Some members of the conservative party are really nice people and an example of that which is good.

I think that it bears pointing out that while some conservatives (who shall this time remain nameless) are an example of all that is wrong with our district council they are some councillors who are actually decent folks, good councillors and an example of the type of person of whom we could do with more.

Yesterday I wrote about an (ex) Conservative who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and was giving his party's name a further blackening (in my opinion obviously).

Peter Checksfield pointed out that while he worked as a doorman it was the Conservatives that were the most polite to him. This has prompted me to write this short post to say that, yes, I need to say that there are some really decent Tory's out there. Mr and Mrs Gale with whom I do not see eye-to-eye politically have been dead helpful and taken the time to help me on a number of occasions. There are a number of other conservatives who I shall not embarrass but are deserving of plenty of praise too.

Our District Council here in Thanet has recently changed leadership from Conservative who have held the reigns longer than I have been blogging about the area to Labour who have long contested that they can do a better job.

In this article I will take an in depth look at the implications of the changes and what it might mean to long standing concerns, power and council attitude.

Certainly no one was willing to say that they thought that Labour had a chance of taking control of the council. The straw poll I took on the Thanet Star Facebook page suggested that most people saw the winners as the Independents which in a way was true.

The Most Powerful Men in Thanet

If you hold true that men on our (Thanet) District Council hold any true power (as to, say, certain, shall we say, business men) then it would be safe to say that the most powerful men in Thanet may have changed.

Actually this is not true. The most powerful men in Thanet have simply let their strength be known. These men are of course Cllr John Worrow and Cllr Jack Cohen whose vote from among the Independents on our council first placed Cllr Bob Bayford in power and then removed him.

Cllr Bob Bayford for all that Cllr Clive Hart says about him being exceptionally well respected missed the truth of his leadership. A leadership which in truth had always been in the hands of the independent councillors. I am not sure exactly what the Conservatives have done, if anything, to loose favour with the Thanet King Makers but loose it they have.

Of course this might simply be a very astute move from the Independents to be sure that their power is respected. It was assumed that they would side with Labour for a change of leadership and yet they struck a deal to vote for Cllr Bob Bayford after the elections. One might argue that this was simply to let the Labour members know who was in charge when, as has happened, a change of leadership took place.

I am not saying that Cllr John Worrow and Cllr Jack Cohen were party to such tactical voting but I am not saying that they were not. What is clear is that Cllr Clive Hart's grip on power is subject to the opinion of two men who represent two thirds of the power in the Birchington South Ward.

...

» Continue Reading: The changes in Council leadership: What do they mean for us?

Roger "I don't understand technology" Gale (MP for North Thanet) has struck again. This time suggesting that human rights should in some cases be secondary to police powers.

There he is pictured on the right there looking about as clued up as ever. Gale once told me that he didn't need social media as email would always been good enough for him and his supporters. The real irony being that his understanding of email and it's use could be better so how he feels qualified to speak out on police use of technology is almost beyond me.

Now I have always been a defended of Gale to the point that I have been widely accused of being a closet Tory. (Mr G, I'm looking at you). However even I have to admit that perhaps Gale is no longer qualified to act as a parliamentary representative. Sure he is famed for the work he does for local people so perhaps a good retirement would be to step down from national to local politics where he might at least bring a dint of maturity to proceedings (thus remaining useful).

however when it comes to technology this man's reaction is to ban it and do things the old fashioned way. Change, he has failed to understand, is always with us - those that cannot adapt to the change will be swept away. Gales inability to embrace change makes him as much a liability as an asset.

Thanet News Network are reporting that Thanet District Council and Kent County Council spent £43,219.56 on this year's consultations for the Eurokent site.

In short they wanted us to say that we were happy to see houses built on greenbelt land set aside for job creation.



Given the current PR company that carried out this round of consultations has been working for EKO since 2007 it does not take a genius to work out that the total cost most be in the order of about £216,000 over that time period.

What I would like to ask is what exactly have we gotten for our money?

Labour have accused the conservatives of forgetting Ramsgate.

Cllr Nicholson (Shadow Cabinet member for Finance) accused Cllr Bayford of failing to mention Ramsgate at all in his leaders report to the Council. Cllr Nicholson's (amateurish) press release (dated 15/07/2011) was extremely dismissive of the successes reported to the council regarding the Turner centre, progress in Dreamland and the coming of the Tesco store near Arlington House (foregone conclusion apparently).

Cllr Nicholson reports that Cllr Bayford mentioned amongst other bits of waffle, about the success of a beach in Broadstairs but Cllr Nicholson was not impressed that Cllr Bayford forgot Ramsgate going on to say Obviously it has slipped of his radar, if he wishes to style himself leader of Thanet District Council then he should pay attention to the entire Island, not just the bits he favours.

Is it me or does this sound a bit petty?

Michael Child is reporting on the recent publication of Thanet District Council's accounts. Of particular interest to me is what the accounts as reported by Michael show.

Despite Cllr Simon Moores and Cllr Chris Wells calling Thanet Star, her readers and myself (the reporter) all sorts of rude names over our reporting of the Chief Executives pay-out the leaked information was pretty darn accurate. Mr Wells and Mr Moores please note I vet and protect my sources and it would do yourselves and your party credit to admit that your protests were non-factual.

In my last post I explained that I suspected that Thanet District Council's move to break up with bloggers was not about money but about statistics. The most likely explanation being that Thanet Council wish to force us to use the RSS feed so they can justify the existence of an RSS feed. That might not be the whole story.

The way that Thanet Council's press office have handled this however is a PR blunder of truly epic proportions and a certain Conservative Councillor bleating on about this being "a fuss over nothing" is unlikely to convince the world otherwise.

So what did Thanet Council do so badly wrong?

...

» Continue Reading: TDC how you've cocked up, let me count the ways

I think most people by now are aware that Dane Valley is now represented by the red team (Labour). Labour gained 6 seats at the elections which puts them just one seat behind Conservatives with the balance of power going to the three independents.

Given the youthful jubilation of some Labour members at the count I would guess that the reds are expecting the whites to come and play with them to form a controlling faction.

The only decent Conservative councillor in Dane Valley, a man I have come to have a large amount of respect for other this last week, has of course been ousted in a pattern of voting linked to national politics more than local. So now it remains to be seen if Labour can continue the good progress that has been made in the area. Young Will Scobie being that unofficial face of that change will have the most to gain, the most to prove and the most to loose. Tough gig.

However the good news is that there is a growing under current of a third option which given time should provide an alternative for voters. I'm talking of course of the increase in votes cased for team yellow (the Liberal Democrats). It's been a long few months and a steep learning curve for me but one that was well worth it.

This is the beginning.

On Thursday Thanet will be electing new leaders in the form of District Councillors and I may or may not be one of that number (it's too close to call if you ask me).

Yet, in a way, regardless of the outcome this is the beginning. My commitment to Dane Valley and to Thanet as a whole does not end at the elections but starts no matter who is elected. I have no intention of running away from what we have started here.

I feel that the issue of a directly elected (executive) mayor as leader of TDC is one that needs to be revisited and as part of the council or not this is something I will push for.

It is my opinion that the idea of a Margate Parish Council deserves investigation. Ramsgate has one and it's town centre is doing well, Broadstairs has one and it's town centre is likewise keeping it's head above water but Margate has none and it's town centre is dead or almost. Now I know correlation does not imply causality but the question needs to be asked - who is speaking up for Margate?

I am aware that the junction of Tenterden Way and Millmead Road is unsafe and must be addressed and I will continue to push for action (primarily from KCC) in order to see that the junction is made safer. My potential election to Thanet Council notwithstanding making our roads safe is something I will pursue.

I live in Dane Valley and if I can be of use to the people of Dane Valley then I will make myself available. If I can do this as a councillor this is a happy bonus.

It is true that as a councillor there are a number of areas that I can address more directly. I would be able to vote in meetings and have a part in the decision making process. There is no reason for me to blame inaction on not being elected nor try to diminish my actions because I have Thanet District Council commitments.

I have learned a lot about the council, about what it means to be a councillor and just who problems can and should be addressed to during this campaign. I have discovered that many issues are best addressed not to councillors (after all none of the current councillors are going to want to help make an upstart like me look good) but to the executives responsible for that area.

I have become more aware of the difference between the roles of TDC and KCC, between the employee and the elected and between identifying a problem and getting it taken care of.

Whatever way things fall, and they could go either way, my commitment to Dane Valley and to Thanet truly begins on Thursday. What the election decides is what form my commitment will take. I can not speak for other candidate from other parties but as for me I have committed to serve Dane Valley and Thanet and will do so in whatever way I can.


Time for the legal bits

Published and promoted by L. Latham on behalf of M. Brown, T. Flaig and W. Furness (Liberal Democrats) all at , Flat 1, 2 Prospect Road, Broadstairs, Kent. CT10 1LD