Little has changed as a result of recent elections here in Thanet, it seems and nothing confirms this more than the views of Cllr Clive Hart our esteemed leader of Thanet council.
As you might expect our great leader is full of er bull....no SORRY, enthusiasm, with the elections over, he kicks off his latest sermon in this week's Gazette saying how it's great to be back with the paper, full of the usual waffle, "working" "behind the scenes", "partnership with relevant agencies", "tackle antisocial behavior" are the tried and trusted cliches.
Still he finishes his piece with classic Clive Hart "It's so good to be back. I love elections but I'm glad that any small distractions (like losing badly) that may have caused are now well and truly over". Crikey !
Having observed the count , the "distraction" also known as democracy (the country elections), I must have slipped into a parallel universe, as it appeared to me that both conservative and Labour were clearly shocked by UKIP's vote and the idea that considerable numbers of the British public now ignore party loyalties to make clear, concerns over a bloated undemocratic and corrupt Europe Union.
Labour appeared particularly miffed at the result, although the unusual decision to promote Cllr Will Scobie as Margate mayor despite, I guess with little life or business experience outside the classroom or lecture hall has paid off, with a narrow victory.
Anyhoo, I don't doubt that for the political establishment, nothing has changed, Labour will continue as always and Cllr Scobie will add a fresh paragraph to his Cv, for consideration by various constituency selection committees for 2015.
Elsewhere in the Gazette I see Cllr Kim Gibson, is the new mayor for Ramsgate, at a time it's blighted, having just lost its channel ferry service, such a blow for the town and district. Whether this will trouble the new mayor is a moot point, certainly Labour has a poor record of supporting transport infrastructure, I can't recall her predecessor Cllr David Green supporting the nearby airport or rail projects and with Clive Hart recently refusing to talk up the airport on BBC local radio, giving for me a rather weak and improbable excuse that it was forbidden by election law (Clive Hart was not even a candidate) there's not much hope us.
Labour nationally failed to make any breakthrough for this reason, having engineered a monumental economic disaster which we're still living through and showing utter contempt for working people and the national interest, it has in concert with BBC media pals, gone big on negative campaigning particularly attacking necessary reform to the benefits, and as you might expect having nothing intelligent to offer.
The one thing that has changed is that the Lib-Dems have become even less popular than before... the candidate in Ramsgate got just THREE VOTES! Even you and Matt did better than that (presumably you have larger families!).
ReplyDeleteThanks Clive
ReplyDeleteGenerally a good summary of events, Tony, but to listen to the parties reps locally and nationally, you would think they had all achieved a resounding victory. I loved the bit over on thanetonline where somebody described the Labour group faces at the count as arriving with looks of smug expectation, turning to shock as the night wore on and finishing up looking like slapped arses.
ReplyDeleteOne would like to think that someone in the various HQs would get the message but it does not sound too hopeful.
Politics can appear volatile, and obviously the county elections have proved that, however power has not changed hands and both Tory and Labour can afford to play a long game.
ReplyDeleteAs I think I mentioned before, politicians have talked loudly about learning lessons and all that malarkey, however talk is cheap and politicians know that passions wain over time.
Just look how Labour have left their roots and abandoned working people so that a group representing the public sector are kept afloat by the welfare depend.
You may be right that nothing changes at TDC as a result of the elections but further decline in Margate high street with yet another shop closing - F Hinds. So much for the regeneration that the £20 millions pumped in by KCC seems to have failed. With even fewer tory KCC councillors in Thanet, the area could be confined to the wilderness. But KCC councillors being whom they are, knowing on what side their bread is buttered, there could be a few defections.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the local Lib-Dem's answer to all these problems? They didn't tell us during the election.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was removed for being off topic and possibly defamatory.
DeleteNothing will change because nothing can change. The people running the parties are stuck in a rut of their own making. Thatcher and Blair convinced them that the only political agenda worth following was "what's in the best interests of business." Nobody challenged them on this. Yet now people are able to see that some sectors of "business" (e.g. banking) don't act in the best interests of people and the country. I'll let you into a little secret. No businesses act in the best interests of people or the country. They are all run for the benefit of their directors and shareholders. Government policies should be dictated by what is in the best interests of people and the country. Until we elect political leaders who understand this we will continue to see rising disaffection.
ReplyDeleteP.S. It would be a mistake to assume that UKIP has a different agenda. In fact, if anything, I would say that Farage's view of the world is more dominated by the interests of "business" than any other leader.
Without businesses there would be no jobs, unless you follow the Labour solution and everyone becomes a civil servant producing nothing.
DeleteIf interest rates rise then so do mortgage costs leading to higher inflation and home repossessions like back in the early 90s. That led to a static housing market, but although prices fell, first time buyers could not afford the mortgage rates. so nobody moved.
Brilliant solution, 18:37, but unworkable.
Nobody is arguing that there shouldn't be businesses. The argument is that government policy should not be dominated by the needs of business. In fact, the only role for government is in getting out of the way by removing obstructive legislation and obstructive rules and regulations.
ReplyDeleteThe housing crash in the early '90s was caused by massive interest rates (courtesy of Norman Lamont) but recovery began when we left the ERM and interest rates fell to more sustainable levels. At the moment interest rates are being held down to artificially low levels but this isn't helping recovery because it is preventing property prices from falling to a level where the market can operate. First-time buyers will be able to afford property if the prices are low enough. The problem with trying to suck first-time buyers into the market at current prices is that they will struggle when the interest rates go back up to the correct levels (i.e. above the rate of inflation).
I lost £30,000 in that crash, but went on to purchase a property which has now appreciated by far more than that amount. It was painful to lose the money but it was my own fault for paying too much for a property in the first place. I learned from that mistake.
Why not just buy a house to live in rather than as an investment?
DeleteWell said, 09:01, for that way you lose nothing whatever happens to the market. In any event, governments should not artificially change housing market conditions which are governed by interest rates, location in relation to jobs and that good old economic fact of life, supply and demand.
DeleteIf property prices are forced down by government interference loads of people finish up in minus equity and unable to move in consequence. Back in the early 90's young couples who had started off in a studio flat were trapped in it even though they had since started a family whilst other families were living apart because the bread winner had moved job location.
Unlike chummy at 8:54, who recovered his losses, many people never did whilst some couples split up over the stresses of that time. He is right that it was down to the ERM disaster in the same way that the massive price escalation of the early part of this millenium was encouraged by Brown to fuel his claimed economic boom.
Governments meddle in markets at the peril of the people.
People forget basic economics, that democracy requires economic growth to survive, but growth cannot be continuous and uninterrupted. We have now reached a point when the planet is being devoured by our lust for growth and consumerism.
DeleteWhen recession hits we all suffer and always will. There is no escape Mr Bond.
Why does democracy require economic growth to survive? Why can't you have a sustainable economy where the aim is to maintain standards of living rather than to constantly improve them? In my opinion, the drive for growth has resulted in declining standards of living if we take account of factors such as financial pressure, stress at work and leisure time. A great deal of this derives from the business model which relies on ever-increasing profits. In recent years these profits have been obtained by driving down wages and making people work harder and longer. In other words, money has been shifted from the pay-packets of ordinary workers to pay for increased dividends to shareholders and increased salaries for the senior executives. This is unsustainable and it has damaged the economy because the ordinary workers no longer have the spending power to get us out of the slump.
ReplyDeleteAnon 16.40. I totally agree with you we should all be satisfied with the status quo but as your comment admirably illustrates you are very worried about somebody else reaping extra rewards at your expense.
DeleteHave you ever wondered why each model of a VW Golf ( or any other car) is slightly bigger than the last and eventually a small model gets added to the bottom of the range?
anon 16:40
DeleteAt which point in our history would you have ceased improving our standards of living? I don't know about you but I would rather not live in hut and die at thirty of old age.
Have you ever wondered why the Soviet Union collapsed?
John, when do you want to stop consuming more, we are already consuming at a rate which will require three and a half planet resources, but as no-one can see it, so no-one cares
DeleteLargely because governments have meddled instead of letting market forces and basic economics govern. Less government and more individual freedom is what is required.
DeleteReadit,
ReplyDeleteI am finding it difficult to follow your argument. What exactly is it that you would have us stop consuming? All living things consume in order to survive. First it is this, then it is that and soon it will be something else which is consumed. For example by the time the oil runs out we will have discovered another source of power.
There are no limits to Man's ingenuity. Man is a proven survivor.
What limits would you set on consumption?
John, I didn't say I had all the answers but when the earth's population reaches 9 Bn and the food runs out, I hope your faith in man's ingenuity is proved correct
ReplyDeleteReadit,
ReplyDeleteIt will be. Man is the most persistent and determined survivor in the animal kingdom.
Just think back to those killers of less than 100 years ago that have been eradicated: smog, food corrupted with poisons, diphtheria, smallpox and much more in medical science. We enjoy improved agricultural techniques, improved nutrition and healthcare. Science continues to discover new forms of energy.
There is so much more. Not least the Pill and continuing advances in contraception.
The Planet is not doomed - at least not until the Sun goes out - in a couple of billion years. In the short term it will survive; and anyway within a century we'll be clearing off to live on another one.
Not to worry, the experts have already decided we need to breed insects to fill the food shortgage. What about population control including involuntary sterilisation if, and where necessary, or is that unacceptable? If it is we ultimately come down to survival of the fittest and a Mad Max scenario.
DeleteGood points Tony - are you still campaigning for a Margate Town Council and no doublehatters?
ReplyDeleteThe LibDems, Greens, Independents and UKIP have shown that the duopoly of Labour and Tory in Thanet (mainly run from Margate too) and KCC is over.
Clive has done nothing in 2 years - Independents should boycott their seats and force a change.
The police investigation into TDC corruption hasn't run its course yet.
Heaven help us, he is back from his spell in the respite home!
Delete