THE DREAM WORLD OF OUR MP

 

John Betjeman said when the end of the world came he wanted to be in the haberdashery department at Peter Jones 'because nothing unpleasant could ever happen there'.

The Dame feels that way when she reads Felicity Buchan's weekly updates.

They all seem about 'What Felicity did next': nothing about the horrendous mess the country has got itself into after 12 years of Toryism. It's time Felicity took her head out of the sand and stopped pretending everything is hunky-dory.

Challenger banks have done the seemingly impossible by taking on the big boys.

Could The Reform Party become a challenger party?

The omens have never looked better.

If it cannot capitalise now it will never.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Super rich.....

Should a councillor worth several million take a huge allowance for a part-time job? That is the question Elizabeth Campbell should be self-addressing.

Another question... should someone so intimately involved in Grenfell be leader?

Homing in on Campbell...when Nick Paget-Brown resigned savvy councillors decided to steer well clear of a perceived 'poisoned chalice'...not Campbell, however.

Rushing back from some Caribbean sailing jaunt she gleefully threw her hat into the ring and fished the £70,000 plus a year part-time job before hooking another £12k a year from London Councils. 

Who said there's no money in local government!

Campbell is so ineffectual she's a marionette in the hands of powerful officers: that is not how a leader should lead.

Elizabeth Campbell is stinking rich...nothing wrong with that. The Dame has a very common and vulgar attachment to money. 

But the Dame is not the leader of a cash-strapped council.

If Cllr Campbell had an ounce of sensitivity she would give up her vast £1500 a week allowance or at least slash it by half.

JO POWELL WINS

How will Jo get on with the Stalinist clique?...

It could be tears before bedtime as the northern aristos try to undermine him...and you can be certain that all that tripe about 'our party is a broad church' won't be getting much traction.

"Knives out" is on the cards.

A PARTY OUT OF EXCUSES

The fool in charge of the NHS

Keir Starmer is becoming interesting. 

At the CBI conference, he told business leaders immigration was not the solution to skills shortages. Instead, he said that we should be training our own people...an idea that gained no traction with this or previous governments.

If Starmer continues coming up with worthwhile initiatives we might begin to think he could be a bit useful.

The Conservatives have been in power for twelve long years but have bugger all in the way of successes to show for it. But then with high-quality 'leaders' like Matt Hancock, 'Shady' Shapps, Priti Patel, Gavin Williamson and the rest of the nonentities, it's no surprise.

Sadly,  this once-powerful party has achieved nothing but a precipitous decline.

EDC CLAIMS TO BE A TEAM PLAYER

 Dear Dame

Interviewed in the local blog, Urban Dandy, Emma Dent Coad claimed to be a team player. 

As one victim of her chicanery observed..."Team Player, My Arse'!

You can read the full, self promoting interview HERE

This is a gross affront to all those councillors and colleagues she shafted over the years in her relentless drive for ideological power.

Yours disgustedly

Civilised Labour

'LORDLY' MOYLAN'S RUBBISH DECISION

This is Milord Moylan, our 'new aristocrat' after a night on the tiles. 

Whilst on the council Lordly decreed all 'street furniture, including litter bins should go: wise counsel did not prevail despite officers suggesting people would throw their litter on the streets and leave the hard-working Suez street cleaners to clear up. 

Every day, throughout the Borough, the teams spend hundreds of hours cleaning the mess left by the 'anti-socials'. 

This is one of the reasons the Suez contract is costing taxpayers a fortune.

In areas where there is persistent litter.... such as surrounding garden squares, the Council should mitigate His Lordship's crass decision by installing rubbish bins. 

Laughing gas canisters dumped in the road.

NOSTALGIA FOR EARLY BLAIR

The Dame had lunch with an old friend the other day.

The Dame's friend was a High Tory of impeccable political provenance: a highly intelligent man who had served as an adviser to one notable and memorable Tory Leader.

The Dame nearly spluttered on her Mulligatawny soup as her friend pondered on the hopeless bunch now struggling to lead our country.

"in the early days of the Blair government he packed his cabinet with people of talent"  was his assessment of those early years.

Maybe it's nostalgia but it did seem Blair was able to populate his cabinet with solid and capable ministers.

The likes of Shapps, Williamson, Patel, Raab et al would never have passed muster in Blair's day.

The Conservative Party has had years to get to grips with our problems but seems not to have a clue as to what to do.

SIMPSON WELCOMES HENDERSON

A by-product of the takeover of the Kensington Labour Party by extremists was the loss of a councillor who so successfully organised the defence of the Sutton Estate....Ian Henderson abetted by Andrew Barshall.

The Chelsea Society have recognised Ian's worth by appointing him to the Board...a very smart move on the part of the Society.

The extremists did a great disservice to the people of this Borough when they shafted someone who 'made a difference' rather than just mouthing off about changing lives.

Well done, Ian

EMMA DENT COAD'S VOCAL CHORDS STRIKE

 

SHAME ON BRACKNELL FOREST COUNCIL

Sometimes the Dame thinks every council needs a Hornet.

Bettinson....porcine leader of a nasty little council

This porcine fellow above is the leader of Bracknell Forest Council. This is a council who told the mother of this cute little boy below that she should quit her job/sell her home to fund the help he needs for his deafness. LINK

THE POLITICAL PLONKERS

Cllr Simmons

Some comments are just so good they deserve to be featured....here's one that sums up the mess the aristo plonkers have landed the party in.

Crap Ludicrous Plonkers11 November 2022 at 18:39

Yay!! Good going Kensington CLP!!

No thanks to your refusal to condemn that vile email, your pathetic & stupid attempts to fix up the voting for your poodle (conducted right under the noses of Party Officials - you seriously thought you would be allowed get away with that?), your cronyism (putting dumb posh Momentum boys who couldn't run a bath in charge of things), your belief that EDC has a God-given right to represent Kensington no matter what (anyone see Christian Wolmar kick up such a fuss about the long list?) & your general ineptitude, the end result could be that we all end up with an absentee complete outsider (including the one you didn't want!) representing us!!! (& paying the community around Grenfell only the occasional flying visit)

Wow you must be so proud of yourselves. No doubt you'll just stay true to form & blame the NEC for all this. Didn't think you could get any worse after your councillor (de)selections & shite local election performance, but I was wrong
Well done!!
👏👏👏

THE DISSOLUTE DISSOLVED

click to read
 

MEMORIALISING GOOD AND VILE BUILDINGS IN OUR ROYAL BOROUGH

'Architecture' at it blandest and crudest

Ugh!!

Has the Dame's steam launch passed by the former Lots Road Power Station recently?

It's still too early to consider how successful the repurposing of the glorious Venetian Power Station itself has been though to anyone with taste the scrubbing of the brickwork has been so violently overdone it now looks like a 'new build'. 

Retaining some of the industrial grime would have been more authentic and given the building more authority.
But what do the Dame and her cultivated followers think about the two smaller buildings at each end of the original 'Palace' ( as illustrated above?

Surely they must rank as the most boring buildings erected in the borough in the last decade? 

They have no echo of the original Edwardian construction and make only a passing reference to the industrial past of the site.  Historically factories & industrial buildings were never featureless or understated.    

This is an important area for the borough so who allowed the developers to get away with such mediocrity?   
It has long been my view that all major developments permitted in the borough should be compelled to display prominently a stone pylon or monumental plaque. 

This would record for posterity - for good or ill -which committee chair was responsible for the development. So who passed these?

Perhaps we could set a precedent with the Power Station development?
Indeed there are a few buildings that are so dreadful that the plaques should be required retrospectively. 

The Royal Garden Hotel is a case in point....  the atrocious Greek Embassy is another.  

In fact, the Greek embassy is so bad whoever gave it planning permission should be disinterred & their remains burned by the public hangman. The Borough having appointed & honoured a Recorder of our own without ourselves possessing a Court building sets a precedent. l am thus confident that the Council will be only too willing to appoint our own hangman - despite the absence of the death penalty.

What are the sage views of the Dame on both the Lots Road development and the proposal to record permanently & publicly exactly who is responsible for all significant changes to the local streetscape?

Yours sincerely

The Late Sir B Spence

OBSCURE COUNCILLOR ATTACKS THE DAME

 

click to read

Hornets will recall how Cllr Jedut threatened to ruin the poor old Dame RUINED DAME

It was a sad outburst and terrified the Dame with its threat of going after her for 'unlimited damages' and reporting her to some chap called the Information Commissioner.

Then a friend told the Dame 'to chill' pointing out that the strange missive was littered with spelling mistakes like 'melicious' which presumably is the opposite of delicious?

Why do voters insist on voting for illiterates?

Anyway, she's at it again in a further rant against the Dame's 'bog'!

This one claims Tories don't like being 'pocked'...you could not make it up as the late Cllr Phelps was wont to say.

GAV GOES

 "A weedy little man who thinks he's hard" is how an MP aptly described the Pike of Politics, Gavin Williamson.

This is bad news for Sunak. Williamson is a serial loser. 

For Sunak to appoint him once again to high office is an awful indictment of the PM's judgment. 

 

The Dame has always loathed Williamson and the well-dodgy Shapps so was never surprised by his dreadful behaviour. 

          What can one expect from an ex-sanitary ware salesman?

CLLR ALI GOES FULL ABHOR AND RECOMMENDS WITCH HUNT AMONGST BONKERS SUPPORTERS

click to read.
 

Cllr Ali has been hospitalised so has only just noticed that some of his feverish and rabid supporters have been sullying his reputation. 

He tells the Dame he has many Jewish friends....

WELCOME BAYSWATER!

Dear Dame,

It seems Labour won't be getting the constituency boundary changes they were hoping for either. 

I have just seen the recommendations and only a bit of Bayswater will be added to the existing seat....not the safe  Labour territory of  N Paddington and Westbourne they hoped would make Kensington a Labour seat.

Yours truthfully

Lady Vitriol

CLLR BAKHTIAR CLEARED OF SEXUAL HARRASSMENT BUT EVER MADE?

With the local Labour Party the question is often more interesting than the boring answer...

The Dame has met Bakhtiar. 

A more unlikely candidate to be accused of sexual harassment would be hard to find?

With all due respect to the councillor he's a sort of male version of the Dame....plodding and someone of probity. 

This takes us to who made the accusations and why after the elapse of so much time.

Correctly the councillor has been cleared but the Labour Party now needs to find out why these false accusations were made in the first place.

The Labour Party in Kensington seems a place of dirty dealing.

RETAILERS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

 

This is Sharon White, the boss of Waitrose-a brilliant senior civil service admin person.... a disaster when it comes to understanding retailing.

Retailers and political parties have so much in common. Successful retailers such as Simon Wolfson possess an intuitive feel for what customers want: they rarely err.

The same applies to political leaders. 

The good ones have a grasp of voter desires and how to deliver.

John Lewis had two powerful attributes....'Partners' who felt ownership and buyers who understood what the customers wanted. 

This is no longer the case. The decline started well before White and began under the disastrous £1.2m a year Mayfield. Were it a listed company White would be out on her ear.

The Conservative Party is in the same quandary: it has forgotten what customers want and plays senior management musical chairs. It actually insults its 'customers'. 

Whoever thought it a good idea to bring back third raters like Williamson and Shapps?

Simon Heffer once said that the Conservative Party needs a spell out of office to find itself: sadly, he's possibly right.

Message from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - Planning Consultations

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

New Local Plan Review: Publication Policies (Regulation 19) Consultation

The Council is undertaking a New Local Plan Review (NLPR) and has now reached the "Publication Policies" (Regulation 19) stage. We have undertaken three previous consultations before reaching this stage. In this final consultation on "Publication Policies" you need to tell us whether the policies satisfy the "tests of soundness" which are set out in paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework and are replicated in the consultation response form. 

The next stage will be to submit the NLPR to the Secretary of State who will appoint an Inspector to examine the Plan. All comments received at this Publication stage will be passed on to the Inspector who will examine the Plan. 

Based on what you have told us in previous consultations, the NLPR – Publication Policies document sets out a Green, Inclusive and Liveable vision for future development of the Borough over 20 years. It includes the planning policies to help achieve this vision. It can do so by identifying locations that are suitable for good growth as well as for conservation and by setting clear guidelines for appropriate land uses, form and design of development. The aim is to achieve good accessible placemaking that protects and improves residents' health and well-being, provides good quality homes, enhances the economy and environment.

Regulation 19 Consultation Documents

In addition to the Publication Policies document itself, the following documents required by Regulations alongside a raft of other supporting documents and evidence behind the policies are all available on-line.  

• New Local Plan Review (NLPR): Publication Policies (Regulation 19) Document
• Proposals Map
• Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) (which includes the Sustainability Appraisal, Equalities Impact Assessment and Health Impact Assessment)
• Statement of Representations Procedure
• Consultation Statement
• Duty to Cooperate Statement
• Statement of Common Ground

How to respond

This consultation will run for eight weeks from 27 October to 11:59pm on 22 December 2022.

Online: You can find the consultation documents and respond on-line by going to our website https://planningconsult.rbkc.gov.uk/NLPRReg19/consultationHome

Email: Complete the response form available on the link above and email it to planningpolicy@rbkc.gov.uk

Post: Complete the response form and post it to:

NLPR Publication Policies, Planning Policy Team, Planning and Place,  Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX

Yours sincerely,

Preeti Gulati Tyagi
Planning Policy Team Leader

A READER TELLS BUCHAN TO 'LEVEL UP' WITH KENSINGTON CONSERVATIVES

 

Dear Dame,

I am a long-standing Conservative Party member. 

I was quite shocked to see that Felicity Buchan used her anodyne newsletter to puff herself up about her new job helping to 'level up' the country. 

It is time she 'levelled up' with all us voters about what drove her to throw her weight behind Truss and Kwarteng.

In just two weeks these two did possibly irreparable damage to the economy. 

Seeing Buchan sitting there looking as if butter would not melt in her mouth quite sickens me.

I just hope she is never allowed to appoint staff. To think she thought Truss was Prime Ministerial material shows Buchan has a judgment bypass. 

Sunak should have cast her into utter darkness instead of throwing her scraps. If she stands again for Kensington she will lose.

And if she loses this seat I hope another won't be found. 

She really hasn't a clue.

Furiously,

Local (one-time staunch)Conservative

NEARLY 1900 VIEWS TODAY

 

click to look

There are those malicious types who claim the Dame sits in her Holland Park penthouse clicking away to lift up views. She does have other things to do. 

Anyway, today, quite nearly 1900 folk dropped by.

CLLR ALI? DID THIS VILE & DIVISIVE EMAIL COME FROM YOUR SUPPORTERS?

Did he sanction it?

 

click to enlarge

If Ali knew about this squalid email all that many of us knew and others suspected is confirmed. 

It was sent out before last night's NW Branch meeting.

The email pulsates with anti-Semitism and the use of religion to divide communities. 

IF Ali backs the sentiments in this email it shows he has no understanding of the constituency or the party he so claims to love.

He has been summoned to meet Party chiefs. It would be interesting to know what they think of this crude and inflammatory appeal to base human nature.

So, where do you stand on this email, Cllr Ali?

THE DAME SEEKS CLARIFICATION

 Cllr Lari has requested that the blog related to aristo entryism is taken down as he disputes certain claims.

The Dame is fairminded and has agreed to do so 'pro tem' until she has investigated.

He also complains about comments relating to his sexuality. The Dame agrees. 

Would whoever puts up the puerile comments cease doing so: they are pointless, pitiful, deeply annoying, and very boring.

ARISTO ENTRYISM AND KENSINGTON LABOUR PARTY(REVISED)

The Honourable heir to a Scottish earldom and descendant of Viking warlord...oh...and our local KLP Marxist-Leninist 

Cllr Lari has reverted to the Dame stating that he has no connection to the Shah of Persia or his family.

He has also stated that neither he nor David Kear was permitted to be involved in the selection of candidates. He was emphatic on this point. He stated that the process was run by the Labour Party National office rather than he and local volunteers.

Cllr Lari went on to say, "An offer to remedy the situation last night was usurped by staff cancelling the meeting, again without our input. 

I don’t think it’s fair for someone to accuse me of conducting a meeting I wasn’t even present at. David Kear and I have written to the party in protest and asking to reschedule said meeting asap."