TORY LEADERS ATTEMPT TO GAG COUNCILLOR

The Extraordinary Cabinet meeting held at Thanet District Council on the 12th January saw members yet again locked in battle over the Montefiore Avenue tennis courts. In a repeat performance of the Council meeting in December the Conservative ruling group tried to stifle the contribution of a leading Labour member.

Councillor Johnston had booked to speak under the Council's 24.1 rules on several items including the removal of certain assets from the Disposal list. She particularly suggested that the Montefiore Avenue land was 'only now on the 12th January 2011' actually being removed from sale.

This was contrary to what Councillor Bayford had announced at Full Council several weeks ago. At that meeting he made an announcement that the Montefiore land had ALREADY been 'removed' by Cabinet and there was no need for the ward Councillors Fenner and Poole and residents to continue to campaign.

In a highly charged meeting several members of the Conservative group had challenged both the ward councillors integrity and the concerns of many in the Labour Group who were worried that the sale of the land had only been held in abeyance pending the outcome of a Village Green application.

At Wednesday evenings Cabinet meeting, when Councilllor Johnston pointed out that this information had been misleading at Full Council Council, Cllr Bayford threatened to have her removed from the Chamber and told her she would not be allowed to continue to participate. Councillor Johnston remained in the Chamber and ensured her points were heard - that the public had been misled.

Councillor Clive Hart, Labour Leader at TDC said after the meeting 'Yet again I have seen my members subjected to insults and attempts made to prevent them doing their work on behalf of the people of Thanet. I had hoped when Councillor Bayford became Leader of the Conservative Group we would see a change of style and tactics from that of his predecessor.

Unfortunately time after time he proves he is just the same. Aided and abetted by Councillors Wise and Wells he allows insults to be thrown at my members'.

Councillor Johnston said after the meeting 'It is very hard to work with people who twist the truth to their own ends. Councillor Bayford has been caught out on this occasion in a very public manner and he should apologise to Councillors Fenner and Poole and the Montefiore Action Group who had to endure his appalling behaviour at Council in December'.
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Notes on other recent events:

At the last full meeting of the council, in late December 2010, residents were given their most revealing glimpse of the Conservative leadership at TDC to date. Whilst the former Tory leader cruelly turned on concerned residents in the public gallery who had managed to attend despite appalling weather conditions, blatantly calling them 'cowards', the current Tory leader was busy trying to gloss over the huge financial costs and enormous amount of wasted council time and energy required to legally fight the passionately held views of our own decent rate paying residents. Under Cllr Bayfords leadership TDC had continued to spend many tens of thousands of pounds on a futile legal fight against Ramsgate and Broadstairs residents concerning much-loved open green space and the Montefiore tennis courts.

At the last Joint Transportation Board meeting of 2010 Cllr Bayford's dismissive views on consulting the Thanet public slipped out and his verbal 'gaffe' was reported in at least one national newspaper.

Last year local residents views in Margate and Cliftonville were totally ignored, and even 'written-out' of reports, during the Dalby Square fiasco, when Cllr Bayford's own cabinet gleefully 'gifted' cherished green public open space to developers.

The Conservative deputy leader Cllr Wise has been extremely insulting to Labour members at several Cabinet meetings and when eventually forced to do so, he had to publicly apologise to Labour Leader Cllr Clive Hart for posting anonymous comments about him on the internet.

Tory Cabinet member Cllr Wells often makes appallingly derogatory comments about opposition members of the council, quite openly and nastily attacking anyone who doesn't agree with his particular views, and it's not just councillors he insults. In referring to our own local residents during one public meeting at TDC he even used the term 'there are too many inbreds in Thanet'.


Published by Thanet Labour Group Press Office, 44 Northdown Road, Margate, Kent. CT9 2RW.