I CALL THIS MY PROFILE – WHAT I AM ALL ABOUT!
Please do not get carried away on National 
Government Policies at Local Elections, Please vote for the person who has a track record of getting things done within your area, within your town, not just talk about what they may do. I am being fair here as I write this, it may be a Tory, Labour or a Lib/Dem or any other candidate who does that in your area. Just as long as you think past the National Government and focus on the Local Authorities, what they are there to do for you the residents, then you can work out if they are right for that task. If you get a yes to most of your requirements then you should have a decent Councillor working for you, Please don’t vote for the party that seems to cry out about how bad the Government is doing and what they would do if they were in charge of the Country. We are all in this together and 2015 will be the time to think along those lines.
The present, the here and now politics are all about Thinking Local and Voting Local, meaning a person who is local, who understands the local issues, who can walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Someone who has a long history within this Community, A person who worked for years in this Community before getting involved in the party politics, That is the type of person you know will not walk away if the going gets tough, that is the person who will stand against their own Party when they have to if needs be, so that their community is fairly represented. I am passionate about this and got into politics believing .I could take politics out of Local Government, but I found too many wannabe MPs amongst the elected members to enable me to do that, so I fight my own corner for my Community. I have the Leaders ear if I want to do something and there I will leave that thread as that is another item that will become another page in this post on this Blog.
An explanation of where I came from and how I know the three sides of the political field, I think is due otherwise It may sound more as a rant than as someone with the knowledge and experience to back up my points.
I know what it is like to work in the Monkmoor ward trying to help people with their issues, problems and concerns long before I joined a political party. (I have to add here that all three main political parties approached me in 2003 to join their party as they knew how hard I was working for the Community and wanted me on their side in case I stood against them) I joined the Lib/Dem party and became the Constituency Chairman but I could not work within the party, due to a few of their members methods and that was affecting what I could get done for my residents, “those who elected me“, so after three years as a Lib/Dem Councillor and a lot of heart searching I reached a decision, (it was in the Autumn of 2008) and that was when I walked across the floor to join the Conservative Party and instantly was able to attract thousands of pounds of investment into Monkmoor, something that Labour had not done in the 19 years that they held the seat before I was elected. Six months later it was election time again and once again the electorate voted me in as their representative on both Town and Unitary Councils, something I have been honoured to do. During this past seven and a half years I have gained the knowledge of how to get things done who to see to get things sorted and who to seek advice from on both Councils. I became Deputy Mayor of Shrewsbury in 2010/11 and then Mayor of Shrewsbury in 2011/12; it was a busy two years of almost none stop engagements and special visits. Click on the following link to go to my Mayors Blog Site to see what we did and where we went and who we met. Thank you: http://mayorofshrewsbury.wordpress.com .
Being the Mayor of Shrewsbury helped me to get a greater understanding of the management side of running a Council, how man management is key to getting the things done swiftly and I introduced a “no blame culture” after all we are a team, elected member and Council staff as one. Understanding the Budgets the reduced income from Government yet still keeping the Council Tax at zero increase is all about teamwork and it takes time to learn. Yet throughout that two years I was able to commit myself to the same committees as I have always been on as well as work for the residents of Monkmoor, I only missed one scheduled meeting due to a Mayoral duty and that was because of a Royal visit. It was hard but I enjoy hard work, always have and always will.
It can take a new member six months to get trained up on all of the rules and laws etc, plus time to find your way around the Guildhall, Shirehall and all of the other town halls within the County as well as those other satellite offices we have dotted around. That is before they can start to become an effective Councillor.
So the advice I give is from past experiences, I was also a senior shop steward and works convener and negotiated at National Level for the Unions, going through Trade Union College at the time Margaret Thatcher was in power. I also represented people at tribunals who were wrongly sacked or wrongfully treated within the workplace. As stated before I have seen all sides of all three political Parties.
I am a governor at Belvidere Secondary School, trustee on the Gorsuch, Langley and Prynce Charity, trustee Berwick Arms Houses, trustee Shrewsbury Shop Mobility, executive member on Shrewsbury Business Chamber, member of the Shrewsbury BID Committee, member of the Zutphen Twinning Committee, member of the Shrewsbury in Bloom Committee, member of the Shrewsbury and Shropshire Waterways and Leisure Group, Destination Shrewsbury Committee member, a volunteer Appropriate Adult for The Youth Support Service, run a volunteer Appropriate Adult out of hours service for both juveniles and vulnerable adults (IAAS), volunteer member of the Shropshire Panel Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs), Vice Chairman of the Shropshire Playing Fields Association, County Vice President of the Shropshire Royal British Legion plus work with other voluntary groups.
On Shropshire Council I am a member of the Central Planning Committee, Safer Communities Scrutiny Committee, Substitute on the Strategic Licensing Committee and Lead Member for Public Protection.
On Shrewsbury Town Council I am on the Finance and General Purpose Committee, Sub on the Planning Committee & Recreation and Leisure Committee and member of the Civics Committee.
I am now half way through what my aims are within the Monkmoor Ward and to be honest would like to be able to finish that off and get some more done by being re-elected. The saying “The more you do the more there is to do” applies within the Monkmoor Ward.
Way back in the 1950s I attended Crowmoor School as a young lad, when the prefabs were still opposite the school grounds and when there were just fields where Telford Estate and the Chilterns are now, the other side of Belvidere bridge was Hilda Murrell’s rose nursery, there was now Telford Way or any bridge over the river in those days, boy has it changed. We moved to Abbots Green in the mid 1960’s, when my father was groundsman at Monkmoor Girls School. I moved to my present home in Buttington Road moving from Abbey Foregate in 1996 after we were flooded out three times within six months. As some say you can take the person out of Monkmoor but you can’t take the Monkmoor out of a Monkmoor person. So my roots go back a long way and with that I know what it was like when as a young person in Monkmoor I had acres of space to play and hang out in, these days that open space is very small in comparison and for one I do not want to see any more houses built within the ward. I want more equipment in the play areas for both the very young and for the older youths, I want CCTV in the Upton Lane playing field that is monitored 24/7 and more funding for the Youth Club. I also want the football pitch to be brought back into proper use with changing facilities, as it is one of the best pitches around. Plus many more things done, this can only be done by using 
funding from other sources as well as from Shropshire Council, like with the new cycle footpath between Galton Drive and Monkmoor Road, same goes for the path across Upton Lane field both done with no cost to the Local Tax Payer.
Yes it is true when I say that I would like to take Politics out of Local Government completely, as far too much time is wasted arguing for bragging rights, instead of working together for the good of the Community.
But that is just a dream I have and it always occurs just before the alarm goes off.
I hope that you have a better understanding of who I am, What I care about and what I would like to do for Monkmoor, Shrewsbury and Shropshire. I do hope that we share that same dream, together we can make dreams come true.
Just a Note:
I felt so proud to be able to return to Crowmoor School as Mayor of Shrewsbury, to be able to tell those young persons in assembly that I was once sitting where they were and they could, one day in the future also become the Mayor of Shrewsbury, if they so wished like I have done. Just to be able to inform them that they are attending a great school with a great history and they should be proud to be a Crowmoor School pupil. ;~))
Thank you for reading this and please come back soon.
Oh remember to: THINK LOCAL & VOTE LOCAL
TONY
Monkmoor In Touch 