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News and Comment August 2013

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16 August (Part 2) - Colin Campbell says council meetings suffer “planned disruption”. Council says it has issued no warnings

OpportunitesAmong the things published last week in the Bexley Times was deputy leader Colin Campbell’s assertion that members of the public are able to ask questions and present petitions. Half truths at best. No committee chairman has ever allowed a question. Councillors Alan Downing, Eileen Pallen and Alex Sawyer have all refused to take a question in recent memory. When Mick Barnbrook asked a question, viz. Would councillor Craske switch his microphone on so that the hearing loop worked he was told in writing that his question had disrupted the meeting. To the best of my knowledge no committee chairman has ever accepted a question although on just one occasion councillor Downing said he would accept a question directed at the police - but not at councillors.

The Bexley Times extract shown here may not make it clear that it refers to committee meetings but the original article does. Petitions are usually ignored - councillor Sybil Camsey famously saying that they are not worth the paper they are written on - and sometimes not accepted at all.

Disruption
However this further example of a Colin Campbell lie is small beer. What about his claim on TV that “There is a small group with a history of disrupting meetings and being abusive” and “you’ve got a group of people who are being abusive, they are breaking up the meeting”. He said much the same thing to the Bexley Times - see associated image. Is he being a big time prevaricator again? You bet he is.

With a group of people attending all the most important council meetings planning deliberate disruption you might have expected council patience to have worn thin and they would at least have issued some warnings.

Obviously I know that hasn’t happened and none of what Campbell said is true or anywhere near being true but I don’t expect you to take my word for it. One of Mick Barnbrook’s FOIs was called for again.

FOI
And the answer is inevitably none.
Response
Bexley’s senior councillors do not tell the truth. Q.E.D.

 

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