19 February (Part 1) - James Hunted
Councillor Hunt messaged me yesterday evening to say he had been drummed out
of the Conservative Group on Bexley Council and whilst remaining a Conservative
Party Member he would henceforth be an Independent Member of Bexley Council. It
came as a complete surprise; I was expecting Councillor Dourmoush to leave and
I knew another who was going to stand down in 2026 for personal reasons, but
never suspected that James was in the firing line.
James has been an occasional BiB correspondent since 2011, not as a
tittle-tattler but
a supporter through difficult times; like when the recent Reform UK candidate
had me charged with Harassment for reporting her disagreement with Bexley
Council over a house sale and the infamous libel case. Then more recently when
she demanded £4,800 damages after I briefly mentioned her in the run up to the election.
That will be an impediment if he ever thinks of switching parties. James knows too much.
Why someone who served as Mayor twice in recent years has suddenly fallen into
disfavour I am unsure. Presumably the Leader has something to do with it. The
Leader who refused to take action against her predecessor who misappropriated
Council funds, the Leader who was in favour of appointing a candidate with a
police record and the Leader who the Police Borough Commander told me asked for
certain favours to protect her colleagues.
I know for certain that some Labour supporters are extraordinarily disreputable
individuals who will stoop to any low level to discredit anyone they see as the
opposition and it would be surprising if the Conservative Party did not harbour
similar people, although they may well be more expert at hiding it.
Two weeks ago I received a phone call from a ‘ֹPrivate Number’ and it was clearly
from a Council source. It made derogatory comments about James Hunt although
that was not the prime purpose of the call. I dismissed the comments about James
and made no notes about what was said, although I did about the other things mentioned.
I have been referred to the Bexley and Sidcup News and Views Facebook Group but I
immediately stumbled upon names which I know to be Labour activists
spreading poison making their views known. To my mind
their opinions are barely worth reading. Labour Party members are pretty good at
manipulating Facebook Groups and that is a reference back to the days of Danny
Hackett being my local Councillor. He was at one time a Moderator and personally
signed me up to a Group while we were both sitting in a pub one day.
Bexley Tories are making a habit of losing Councillors and probably the Leader
and her supporters are the common factor.
Councillor Felix
di Netimah when he resigned said “The Leader of the group and I clashed on a great many
things. She won and I lost. That’s it.”
No doubt this story has further to run but blogging at a quarter past midnight is probably not a good idea.