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| The Dame Thanks You All! |
There was more post Jubilee jubilation in the streets of the Rotten Borough...No, The Dame has not been awarded the much coveted Mayor's Award..it's much better. Doubtless we will hear from Cockell's cronies, 'Up Yours' Palmer and Cllr 'Boys' Moylan squealing 'no one reads The Dame'. In their desperation they forget something....unlike RBKC consultation exercises you cannot forge Unique Visitor numbers!
So today The Hornet is proud to announce 100,000 unique visitors.
After 2.5
years of championing democracy in Kensington and Chelsea she can
claim some notable successes derived from campaigns to stop
the abuse of power and our taxes. Here are just some......
- No more extravagant Virgin Upper Class jollies to New York by the Leader, Cllr Pooter Cockell
- No more tax payer funded meals "for friends" at expensive 5*international restaurants
- No more use of the Mayor's brand new Bentley by the Leader
- A torchlight shone into dark corners resulting in the sacking of ex Mayor (and friend of Cockell), disgraced ex Cllr Phelps, for distributing vile images of young boys on the Council website.
- Cockell slammed for allowing ex Cllr Andrew Lamont to remain in situ knowing the gravity of the child pornography charges he was later convicted of.
- Exposure of the proposed gay porn star candidate selected for Brompton Ward!
The
Hornet, is now required reading for K&C Councillors and local and
national newspaper journalists. It's readership is burgeoning in
Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and the GLA.
It is an established feed for the printed media.
Hornet inspired
stories have appeared in the papers like the Daily
Telegraph, The
Sunday Times,The Daily Mail,The Standard and
Private Eye and throughout
the net.
It
is a "top of mind" fact of life in the Council Chamber and amongst officers. Cockell's feeble attempt to block it failed miserably.
The
foundation and fast growth of the Hornet is the result of the decay
and excess that has resulted from one Party Conservative rule in
Kensington and Chelsea exacerbated by a fourteen year term of
leadership by the current incumbent, unemployable ex ciggy salesman, Cllr Cockell.
Simply
put, the Dame is keeping the "One Party State" on its toes.
There
is a huge democratic deficit in Kensington and Chelsea.It's a regime intoxicated by glam projects (Holland
Park School, Exhibition Road,
Streetscapes) funded by hard earned council tax. This is a
wave of irresponsible spending akin to the 'harlot throughout ages.' And
there is a brutal regime of hate, spite and patronage
built upon the highest SRA's in the land. It is an administration
that has lost sight of its essential purpose- to represent and work honestly in the
interests of residents.
Consider the recent decision to ban BT from
introducing super fast broadband because their equipment was not
sensitive to the "historical tradition" of the Borough!
Nowhere else has this problem....so one wonders the worst.....
The
Dame's influence grows as she reaches out to residents
increasingly alert to the corruption within a very Rotten
Royal Borough.
Driven
by Freedom of Information, Councillor and Officer moles, plus a
liberal helping of common sense, the Dame will continue to prod,
expose and ridicule the ludicrous Cockell administration. 200,000 here we come!
My I be the first to congratulate my old friend the Dame. Her efforts on behalf of the citizenry of the Rotten Borough are recognised by all.
ReplyDeleteLong may she snap at the heels of the our lacklustre cllrs.
Well done Dame. Dame Si. Cockell Non
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Dame without you we would have no idea what the public servants are doing in our name.
ReplyDeleteCould we have a campaign to return the stone hewn in china to Mr Moylans doorstep, and replace it with British stone.
That way he would be blocked in and incapable of doing more damage and we residents would not have to walk on something hacked by Chinese prisoners of conscience.
It is one of the most appalling things they have done in our name.
Hearty congratulations to the Dame, a shining light in a pit of s**t.
ReplyDeleteShame on all those Councillors who close their ears to the needs and concerns of their constituents to feather their own nests; you are a disgrace to the tradition of public service.
Officers applaud the hard work of the Dame, you give us all hope in dark days!
At last resident activists, mostly long time Conservatives, have found a way hold the Rotten Borough of K&C to account. Thanks to the Internet and the tireless Dame.
ReplyDeleteFor too many years, the sicko dictators in Hornton Street rebuffed protest with the pathetic words "stand against us at local elections if you do not like us". Secure in the knowledge that a rump of hard core and unthinking Conservatives (a very small rump indeed) vote blindly at local elections and allow the abuse and corruption to carry on.
But things are changing. Thank you Dame!
It has taken a few wrong turns by outraged council tax payers to find a way to moderate some of the excess in Hornton Street. Busy residents, going about their business of paying the mortgage and finding the school fees, were forced to divert scarce energy to campaign against outrages such as the Slaone Square redevelopment proposals, sale of the Holland Park School playground and pink Chinese granite for Exhibition Rd.
ReplyDeleteDrs James and Margret Thomson put together a successful Action Group and formed a single issue political party to fight the ludicrous Sloane Square indulgence of Cllr Moylan. After a huge investment of time the Action Group saw off the reptile Moylan. The Campden Hill Residents Association, under the Chairmanship of David White, campaigned for many years against the plan to sell the Holland Park School playground. This included a "single issue" campaign in Campden Ward by the Green Party at the the 2007 local elections. Cockell ridiculed the campaign as NIMBY trash. A huge protest by the West London Residents Association, Guide dogs for the Blind and Academics was mounted against the insane £30 million Exhibition Rd project. This was fronted by Prof Gordon Taylor, a world expert in traffic management who was characterised by Cllrs Cockell and Moylan as a "nutter".
Thanks to the Dame, residents now have a more efficient means of protest
The Dame highlights the regime of hate and patronage that is administered by Cllr Cockell in Hornton Street. What a nasty place this is to work in.
ReplyDeleteCllr Coleridge took a brave stand on behalf of his residents against the insane Sloane Square proposals of the bus drivers son. In punishment, Coleridge had the promise of the Mayors job withdrawn by Cllr Cockell. Fellow Councillors knew how much Coleridge wanted the job and they took note. Cllr Freeman took a brave stand on behalf of residents against the sale of the Holland Park School playground. In fury he was banished to the back benches and removed from the inner circle by Cllr Cockell. Fellow Councillors took note. Cllr Borwick reported the strong feelings of residents against the Sloane Square development and she was briefed against by Cllr Cockell and his side kick Cllr Palmer.
Conservative Councillors know what they have to do to get promoted and secure juicy SRA's. It is not so much a criticism of them, much more a criticism of the failure of Leadership to set a tone and culture in the Town Hall that is more worthy of public service.
This is a very significant achievement by the Dame. Cause for celebration.
ReplyDeleteHow does Cllr Cockell continue to defy gravity and stay on as Leader of K&C? For ever, and ever, and ever.......
ReplyDeleteWe deserve to be told
The Dame owes a vote of thanks to Tony Blair for his Freedom Of Information Act. Without this, her life would be infinitely more difficult
ReplyDeleteOn a daily basis, Officers smile in quiet satisfaction when the Dame exposes things as they really are. For years, hard working officials have struggled and smarted in a Town Hall that has become noted for its vanity projects, lost causes and ego fueled spending.
ReplyDeleteThe determination of the Cockell Administration to use process in order to hold on to power should not be underestimated.
ReplyDeleteWhen hard pressed residents of Campden Ward mounted a single issue campaign to stop the sale of Holland Park School playground (via the Green Party) at the 2007 local election, they underestimated the election detail that had to be "got right". Cockell sent out his attack dog, the fragrant Fraser-Howell, a master of small print
Residents put up a candidate from a well known local family who was 2 days off his 21st birthday. Frazer-Howells arranged a visit from the police to tell the shaken resident that he was breaking the law because he was not yet 21! Another resident/parent was campaigning outside the Fox Primary school and gave out leaflets in person. He received a solicitors letter on behalf of Fraser-Howell informing him that he was breaking the law (no words on the leaflet stating "Distributed on Behalf Of") and should withdraw otherwise criminal proceedings would commence. Ten thousand election leaflets had to destroyed after a visit from Mr Fragrant to point out that "On behalf of" had been omitted. The Headmistress of Fox was banned from holding parent meetings at the school to discuss the Holland Park situation......
Talk about the heavy hand of dictatorship......
10.37 is staggering information
ReplyDeleteK&C needs the Dame. Long live the Dame
At 100,000 individual readers, residents' congratulations and grateful thanks are due to The Dame for her services to democracy. She leads our local Government in Exile.
ReplyDeleteThe K & C dictatorship's thought police routinely threaten officers for daring read The Hornet. So they catch up at home. They are quietly thrilled as each new and shameful truth is revealed.
Councillors also ignore their masters, by privately reading The Hornet. One would like to think they too are delighted by her tales of incompetence, greed and corruption in the Rotten Borough.
Unfortunately we have not yet reached the tipping point. But as the number of unique readers continues to rise, it's a fair bet that many of our current self-serving councillors will abandon the sinking Town Hall "ship" - like a pack of rats.
It is outrageous to learn that K&C residents, many with positions of high responsibility and achievement, are being forced to form single issue pressure groups and political parties in order to oppose abuse in the Rotten Borough. This is a complete breakdown of representative democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe Borough is divided up into small Wards and each Ward has three Ward Councillors. In addition each Ward has at least one Residents Association. Clearly these bodies are all a matter of form and not function.
The abuse fits into a pattern of behaviour by the current Administration. A consultative process that is used to announce decisions and not to consult. A scrutiny process that is a joke. The abandonment of recorded Council meetings. Lots of blathering at the start of meetings about "declarations of interest".
The whole structure for good local Government is in place. The envy of the world. But the structure is grossly abused and subjugated to personal ends.
Cllr Cockell has overstayed his time as Leader. A new culture is urgently required. The Borough is crying out for a return to democratic roots
'Abingdon Resident' is correct, local Councillors have been elected to represent the needs of their constituents and the ward in general, not the self-serving needs of the 'local government in exile' (so neatly put!).
ReplyDeleteMerrick's 'Zombie Army' use the same tack; discredit the opposition.
Whatever the public position or expertise of the opponent, they come up with the silliest attempts to discredit; the prize must go to Moylan for saying that a distinguished psychiatrist like Dr Thompson was 'a nutter'.
That's it. That's all they've got. Pathetic really.
it was a happy place, as children, we enjoyed a sense of freedom that has been lost and we've been left with nothing but a trail of blood and tears, the tipping point is definitely nigh, good work Dame.
ReplyDeleteA little confusion has entered this excellent debate. Mention of our local "Government in Exile" was intended as a favourable historical reference to The Dame's good work. A comparison was being made between her efforts and the World War II Free French Government in Exile and those representing various other occupied Allied Nations.
ReplyDeleteThis excellent thread brings back memories of the campaign to stop the sale of the Holland Park School playground. After failing to make any progress with my local Councillor I approached the Chairman of my Ward Committee who made time and gave me a charming hour over coffee to listen to the arguments. I heard nothing more from the man (a polo player) but he sent an immediate email to his Leader, Cllr Cockell, informing him that "we have a problem". Not long afterwards my local Councillor, "Buffy" Buckmaster made his infamous comment to colleagues "The dogs are barking".
ReplyDeleteIt is perhaps a coincidence that Chairman "spy" was shortly afterwards rewarded with a place on the council when he was shoehorned into Brompton in a by election
The tone of this thread does not chime well with the self satisfaction and arrogance impression that one sees at any casual attendance at council committee meetings. There is much talk of the Council's survey which regularly shows high levels of resident satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteWell I carried out a straw poll of residents and asked three questions:
(i) Do you know which Ward you belong to?
(ii) Do you know the name of your Councillor?
(iii) Do you know where the Town Hall is?
No one had a clue. So much for representative democracy.
Cockell should get out there and tune in to what the people who elected him are concerned about and stop staring at his ego
A number of high profile campaigns have been mentioned which the Council ruthlessly brushed aside, ignoring many hours of research, arguments and opinion provided by residents and Resident Associations.
ReplyDeleteReaders should not forget the campaign that was spearheaded by Anthony Walker, Chairman of the Edwardes Square Residents Association and himself a noted architect, against the two faced plans and process to screw up the Commonwealth Institute site.
Of course the Moylan plan was railroaded through and ever since, the businessman Conran and the two landowning Dukes have been running rings around the failed businessman and his cronies. Multi million pound loans at 2% with no guarantee, shelled out by incompetent Cockell from tax payers money.
Roll on the next election...there is now enough public evidence of the horrendous clique that have abused their power and our money for years.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the Dame this ship is about to rock and hopefully coughup and his mob will sink to the bottom.
I hope that the ship does not ROCK!
ReplyDeleteFielding-Mellen??????
If Fielding Mellen is the alternative-Long live Cockell.
ReplyDeleteThis is a difficult one, 18.04. It need not be so. If only those dumb Tory backbenchers would wake up
ReplyDeleteCockell's Administration abuses process in order railroad the vanity projects like Holland Park School and squander tax payer's money.
ReplyDeleteBut there is a whole set of decisions where the Council makes arbitrary and stupid judgements which undermine the competitiveness and well being of the Borough and its residents. For example the recent decision to ban superfast broadband because the BT boxes do not fit in with some idiot's idea of what is attractive for K&C streetscapes.
Consider an extract from the letter from Dr Gordon Taylor (the eminent scientist) to Cllr Cockell:
Leader of the Council Superfast Broadband 18 6 12
Dear Merrick , City Am reports that the Council has turned down BT’s proposals for the rolling out of superfast broadand across the borough. As you are well aware superfast broadband connection is as important to future business development as some of the other utilities ie electricity, water, gas and telephone. The lack of this high speed broadband will seriously hamper business development. The Council apparently turned down the BT proposals on the basis that you want to reduce street clutter and preserve the streetscape.
Hitler,Stalin and Mao would dispose of their political enemies by suggesting they were 'mad'.It was then easy to ship them off to 'psychiatric hospitals' never to be seen again. Moylan, who pretends to be a libertarian, tries the same subterfuge with those who challenge his crazy ideas. He has variously described Doctor Taylor, a noted expert on traffic management and a former senior member of the GLC, as 'mad'. He tried the same boring tactic with Dr James Thompson, who had the temerity to challenge his crass ideas for Sloane Square. I am proud to know both Taylor and Thompson. Two more boringly lucid and sane professionals it would be difficult to find...
ReplyDeleteMany of us wonder about the mental state of a man who bullies senior and highly qualified officers so relentlessly that they break down.
The Dame notices that our silly little leader has adopted the same strategy.But what could be madder than thinking you could bugger off to the US and expect taxpayers to pay for lavish dinners with 'unknown guests'? Sounds really mad to the Dame!
I thought there was a drive to build the countries infrastructure ooops I forgot Kensington is an Island full of promise, run by idiots that don't realise we, the taxpayers, all know they are now a laughing stock and a disgrace to the true Tory Party principles.
ReplyDeleteCameron off with their heads!
Well done and congratulations for being a champion of democracy. You have achieved great things for democracy; bringing to light serious misdemeanour's that the opposition failed to expose. You are also an unassuming champion for all of the electorate of the RBK&C and the scourge of the wicked Cockell and his disgraceful followers.
ReplyDeleteThe Council's decision to ban superfast braodband from BT was a mistake that should be corrected quickly
ReplyDeleteHornets Nest sounds off against Cllr Moylan at 20.42 but this is now a waste if time. The nasty man has moved on.
ReplyDeleteIf you read Moylan's article in the Evening Standard yesterday on page 15 "We need a modern airport: get on with it" you will see that the bus drivers son is now intoxicated with the thrill of taking on Downing Street and David Cameron, the Prime Minister. Such scope for his need to be in a state of continuous conflict surpasses anything that K&C can offer.
A merciful deliverance. Not even the fleshpots of Bangkok promise the reptile such an adrenalin rush
If Moylan has really moved on it will be a blessing.
ReplyDeleteHe is a thug and bully who has ripped the soul out of K and C along with his collaborators in the Planning Dept.
If Moylan has moved on its best not give him anymore Dame time. Ignore the thug.
ReplyDeleteNo one should slip into the dangerous belief Moylan has 'moved on': his interfering presence is still felt around the Town Hall.It is best to keep reminding ourselves of the damage he has done to our Borough;the upset he caused officers and the general bullying he so enjoys.
ReplyDeleteNot a pleasant man.
The Dame is right. There must be no let up on Moylan. Now that the Hornet readership is growing in City Hall she must focus on a campaign of "save the GLA from Moylan".
ReplyDeleteRev Iain Paisley showed the example with his campaign to "save Ireland from sodomy"
Tory Councillor 19th June 06.55 made a welcome comment on the ban on superfast broadband. It says everything about the reign of terror within the Town Hall that he/she lacks the courage to attach their name to such mild criticism of a moronically stupid Council decision.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Moylan, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
The Hornet has achieved spectacular success, but the climax of her career is still ahead of her.