Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:42pm
I think the bank problem is all over the country because people are switching to internet banking. I have done this myself so most of the things I want to do I can do on-line. If I want cash I can go to the cash machines at the supermarkets. But it is not always possible to do everything that way so sometimes I have to go to Barnsley. I don't think the council can reverse this trend. I do agree with you that Penistone and the surrounding area can sometimes be an afterthought as far as the council is concerned. The biggest problem is that the same party has controlled Barnsley council since the 1930s. One party dominance is bad for democracy however things are beginning to change.
Party No.of Councillors
Labour 49 (1 in Penistone West)
Lib Dem 4 (2 in Penistone West)
Conservative 3 (all in Penistone East)
Independent Group 3
Independent 3 (not part of the above group)
Democrats & Veterans 1
The one labour councillor in the Penistone area is in Penistone West. Of 11 meetings that he was expected to attend between September and January he only attended 7. He may have a valid reason for failing to attend 4 meetings but as his seat is up for election in May I am sure that the Lib Dems will be challenging to take that seat.
Politically the Lib Dems are buoyant in the area with a large influx of new members, who are either new to political party membership or refugees from the civil war in the Labour party. The Conservative Party will also contend for that last Labour seat in the Penistone Area. I think the lack lustre performance of our new Conservative MP who has yet to get sufficiently organised to set up an effective staff that can answer correspondence from her constituents, might hamper the Conservative effort to take that Labour council seat, and if the performance of the Lib dems in previous years is followed up with the same level of determination and organisation, then that last Labour seat in the Penistone Area will probably go to the Lib Dems.
There is still a mountain to climb to dislodge Labour from their monopoly of Barnsley Council, but Lib Dems have taken seats from Labour in Darton and Dodworth. It seems very unlikely that the Conservatives will take seats in Barnsley any time soon but the presence of so many independents shows that with good organisation and determination seats can be taken from Labour in Barnsley.
Kicking the last Labour councillor in the Penistone area off the council in May will not solve the entire problem but it can help.
The real problem is the overall dominance of Labour in Barnsley. Hopefully their stranglehold on the borough will be loosened in May. So if you want things to improve please get involved and join a party so that we can get a fresh set of people in those council seats to challenge the complacency of the Labour party in the borough.