xPcTCxMP(Ind) under spotlight
REGULAR readers will know our keen interest in following the machinations of the county council’s standards board hearings, a deeply mysterious process in which Joe Public is given tantalising, but sadly amoebic bits of information (certainly no names) on the county council’s website and then – in the event of someone actually being nobbled such as Lib Dem Dick Giddings was last December – the only mention of a name comes in the form of a public notice strategically buried in a local free sheet which hardly anybody sees.
Anyway, we hear that another standards board investigation is lurking in the wings, this time involving, allegedly, xPcTCxMP(Ind). Aufona hears the former Northampton South Labour MP, now batting for the independents, has landed in hot water over a blog he posted last year in which he called on people to interfere with their street lights as part of a direct action against the big lights switch-off. If you need a reminder, it went something like this: “Make sure you are completely safe and qualified to carry out the task at hand, this is not a task for the DIY enthusiast, do not put others at risk, ensure all lamp boxes are securely locked after you have visited them”. Et cetera, et cetera. It was also followed up with some gusto in the fine newspaper you are reading now.
What gives this little complaint an extra frisson of excitement is the complainant is understood to be Councillor Malcolm Waters. Yes, who was also our reaction, but apparently he’s been the member for Redwell in Wellingborough since 2005. This is certainly the first time he’s crossed Aufona’s radar.
Now five months may have passed since an angry Malcolm first made his complaint, but that doesn’t mean anything much has happened in the interim. What will be interesting is to see whether it actually comes to anything. Politicians have a favourite adjective for describing certain complaints made against them about their conduct. It’s vexatious. We couldn’t possibly comment beyond saying the rough definition of vexatious is that of an action that has little chance of winning, but every chance of causing annoyance to the person being complained about . . .
GOOD work by BBC online which posted a revelatory story on Valentine’s Day headlined: “Northamptonshire council’s (sic) Rosemary Bromwich portrait criticised”. It went on to tell us how the £3,000 spent on the Cornish councillor’s portrait at County Hall had been a “slap in the face” for voters. This was according to Labour councillor Danielle Stone (that would be the borough councillor then). Two months ago when we ran the same story Professor Brendan Glynane described it as “a kick in the teeth” so, apart from the time, nothing much has moved on this one . . .
Speaking of the Professor, full marks to his crew who were up at 4am leafleting Towcester last Thursday. It did the job. Not sure how Rosie received the news. By carrier pigeon possibly.
WHILE still in Cornwall, Aufona was delighted to stumble upon one of Northampton’s municipal leviathans of recent years. Yes, former Guildhall supremo Mairi McLean is now living down there running a consultancy business called Manage Cornwall. Mairi left the authority in 2007 while the Larratt/Hadland administration was in its death throes. She allegedly received a handsome sum, rumoured to be £300,000, for her efforts during a relatively brief 27-month tenure, a tenure during which Northampton Borough Council was infamously tagged with the logo “Britain’s Worst Council” following a damning Comprehensive Performance Assessment. Needless to say her website doesn’t dwell too long on Northampton.
A FINAL word on Binners who gave a quote on Wednesday to the Daily Telegraph (the paper he famously fell out with after they called him a “millionaire”). Like “Sven” Bone, Binners is fast becoming a go-to man when the press wants a Tory MP prepared to stand up and give the PM a verbal kicking. So there he was objecting to Professor Les Ebdon being appointed as the new university tsar, an appointment which the DT claimed the PM was powerless to stop. Brian weighed in with this: “Prof Ebdon is not the best man for the job. They ought to spread their net wider and not go for a patsy from the university sector but somebody from outside who can bring a wider view to the job.” That’s told Dave . . .
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