MP’s CONFUSED VIEW ON EUROPE

Shrewsbury’s Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski  seems to be getting increasing confused about Europe. In the Shropshire Star of 5 March he is reported as saying the region’s Euro MPs are out of touch and very detached from Shropshire people. I hardly think his own Tory MEPs Phillip Bradbourn and Malcolm Harbour will be pleased to hear that.

The letters page of the same edition of the Star continues in the same vein.  Local resident Ian Minshall reports that at the public meeting in Hanwood Village Hall organised by Daniel Kawczynski, he asked about the UK’s continued membership of the EU. The amazing reply from our MP was that if he received as few as 500 letters from constituents seeking UK withdrawal from the EU, he would campaign to his Party leader, David Cameron, to make the UK leaving the EU official Conservative policy!

Assuming the letter records the meeting accurately, this is a bombshell. Conservative policy is unequivocal that Britain should remain a full member of the EU. Yet upon receipt of letters from less than 1%  of his electorate, he will attempt to reverse the whole Tory position on Europe and re-ignite all the divisions that wrecked the party in the past. And don’t believe 500 letters will take long to arrive. On the very same letters page was yet another contribution from Oswestry’s strongest critic of all things European, Bob Wydell. In his letter he mentions that he has written between 1300 to 1400 letters to the press, before once again fretting about the mass immigration he feels has swamped Oswestry.  It will not take Bob’s friends long to fill Daniel’s postbag to the required level.

For me, Daniel Kawczynski’s position on Europe has always been full of contradictions. In debates in Parliament he frequently adopts a very critical tone to the EU, describing himself as an “Arch-Eurosceptic”  regularly.  Yet the rest of Europe does not share his views, countries keep joining and more are in the queue to join the 27 members of the current EU. This included Poland, when 0ver 38 million Poles joined the EU in 2004. It is strange how insular and anti-European his views are, when one considers Daniel Kawczynski was born in Warsaw and lived in Poland until he was 11 years old.

ARRIVA TRAINS-MUCH WORK NEEDED

Like most Shrewsbury residents I was pleased with the decision of the Rail Regulator to turn down the Arriva Trains Wales application to run direct Aberystwyth to London trains. We in Shrewsbury have a great railway history, with many families involved in the industry. Shrewsbury people know their railway and could see this proposal for what it was, an attempt by a company subsidised  by taxpayers to kill off the competition from the excellent Wrexham & Shropshire service to Marylebone.

Speaking to local railway people, I was shocked to find out just what a poor quality service Arriva were proposing. Wrexham & Shropshire run a locomotive hauled train of carriages, just refurbished to a very high standard, which is fit for purpose for a such long journey. The catering, with a proper buffet car, is a particular highlight, along with the customer service, which is rated the best in the country. Their new Class 67 locos have a top speed of 125 mph, thus giving the opportunity to speed up schedules as line speeds rise.

Arriva however, were proposing to run one 2 car Class 158 diesel multiple unit to Birmingham, where they would couple up to another pair for the run to London. Quite apart from the lack of space I remember these units were built and introduced some 20 years ago. They have reliability problems,  as many local passengers know to their cost from regular cancellations. The top speed is 90mph. The best catering you would get is a trolley service. Whilst the people of Mid Wales might be disappointed, the fact is the Regulator has, for now, saved them from a very uncomfortable 5 hours on this inferior proposed service.

I shall be writing to Arriva Trains Wales to request that they reflect on this decision. Instead of trying to force Wrexham & Shropshire off the local rails, in my view Arriva should focus on their current local services, which often fall well short of the standards Shrewsbury passengers expect. Arriva need to tackle the chronic overcrowding on the Birmingham line. They must improve reliability, to stop the infuriating practice of turning late trains round short of their  destination. Arriva should be concentrating putting their own house in order, instead of dreaming up clumsy attempts to wreck a competitor’s high quality service.

Public Conveniences – Are they Fit for Purpose?

Being born and bred in Shrewsbury I know and speak to many local residents every day, and one of the most regular topics to come up is the state of Shrewsbury’s public conveniences. A good range of well presented and maintained public toilets is a key part of any enjoyable visit to our town centre. Sadly the position is not all it should be.

Regularly I am told the standard of equipment and presentation is below what our residents and visitors have a right to expect.  The image of Shrewsbury they portray to visitors is one of not caring  whether they have a comfortable and  relaxed visit at all.  It is vital for the economic health of Shrewsbury that we make the most of the opportunities and income well planned tourism offers.
The current provision of public toilets in Shrewsbury is just not doing that.

What a massive shame it is that our Tory led Borough and County Councils instead chose to waste some £750,000 on the Darwin “celebrations” and the hugely costly Quantum Leap slinky sculpture.

Investing wisely in our basic facilities in my view would have been the sensible course, and would be far more likely to bring the repeat visits the Darwin fiasco has so conspicuously failed to produce.

Shrewsbury Town – A Team to be Proud Of

The news about Portsmouth FC going into administration has saddened all true football supporters. To crash from FA Cup winners to this state in a few short years is awful for their fans. With Crystal Palace also suffering the same fate it shows the financial rot in football is reaching higher up the leagues than ever before.

All this should make us even more proud of the achievements of the board, staff, players and fans of Shrewsbury Town FC. Under the leadership of Roland Wycherley and his team, Shrewsbury has one of the most financially sound clubs in the land. To build a fine new stadium, and be able to consistently challenge for promotion with two visits to Wembley at the same time is a great record. To able to do that while other clubs with far bigger fan bases fall into financial turmoil shows the scope of what Roland and his team have achieved.

STFC are well placed for the final run in to this season, and I’m sure they will do us all the greatest credit as they push towards the goal of automatic promotion.

FOX HUNTING-THE UGLY PICTURE

I was very disturbed to see the article in the Shropshire Star of 16 February, about the incident concerning the South Shropshire Hunt at Cruckton, near Shrewsbury.

The hounds, whilst supposed to be on a drag hunt, came onto private property and ripped apart a fox in the back garden of a local resident. Otis Ferry, joint huntmaster, said they had temporarily lost control of the hounds. The lady owner of the land had previously repeatedly warned the hunt not to enter her private land. This incident must have been extremely distressing for that lady, whose horses and pet cat were understandably terrified.

This unpleasant incident illustrates only too well the real practical problems hunting creates for us in Shropshire. This lady had every right, as all residents of country areas have, to quietly enjoy their property without such horrible acts as this being carried out on their land against their express wishes.

But it is not an isolated incident. A few years back the hunt got into the gardens of several houses in Condover village and caused chaos. A local resident recently found the A41-a main Shropshire Trunk Road blocked by the hunt at Tern Hill with all the resulting danger to other road users.

My question is, if a group of other outdoor pastime enthusiasts such as anglers, or rugby players, turned up in a private garden and killed a wild animal, the outcry would rightly be massive. So why are the hunting lobby allowed to do this infringing private property rights with apparent impunity?

The Police have said no laws were broken at Cruckton, and the incident just amounted to “Trespass”. I doubt the unfortunate lady landowner thought that.

Our MP Daniel Kawczynski went on record on Radio Shropshire to categorically state he would support a vote to reverse Labour’s ban on hunting with dogs.

I would ask him does he still support the pro-hunting lobby when they show such disregard for private property rights? Does he not agree that people who have worked hard to buy country property and land, and who do not wish the hunt to come across it, should have the total right to have that wish fully respected?

If the hunt were engaged in a drag hunt, why didn’t they plan a route well away from this lady’s land?

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