15 May (Part 2) - Funny business
In all the years I have been writing Bonkers I have only met one Conservative
and one Labour Councillor away from Council premises and both were subsequently
thrown out of their parties. Oh, I am getting forgetful again. The delightful
Mabel Ogundayo helped me organise a meeting of Bexley’s oppressed parents and I
bumped into her on one occasion in an Underground station.
But since last Thursday I have met up with two Reform UK Councillors, plus their
Chairman who was not elected and Lynn Smith who just missed out in Blackfen & Lamorbey.
For several hours; and very interesting it was too.
I learnt a lot about their organisation, their campaign and why it may have
faltered, their hopes and their disappointments and I am not going to leak a
word of it here; but it is incredibly useful background information.
I opened their eyes to some historic injustices and implored them to watch out
for dirty tricks from both established parties who will likely gang up with
each other to do Reform down.
They had already noticed.
They were magnanimous in their praise for some of the old guard, Stefano Borella
(Labour) and Frazer Brooks (Conservative) in particular who reached out to them and I am not
surprised by either. In Longlands it was said to be the reverse where the lady
winner (Conservative) and the lady loser (Labour) rebuffed their approaches.
Disappointing and expected respectively.
This is all rather funny because I have messages from Conservatives to say that
elected Reform Councillors rebuffed them, and yes they are the same people who
had been praised by Reform.
Critics have been saying that Reform candidates either didn’t attend the count
or wouldn't climb the stage for a declaration. In both cases this was due to health issues. I have
a message from a Reform candidate dated the day before the count of the disappointment about not being
fit enough to attend. In politics any old false story will be put around by opponents.
I took the opportunity to ask Eamonn Delaney about his very Irish name and his
London accent. It’s because he was born here as was his wife and two children.
He travels on a British passport.
Ben Hopton, whoever he or she may be, is simply a misinformed troublemaker. A too
effective troublemaker unfortunately.