Issue 10 - September 1998
LEAVE OUR HOMES ALONE
IS there nothing the council won't do to try and
make council house tenants vote for their dodgy "transfer" scheme? They've
come up with rainforests of glossy brochures, produced a pathetic propaganda
video (with our money!) and expelled enough hot air to propel Richard
Branson from here to the other side of Jupiter (now there's a
thought...). You half expect them to employ singing stripagrams to deliver
the voting forms or offer free mad cow burgers at McDollars to anyone willing
to vote "yes". But despite all the council's spin-doctoring efforts, there is
still a resounding lack of support for their masterplan. Less than five per
cent bothered to even respond to the council's last request for views on the
transfer and a lot of those were against it! More than 97% of tenants have
shown no desire at all to be privatised.
This is no surprise. After all, who in their right mind could be enthusiastic
about higher rents and fewer rights under an unknown new landlord? And yet,
the council is ploughing ahead with a vote this month. Let's hope the tenants
give them the flea in the ear they porkin' deserve!
FAT OR WHAT?
COUNCIL bigwig Sheila Player recently declared in the
propaganda newsletter Home News: "There would be no fat cats at Worthing
Homes and there never could be." We at the Pork-Bolter are renowned
for our polite approach and we wouldn't dream of calling anyone a fat cat
(or a fat anything else, Sheila!). On the contrary we are overcome with
cap-doffing deferential awe at the line-up of highly respectable and
not-in-the-least-bit-overweight members of the business fraternity already
lined up as the "Shadow Board" of the private version of Worthing Homes. And
what a jolly useful bunch they could prove to be, when it comes to weighing
in with expert advice for the prospective new landlord. For instance, the
privatised landlord intends to borrow large amounts of money (guess who'll
be paying off the interest!). Who better to suggest where they could
borrow from than Alan Hughes, Head of Marketing for Midland Bank
and a Shadow Board member! If rents get too high, tenants might be forced to
go and buy a home to live in. Who better to advise than Christopher
Spratt, boss of CG Spratt & Son estate agents and also a Shadow
Board member! Other Board worthies include Neville Pressley, director of
Spofforths jewellers and Northbrook governor, and Paul
Stanforth, a "local" businessman who lives far away from Worthing's
council estates in "a village near Pulborough". The people's choice!
EXPOSED: THE COUNCIL SUMS THAT DON'T REALLY ADD UP
AS WELL as trying
to tempt tenants into saying "yes" to privatisation with its sugar-coated
tales of how wonderful life would be under a new landlord, Worthing Homes has
also been using scare tactics. For instance, it has claimed that
it would have to increase average rents to more than £100 if it was to
carry out the same range of repairs and improvements as the private landlord.
But its figures simply don't add up. The council says the new landlord
would spend £5 million on catch-up repairs and about £7 million
would be available for tenants to choose other improvements. However the large
year-on-year increases the council claims it would have to inflict on tenants
(if there was no privatisation) would give them a lot more money than they say
would be spent by a private landlord.
For the first five years (and how quickly time flies!) the
private landlord's rent increases are to be held back to one per cent above
inflation. But the council's projected rent of £55.46 per week for
1999/2000 is £5.94 above that and would net it an extra £0.8
million. For 2000/2001 its rent of £63.77 is £11.78 more than the
privatised version, giving an extra revenue of £1.6 million. and so on
each year, until over five years the council's rent levels notch up an amazing
£16.2 million more revenue than the one per cent over
inflation. In fact, there is no need for rents to go up any more than one per
cent over inflation as the valuation surveyors found the housing stock was in
good condition and not in need of massive investment. Because of this, they
valued the stock about £4 million higher than estimated. So the
council's estimated rents are totally misleading as the improvements
constitute non-essential work. Also, the council keeps claiming it has
virtually run out of housing cash. How come then that the average Housing
Revenue Account working balance at the end of the year between 1990-96 was
£668,500 and the working balance at the end of the 1996/97
financial year was £691,412?
DOWNS VIGILANTES
REMAIN vigilant! The threat from roadbuilders to the
South Downs near Cissbury Ring has not gone away! this was the message of
defiance to emerge at a meeting of SCAR - South Coast Against Roadbuilding -
held at Southampton on August 8. Worthing campaigners, including a
representative of The Pork-Bolter, told the regional gathering that
they are ready for action if the threat of a bypass returns. They made it
clear that, despite Worthing's reputation in the outside world as a sleepy
retirement resort, there are in fact a large number of determined people here
prepared to get tough with any attempt to tarmac over our countryside. These
environmental vigilantes are not fooled by the New Labour government's
apparent winding down of the road-building programme in the recent White
Paper.
Whitehall's decision to push ahead with imposing nearly 13,000 extra new
houses on West Sussex makes it clear where the long-term agenda lies. Economic
growth (ie: more and more profits for businessmen ) is very much
at the heart of Government thinking. It may be politically and financially
expedient to cut back on roads at the moment, but you can be sure they have
only been temporarily shelved. The A27 is still a major route from the Channel
Tunnel. And the SCAR meeting heard that there is the threat that European
funding may be used to push through new stretches of motorway. another
worrying cloud on the horizon is the possible Arundel bypass-bypass (the
existing one is choked up, proving that new roads don't solve anything). this
monstrosity would be built on stilts across the wetlands of the River Arun. It
would also make a Worthing bypass a top priority to complete the route, with
the Downs route a likely option.
Remember, our local Establishment is very keen on building a motorway across
the countryside because they reckon it will be good for business (what
other reason do they ever have for doing anything!) And the county
council considers it "very disappointing" that the roads review didn't impose
any more road-building on our green fields. Our so-called leaders don't give a
rasher of bacon for the countryside, for fresh air or an unpolluted
environment. They follow their own greed-driven, corrupt agendas. Whether
we're talking about road-building or house-building, there's no point in
appealing to them or their machineries of power to stop the bulldozers.
It's up to us to take the law into our own hands and reclaim our town, our
county, our future!
BIG BROTHER'S MEDIA DEAL
PEOPLE filmed by Worthing's CCTV cameras
(ie: every single porkin' one of us!) could soon see their pictures on
TV or in newspapers, willing or not. Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse wants the
Sussex Police Authority to relax the code of practice which currently bars
release of video footage. He is ignoring the fact that councils and gullible
people across the county initially went along with CCTV schemes on the
understanding that the images would not be fair game for the media vampires.
And he has admitted that it is all for the sake of spreading more pro-Big
Brother propaganda. He said: "It is argued that by carefully selecting
footage, the public continues to be educated as well as reminded about CCTV,
at a time when the news value of the cameras is declining." Mr Whitehouse
added that concerns about lack of privacy had been "borne in mind" during his
considerations. but, needless to say, they were then ignored!
NO SUCH THING AS A FREE BURGER
It just about sums up the state of West
Sussex in the late 1990s, doesn't it? Police stuffing themselves with free
burgers and fries from McDonald's in our town centres. Public outrage has now
forced top cops to blow the whistle on the handy little deal, after it was
exposed in Chichester. But not before people had time to ponder on what it all
says about our fast food/police state society.
Dennis Burgess wrote about the free nosh to the Chichester
Observer: "Why not to the nurses, doctors, cleaners, school teachers
who work hard to educate our children, youth leaders providing a place to give
our youth to go to enjoy life and of course why not the disabled and the
carers looking after their elderly and housebound parents? Then there are the
street cleaners who keep the pavements and roads clean outside McDonald's."
Wrote Phyl Eyre: "How very heartwarming to see the benevolent Ronald McDonald
handing out freebies to our ever-vigilant and over-worked police officers! And
how much more heart-warming it would be to see good 'ole Ronald handing out
free food to our homeless friends on the street. May I suggest that our Big
Issue folks change their pitch to McDonald's restaurants. Will they get
free food, or will the police be called to move them on?"
BUMLEY IT IS, THEN
HOWLS of protest went up from our readers (well,
two of them anyway) when we recently stated that Peter Bottomley MP was
lovingly known in the town as "Botto". One correspondent wrote back
referring to him as "Botters" and another let us know in no uncertain
terms that in his household the popular animal-loving and fox-hunt-supporting
Tory will always be known as "Bumley". Unless there are any better
suggestions (and no, that sounds too much like the football club), that
is the nickname we will henceforth adopt.
PORKY PIE'S TIP OF THE MONTH:
How to Get Rich Quick
- Go to McDonald's
- Steal all the McDosh
- When the McCops are called they'll think it's an offer of more free
grub
- By the time the fat gits finish their McCrapburgers, you'll be living the
life of Riley somewhere really far away like Rustington or East Preston!
PORK SCRATCHINGS
HYPOCRITICAL act of the summer has to be the
appearance of Worthing MP Peter Bumley, the man who refused to
vote for a ban on fox-hunting, at the funeral of Eric
Fossleitner, keeper of Ben the Fox and campaigner against the barbaric
"sport". Bumley's arrival was of course in no way related to the presence of
the TV cameras and press.
* * *
ALL the predictions being made about the Big Brother state round
the corner are sounding increasingly out of date - it's happening already!
Latest horror is a move to introduce compulsory "smartcards" for travellers
using the tube, trains, buses and even taxis in London. As ever, this latest
form of electronic surveillance was presented by the media as the best thing
since spliced genes. Gushed the Evening Standard: "There will be
no more queues at ticket offices. The card is passed over a sensor - it may
not even need to be taken from its owner's pocket - and the cost of the
journey or goods automatically deducted." And Big Brother will be tracking
every step of every journey you take.
* * *
CONGRATS to all those involved in the benefit gig staged by
Worthing Friends of the Earth on August 8 at the Inn on the Prom. The music
was great, the atmosphere brilliant and the council even laid on a free
firework display outside to bolster the cause! Thanks to all those who turned
up, it also made a healthy sum of cash to help pay for the bank holiday Monday
Eco-festival in Homefield Park. Worthing needs more of this sort of thing!
* * *
WELL at least they're trying! Worthing Borough Council has spent £1.2
million on a fleet of more environmentally-friendly dustcarts
which run on ultra-low sulphur diesel. They could have gone for electric or
compressed natural gas if they wanted to be really green, but let's not be too
churlish. The only downside is that the new dustcarts are being fitted with
CCTV cameras "to allow drivers to see what is going on in the back". Big
Brother is watching your bin bags!
* * *
EVER wondered what the difference is between "international terrorism" and
American foreign policy? Ever suspected that you have not got a clue what is
really going on in this country or anywhere else in the world? Why not pick up
a copy of veteran journo John Pilger's ace new book, Hidden
Agendas (Vintage, 1998, £8.99). Things might begin to get
clearer!
* * *
If you want to make sure of getting a copy of issue 5, simply send us a
stamped, self-addressed envelope. To get the next six issues send a donation
of at least £2. Back issues 1-9 still available. Cheques/postal orders
made payable to The Pork-Bolter. email subscriptions also available.
Drop us a line: porkbolter@eco-action.org or PO Box
4144, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 7NZ. website: http://www.eco-action.org/porkbolter
We look forward to hearing from you!
* * *
OFFICIAL WARNING SCIENTISTS now suspect that the pigs responsible for
this newsletter have been exposed to genetic modification, thus transforming
them from harmless and edible farmyard slaves into cynical subversives, out to
frustrate Progress and impede the Wealth Creation of Worthing's loveable and
cuddly (and yet at the same time thrusting and dynamic) business community!
and finally ... RECLAIM THE TOWN, RECLAIM YOUR LIFE!
