My local council

5 Sep 2010

Quote by awayman

However, all councillors are required to treat people with respect - it's part of the standards regime introduced by the last government, which this government wants to abolish. Wonder why that is?

Because it quite simply oppresses the freedom of individuals who wish to serve their communities. It created a whole new layer of unaccountable faceless individuals hell bent on Councillor bashing putting them in fear of having to go on a course to learn respect when engaged in heated debate with fellow councillors trying to negotiate the best deal for the community.
It also meant signing your life away; Local Councillors had a much more rigid regime than MP's did and there was little if any right to appeal.
Many Councillors I knew, including myself, resigned on the introduction of these draconian measures. It was a typical knee jerk reaction sledge hammer to crack a very tiny nut. The majority of local Councillors were dedicated people, never claimed a penny in expenses and did it simply for the love of the their community, as I did.
Guess who paid for these draconian measures?
The local tax payer, every time and it did no more than encourage many of those Councillors who remained (and those elected since) to bleed the system for every penny they can get to compensate them for the imposition.
I haven't read such tosh for years.
Standards panels on councils, who do the bulk of the work under the Standards code, aren't faceless; they're made up of council members!
The idea that council members should be free to be racist, violent or offensive is simply nonsense; councils had failed to regulate themselves, so along came the Standards Board.
I'm sorry you resigned as a councillor rather than live under the Standards regime, but, frankly, your misunderstanding and misrepsentation of it isn't much of an advert for your skills.
dunno

5 Sep 2010

Quote by GnV

The idea that council members should be free to be racist, violent or offensive is simply nonsense; councils had failed to regulate themselves, so along came the Standards Board.
I'm sorry you resigned as a councillor rather than live under the Standards regime, but, frankly, your misunderstanding and misrepsentation of it isn't much of an advert for your skills.

Let's get one or two bits in correct perspective.
Nowhere in my piece did I for once say directly or otherwise that council members should be free to be racist, violent or offensive. My view then as now is quite the contrary.
As I did not serve in public office under the Standards regime, I merely reported the facts behind my decision not to seek re-election before it came into play as did a number of other Councillors up and down the Country at the time. You therefore have no basis to say that I misunderstood or misrepresented it and that it in some way calls my skills into question. You do not know me, had no experience of my time in local government or my achievements and are therefore completely unqualified to make such a judgement.
So you stood down over something that hadn't happened and which you didn't understand? You used the word faceless to describe people involved in the Standards regime and haven't rebutted the point that the majority of decisions involving standards breaches are taken locally by elected members - hardly faceless.

5 Sep 2010

Quote by Stevie J
kentswingers777
Can I suggest you approach your local councillor and ask them to spend a day or a week shadowing them to see that they do and what they are responsible for?

I would rather eat worms actually.
The tragedy about you Kenty is that you're all mouth and no trousers. It's all words and no action. You sit back and moan like f*** about what you see is wrong but lack the conviction to get involved and fix it. Empty vessels do indeed make the most noise.

5 Sep 2010

Quote by awayman
So you stood down over something that hadn't happened and which you didn't understand? You used the word faceless to describe people involved in the Standards regime and haven't rebutted the point that the majority of decisions involving standards breaches are taken locally by elected members - hardly faceless.

At the time my dear friend, they were faceless because the regime had not yet been put in place.
Simple really.
You missed the main point of course. The reason many resigned their seats or chose not to seek re-election was because of the massive unwelcome and unnecessary intrusion into their private lives for no measurable benefit. The Standards regime was a very small part of the whole.
I think in one case, a whole Council resigned en-bloc in protest but it was such a long time ago and you are such an authority on these things of course.
For my part, I have no reason to be ashamed of my achievements nor do I have to explain myself beyond what I have already said on the subject.

5 Sep 2010

barnet seems to be a similar council to kenty's one
i enjoyed reading this

5 Sep 2010

Quote by Stevie J
The tragedy about you Kenty is that you're all mouth and no trousers. It's all words and no action. You sit back and moan like f*** about what you see is wrong but lack the conviction to get involved and fix it. Empty vessels do indeed make the most noise.

Get involved?
I would not have the patience to get involved with people who are clueless in doing their jobs.
I have a fecking business to run, trying to keep staff in work...you really think I want to waste what little time I have with my family, dealing with people like this?
It is never as simple as people like yourself make out.
As I have already said...........drivel.

5 Sep 2010

Quote by Stevie J
kentswingers777
Can I suggest you approach your local councillor and ask them to spend a day or a week shadowing them to see that they do and what they are responsible for?

I would rather eat worms actually.
The tragedy about you Kenty is that you're all mouth and no trousers. It's all words and no action. You sit back and moan like f*** about what you see is wrong but lack the conviction to get involved and fix it. Empty vessels do indeed make the most noise.
dunno

5 Sep 2010

i have noticed less controversial council activity since dear ol mr pickle has been overseeing things
after the departure of labour
wonders why wink

5 Sep 2010

Quote by Bluefish2009
kentswingers777
Can I suggest you approach your local councillor and ask them to spend a day or a week shadowing them to see that they do and what they are responsible for?

I would rather eat worms actually.
The tragedy about you Kenty is that you're all mouth and no trousers. It's all words and no action. You sit back and moan like f*** about what you see is wrong but lack the conviction to get involved and fix it. Empty vessels do indeed make the most noise.
dunno

Do not fret Blue...some people are all bulge but no cock. lol

It is all bollocks. :twisted:

6 Sep 2010

just the usual suspects using personal attacks to get the tread locked blue
:smoke:

6 Sep 2010

Quote by Lizaleanrob
just the usual suspects using personal attacks to get the tread locked blue
:smoke:

I don't believe it!

6 Sep 2010

:laughabove::laughabove:

6 Sep 2010

Bloody typical...#]

6 Sep 2010

Quote by Lizaleanrob
just the usual suspects using personal attacks to get the tread locked blue
:smoke:

Having read back through at least a couple of pages, I can't actually see where anyone's really tried to do that TBQH Rob? dunno

I'm possibly being a bit obtuse, but the deabating style seems to be common currency on here of late, and I'm wondering right now who the usual suspects are meant to be, and pondering on your own motivations in posting ^that^ bit up there? :?
Forums eh? It's just a massive read between the lines fest! lol

;)
N x x x ;)

6 Sep 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
I have a fecking business to run, trying to keep staff in work...you really think I want to waste what little time I have with my family, dealing with people like this?

So busy, but you still find the time to spend countless hours every week surfing and posting on this forum! Excuses, excuses...

6 Sep 2010

Quote by Stevie J
I have a fecking business to run, trying to keep staff in work...you really think I want to waste what little time I have with my family, dealing with people like this?

So busy, but you still find the time to spend countless hours every week surfing and posting on this forum! Excuses, excuses...
Countless hours?
Seeing as your obviously now an expert on how much time I spend on line, would you care to tell me how exactly?
Or is it the usual drivel?
I will await your reply as I am genuinely interested, so I can work out the hourly rate.
But let me TELL you a little fact.
I work roughly a twelve hour day and some days it can be fourteen, but let us for arguements sake say twelve.
Then I spend eight hours sleeping which is now twenty hours out of twenty four. Two hours shagging lol

and one hour doing paper work at home...right lets add that up. That leaves one hour per day to surf on line, I wish.
So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

6 Sep 2010

Quote by kentswingers777
So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.

6 Sep 2010

Quote by northwest-cpl

So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.
Somehow anyone who would do that would have to be a bit of a saddo..........don't ya think?

6 Sep 2010

Quote by northwest-cpl

So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao:
I'm not ashamed to admit I actually did the profile > forum posts thingie, just to be well researched with some actual statistics you understand, but the search button seemingly hates me? It works for you northwest-cpl, but not for some others, so in the end I went with a more subjective evaluation of yer overly verbose, overly vocal, all too frequent posting style, peppered it with a bit of 'doth protest too much', and came to much the same conclusion? confused

;)
N x x x ;)

6 Sep 2010

Well fuck me Neil...........how sad are you? :grin:
Congratulations for being the one and only King of the train spotters....you got a mac to match as well? lol

Fuck some strange peeps on here, with obviously more fucking time on their hands than I do. :twisted:

6 Sep 2010

Sorry about the language.
But really........

6 Sep 2010

Quote by kentswingers777

So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.
Somehow anyone who would do that would have to be a bit of a saddo..........don't ya think?
Not at all, just a little bit of research - it's just not on google. View your forum posts and they're all listed in order with the times clearly shown. Probably more than an hour a day eh? So not having the time doesn't really cut it as an excuse as to why you just gripe about things but never get off your arse to try and do anything about them.
If you make silly statements then you should expect people to pull you up on them.

6 Sep 2010

:rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Kenny, I've made approximately three posts in around sixteen days, yet a mere three minutes after my last, you clearly felt an overwhelming need to respond, in a style we have all grown all too accustomed to, and a mere three minutes after that, you seemingly felt an overwhelming need to apologise for your previous behaviour? dunno

Go figure? confused

Night. ;)
N

7 Sep 2010

Quote by northwest-cpl

So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.
Somehow anyone who would do that would have to be a bit of a saddo..........don't ya think?
Not at all, just a little bit of research - it's just not on google. View your forum posts and they're all listed in order with the times clearly shown. Probably more than an hour a day eh? So not having the time doesn't really cut it as an excuse as to why you just gripe about things but never get off your arse to try and do anything about them.
If you make silly statements then you should expect people to pull you up on them.
What silly as in just like your profile? At an age of 109 you really must be the oldest swingers in town!!
Oh and have a look at the time. I have just arrived at work and no doubt yourself and the other member who stated I should find the time to do something about it, are no doubt tucked up in your ikkle beds.
Not fair really is it?

7 Sep 2010

Quote by neilinleeds
just the usual suspects using personal attacks to get the tread locked blue
:smoke:

Having read back through at least a couple of pages, I can't actually see where anyone's really tried to do that TBQH Rob? dunno

I'm possibly being a bit obtuse, but the deabating style seems to be common currency on here of late, and I'm wondering right now who the usual suspects are meant to be, and pondering on your own motivations in posting ^that^ bit up there? :?
Forums eh? It's just a massive read between the lines fest! lol

;)
N x x x ;)
well Neil. looking at the parts underlined by blue it looks pretty clear
having seen a few goods threads locked or removed of late after the same sort of personal posting designed to create abusive posting/reaction
but then i gather that's something you learn when you work or have worked for the council wink

i doubt you would see it, but then it might be be because you align your self more with these posters as apposed to seeing whats actually written :dry:

7 Sep 2010

Quote by GnV

So you stood down over something that hadn't happened and which you didn't understand? You used the word faceless to describe people involved in the Standards regime and haven't rebutted the point that the majority of decisions involving standards breaches are taken locally by elected members - hardly faceless.

At the time my dear friend, they were faceless because the regime had not yet been put in place.
Simple really.
You missed the main point of course. The reason many resigned their seats or chose not to seek re-election was because of the massive unwelcome and unnecessary intrusion into their private lives for no measurable benefit. The Standards regime was a very small part of the whole.
I think in one case, a whole Council resigned en-bloc in protest but it was such a long time ago and you are such an authority on these things of course.
For my part, I have no reason to be ashamed of my achievements nor do I have to explain myself beyond what I have already said on the subject.
I know of one parish council who threatened to resign en bloc. Yes, I probably am an expert on such issues.
The fact that some parish councillors thought it intrusive for them to have to declare an interest if their family might specifically benefit from a matter under discussion says more about the sorry ethical state of parish councils than anything else. Similarly with the need to register significant shareholdings in companies that have an interest in a matter under discussion.
Back in 2002 the cretins at the Telegraph, whose viewpoint and needless scaremongering you seem to endorse said

Many suspect that the Government actually wants to see the destruction of the parish council system, which for New Labour has an old-fashioned ring, and its replacement with a network of more widely-spread local authorities.
In the meantime, the concern is that the most local form of democracy in Britain will casually be destroyed as councillors walk away from a thankless task rather than submit themselves to new levels of scrutiny required by central government.

The whole thing was a massive over reaction from the knee jerk tendency of which, on this case, you appear to be a paid up member. Yes, parish councillors do make up the majority of breaches of the standards code, but it's hardly a draconian code and, perversely, the most draconian sentences have been reserved for people who do things not directly related to their duties - a five year ban from office for a Tory councillor found with child porn on his council laptop for instance. (I mention it only because I know the case - I'll bet you can find examples from every party). Far from wanting to abolish parish councils the number of community councils, to give them their proper name, has actually gone up in the last eight years!

7 Sep 2010

Quote by northwest-cpl

So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.
Somehow anyone who would do that would have to be a bit of a saddo..........don't ya think?
Not at all, just a little bit of research - it's just not on google. View your forum posts and they're all listed in order with the times clearly shown. Probably more than an hour a day eh? So not having the time doesn't really cut it as an excuse as to why you just gripe about things but never get off your arse to try and do anything about them.
If you make silly statements then you should expect people to pull you up on them.
if only it was that simple
having spent 5 years trying to get things done with our local council or trying to speak to the CEO was valuable wasted time
after the second trip to the county court and a second rather large kick in the bollocks to the local council
they came to see me :smile2:
now they want to listen .......why ?
because i have a rather large needle that keeps poking there arse and foi request i put in has now become an issue for a national news paper
basically they wanna save their fucking arses now !!!
when they could have done something about it 5 years back when i first raised the issue

7 Sep 2010

Quote by Lizaleanrob

So where you get countless hours from baffles the hell out of me.

I expect he looks at the times when you posted, the number of posts and the length of your posts, probably doesn't add on much for reading, and does a little bit of calculating.
Somehow anyone who would do that would have to be a bit of a saddo..........don't ya think?
Not at all, just a little bit of research - it's just not on google. View your forum posts and they're all listed in order with the times clearly shown. Probably more than an hour a day eh? So not having the time doesn't really cut it as an excuse as to why you just gripe about things but never get off your arse to try and do anything about them.
If you make silly statements then you should expect people to pull you up on them.
if only it was that simple
having spent 5 years trying to get things done with our local council or trying to speak to the CEO was valuable wasted time
after the second trip to the county court and a second rather large kick in the bollocks to the local council
they came to see me :smile2:
now they want to listen .......why ?
because i have a rather large needle that keeps poking there arse and foi request i put in has now become an issue for a national news paper
basically they wanna save their fucking arses now !!!
when they could have done something about it 5 years back when i first raised the issue
Have you ever wondered if your attitude and manner have contributed to the problems you've had getting a speedy resolution?

7 Sep 2010

I have no problem with councillors having to declare a personal or family member interest in a matter under discussion. That is quite right and proper but from memory there were other more serious implications to my rights to privacy concerning the making public of my business accounts which, as a sole trader, were not in the public domain nor subject to public scrutiny as might otherwise be the case with a Limited Liability Company.
I'm glad you used the "e" word.... In business, I used to say that the definition of an expert is that an ex is a has been and a spurt is a big drip under pressure.
Now, I'm sure you don't come under that classification...

7 Sep 2010

Quote by awayman
Have you ever wondered if your attitude and manner have contributed to the problems you've had getting a speedy resolution?

i was very diplomatic and respectful
till i was pulled to one side and told "why don't you fuck off and mind you own business "
followed by "you do know we can make your life a misery if you continue to pursue this matter"
well I'm not one of the five people who are going to loose there jobs over this now
after talking to the new CEO looks like they might even go to prison after the completion of the police investigation
ask me i feel smug wink