Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,020
That was interesting reading Keith.Helen Bartello,Percy Wilson,Paul Watkins Phillip King.I sincerely hope that Labour do continue to select some really good candidates.You need good opposition and some times a change in Leadership.
You need to be able to weather the storm .You cannot please all the people all of the time.I have read back through lots of posts going back years on this forum ,
There will always be topics which we cannot agree on .Its so lovely when people like Bob puts on a video and lightens the mood .
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
Hi Sue .Indeed like I said around transport and other issues we worked closely together , but sadly once your Nigel got control he did away with that committee as it was doing things!!
I always find Helen Bartello(never short of a swear word lol ). But Aylsham clkrs always fought for there ward, Derek Garrity another, I think Percy was ok but got sucked in by people and the role .
Frank Woodbridge was a good chairperson
Although I don't share most of Pauls politics it hurts me to say he was a good leader , which is what is required.
Never really rated Philip King , thought Mary was the better cllr
But in those days Sue as you recall at that time you were part of the Lib Dems ((where are the lib Dems now?) They elected 6, cllrs I think it was enough to dismantle the Tory administration , but Philip wanted to keep them there, only by going to the lib dem head office did a lab/lib partnership(if you can call it that )
Formed, only to find no lib dem wanted to chair any committee, and really the partnership never really came off.
The next election saw mist of the lib Dems disappear until today where they don't feature anywhere .
I have always said we need an effective and strong opposition , but at the mo I just don't see it, and it's going to take years to rebuild trust.
I get the horrible feeling us just going to rely on Boris to cock up more , in the hope that will get cllrs elected , but I fear that won't happen .
With wards far to big now we are less likely to see cllrs .
I found it strange the large number of town councillors we have (4) and how they managed to keep so many , and on the other hand, we still don't see them, or many of them.
We see Rebecca sawbridge because she likes to be in communities.
Gwyn prosser was ok in the chamber , but no good in community , but held onto my coat tails to get elected then didn't see him in community often for four years , but he was after MP job and I have to say he worked hard to achieve it , and although I don't share his politics he did what he set out to do, first opposing the channel tunnel, then onto councils , before reducing the majority the conservative MP to 833 votes that was the sign the seat was winnable, and he won and held the seat three times against all odds .
I'm glad it appears labour has scrapped M Woods the candidate that failed in do many wards to get elected and she isn't reappearing.
I found in letter years P Wallace was good to start off with , but slowly he went round promising the world to everyone in the ward, started projects with no feedback or final outcomes and i was having to pick up the pieces , and was glad to see him go , I think he lost the trust of the party when he went into a buddy scheme to get rid of the labour respected chairperson John Bird .
Wallace went in with bully boy Mike Eddy
And ousted J bird
Then internal warfare took place , and Wallace chucked in the chair , where Eddy soon found out Wallace wasnt up to it and soon replaced him.
He (Wallace ) was rumoured to want to be an MP
But really he wasn't up to that .
In later years Ian Palmer wax quite good until he bogged himself down with one minority issue and stopped listening to people but it appears his party were not a fan of his so he didn't stay long .
So what we have is much of the same old , in need of new blood that can commit to taking on the administration , it is time consuming if you don't correctly
.
Let's not forget although not socialists we had a number of labour mayor's over the years who could have come from Any party and often that was the problem the fight was bigger about who's going to get the chain around there neck, than what they will do for Dover !
Jim hood didn't do that bad as chairperson of technical services as it was then.
Of course we can't forget Jackie good who said it as it was .
I recall sitting next to her on housing committee where she said she hated the French
I had to disassociate myself from that comment as I could see that being headlines in local papers (at that time reporters attended meetings !)
It was front page .
A meeting a few months later she said she had no time for homeless and I had to again disassociate myself as it was to hit local papers ..
But I found Jackie to have a heart of gold
I was in a school governor meeting with her and I happened to mention my wife was away and she wanted to make sure I ate and invited me to dinner !
I didn't go but the thought was there .
So looks like labour opposition long term as I say .
Iv seen the failed labour parliamentary candidate at last election on TV and interestingly still quoted as ex parliamentary candidate , does that mean she's still going to be the candidate?
I hope labour has learnt it's lesson on that one
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Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,020
Very good recalling all those names.Ido find it hard now the wards are so large.Some of our current Councillors are out of touch with their communities.Like you I never had a car and it was Buses all the time.I have walked miles around River over the years.When the ward included Alkham I still,managed to do my ward work.When Roger Frayne was ill I had his ward to cover as well..It was not unusual for people to call on me without notice .
I still get people coming to me for advice.
During the pact with Labour I was Chairman of Planning.Whitfield had two good Liberal Councillors .Peter Lodge and CliveMeridth.
Still a few Liberals around .
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
I used to go around all the schools with Clive , trying to get the youth interested in politics , showing them how politics affected them .
He was a good cllr, used to see him walking from sea front always had a chat .
That was the says the lib Dems had a following enough to elect 6 cllrs
Iv been left 10 years from political party but I still get case work .
The thing now is our present cllrs on District are clear the ward is to big (I did oppose the boundary commission and it's ideas to do away with the priory ward which they agreed but still implemented.)
So they attend the odd community meeting , but mire time at council meetings .
I did learnt when I first stood in the 80s with Jim Truelove (no longer with us )
He was to be the next chair of council ,
He told me prior to election we were the most popular in the ward and set out his plans for ward.
He didn't get in !
The chief executive told me he was to be next chair , great speaker ..
I told him it's the electorate who elect you, you can be the greatest speaker ever,. But if the locals don't want you there's a good chance you won't make it.
Back on labour though , at all levels it needs to start revisiting/being involved in communities if it wants a route back .
Strong MP material , not just slagging off conservatives , but having done kind of vision .
They won't ever win a county cllr seat in this area due to allowing and supporting boundary changes.
On district no one even knows who the one Cllr is in this area , that doesn't go well for the future .
.
With Labour losing Mill Hill no seat is safe for them any more , so not only do they have to hold onto the seats they should be winning easily, I can't see seats where they are likely to gain from other parties .
So it's all looking like long term opposition
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Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,020
The Councillor who represents the old Priory Ward is a very good chap.It doesn’t take long to look up the councillors on the web site.Dover Town and Castle have a Conservative and a Labour Councillor.There are photos so you would know who they are.
Reginald Barrington likes this
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Clearly our current supply chains problems do not extend as far as Columbia.
Weird Granny Slater likes this
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
I think you miss my point Sue
I know who the councillors are supposed to be .
I know where they live.
But Is it for the electorate to chase the cllrs
We will have to see how the fee years pan out ,but it's looking like labour can't do it itself and so is just relying on People just switching to them .
This is where they go wrong .
Politics is fast changing and unless labour involves itself in communities it's likely to be long term opposition on councils and MP.
Being nice , is all well and good , but knowing about an area and how they be able to help quite another .
I contact the cllrs rarely these days as like most I think I'm starting to give up on them .
That's the danger for the future .
Turn outs council elections around 27%
Still I'm down to retire Sept and concentrate on my hobby at the community centre .
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Neil Moors- Registered: 3 Feb 2016
- Posts: 1,298
Labour now ahead in one poll, and closing the gap in all others. Without doing anything at all! Is it a temporary reaction to Johnson's tax rise or is it something more sustained do we think?
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,020
Well I know Cllr Walkden ,Brivio and Biggs get very involved.Cllr Brivio is always involved in events .
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
I have no time for Brivio as she is not a believer in other people's views .
Walkden goes on holiday every other week and just accepts what is put in front of him
Cljr Biggs probably good at committee s but it's the people who elect them and no one knows him round here
This is something I have highlighted here before
Other cllrs have fallen , even though great in the chamber , not good in the community .
And so fail at elections.
Best example of this is him Truelove sadly no longer with us
But he was up to be the next chair of council ,
But lost his seat because he worked against the community and they didn't forget .
Even the chief exet told me they were amazed he lost as he was so good in the chamber .
But I reminded him who elects him, and it isn't the chamber
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Weird Granny Slater
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 7 Jun 2017
- Posts: 3,008
From Canterbury to Coventry.
'Pass the cow dung, my dropsy's killing me' - Heraclitus
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
She probably is a risk lol
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Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
we will see what happens to the blue wall up north, might turn red again.
Weird Granny Slater- Location: Dover
- Registered: 7 Jun 2017
- Posts: 3,008
Keith Sansum1 wrote:She probably is a risk lol
No 'lol' about it: Labour silenced her because she believes men are men and women are women.
In modern Labour, you're not allowed to believe that; and if you do, you're not allowed to say it.
Captain Haddock likes this
'Pass the cow dung, my dropsy's killing me' - Heraclitus
Neil Moors- Registered: 3 Feb 2016
- Posts: 1,298
She is the only Labour MP in Kent, and people think she is the one with the problem....
Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,980
Precisely WGS. We are in the Terf wars.
It strikes me as odd that a 'trans' from Deal got so much right-on publicity in the Guardian and a film shown on TV.
As far as I was concerned it was 'woman who has tits lopped off has child'!
Sorry to be brutal. I know 'Freddie' and his/her dad/family, said hello to Noah, but this does not mean I'm going to enter a reality distortion field.
"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
I think going back to Dover and Deal I think you need to look at the last general election
With the predator scandal ,.
The wife replacing him
Labour should have romped home
Instead the predators wife doubled the conservative majority !
That tells a real story
No one believed labour was any better than the Tories
In fact they voted AGAINST labour !
So local labour is struggling to re-engage
Stuffing leaflets through the door every four years is no longer enough .
Neither major party has yet identified this as a problem .
Thus we see results like we have just seen in St Rads
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Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,980
By way of explanation of my last post. Nice shots of Deal.
"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
With people switching off politics we could well end up with much the same election after election
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Button
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,032
Ms Duffield believes that biological females should have protected spaces where biological males are not allowed to go - such as domestic violence refuges and prisons - and she is against people being able to self-identify as trans to gain access to those spaces.
Sir Keir [said in an interview]: "We need to have a mature, respectful debate about trans rights and we need to... bear in mind that the trans community are amongst the most marginalised and abused communities. Wherever we've got to on the law, we need to go further."
Ms Duffield is not attending this week's party conference in Brighton, having said there were concerns for her safety after threats from activists.
Sir Keir said he had spoken to Ms Duffield and "she didn't want to come because it would cause a distraction from the ideas that we're putting forward".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58698406
Pity; sounds like Canterbury has an MP with a brain.
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(Not my real name.)