Search found 103 matches

by vbsydenham
26 Feb 2021 11:30
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?
Replies: 50
Views: 32851

Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?

Sounds like you've been visiting the same kind of establishments as Stuart :shock:
by vbsydenham
26 Feb 2021 11:08
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?
Replies: 50
Views: 32851

Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?

Chalk up a swing and a miss for JGD :D
by vbsydenham
26 Feb 2021 11:06
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?
Replies: 50
Views: 32851

Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?

stuart wrote: 26 Feb 2021 10:46 I would, except I think he is a little too wide to slip through the back door.
A bit too blue for the Town Hall, stuart
by vbsydenham
26 Feb 2021 10:28
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?
Replies: 50
Views: 32851

Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?

If you want to talk Salmond I think we'll have to retire to the pub......
by vbsydenham
26 Feb 2021 08:00
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?
Replies: 50
Views: 32851

Who's standing in the Sydenham by election in May?

Sideofham wrote: 26 Feb 2021 07:33 I've had a check and unfortunately The Official Monster Raving Loony Party will not be fielding a candidate this time round, unsure about Lord Bucket Head.
They are - I just looked it up; his name is Jack Lavery
by vbsydenham
17 Feb 2021 08:12
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Anybody clap last night?
Replies: 30
Views: 16551

Re: Anybody clap last night?

"I was only following orders" is no excuse. Any competent manager - which I presume includes the average Permanent Secretary but clearly not the then PM - will discretely scope what is in the interest of the country/boss/themselves. 'Cos the plan is always the first casualty of war and th...
by vbsydenham
16 Feb 2021 13:44
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Anybody clap last night?
Replies: 30
Views: 16551

Re: Anybody clap last night?

This is only based on my experience so probably wrong but... The civil service will have identified plan b, c and d and will most likely have put versions of those plans to Ministers. They may even have taken certain actions to keep such alternatives viable throughout this crisis. But they will not ...
by vbsydenham
16 Feb 2021 12:56
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Anybody clap last night?
Replies: 30
Views: 16551

Re: Anybody clap last night?

I don't have any inside knowledge to draw on here but I suspect quarantine, border closures etc will have been part of a menu of measures being put to the Government since early last year and largely rejected. But if you see those measures as an extension of lockdown policy then it's just the same p...
by vbsydenham
16 Feb 2021 08:28
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Anybody clap last night?
Replies: 30
Views: 16551

Re: Anybody clap last night?

Which means you can't pin this debacle on Putin. I wouldn't trust any politician anywhere that doesn't have a grasp of public health emergencies or doesn't let those with the expertise to drive the response. It seems to have worked out well for those that did whether left or right, democratic or au...
by vbsydenham
4 Feb 2021 15:14
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Anybody clap last night?
Replies: 30
Views: 16551

Re: Anybody clap last night?

Nothing on my street in the people's republic.

I think the main reason is people are just heartily sick of it all by this point. I don't think it is any particular reflection on Boris Johnson or this Government, both of which remain bafflingly popular in England.
by vbsydenham
29 Jan 2021 09:26
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Tannsfeld Road ambulance Bay
Replies: 7
Views: 5859

Re: Tannsfeld Road ambulance Bay

Indeed - The question for planners is whether to attempt to satisfy that demand - which tends to just lead to more and more demand - or supress it with other measures like better public transport and walking and cycling links. Going by your borough's record, my money is on the former approach sadly.
by vbsydenham
28 Jan 2021 08:11
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: how to get out of this mess
Replies: 70
Views: 45448

Re: how to get out of this mess

I think in this discussion people seem to be confusing me with someone who is seeking to defend the UKG approach. I'm just trying to explain - in response to a question from stuart - some of the constraints that the Scottish Government will be facing in trying to resource a census this year and to o...
by vbsydenham
27 Jan 2021 14:10
Forum: Town Asylum
Topic: Good order and discipline
Replies: 5
Views: 9278

Re: Good order and discipline

Town Hall is listed as "the place for serious discussion", not serious monologuing. So anyone posting there should not be surprised to find their views challenged. And when their views reflect an ongoing campaign of disinformation, they shouldn't be surprised to find their views challenged...
by vbsydenham
27 Jan 2021 14:04
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: how to get out of this mess
Replies: 70
Views: 45448

Re: how to get out of this mess

I don't really disagree with most of that. At least in principle. The situation in Scotland is a little bit more complex in that the Government here doesn't really have the power to just find more resources as JGD suggests or put together some kind of post war reconstruction plan, as others have sug...
by vbsydenham
27 Jan 2021 13:54
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Tannsfeld Road ambulance Bay
Replies: 7
Views: 5859

Re: Tannsfeld Road ambulance Bay

I think the traders on Sydenham Road would make a case. Traders always grossly overestimate the contribution to their businesses from people arriving by car, and overstate the costs of removing or restricting parking. eg: https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/policy-and-resources/our-policy/high-streets
by vbsydenham
26 Jan 2021 13:34
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: Tannsfeld Road ambulance Bay
Replies: 7
Views: 5859

Re: Tannsfeld Road ambulance Bay

I don't think there is a case for any more free unrestricted car parking anywhere in the borough. But maybe this space could be repurposed as a disabled parking bay or used to widen the pavement and improve the public realm?
by vbsydenham
26 Jan 2021 12:44
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: how to get out of this mess
Replies: 70
Views: 45448

Re: how to get out of this mess

Not HMG, JGD. SG.

It shouldn't be a prioirty for SG because 100% of civil service capacity is going to manage the pandemic at the moment. I don't know what function you would redeploy people from to resource the census.
by vbsydenham
26 Jan 2021 10:33
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: how to get out of this mess
Replies: 70
Views: 45448

Re: how to get out of this mess

"I would be even better if you took some time to look through that resource as the views that you are expressing on here are dangerous and deserve to be challenged robustly." I totally disagree, all I am doing is challenging the government retoric which some people have difficult with and...
by vbsydenham
25 Jan 2021 13:21
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: how to get out of this mess
Replies: 70
Views: 45448

Re: how to get out of this mess

It saddens me to be continually atacked and insulted on this forum for challenging government retoric Don`t attack me for having opposing political views re the handling of covid. Healthy discussion is good for all of us No doubt I will receive a load of abuse following this post. Admin - Please ca...
by vbsydenham
25 Jan 2021 12:41
Forum: Town Hall
Topic: how to get out of this mess
Replies: 70
Views: 45448

Re: how to get out of this mess

Except the core civil service function in understanding/managing Covid-19 is ONS. That's where some of where your more numerate people should be. And, as in 1944 during D-Day a part of the Civil Service was helping to put the post-war welfare state together. Planning our way out of this mess is rat...