The executive met today to discuss implemenation of the new projects, the ideas for which were developed at the recent away day.  More news to follow.

The development of the community project continues apace.  At todays management committee we covered the re-structure of the building and the educational offer that is planned for the new Community House on Westcroft Road.

I visited the Good Neighbours christmas meal today, along with John Cameron and John Leech, and excellent it was.   This community organisation does a fantastic job in our local area.

John Cameron and I met today with the people organising the cross city bus route to raise our concerns about the potential impact of closing Oxford Road to all but busses, taxis and cycles on the Burnage area.

We have asked that the impact on the 50 be carefully measured, that bus and cycle lanes be considered for Kingsway and that a safe alternative route be designated and signposted for cyclists rather than having to negotiate the roundabouts at the north end of Kingsway.

It is high time that supermarkets receiving alcohol licenses were required to treat their alcohol sales as a distinct cost centre, in order to stop them from using cheap beer and wine as a loss leader to attract people through their doors.

I have today called on the City Council to review its alochol licenses to see if this can be achieved under current legislation, or if we need to press for government legislate to make this possible.

Council rents in Manchester look set to rise by around 2% next year following the announcement of the Government’s recommended increase.  This is over 1% above the recommended rise in rents for housing association tennants.

I still believe that the Government is wrong to be interfering, as it does, with the local management of rents and services in the way it does.  Local associations should be able to set rents that meet the financial needs in their business plans, rather than the arbitrary but politically acceptable rates set by Government.

The recommended rates last year were around 3% for Council tennants and 7% for housing association tennants.

Good meeting of the Shadow Executive tonight.

Excellent piece in the Manchester Mule on Manchester’s housing crisis.

This is an independent assessment by an independent journal.

Click here to link to article.

When I tabled an amendment at today’s City Council calling on the City to offer every assistance to the vicitims of the recent flooding in Cumbria, the leader of the Labour party spent an entire speech quite litterally in pantomime mode.

Fortunately they accepted the amendment.  Unfortunately they also added some rather foolish falsehoods about the Liberal Democrats which were totally out of keeping with the resolution before us.

I today spoke in the debate on a proposal that Manchester should honour our heroes by holding a reception for them.  I specifically asked that the invitation be extended to the Medical Corps who were not included in the original invite from Labour and I am pleased that they fully agreed with this.

The work which is being done by the Honouring the Covenant committee on which I sit continues to demonstrate what can be achieved when politicians set aside party politics to work together.