Taxi Driver Online

The problem with this trade is there is two many that dont care any more we have the power to change thing.

But to many of the trade think only of thenselfs, and nothing about the trade.


C.Oakes Bolton

I hear there's a legal challenge coming Boltons way because they are short of a recent unmet demand survey? Are you going to support this challenge Charlie or continue to support the councils quantity control policy?

Regards

JD

Which I suppose does lead one to believe that this can't be that bad a trade if only a few of us get the hump.

_________________
IDFIMH

sick of telling them, about it



C.Oakes

When you understand that it is a councils role to protect the public and not necessarily pander to this trade you may find that you cover ground more quickly.

You keep banging on about taking control away from councils but you have not offered an alternative ................. the simple fact of the matter is that councils are best placed to decide local issues which effect local people.

Councils are not there to make your life easier, they are not there to provide you with a living they are there to enforce the law and local conditions to ensure public safety.

Its time to put up or shut up JD ........................... post your plan on who should take control or accept that we should rely on no-one but ourselves to provide for us and our families and accept that these elected people are the best people to protect the general public.

B. Lucky

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

We operate under laws now, rules, regulations, they are printed on pages , so therefore everything should be the same were ever we are, but they are not, and the reason they're not is because they are interpreted differently by different people, now whether it be councils or central government, the same people element will still be there they will still interpreted the rules as the individual sees them, whatever system is employed it would still have the ability to go wrong, human error, arrogance, and couldn't care less attitude.

As for the CCTV it was already accepted by the council, but a Hackney Inspector came to the conclusion that part of the equipment was illegal ( human error) and ordered that all vehicles fitted with this equipment remove it, I explained to them that in my opinion he was wrong, so they contacted the DFT and the answer was that I must take Sefton Council to court, after two weeks of going backwards and forwards over the telephone I came to the conclusion that the God like beings that tread the corridors of power at the DFT were no superhuman beings. it might well suit you to spend your time in courtrooms every time there is a disagreement but not me.

my cabs are fitted with a monitor that is placed in the centre of the dashboard on a TX I, it faces the driver and obviously the passengers in the back can see it clearly, it shows them what is being recorded, the hackney officer, who is an ex-police officer, came to the conclusion that it was illegal , his opinion was it came under the same rules and regulations regarding television's and the DFT hadn't a clue.

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

You talk about the need to gain the confidence of councillors but in my licensing world there would be no need to gain anyone's confidence because the rules will be plain and simple. There is no earthly reason why councillors should have control over Taxi licensing and you just emphasised that point.



The rules are plain and simple now , the problem is that in a lot of areas the people that represent the trade are not up-to- the job.

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Protect the public from what? A cab driver wearing a T shirt with 3 lions on it? Are you serious?

And who's going to protect the public from councillors? While councillors are protecting the public from cabbies wearing lion logo T shirts?

For some reason you seem to place great importance on the word "councillor"? You band it about as though it has some legitimacy and it would appear that you expect us to conform to your opinion? I'm afraid in the eyes of the Taxi trade councillors have a very low esteem. Even Mr Cummins paints them as walking morons. So where does that leave you and everyone else who thinks like you?

Seeing as you hold these councillors in such high esteem as both "paragons of virtue" and protectors of the public, perhaps I should bring you down to earth with a few hard facts on the very people you idolise.

Here are some of your idols.
..............................................................

The purity of elected Labour Party councillors and officials in all their Glory

SEX OFFENCES:

. Labour Councillor (Newton Aycliffe) Martin Locklyn - Convicted and jailed for 15 years for sexually abusing 3 14-year-old boys.

. Labour Councillor (North Lincolnshire) David Spooner - Convicted and jailed for 1 year for masturbating in front of 2 young boys.

. Labour Councillor (North Yorkshire) Raymond Coats - Court appearance for indecently assaulting a woman.

. Labour Councillor (Manchester), George Harding - Charged with indecent assault on a girl of 12.

. Labour Councillor (Durham), Derrick Payne - Arrested by Police following a sex attack.

. Labour Councillor (Shropshire), Derek Woodvine - Arrested by Police in anti-porn operation.

. Labour Councillor (Basildon), Tony Wright - Forced to resign after being caught using his council computer to download porn.

. Labour councillor (Reading) Tony Page - Has 2 Convictions for Acts of Gross Indecency` in public toilets.

. Labour Councillor Salim Mulla who specialises in child care gave a character reference to a paedophile before he was jailed for three years for sexual assault and inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activities.

. Labour Mayor (Westhoughton/Lancashire) Nicholas Green - Convicted and jailed for 10 years for 3 rapes and 13 counts of indecent assault against little girls between the age of 6 and 10. He raped one woman on her wedding day.

. Labour Mayor (Todmordon) John Winstanley - Convicted and jailed for rape and threats to kill. After raping and threatening to kill his terrified victim, Winstanley then ordered the woman to go on all fours before urinating on her.

. Prominent Labour Party activist Mark Tann received 15-year sentence for raping a 4-year old girl on 2 separate occasions.

. Labour Mayor (Burnley) Mark Swainston - Convicted of sex offences in public toilet.

. Entire Labour Party conspired to conceal the activities of Labour Party activist and serial child-molester Mark Trotter, who died from AIDS before he could be arrested for abussuing was is thought to be at least 12 children in Liverpool and Hackney.

. Labour MP (Sheffield), Clive Betts - Suspended from Parliament for 7 days after being caught forging immigration papers to extend the stay of his Brazilian rent-boy gay lover.

. Labour MP (Rhonda Valley) Chris Bryant poses in his pants on the Internet to advertise himself for casual gay sex encounters. Describes himself as "Horny as buggery" and says, "I'd love a good long f--k".

VIOLENCE

. Labour Councillor (Kirkby, Merseyside) Charlie Preston - Convicted and jailed for 5 years in 1982 for assault and burglary. Preston broke into the home of a 64 year old man, and beat him up in his bed as he slept before robbing the house. The judge described the case as "As bad a matter of burglary as I can remember" Preston also holds the position on the Council of... `Deputy Cabinet Member for Youth, Citizenship, and Community Safety`.

. Labour Councillor ( Wales ) Denis Jones - Convicted and jailed for unlawful wounding after attacking a neighbour with a sledgehammer.

. Labour Councillor ( Wales ) Ken Brookman - Bit off a mans ear in a dispute over a seat on a train!

. Labour Councillor and former Mayor (Stockton), Keith Dobinson - Investigated by Police for alleged assault on an OAP, which left the old man of 79, hospitalised.

. Labour MP, Tommy Graham - Expelled from Party for his part in driving a person to suicide.

. Labour Councillors (Ilfracombe), Brian Cotton and Tony Cooper - Investigated by Police following serious allegations of Harassment.

CORRUPTION

. Labour Councillor (Sandwell) Mohamed Niwaz convicted of illegally obtaining £20,000 in Housing Grants.

. Labour Councillors in Doncaster - 23 Convicted and 2 jailed for massive fraud, corruption and theft of public funds. Investigation also uncovered massive Labour Party corruption in neighbouring Rotherham .

. Labour Party Councillor ( Blackburn ), Mohammed Hussein - arrested together with 6 Labour activists on suspicion of Election rigging.

. Labour Councillor (Glamorgan), Shawn Stringer - Forced to resign following Police investigation into financial corruption.

. Labour Party Euro MP, David Martin investigated for alleged expenses fraud involving `hundreds of thousands of pounds`.

. Labour County Councillor (Durham), Tom Forster - School governors at a village primary school have reported Forster for allegedly trying to alter minutes.
..........................................

The purity of elected Lib-dem councillors and officials in all their Glory

SEX OFFENCES

. Lib-Dem Council candidate (Tower Hamlets), Justin Sillman - Convicted and jailed for 2 years for sexual abuse of young boys.

. Lib-Dem Councillor and Mayoral Candidate ( Sheffield ), Francis Butler- Prosecuted for indecent assault of a young boy.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Stockport ) Neil Derbyshire - Sexually assaulted a 16-year old boy in a public toilet. He was caught with a plastic bag containing lubricant, plastic surgical gloves, a condom, and underpants.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Preston ), Bill Chadwick - Pleaded Guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to 18 offences of making indecent photographs of children. He was also Leader of the Lib Dem Group.

VIOLENCE

. Lib-Dem councillor (North Norfolk), Catherine Wilkins - Also a nurse until she was struck off the nursing register after being found guilty of mistreating patients and abusive behaviour.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Sheffield ) Trevor Morgan - Convicted and jailed for 9 months for unlawful wounding/dangerous driving. After attacking an elderly woman's Golden retriever dog by throwing pepper in its face, he then seriously injured the dog's owner - 57-year old Barbara Johnson, with his car as she tried to stop him escaping.

CORRUPTION

. Lib-Dem Councillor (Peterborough), Michael Jackson - Prosecuted for 21 counts of Theft and False Accounting.

. 3 Lib-Dem Councillors convicted and jailed for Election Fraud in Hackney in 2001

. 12 Lib-Dem officials convicted of Election Fraud in Oldham in 2001.

. Julie Roberts - Convicted of 9 counts of benefit fraud in 2003. 2 weeks after the court case, she was elected as a Lib-Dem councillor in Leicester!

. Lib-Dem councillor (Portsmouth), Ray Race - Convicted and jailed for 4 months for election rigging, along with Lib-Dem colleague Michael Hayward. Race was arrested again in July 2003 for threatening a witness who helped to convict him.

. Lib-Dem councillor (Lambeth), Gabriel Fernandez - Forced to resign after being investigated for benefit fraud.
..................................................

The purity of elected Tory councillors and officials in all their Glory

SEX OFFENCES

. Tory Party Councillor Ken Leadbeater (Dartford) pleaded guilty to 14 charges of making indecent images of children. Leadbeater a former Leader of dartford Council and Tory leader of Dartford Borough Council Had told police he found children aged between 14 and 18 "beautiful"

.Tory Party Councillor (Wickbar/Bristol) Roger Talboys - Convicted and jailed for 6 years for multiple sex attacks on children.

. Tory Party councillor Mike Oram ( North Dorset District Council ) resigned his office one week after being convicted of two charges of downloading child porn from the internet. Oram also had a conviction for Drink Driving.

. Tory Michael Robinson, former Tendring district councillor, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he admitted a string of sex attacks against four women who worked at his new age and body-piercing shop. Robinson was sent to prison at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to two indecent assaults and four sexual assaults.

. Tory Party General election candidate, Michael Powell - Convicted and jailed for 3 years for downloading hardcore child porn.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Suffolk Coastal Council and Felixstowe Town Council ) David Smith a school governor quit both posts in shame after admitting downloading internet child porn. He admitted ten charges of making indecent photographs of children.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Stratford-upon-Avon ) Christopher Pilkington - Convicted of downloading hardcore child porn on his PC. Placed on sex offenders register and forced to resign.

. Tory Party councillor ( Coventry ), Peter Stidworthy - Charged with indecent assault of a 15-year old boy.

. Tory Party Mayor ( North Tyneside ), Chris Morgan - Forced to resign after being arrested twice in 2 weeks, for indecent assault on a 15-year old girl, and for suspicion of downloading child porn.

. Tory Party MEP, Tom Spencer - Caught smuggling drugs and porn through customs.

. Tory Party councillor and former Mayor (Wrexham), Michael Morris - Convicted and put on probation for 2 years, for the indecent assault of another man, which was captured on CCTV.

VIOLENCE

. Tory Party Councillor (Folkestone - in Leader, Michael Howard's constituency), Robert Richdale - 41 year history of crime, involving 30 convictions and 5 prison sentences. Richdales enormous criminal record, which covers 10 pages of A4 paper, includes convictions for assault, theft, causing death by dangerous driving, forgery, drugs offences, possession of an offensive weapon, and sex attacks against underage schoolgirls. The Tory Party election campaign literature described Richdale as "a family man" who had a "compassionate personality"

CORRUPTION

. Tory Party councillor (Dudley), Abdul Quadus, who was also chairman of the Dudley Police Committee and a Tory Party spokesman on crime - Convicted and jailed for 6 months for passport fraud and assisting illegal immigration from his native country - Pakistan.

. Former Tory Leader of Westminster Council, Dame Shirley Porter - Fled to Israel to evade justice after indulging in fraud, corruption and gerrymandering on a massive scale, and stealing millions of pounds from local taxpayers.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Margate ), Colin Kiddel - Forced to resign after Police investigation into his alleged theft and embezzlement of funds from the local `Dreamland` Amusement Park.

. Former Tory Party Chairman and London Mayoral Candidate, Jeffrey Archer - Convicted and jailed for Perjury and Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Justice.

. Former Tory Party Cabinet Minister, Jonathan Aitkin - Convicted and jailed for Perjury and Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Justice.

. Tory Party MP (Henley), Boris Johnson - Caught on tape plotting to have a man beaten up by a hired thug. The man was a journalist who had written an unsympathetic piece about Johnson's close friend - Convicted fraudster, Darius Guppy.
.....................................

Independent Haverhill town councillor Mabon Dane convicted of possessing child pornography.
................................................

Now what were you saying about protecting the public?

Regards

JD

Protect the public from what? A cab driver wearing a T shirt with 3 lions on it? Are you serious?

And who's going to protect the public from councillors? While councillors are protecting the public from cabbies wearing lion logo T shirts?

For some reason you seem to place great importance on the word "councillor"? You band it about as though it has some legitimacy and it would appear that you expect us to conform to your opinion? I'm afraid in the eyes of the majority of the Taxi trade councillors are held in very low esteem. Even Mr Cummins paints them as walking morons. So where does that leave you and everyone else who thinks like you?

Seeing as you hold these councillors in such high esteem as both "paragons of virtue" and protectors of the public, perhaps I should bring you down to earth with a few hard facts on the very people you idolise.

Here are some of your idols.
..............................................................

The purity of elected Labour Party councillors and officials in all their Glory

SEX OFFENCES:

. Labour Councillor (Newton Aycliffe) Martin Locklyn - Convicted and jailed for 15 years for sexually abusing 3 14-year-old boys.

. Labour Councillor (North Lincolnshire) David Spooner - Convicted and jailed for 1 year for masturbating in front of 2 young boys.

. Labour Councillor (North Yorkshire) Raymond Coats - Court appearance for indecently assaulting a woman.

. Labour Councillor (Manchester), George Harding - Charged with indecent assault on a girl of 12.

. Labour Councillor (Durham), Derrick Payne - Arrested by Police following a sex attack.

. Labour Councillor (Shropshire), Derek Woodvine - Arrested by Police in anti-porn operation.

. Labour Councillor (Basildon), Tony Wright - Forced to resign after being caught using his council computer to download porn.

. Labour councillor (Reading) Tony Page - Has 2 Convictions for Acts of Gross Indecency` in public toilets.

. Labour Councillor Salim Mulla who specialises in child care gave a character reference to a pae-dophile before he was jailed for three years for sexual assault and inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activities.

. Labour Mayor (Westhoughton/Lancashire) Nicholas Green - Convicted and jailed for 10 years for 3 rapes and 13 counts of indecent assault against little girls between the age of 6 and 10. He raped one woman on her wedding day.

. Labour Mayor (Todmordon) John Winstanley - Convicted and jailed for rape and threats to kill. After raping and threatening to kill his terrified victim, Winstanley then ordered the woman to go on all fours before urinating on her.

. Prominent Labour Party activist Mark Tann received 15-year sentence for raping a 4-year old girl on 2 separate occasions.

. Labour Mayor (Burnley) Mark Swainston - Convicted of sex offences in public toilet.

. Entire Labour Party conspired to conceal the activities of Labour Party activist and serial child-molester Mark Trotter, who died from AIDS before he could be arrested for abussuing was is thought to be at least 12 children in Liverpool and Hackney.

. Labour MP (Sheffield), Clive Betts - Suspended from Parliament for 7 days after being caught forging immigration papers to extend the stay of his Brazilian rent-boy gay lover.

. Labour MP (Rhonda Valley) Chris Bryant poses in his pants on the Internet to advertise himself for casual gay sex encounters. Describes himself as "Horny as buggery" and says, "I'd love a good long f--k".

VIOLENCE

. Labour Councillor (Kirkby, Merseyside) Charlie Preston - Convicted and jailed for 5 years in 1982 for assault and burglary. Preston broke into the home of a 64 year old man, and beat him up in his bed as he slept before robbing the house. The judge described the case as "As bad a matter of burglary as I can remember" Preston also holds the position on the Council of... `Deputy Cabinet Member for Youth, Citizenship, and Community Safety`.

. Labour Councillor ( Wales ) Denis Jones - Convicted and jailed for unlawful wounding after attacking a neighbour with a sledgehammer.

. Labour Councillor ( Wales ) Ken Brookman - Bit off a mans ear in a dispute over a seat on a train!

. Labour Councillor and former Mayor (Stockton), Keith Dobinson - Investigated by Police for alleged assault on an OAP, which left the old man of 79, hospitalised.

. Labour MP, Tommy Graham - Expelled from Party for his part in driving a person to suicide.

. Labour Councillors (Ilfracombe), Brian Cotton and Tony Cooper - Investigated by Police following serious allegations of Harassment.

CORRUPTION

. Labour Councillor (Sandwell) Mohamed Niwaz convicted of illegally obtaining £20,000 in Housing Grants.

. Labour Councillors in Doncaster - 23 Convicted and 2 jailed for massive fraud, corruption and theft of public funds. Investigation also uncovered massive Labour Party corruption in neighbouring Rotherham .

. Labour Party Councillor ( Blackburn ), Mohammed Hussein - arrested together with 6 Labour activists on suspicion of Election rigging.

. Labour Councillor (Glamorgan), Shawn Stringer - Forced to resign following Police investigation into financial corruption.

. Labour Party Euro MP, David Martin investigated for alleged expenses fraud involving `hundreds of thousands of pounds`.

. Labour County Councillor (Durham), Tom Forster - School governors at a village primary school have reported Forster for allegedly trying to alter minutes.
..........................................

The purity of elected Lib-dem councillors and officials in all their Glory

SEX OFFENCES

. Lib-Dem Council candidate (Tower Hamlets), Justin Sillman - Convicted and jailed for 2 years for sexual abuse of young boys.

. Lib-Dem Councillor and Mayoral Candidate ( Sheffield ), Francis Butler- Prosecuted for indecent assault of a young boy.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Stockport ) Neil Derbyshire - Sexually assaulted a 16-year old boy in a public toilet. He was caught with a plastic bag containing lubricant, plastic surgical gloves, a condom, and underpants.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Preston ), Bill Chadwick - Pleaded Guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to 18 offences of making indecent photographs of children. He was also Leader of the Lib Dem Group.

VIOLENCE

. Lib-Dem councillor (North Norfolk), Catherine Wilkins - Also a nurse until she was struck off the nursing register after being found guilty of mistreating patients and abusive behaviour.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Sheffield ) Trevor Morgan - Convicted and jailed for 9 months for unlawful wounding/dangerous driving. After attacking an elderly woman's Golden retriever dog by throwing pepper in its face, he then seriously injured the dog's owner - 57-year old Barbara Johnson, with his car as she tried to stop him escaping.

CORRUPTION

. Lib-Dem Councillor (Peterborough), Michael Jackson - Prosecuted for 21 counts of Theft and False Accounting.

. 3 Lib-Dem Councillors convicted and jailed for Election Fraud in Hackney in 2001

. 12 Lib-Dem officials convicted of Election Fraud in Oldham in 2001.

. Julie Roberts - Convicted of 9 counts of benefit fraud in 2003. 2 weeks after the court case, she was elected as a Lib-Dem councillor in Leicester!

. Lib-Dem councillor (Portsmouth), Ray Race - Convicted and jailed for 4 months for election rigging, along with Lib-Dem colleague Michael Hayward. Race was arrested again in July 2003 for threatening a witness who helped to convict him.

. Lib-Dem councillor (Lambeth), Gabriel Fernandez - Forced to resign after being investigated for benefit fraud.
..................................................

The purity of elected Tory councillors and officials in all their Glory

SEX OFFENCES

. Tory Party Councillor Ken Leadbeater (Dartford) pleaded guilty to 14 charges of making indecent images of children. Leadbeater a former Leader of dartford Council and Tory leader of Dartford Borough Council Had told police he found children aged between 14 and 18 "beautiful"

.Tory Party Councillor (Wickbar/Bristol) Roger Talboys - Convicted and jailed for 6 years for multiple sex attacks on children.

. Tory Party councillor Mike Oram ( North Dorset District Council ) resigned his office one week after being convicted of two charges of downloading child porn from the internet. Oram also had a conviction for Drink Driving.

. Tory Michael Robinson, former Tendring district councillor, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he admitted a string of sex attacks against four women who worked at his new age and body-piercing shop. Robinson was sent to prison at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to two indecent assaults and four sexual assaults.

. Tory Party General election candidate, Michael Powell - Convicted and jailed for 3 years for downloading hardcore child porn.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Suffolk Coastal Council and Felixstowe Town Council ) David Smith a school governor quit both posts in shame after admitting downloading internet child porn. He admitted ten charges of making indecent photographs of children.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Stratford-upon-Avon ) Christopher Pilkington - Convicted of downloading hardcore child porn on his PC. Placed on sex offenders register and forced to resign.

. Tory Party councillor ( Coventry ), Peter Stidworthy - Charged with indecent assault of a 15-year old boy.

. Tory Party Mayor ( North Tyneside ), Chris Morgan - Forced to resign after being arrested twice in 2 weeks, for indecent assault on a 15-year old girl, and for suspicion of downloading child porn.

. Tory Party MEP, Tom Spencer - Caught smuggling drugs and porn through customs.

. Tory Party councillor and former Mayor (Wrexham), Michael Morris - Convicted and put on probation for 2 years, for the indecent assault of another man, which was captured on CCTV.

VIOLENCE

. Tory Party Councillor (Folkestone - in Leader, Michael Howard's constituency), Robert Richdale - 41 year history of crime, involving 30 convictions and 5 prison sentences. Richdales enormous criminal record, which covers 10 pages of A4 paper, includes convictions for assault, theft, causing death by dangerous driving, forgery, drugs offences, possession of an offensive weapon, and sex attacks against underage schoolgirls. The Tory Party election campaign literature described Richdale as "a family man" who had a "compassionate personality"

CORRUPTION

. Tory Party councillor (Dudley), Abdul Quadus, who was also chairman of the Dudley Police Committee and a Tory Party spokesman on crime - Convicted and jailed for 6 months for passport fraud and assisting illegal immigration from his native country - Pakistan.

. Former Tory Leader of Westminster Council, Dame Shirley Porter - Fled to Israel to evade justice after indulging in fraud, corruption and gerrymandering on a massive scale, and stealing millions of pounds from local taxpayers.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Margate ), Colin Kiddel - Forced to resign after Police investigation into his alleged theft and embezzlement of funds from the local `Dreamland` Amusement Park.

. Former Tory Party Chairman and London Mayoral Candidate, Jeffrey Archer - Convicted and jailed for Perjury and Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Justice.

. Former Tory Party Cabinet Minister, Jonathan Aitkin - Convicted and jailed for Perjury and Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Justice.

. Tory Party MP (Henley), Boris Johnson - Caught on tape plotting to have a man beaten up by a hired thug. The man was a journalist who had written an unsympathetic piece about Johnson's close friend - Convicted fraudster, Darius Guppy.
.....................................

Independent Haverhill town councillor Mabon Dane convicted of possessing child pornography.
................................................

Now what were you saying about protecting the public?

Regards

JD

You keep making a wonderful case for change Trevor?

We operate under laws that are 160 years old, which were designed for the horse and cart. It is no wonder they are interpreted differently when you consider the advancement in technology and the introduction of modern legislation, which in many instances conflicts with dated legislation.

You also have to consider the power given to licensing authorities by way of making bylaws and setting conditions, it is no wonder unlawful bylaws and conditions are continuously be challenged and remedied by the courts.

And who is it that makes these unlawful bylaws and conditions? Why no one else but "Councillors".

Take licensing away from councillors and they won't be able to set any conditions. That function will be exercised by the Secretary of state for Transport. You mention litigation but litigation will be vastly reduced once councillors are taken out of the equation. Councillors implementing conditions that aggrieve members of the Taxi trade in one way or another mainly cause litigation. Under new legislation all the rules and regulations will be set out as they are in other Transport bodies so there would be none of this unmet demand business and challenging surveys or erroneous conditions. Going cap in hand to a council for a fare rise would be a thing of the past because under new legislation you set the ground rules for fare increases. Regulation of Fares can either be removed or agreed annually, under negotiation by Trade representatives, which could even be done on a regional basis if not nationally? The OFT want competition in fares but if regulation was removed there would be nothing to stop drivers joining a regional organisation which could in turn recommend a highest ceiling and a lower ceiling but there would be nothing to stop everyone charging the same Tariff at the higher level. This would be far better than having a council set fares.

In respect of CCTV the only persons you need to consult are the DPA. They will tell you what you can and cannot do. I can't believe that your council officer whoever he was didn't think of that before he told you it was illegal?

Regards

JD

Under new legislation outside of London I suspect the private hire side would be greatly reduced as there would be no quantity controls of vehicles, only Qaulity controls of drivers and vehicles. Therefore as is the case in most areas that don't practice quantity controls, private hire are a distinct minority.

Regards

JD

JD nice to see your CVs of various politicians, what you didnt publish was the CV s of the Civil Servants and you know why because you cant obtain it. the fact that these people were dealt with is due to the democratic system, the system you want to DESTROY.Were all saying PUBLISH your alternative, is it that you are INCAPABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DECISIONS ARE TAKEN BY THOSE THAT TURN UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_________________
The views expressed by this contributor do not neccesarily reflect the policys of The GMB Nationally or of the GMB London Region.

Those politicians are the same people who put judgement upon drivers and all others appearing in front of them Terry.

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I was of the opinion you and GA placed your faith in elected councillors and not officials? I doubt there is a Taxi driver in the United Kingdom who believes councillors are competent to run Taxi licensing, except perhaps yourself and GA?

It would appear you both prefer to see the perpetual cycle of litigation of cab drivers from all sides throwing good money after bad.

You frown on the alternative because it offers the chance of a settled industry, where the does and don'ts and rights and wrongs are set out in black and white. You much prefer to allow meddlesome unqualified and in some cases corrupt councillors to determine how we run our business.

You conveniently forget that there isn't a licensing authority in the country that isn't completely run by the licensing department and that it is civil servants that greatly influence councillors in forming policy. Yet you seem to be oblivious to all this and conveniently forget that power is delegated to one or two civil servants who are entrusted in the short term with the power to decide the fate of many.

You go on about quangos yet we have 343 quangos in England and Wales by virtue of the fact that a licensing officer is delegated with the powers that you believe should only be administered by people who are accountable? How accountable are the decisions of a licensing officer, except through a court of law?

There is a major problem in placing discretion in the hands of only one official because it can lead to decisions being fettered in one way or another, such is the case in Melton. Decisions are meant to reflect the spirit and intention of the legislation and not the whims of a local authority or civil servant with delegated powers.

In my opinion and many in the UK Councillors are the last people we should entrust with the reigns of licensing. You only have to look at the performance of the 2004 Transport select committee to realise how inadequate these people are.

Regards

JD

I dont agree entirely with you JD, but you have given a fair summary.

The whims of the LA may mean making a decision to make a fleet entirely purpose built....then within a matter of years change the policy......then change again a few years later.

I suppose the obvious point, and not one I wish to argue with you about for the time being, is highlighted within the limitation / delimitation argument.

The recent thread in another section of the site reported one councillor stating as a reason for deregulation was that they dont give other businesses such protection.....The obvious point is that they are not actually trusted with other businesses!

regards

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin