Wednesday 4 March 2009

Honeyballs and Ladymanballs. Rotten boroughs.

Honeyballs and Ladymanballs.

I’ve been rather taken aback at the messages of support and encouragement for Independent MP.

Like most people in Thanet I knew the council and MP’s were failing the public and it just seems to be of a depth of discontent that I’ve never heard of in Britain.

It’s not like this in other regions.

Thanet is in the bottom 10% of councils and deprivation in UK. After decades.

Suspending council tax and rebates seems sensible if a region is completely failed with no plan for improvement as at Thanet.

We have a complete failure of the politicians and senior civil servants in Thanet.

Now in the run-up to the MEP and Town Council elections in June, the politicians are stirring looking for “good news” hence sudden announcements of ferries and so on.

Thor has taken me off track a little from policy - with almost 20 years of failure to prevent mercury poisoning of the soil and water.

And not a peep pout of our councillors or civil servants.

As with ChinaGate. As with Manston. As with 500 tonnes of industrial solvent removed from the soil at Sericol.

Not a peep. No mention in Thanet. No mention in Westminster and none in Brussels.

No policies. Nothing.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Now we have the strange issue of the Party machine parachuting not just candidates like Laura into the region to toddle into a safe seat for years of sycophancy and silence, but now we have extra support from the MEP’s to the region.

Cllr Mark Notttingham works full time as an assistant for Mary Honeyball, London MEP but is also some kind of cheerleader for Ramsgate Labour and Steve Ladyman.

Aside from wasting public money doing a District job on MEP time there’s the scandal of using MEP time to boost a UK election.

And to soak up a District role that should be allocated to a citizen who wants to serve Northwood.

How can the local butcher, baker, candlestickmaker represent their own town or ward if the Party machines are excluding them?

That’s not democracy.

Something is wrong in British democracy when the Party machines take over seats meant for the public – and then use them as fake “double mouthpieces”.

Cllr Nottingham speaks on Kent issues, then Europe issues but he’s a single paid Party stooge doing it for Party political purposes.

I’ll be writing to Ms Honeyball MEP for details of exactly what and at what cost M. Nottingham provides for the UK or European electorate.

Mary Honeyball seems to work hard on EU issues but this seems beyond the pale and exactly the kind of election thievery that Labour was originally formed to prevent in giving the public a voice not the political professionals.

Resignation from one role for M. Nottingham, or at least to act on a voluntary, unpaid basis seems eminently sensible.

They never do though do they? Love the rosette and the money too much to make it as Independents.

I’ll also call on Laura Sandys to detail her payments from the Conservative Party or think-tanks.

To his credit, Steve details MP expenses better than most although I will improve on this as MP.

2 Labour salaries funded by the Trade Unions and the public to simply boost Labour across the UK and Europe?

Sweetener deals of £25,000 for ChinaGate planning permission funding Ramsgate Labour Party?

No wonder democracy is rotten in Thanet if we have these parachute candidates dropped in and simply boosting the failed organisations.

Steve cannot win after a decade with only a 700 vote majority, and this kind of Euro-boosting does no credit to his final weeks and months.

A little later this week: I’ll map out future policy on Electoral reform to remove these rotten boroughs methods from Britain’s elections and create a 21st century region and nation.

Time for Change.

4 comments:

Son of Eric said...

Hi Tim,

Any evidence for your assertions?

A little bit of googling would have helped you. Here's my work life (I put it on my blog too)
http://www.maryhoneyball.net/contact.htm

and here's confirmation Ms. Honeyball spends the Parliament's monies properly

http://www.maryhoneyball.net/expenses.htm

amongst other things in my job I ensure all those monies are properly managed and audited each year.

Your statement

"Aside from wasting public money doing a District job on MEP time there’s the scandal of using MEP time to boost a UK election." has no basis in fact.

I would withdraw it if I were you. You have been in prison recently for saying things you were unable to prove.

I work well over my contracted hours and like any other citizen have free time to spend as I choose. My job involves considerable evening and weekend working too.

I ask that you amend your blog or provide eveidence to support your comments.

Sincerely,

Mark Nottingham

Tim Garbutt said...

Thanks Mark: we're agreed you're a paid MEP staffer in London and Brussels for Labour's London MEP Mary Honeyball.

And a District councillor in Ramsgate?

You can't do both well.

That's presumably why your TDC contact details are a mobile or email.

Your expenses web-links don't provide full details of the funds.

It is different from a citizen holding a political role if you simply have two political roles.

A little greedy and certainly a little duplication of responsibilities.

And reminiscent of the Laura Sandys parachute candidacy.

I've written to Mary Honeyball MEP asking for details of salary, expenses and working hours.

I'm sure like me you're keen to ensure open democracy rather than parachute candidates acting as cheerleaders in a failed council and region.

My stand in accepting prison rather than the falsehoods of the legal claims is well detailed.

I would remind you that you work for the public and are paid for by the public not your Party.

Do the right thing: simply refund one of your salaries and provide details of your policies in a failed region.

Are you in your Northwood ward or your MEP office this week?

Kindest regards,

Tim

James Maskell said...

You rail against the Council as 'failed' but wont back it up with any actual evidence. Its merely your opinion. Now you make it even bigger by saying its a failed region...

Dont want to have to teach you a lesson on electoral reform as well as showing you how poor your other policies are, but rotten boroughs were gotten rid of an awfully long time ago.

The attack on Cllr Nottingham is uncalled for. Why is it that you feel that ad hominem attacks on critics is a valid way of proving your policies? Is this the behaviour you would expect of an MP?

Tim Garbutt said...

Hi James

I've published and replied to this for old times sake. If you casn't advise on Tory policies, Thor, Sericol, Infratil etc then I can't invest the time in replying to your Party comments.

On these points: if you think TDC is not failed then I'm astonished. The AC rates it as one of the worst in Britain.

Margate burning down and Ramsgate falling down and some of the worst deprivation in Kent and UK seems hard to argue with. Unless you're defending the Party.

But: go on, name 3 terrific projects undertaken or completed in the last 3, 5 or even 10 years.

I know the first rotten boroughs were removed a long time ago but rotten boroughs in the wider sense continue: Thanet, Donacaster etc.

I'm not attacking Mark personally -there are no policies to attack either: it's the belief and practice of holding dual roles as part of a Party machine - the 21st century equivalent of rotten boroughs if you like.

A reduction of the purpose of local democracy that resigning from one role or returning funding seems fair and transparent.

Laura's doing a similar sort of thing with parachuting into various constiutuences: it's a job and if not Thanet then Tadcaster or Trowbridge or Tonbridge.

Requesting details of time and salary is of course sensible for public roles.

I will go further on these issues as MP.

Hope this answers your points in full detail.

I can't reply to you any more if you dodge the issues around Thor etc as it just becomes childish my Party right or wrong points.

I hope you can at least see the scope and reality of the policies I've detailed and will implement as MP.

Remember Policy #1: Sack the Gang of Four.

Policy #2: Close Manston aiport.

POlicy # 3: End ChinaGate.

Whether you agree or not these are robust and dynamic policies to end the failures of decades.

No other MP has any policies.

Ramsgate First have some very good policies on Ramsgate that I don't hesitate to support.

Steve and Laura? Empty national statements and no specific local action.

Best wishes

Tim