3 January (Part 2) - Following Elwyn
Long term readers may remember that Elwyn Bryant was the man with whom I was
falsely accused on a blog of having homosexual relations in Bexley’s Civic
Centre and leaving the place in a sticky mess. Our accuser was Cabinet Member
Peter Craske and the police traced the source of the story to his IP address as
well as finding the text on his computer along with another similar in nature.
Craske may have behaved in a disgusting manner but what is far more concerning is that
his judgment can be so poor and that we have in Teresa O’Neill a Council Leader
who thinks it is perfectly OK to appoint someone like him to a senior position.
Some might question why he passes the Conservative Party’s candidate selection process.
For new readers I should add that Craske was arrested and the source of the
offensive accusation was proved to be his internet connection and the same blog was found on his computer.
There was also clear evidence that Bexley Council and Bexley Police conspired to
ensure no charges would be brought. Both the Metropolitan Police and the
Independent Office for Police Conduct refused to comment on that, to do so might
have confirmed the view of the Detective Sergeant in Bexley, that the case was
mired in political interference.
But enough of that, where does Elwyn fit into this blog?
A couple of months ago he had a nasty fall and it will be a long time before he
recovers sufficiently to actively engage with Bexley Council. To help pass the
time, a mutual friend, Mick Barnbrook, suggested he participated in Twitter.
Mick is a bit of an expert at Twitter and has rapidly attracted 8,000 followers
through criticising various authority figures, notably Theresa May and Cressida
Dick, while making the most of his retired police officer status.
After several nudges in the right direction Elwyn found an eleven year old
willing to set up a Twitter account for him and @elwyn211 was born. Twitter added the
numerical suffix, there must be more Elwyns than one might guess.
Elwyn lives in James Brokenshire’s constituency and I am probably not
misrepresenting him if I say that his opinion of his MP has been on a downward
slide for several years. It may have started when Elwyn was trying to get the
police to take his complaint about Peter Craske’s obscene blog seriously and
James Brokenshire said it would be “inappropriate” for him to offer assistance. I suppose
doing something that could have put a political colleague behind bars might be
difficult and dishonourable members must always put party before constituents.
By contrast my MP Teresa Pearce twice gave me the use of her office in
Portcullis House to meet with police officers.
Elwyn
has not yet become a prolific Tweeter like @sleazebuster Mick but he did vent
his annoyance at James Brokenshire’s Conservative Association website backing
Theresa May’s EU surrender plan for which he received far more likes that BiB’s Tweets ever do.
He has a good point that
Old Bexley and Sidcup Conservative Association backing May’s Brexit In Name
Only agreement pokes two fingers up at Brokenshire’s constituents who voted 63%
in favour of EU withdrawal however in the spirit of fairness I would guess the
Association didn’t have much say in the matter.
A click on the OBSCA web link will take you to the nonsense posted on their
Central Office website for which one cannot entirely blame James Brokenshire.
The same link may be found on every other local Conservative Association website I have
checked including that of David Evennett in Bexleyheath and Crayford who has
taken a far more democratic position on Brexit than his constituency neighbour.
The summary of the Withdrawal Agreement to which OBSCA links contains at
least two phrases which must surely must make it totally unacceptable. “Commits
both sides to use best endeavours to ensure the backstop is never used” and
“Either the UK or the EU can trigger to review the arrangements, which could
ultimately lead to the backstop ceasing to apply”. Could and best endeavours. Ugh!
If I was to be generous towards Theresa May’s betrayal of the referendum result
I might say it could be the best we were likely to get from a Remainer who
undermined successive Brexit Secretaries for two years but her agreement relies too much on
the goodwill of European politicians who will act only in the best interests of
themselves and will not give a thought to the well being of Great Britain. Only
people with no pride in themselves or their country could possibly want to belong to such a club.
I might question whether the EU Withdrawal Agreement has the full support of the OBSCA,
their members include Councillors (perhaps they should think about updating
the list) who are just as much in favour of Brexit as Elwyn is.
However it is hard to disagree with Elwyn’s final point; unless the
Conservatives show themselves to be in favour of democracy within the next few
weeks it will certainly be a case of ‘Never vote Tory again’.