Democracy in Kensington and Chelsea has been extinguished by a Leader who has been in power for 14 years in a Borough where the election turnout is less than 30% and 75% of those who vote are Conservative. In other words residents suffer all the evils of a monopoly. Most residents are too busy working hard to pay the rates and school fees and give little thought to what is going on in Hornton Street..... so long as the dustbins get cleared on time!
The tendency for power to corrupt has taken its sad toll. Our Borough has degenerated into the personal fiefdom of the present Leader which he controls with a patronage system of sky high SRA's and compliant conservative Councillors.
The levels of self interest are so high for the controlling elite that none dare to make any sort of move to clear out and clean up what is patently rotten.
For the last three years the Dame has been urging Cllrs Ahern and Coleridge to challenge for the Leadership but she has always been told that nothing will happen until Cllr Cockell decides when he wants to go. And up to now he has been unable to find something to compensate him for the £70k that he is paid as Leader of K&C and the £53k he gets from the LGA: the result? We are stuck with him.
Clearly it is time to look outside the ranks of the current Cabinet to see if there are any Leadership candidates. A name that comes to mind is Cllr Mills. A person with presence and personality who was noticed for her extraordinarily successful Mayoral year.
ALL THE QUALITIES |
From time to time the Dame hears from residents that Cllr Mills "goes the extra mile" when she is responding to resident concerns. She seems to care. A practicing lawyer, she has the grey matter. Perhaps this is the kind of person that we need to turn the Council around and return to basic Tory values. And above all, bring back democracy.
The noses of the old guard would be out of joint and they will say that Cllr Mills "has no Cabinet experience". For someone as talented as Cllr Mills this is no problem. Cllr Paget-Brown would be a good and loyal Deputy and he has loads of Cabinet experience.
The Dame has been brushing up on her old files and new readers of the Hornet may be interested to view
ReplyDeletehttp://www.standard.co.uk/news/firstclass-travel-and-fine-dining-council-chiefs-trips-to-ny-on-expenses-6801917.html
Now this is an interesting idea. Straight "out of the box". I wonder what the Tory Councillors will be thinking?
ReplyDeleteThis person has good multicultural credentials from Barbados. Would go down a storm in North Kensington
ReplyDeleteWe love her
ReplyDeleteCllr Mills does have cabinet experience; unfortunately it was her job to close down the EPICS care centre for older people in North Kensington - but at least the Pepperpot Club would be safe with her in charge.
ReplyDeleteDame, could you sound out Cllr Mllls and find out if she is prepared to serve?
ReplyDeleteCllr Cockell's peerage did not come through so he will probably try to hang on for another year as Leader of K&C. Taking care to avoid a challenge will be his priority in the next four months because Tory Councillors can vote for a new Leader in May 2013. Cllr Moylan's chances of being confirmed as the next Mayor are now very high which will take him out of the running as a possible challenger
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for that; now though it will be matter of dragging Sir Merrick out of Hornton Street. As for the thought that Daniel Moylan may possibly be appointed the next Mayor with the view of giving Sir Merrick a clear run is totally unacceptable, undemocratic and should be trounced upon by Central Office. For me this is the final straw and will be enough for me to vote for Nigel Farage and UKIP and I am sure that a number of other Tories will think the same.
DeleteI agree and as much as it would go against the grain I as a resident will be forced down the UKIP route
DeleteAhern and Coleridge are rabbits caught in Cockell's headlights. He has told them that they would be traitors to the Conservative Party if they stand against him for the Leadership of K&C and they are hypnotized
DeleteThe idea of Cllr 'Boys' Moylan traipsing around the Borough in all his finery seated in the Bentley will be a sight for sore eyes....hilarious!
ReplyDeleteOne does not wish to be snobbish, or looking down one's aristocratically aquiline nose, bit the idea of this common and vulgar man as the Mayor of our Borough is too ghastly to contemplate
Moylan for leader ! Good idea, let see who runs the shop officers or the elected plebs
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between officers and those elected, there are dangerous idiots in both camps.
Deletenames for both camps please
DeleteI think that it bodes well for Councillor Mills that she is not in the Cabinet; after fourteen years it is now time for change at Hornton Street. The last thing the Council needs is a resurgent Councillor Moylan; he is yesterday's man (thank goodness).
ReplyDeleteIn a situation like this it usually falls to the Deputy Chairman (Cll Paget-Brown) to have a quiet word with the Leader that he should consider it time to step aside with dignity. Cllr Paget-Brown is not known to harbour ambitions of his own to be Leader so it is a task (duty?) that he could carry out without being accused of seeking personal gain. Alternatively one of the "Elders" could take Cllr Cockell aside. Cllr Buckmaster has told friends that he had a quiet word with Cllr Hanham in her 11th year as Leader of K&C and persuaded her that it was time to go. Cllr Buckmaster has announced that he will not be seeking re election so this a task that he could also perform with honour.
ReplyDeleteI strongly expect that Sir Merrick will have to be escorted off the premises!
DeleteDon't be fooled by all that bubbly laughter. Mills is a tough cookie
ReplyDeletea Boris impersonator?
DeleteI most certainly hope not!
DeleteI most certainly hope not!
DeleteDraycott seems somewhat excited by the idea of a Boris impersonator
DeleteNo Draycott is Palmer
DeleteI can assure you that Draycott has no connection whatsoever with Matthew Palmer or for that matter any body else who was involved in GLYC (Greater London Young Conservatives) all those years ago!
DeleteCllr Mills would be an astute choice to clean up the Rotten Borough. She has shown much empathy and concern over resident's issues in North Kensington.
ReplyDeleteCllr Mills also has an ability to communicate with residents that is sadly lacking among her Ruling Party contemporaries.
Sorry 19.36, you have it quite wrong. Mills is a very clever woman, her 'bleeding heart' protestations about the closure of EPICS and grinding down of the Pepperpot are totally duplicitous.
DeleteSome say the Mayoralty was her REWARD for rubber-stamping the EPICS closure. Who knows? Either way, it was done on her watch, and she is covertly working to undermine Pepperpot.
As others have said, don't be fooled by the girlish charm and flirtatious manner.
So she is a politician then......
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