Super civil servant sent to sort them all out ...

Dahlings, pity the poor children won't you ... in a week that has seen the government decide to intervene in the running of Cornwall's Children's Services and councillors were made aware of this by the BBC, I now discover that a Super-Civil-Servant has been dispatched to chair some sort of board that will recommend, I have no fucking doubt, that the whole thing is shit and someone needs to do something about it.

There have been several of these nonsensical "everything's-shit-we-must-do-something-about-it" ('ESWMDSAI Committee') boards set up in Cornwall over the last few years ...unfortunately, everything-is-still-shit and the boards actually didn't-do-anything-about-it. Six such forums were set up about 2 years ago- the "LAG"s (lay-about-groups - might just as fucking well have been called that) generated a huge amount of paperwork, created a few jobs at county hall, reported to the mythical super-lag and achieved bugger all. They were supposed to devolve commissioning of our childrens services down to a local level, but the super-lag didn't ever seem to want to relinquish their power and would drop crumbs from it's table occasionally. Crock of shit.

Maybe Lucy De Groot will come and show the piss-poor senior officers (and executive) of our new super council how things are meant to be done? Or may be she will also find everythings-shit-and-we-can't-do-anything-about-it? Whatever happens, I say "hold on to your hats staff of childrens services, I can feel yet another re-organisation of your service on the way".

Whilst on this theme, I have to say that the pressure that has come to bear on our frontline children's staff is insane. Headteachers, Family Support Workers, Childrens Centre Managers being hounded, harassed, threatened with emergency ofsteds and being so entrapped in beauraucratic crap that they are finding they're not able to actually do their job ... I am a little bemused by this as didn't that report mainly criticise the senior management of the service??

No Mwah's at the end of this one dahlings. I am too upset and am considering opening up my mansion to take in the poor little ones who are the true victims in this total fucking omni-shambles.

Watch out Launceston ...

Pity the poor residents of Launceston, when this lot (North Cornwall's 'Conservative Future') descend on them on the 19th December. That'll be a jolly old romp if ever there was one. The future is bright ... the future is bryl-creamed.

Find out more here

Cornwall Council Panto ... they're behind you!

Well would you Adam and Eve it, those bastardly tories have taken no time at all (5 months) to make clear their stance. Local people have no right to have any say in what is going on around them. No network panels, no manifesto and now nobody to push the localism agenda forwards in the council.

"We want democracy" "Oh No We Don't"
"We don't want a centralised council" "Oh Yes We Do!"

I say, jolly well done Cllr Robertson and friends. You have grabbed that power and are keeping it to yourselves in a magnificent style with the independents enabling you to do so. Your forefathers would be proud of you. All those mock protestations in district council chambers pre-election, cries of "how dare the Lib Dems centralise" "what about democracy?". Indeed. "Oh No We Didn't".

However, I don't actually think this is purely because they are stamping their feet and not wanting to share their toys. No, I believe this state of affairs is because they actually haven't got a bloody fucking clue what they are doing and why would they wish to expose that they actually don't have a bloody fucking clue through the dissemination of their incompetence across 19 panels of local people. Not good for the old PR that. David Cameron has probably personally advised against it - you can't get hung for what you don't say or do.

An elderly Tory gentleman (ahem) walked into my place of work the other day and during a conversation of political exchange (as always) he questioned why the Lib Dems had not co-operated in an alliance on the council. He felt it would have been for the good of Cornwall and Lib Dems must not really care. However, the look on his face showed that it was more like they hadn't got a clue, were reliant on the sandalled Lib Dems to roll over and play ball as nice Liberals really should, and because they have not done so his gang have had to bunker themselves and leave it to the officers. Of course the officers can't be arsed with localism, god all that travelling? Don't you understand the geography of Cornwall?

Is anyone selling tickets to the next Full Council panto, I think we should go along and demand answers to the above. Hmm. I might just get out my scented notepaper and turn one out for the leader of the council.

Mwah. Bye for now Dahlings.

Ffiona x

And just to lighten the mood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-IYk7YVW80

Made me laugh a lot.

Mwah x

The end of the Independents ...

Whilst considering the current sick-inducing Independent/Tory lovefest that manifested itself in Cunty Hall earlier this year, I came across this Wiki definition of Independent Politicians .... Gloriously, by primary definition, this potentially means that Independents in Cornwall are no longer Independents and in fact defectors from their Independence? One wouldn't imagine it possible to defect from being an Independent - but in this matter, Cornwall has led the way.

Thank the lord (and lady) for that. About time too - the current state of the council has to have the blame laid firmly at the years and years and years of no overall control (indy majority) and the shower of tories-to-be-shits stuffing it up for everyone later. I know first hand that people who vote Independent in Cornwall vote for exactly that. Not some soft Tory or sympathetic Tory or partially partisan independent. They vote Independent. Full Stop.

They may feel that they are now in with the "in crowd" and able to exert some influence but in reality they are actually there to take half the flak. They may just have sewn up their downfall once and for fucking all.

Fucking Mwah to that!

Ffiona x

Labour in Cornwall ...

Basically Labour in Cornwall is ... what ladies do when delivering their babies at Treliske.

And that is it.

Mwah x

And another bloody fucking thing ...

Dahlings, you will probably soon gather that I have a lot to get out of my jewellery box of complaints. My heaving bosom is full of angst.

Let's start with the Conservatives in Cornwall. The Manifesto-less party (both locally and nationally) who are, quite frankly my dears, a total embarrassment to my Blue Blooded lineage. Liberal Democrats may have run the council like it was one of their Christmas book sales, but at least you could see they were striving for something.

Recently, I am led to believe, that Alec Robertson (Leader of the council) made a statement that he had never heard anyone ask for a manifesto. I suppose he probably quite literally hasn't heard those words, but if he had ever spent any time on the door steps of Cornwall (and not just the ones, like my own, up a leafy two mile drive) he would have heard people asking for real things. Real things that make a manifesto. Real things like car parking, dog shit and rubbish collections.

During the election they said that they couldn't come up with a manifesto because they "hadn't seen the real state of the finances" now they are having to lie about the finances and claim that nobody wants a manifesto.

Good Lord. Papa would be turning in his grave and Grand-mama would be shooting the donkeys in case anyone were thinking of sticking a blue rosette on any more of them and putting them up for election.

For now dahlings, Mwah.

TTFN

Ffiona x

Cornwall Cunty Council

Dahlings, it grieves me to write this post, but enough is enough.

The new formation of our illustrious local authority was supposed to be a time of new beginnings and a fresh start for the politics of our gorgeous county.

However, the dropping of the "County" Council name seems to have left a gap which appears to have been replaced by a severe splattering of cunty-ness. Staff morale is at an all time low, employment law is being pushed to the limit with staff being dispensed with a few days before statutory obligation kicks in. A director was rcently replaced without any form of open recruitment and plush offices are being created within the walls of County Hall whilst Childrens Centre staff are being shot like foxes. Public Sector emulating the very worst practices of private sector. Executive management teams swan around like they are the bees bloody knees, and if I hear Mr Lavery being likened to a saint one more time I may well shoot my horse.

In the words of Malcolm from The Thick of It, "it is a fucking omni-shambles" and at some point soon the wheels are surely going to come tumbling off and freewheel off over the Tamar for a better life in Devon.

This is only my first post, but will certainly not be my last.

I Ffiona Barrington-Wallace do solemnly swear to protect the interests of my county and the interests of the people within and I do not give a flicking fuck who I offend in the process.

Mwah

TTFN Dahlings

Mwah!

Hello Dahlings, it has been some time since I last popped my head over the parapet, but due to circumstances beyond my control, the time has cometh once again.

TTFN

Mwah!