ridiculous borrowing levels by financial institutions and individuals alike that has led to our present demise. So if we are to blame Labour for the state of our economy lets at least get the reasons right!

He then goes on to suggest that a Conservative Government will sort this mess out and it will somehow be better for local government. I was first elected to Bury Council under a Conservative Government and perhaps I need to remind people - certainly local Conservatives, about the devastation wrecked on local Councils by a Conservative Government intent on blaming all the worlds ills on local councils while claiming the glory for every “saving” going at national level. Conservative Governments brought local councils to their knees, forcing damaging cuts to vital services and enforcing savage cuts to council responsibilities and powers. A Conservative Government would be no friend to local councils - remember the poll tax!

He then goes on to tell people that in any case the Lib Dems don’t stand a chance locally at the next general election. Me thinks he is worried. If  everything was as it was in 2005 he would be right. But we have more Councillors - more than the Conservatives in Bury South, Labour are much weaker, the world has changed  and the Lib Dems are stronger. And just to correct his comment, actually a vote for the Lib Dems will be just that AND will help us win in Bury South AND help us ensure we get fairer Government, better Government and a fresh start for Britain.

He finishes by questioning the Lib Dems achievements in the 10 years since we took “power” in Prestwich. I wish he checked his facts first. Sadly we have only been controlling the Area Partnership for the past 5 years and if he checked out the “powers” we have at local level he would discover that we are very limited in what we can do aside from Tory controlled Bury Council. In actual fact under those cicumstances I feel we have achieved an awful lot in 5 years and undoubtedly if the Bury Council was Lib Dem led we would have achieved much much more. But the one fact remains that whoever rund Bury or the Area Partnership I can assure residents that local Lib Dems will be fighting your corner on the issues that matter.

The news that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has come out in opposition to the proposed development of a Goals soccer centre at Heaton Park is surely another serious blow to Manchester City Council’s ambitions in that direction.

HLF have confirmed that they support the sentiments of English Heritage that essentially the plans amount to over development and are not in keeping with the historical nature of the park and it’s open parkland.

Meanwhile Manchester City Council refuse to allow residents to see the deeds to the park.

In response to a Freedom of Information request MCC said they wouldn’t supply a copy of the deeds as they were available elsewhere (not quite true). The question has to be asked what is Manchester  CC frightened of , why are they hiding the deeds, what are they trying to stop local people seeing.

For years it has been suggested that the deeds contain covenants stating that the park can not be developed. So perhaps its time for Manchester to come clean. If they have nothing to hide show us the deeds, it’s as simple as that.

As Green energy and other initiatives take hold and become more embedded in out enterprise culture isn’t it time the Government had a strategy for green energy and a sustainable economy?

We just seem to be drifting from initiative to initiative in a desperate attempt to appear “green” , when what is needed is a costed, properly worked out national policy.

The trouble is the Government wants it all ways - firstly it wants to appear green, secondly it worries about the green sceptics an doubters especially in a time of recession and thirdly this Labour Government isn;t really that green conscious anyway.

So while the climate change/sustainable energy closk keeps ticking our policies are drifting with lots of fine rhetoric and initiatives here and there that never quite add up.

Along with my better half I attended the Farmers market at the longfield precinct today.

Even bigger and better than last time it once again seems to have been a great success. It really does add value to the precinct in so much as it brings quality produce to our precinct to provide an added attraction for local residents who hopefully will take advantage and visit other local shops and pubs/restaurants.

As always my eyes were bigger than my stomach and we overspent - but it’s all good stuff. The good news is that I understand that it is scheduled to come back at the end of November. Hopefully it will remain a regular attraction now.

In what can only be described as gross insensitivity, the compassion shown by the Scottish Government in releasing early the Lockerbie bomber due to terminal illness was swept away by an insulting act of hero celebration for his return home to Libya.

Despite pleas from the British and Scottish Government for the reception to be low key the response by the Libyans was appalling and clearly shows how unaware or utterly uncaring they are about the act of terrorism that was the lockerbie bombing.

If anything this heroes welcome for the lockerbie bomber just raises further concerns about our determination to “bring Libya into the international fold”, can they be trusted?

Congratulations to all those celebrating their A level results today - and commiserations to all those not!

Remember it’s not the end of the world if your results are dissapointing you will have further opportunities and life has a habit of throwing many of opportunities in you path.

Well done for all your endeavours whether you got the reults you wanted or not.

David Cameron is today making a speech on the NHS in another desperate attempt to prove the Conservatives are the party of the NHS , that it’s safe in their hands.

The trouble is even if we believe him, I am not sure I can believe the Conservative Party - especially following very public outbursts from  some of his MEP’s etc.

The problem is their past handling of the NHS and the lack of detail on their current policies. For instance they propose to “introduce more providers”. Now this can only mean privatisation. But there is no substance or detail so we can only wonder and worry about the extent of the privatisation they plan.

Until we see the small print of their health manifesto then no one can be confident that the NHS won’t suffer as it did under Thatcher and Major. The Tories can’t be trusted with our vital public services. That has been proved time and time again.

Today is the first ever World Humanitarian Day to honour international aid workers. The UN who announced World Humanitarian Day hope the event will focus attention on aid workers and increase support for their role.

Aid staff are working in increasingly dangerous environments and are frequently targets of attacks, it says.

Last year 122 international aid workers were killed, a death toll that was higher than that for UN peacekeeping troops.

The inaugural World Humanitarian Day falls on the sixth anniversary of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, in which 22 workers died.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the UN in in New York to remember the victims of the 2003 attack.

The day comes six years after the bombing of the UN’s Baghdad office

Over the past few years Aid workers have been increasingly seen as legitimate targets for killing or kidnapping as a tactic for some groups.

The UN hopes the day will serve as a reminder that aid work is based on a very simple principle: to bring impartial humanitarian relief to all those in need, our correspondent says.

I know very well the risks taken by aid workers. I have a cousin who has worked as an aid worker for the UN, and has been shot, assualted and held at gun point in her time. That’s on top of having to endure hostile conditions, with basic or little amenities - she has also suffered from food poisoning and infections as a result. But she loves the work and the relief aid brings is immensely satisfying.

In our violent world of strife, civil unrest, increased climate extremes and disruption aid work has never been more important and is literally a matter of life and death for millions and a crucial support for struggling nations.