13 June (Part 3) - Tory turmoil
Considering that there were no journalists present at the Planning meeting,
the events of that evening got into a surprising number of news outlets. Almost
needless to say it was not all accurate. But even for those in attendance some things were not entirely clear.
I and those around me initially thought the vote had gone against Go Ape because
the sightlines in the chamber are so poor for those forced to sit behind
Councillors. I left the meeting not knowing who had voted for the proposal and what soon
appeared on Social Media didn’t help.
Five for and five against is not a win.
My easily accessible contacts were no wiser than I was so taking the bull by
the horns I emailed the Chairman of the Planning Committee to give him the opportunity to ensure that
no errors crept into my reporting. If the SM graphic was correct it could be
that a Labour Councillor had abstained leaving the Chairman to vote for a positive result.
However the Chairman, I have been told, doesn’t look at Council emails when at
work so won’t see my message until Monday at least so that got me nowhere. (A
private message said that the Chairman was initially confused too and had to double check the result
after so many Councillors had voiced concerns.)
In the event my own photograph
(Photo 1, right) showed Labour Councillor Abi Johnson (Thamesmead East) voting in
favour of Go Ape. One might guess that Councillors from Thamesmead East will
have no great interest in residents of Danson Road and Welling.
Reform UK Councillors Oke Ene (Crayford) and Chris Purfield (Northumberland
Heath) in the white shirt in Photo 3 voted against Go Ape. Because I have not
yet upset Reform Councillors as much as some others I was able to ask them
why they were anti. They had asked for assurances that all the revenue raised
would be spent on improving Bexley’s parks but Bexley Tories had said they would
rather fritter the money away on anything but; like servicing debts
and
far too many pension advisers.
Social media comments to the effect that Reform Councillors voted for Go Ape are
totally untrue and may be the product of those
malicious and sometimes fictitious Labour activists again.
Those voting For were Conservatives Terry Barcock, Kurtis Christoforides, June
Slaughter and Thomas Clapperton. Also For were Labour’s Larry Ferguson and Abi Johnson
Barry Saunders, David Li and Oscar Harrison (Conservative) voted Against along with Chris Purfield and Oke Ene, both Reform. Presumably the Conservative election material
that said it was Reform that builds on green spaces was a lie.
Members of the public were impressed by Councillor Slaughter’s 16 points of
concern but they were presumably unaware that Councillor Slaughter has made a
habit of speaking against proposals and then voting for them. Building on Old
Farm Park and moving Sidcup Library to smaller premises in the High Street spring immediately to mind.
The
thing that got the meeting into the newspapers
and GB News
was Councillor Barry Saunders’ (Conservative, Falconwood & Welling) comments
about feral youths from out of the borough coming to Bexleyheath for its
nightlife and causing trouble. That is something widely reported before Barry
was elected and is not really news anymore. But he went further and said they might be responsible for decapitating cats.
Contrary to press reports, no one batted an eyelid about his dead cat story.
However the allegation that he said that the youths are responsible for abducting
children would appear to be entirely fictional. I have listened to the webcast twice and have yet to pick that up.
Nevertheless it will be nice to have a Tory Councillor who believes in straight
talking. One must hope he survives the Kangaroo Court
I had to be up and out by five the following meeting so did not hang around
after the meeting for a moment longer than necessary, which was a mistake because I missed the
interval events involving Security. Apparently it wasn’t the protesters kicking
up a stink but a disappointed Councillor Dave Curtois. (Photo 5.) There are plenty of
people prepared to say that he was calling fellow Tories scumbags and shouting shame on you. (Photo 6.)
However he is definitely a popular man when it comes to the protesters. He was
on the receiving end of several hugs and kisses from audience members.
Back out on Broadway I walked alongside, but not with, a gaggle of protesters and
to say they were annoyed with Bexley Council would be an understatement. They
were plotting revenge and how best they could legally cause trouble. Maybe they
too could take recycling retaliation? They all got on a 96 bus to Danson Park and
Welling while I travelled alone on a 229 bound for Thamesmead.
My main fear would be one of Barry Saunders “not nice” vandals getting inside an unlocked park with a knife and hacking into ropes.
Feral youths do not read Bonkers do they?
