Informal discussions could take place between the local Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green parties about working together.
The move follows Conservative Matt Scott’s victory in last week’s Bilton and Nidd Gorge by-election.
Arnold Warneken, who represented Harrogate and District Green Party, told the Stray Ferret he had approached the Liberal Democrats and Labour about setting up a meeting.
Mr Warneken said co-operation “made sense” and he hoped some form of progressive alliance would emerge.
Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, said collaboration with other parties was “a discussion that needs to be had” and she was open-minded on the subject.
Cllr Marsh described the loss of the seat on North Yorkshire County Council formally held by the Liberal Democrat Geoff Webber as “a huge shock and disappointment”.
Asked why she felt voters had turned against the Liberal Democrats, she said:
“I have no idea. With all the sleaze and cronyism taking place and I am at a total loss to understand why anyone still votes for the Conservatives.”
Asked if she would consider her position as leader following the by-election defeat, she said she had been re-elected two weeks ago and intended to carry on.
Read more:
- Bilton Liberal Democrat candidate ‘very sorry’ after by-election defeat
- Conservatives win Bilton and Nidd Gorge by-election
Margaret Smith, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, said it was not averse to discussions but its ability to enter into any formal arrangement with other parties would be determined by the national Labour Party. She said:
“It’s about building a progressive alternative and when we agree on issues we would like to work with anyone, irrespective of party membership or support.
“It is a matter of building coalitions, issue by issue, where we agree.”
The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Scott, who won 43 per cent of the vote in Bilton and Nidd Gorge, why he felt voters had switched to the Conservatives and what was top of his agenda but he declined to answer.
North Yorkshire crime candidates: Conservative and Labour
Voters head to the polls tomorrow to elect a new police, fire and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire.
As candidates finalise campaigning ahead of the poll, they have spoken of what they view as the biggest tasks facing Conservative Julia Mulligan’s successor to ensure the best policing service possible is delivered.
Today, we feature Philip Allott, Conservative candidate, and Labour’s Alison Hume.
You can read about the Liberal Democrat and Independent candidates here.
Philip Allott, Conservative
A toughened approach to crack down on county lines drug dealing would be the top of marketing specialist Philip Allott’s agenda if he is named the new commissioner.
The former pupil at King James’ School in Knaresborough said despite the best endeavours of North Yorkshire Police and the regional crime unit, county lines dealers “are obviously still very active in North Yorkshire”.
Dismissing a suggestion that the issue was persisting due to a lack of resources to tackle it, he said government funding was being directed to the regional crime unit.
He said:
“The thing I am interested in is making the drug dealers’ lives a misery. In many cases there is intelligence and we can use that intelligence to stop vehicles on suspicion, particularly cross-border.”
Mr Allott said he would push for further work to enable teachers to spot pupils who are part of county lines drug dealing, help housing associations to identify cuckooing and action to spot children carrying drugs on railways.
He said:
“The police on their own are not going to solve this and I see my role as working with different agencies, getting them all on board and actually communicating with each other, sharing intelligence and working for the greater good.”
Mr Allott said as commissioner he would also foster closer working with other agencies, launching a “complete reset” between the councils and the commissioner’s office.
He said:
“We should be working for the greater good. I see the councillors from each of the different authorities as the eyes and ears of the commissioner. I see it as a partnership approach and that’s perhaps a very different way of looking at things.”
Read more:
- Political parties confirm candidates for police commissioner elections
- Labour crime candidate: county lines is ‘ripping families apart’
- Tory crime candidate: No plans to close more police stations
Alison Hume, Labour
Clamping down on serious crime, rural crime and antisocial behaviour would be among York-based lecturer and TV writer Alison Hume’s top priorities.
But the most important issue for her would be tackling violence against women and girls, using some of the commissioner’s £5m pot for victims to introduce a clear strategy working across all agencies and attract further funding to get to grips with what she describes as “a national emergency”.
She said:
“If this was happening to men, dare I say it would have been dealt with.”
Ms Hume said the greatest challenge for the incoming commissioner would be to connect with the public.
She said:
“You have to be the voice of the people and for the last nine years we’ve had a commissioner who hasn’t been visible and approachable.”
Ms Hume added tackling county lines was “clearly number one on the list” of challenges for North Yorkshire Police.
She said:
“Crime gangs are ripping our families and communities apart. support the creation of a specialist enforcement unit to track criminals on roads and railways and support drug diversion schemes to reduce harm and demand.
“The people who get caught up in county lines are not criminals, they are victims, we need to build safe services to prevent them going into a life of crime. North Yorkshire does not get a fair share of the pie and I will be fighting at a national level for better funding.”
She said she would establish a rural crime taskforce in every district, with officers trained in dealing with offences ranging from domestic abuse to wildlife crime.
She added:
‘A costly PR stunt’: calls for an inquiry into Harrogate Nightingale“I think the public would be shocked to know the rural crime taskforce is just a handful of officers and they have to cover the whole of North Yorkshire.”
A senior politician from Ripon has described the Harrogate Nightingale as a “costly PR stunt”, amid calls for an inquiry.
Lord Newby’s criticism comes after NHS England said this week the hospital, which cost £27 million to set up, would be decommissioned at the end of the month.
It has not treated a single covid patient, prompting calls for an inquiry.
Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, said:
“The Nightingales were a costly PR stunt.
“They could never be used as planned because there was never the staffing for them. They were introduced because the government was desperate to be seen to be responding effectively to the pandemic, which at the time looked to be potentially out of control.
“The Harrogate Nightingale should have been closed months ago, in order to avoid the high cost of maintenance and so that Harrogate could begin to plan for its reopening.”
Jim Clark, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Harlow on Harrogate Borough Council, repeated his
call for an inquiry on BBC Look North yesterday.
He told the programme:
“It wasn’t an insurance policy in Harrogate because we didn’t have the staff to man it and I think it’s then been discovered that as soon as it was built it wasn’t essentially fit for purpose.”
The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones and Richard Cooper, leader of the Conservative-controlled Harrogate Borough Council whether they supported calls for an inquiry. Neither replied.
Read more:
Asked the same question on Look North, Cllr Cooper said the location of the Nightingale Hospitals was likely to be considered as part of a wider covid inquiry. He added:
“But we’ve been pleased to host the Nightingale and to host the thousands of diagnostic tests that have been carried out there.”
Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, supported calls for an inquiry, adding:
“Over a decade of Conservative cuts has led to an NHS operating on a shoestring. Whether there was ever the staff to run such a Nightingale hospital, should it have been toward full capacity, needs to be made clear.”
Margaret Smith, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, said the Nightingales were “a legitimate insurance policy” in the early days of covid when it seemed hospitals could be overwhelmed. She added:
“There seems little point in wasting any more public money on an inquiry at this stage.”
Midwives reassure expectant mums in the Harrogate district
The coronavirus crisis has thrown many pregnant women’s birth plans up in the air, causing anxiety and uncertainty in the weeks leading up to their birth. Local registered midwives have offered some calming words of advice.
Leannah Gregory-James experienced the strange circumstances first hand when she gave birth to her first son Alfie at Harrogate Hospital on Sunday. She told The Stray Ferret she was ‘heartbroken’ when her partner wasn’t allowed to stay with her during labour and that she found the experience ‘very difficult’ despite the midwives doing their ‘absolute best’. Leannah explained her story in an emotional video which she sent to The Stray Ferret and was widely shared on social media.
Leannah Gregory-James gave birth to her first baby, Alfie Gregory-James, in Harrogate Hospital on Sunday
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been reviewing It’s policies on visitors and birthing partners in light of the spread of Covid 19 and confirmed how the rules currently stand:
- Partners are not allowed to come onto Pannal ward during the induction process – this can take 24+ hours in some cases
- Partners are allowed to be in the delivery room whilst the woman is in labour
- Partners can stay in the delivery room until mum and baby are transferred to Pannal ward – this can be a couple of hours
- The hospital is no longer able to allow any visiting on the postnatal ward following the birth (including partners/birth partners)
The hospital said the Pannal ward or delivery suite was not understaffed at the time Leannah gave birth. Alison Pedlingham, Head of Midwifery at Harrogate Hospital made a personal statement to inform parents of the situation:
As you can appreciate, we are all living in challenging times and I wanted to reassure you of the following that is specific to maternity services at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust:
- That we remain committed to providing the highest standard of maternity care to you and your family despite the challenges presented by the current situation. This means that we are having to make some changes to the way we are working, but this is with your safety at our heart and also the safety our all our staff
- That we do have a plan to manage COVID-19 and we are receiving regular information and recommendations from the professional bodies; Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives as well as other national groups
- That midwives in the department are only working in maternity services and not being asked to support other wards or departments in the organisation. This means that we can continue to support you throughout your pregnancy and birth experience.
- That we continue to have senior medical cover/support 24 hours a day.
The decisions we have to make are difficult ones but we are aiming to protect women and their families as well as the staff providing care to them.
The Stray Ferret spoke to Val Readman, pictured, who is a retired midwife turned hypnobirthing teacher. She told The Stray Ferret that women should try to find out what specific arrangements their maternity ward have in place.:
“Remember, if mum is calm and well, baby is calm and well. Carry on with normal routines in the home, eat well, drink plenty of water and have a short rest during the day. Keep In touch with friends and family by phone, facetime etc. If a mum is well and all aspects of her pregnancy have been normal she should stay at home with her birth partner as long as possible when she goes into labour. There is research that suggests that women labour quicker and easier in their own environment.”
Stay connected
Meanwhile, Annie Robinson, a registered midwife who runs Blooming Babies antenatal and postnatal classes in Harrogate, said there are ways to keep the pregnancy and birthing experience as positive as possible. She is continuing to teach mums essential skills and help them to build a network of supportive friends via online classes.
“It is hard not to be able to have visitors, but with technology they can easily keep in touch with friends and relatives on a regular basis and maintain a good support network. The first few weeks with a new baby is a very special time and couples should work together to enjoy it, getting as much rest as possible, and mum should sleep during the day when baby is sleeping.”