8 December (Part 2) - Open and transparent? I don’t think so
Collecting information, taking pictures and writing the blog requires that
time is juggled efficiently and today I got it wrong. One of the research jobs
took longer than anticipated and my doctor surprised me by offering a same day
appointment. And this evening there is another Scrutiny meeting to attend.
There is a public council meeting on Thursday morning too. The Members’ Code of
Conduct Complaints Sub-Committee. They are usually
cancelled because no one can be bothered to make a complaint about a councillor
any more. I tried once and when councillor Craske was caught out
he fabricated a new excuse
which was allowed.
These days the Committee is run by
councillor Cheryl Bacon whose name is right
now in front of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Case Unit and councillor
Nigel Betts who would like to prevent the taking of photographs in the council
chamber, even though that would be illegal. Just the sort of people you would
expect the OBE (Overlooking Bacon’s Errors) to choose to set standards in Bexley.
However on Thursday the almost unprecedented is in prospect, a councillor is to
face Bacon and Betts to answer a complaint at a public meeting.
Except that this public meeting is going to be held in private. Of the 204 pages
in the Agenda, all but eight are blank.
The only possible purpose in a member of the public showing up is to note who goes into Public
Gallery East. As well as the aforementioned rogues, Stefano Borella is on the
committee. Anyone else will be coated in Teflon or tar and feathers
dependent on their political allegiance.
In almost every court of justice in the land the mantra is that justice must be
seen to be done. But not in Bexley where they prefer to hold private meetings that will
“resolve the situation”.