JOHN DICKIE
THE VOICE OF DISSENTING NORTHAMPTON
THE LITTLE GREY MEN
You couldn’t make it up!
Years ago the prolific children’s author from Northamptonshire, Denys Pitchford-Watkins wrote a delightful little book about four little gnomes.
It was called ‘The Little Grey Men’ and judging from what’s going on in the town at the moment is a prescient story.
Right now Northampton is led by some little grey men and women and it is amazing how the names of BB’s little gnomes match our own municipal gnomes.
Dodder, Baldmoney, Cloudberry and Sneezewort – step forward Councillors Woods, Glynane, Church and Beardsworth. And as if to compound the similarities the gnomes lived in Folly Brook-a less than affectionate name for today’s Northampton.
We have running the Guildhall a bunch of ‘politicians’ who will not attend a public meeting because it might be ‘too political’.
Yet they manage to send their ‘chief whip’ Councillor Dennis Meredith scurrying around the Guildhall before the meeting putting a mealy mouthed statement on behalf of the Lib-dems on every seat! How’s that for bravery in the face of public anger.? What was worse the said Meredith and a number of his colleagues skulked at the back of the hall, unwilling to defend the statement he had so assiduously put on all the seats moments before.
But the arrogance was not over, fifteen minutes before in his Guildhall office, the Leader of the Council Dodder Woods had given an interview to the BBC in which he claimed he wouldn’t go to the meeting ‘because there were too many issues’ on the agenda.
We must presume that he will not attend any meetings rver again that has more than one issue on the agenda, and further more he will not attend any meetings where ‘political’ issues may be raised.
Mind you I do not find that difficult to understand, the Lib-Dems have always prided themselves on being the political party dedicated to taking politics out of politics.
It is a sad reality that right now with so many big issues to confront this town is led by a gang of four gnomes who pretend to be doing something important but are in fact so useless they cannot even move an untaxed car for 3 months from a municipal car park.
When you start thinking about the Lib-Dem leadership in Northampton other fictional children’s characters spring to mind.
Maybe they are four versions of the White Rabbit who always has to dash away because he has something else important to do-or maybe they are just four representations of the Wizard of Oz-four mediocrities with a big megaphone and not much else!
Time for the Little Grey Men and Women to write their last Focus leaflet.
CONTEMPT BREEDS CONTEMPT
At a Februarys Cabinet meeting, tempers were again flared, and voices raised as members of the public felt the full wrath of the local Liberal Democrats drive for total control.
Members of the public walked out and were escorted out after angry scenes and public exchanges between the Leader of the Council Tony Woods and those in the public gallery.
Having failed to show up at a recent public meeting held at the Guildhall the leader of the Council seemed intent on this occasion to ensure that everyone remained silent apart from those on his own cabinet.
Opposition Councillors were also silenced as Cllr Woods employed his stopwatch to impose rigorously the Councils self imposed “3 minute rule” on opposition and public interventions. Meanwhile Cabinet members from the ruling Liberal democrat Party were allowed to waffle on in some cases up to 15 minutes to offer self congratulatory praise to each other or themselves.
Cllr Tony Clarke told the leader. “No one wants to see members of the public walk out or misbehave but contempt breeds contempt and this administration has to take it’s share of the blame for what has transpired here this evening, When members of the public feel that they are not being listened to or that they do not have the opportunity to state their case then they will become frustrated or even angry, and unfortunately we will see scenes such as we have done this evening.”
Cllr Clarke himself was constantly interrupted by the leader of the Council when contributing to the debate on the councils budget. Tony Clarke told Cllr Woods. “You seem intent in stopping anyone proposing an alternative view to this council/ How can we have a serious debate on serious issues such as the Councils budget when opposition Councillors are restricted to 3 minutes input and hurried along from the chair? You may not like having to listen to an alternative view but that’s tough, because members of the public and opposition members of this council have a right to put their views on the table and that is what we are going to do whether it offends you or not.
Cllr Clarke was applauded from the public Gallery
One of our Councillors is missing! Northampton Borough Council has lost it’s esteemed leader Liberal Democrat Tony Woods.
Tony was supposed to turn up and speak to his fellow town folk at a public meeting at the Town Hall but he has gone AWOL!
Can you help us find him?
Is he in the offices of the Town Hall skulking away from the masses?
Or perhaps he has taken a trip to the Market Square to book his seat for the Wimbledon Finals next year
Is that his car we can see in the Garage getting it’s MOT at last? Or is that still parked underneath the Town Hall.
Please help us find him, if we don’t then god help us Cllr Glynane will be put in charge!
