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After taking a couple of weeks off after the election, Crawley Labour members were out again yesterday morning talking with local residents. While door-knocking in the run up to May tends to focus on electioneering–for obvious reasons, over the rest of the year we use it uncover any issues in local neighbourhoods we can help…
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When the Conservatives created Police and Crime Commissioners I thought it was a bad idea. The fact that at their inaugural elections only 14% of those eligible to vote in Crawley cast their ballot was a fairly clear sign that the public agreed with me. With the ability to look back with hindsight six years…
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Last night was the first Crawley Borough Council Cabinet Meeting of the new council year. A little later than usual, but General Elections cause no end of chaos to scheduling. Cabinet is the council’s most important committee. It has significant delegated powers and is a hurdle all major policy has to clear on the way…
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If there is one thing we’ve always sought from our Governments in Britain it’s stability. Our uncodified constitution is rigged to give enormous power to parties often elected by just over a third of the popular vote, precisely because the system is more bothered about stability than representation. Yet, with the entire deck stacked in…
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The Government’s decision to drop the Local Government Finance Bill, which would have allowed local government to retain the business rates they raise, leaves a blackhole in council finances. Since 2010, the Government has cut over half of its funding to local government, raising questions over how long councils will be able to go on…
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Following the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower in London, Crawley Borough Council is reassuring residents that all high-rise residential blocks in the town are made of solid, non-combustible materials. There are no tower blocks within Crawley – this term is used for buildings over 12 stories. Crawley does have five residential blocks of six or…
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Today was Armed Forces Day, the time when we ask people once a year to really think about the sacrifices made by those who have served or are currently serving and their families, all of whom have made sacrifices on our behalf. Crawley has a strong link with the Armed Services. In 1921, the Memorial…
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It’s sometimes said that a person has taken on so much of a place that they’ve become part of the fabric of the building. That was certainly true when it comes to Bert Crane and Crawley Town Hall. Tonight, people gathered to unveil a portrait of Bert at the Town Hall, perhaps that status of…
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Like many others, I followed the events at Grenfell Tower last week with growing horror. It seems we’re confronted by such tragedies with increasing frequency. Whether that’s due to social media now bringing us directly into contact with events we’d have once only seen on the evening news, a growing empathy for our fellow humanity…
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As Crawley commuters continue to suffer from poor services, Cllr Peter Lamb has called for the Government to release the long-delayed Gibb Report into the running of the Southern Rail franchise. The report was commissioned from Chris Gibb, a Network Rail non-executive director with 35 years’ experience, in September 2016. The Department for Transport claimed…
Peter Lamb for Crawley 