Councillor
David Walker

Working for Bridgnorth Morfe
all year round!

The IFS have said that the tax windfall is enough to postpone the proposed rise in fuel duty. See Independent report: Tax windfall enough to cover fuel duty freeze, says IFS.

I sincerely hope that Gordon Brown does postpone the 2p rise scheduled for October. Many people are feeling the pinch, particularly road hauliers and businesses like my employer’s. As Land Surveyors travel up and down the country everyday and as a result we are spending more any more on diesel. With the economy stalled we can not pass the higher fuel costs to our customers.

Ordinarily a rise in fuel duty is a good way to force people to change their driving habits. However, with the economy they way it is, these are definitely not ordinary circumstances. Gordon Brown must now consider a cut in fuel duty to help stimulate the economy. I know this is difficult but he should pass back some of the huge tax profits that have been made on the back of the steep rise of oil.

Once the economy is more stable, then is the time for fuel duty rises, but only if even bigger incentives are included in the package to encourage people to change purchasing habits. Asking ordinary people to change cars when the economy is stalled and people are trying to cut back their spending is madness. It would not be half as bad if he actually ploughed the money back into roads and public transport. Unfortunately for Gordon his is cash strapped and left the country with little wiggle room.

It might only be me but when I think of Gordon Brown and all those oil barrels, I can’t help but think of Donkey Kong, the classic computer game. Check it out here if you are feeling reflective like me: Donkey Kong Flash Game .

With the Hermitage Hill speed limit finally set to change from 60 mph to 30 mph, I would just like to thank everybody who has campaigned over the years to achieve a reduction in the speed limit. This has been a long time coming. I have campaigned for this for as long as I have been a councillor (1999) but I know people who have been working for this for longer than that. Hats off to everybody.

Well what an interesting night.

The Tories won on the night and there will be many Tories who will be very happy today. However it was not all good news for the Conservatives. I suspect there will be some disappointment that the margin of victory was not even bigger. The fact that some of their essential targets (Cheltenham & Worcester to name two) did not come off will cause a lot of head scratching. Especially when you consider some their surprise council gains.

We may not have won but the LibDems pushed Labour into third place in the national share of the vote. The LibDems defied expectations of big losses, instead making some good advances at the expense of the Conservatives and Labour. Even the expected collapse in the south did not happen, as Libdems held their ground in key seats. Indeed, the LibDems improved on their previous high water mark. Having held our own it is now clear that the Libdems have steadied the ship and are ready to move forward to achieve success in the future. We now have over 4,200 council seats (more than 21% of the total in Great Britain).

The night’s biggest losers were Labour who polled a dismal 24%. Dropping to new record lows has signalled the beginning of the end for Labour.

Whilst on the subject of losers a special mention has to be made for the dismal BBC election night coverage. Their dreadful coverage has been widely mocked and criticised by bloggers. Note to BBC: must try harder.

The Liberal Democrats retained control of:

Ø Cambridge
Ø Eastleigh
Ø Liverpool[After 1 Ind joined LibDems]
Ø Rochdale
Ø Stockport
Ø Newcastle
Ø Watford
Ø Three Rivers
Ø South Lakeland

The Liberal Democrats gained control of:

Ø Sheffield
Ø St Albans
Ø Hull
Ø Burnley

The Liberal Democrats lost control of

Ø Pendle
Ø West Lindsey

Following these elections Liberal Democrats are just one seat short of overall control in: Oldham (4 gains), Warrington (1 gain) and Cheltenham (3 gains).

Liberal Democrats will continue to be the largest party in Cardiff (2 gains), Sefton (1 gain), North East Lincolnshire (1 gain) and are now also the largest party in Derby (5 gains), Exeter (1 gain) and Wrexham (3 gains).

The Eagles surprise everybody by trading their first two draft picks. Moving out of round 1 by trading the 19th overal pick and then trading the second round pick they aquired with their first move. However, they have address some signifcant needs on the Defence and by adding a promising wide receiver and return man with their two picks. The Eagles selected Notre Dame defensive tackle Trevor Laws with the 47th overall pick. Two picks later, the team added receiver/returner DeSean Jackson. The Eagles also picked up RB Lorenzo Booker from Miami in a draft day trade.

The pundits have rated the Eagles’ draft as poor. However, I don’t think they were as bad as that. Many mock drafts that I have seen had us taking DeSean Jackson with our first round pick at no 19. So in that sense they did well to still get him with the 49th pick.

Match report below

First Quarter Action:

Second Quarter:

Today I took Julie to watch her first live American Football game. Shropshire Revolution were taking on Hull Hornets at home in Telford. She enjoyed her outing and will definitely return to watch them play again.

On a breezy day with patchy cloud cover, the Revos kicked off the game. The Revos defence performed well on the Hornets first possession containing their drive and forced them to punt. For more reasons than one the ensuing Revos drive ultimately proved very costly to the Revos chances of securing their second win of the season.

The Revos chose to run the football on their first offensive play for a moderate gain. However, the play was overshadowed when Dale (No.67) suffered a broken leg in a freak accident as a Hornets player fell awkwardly on his right leg. Spurred on by the loss of Dale the Revos had their most successful drive of the game.

Driving down the field they were twice rewarded by the Hornet’s poor discipline to set them up in an excellent scoring position. A sloppy penalty allowed them to continue their drive. When the drive stuttered at the Revos’ 49 yard line, they were forced to punt. However, a defencive offside gave the Revos another first down, allowing the Revos’ drive to continue. Again the drive stuttered to a halt and the Revos were again forced to punt.

On the next play the Hornet’s centre snapped the ball over the head of their QB. The Revos recovered the football deep in Hornet’s territory. However the Revos failed to secure a first down or score any points after gambling on 4th and short and turned the ball over on downs. They should have kicked a field goal and taken the lead. The Revos defence held the Hornets in the red zone. However, the Hornets did not make the same mistake as the Revos. They instead chose to kick a field goal when the opportunity arose, giving them the lead at 3-0.

The remainder of the game was dominated for large parts by both defenses. Several times the Hornets QB scrambled for big gains as the Revos containment broke down. The best Revos play was a terrific interception deep in Revos territory as the Hornets again threatened to score. Later in the game the Hornet’s QB was suffering from a pulled hamstring which hampered his scrambling. However, the killer blow from the Hornets came when, deep in their own territory, they completed a pass short right to one of two wide receivers lined up on the right side of the field. Having made the reception the receiver lateraled the ball to the other wide receiver, who promptly scampered for about 80 yards to score the games only touchdown. The Hornets converted the touchdown and extended their lead to 10-0.

Shropshire Revolution put together some better passing plays late in the game. They might have had a chance for a consolation score had time not run out.

Final score 10-0. Record slips to won 1 lost 2.

My MVP was the Hull Hornets QB who kept several drives alive with his scrambles and was the best QB on the day.

The Revos should be able to take some solace from the game. They just need to execute better on offense. If they can beat Leicester Falcons, as they did in week 1, they should be able to take their record to 2 and 2. With another win against league newcomers, Tamworth Phoenix, they could / should get to a record a 3 and 2.

I have just watched the BBC’s Question Time special for the London Mayoral election. Everybody mocks Boris Johnson as stupid and a buffoon. After tonight’s performance that reputation should grow considerably. If Boris wins the election then I think that he will be a disaster for London and the UK as a whole. London is the focal point for people around the world when the think about the UK, whether the rest of the UK likes it or not. London needs a strong leader.

I having spent four years living in London and I can not believe that Londoners would elect such a gaffe prone buffoon as Boris. The only thing Boris should be challenging for is a job in Billy Smart’s circus. We already have one gaffe prone leader in President Bush we don’t need another. As a LibDem I know I am biased but if London elects Boris as their next Mayor it will end in tears.

Can you tell who said what, Bush or Boris?
“My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters.”
“I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don’t always agree with them.”
“What’s my view on drugs? I’ve forgotten my view on drugs.”
Answers on a postcard to…