The Conservative
Group is deeply concerned at the level of misrepresentation of the Manston
Airport Night Flying debate by the TDC minority Labour administration, and its
attempt to pre-empt the upcoming council debate next Thursday.
The Labour
administration is implying cross party support for its decision to oppose
limited night flights, on the basis that the issue has been discussed at the
Airport Working Party and Overview and Scrutiny Panel. This is not true. Conservative Group members of both Committees have consistently
argued that the public consultation was inadequate and unrepresentative.
Shadow Cabinet
member Cllr Martin Wise said: “We are especially
aggrieved that the Cabinet recommendation to oppose limited night flights includes
the misleading statement that ‘The Council's consultation shows 73% of
respondents are opposed to night-time flying’. This consultation was not
representative of the population of Thanet as a whole. The majority of those who responded were highly
motivated to do so by the very fact of their opposition to night flights. There has been no real consideration of the
views of the wider community, or the potential positive impact for economic
growth and the maintenance or creation of jobs.”
The Consultation
response upon which Labour based its recommendation was also subject to
criticism by Conservative Group members during the process. The statements that a) noise and environmental
impacts are underestimated and b) the number of jobs generated and economic
benefits may be overestimated are not borne out by the specialist reports
commissioned by the council. The
Conservative Group disputes both of those statements.
The potential
benefits to Thanet are particularly important given the area’s high long term
unemployment rates, low earnings and pressure on the local economy from the
withdrawal of Pfizer.
Conservative Leader,
Cllr Bob Bayford stated: “The Labour Party campaigned in 2011 on an anti-night
flights platform. Its sole aim since
then has been to engineer the process to produce the ‘right’ answer for them. This
minority Labour administration is not concerned with the future of Thanet, or
for desperately needed jobs. The Labour
party is only concerned with its own electoral advantage in Ramsgate.”
Cancer Bob seems as thick as two short ones.
ReplyDeleteA debate on night flights now that Infratil are leaving is like debating late night opening at Woolworths.
But even now Cancer Bob fails to mention the aquifer or removed monitors that he's done nothing about as Leader - or fake consultations such as for EUJet.
Or that the job estimates by Infratil were ludicrous. Like Buchanan claiming 75% were in favour of night flights in his weird copy-consultation, or that leaving Manston is a success.
Let's hope pillocks like Cancer Bob and Wise are removed from office as soon as possible.
Preferably to jail for corporate manslaughter.
And Bring Back Bogoievski and the Kiwi criminals for trial.
What a well phrased piece of prose with saucy names too boot. That apart, where are your actual facts or do you make it up as you go along.
DeleteFor penetration purposes, although that could be difficult judging by the skull thickness, a consultation with the current owner, who has not yet sold, could do no harm and is to be preferred to simply kicking the whole project into touch Labour style. But then this is not about airport viability or jobs is it? It is all about Labour voters and keeping the dependent surfs grateful to their political masters. Much the same as getting rid of grammar scghools because they have a nasty tendency to turn kids from good Labour homes into Tories.
What a sick sad party still stuck in some cloth cap class war of an earlier century. Blair tried to reform it but failed for the dinosaurs are still out there.
The scariest thing is that he or she is actually walking around somewhere. Makes you shiver.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem pertinent to remind the Tories that, until now, the views of the people of Ramsgate have not been properly represented or taken into account in decision making. We've had ten years of politicians who don't live in the flight paths banging on about the economic potential of the airport; economic potential which has failed to come to anything. It's high time we had a fresh approach and putting the people first makes a welcome change. For Tories who are hell bent on doing something deeply damaging and with little economic justification I would advise doing it in their own constituencies where they can justify themselves to their own voters. In reality this is all a nonsense. Infratil are selling the airport and nothing should be considered until and unless new owners are found.
ReplyDeleteIt is not just a ramsgate issue sorry to tell you. The economic benefits which you may choose to ignore because it does not suit you will affect the rest of thanet and beyond. And yes not all the views of the people of Ramsgate have been taken into account - the many of them who actually support the airport, like ME
ReplyDeleteTHe TDC Consultation was open to all. Those who were oppossed or for it were free to state their position. Thousands did, indeed more than any other consultation TDC has ever held. Simple truth is 74% were opposed to night flights. It is sad that those in favour of night flights cannot acept this. I bet they would have seen it as absolutely fair and legitimate had the results been the other way round, but they weren't.
ReplyDeleteA little over 2,000 out of 132,000 hardly justifies your claim of thousands.
DeleteIf the economic case is so strong, please explain why the current owners are selling?
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit rich for Bayford and other conservative councillors to be criticising the consultation process when it is one that they have used themselves for other issues. Council officers have informed councillors that to criticise this consultation is a dangerous business as it could call into question all their other consultations. Are TDC going to have to demand a full referendum with forced participation from all residents before they see a consultation as representative? I'd like a comment from Bayford, Wise and others on which issues require 'fair' consultations and which don't. Everyone had a chance to have their say - exactly as they do in any general or local election. Bayford and the others were elected on this basis. If only 500 odd people vote for a councillor out of a population of thousands in a ward, does that mean it's not been a proper election? According to their criticism of this consultation they should - which means that most, if not all, TDC councillors should give up their seats immediately.
ReplyDeleteThe proportion of people who vote in local elections is still many time greater than in this ridiculous so called public consultation about which quite a lot of people knew absolutely nothing. At least elections are well publicised.
DeleteTories are as thick and self-seeking as ever. The Thanet Tories, masons, rotarians, god squad et al have managed with their lack of insight and shop keeper/hotelier mentality to turn this once beautiful island into a complete shit hole since the war. Now they are moaning because some intelligent people have pointed out in chime with the airport owners that the airport is an economic disaster. I hope that interest rates stay low or perhaps disappear altogether so that their unearned income fizzles out and they end up as poor as the rest of the community.
ReplyDeleteDegree in economics, perchance? Me thinks not!
DeleteIt's about time the Tory gripe became deeply concerned about some real issues, like their parties attack on the sick and elderly through the Welfare Reform Bill. You don't need any intelligence to be a Tory, just genetically predisposed to thinking in black and white and that you are always right! Wasters!
ReplyDeletePlease tell me, just where is intelligence apparent in any Labour administration. This country will finish up like Greece if Labour come back and ultimately the sick and elderly will get nothing because that is all that will be left in the coffers. You cannot borrow forever.
Deleteand Labour support an airport even with the aquifer?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the piece on BBC South East on the weekend where Rob Smith questioned Paul Carter about his opposition to Boris Island and his support for Manston. Carter simply wasn't able to offer any coherent reason for his objection to Boris Island and wasn't able to counter the implicit charge that he is acting hypocritically by opposing an airport in one location whilst supporting an airport in another, far more environmetnall compromised site.
ReplyDeleteCouncillors support - and fund - an airport and it goes bust several times. Hardly reassuring of both parties. And monitors removed, cancer and the aquifer? And they still support it rather than calling in the Police?
ReplyDelete