Tag: Paul Bullen

Devolution for Cambridgeshire – Groups sets out their terms of engagement

“And fundamentally it’s up to the Government to decide whether it wants to press ahead and try and force this scheme on us, which I don’t think will be acceptable to the people, or whether or not to come back with a more viable compromise option.”

opposition_letter17:41 Wednesday 23rd March 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Tonight an open letter has been written by the Leaders of the Liberal Democrat, UKIP, Labour and Independent Groups on Cambridgeshire County Council about the devolution negotiations. It’s in opposition to the plan by the Government and the Conservatives to put some devolution into our area. Let’s bring in live now the Leader of the Labour Group, Ashley Walsh, who joins me on the line. Ashley, hello.
ASHLEY WALSH: Hello Chris.
CHRIS MANN: Now you’ve already expressed your opposition on the County Council yesterday at this Full Council meeting to the deal. Why have you felt it necessary to put it in a letter today?
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Opposing views on a rate rise for Cambridgeshire

We have the asset portfolio in my opinion to become self-sufficient a couple of years down the line.

08:20 Thursday 28th January 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Let’s return to the subject of council tax. Would you pay more of it if it meant social care services in the county faced fewer cuts? Would you be happy to pay a little bit more each year? In last year’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to let councils increase council tax by 2% if they spent that money on social care. This in the face of continuing cuts that threaten social care services. Richard O’Leary is from the GMB union. I spoke to him earlier. He says there’s only one option.
RICHARD O’LEARY: It’s a very complex question. I think our general view is they have no option but to implement this, and that’s because as you’ve already said earlier in your report, local government has been affected more than any area of the public sector with the cuts since 2010. If you take the national figure, local authorities have lost 51% of their budget in those six years, and Cambridgeshire is one of the hardest affected authorities in the country.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Cambridgeshire County Council at the moment will be advising the Government that they are ‘not minded’ to increase council tax by 2% for this purpose. A final decision will be made next month. Just to put it in context, for the average Band D property, a 2% rise on council tax would mean an extra £33 a year. With me now are two men with very different views on this. Ashley Walsh who is the Leader of the Labour group on Cambridgeshire County Council, who is calling for a rise bigger than 2%. Morning Ashley.
ASHLEY WALSH: Morning Dotty.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And also Paul Bullen who is the Leader of the UKIP group who thinks there should be no rise at all. Morning Paul.
PAUL BULLEN: Good morning Dotty.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So Ashley we’ll start with yourself. You’re calling for a 4% rise, an extra £60 on a year for the average householder. Why? Why do we need the money?
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Cambridgeshire council tax rise agreed but problems lie ahead

08:08 Wednesday 18th February 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Council tax in Cambridgeshire is set to rise by 1.99%. The increase comes as the County Council faces £150 million of cuts over the next five years. The rise in council tax was agreed yesterday by the Council after being approved by the committee which sets the budget, but UKIP councillors voted against the rise, and Labour councillors abstained. Joining me now to talk more about this are three county councillors, Paul Bullen for UKIP, Paul Sales for Labour and we’re going to start with Kilian Bourke for the Liberal Democrat party. So Kilian, this increase in council tax, it will put more pressure on people’s pockets. How do you justify it?
KILIAN BOURKE: Well it’s on an average Band D property, and that’s going to be an increase of 43p per week. And the reality is that if council tax had been frozen, there would have had to be further cuts to bus services, to children’s centres, to social care. That would be a terrible decision in my opinion. And the Council did a survey, and the online survey showed that 78% of people would be prepared to have some level of increase, and 54% of people supported an increase of 1.99% or above. So it’s justified.
DOTTY MCLEOD: OK. Which department are you most worried about for this budget? Where is going to really feel the pressure of these cuts?
KILIAN BOURKE: It’s very simple. It’s social care. The sustainability of public services and the NHS depends on the Council’s children and adult social care services being able on an increasingly tight budget to provide those services. And also actually the NHS is providing an integrated older people’s service, and that social care service and the NHS’s new over-65 service, these two things have got to work, because if they don’t, we’re going to have real problems in the years to come.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Now this council tax rise wasn’t passed unanimously. The UKIP group voted against it. Paul Bullen is from that party. Why did you vote against it Paul? Continue reading “Cambridgeshire council tax rise agreed but problems lie ahead”

A county divided on Europe

09:24 Friday 24th October 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Many comments from you as you can probably imagine this morning on the subject of Europe, and this survey that says that 56% of us now want to stay in. It’s the highest number for 23 years, according to this new poll, although the news today may impact on that I would think, the fact that we’ve got to give this £1.7 billion extra to Europe, because our economy has been doing so well. Yvonne says “How dare they! We’ve taken pension cuts, wage freezes, university fees doubling and so many cuts to get where we are. Let France, Germany and Greece take the punishment. They’re not taking away any more money from us.” Andy says, ” If I do well in my pub Paul, does that mean I have to give some of my profits to the pub in the next village because they’re having a bad time? No. So we shouldn’t give our money to the rest of the EU.” Gary says, ” Paul, didn’t Margaret Thatcher negotiate a rebate in 1984 because the UK economy was performing so badly which all of the other member states had to pay for and have continued to do so?” We’re in the club, we’ve got to pay I think is what Gary is saying. If we do better, then we help those that don’t. Paul Bullen is Leader of the UKIP group on Cambridgeshire County Council. Morning Paul.
PAUL BULLEN: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: So, we’re part of the club, we’ve got to chip in when others are not doing so well. It’s a good idea, isn’t it?
PAUL BULLEN: Ah of course it’s a good idea. It’s absolutely ludicrous. Where do they get these figures from? This is a recalculated growth figure apparently. What they’re not saying is it also includes income from the black economy. It’s got nothing to do with the British economy. It’s Europe after more and more money. They’re saying that they’re going to take more money from Holland and Italy, Italy is almost on its knees, and from Greece which is on its knees. And yet we’re going to give a £1 billion rebate to France, and almost as much to Germany. What the EU is telling the UK taxpayer is that it’s got to pay £1.7 billion to Germany and France. That is absolutely ludicrous when we have old age pensioners currently going to food banks and who are going to be in fuel poverty in a couple of months time.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes, if we believe this poll out in the last 24 hours, more and more of us are actually warming to the idea of Europe, warming to the idea that we all look after each other. 56% of us now want to stay in Europe. That’s not good news for you, is it?
PAUL BULLEN: Well I don’t believe .. I believe that that poll was of the members of the Liberal Democrat Conservative and Labour parties. So what it’s saying is that fifty ..
PAUL STAINTON: (LAUGHS) It’s not is it, obviously. It was carried out by Ipsos Mori.
PAUL BULLEN: .. six per cent of the members of those parties wish to stay in Europe, which proves categorically that the old parties are all pro-Europe. And that’s why UKIP’s popularity is growing at such an unusual rate.
PAUL STAINTON: So the poll’s wrong.
PAUL BULLEN: The poll is of members of the old parties. Not of the British population as a whole.
PAUL STAINTON: Huw Jones is with us as well. He’s the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for South East Cambridgeshire. Huw, morning.
HUW JONES: Good morning. How are you?
PAUL STAINTON: I’m alright. Welcome to the Big Conversation my friend. So, what are your thoughts, first of all, on this poll? 56% of us, more than ever in the last 23 years, are now cosying up to Europe. We all want to be part of the big gang. What do you think?
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Stewart Jackson on the Newark Result

10:21 Friday 6th June 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: The Conservatives secured their seat in Newark last night with a majority of more than seven thousand. The resignation of their former Conservative MP Patrick Mercer had raised expectations in UKIP that they could cause a major upset by winning their first Westminster seat. But the Conservatives flooded the seat with MPs and activists in the run up to polling day, with David Cameron visiting the Nottinghamshire market town four times, this in their bid to retain what was in theory a safe seat. So, is it a victory to celebrate, or are the parties terrified, as Paul Bullen has .. suggested? Let’s talk now to Stewart Jackson, the Conservative MP for Peterborough. Stewart, good morning to you.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning Andie.
ANDIE HARPER: You had a very late night, but here you are bright and early. And was it something to celebrate?
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Paul Bullen and Steve Tierney – the Political Outlook for Cambridgeshire

08:20 Thursday 29th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: The elections may be over, but the fallout from the results is only just beginning it appears. UKIP of course grabbed most of the headlines, and their rise has been particularly strong in Cambridgeshire. In fact Fenland saw the fifth biggest percentage of people voting for UKIP in the UK, and their vote share has, well, rocketed from just 5% in 2011 to a whopping 47% in this year’s Euro elections. So could that mean the area that’s traditionally True Blue is going to turn purple? I’m joined now on the line by Paul Bullen, who’s Leader of UKIP at Cambridgeshire County Council. Hello Paul.
PAUL BULLEN: Good morning.
CHRIS MANN: Still celebrating?
PAUL BULLEN: Ah. I think the celebrations are finished now. It’s down to hard work and planning for the elections next year.
CHRIS MANN: Also with us is Steve Tierney, the Chairman of Wisbech Conservatives. How have you got through the last few days?
STEVE TIERNEY: Very well thank you. Yes. (LAUGHS)
CHRIS MANN: Not feeling down in the dumps, the way that you’ve been dumped at the ballor box by the voters of Cambridgeshire?
STEVE TIERNEY: Well, you know, the election was disappointing, and obviously we would have liked to have done better. But you look at these things and decide what to do about them and you move on.
CHRIS MANN: So Paul Bullen, what are UKIP going to change in Cambridgeshire, realistically?
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Turmoil As Leader Quits at Cambs County Council

08:25 Monday 24th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: We’ve been discussing the news that Martin Curtis will step down as Leader of the County Council in May. He said on Friday that it was because he didn’t want to work as Leader within a committee system. Well earlier in the show the Liberal Democrat Leader Maurice Leake said if Martin couldn’t stand the heat then it was best he left the kitchen. Paul Bullen from UKIP suggested that his decision was prompted by a split within the Tory party. Some have accused him of running scared. Well councillor Martin Curtis has never been afraid to come on this show, and he’s here now. Martin, morning.
MARTIN CURTIS: Good morning Paul. A number of things that I want to clarify. First of all, I have said on a number of occasions over this last weekend, I think I even said it on Chris Mann’s show on Friday, that I believe a committee system could work,. I don’t believe it’s the best system of governance. I believe it could work.
PAUL STAINTON: Why walk away then?
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Cambs Budget 2014 – A Big Day at Shire Hall

08:07 Tuesday 18th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[D]OTTY MCLEOD: Shire Hall, the headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council and an iconic listed building in the centre of Cambridge, should be sold. That’s according to one Liberal Democrat councillor, in the face of cuts to the County Council’s budget. So as the Government reduces the amount it’s giving to councils, is it time to sell off the silverware to protect the vulnerable in our county? Maurice Leake is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He says places like Shire Hall should be sold.
(TAPE)
MAURICE LEAKE: We’re seeing consistent cuts in the amount of staff that we have at Shire Hall and across the County Council, and there comes a time when you don’t need as many buildings as you’ve got. Shire Hall is a very expensive building to maintain. It needs an awful lot of work doing to it if it’s going to be energy efficient. It’s got a G rating, and anybody who’s bought a fridge recently will now that you’re looking for an A, A+, A++, and here we have it at the very bottom of the list. This means that our council tax money is just going out of the windows at Shire Hall, rather than being used for frontline services.
(LIVE)
DOTTY MCLEOD: Now we have in the studio with us Martin Curtis, the Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, who was shaking his head throughout that. Martin will be talking to you in just a second, but first I want to turn to Paul Bullen, who is the Leader of the UKIP group at Cambridgeshire County Council. So Paul, what do you think of this idea? Sell off Shire Hall. Is it a good plan ?
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