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Reform Derby is saddened to hear of the death of Prince Phillip
It is with great sadness to learn of the death of His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Cllr Alan Graves, leader of Reform Derby expressed his condolences, “Prince Phillip has served our country and visited Derby many times during his tenure. His death is a huge personal loss to the Queen and this news will resound all over the world, such was his popularity.
He, and the Queen, are in our thoughts on this very sad day.”
Press Release – Derby People’s Petition
Reform Derby launches an official petition to force the council to become more democratic.
Cllr Kirk Kus has created a petition that seeks to honour the commitment three parties made in the 2018 elections: that is to move to a Committee Style form of governance.
Currently just 8 councillors make the majority of decisions on the council. A Committee System gives equality to all elected councillors from every political party. It would require that all councillors take part in the decision making of Derby City Council.
There are now 2 political parties and independents councillors: Reform Derby and the Liberal Democrats; that are still pursuing to honour this commitment and bring real democracy to council proceedings.
This official petition, if signed by 9000 or more electors from the city will force a referendum in 2022. This takes the decision away from politicians and hands it directly to the people of Derby.
A Committee System is part of a Reforming Agenda that the city is desperate crying out for.
The Party leader Cllr Alan Graves said, “We are committed to giving Derby residents a direct input to the way the council works. Every voter expects their councillor to have an equal say in the way Derby is run. This system of governance gives every councillor that responsibility. We need to move away from the blame game and ensure every councillor contributes towards the running of our city. The dictatorial Cabinet System needs to be replaced with the more democratic Committee System.”
Cllr Kirk Kus added, “I am passionate about making Derby a better place to live in and this is an important element of that process.”
A New year message
A new year message from Reform Derby Leader Councillor Alan W Graves:
I have campaigned for many, many years to leave the EU. I believe that being out of the EU will make the UK stronger and better off.
Since winning the argument in 2016 it is only now that our politicians have finally acted. The deal is not absolutely brilliant but it is enough for us to determine our own destiny without EU interference. The shenanigans of countries like France has been petty and proof that leaving is the best decision our country has made in decades.
11pm tonight is more of a reason to celebrate than the turn of the New Year. 2021 has a great deal of significance in terms of getting to terms with our new way of working as well as beating the dreaded virus that has changed the way we live.
Very best Wishes for the New Year
Christmas spirit – 100 meals delivered
Local People and businesses come together for elderly and vulnerable residents
Reform Derby Alvaston and Boulton Councillors will be joined by volunteers from the local community, Derby Homes, Clarion and the police to deliver a Christmas meal to some deserving residents.
Haydn Pasco, who runs The Steamin’ Billy pub the Coronation, and his staff have volunteered their free time to cook 100 Christmas dinners despite not being allowed to open for the public.
Up to 40 volunteers will be delivering meals on Tuesday 15th and Thursday 17th December.
The schedule is tight because meals need to be hot and delivered at lunchtime. The first fifty meals will be delivered between 12noon and 1pm.
Recipients will also receive a hamper and a present to tide them over the Christmas period.
The collaboration of businesses is overwhelming and heartening.
Cllr Alan Graves leader of Reform Derby said “We are pleased to see so many involved in this magnificent idea, I am humbled to be able to help organise delivery. Without these companies donations and the willingness of our volunteers we could not make this the success it is. With the pandemic affecting all our lives we hope that everyone can have a Merry Christmas and a better, Happy New Year”
Super-Fast Derby
The internet is becoming an even more essential service, especially with more and more people working from home. For many years I have been a great believer that our broadband infrastructure needs improving as we are lagging behind many countries in Europe. We need to prove to multinationals and investors that Britain is a place to invest, with great infrastructure including super-fast broadband.
Super-fast broadband is now becoming a reality in Derby as CityFibre is deploying gigabit-capable full fibre network, which will reach almost every home and business in the city. Work is still ongoing in many areas in Derby and CityFibre has informed me that “[CityFibre] are building a new full fibre network in Derby and Alvaston is one of the first areas to benefit”
As many people are adopting new ways of working such as remote working, this is only possible with the correct tools including fast broadband. I remember working for an ISP when FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) was being rolled out and that was a game changer 8 years ago. This new rollout of FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) is great news for Alvaston and the city in the digital age. Another policy that we support as our manifesto said we will get Derby ready for the future by promoting and pushing for broadband fibre optics to homes.
For more information including activation dates for your home please visit: https://cityfibre.com/gigabit-cities
Cllr. Graves angry at Alvaston Park toilets remaining shut
Reform Derby leader Councillor Alan Graves has said that the toilets at Alvaston Park remaining closed is “bad for businesses”.
Councillor Alan Graves who is a Alvaston Ward Councillor has said “This is how I feel about the council sometimes when they don’t want to do something they drag their feet and I believe this is what’s happening here.”
“I think it’s one of the major problems that the council has created for itself is that public toilets are an essential need.”
“We have to provide public toilets, there are a lot of people who struggle, they need to go to the toilet, it’s not just elderly people.”
He also added that “A lot of children need to go to the toilet when they’re at the park and can’t wait for an hour to go to the toilet. They have opened up a park that sells drink but there’s nowhere for customers to go for a wee.”
The Derby Telegraph has reported in their article that – A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: “We apologise for any inconvenience to our visitors at Alvaston Park.
“We’ve been working hard to ensure that our facilities can reopen as soon as possible and that enhanced cleaning is in place for the safety of our park users.
“Arrangements are currently being made and we hope to reopen the toilets early next week.”
Source
A broken promise has haunted the Derby Conservative party
At Derby City Council AGM today, The Derby Conservative Party lose all 20+ contested Committee/Neighbourhood Board positions. A concerted effort by opposition Councillors significantly eroded their control of many key positions.
The leader of Reform Derby Councillor Alan Graves has said “First of all you need to read into the idea of positions. The Reform Derby members have reduced their number of positions by one as we are not here for the extra allowances. The number of positions remains the same whether we vote with the Conservatives or the remainder of the Councillors.”
“We insisted on leaving the Conservatives in charge of the council. However, since they broke their manifesto commitment and their written agreement with us to move to the democratic Committee system from the current Cabinet system, we decided to give them a bloody nose to make the point that the Conservative leadership need to treat all councillors with respect and fairness.”
He also added “The running of the council will not change much but it sends a clear message that when agreements are made they must honour them. The casualties in this situation are the ordinary councillors of the Conservative Party.”
The Derby Conservative manifesto in 2018 promised to move to a committee system:
Derby Conservative party leader also signed an agreement to move to a committee system with our group and the Liberal Democrats:
Above is agreement with our group
In January the Conservative voted down moving to a committee system.
Reform Derby is committed to move to a committee system, a fairer system.
Launch of Reform Derby
Press release
Cllr Alan Graves and his colleagues believe we need to Reform Derby
A new independent party has been created just for Derby. The party is inclusive and focuses on being independent from the mainstream political parties. For many years Derby City Council has suffered from links to the national London-centric political parties that have become remote from what Derby needs.
Now voters will have the choice of parties that follow their national political masters under the whip system or an independent Reform Derby party that only answers to the residents that elect them.
We will be seeking membership from people who have an interest in Derby and suitable candidates with a passion for Derby for next year’s local elections.
A major deciding factor for the change was to seek reform in the governance system of the Derby City Council. In 2018 three parties campaigned to change our Cabinet system to the democratic Committee system. Unfortunately, the Conservatives went back on their promise and the council remains under the elitist Cabinet System. This has prolonged work on the A52, delayed work on Moorways, and scrapped plans for the Assembly Rooms. This has wasted £millions of taxpayers’ money.
Our website is www.reformderby.uk or you can email us at contact@reformderby.uk alternatively, contact us by phone on 07736782242
From now on these Councillors: Alan Graves Snr; John Evans; Paul Bettany; Kirk Kus; and Alan Graves Junior; will represent Reform Derby on Derby City Council.
The Party leader Cllr Alan Graves said, “Our first major objective is to campaign to change the council governance system from the dictatorial Cabinet System to the more democratic Committee System.”
Deputy Leader Cllr John Evans added, “We have been planning this for the last 4 months but had to delay this announcement due to the Coronavirus pandemic”
Ends.
