To learn more about the blank vote campaign click here 

BLANK Votes Count

All votes, including blank and spoiled votes, are counted and announced in the results for each constituency on election night.

Blank votes have traditionally been few in number because people have been unaware of the option.  Instead, nearly 40% of registered voters have simply not voted.  There has therefore been no media or political pressure to retain blank votes in the subsequent presentations of the results, or even to require all returning officers to separate blank from spoiled votes.

This will change if significant numbers of people vote blank.  It will become a key news story of this election.  Unlike non-voters, blank voters cannot be dismissed as apathetic.

The 2008 London Mayoral and Assembly elections have set the precedent for blank votes being formally recognised and retained in results.  (In the London Mayoral election, 13,034 blank votes were cast, and in the Assembly Member election, 39,894 blank votes were cast.)

Blank means BLANK

Some people like to write ‘None of them’ or a comment on the ballot paper.  However, in the 2008 London elections these marked papers were classified as ‘rejected votes’, not blank votes, because it could be argued that the vote was unclear or that the handwriting could make the voter identifiable.  So to vote blank, the ballot paper needs to be left completely BLANK.

Two positive outcomes

This is a campaign to improve and revitalise UK politics.  The message is ‘Vote for a candidate you really want, or vote blank in protest.  Both will help to revitalise UK politics’.

• If some of the nearly 40% who didn’t vote last time decide to vote for candidates who they trust to represent local people with integrity and to improve UK politics, then we may get a good range of people in parliament and any election result is possible.

• If significant numbers of people don’t want to support any of the candidates, and vote BLANK instead of not voting, it will be a key news story in this election.  It would show the level of dissatisfaction with UK politics and the positive demand for real change.

Both are routes to improving UK politics.  With nearly 4 in every 10 registered voters not voting in 2005, there are enough potential voters to make both outcomes possible. 

We are publicising this site widely to engage potential voters and non-voters.  Please help. 

When someone says they are not going to vote for anyone, just suggest they vote blank.  It prompts a more interesting discussion, and it counters the justification for not voting.  (We say this from experience of many interesting discussions on doorsteps during the county council elections.)

If you are disillusioned with UK politics, election time is the moment to improve it.  If we all take part in this election – these could be exciting times.

To learn more about the blank vote campaign click here 

Jose María Carrascal

The biggest news story of recent times has hardly made the headlines. It came in a speech delivered by the new King of the Netherlands during a ceremonial act – the official opening of the parliamentary year – when he announced the “replacement of the traditional welfare state by a participatory society”.

In other words, he declared the end of a sacrosanct system without setting out an alternative. While King Willem-Alexander delivered the speech, it was actually written by the Dutch government – a government made up not of conservatives like Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel, but of liberals and social democrats. In the next paragraph came an explanation: “The transition to a participatory society is particularly relevant for social security and for people who are in need of long-term care. The traditional welfare state of the second half of the 20th Century has created precisely in these areas systems that, in their current form, cannot be sustained”.

Does it have to be stated any more clearly? Well, the explanation lies in the numbers. The Netherlands, which has grown tired of trying to teach lessons to the countries of southern Europe for not doing what they should have done, will miss its own deficit targets this year, while its economic growth slumps to 1.25 percent and purchasing power by half a percentage point. This situation has forced the government to announce a budget cut of €6bn. According to Willem-Alexander, “a strong and sensible people can adapt to such changes”.

The heart of the current trend and this speech reveal that it is not a matter of extraordinary circumstances requiring a simple adjustment before we can go back to the way things were, once the bad times pass. No, it is a question of bringing in profound changes, of laying the foundations of a new society, of launching a new model to take over from the one currently in force that is no longer working. In conclusion, it comes down to replacing the welfare state with something quite different – a system dubbed the “participatory society”.

What is the participatory society? For citizens, it means taking on a significant number of tasks and responsibilities that till now were handled by the state, particularly regarding their future and the future of their children. The state will keep basic social services in place, but individuals will have to contribute more to them, both for themselves and for those around them – ie, the members of their family, their neighbours and relatives. Hence the term “participatory”.

The paternalistic state can no longer take on these costs, for the reason given above: the public accounts won’t allow it. And they won’t allow it because the welfare state is based on erroneous figures – I would even say on a rip-off. Every welfare state is based on a “social contract”, a pact that binds all citizens of a country, rich and poor, young and old, to share out costs and benefits as fairly as possible.

However, this contract has not been respected by the previous generations, who managed the accounts to their own advantage. One example illustrates this perfectly: retirement pensions began to be calculated in Spain from the amounts assessed during the last two years of active life, when earnings are at their highest. Then it became the previous eight years, which is still something. No surprise, then, that the social security fund is on the brink of bankrupcy thanks to the irresponsibility of a few politicians who have transformed the welfare state into a gigantic pyramid scheme à la Bernie Madoff, through which the allowances are paid based not on what the beneficiaries have paid in, but rather from the contributions of new taxpayers, who are becoming fewer and fewer.

Continent going bankrupt

After the collapse of the communist utopia comes the turn of the social democratic utopia, which combined the market economy with social services of all kinds. This made the model seem more solid, and made Europe a destination for millions of people willing to try to get here from Africa, Asia and South America. But the cupboards of the European paradise have been emptied out, and for Europeans too. In fact, the continent is going bankrupt, apart from some exceptions like Germany and the Scandinavian countries, which made the right adjustments in time in order to keep the pyramid from becoming their gravestones. Today, they want to do the same for those who didn’t want to believe what was coming.

No. What we are living through at the moment is a change of cycle, even of an era: this transition means we have to adapt to the new reality that will be dominating our countries and the rest of the world. It is impossible to keep paying out the same pensions, which come from our own contributions, if our life expectancy is longer, just as we can no longer continue to go after automatic wage increases if the company where we work is having difficulties. And we cannot keep up public institutions whose sole function is to pay salaries to relatives and friends, or go on claiming that nothing has been happening over these past decades.

Wealth is currently leaving Europe for emerging economies. Today, our middle class is being challenged by people who want to be the middle classes in Asia and Latin America. Does that mean we will be going back to ration cards and the misery of the post-war years? No. It does mean that today’s young people will be poorer than their parents, but much better off than their grandparents. Put another way: we can no longer spend what we don’t have, which should seem obvious. That’s how it is, even if we are surrounded by self-satisfied leaders who refuse all change and by parties of the left that are more conservative than anyone.

To view report – click here

As economic, demographic and environmental challenges mount, governments around the UK are under increasing pressure to deliver high quality public services with shrinking resources.

The Carnegie UK Trust believes that in these challenging times it is more pressing than ever for governments to forge a new relationship with individuals and communities. The Trust has today published a glimpse of what a more ‘enabling state’ looks like in practice.

The Trust believes that current models of public services fail to adequately tap into the abilities that individuals and communities have to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. This new collection of case studies from across the UK and Ireland showcases examples of public service approaches that give citizens and communities more opportunity to shape the services that they receive and to contribute to societal wellbeing.  

 The Enabling State: From Rhetoric to Reality launched today, is the second publication in the Trust’sEnabling State series. The Trust has been exploring the rise of the Enabling State in the UK and Ireland with the help of Carnegie Fellow Sir John Elvidge, former Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government.

The Sanday Development Trust’s ‘sealcam’ is back online for the autumn grey seal breeding season.

The trust says that following last year’s success they managed to secure the support to get their cameras operational and online again to capture all the action from two Sanday beaches used by grey seals to pup.

After working in conjunction with their ranger Roderick Thorne and Triscom Enterprises last year, the Sanday Development Trust say they received emails from six different continents around the world last year.

‘Sealcam’ can be accessed here.

Evening Times ,Gordon Thomson, 25th October 2013

A £1 coin could start a social revolution in Glasgow’s East End. That is all it cost a community to begin sowing the seed of change that could help free families from the poverty trap and create a lasting legacy long after the curtain falls on next summer’s Commonwealth Games.

The residents of Dalmarnock are getting a purpose-built community hub – something that has been talked about for months but now confirmation comes shortly before bulldozers are sent in to flatten the old Dalmarnock Centre.

Built in the 80s, it was badly in need of repair but for locals it was their only community hub. It was where a bank was set up and a shop when neighbouring commercial businesses in Springfield Road were demolished as part of multi-million pound preparations for next -summer’s sports extravaganza.

The centre too will eventually be demolished and the site cleared to create a coach park for the thousands of competitors and officials who will be housed across the road at the Athletes Village.

Part of the site will also be used for an international zone where athletes, friends and family can meet informally.

But for many locals, the centre was a second home.

It was where a pensioners party was held on Friday, November 9, 2007 – the night it was announced that Glasgow had beaten its rivals for the right to host the 2014 Games.

That decision triggered a chain of events, which have transformed the area.

Millions upon millions of pounds have been spent on the construction of a hi tech sports arena and indoor cycling track just a stone’s throw from the centre as well as a new roads system.

Millions more are being spent on a village which will eventually ¬become a new home to hundreds of families, including locals and others who want to move back to an area where they were born and bred.

The Dalmarnock Community Hub will be part of a rich legacy created by the Games.

Fittingly, it will be built next to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Springfield Road, near its junction with Dalmarnock Road.

The bill of £3.7million is being picked up by lottery chiefs, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish ¬Government. Detailed plans have been drawn up and now senior councillors have given the community ¬project the green light.

They have decided to sell just over an acre of land – worth almost £200,000 – to the community for just £1. Local activist and Labour councillor Yvonne Kucuk has been burning the midnight oil to get the hub off the ground.

She’s also the regeneration manager of the local People’s Development Trust and says the hub will be the catalyst for a better future for the community.

There’ll be a community hall, a cafe, GP surgery, chemist, a shop and a children’s nursery. Yvonne said: “Everything we lost we are bringing back into the community.

“But we’ve never had a nursery so that will generate income for us. We estimate that the hub will also ¬create 60 new jobs.”

There are already locals on ¬college childcare courses who are likely to be recruited and Yvonne and fellow Trust officials aim to improve their basic skills by encouraging them to take on further studies with the aim of becoming “master” nursery nurses.

They are determined to encourage youngsters to achieve their full potential and training providers and other agencies will be encouraged to set up classes and projects in the community hall.

The building contractor is ¬expected to be named in the coming days amid hopes that construction work could get under way before the end of next month.

Work will be mothballed in the summer, while a worldwide television audience of more than a billion focus on Glasgow and the Games.

Dalmarnock Community Hub is expected to open its doors in January, 2015, and Yvonne predicts it will be the catalyst which helps free locals from the poverty trap with services put in place to encourage them to go to university, train for work and live a productive life.”

The project is being backed by Councillor Archie Graham, executive member for the Commonwealth Games on Glasgow City Council.

He said: “We are pleased to help the Trust in their work to build the Dalmarnock Community Hub.

“The council has delivered projects such as the Emirates Arena and Clyde Gateway that have transformed Dalmarnock over the past few years and our partnership on the Athletes’ Village with City Legacy will bring a new neighbourhood to the area and city next year.

“The Dalmarnock Community Hub would provide a focal point for the area.

“The building would be a real ¬asset for the community as Dalmarnock enters a new era.”

gordon.thomson@eveningtimes.co.uk

A new £1million community minibus fund has been announced by Transport Minister Keith Brown.

The one-off fund for this financial year will help community transport operators buy new vehicles to expand their services or replace older vehicles.

Ahead of his keynote speech at the Community Transport Association’s conference in Edinburgh yesterday, Mr Brown said: “One of the main difficulties for community transport providers is funding for new minibuses, so I’m delighted to announce this new fund today. 

“I recognise that help is needed in the short term and this will provide much-needed financial assistance to operators who, as part of the Third Sector, run vital services for remote communities and vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. It will also help mitigate the impact of welfare reform.”

“This is a one-off fund for now, but I expect it to provide valuable insights into the sector’s needs which we can use to develop future support as finances permit.

“The Scottish Government is committed to making sure communities across Scotland receive the services and support they need and this announcement reaffirms that commitment.”

The fund will be jointly administered by the Community Transport Association (CTA) and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).  

John MacDonald, the CTA’s Director for Scotland, said “This is great news for community transport operators as funding of vehicles is one of their biggest concerns.   

“The Scottish Government’s investment will enable voluntary and community organisations throughout Scotland to sustain and grow their vital services for people who cannot access mainstream transport services. 

“This initiative was one of the main recommendations from the Scottish Parliament’s Inquiry into Community Transport and we are delighted that the Government has responded in such a positive manner.”

John Downie, Director of Public Affairs at the SCVO, said: “This is excellent news for more than 100,000 people right across Scotland for whom community transport is a vital lifeline which helps them to attend important medical appointments and keep playing an active role in their communities.

“It will help more people to live independently in their own homes for longer and counteract some of negative impact of welfare reforms, particularly on disabled people. 

“We’re looking forward to seeing this funding be invested in Scotland’s community transport fleet and the big difference it will make to the lives of older people, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas who don’t have access to a car or public transport.”

Transport Scotland will provide £500,000 for the community minibus fund, whilst another £500,000 will come from the Third Sector budget.

Transport Scotland announced last week that it’s doubling funding to the CTA from November 2013.  This will rise from £45,000 per annum to £90,000 per annum. The extra funding will enable the CTA to expand the services it provides, advising and supporting community transport groups.

Primary school children have performed a community concert in Govanhill in Glasgow to mark the launch of Scotland’s second Big Noise Orchestra.

The project, run by the Sistema charity uses music-making to help children in less affluent areas build their confidence, pride and aspirations.

The first Big Noise centre was set up in Raploch in Stirling in 2008.

The Scottish government awarded funding of more than £1.3m to establish a similar initiative in Glasgow.

Sistema Scotland is based on the El Sistema music education programme set up in Venezuela in 1975.

In Stirling the charity works with 450 children from babies to teens.

 “Start Quote

A government-commissioned evaluation found children were more confident, happier, better behaved and more able to focus as a result of taking part.

Earlier this year, 10 Raploch children successfully auditioned for the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.

In the Govanhill project, the Big Noise team of eight musicians has been working with P1 and P2 children at four local primary schools over the past 10 weeks.

Four hundred children performed for the local community and invited guests in a marquee in Govanhill Park to mark the orchestra’s launch.

A summer school is also being held at the project’s base in Forsyth House, and after-school sessions will run at the centre when the new school year starts in the autumn.

Sistema Scotland chairman Richard Holloway said: “We hope the whole Govanhill community can get behind this orchestra. The children are bursting with enthusiasm and potential.

“In 10 weeks we have formed an impressive string orchestra. Over time we will bring in woodwind, brass and percussion to form a full symphony orchestra. Not only will it produce wonderful music, it will transform lives.”

Govanhill Housing Association and Govanhill Community Development Trust (GCDT) were involved in bringing Sistema Scotland to the area.

GCDT chairwoman Lyn Ewing said: “As soon as we heard what they were doing in Raploch we thought this could be a great thing for Govanhill. After a visit to see the children rehearsing, we became convinced we had to have our own Big Noise.”

Patrick Collinson and Rupert JonesThe Guardian, 26 October 2013

It has never sold payment protection insurance. It has never had a customer complain to the financial ombudsman. It has never been fined by the regulators – and it was certainly not mixed up in the Libor scandal. Yet it offers customers a full current account service, with debit cards, cash machine access, savings accounts, cash Isas and internet banking. As Co-op Bank’s 4.7 million customers reel in shock at its effective takeover this week by US hedge funds, many are looking at ethical alternatives – and Reliance Bank for the first time in its century-long history is finding itself in the spotlight.

Founded in 1890 as the Salvation Army Bank, today it has assets of more than £200m, much of it from churches and charities as well as private customers. It says its mission is to “stand out as a bank with a Christian and ethical conscience”, donating 75% of its profits to the Salvation Army – which still retains control of the bank despite the bank’s name change to Reliance.

Throughout the financial crisis Reliance Bank has remained in profit – which it puts down to its low-risk, ethical business model – and it has the sort of internal capital ratios and financial safety cushions that the major high street banks can only dream of.

It does confess to paying bonuses – which critics say drove other banks into reckless risk taking. But while Barclays handed shares worth £70mto one individual, Rich Ricci, at Reliance the five top managers shared a bonus pool of £2,446 last year (no, we didn’t forget to put an ‘M’ at the end of that) – £489.20 each – although they still felt incentivised enough to run a bank. Reliance says it has an absolute ceiling on bonuses of 10% of salary. Its managing director designate, Paul Underwood, says: “The other banks are being encouraged to go back to basics. We never deviated from that in the first place.”

Reliance’s 5,000 customers are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and it offers mortgages at rates starting at 2.49%. But it won’t give you a credit card. “Our shareholder [the Salvation Army] thinks credit cards are part of the problem with society,” says Underwood.

Scottish Rural Action has received funding from the Scottish Government to deliver an exciting new initiative for rural Scotland. The Rural Parliament will provide those who live and work in Scotland’s rural communities with an opportunity to come together, to consider rural priorities with a wide range of public bodies, to agree specific policy proposals and in due course, present these to the appropriate bodies.  The Rural Parliament will also be a major celebration of rural Scotland, its people, places, products and achievements. 

The Rural Parliament has been inspired by those that have emerged elsewhere in Europe over the past 25 years.  As with these European examples, it is anticipated that Scotland’s Rural Parliament will be underpinned by the consolidation of a wider rural movement.

We are seeking an exceptional individual who is passionate and knowledgeable about rural Scotland, capable of communicating complex messages at many different levels and possesses a track record of building successful relationships between different sections of the community.  He/she will put in place all the necessary arrangements for the inaugural Scottish Rural Parliament which is to be held in late autumn 2014. The business plan sets out a tight timetable of work to be delivered which will include establishing an Advisory Forum of rural organisations and interests, building interest from across the wider community, identifying key issues to be addressed by the Rural Parliament and seeking additional funding as required.

Website: www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk

Application notes: A job description and person specification is available for download below.

Informal enquiries can be made to John C Hutchison, Chair of Scottish Rural Action on 07768 537698. 

Applications are invited by letter, supported by a CV of no more than 3 pages. The letter should include the names and contact details of two referees, whom we will contact before interview, unless otherwise requested.

Secondment arrangements may be considered and applicants with this in mind should indicate accordingly and, if invited for interview, will be expected to furnish the panel with confirmation of their employer’s agreement.

Applications should be made to apply@scottishruralparliament.org.uk  by close of Sunday 17 November 2013.

Interviews to be held on 28th November.

Job description click here

To read the full report click here

Extract of report to Executive Committee, Glasgow City Council

The Council wishes to build on our current service delivery to develop a new partnership between local people and public services called Co-operative Glasgow where:

• public services are of the best quality, offer value for money, are designed around people’s lives and are ‘joined up’ so that citizens get what they need at the right time and the right place;

• power and responsibility is more balanced by agreeing what we will provide and what communities will control for themselves;

• the Council involves the community and employees in planning services and supporting employees, local people and organisations to organise and run services differently;

• the Council enables people to do more to help their own communities and at the same time to help themselves by gaining new skills and experience.

These are ambitious aims and in order to fully understand their implications and plan a practical course of action, it is necessary to initiate discussions between Elected Members, Chief Officers and relevant external partners including Co-operative Development Scotland, Co-op UK, Public Sector Mutuals, Social Enterprise Scotland an other Local Authorities.  This will inform the identification of the processes and steps necessary to achieve the required outcomes. 

The starting point for this process is the establishment of a Glasgow Co-operative Council model that sets out the key principles required for the Council to work in a co-operative manner.  It is recommended that a scoping event involving the partners identified in paragraph 1.3 is held to facilitate discussion around the model and its practical application. 

The establishment of a Co-operative Council is an incremental process.  It is anticipated that some potential elements e.g. transferring service delivery to a formally constituted co-operative, would take longer than other aspects.

Becoming a Co-operative City also contributes towards the vision of ‘A prosperous city for all Glaswegians’.  While the specific commitments to developing Co-operative Glasgow sits within the Economic Growth priority area of the Strategic Plan 2012-17, the benefits impact upon other priority areas and will have wide ranging implications for how the Council works, interacts with its customers and delivers its services.

The adoption of the principles underpinning Co-operative Glasgow are aligned to, and complement, the policy approved on 13 December 2012 on transfer of control of assets to the community and aspects of the Scottish Government’s proposed Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill concerning community service delivery.

A Co-operative Development Unit (CDU) has been established within Development and Regeneration Services to support the development of Co-operatives and other social enterprises in the city.  As a starting point, the CDU will undertake an audit of activity across the council to provide a base from which to progress.  This will ensure consistency of approach and an understanding of the cross cutting application of Co-operative Glasgow.