After the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee a Conservative councillor posted this comment......
"More useless crowing in the Hornets. Scrutiny Committees never made a fig of difference to anything. Never did and never will. Hot air from hot mouths and and bad breath. The Committees exist to keep the children occupied.
Ritblats have got their project so there.
All sad bloggers can go and find another lost cause to whine about"
Cllr Palmer will rue his insolence!
The Dame warned that the decision by Chelsea residents to put up independent candidates could be echoed by residents in the north of the borough.
It seems that she was right
Despite their 10-0 victory at the Scrutiny Committee, Notting Hill Prep parents know tomorrow night the Cabinet will cement their deal with the Ritblats.
The Dame hears this group has a potent mix of credible candidates and a mass of cross party support..... and most importantly, from people who have never bothered to vote!
Dear DameI can confirm, that it is the intention of the Kensington & Chelsea Residents Party, to stand candidates in all the wards either side of Holland Park Avenue and selected other wards throughout the borough, where we feel that specific councillors (and in particular the Cabinet) have let down and ignored the wishes of the communities they were elected to represent. We are a new, non partisan party, with overwhelming support, offering to listen and represent the wishes of every resident in every ward. For the first time ever on May 22nd voters in those safe Conservative wards will get a genuine opportunity to get rid of some of these individuals who feel they have a job for life and are happy to ignore democracy.Kind regardsRC, KD, MF and LA(Party, website, e-mail and Twitter details will follow within a couple of weeks - we care about your opinion - enough said about many of the current councillors).
The chickens have come home to roost! To think the majority party were worried about UKIP, this shows us just how out of touch senior Councillors are with the concerns of the electorate.
ReplyDeleteThey need to get their act together and make sure that they comply with the small print of Election Law. Fragrant Jonathon is well versed in putting the boot in. When the Greens put up a candidate in Holland Ward to fight the single issue of selling the Holland Park School playground, Fragrant J called the police to disqualify the candidate because he was 3 days off his 21 st birthday and threatened Court Action. And a prospective parent who was canvassing for the campaign received a solicitors letter warning him off. Another solicitor's letter on behalf of Fragrant Howells demanded that all 2000 election leaflets should be scrapped because the agent's address was incorrectly shown. This is local politics K&C style. Its business, not democracy
DeleteThe Council (and its agents) has always been overtly fond of sending the odd "legal" letter. Why discuss and reason when you can intimidate?
DeleteI hope that that the new party has attended to detail. For example, have they registered the name?
DeleteKRESPA - 'the middle crust rebellion in Kensington'. Like it.
ReplyDeleteGo for it KRESPA!
DeleteThe lesson of the Sloane Square triumph over Cllr Moylan and his idiotic plans was a campaign fronted by local personalities and lots of publicity.
I wish the Chelsea Independents would campaign under the banner of the Kensington & Chelsea Residents Party banner. It would make good sense as both groups have common gaols.
ReplyDeleteI hear that Jonathan Frazer Howells is so panic stricken by the emergence of these middle class opponents that he has had to taken on an 'election assistant'!
Indeed they do have common goals 08.52, but Chelsea Indies are very much Chelsea based and have their own particular following, likewise KRESPA. So they may work together on some issues, but are right to focus on very local and very immediate matters in the pre-election battle - which sitting Councillors do not. Let them 'coalesce' afterwards once in place, I say.
DeleteOh dear, they are desperate!
Delete'The campaign Assistant would be expected to work long and unsociable hours including evenings and weekends.'
KRESPA only needs about 1000 votes per candidate to win. The campaign needs to establish a strong "brand" which is easily identified on the voting slip - good luck
DeleteLet them stand! If they can manage to field candidates in all wards, I suspect self-regarding complacent Conservative councillors will be flushed out. A high percentage of K&C voters feel disenfranchised, patronised and ignored under the out-of-touch claque's unbroken rule. Hegemony is the enemy of democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe two groups should agree not to stand against each other in a ward; form an informal "coalition" of p*ssed-off residents.
ReplyDeleteHope they get elected because if they do not the Conservative Councillors will seek their revenge .............
ReplyDeleteThats Democratic of Them
DeleteExcellent news. It is what I have been sensing for the last 12 months
ReplyDeleteIt's high time we residents overcame our fear of Tory spitefulness.The trick is to immediately inform The Dame of attempted intimidation. She will publish the details for all to read. It's the lesson of the school playground. Always call the bluff of bullies.
ReplyDeleteKRESPA has my vote
ReplyDeleteThey should particularly target Queen's Gate and Holland wards, there are some Councillors there who need to be "retired".
ReplyDeleteCould the new party field candidates in Queens Gate Ward? Top priority is opposition to Daniel Moylan. Next is whoever was shoe horned in to replace Fiona Buxton who is retiring. Don't even know who he is.
ReplyDeleteQuery: Sam Mackover
This is surely what local politics is all about - Go on KRESPA and Chelsea Independents - at last real democracy. I do hope the administration will give these dissatisfied groups all the help they need , and not steamroller over them as if they were an eastern european country, who were complying with the wishes of the electorate
ReplyDeleteThe Tories have a formidable election machine. KESPA needs to be aware of this.
ReplyDeleteRBKC Conservatives win repeated elections largely due to the self fulfilling myth of its own invincibility. In fact they rely on the overwhelming lethargy of residents. The local party is no more than a dry husk. It has no virtually no election volunteers.
ReplyDeleteAll that is required is for every resident to make the effort to vote for an alternative candidate. Whoever seems likeliest to win in a particular ward.
Even a small change in the status quo will be seen as a crack in the rotten edifice. The Tories are terrified of a residents' mutiny. It looks so bad. So it's up to each individual to ensure that this time their protest vote is recorded.
I was present at the Cabinet meeting tonight.
ReplyDeleteFrankly they were a total embarrassment. Nick PB the 'Leader' was all at sea, Rock FM was just pathetic, it was clear that the Leader had instructed his Cabinet to take the Councillor person with the strange name down - the chair of the scrutiny committee - but they just made themselves look stupid. It was a farce, and we 'the public' witnessed just how incompetent and poorly briefed they were.
A very very sorry moment for RBKC.
Last night’s Cabinet demonstrated just how pathetic they are. Instead of justifying their decision in an open and transparent manner, they chose instead to reverse roles and pretend that it was their duty to scrutinise the excellent work of Cllr. Dent Coad’s committee. After all, a recommendation passed 10-nil is a very powerful message – and one that the lily–livered Cabinet members could not deal with. Whoever advised them to engage in this passive-aggressive behaviour should be sacked immediately.
DeleteLast night revealed the Cabinet - and the Leader and Deputy Leader - in all their vainglory and incompetence, while antagonising several thousand natural Tory voters. Now they will try to wreak revenge on Cllr Dent Coad and her committee, which includes some of the finest Tory minds on the Council.
DeleteLet's see how Mr Fitzpatrick tries to spin the Council out of this one.
Time the Dame woke up to the fact that Nick PB is little better that his predecessor, Pooter. There will be no bright dawn for the Rotten Borough on Eggheads watch.
DeleteAs for the petulant Rock FM the sooner he is removed from his role as Deputy Leader the better. His contempt for residents and naked enthusiasm to rid the north of the Borough of the poor and excluded does not reflect well on the the Council.
Last night's Cabinet Committee meetings was a sad day for democracy.
ReplyDeleteWhy have a Scrutiny Committee if the Cabinet is free to ignore it, or worse patronise and completely disrespect it?? The Scrutiny Committee found serious flaws in the bidding process and voted 10-0 to make the Cabinet reconsider their decision. Yet Nick Paget-Brown paid no attention whatsoever. The Cabinet did not even pretend they were listening, they did not even pretend we have a democracy. Shocking!
The sheer incompetence by Rock FM is baffling. Last Monday at the Scrutiny Committee he showed the vast gaps in his knowledge about his own deal. He didn't realise that up to 4 sub-tenants can occupy the INC Building. He didn't understand a maximum cap on the number of pupils is needed. (Rock FM, if you only think about money, go and work in the commercial sector, but then... you wouldn't survive there with your level of incompetence).
It's a sad day for democracy. So go KRESPA go! Show them what real democracy is all about. Listening to residents. The out-of-touch Tories will regret their decision. I can't wait for the election.
As I told you all, Scrutiny Committees are a waste of space. Always were and always will be. The Local Govt Act requires them so they are stuffed with gobblers who are always ignored. One of many talking shops in Hornton Street.
DeleteRock is unemployable in the private sector. Any approach there for work and they would crack up (with hilarity, of course)
DeleteRock makes a few quid from his job at the Council which is a patronage position with roots in a social climbing relationship with Pooter Cockle. And then he has his Council Planning Consultancy funded by mum. For kids, this is sometimes called "pump priming". But this pump is now long in the tooth. Rock did not make it. He is a busted flush.
DeleteCracking. Cracking great observations
DeleteWhat is all this cracking about? Puff puff?
DeleteBack to Cabinet please bloggers. Mr Bore and his Planning Department are in the pockets of the developers. This is common knowledge in the Royal Borough. Since the departure of Phelps it is less clear how the handshake with the Planning Committee works
DeleteFOI's established that Cockle used to lunch with top developers on his own and travel to meet them in the Bentley in order to save taxi fares (fact)
DeleteVirtually every decision of this type in RBKC is fixed. Conservative councillors are told how to vote, so don't even pretend to listen to arguments. This is particularly true of decisions related to property. Many Tory councillors have commercial interests in K & C property and the shedloads of money involved. Doubtless a farthing or three finds its way into certain pockets.
ReplyDeleteRBKC is a racket; like its supposed 5 star status and much else. Nothing will change unless and until residents stop complaining to each other and start voting for "A N Other."
95% of the bureaucracy and Committees in Hornton Street could be scrapped and it would make not one jot of difference. Except that we would save loads of money on administration costs
DeleteThe democratic deficit in the Royal Borough is now so wide that even slack Alice has been put to shame. Sadly there is no sign that Nick Paget-Brown has any intention, ability or inclination to tackle this lamentable state of affairs. He just seems content to lubricate the system
ReplyDeleteOff with her head!
DeleteIndeed, the entire Cabinet had a 'rabbit caught in headlights' air about them last night. Their only response was to attempt to be nasty to Councillor Dent-Coad, who held her own admirably in face of puerile and quite silly 'cross-questioning'.
Delete