Especially after the complete shambles of selecting a former independent candidate at Earls Court last time every care was taken to select a "safe pair of hands".
Hornet was given a tip off the candidate for Brompton, Lloyd North, a BA air steward was also an ardent fan of former PM and Chelsea resident Maggie Thatcher. So much adulation in fact that he started his own facebook fan page, that you can read here.
It should have been a shoe in for Mr North and the Tories. Brompton last time had a majority of almost 700 votes, so it all looked good.
Then suddenly the candidate withdrew and the powers that be ushered in replacement quicker than you can say "Hot House entertainment"
So what has happened? Why the sudden change of heart and reversal of fortune from the previous Colville candidate in May 2010? Did the mock up picture cause offence to The Iron Lady and she handbagged the local chiefs?
Apparently not. Apparently also most of the Conservative Group are in the dark about exactly what happened unlike those on the opposition benches who, it would seem have known for some time.
Someone has let it slip that the candidate has allegedly appeared in a porn movie some years ago and this is simply far too much for the local tories to stomach. It was an adult movie, with consenting adults and perfectly legal, so quite why it made the Tory bigwigs hot under the collar is a surprise.
The sinister undertone to all this is that a number of the people in the council are gay, and some are out, some are so far in the closet they are in Narnia. The heinous crime this former candidate has supposedly committed is way tamer than the actions of others, and Hornet cannot help but think there is more to it.
Phelps and Daley went and there has been clamouring from a rump now saying Phelps should come back, despite sending inappropriate pictures of young boys on the council email system - and yet this would be councillor is denied nomination and only has been in a movie with consenting adults. Smacks of hypocrisy.
Serious questions have to be asked on this rather torrid issue and quite how those supposedly in charge of the process have allowed the selections again descend into chaos.
The new candidate in Brompton has an uphill task, firstly to explain why he was the second choice candidate.
So much for Camerons big society, the nasty party is alive and well in K&C
This is astonishing...
ReplyDeleteCockle's reputation as Leader takes a further bashing. Lloyd North was his choice and his alone. Cockle has so neutered the Wards that they have no input in the choice of candidates.
Their pathetic acceptance of Cockle's candidates has led to a situation where this was the only outcome. Cockle should resign over this and doubtless the opposition will make hay over this
Could Sir Cockle have met Lloyd the BA Trolley Dolly on one of his frequent taxpayer funded luxury trips to US? We should be told.
ReplyDeleteThe Travel Agent
Rumour has it they were trying to delay the by-elections as long as possible as they couldn't find any suitable candidates; looks like they went ahead anyway. They had to get these two out of the way as it would look bad to have FIVE by-elections at the same time ...
ReplyDeleteThey will just have to limp on with disaffected Cllrs who want to get out, which will only increase the stink of the cess-pit that K&C Tories are currently stuck in.
“Those on the opposition benches … would seem to have known for some time” and, as Hornet also says, “it was an adult movie with consenting adults and perfectly legal”. I cannot answer for the Lib Dems, but this is not and was not a matter for the Labour opposition.
ReplyDeleteCllr. Judith Blakeman
Let's hope Cockle's replacement candidate for Brompton actually lives in the ward and has direct experience of the Harrods issue's we endure.
ReplyDeleteLloyd Norths "stage name" was Warren Lord, as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_North
ReplyDeleteand as "Warren Lord" he starred in porn movies that.....
<< CONTENT REMOVED BY MOD >>
...you can see the details of them if you follow the links on the above
so are you saying that the Tories selected him for Colville in 2010, and then told him he can't stand in 2011?
ReplyDeleteHow does that work?
What kind of inept leadership is that?
The guy is no different in 2011 than he was in 2010??
Complete shambles
I am in the Conservative Group and we knew nothing of this until it was mentioned here. We were also told the Labour Party were aware of this and were going to use it.
ReplyDeleteCllr Blakeman has rightly said this is not a campaign issue.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletePLEASE ENSURE ANY COMMENTS ARE OF AN ACCEPTABLE NATURE.
ReplyDeleteAll comments shall be carefully considered and any that are offensive in anyway will not be published.
If the persistent poster continues to send in comments as he has done before action will be taken.
Comments may be restricted to registered users or anon posts prevented.
You have been warned.
This is the kind of circus that develops when the Leader (Cockell) takes over candidate selection, uses Headhunters to find candidates, and generally adopts a strategy of finding people to keep himself in power rather than represent residents.
ReplyDeleteWard Chairman should be keeping thier fingers on the pulse in their areas and maintaining a list of suitable candidates. But of course our Cockell has for too long failed to support and develop the Ward strauctures to do what they do best.
Democracy is in a sorry state in K&C. Conservative councillors need to get rid of the man.
Can this be true??
ReplyDeleteAir steward and part time porn actor representing true blue Brompton Ward?
Has the Conservative group departed from its senses?
For many years there has been a strong gay lobby that has gripped the Conservative leadership in Hornton Street.
ReplyDeleteBut a HOT House self publicist and porn actor is going too far.....
get a grip Cockell
ReplyDeleteCllr Blakeman bleats that the Conservative choice of candidate for Brompton, HOT House loving porn star and Trolly Dolly, is "not a matter for the Labour Group". Sanctimonious rubbish. If Labour had put up a similar candidate, the odious Frazer-Howells would have been on to his friends in the press in a nano second. And Cockell would have briefing off the record in overtime. Its politics and Cockell should know better and choose better after troughing for a lifetime
ReplyDeleteThe Thatcher page has now been restricted by the group owner, but the picture of the Little Britain character with doctored features was definitely from there as I saw it from the link.
ReplyDeleteI am a Conservative and dont think this is an attack on the person because of his sexuality, its not the issue.
Its just that he was poorly advised and its totally the fault of the Conservative Party leadership for putting him in this position.
Questions need to be asked of the leadership and agent running the selection process not the poor guy who has to carry the can for all this.
A Disgruntled Conservative Member.
Hot House is a sauna in Cape Town, South Africa its not in Kensington and Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteHot House is an adult orientated entertainment company that make films for a particular interest type.
Not sure if the two are related, or if this chap has connections with the Cape Town Sauna and/or the video company.
Just get the facts clear before jumping to any conclusions.
Let the Dame be perfectly clear on this. This is not an attack on Mr North for being gay - far from it.
ReplyDeleteThe Dame salutes those who are out and proud. Resolutely defends the interests of everyone regardless of ethnicity, religion, orientation, age, gender and disability.
Mr North should never have been put in this position by those in the local Tory Party.
It is not and never will be, nor should it anyway be construed as an attack on an individual because of his orientation. No way whatsoever.
What is shameful is that he felt he had no choice but to withdraw following uproar in the party no doubt - if he was good enough to be selected then he should have been able to carry on and weather this storm caused by the local party.
04.56
ReplyDeleteI assure you a lot of research has been done, and information copied for posterity in case the issue comes up again. Dame Hornet checks her facts; Mosquito double-checks.