![Police Called In Over LibDem Leaflet]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 4, 2009 | News |
According to the Sutton Guardian, police have been called in by a Sutton resident on a contravention of electoral law by the LibDems. Regular commenter on this blog, Adrian Short has asked the Special Crimes Unit to investigate Paul Burstow and Tom Brake over claims made in their European election literature which I commented on this morning.
You can see the whole article via the link above but I have reproduced a snippet below:-
Mr Short said: “Let me be very clear that I am not a lawyer and I am not saying that anyone has broken the law.
“However, in my reading of the law, I have formed a suspicion that the law has been broken and, as with all suspected crimes, I have reported it to the police.
“Regardless of the outcome of the legal process, I think it’s very important that people understand that, whichever party they vote for on June 4, their vote will be equally valuable and will help their preferred party to gain MEPs, entirely contrary to what the Lib Dems’ leaflets are saying.”
Bob Steel, the Sutton Green Party chairman, added: “The leaflets are deceitful and patronising.
“They will only further corrode trust in politicians, already at an all-time low.
“Lib Dems apparently have such a low view of their European performance that they devote 90 per cent of their leaflet to trying to dupe voters they are electing Tom Brake to deal with local issues like recycling.”
I agree with Bob Steel. It is disappointing that after nearly quarter of a century running the Borough, the LibDems have run out of steam to such an extent that they feel the need to prop up their remaining hopes through such means. They have asked for proportional representation for years. Now they have it, they seem to have decided that they don’t want to use it after all. If politicians can’t be straight with the public about something so basic, what trust can we have left in them.
by Paul Scully | May 13, 2009 | News |
I came across a German article about ‘Die Umstrittene £8million Sutton Leben Zentrum’ (Controversial £8million Sutton Life Centre) the other day. However, the Germans referred to it as ‘Sutton’s Apocalyptic Playhouse’. Whatever your view of the centre is, the ‘virtual’ nature of the lessons in safety may prevent the situation in the video above.
Of course, British police are very different. I’m not sure that dropping a truncheon on his foot would have garnered the same response. Suffice to say, Sutton’s LibDem councillors don’t need lessons from this DEA agent in how to shoot themselves in the foot.
by Paul Scully | May 7, 2009 | News |
ITV London came to Sutton on Wednesday to cover the story of the Sutton Life Centre. Moving swiftly on from my jauntily-angled hard hat, the parents at Brookfield School said it all, when they pointed out that if the Council are going to lavish money on safety, they would rather have a lollipop lady.
Conservative Home have published an article that I wrote, which you can read here. The Evening Standard and the Metro have also covered the pet project which is costing the equivalent of 10% of all of the Council Tax raised in a year in Sutton.
![Police Called In Over LibDem Leaflet]()
by Paul Scully | May 6, 2009 | News |
In the US television series “24”, Jack Bauer gets everything wrapped up, saving the world in just 24 hours. Back in the real world, it takes the same amount of time for LibDem councillors to realise that they shouldn’t be examining their masters’ decisions without having the full facts in front of them.
The Liberal Democrats took the odd decision to scrutinise how the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre was going only one day after the decision was taken to build the thing. As I’d had 24 hours to read the financial information that was supplied just ahead of the council meeting, the previous evening, I asked several questions based on these papers, including why fees and surveys represented such a high proportion of the total project cost, and why Sutton Council was taking £279k in consultancy fees from its own project.
Lib Dem Cllr Myfanwy Wallace asked why I was the only councillor with this paperwork as she found it difficult to scrutinise the project without it. When I could lift my head from my hands, I exclaimed that it was a shame that she did not pipe up at the Council meeting the day before. It is extraordinary to think that councillors think it is OK to put their hands up to spend £8.5million without the full facts but not when they are asking a few questions after the event, when the builders have gone in. Although I asked about the fanciful expected visitor numbers, the rest of the session rarely lifted above whether jacket potatoes would be served in the cafe. I despair!
The part of the meeting about paperwork can be heard via the box below. The voices that you can here are Cllr Myfanwy Wallace, Cllr Roger Roberts (Chair) and Cllr Graham Tope (Lead Cllr for Community Safety, Leisure & Libraries), all LibDem:-
by Paul Scully | May 5, 2009 | News |
It’s not the most attractive photo that I have featured on my blog in the last 3 years, but it is a whole lot prettier than the top of the drainpipe with the pigeon droppings caked on.
I don’t normally have this sort of morbid fascination with office rainwater drainage, but this happens to be right next to the front door to the Civic Offices. It is the first thing that visitors see, in what might be their only exposure to the Local Authority.
Sutton Council’s motto is “Take Part, Take Pride.” A week of community activities are being planned on this theme, where residents go on a litter pick, or show off their attractive neighbourhood. It is just a shame that the Council cannot keep to its own script.
This has been like this for months. The damp has spread. Further along the gutter leaks, dripping down the side of the building. At the back of the offices overlooking the car park, the box guttering is held together with string.
Meanwhile £2million has been diverted from the budget to maintain and repair council-owned buildings to help pay for the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre.
According to the Sutton Guardian, police have been called in by a Sutton resident on a contravention of electoral law by the LibDems. Regular commenter on this blog, Adrian Short has asked the Special Crimes Unit to investigate Paul Burstow and Tom Brake over claims made in their European election literature which I commented on this morning.
