Tory says she'll fight the ConDem playground cuts...

A senior Tory on Peterborough City Council says she'll fight playground cuts announced yesterday by a Tory Government Minister.

Fifteen childrens play areas in Peterborough have already benefitted from Labour's Playbuilder programme - each getting £50,000 from the Government. But yesterday, Tory Minister Michael Gove took the decision to order Peterborough City Council - and 131 other council across the country - to stop all work.

In tonight's Peterborough Evening Telegraph, Sheila Scott, the Tory councillor responsible for childrens services in the city said the news was 'very disappointing' and went on:

“I will be doing everything I can to get the appropriate people to change their minds about this funding.

“We know these are very difficult financial times but children are our future and we need to protect that.”

I'm sure her Tory colleagues will be reminding Sheila that 'we're all in this together and children shouldn't be exempt...'

But the truth is, she's absolutely right and I wish her the best of luck in persuading the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats at Westminster to stop the daft cuts.

I hope that the first step in Sheila's campaign is to let the ET know where all the affected playgrounds in the city are located - information apparently so far denied to them.

The ET also highlight the positive difference parks built under Labour's Playbuilder scheme are already having. In Werrington, anti-social behaviour has been cut.

And in Peanut Park, Orton Goldhay, which was provided in partnership with Cross Keys Homes, who matched the Government grant, the ET reports that the community came together to design the park which is now making 'a tremendous difference' to the area’s children.

The ConDems talk about building 'the big society' but it seems to me their actions are destroying it.

Guess who pays for Tory cuts...?

Yep, it's those who can least afford it who pay the biggest price when the Tory axe strikes.

If you run a car, you probably won't even notice that Conservative-run Peterborough City Council are cutting bus services.

So what happened to the Tory's 'go-green, vote-blue' campaign in which David Cameron tried to persuade us the Conservatives were no longer the 'nasty' party?

Remember salesman Dave's media stunts attempting to persuade us that voting 'blue' would deliver 'green' policies?

There was his infamous bicycle ride - with a chaffeur driven car following behind to carry his polished shoes and briefcase...

And let's not forget how 'green' Dave arrived in the Arctic for a 'save the earth' photo-stunt with husky dogs - by jet airliner...

What a phoney...

It's the same old Tories.

Don't say you weren't warned!!

Radical answers needed on Lincs roads...?

Lincolnshire roads have seen one of the biggest increases in traffic over the past decade - with central London the only place in the country to see a fall in vehicle numbers since 1997, according to tonight's Lincolnshire Echo.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone took a lot of flak when he brought in the controversial Congestion Zone - and it now costs £8 a day to drive into the centre of the capital.

But it's clearly effective in cutting traffic when all else has failed - and of course improving air quality in the capital. Ken has used the revenue generated by the Congestion Charge to massively invest in buses and the tube.

The result is that today, London is the only major city in the world to shift travellers out of their cars and onto public transport.

Local campaigners say Lincolnshire is heading for 'traffic hell' if action is not taken soon.

Central London and rural Lincolnshire could hardly be different, of course.

But radical solutions sometimes achieve results, as Ken clearly demonstrates.

I don't pretend to have all the answers - but I've long been convinced that sooner or later, we'll have to have some sort of Park-and-Ride service in the Deepings area to meet the extra traffic on the A15 Peterborough-Bourne corridor caused the huge increase in development in recent years.

What do you think?

A champion for rail commuters...sometimes

Bourne Tory Mark Horn is attacking plans which could see rail fares from Peterborough rise by more than two-per-cent above inflation over the duration of the seven year franchise recently won by National Express.

The bus company justifies its fare hikes to pay for increased and improved services with more trains and more seats - and promises to cap season ticket increases to one per cent above inflation.

But Mark, a member of the ruling Conservative Group on Lincolnshire County Council -
and also a regular commuter - tells the Peterborough Evening Telegraph that the increases can't be justified and complains that they will force commuters back into their cars.

He may have a valid argument.

But then I don't recall Mark championing the commuters' cause when his Tory mates at Peterborough City Council doubled charges recently for on street parking near the station used by commuters.

Closer to home, I also don't recall him saying a dickie bird when his own Group at Lincolnshire County Council trebled home care charges for vulnerable people he was elected to represent.