Cllr Tim Charters

Last night, against the very strong recommendations of the council, Labour pushed through the granting of planning permission for a grade school to be built in Broadfield.

This grade school planning application is in breach of national law, as it sits within 15m of ancient woodland. The only time an application can violate this rule is in extreme circumstances for national infrastructure.

I will stress here, that planning committee is a quasi-judicial one, where predetermination is a disqualifier and only the law should be taken into account as well as adherence to the town plan. You can't take into account your personal political opinions on this committee. I do take issue with this, but again, this is the law and outside of anyone local's control.

Why did they pass it?

It's an Islamic school.

We have much more to say, which will come later.

View the 4 hour meeting here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJUvU6xmyJY

Recently we had a scrutiny meeting in Crawley Borough Council. One of the topics was the regeneration works for Three Bridges station.

The budget was £1.5M in 2018.
It's now just shy of £8M in 2026.

They claimed this is caused by inflationary pressures and increased costs of materials.

When adjusted for inflation across that period, the £1.5M in 2018 comes to just shy of £2M in 2026.

So that's a fourfold increase in the budget.

I asked for greater scrutiny of the contractors' and sub-contractors' costs. Essentially, an itemised bill like you might get from your plumber. I want to see how much was spent on tarmac, on bricks, on electrics, etc.

I was told no, that's not our job.

I bit back. The public purse has been exploited under the noses of council staff, officers and councillors for far too long. It may well be that councillors are not expected to do this kind of work, but we're ready to go above and beyond.

I'm going on air on BBC Sussex Radio live in twenty minutes to talk about Keir Starmer's resignation.

Radio Sussex - Listen Live - BBC Sounds Listen live to Radio Sussex on BBC Sounds

Keir Starmer has announced his resignation as Prime Minister. We can expect our new Prime Minister to be announced after a Labour Party leadership contest that should conclude by the end of July.

While this is a moment of celebration, where the worst Prime Minister in living memory (and arguably beyond) will no longer be taking our country down a ruinous path, I'm afraid we are still stuck with the Labour party who consistently take our country down a ruinous path.

Whoever the new PM is, they will want to make sudden and radical changes in order to distance themselves from the failed Starmer regime.

Do you think they will control the borders?
Do you think they will end two-tier justice and policing?
Do you think they will boost businesses and attract investors?

I don't. They are incapable. Every problem to a socialist can only be solved by more socialism. So I predict our "radical change" will be another lurch to the left to recapture the Green vote. They will blame Starmer on being too right wing as they clamp down on our freedoms further.

I will be thrilled to be wrong.

Regardless, we must be ready for a general election and ready to save our country from whatever comes.

For today though, it's okay to celebrate! :-)

Keir Starmer RESIGNS as Prime Minister and sets out timetable for successor This morning the Prime Minister has set out his timetable for resignation

Today marks 6 weeks since the election. So what's the update?

I have 6 open cases, all visited and in progress, but none with a final completion yet.

Multiple issues with parking have been raised to me from across town, not just Southgate and Gossops Green. One proposal for Loveletts has been rejected due to estimated costs with little-to-no consideration for any alternative options to resolve parking issues. The cabinet member responded that they intend to change your behaviours, "fundamentally it is about changing behaviours". Typical tyrannical talk. A Reform administration would work to support your lawful choices through common sense policy, or by getting out of your way. Population density increases due to increased housebuilding and HMO use are contributing to all public service failings, including road deterioration and parking.

You will have seen we are progressing towards a restoration of the WW1 mural in Tilgate Park, work continues behind the scenes.

Strategic planning is happening for West Sussex as a whole, where we are scrutinising expenses with the intent of transferring those savings into highways so we can get our roads fixed. Early plans for improved youth services have been discussed as a preventative measure for the ASB we suffer. I recently spoke with the LibDem leader of West Sussex and on this we have found common ground. We at Reform are really good at finding savings and work has begun.

Since the election, I have attended 64 appointments according to my calendar. Many of those are training, many are with you lovely people.

The branch is moving back into direct action with two projects to help women's safety coming back into action (we had to pause over the election, not enough time for us to do everything). I can't wait to get these moving again, it's direly needed!

Thank you all, more to come very soon!

4-2!

Yeah, it's not political, but that was a great match! Well done England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

And we are not ashamed of it either.

As a people we can weather hardship, be that war, rationing, economic troubles. Can we weather a broken justice system like this for much longer?

Vote Reform at every opportunity.

What on Earth is going on at this trial?

If the police will not be able to get a conviction against being attacked like this, what hope has the rest of society?

Jurors fail to reach verdict in re-trial of brothers accused of Manchester Airport assault Footage of the fracas went viral on social media