15 April (Part 2) - Red versus blue on the green
I lost count of the number of tip offs received to the effect that Sadiq Khan, Labour’s candidate
for London Mayor, would be in Old Farm Park at around 9 a.m. this morning.
Unfortunately other commitments prevented me looking in and Abbey Wood to Sidcup
at that time in the morning is a very difficult journey. The ‘loop’ train doesn’t
run that early, the bus can easily take an hour and a half (I’ve known worse) and a car is
not a lot better.
Nevertheless a good crowd appears to have turned out and the ‘stolen’ photograph
appears to show that Councillors Alan Deadman and Abena Oppong-Asare were there
along with someone who looks suspiciously like Teresa Pearce MP. (†)
Councillor Rob Leitch will have been in a classroom at the time but I see no
sign of June Slaughter either. She is probably in quite enough trouble with the Great Dictator already.
Except that
the Bexley Times has reported that Sadiq believes "Bexley’s plan to sell off precious green space is a disgrace. Local residents are paying
the price for having a weak Tory mayor and Tory council”, I have no idea what his
answer to the Old Farm problem might be.
We know from the experience with a Tory mayor that
there are no sanctions against a wayward Tory Council. When the Conservatives
regained control of Bexley and decided that the priority was to protect the
Leader’s Brampton seat despite the inevitable economic damage inflicted on the
borough, Boris Johnson rallied round and dutifully cancelled the Thames bridge.
When the folly of that decision became plain for all to see, Boris bent in the other
direction, albeit with the loss of many years and many millions of pounds. Now
we are all paying the price, not least the residents of Sidcup and Old Farm Avenue.
It is tempting to think that a Tory mayor will be of more help to a Tory council
than a Labour one but I think that theory only works with a benign and
well run Tory council, not one that spends so much of its time trying to cover up its
past mistakes and downright dishonesty.
Has James Brokenshire MP ever helped Mr. Bryant in his struggle for justice after being libelled by
Bexley Council’s obscene blog? No, he gets nothing but
carefully chosen words that are of no practical help. Mr. Brokenshire was no less appalled
by what he read on that blog than anyone else but expecting him to defend a resident
against his political pals would be a step too far. On the other hand my Labour
MP had no such inhibitions and provided constant and still ongoing support.
Right now she is in contact with Scotland Yard on my behalf.
Maybe Sadiq Khan could be just as helpful at fighting the excesses of Bexley Council,
certainly he could not do worse than Boris Johnson who may well have been behind the
“political interference” that “crippled” the police investigation into the Bexley
Council inspired criminality. Certainly the Borough’s Police Commander became very agitated and
evasive when asked to comment on the Boris Johnson angle.
My decision on who to vote for is far from made, but not Zac obviously.
† Teresa says it is not her. These phone snaps simply can’t compare with the detail recorded by a decent DSLR.