Wolverhampton Politics

Matthew Revell and guests debate the latest in Wolverhampton Politics/

Studio guests: Councillor David Bourne (Conservative) and Darren Husted (Labour)

02:25: Is Wolverhampton City Council running out of money? It is planning to charge charities and places of worship up to £5,000 per year for refuse collection. Also, it’s planning to charge businesses for placing signs and chairs/tables on the pavement, etc. Until now they’ve had these services for free.

28.15: Wolverhampton’s Hackney Carriage (black cab) drivers are striking. They’re unhappy about private hire vehicles taking their business and they believe the council is doing little to stop it. Does such a distinction between private hire and black cabs even make any sense? Shiva Mizra - their representative - explains their complaints, Councillor David Bourne (member of the licensing committee) explains the city’s position.

45.40: General chat: how much holiday should MPs get, what do they do with their holiday, do David and Darren care about the Lib Dem leadership contest?

Want to contribute? Email politics@wcrfm.com.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/13/wolpol-e13-20071019.mp3

Matthew Revell takes a look at current political issues from a Wolverhampton perspective, with a focus on extended discussion.

Studio guests: Richard Whitehouse (Lib Dem councillor for Spring Vale ward) and Mark Watson (Editor, Minority Perspective).

00:02 - Mark Watson talks about his new website aimed at people from ethnic minorities, called Minority Perspective. Would he support a similar website for white people? What are the political issues affecting his readers? Are there enough non-white people on Wolverhampton City Council?

11:52 - Blogger DK of Devil’s Kitchen gives the case against human-induced climate change - anthropogenic climate change - and discusses his view of the factual accuracy of Al Gore’s The Inconvenient Truth.

30:05 - Blogger Dizzy aka Phil talks about the film Ministry of Truth that was part of the BBC’s Why Democracy? season and discusses the practicalities of implementing a law to prevent politicians from knowingly misleading the public.

41:00 - Dr Seab Gabb of the Libertarian Alliance puts the case for libertarianism.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/12/wolpol-e12-20071012.mp3

Matthew Revell takes a look at the practical and ideological in the world of politics, from a Wolverhampton perspective.

Studio guest: Andrew Wynne (Conservative).

Recorded: 5th October 2007. Originally broadcast on WCR FM.

02:25 - Kim Ledgar, Executive Officer for the Midlands region of the Federation of Sub-postmasters, talks about the Government’s Post Office closure programme. She explains the odd situation where sub-postmasters invest in and run their business but have the hands tied by Royal Mail/the Government. She also expresses her relief at the closure programme as it offers a way out for struggling sub-postmasters and describes ways in which local government could give more business to Post Offices.

20:33 - Andrew Wynne explains how he squares his support of free markets with the importance of Post Offices.

27:58 - Andrew discusses whether Gordon Brown should call an election (recorded before Brown ruled out an election), talks about the Conservative Party conference and whether the Conservatives are enjoying a comeback.

43:00 - Steve Radford - leader of the Liberal Party talks about his party’s beliefs, sets them apart from the Lib Dems and explains why they chose Wolverhampton for their party conference.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/11/wolpol-e11-20071005.mp3

Matthew Revell and guests talk about politics from a Wolverhampton perspective. Recorded 28th September 2007.

Studio guests: David Hartley (Labour) and Doug Hope (UKIP).

01:43 - Blogger DK, of Devil’s Kitchen, gives the case against the EU Constitution/Reform Treaty.

16:14 - Peter Luff, Chair of the European Movement, gives the case for the EU Reform Treaty/Constitution.

27:15 - Councillor Pat Byrne, who holds the Environment portfolio, talks about Wolverhampton City Council’s animal welfare programme and recycling in the city.

38:00 - David and Doug talk about their parties’ conferences and debate the contribution that Labour have made to the country.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/10/wolpol-e10-20070928.mp3

Matthew Revell takes a look at politics from a Wolverhampton perspective.

Studio guest: Carl Husted (Conservative).

* 02:31 - Alisher Usmanov’s solicitors have temporarily silenced the blog of Craig Murray, the UK’s former ambassador to Uzbekistan, along with those of Boris Johnson, Bob Piper and Tim Ireland’s Bloggerheads. Blogger Mr Eugenides chats about the importance of freedom of speech and how the UK’s libel laws work in favour of rich plaintiffs.

* 35:15 - David Hartley joins Matthew to talk about the cancellation of Wolverhampton City Council’s most recent full council meeting. This did not appear in its entirety in the live broadcast, due to a technical fault.

* 40:07 - Carl Husted discusses the full council cancellation. David phones in, too.

* 48:22 - Rob Griffiths (General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain) talks about the relevance of his party and his vision for a socialist Britain.

Originally broadcast on WCR FM.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/9/wolpol-e9-20070921.mp3

Matthew Revell and studio guests talk about politics from a Wolverhampton perspective.

Studio guests: Rob Marris MP (Labour, Wolverhampton South West) and Councillor Wendy Thompson (Conservative, Tettenhall Wightwick).

02:36 - Richard North of Wolverhampton-based gadget manufacturer Wow Stuff talks about the advantages and disadvantages of the city as a place to do business.
25:58 - Jack Bovill from The Pensioners Party talks about his party’s aims and debates them with Rob and Wendy.
42:45 - Rob Marris takes questions from Wolverhampton Politics Show listeners.

Originally broadcast on WCR FM.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/8/wolpol-e8-20070914.mp3

Matthew Revell and guests look at politics from a Wolverhampton perspective.

Studio guests: Darren Husted (Labour) and Councillor David Bourne (Conservative)

02:12 - Steve Boyes - Wolverhampton City Council’s Director of Sustainable Communities - talks about his proposals for the future of the city centre market.

16:10 - Debate over the merits of a national DNA database for everyone, regardless of criminality.

29:30 - Peter Stoker of the National Drugs Prevention Alliance describes his groups aims and debates the value and best ways of preventing drug use, including use of alcohol.

43:00 - Don Barnard of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance talks about his reasons for support cannabis legalisation.

Next week: Rob Marris MP for Wolverhampton South West. Post your questions in the comments to this post!

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/7/wolpol-e7-20070907.mp3

Studio guests: Howard Berry (Labour), Carl Husted (Conservative), Dick Rogers (The Common Good).

02:14 - Gun crime debate, featuring Nigel Hastilow (Conservative) and Gareth Walker (Labour) on the phone.
43:20 - Dick Rogers talks about his new party, The Common Good.
57:30 - Who should we honour with a statue in Wolverhampton?

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/6/wolpol-e6-20070831.mp3

Matthew Revell and guests take a look at politics from a Wolverhampton perspective. This week featuring John Redwood.

Studio guests: Aaron Heath (blogger) and Fiona McEvoy (Taxpayers Alliance).

01:55 - Interview with John Redwood on the Conservatives’ Economic Competitiveness Report.
12:15 - Studio discussion of John Redwood’s interview.
23:15 - Interview Fred Bishop of the English Democrats party.
41:10 - Mickey Mouse degrees - do we really need degrees in aromatherapy?
50:09 - Localism - how can we make the most of local democracy?

Catch the show live on 101.8 WCR FM in Wolverhampton on Fridays 7pm - 8pm and repeated Wednesday mornings.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/5/wolpol-e5-20070824.mp3

Discussion of real-world politics from a Wolverhampton perspective.

Studio guests: Colin Ross (Wolverhampton Liberal Democrat activist) and Derrick Bennett (Wolverhampton and Walsall UKIP Chairman).

01:41 - Interview with Colin Ross about the role of the Liberal Democrats.

10:52 - Interview with new councillor Les Pugh about his thoughts on becoming a councillor.

20:44 - Studio discussion on the role of councillors.

29:14 - Listen question for the guests: Which single green issue, whilst being practical, would they want to implement?

32:05 - “1997 and all that” - David Lindsay’s monologue about Tony Blair.

37:40 - Studio discussion of David’s monologue.

40:34 - Interview with Derrick Bennett about the role of UKIP.

Join us in the new Wolverhampton Politics forums!

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/4/wolpol-e4-20070817.mp3