It's a trick as old as the hills. It may have worked upon simple audiences but here in the Rotten Borough it just makes you look desperate and a bit of a laughing stock.
As the heat turns up on Cockell he searches desperately for people to blame, and like a small, spoilt child he vents his fury on the Dame.
Since January an increasing number of residents are turning to Dame Hornet to find out what is going on in the Borough. And they don't like what they see.
Whilst the Dear Leader blunders around trying to identify those pointing the spotlight on him he tries to think up ways of attacking the Dame and friends.
Like all anti democrats he has decided that all those opposing him are 'deranged' and rants on in this vein to anyone interested enough to listen. His other ploy is to suggest that the Dame's readership is 'very narrow'
You may try to stop councillors from reading the truth, or newspapers from exposing you but you will never stop the Dame!
You are most unfair, Hornet, I've yet to hear of Dear Leader jailing anyone for using his toilet. You see, he isn't all bad.
ReplyDeleteFirstly your 80,000 viewings are a little suspect when you can press the reload button and the counter goes up. A more accurate gage is the number of people who vote on your poll around 35 people - this gives us a better idea of how many are reading your views.
ReplyDeleteWhen you then extract those people who have two computers and the members of the "I voted for Blair blindly - I was wrong then. Now I can see the light and will vote for Milliband" you are left with a very small number.
Oh well at least you are keeping a great number of Councillors very amused.
One of the hard lessons that I learnt in business was that when a salesman steals from the company he has to be fired. Second and third chances never work. There is something in these guys along the lines of "I am King and it all belongs to me". They steal, steal, and steal again.
ReplyDeleteMany of us in the private sector are amazed at the behaviour of certain members of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Town Halls. And it takes an external force like the Daily Telegraph to trigger corrective action.
FOI probes show that Cllr Cockell has played fast and loose with taxpayers money when he thought that no one was looking. Dinner for friends in New York on Saturday night and a feast for disgraced Ian Clements at Keans Restaurant ($400). None of this can possibly be justified as a tax payer expense.
It is right for the Dame to expose this man to public scrutiny. At the most senior levels in Government the basic control mechanism is trust. And when a small band of individuals betray this trust they diminish democracy
Regardless of personality and political view, it is surely unseemly in a democratic leader to be seen trying to cling to power beyond a certain period. It is self-evident that in a democracy, no individual is essential to the success of the whole.
ReplyDeleteAt a certain point, the dignified course of action for a public figure is to count achievements; acknowledge mistakes; accept the thanks of grateful colleagues & public and step down. Then a new chapter opens: as an elder statesman. Such a career can itself be rewarding and full of achievement.
The Rev. Slicker should stick to ministering to his flock rather than questioning the Dame's penetrating power!
ReplyDeleteClearly you would love to play down her power and influence but as Head of the Dame's Technical Unit I can assure you that 3,000 viewings a week can hardly be considered suspect!
The fact that few people vote on the polls means nothing: it is the viewings that count.
Head of Technology
Do you honestly think that Hornet or one of her hive sit there for hours on end hitting the reload button just to boost viewings?
ReplyDelete3000 a week. In one minute you could, Internet connection permitting record 12 times (assuming 1 takes 5 seconds). So that means to get 3000 would take 250 minutes, or 11 hours assuming no breaks. A momentous feat to do every week! The dame is great but not that great!
So your theory on readership figures is as baseless as your taste in ties. But if that's what you believe and it makes you feel good then fine.
Ahhhhh! So that's why councillors are so busy on their devices every council meeting!
Come on Hornet has a life outside this blog, shame you can't say the same if you think that!
Hi Slicker
ReplyDeleteDont confuse yourself with numbers. Try to use what little brain you have to digest the facts and take a view.
If Cllr Cockell is charging up $4000 hotel bills in New York for jollies plus weekend rest and recreation, and using the Mayor's Bentley to travel to and from Heathrow,you should think about it. And ask yourself if this is appropriate conduct for a person who is the moral compass for 70k residents, 54 councillors and 5k Town Hall staff
07.03 is obviously a fully paid up member of the poodle club
ReplyDeleteCllr Cockell is a failed business man who found a way to make money from the public purse. He networked and promoted himself into three publicly funded positions (Leader of K&C, Chairman of London Councils, and the Board of the Audit Commission) and picked up £120k a year in the process.
A couple of these positions have just ended and he is currently making a hit on a new trough, trying to pick up another £60k a year as Chairman of the LGA
Thats his core competence - finding positions. Its a pity he goes on to use them as personal fiefdoms
The devil is that when guys like Pooter get into position it is one hell of a job to shift them.
ReplyDeleteWe have just seen an example of this at FIFA
Theft? What theft?
ReplyDelete08.08 quoted the words "I am King of the castle and it all belongs to me"
ReplyDeleteLord Hanningfield was convicted for claiming overnight expenses in London when in fact he had gone home to bed. Immediately after his conviction he announced at a press conference that he had "done nothing wrong and would appeal". For years fellow councillors and officers knew what was going on but nothing was done. After all, he was Leader of Essex Council.
ConservativeHome gave Hanningfield plenty of blogging space and refused to remove his column when activists protested after his arrest. After all, he was Leader of Essex Council....
Cllr Cockell used tax payers money to entertain a friend to dinner in New York at the Four Seasons on a Saturday night. A friend whose name he "forgot". Cockell has looked fellow councillors in the eye and said "I did nothing wrong". I think he actually believes this
We devalue democracy and hold up a beacon for corruption by example, to every little fiddler who is tempted, if we continue to tolerate this behaviour.
"After all, he is Leader of K&C" should be no defence