How a job that will help link communities became a victim of prejudice
The municipalists of Lancashire could have done themselves a favour by describing the official they sought to employ as a community relations officer, or something featuring the term "cohesion". But every specialty has its buzzwords and so they advertised last month for someone to lead a "mythbusting project" to promote harmony and counter slurs about migrants. Soon they were taking fire. Mayday, Mayday.
"Anger at £30,000 plan for race 'myth-buster'," said the Daily Express. "Pointless non-jobs," said Richard Littlejohn. Another harrumph from the Taxpayers' Alliance. And predictably, across the internet, ridicule and outrage.
But spend some time in Lancaster or Morecambe and the idea hardly seems outrageous. You quickly find out that it isn't a council initiative. It involves many agencies, including the police and the fire service. The county council – Tory-led, mind – is providing admin but isn't paying. There's a grant from a government pot, funded by the cost of visas.
Yes, mythbuster is a funny job description, but what do you do when faced with a leaflet saying that Muslims in the region are responsible for all the drugs? Or that English workers are unemployed/homeless/under-educated/unhappy because of the Poles? When BNP extremists become MEPs and win a seat on Lancashire county council? The air needs clearing. Someone has to do it.
Liz Neat of the National Coalition Building Institute shows me around the west end of Morecambe with Magda, a tireless liaison worker. Magda is employed by the fire service but, with a smile for everyone, she's a bridge between officialdom and Poles in the area.
Things are happening in the west end – new shops, community facilities being built. There's tension between the settled and the recently arrived, but there are also attempts help them interact. Cultural events are good; anything involving food especially so. It's the social glue. Volunteers work in a drop-in centre, newsletters are crafted. People are trying to build.
But it's difficult, especially when perceptions are set, prejudices fed, and the air is rendered toxic. If a mythbuster helps Lancashire breath more easily, what's £30,000? It's a snip.
Guardian
Showing posts with label Lancashire County Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lancashire County Council. Show all posts
October 09, 2009
July 05, 2009
Adolf Hitler – his part in my downfall
The senior counting officer’s pencil flicked over his pad: 1,154 was next to the BNP candidate’s name. Next it was me. I saw a nine, then another figure and then a blur. It wasn’t enough. I’d lost.
My partner grabbed my hand. Let’s get out of here, we both decided. A photographer’s camera flashed. Then to the car park outside Burnley Football Club where the count for the Lancashire County Council elections had taken place.
The familiar drive home, mobile phone calls. “He’s lost – to the BNP. I can’t believe it either. How the hell do you think he feels? Terrible, he’s terrible. We’re both terrible. Jesus. Watch that car will you. No, we’re fine. Well, not fine. In fact, shit – completely shit.”
Next throwing things into overnight bags and heading for the M6 for the short trip to Keswick and the escape we planned if the worst came to the worst. It was the worst, but at least we managed to laugh eventually. I’d forgotten to bring any jeans with me.
“If you think I’m spending a weekend with a man wearing suit trousers and a T-shirt, think again.” Surprisingly, the jeans I bought are quite nice – which is probably a tribute to the Keswick shop assistant who came to my rescue.
It was the end of a long career in local politics, which dated back all the way to 1986 when, fresh-faced and very much on the left, I first became a councillor.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, having been a full-time member of Lancashire County Council’s cabinet for the past eight years, I sat in a pleasant Lake District hotel bar midway through my third pint of lager and contemplating unemployment.
I’ve mellowed over the years: the left-wing rhetoric long replaced by the realisation that politics is the art of the possible. But politics locally hasn’t mellowed and a party regarded with revulsion across the political spectrum had just unceremoniously dumped me on the dole queue.
So what went wrong? In fact, the British National Party vote did not go up in Padiham, the small town just outside Burnley which I used to represent. The BNP has been getting around 30 per cent of the vote locally for the past five years and already has district councillors in the area.
What happened was very simple: the Labour vote collapsed. My personal vote wasn’t enough, the hard work I’d put in wasn’t enough and nor was the enthusiasm of my little team. We were fighting forces far outside our control.
I had managed to ride the expenses scandal. “We’re a bit short of moats round our way”, I’d tell doubting Labour voters who might even raise something close to a chuckle when I professed complete innocence of duck islands.
It all went wrong in the last few days when self-indulgent Blairite ministers started resigning. With the Government in meltdown and age-old Brownite-Blairite battles being fought in the Westminster village, those of us abandoned on the doorsteps of Labour’s heartlands didn’t stand a chance. In Lancashire, a Labour group of 44 was crushed to a tiny rump of just 15 in what had been a model local authority.
History teaches us that the British people will not vote for disunited parties. Labour, split from top to bottom under Michael Foot, was mauled in 1983.
The Tories, riven by splits over everything from sleaze to Europe, crashed to their biggest defeat in a century under John Major in 1997.
For many of us who pound the streets for the Labour Party, there is the very deepest sense of betrayal. This is not just because I lost my job, but more as a result of a feeling that senior ministers were so busy playing their Cabinet parlour games that they forgot there’s a real world out there.
In my area, the Liberal Democrats came from nowhere and happily hoovered up the Labour votes which had suddenly become available. That let in the BNP and sadly added to the notoriety which this part of east Lancashire has had to contend with since the 2001 riots.
So why do 30 per cent of the people in a town such as Padiham which, while not without its problems, is hardly a deprived area, vote for the direct political descendants of Adolf Hitler?
First, it’s because it’s an all-white area. Go to other parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire and you’ll get the same feeling. Most people have probably never met an Asian person and that’s the way they want it to stay.
Then there’s a feeling that Labour has left them behind. “It’s not the same party any more”, they mutter as you move them out of the Labour column and add them to the list of “Don’t knows” .
Bizarre as it might sound, some people who vote BNP see a party of neo-fascist thugs as somehow reminiscent of the old Labour Party they once supported. And make no mistake about it, the BNP are thugs. I’ve had obscene text messages, I’ve been surrounded by men chanting “Sieg Heil” and I’ve had a slow-moving car next to me with the passenger calling me “Communist filth”.
By clinching its seat on Lancashire County Council, the BNP won a lot of publicity. However, its overall position has remained the same at around the 30 per cent mark.
Whether Labour can recover from the drubbing we received last month is anyone’s guess. Memories of the fiasco in the run-up to polling day may start to fade, while the expenses scandal must eventually blow over.
But will the bad taste it has left in everyone’s mouth ever go away? Labour supporters are hardly surprised that Tories claim for moats, duck islands and servants’ quarters. They expect better from Labour MPs. Sadly, they didn’t get better from far too many of them.
As for me, naturally I got back from the Lake District vowing to give up politics forever. It was a bit like the episode of Absolutely Fabulous when Patsy gave up drinking. “Darling, it was the worst 15 minutes of my life.”
Fast forward a week and News at Ten leads on the resignation of Kitty Ussher, the Treasury minister discovered avoiding capital gains tax. Amid protestations that no rules were broken, she announces she will not seek re-election. “Parliament just doesn’t work with kids”, she tells Gordon Brown.
And the constituency? Burnley, of course.
Darling, it really was the worst 15 minutes of my life.
Marcus Johnstone in Tribune
My partner grabbed my hand. Let’s get out of here, we both decided. A photographer’s camera flashed. Then to the car park outside Burnley Football Club where the count for the Lancashire County Council elections had taken place.
The familiar drive home, mobile phone calls. “He’s lost – to the BNP. I can’t believe it either. How the hell do you think he feels? Terrible, he’s terrible. We’re both terrible. Jesus. Watch that car will you. No, we’re fine. Well, not fine. In fact, shit – completely shit.”
Next throwing things into overnight bags and heading for the M6 for the short trip to Keswick and the escape we planned if the worst came to the worst. It was the worst, but at least we managed to laugh eventually. I’d forgotten to bring any jeans with me.
“If you think I’m spending a weekend with a man wearing suit trousers and a T-shirt, think again.” Surprisingly, the jeans I bought are quite nice – which is probably a tribute to the Keswick shop assistant who came to my rescue.
It was the end of a long career in local politics, which dated back all the way to 1986 when, fresh-faced and very much on the left, I first became a councillor.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, having been a full-time member of Lancashire County Council’s cabinet for the past eight years, I sat in a pleasant Lake District hotel bar midway through my third pint of lager and contemplating unemployment.
I’ve mellowed over the years: the left-wing rhetoric long replaced by the realisation that politics is the art of the possible. But politics locally hasn’t mellowed and a party regarded with revulsion across the political spectrum had just unceremoniously dumped me on the dole queue.
So what went wrong? In fact, the British National Party vote did not go up in Padiham, the small town just outside Burnley which I used to represent. The BNP has been getting around 30 per cent of the vote locally for the past five years and already has district councillors in the area.
What happened was very simple: the Labour vote collapsed. My personal vote wasn’t enough, the hard work I’d put in wasn’t enough and nor was the enthusiasm of my little team. We were fighting forces far outside our control.
I had managed to ride the expenses scandal. “We’re a bit short of moats round our way”, I’d tell doubting Labour voters who might even raise something close to a chuckle when I professed complete innocence of duck islands.
It all went wrong in the last few days when self-indulgent Blairite ministers started resigning. With the Government in meltdown and age-old Brownite-Blairite battles being fought in the Westminster village, those of us abandoned on the doorsteps of Labour’s heartlands didn’t stand a chance. In Lancashire, a Labour group of 44 was crushed to a tiny rump of just 15 in what had been a model local authority.
History teaches us that the British people will not vote for disunited parties. Labour, split from top to bottom under Michael Foot, was mauled in 1983.
The Tories, riven by splits over everything from sleaze to Europe, crashed to their biggest defeat in a century under John Major in 1997.
For many of us who pound the streets for the Labour Party, there is the very deepest sense of betrayal. This is not just because I lost my job, but more as a result of a feeling that senior ministers were so busy playing their Cabinet parlour games that they forgot there’s a real world out there.
In my area, the Liberal Democrats came from nowhere and happily hoovered up the Labour votes which had suddenly become available. That let in the BNP and sadly added to the notoriety which this part of east Lancashire has had to contend with since the 2001 riots.
So why do 30 per cent of the people in a town such as Padiham which, while not without its problems, is hardly a deprived area, vote for the direct political descendants of Adolf Hitler?
First, it’s because it’s an all-white area. Go to other parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire and you’ll get the same feeling. Most people have probably never met an Asian person and that’s the way they want it to stay.
Then there’s a feeling that Labour has left them behind. “It’s not the same party any more”, they mutter as you move them out of the Labour column and add them to the list of “Don’t knows” .
Bizarre as it might sound, some people who vote BNP see a party of neo-fascist thugs as somehow reminiscent of the old Labour Party they once supported. And make no mistake about it, the BNP are thugs. I’ve had obscene text messages, I’ve been surrounded by men chanting “Sieg Heil” and I’ve had a slow-moving car next to me with the passenger calling me “Communist filth”.
By clinching its seat on Lancashire County Council, the BNP won a lot of publicity. However, its overall position has remained the same at around the 30 per cent mark.
Whether Labour can recover from the drubbing we received last month is anyone’s guess. Memories of the fiasco in the run-up to polling day may start to fade, while the expenses scandal must eventually blow over.
But will the bad taste it has left in everyone’s mouth ever go away? Labour supporters are hardly surprised that Tories claim for moats, duck islands and servants’ quarters. They expect better from Labour MPs. Sadly, they didn’t get better from far too many of them.
As for me, naturally I got back from the Lake District vowing to give up politics forever. It was a bit like the episode of Absolutely Fabulous when Patsy gave up drinking. “Darling, it was the worst 15 minutes of my life.”
Fast forward a week and News at Ten leads on the resignation of Kitty Ussher, the Treasury minister discovered avoiding capital gains tax. Amid protestations that no rules were broken, she announces she will not seek re-election. “Parliament just doesn’t work with kids”, she tells Gordon Brown.
And the constituency? Burnley, of course.
Darling, it really was the worst 15 minutes of my life.
Marcus Johnstone in Tribune
Labels:
BNP,
Burnely,
fascism,
Lancashire County Council,
Nick Griffin
June 25, 2009
Anti-BNP protesters interrupt Lancashire County Council meeting
Protesters interrupted a council meeting this afternoon with chants against the far-right British National Party.
Stunned Lancashire County Councillors looked on as the group, who were sitting in the public gallery, shouted “BNP out! Fascists out!” before being ushered out of the chamber. Earlier, police had been on duty as about 60 protestors demonstrated ahead of the full council meeting.
It was the first since the June 4 election, which saw the BNP’s Sharon Wilkinson become the first county councillor in the party’s history. Coun Wilkinson told the Lancashire Telegraph she had brought her own “security” and was not worried about the protests, organised by Unite Against Fascism.
A handful of BNP supporters sat alongside the demonstrators in the upstairs gallery.
It was expected to be a routine meeting, the first under the new Tory administration, with councillors appointed to the key positions on the council. The chants began as members of Lancashire Police Authority were being appointed. The council’s new deputy chairman, Ribble Valley’s Chris Holtom, struggled to make himself heard above the din. Coun Wilkinson, who sat two rows back from the other members, sat motionless as the protestors were evicted.
New Tory council leader Geoff Driver vowed she would not be put forward to serve on any committees, and added: “Protests like that can only help the BNP because people sympathise with them.”
In the rest of the meeting the parties clashed over plans to reform councillors are paid, with Coun Driver accused by Labour and the Lib Dems of “running a coach and horses” through the recommendations of an independent remuneration panel on members’ allowances.
He said: “They are an independent body, but they got their maths wrong.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "Around 60 protesters have taken part in a demonstration outside County Hall in Preston ahead of Lancashire County Council’s first full meeting of the new cabinet. A relatively small policing operation was carried out, which was pre-planned in conjunction with the Council and the demonstrators themselves, Unite Against Fascism.
"The demonstration passed off peacefully without incident."
Lancashire Telegraph
Stunned Lancashire County Councillors looked on as the group, who were sitting in the public gallery, shouted “BNP out! Fascists out!” before being ushered out of the chamber. Earlier, police had been on duty as about 60 protestors demonstrated ahead of the full council meeting.
It was the first since the June 4 election, which saw the BNP’s Sharon Wilkinson become the first county councillor in the party’s history. Coun Wilkinson told the Lancashire Telegraph she had brought her own “security” and was not worried about the protests, organised by Unite Against Fascism.
A handful of BNP supporters sat alongside the demonstrators in the upstairs gallery.
It was expected to be a routine meeting, the first under the new Tory administration, with councillors appointed to the key positions on the council. The chants began as members of Lancashire Police Authority were being appointed. The council’s new deputy chairman, Ribble Valley’s Chris Holtom, struggled to make himself heard above the din. Coun Wilkinson, who sat two rows back from the other members, sat motionless as the protestors were evicted.
New Tory council leader Geoff Driver vowed she would not be put forward to serve on any committees, and added: “Protests like that can only help the BNP because people sympathise with them.”
In the rest of the meeting the parties clashed over plans to reform councillors are paid, with Coun Driver accused by Labour and the Lib Dems of “running a coach and horses” through the recommendations of an independent remuneration panel on members’ allowances.
He said: “They are an independent body, but they got their maths wrong.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "Around 60 protesters have taken part in a demonstration outside County Hall in Preston ahead of Lancashire County Council’s first full meeting of the new cabinet. A relatively small policing operation was carried out, which was pre-planned in conjunction with the Council and the demonstrators themselves, Unite Against Fascism.
"The demonstration passed off peacefully without incident."
Lancashire Telegraph
Police clash with anti-BNP protestors
Anti-BNP protestors have been pushed back by police during a large-scale demonstration on the steps of Lancashire County Hall.Up to 150 people have been picketing outside the Preston-based county council headquarters. Eyewitnesses said the group were trying to push back police who were guarding the entrance. They have been shouting: "Nazi scum off our streets". Many held banners which read 'BNP is a Nazi Party' and 'Smash the BNP'.
Geoff Driver was officially being named as the new leader of Lancashire County Council at the first full meeting of the new council and its cabinet, due to start at 1-30 p.m. Sharon Wilkinson, who represents Padiham and Burnley West for the BNP, was elected to the council at the elections earlier this month.
It comes after four people were arrested at a protest oustide a BNP 'victory' rally at a hotel in Blackpool on Saturday.
Burnley Express
June 05, 2009
BNP wins Lancashire council seat
The BNP today won its first county council seat in Lancashire in the party's stronghold of Burnley as Labour faced a routing in the town's local elections
In the first three results to be announced from the count, the far right party won one seat on Lancashire County Council and the Liberal Democrats two seats, from Labour. Previously all six seats were held by Labour since 2005, with three more results to come.
Burnley, scarred by race riots in 2001, already has four BNP members who sit on the local borough council.
The BNP's Sharon Wilkinson defeated Labour's Marcus Johnstone in the Padiham and Burnley West ward to gain her seat on the county council.
The BNP breakthrough in the Lancashire County Council elections will strengthen the party's hopes of getting their leader, Nick Griffin, elected as Euro MEP for the North West.
Griffin only needs around 8 per cent of the Euro votes across the region, to be elected to Strasbourg.
In Burnley, with 11 per cent of its 65,000 electorate from ethnic minorities, mainly Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, the turnout was around 35 per cent from the first three results, well down from the 2005 election turnout of 59.54 per cent.
Ms Wilkinson said: "It is absolutely wonderful for the party and gives me the opportunity to represent more people."
And there was more bad news for Labour, with the Liberal Democrats taking the remaining three seats from them - wiping Labour of the map.
Kitty Ussher, local Labour MP for Burnley speaking from the count, said: "It is disappointing. We have lost some really good county councillors who have worked very hard to serve their community. I think we were the victims of uncertain economic and political times nationally.
"Hazel Blears wore a brooch saying, 'Rocking the boat'. If you are in choppy waters you don't change the captain. I think with James (Purnell), I read what he said, I'm sad he did that. We have a very good and able Prime Minister to take us through this difficult time."
Gordon Birtwistle, the Liberal Democrat leader of Burnley Borough Council and prospective parliamentary candidate for the town, said: "We are over the moon, we have completely wiped Labour off the map. They had all six seats, today they lost the lot, of which we took five of the six. Obviously Labour nationally are in a catastrophic position."
Tony Martin, who had been a Labour county councillor in Burnley for 20 years until today's defeat, said: "It has been an absolutely awful day for Labour in Burnley. We expected the results to be bad but we hoped we could hold on to a couple of seats. I'm devastated I lost my own seat and ended up coming third.
"It is the same for Labour as it was with the Tories in 1997. They just had to reform themselves and are now doing very well with Cameron. We have been in power for 13 years and sometimes you get the backlash. We will be back."
Independent
In the first three results to be announced from the count, the far right party won one seat on Lancashire County Council and the Liberal Democrats two seats, from Labour. Previously all six seats were held by Labour since 2005, with three more results to come.
Burnley, scarred by race riots in 2001, already has four BNP members who sit on the local borough council.
The BNP's Sharon Wilkinson defeated Labour's Marcus Johnstone in the Padiham and Burnley West ward to gain her seat on the county council.
The BNP breakthrough in the Lancashire County Council elections will strengthen the party's hopes of getting their leader, Nick Griffin, elected as Euro MEP for the North West.
Griffin only needs around 8 per cent of the Euro votes across the region, to be elected to Strasbourg.
In Burnley, with 11 per cent of its 65,000 electorate from ethnic minorities, mainly Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, the turnout was around 35 per cent from the first three results, well down from the 2005 election turnout of 59.54 per cent.
Ms Wilkinson said: "It is absolutely wonderful for the party and gives me the opportunity to represent more people."
And there was more bad news for Labour, with the Liberal Democrats taking the remaining three seats from them - wiping Labour of the map.
Kitty Ussher, local Labour MP for Burnley speaking from the count, said: "It is disappointing. We have lost some really good county councillors who have worked very hard to serve their community. I think we were the victims of uncertain economic and political times nationally.
"Hazel Blears wore a brooch saying, 'Rocking the boat'. If you are in choppy waters you don't change the captain. I think with James (Purnell), I read what he said, I'm sad he did that. We have a very good and able Prime Minister to take us through this difficult time."
Gordon Birtwistle, the Liberal Democrat leader of Burnley Borough Council and prospective parliamentary candidate for the town, said: "We are over the moon, we have completely wiped Labour off the map. They had all six seats, today they lost the lot, of which we took five of the six. Obviously Labour nationally are in a catastrophic position."
Tony Martin, who had been a Labour county councillor in Burnley for 20 years until today's defeat, said: "It has been an absolutely awful day for Labour in Burnley. We expected the results to be bad but we hoped we could hold on to a couple of seats. I'm devastated I lost my own seat and ended up coming third.
"It is the same for Labour as it was with the Tories in 1997. They just had to reform themselves and are now doing very well with Cameron. We have been in power for 13 years and sometimes you get the backlash. We will be back."
Independent
Labels:
BNP,
Burnley,
Lancashire County Council,
Sharon Wilkinson
April 14, 2009
Fourteen council staff suspended for circulating 'anti-Semitic' joke on email
Council chiefs have suspended 14 members of staff after they exchanged a number of Jewish jokes via email. The 'offensive' jokes are believed to have been sent in flurry of exchanges between staff, including social workers. A full investigation has been launched.
Union bosses have been left reeling by the number of staff members embroiled in the controversy. Les Parker, a Unite union representative, said: 'I have been here for 40-odd years and I have never seen anything like this number of people suspended in one go. Usually it’s one person or maybe two, never ever in the teens like this. For this to have happened it’s got to be serious.'
Sources say the jokes were racist and offensive and could lead to staff members being sacked from their jobs.
A senior source said: 'Exchanging jokes through work computers is not really a productive pastime for council workers but a bit of banter is tolerated. However these 'jokes' obviously breached the council's policy of inclusion and religious and racial tolerance. I would not be surprised if the authors of the worst jokes were shown the door. Local authorities have to come down hard on race or sex discrimination. By failing to do so they would be tacitly agreeing with the views set down in these jokes.'
The staff were suspended ahead of disciplinary proceedings, which will get underway tomorrow, and could be sacked if found guilty of gross misconduct. And the investigation could involve even more workers as council officials try to get to the heart of the offending emails.
Some of the emails are believed to have contained anti-Semitic comments and the suspended staff are believed to include white and Asian employees working in the Adult Social Care and the Children and Young People departments at Lancashire County Council.
Earlier this year Richard Jones, the council’s head of Adult and Community Services, was selected to sit on a new social work Government task force. The Social Work Taskforce was set up to undertake a comprehensive review of frontline social work practice across adults and children’s services. It has been asked to identify any barriers social workers face in doing their jobs effectively and has been asked to make recommendations for improvements and long-term reform in social work.
In a letter sent to councillors, chief executive Ged Fitzgerald said the staff had been suspended for 'inappropriate email use'. Mr Fitzgerald said: 'Investigations of this nature may result in disciplinary action or in some cases termination of employment. I am sure you will understand the need for us to adopt a stringent approach to this issue.'
Hazel Harding, leader of the Labour-controlled council, said: 'We have a code of conduct for anyone who uses our email systems and we take it very seriously.'
Another senior council source said: 'This could be just the start. What tends to happen is the more they start digging they tend to find other people.'
In February BT suspended 30 of its call centre staff after they were caught forwarding an email joke poking fun at the Irish. The joke was circulated at the BT call centre in Leicester, which employs 340 people, and staff were suspended on full pay pending an investigation which is presently underway.
Mail Online
Union bosses have been left reeling by the number of staff members embroiled in the controversy. Les Parker, a Unite union representative, said: 'I have been here for 40-odd years and I have never seen anything like this number of people suspended in one go. Usually it’s one person or maybe two, never ever in the teens like this. For this to have happened it’s got to be serious.'
Sources say the jokes were racist and offensive and could lead to staff members being sacked from their jobs.
A senior source said: 'Exchanging jokes through work computers is not really a productive pastime for council workers but a bit of banter is tolerated. However these 'jokes' obviously breached the council's policy of inclusion and religious and racial tolerance. I would not be surprised if the authors of the worst jokes were shown the door. Local authorities have to come down hard on race or sex discrimination. By failing to do so they would be tacitly agreeing with the views set down in these jokes.'
The staff were suspended ahead of disciplinary proceedings, which will get underway tomorrow, and could be sacked if found guilty of gross misconduct. And the investigation could involve even more workers as council officials try to get to the heart of the offending emails.
Some of the emails are believed to have contained anti-Semitic comments and the suspended staff are believed to include white and Asian employees working in the Adult Social Care and the Children and Young People departments at Lancashire County Council.
Earlier this year Richard Jones, the council’s head of Adult and Community Services, was selected to sit on a new social work Government task force. The Social Work Taskforce was set up to undertake a comprehensive review of frontline social work practice across adults and children’s services. It has been asked to identify any barriers social workers face in doing their jobs effectively and has been asked to make recommendations for improvements and long-term reform in social work.
In a letter sent to councillors, chief executive Ged Fitzgerald said the staff had been suspended for 'inappropriate email use'. Mr Fitzgerald said: 'Investigations of this nature may result in disciplinary action or in some cases termination of employment. I am sure you will understand the need for us to adopt a stringent approach to this issue.'
Hazel Harding, leader of the Labour-controlled council, said: 'We have a code of conduct for anyone who uses our email systems and we take it very seriously.'
Another senior council source said: 'This could be just the start. What tends to happen is the more they start digging they tend to find other people.'
In February BT suspended 30 of its call centre staff after they were caught forwarding an email joke poking fun at the Irish. The joke was circulated at the BT call centre in Leicester, which employs 340 people, and staff were suspended on full pay pending an investigation which is presently underway.
Mail Online
November 21, 2008
BNP Sponsor Lancashire County Council
Please copy and send (or email) to your Lancashire County Councillor (who can be found here) and Hazel Harding, the current Leader of the Council, whose email address is hazel.harding@lancashire.gov.uk. Feel free to forward it to any media of your choice.
It has been brought to our attention that a recent judge in the recent Lancashire County Council cycling photo competition is a member of the British National Party.
John Aspden and his partner, who own 'On Yer Bike' (Burnley and Blackburn) have recently had their details leaked to the world as being members of the racist and fascist party BNP and thus are not qualified to participate in any event that is organised by, for or on behalf of Lancashire County Council, whose Equality and Diversity Policy states:
'We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and to closing the gaps between people in social and economic wellbeing. Equality and diversity are part of the core purpose of our Corporate Strategy. They will run through everything that we do. Our commitment is underlined by legal duties to promote equality and diversity for people of every age, disability, faith, gender, race and sexual orientation.'
Lancashire County Council will be very well aware of the BNP's appalling views on Muslims, Jews, diversity, equality and sexual orientation and will, we feel sure, avoid working with the BNP in this way in the future, now that it is aware of Mr Aspden's connection with a party that repeatedly espouses hatred of minorities and directly promotes racism. An example of the latter can be seen here.
I would appreciate an acknowledgment of this email and I would like to be informed as to what measures will be taken in the future to avoid any connection with similar racist groups.
Yours faithfully
It has been brought to our attention that a recent judge in the recent Lancashire County Council cycling photo competition is a member of the British National Party.
John Aspden and his partner, who own 'On Yer Bike' (Burnley and Blackburn) have recently had their details leaked to the world as being members of the racist and fascist party BNP and thus are not qualified to participate in any event that is organised by, for or on behalf of Lancashire County Council, whose Equality and Diversity Policy states:
'We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and to closing the gaps between people in social and economic wellbeing. Equality and diversity are part of the core purpose of our Corporate Strategy. They will run through everything that we do. Our commitment is underlined by legal duties to promote equality and diversity for people of every age, disability, faith, gender, race and sexual orientation.'
Lancashire County Council will be very well aware of the BNP's appalling views on Muslims, Jews, diversity, equality and sexual orientation and will, we feel sure, avoid working with the BNP in this way in the future, now that it is aware of Mr Aspden's connection with a party that repeatedly espouses hatred of minorities and directly promotes racism. An example of the latter can be seen here.
I would appreciate an acknowledgment of this email and I would like to be informed as to what measures will be taken in the future to avoid any connection with similar racist groups.
Yours faithfully
Labels:
BNP,
Hazel Harding,
John Aspden,
Lancashire County Council,
On Yer Bike
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