A series of on-line polls have been
conducted asking one simple question – Is Thanet District Council Fit For
Purpose?
The question was posed in
eight Thanet on-line forum and 402 people responded. 380 (94.5%) said ‘no’ to
the question whilst 22 (5.5%) said ‘yes’.
The question was posed after Thanet
Councils Standards Committee rejected a report from Independent Members on 21st
November, 2013 stating that the public had lost trust in the organisation.
‘What
Absolute Nonsense’
Leader of the Council, Clive Hart,
said “I’m pretty certain that virtually every councillor will agree that there
is now just one particular councillor whose anarchistic tendencies and total
disrespect for Chairmen, the constitution and procedures is trying to bring the
council and every one of us into disrepute.” He went on to say “in relation to
the wording - councillors are ‘distrustful of the public’. What absolute
nonsense!” Responding to being out of touch with residents of Thanet, Cllr Hart
said, “It’s nothing short of an insult to describe Labour Group members as in
any way ‘distant from the realities of peoples lives’.”
Cllr Michelle Fenner responded by
saying, “blaming all Cllrs for the misconduct of a handful is PLAIN WRONG”. She
went on to say “The real true culprit in all of this, is the austerity policy
from Central Government”
Speaking after the resignation of
the Independent members , Green Councillor Ian Driver said, “This unfortunate event will serve to
strengthen the public perception that Thanet councillors do not listen to their
constituents and are out of touch, unresponsive and defensive. Instead of being
an opportunity for Thanet Council and its councillors to move forward and
become more open and democratic, the meeting last night took a big step
backwards. This was a classic case of shooting the messenger.”
Conservative Group leader, Cllr Bob
Bayford stated: “The report reflects very accurately the fears of members of
this group, who believe the council’s reputation is in real difficulty. I
pledge both my personal and my group’s support for steps which will change the
public perception of council affairs.”
‘Councillors
Need To Listen More’
Responding to the poll, Cllr Chris Wells said, “Whilst any survey must be treated with
caution, it is hard not to recognise the similar responses found within the
independent standards report in this one. And draw the conclusion that damning
their view of public perception of the council is dangerous, simply underlining
most people's fears. Cllrs need to listen to public views more frequently, more
consistently, and more humbly in future.”
Green Party Councillor Ian Driver said “This astonishing
figure lends support to the Report of the Independent Standards Committee which
was criticised and rejected by senior councillors just last week. It's clear to
me that big changes are needed at the Council.” He went on to say his opinions
will be made public in coming weeks
Councillor Julie Marson said, “As a member of Standards Committee
present at the meeting, I spoke against the self pity and denial displayed by
the Labour cabinet and members. I did not vote to return the report to the
independent members and said that instead of trying to blame everyone else, we
should be discussing how to improve the council's reputation in the eyes of the
public. I remain of that view.”
Councillor
Roz Binks stated that cross-party committees generally operate without a
problem and that “most councillors hold their positions for the right reasons -
to contribute something to their community”, but “there seems to have been an
acceptance amongst some councillors that personal and often pretty much
slanderous slurs are permissible within Council Chambers.” She goes on to say,
“Cllr Fenner's statement is absurd - you can't blame austerity for lack of
manners or for the spiteful comments, verbal slurs and downright lies that have
been traded across the council chamber on many occasions.”
Other councillors were asked to respond but did not
comment.
Thanet
Councils reputation has suffered a number of blows in the past year with the
announcement that there were £3.4M losses over TransEuropa Ferries, £2.7M
paying for road improvements around EKO land, a potential Judicial Review over
the lease to The Pavilion in Ramsgate, the former leader of the council being
jailed for misconduct in public office, a court case over live animal export in
December which could result in payments of over £1M in damages, on going
problems with the Royal Sands development and the roll out of a new waste
recycling scheme which has resulted in numerous homes without waste collection.
The
Independent members of the public who produced the report resigned after
Councillors responses and were unavailable for comment.
The
question was asked in eight on-line polls: Eastcliffe Richard blog spot, and
Facebook pages/groups In Touch With Thanet (x2), Save Margate A & E, Ice
Rink In Thanet, Friends of Ramsgate Seafront, Broadstairs! & Ramsgate
