16 March (Part 1) - The police state of Bexley
The police were outside the Civic Centre again last night, summoned by a
panicky Chief Executive seeing trouble where none exists. Two hundred odd
thousand a year for someone whose management style owes more to the headless
chicken than the wily old fox. The police wouldn’t tell me how many of them
turned out to protect the cabinet from the people and responded in an unfriendly
manner when I asked. There may well have been ten.
The warnings about no audio or video recording or photography were in evidence
as they were a week ago and the reception area was graced by a bouncer employed
to search and deal with anyone that the council didn’t like. I was told there
were more at the back door. However the council door staff were back to their
jovial selves and had clearly come to their senses far earlier than the top
brass. The ‘No photography’ rule was employed literally rather than the ‘No
cameras’ of last week. I walked in with a large camera bag stuffed with nothing
but a notebook and a pen but no one seriously queried it, not even the bouncer
who wasn’t displaying his SIA accreditation. However it was all good natured
banter and he happily showed it on request.
The public had turned out for the cabinet meeting in their usual large numbers,
there were five of ‘the gang’ closely associated with this website and three
more with looser associations. Apart from that the assembled throng consisted of
just one woman, so more cops than residents. No press was in evidence as they
know that this cabinet meeting was just a ritual to be gone through as quickly
as possible with nothing said that wasn’t agreed beforehand and published.
The council leader Teresa O’Neill in the chair doesn’t have much to do;
unlike the mayor at the full council meeting where the opposition (of the
elected and unelected variety) are allowed in. As such the leader was able to act
out her role without difficulty. It’s not a pantomime but
it is well rehearsed with the occasional topical joke. Councillor Catterall tried to
toss one in by making suggestions after a long presentation on Bexley’s
‘Core Strategy’ but he didn’t get any laughs, indeed the remainder
of the cabinet looked on disapprovingly as the councillor made the cardinal sin
of mistaking a rubber stamp machine for a debate. It fell to councillor John Waters (Danson
Park, £12,864 and TIC Director) to be prat-of-the-night
by preaching to his fellow Tory cabinet members that the cause of all the borough’s
ills was the last Labour government. Yes John, we know that this cabinet is not from the
top drawer but surely even they don’t need another reminder. Then, suddenly it was all
over. 38 minutes, ten cops, several bouncers (someone is already lining up the FOI on the
cost), nine members of the public, no press and no protests.