5 April - Walking in, taking over and having it both ways
When I met Anna Firth (Erith & Thamesmead Conservative Parliamentary Candidate) I
found her easy to get on with and her policies appealed to a lapsed Conservative
like me. Unlike her, I try to steer away from provocative statements on Twitter. Too often when I post a
comment there I soon regret it. Anna recognised its dangers too and wondered whether
it was a productive use of time. Whatever her private view of Twitter might be
it has not stopped her being a prolific contributor.
If I have commented on it it’s been on BiB rather than Twitter. In particular
that Mrs. Firth possibly
over
egged her photos of piles of rubbish in the street
while apparently believing that no one had ever done that before. Today however I
stepped into the Twitter fray with a comment about Anna’s Splash Park petition.
I have not as yet regretted it.
As
you will know, I don’t think Bexley council will take any notice of a petition,
the only language they understand is hard cash.
Belvedere’s Labour councillor Daniel Francis has been running around for months seeking a money
tree and has had some success. Cory Environmental which runs the Belvedere
incinerator is always good for a decent donation - hence
the Cory Bridge over the A2016 in Thamesmead - and there have been plenty of
hints in the council chamber that another £100,000 or so might be forthcoming.
Councillor Sawyer has said often enough that if - and only if - the money is
found to save the Splash Park it will be saved.
I have no idea from where Anna Firth thinks she might get more money but maybe
it helps to have a husband who is a top banker, and I would not entirely
discount Bexley Tories deciding they can afford to save the park and attempting
to give Anna the credit.
If Anna Firth can find the money it will be well done her but as has been said many times, petitions,
deputations and consultations in Bexley are a complete waste of time, so the posters that
have been going up in the local shops are entirely political in nature.
The shopping street shown below is Nuxley Road, Belvedere and prominent is
Flynn’s Bakery. It has a copy of Anna Firth’s Conservative poster in its window (Small
photo 3) and so does the hairdresser (Photos 1 and 2). It’s not very common for individual shops
to support a political party as it risks annoying half their customers. I wouldn’t
be surprised if they are removed by Tuesday when the owners realise they have been duped.
The ‘official’ Splash Park campaign poster is shown in Photo 4.
Before the election countdown started, Teresa Pearce (Erith & Thamesmead
Parliamentary Labour candidate) expressed the hope to me that that constituency’s campaign
would be a clean one. I suppose that would be too much to ask with Philip Read involved.
As a still floating voter I am deeply suspicious of a leading member (until very recently a committee
member) of Erith & Thamesmead Tories proposing the Splash Park closure while his chosen
Parliamentary Candidate works to keep it open and attempts to take over and divide the residents’ petition.
As yet Anna Firth has not done anything very obvious that might save the Splash
Park while, largely unseen it is true, Belvedere Labour councillor Daniel
Francis has fought against the “the splash park has got to close” mentality of certain Tories and
secured a rethink of the closure proposal and found a few extra quid too. If
Anna is the one who finds the money to save it it will be because of an underhand back room deal.