Today's Post is running one of those 'easy journalism' stories - fury at Equal Opportunities Monitoring, 'political correctness gone mad'. These stories are often actually rather sad, as it is a sensible and well-meaning thing to do, but as usual with the left-wing establishment, who operate in the mindset that we are all subservient to them and our information is for them to use as they see fit -it has been done in cack-handed manner that just alienates people.
Conwy Council, the second most useless organisation known to man, has been surveying for their new local development plan (about twenty years late, but that is something else.....) and have put a standard monitoring form asking a series of questions about age, race , gender, sexuality etc. What is the betting that there is no explanatory note telling respondents why this is done and how it helps improve services? From comments in the Post, it is a tell-us, we-must-know-or-else attitude.
It is really important that when public bodies are making big, long-term decisions that they are ensuring that they consult across all of their residents, otherwise we end up with ghettos of people who are not helped at all. We would be outraged if adult social services was run with no regard for the elderly or the handicapped. Or any service in Wales run without regard for the Welsh language.
It is important for public bodies to know the make up of their communities, the minority groups within them and those who might have special needs, but I do wish they could do it a bit more sensibly and without alienating the rest of us.
Is it Guto that is posting this blog or one of the association?
I agree with what is being said, but wonder if it is Guto that is saying it?
Oscar
Posted by: Oscar | 07/04/2009 at 11:50 AM
Current posts are not authored by Guto, but are with his approval. There is a group who are putting together postings, who are in regular contact with him. He will be posting personally in due course.
The plan is also to have guest contributors from time-to-time, AMs, MPs, councillors, past candidates etc, each with their own expertise and take on local and national issues.
Posted by: Aberconwy Tory | 07/04/2009 at 01:03 PM
Many Thanks!
Oscar
Posted by: Oscar | 07/04/2009 at 05:46 PM
David Cameron made it clear that Discrimination is unacceptable in the modern Conservative Party and voted for the legislation that was put before the House of Commons that resulted in the Sexual Orientation Regugulation that came into force in April 2007.The drift of the statement put out by the Association on its site, paid for by all the members seems to suggest that it is not in favour of discimination against the Welsh speaking minority in Conwy which is quite right , but when it comes to sexual orientation or the rights of woman attempting to monitor these outcomes by the LA is politicaly correct , you have to monitor in order to end discrimination . The LA as it is run by Plaid would left to its own devices not monitor ,but under legilation passed by Parliament is bound to do so I have concerns about these views that have no place in the modern Conservative Party being on a Conservative website , in contrast to the Conservative run Welsh Council in Monmouth that states that fighting discrimination is at the heart of everything they do . Statements that support discrimination by objecting to monitoring for this ,are a disgrace it would be in order given the views of the Party and its leader; that views like those expressed in the statement should be taken off, annd not aired again .
David Carr
Chairman
Mostyn Branch
Aberconwy Conservative Association
Posted by: David Carr | 09/07/2009 at 10:27 PM
I find it incomprehensible that you got to this conclusion from our post, David.
The objection in the feature was against the way that monitoring is carried out, not that it is done. It was a reflection on a controversial article carried in leading positions in local print media.
The point was to explain that monitoring is good and should be done, but also that the need for it should be explained. In fact the monitoring is only a tool, it is what you do with the information which is the key to making change. 'Equal Opps' forms on public documents have a role but are pretty clumsy and self-selecting.
I hope that the incoming Conservative government will not just copy the New Labour way of doing things - which seems principally one of alienating one minority when protecting another.
Posted by: Aberconwy Tory | 09/08/2009 at 12:23 PM