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News and Comment December 2013

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12 December (Part 2) - Cheryl Bacon tipped for the Christmas No. 1

As measured by correspondence received, councillor Cheryl Bacon has knocked councillor Peter Craske from Bexley’s top spot. For being Bexley’s most prolific source of untrue statements that is.

Whilst there appears to be 100% acceptance by correspondents that the story attributed to Cheryl Bacon’s is totally discredited, advice on where to go next with it varies. Most advice, in fact pretty much all of it, says keep on putting the boot in but it has also been suggested that I should go back to reporting what others do and for the reporter to get involved in the fray is somehow unseemly.

Fundamentally I agree and in the past I’ve had some minor arguments with the crew who now call themselves the Bexley Action Group (see picture) because they wanted me to directly engage in their activities; the FOIs, the questions to council, the petitions, the complaints etc. but I prefer to be the reporter, and not only because there is no time for anything else.

Never asking questions, not usually complaining and avoiding FOI requests has paid dividends several times but there will always be limits to restraint. Bexley’s obscene blog must be an obvious exception but Bacon‘s libellous statement is a little more debatable. I suspect if I had left the complaining to Mick Barnbrook almost as much could be made of it and the case would still be going to the police etc. Complaining about Cheryl Bacon’s lies may not have been my best decision but what is done is done and I don’t regret it.

It has been suggested (I paraphrase here) that having beaten Will Tuckley to a pulp I should lay off him because it is now obvious to all that there is no truth in Bacon’s claim I was rampaging out of control in the council chamber on 19th June. There is, I’m told, no longer any need to save my reputation.

I’m not sure that was ever my aim, much more likely is that I saw an opportunity to expose another councillor as a liar and impetuously rushed in.


Four complainantsMy own reputation doesn’t matter very much, not within certain limits anyway. At my age I shall never again go looking for a job, apply for credit, look for new friends on a dating site or apply for membership of the Conservative party. I am pretty much immune from that sort of pressure. Being falsely accused of calling out and waving papers at a council meeting is not exactly life changing for anyone, certainly not for me. To be honest I wish I had been born with the guts to stand in Nicholas Dowlings’ shoes asking to record Cheryl’s meeting, but I haven’t got what it takes, hence the hiding away in silence while Bacon made a fool of herself.

Bacon on the other hand has political aspirations and husband Gareth hob-nobs with Boris Johnson for a king’s ransom and Will Tuckley gets an even bigger one for doing very little. They have reputations to protect and whilst it is arguably unkind to hand them as much publicity as possible I have long since lost any sympathy for them. These are the people who are content to see Bexley residents put behind bars based on the lies they tell.

Will Tuckley may well be baiting me as one friend suggests but so long as I always report the truth and he supports a liar he can’t damage me very much. Where I agree with the friend is that Tuckley has probably already lined up the Local Government Ombudsman and the police via Common Purpose or whatever to ensure that Bexley council is immune from official criticism. But does that really matter? It all helps show just how far corruption goes within the British establishment.

Whether I shall personally complain to the outside bodies or pass my file to Mr. Barnbrook to handle is currently in the lap of the gods.

May I thank those who were prepared to spend time giving me the benefit of their thoughts? Most people simply sit on the sidelines and while they do so Bexley council will remain the dishonest organisation it undoubtedly is.

Tuckley is unlikely to have an answer to my last message so with luck the subject will not arise again until next year. I’ve not sent a single Christmas card yet and I really ought to do something about it.

 

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