'I was pleased to be presenting the Equality Policy and Action Plan to Cabinet this evening, so that the public consultation process could be started with the wide Thanet community.
For me, it is a matter of moral and political duty to challenge and fight against prejudice and discrimination.
In the current economic climate, it is anticipated that residents will turn towards Thanet District Council in situations of difficulty and it is paramount that they are all treated in total fairness with dignity and respect.
I feel privileged to be able to uphold these principles within a policy document and I believe that Thanet District Council has an important role to play in championing the Equalities and Diversity agenda not only within the Council for its service users and staff but also in the wider Thanet community and its many residents groups.
I am grateful that in my Cabinet post I am supported by the Member Lead for Equality and Inclusion, Cllr. John Worrow, who contributed to the Cabinet debate this evening.” Gone are the days when a local government equality policy was just about ticking the right boxes and talking the talk. Thanks to people like Cllr. Michelle Fenner we are starting to walk the walk. It is encouraging to work with someone who genuinely understands what true equality means.”
The public consultation will enable comments on the policy itself and the action plan.
I expect, upon return to Cabinet, post-consultation, in June that the action plan will have more entries, reflecting feedback received from consultees.
I also expect both documents to be regularly updated and always considered as work in progress.
Equality can never be static and I urge all members of the Thanet community to take part in the public consultation'.
Cllr. Michelle Fenner, Cabinet member.
The public consultation will take place between from 2nd to 30th April 2013.
The luvvies from the Green Party could not have put it better. Why not just treat people as people and stop the nonsense of over stating difference.
ReplyDeleteIts ok that councillor Zita Wiltshire has joined UKIP, despite being elected as a Tory, because she is heterosexual.
DeleteCouncillor Bob Bayford demanded that Cllr Worrow call a by-election because he had the cheek to ask for equality YET never called for ex-Cllr Ezekiel to resign. So its ok joining UKIP or being a criminal as long as you don't ask for equal rights for gays
Better to be a straight criminal than a non-straight whistleblower
DeleteAnon, where have you been all these years. Yes, we both know that people living in the same road will invariably have their dustbins emptied by TDC on the same day, but, in the interests of visible diversity and equality, we have to say that the gay bloke at number 10, the black family at number 21, the dwarf at number 33, the transvetite at number 3 and the obese family at 32 will all get their dustbins emptied on the same day as all the other white and straight folk in the road. The only exception with be that bible basher at number 47 who opposes equal marriage and his dustbin won't be emptied at all because he is a homophobe.
ReplyDeleteEquality. The state of being equal. Diversity. The state or quality of being different or varied. "I may not agree with what a man says, but I will defend to the death his right to say it" Long live diversity and the ability to be diverse, and not everybody is equal except before the law.
ReplyDeleteTake heart Anons. Cllr Fenner, as we speak, is probably figuring out how to give you a greater, more equal role in society.
ReplyDeleteShame, I have always been quite happy with the way things were before the Loony left, wet Liberals and Greens started cocking everything up. Removes underwear from drying on the wind turbine lest their blue colour offends all the reds in the street.
DeleteI agree Anony these people have a bloody cheek thinking they are as good as us. Bloody loonz!
DeleteWhat has good got to do with it, Anon, its the equality bit that gets up my nose. We are not born equal and there is sod all anyone can do about it so why try to pretend that someone who is 5' is as tall as a bloke who is 6'3".
DeleteI wish Cllr Fenner would spend a little less time on loony left ideas and more time contemplating the £80,000.00 she has just cost us.
DeleteI agree I prefer the loony ultra right, and the good old days when I you could get away with hitting the wife
DeleteIts not loony left to want equality, David Cameron supports equality. You are either an ultra right wing extremist or just someone living in the 1980s... it might shock you but we actually have black policeman in Kent as well now!
DeleteThe £80,000 is only the agreed costs figure, which the council had to ay because their lawyers said they had an 'unwinnable' case; as did all the legal advice prior to the arrival of a labour administration, and clearly after a labour administration had acted unlawfully to ban the use of the port. The damages are reputed to be in the region of £1.25 to £1.4 million, I wonder if transarency in local government will be unabke to help about that figure before the county elections on 2 May?
ReplyDeleteYour incorrect propaganda Chris Wells, has nothing to do with the Equality policy. But you know that, you want to try to change the subject because you are ashamed of your so-called conservative groups record on Equality. Racist emails, hate voicemail, drunk drivers on the licence board and more to come!
DeleteCalm down john
DeleteYou're a triplehatter and now doublehatter councillor Chris: you tell us on transparency and costs.
DeleteManston fines?
0% salaries?
EKO costs?
ChinaGate costs?
Staffing and salaries?
Or does Mcgonigal not give you the costs either?
Anon 2318, please sned my email address (chris.wells@kent.gov.uk) the proper detail of your complaint, and the evidence and I will try and reply.
DeletePlease publish your understanding of the costs here Chris so the public can review them and your work. What evidence do you require for say 0% salaries?
DeleteYou better contact Chris Wells on another email address because he is going to loose his county seat in a few weeks!
Delete"Lose"!!!
DeleteI also wonder if Cllr Fenner will be as keen to block the entry of Rumanian 'sentient beings' to our shores in January 2014, or will continue with her colleagues to support the labour policy on unfetterred immigration through membership of the EU?
ReplyDeleteWRONG SUBJECT !
DeleteThere's old JW again with his capitals. Slow learner that one.
DeleteHilarious Chris Wells again with Rumanian sentient beings - as funny as when he called Thanet folk inbreds. Funny but stupid and surely his time at County Hall is over after the election. He'll be back to a single seat from his triplehatter role and can keep his tuppenny fascism to TDC's rotten borough council.
DeleteIf only more of our idiot councillors could reduce their roles too. I think they've realised the more they speak the more stupid we realise they are.
On your last sentence, Anon, the same could be true of you. The more you write....etc!
DeleteNot really 11:17 and you've provided no basis for your empty waffle.
DeleteYou think calling Romanians sentient beings or Thanet people inbreds is right for a County councillor? Worthy of re-election - Driver has an interesting review of the costs of councillors: £13k basic plus c.£8k for committees etc.
Easy to rack up costs for empty waffle and doing little - maybe it's for you? You seem no more idiotic than the rest of our councillors.
Driver is the epitome of empty waffle, anon, not unlike you with your constant unqualified references to 0% salaries. A councillor invites you to contact him for answers but the trouble is you cannot even frame the question.
DeleteAnon of 1131: Cllr Driver has no new or exciting view because all of the information regarding allowances and expenses is published on both the TDC and KCC websites. If that is the issue which decides your vote then the information is open and available.
DeleteIf you choose to vote Labour however, please bear in mind that 'Silver Spoon Scobie, Child Mayor of Margate' will not be reported there as the prime mover in increasing cllrs allowances at TDC - by 4.5x the rate of staff increases - nor his spoken view that there should be a third fewer cllrs in the future, and that the remaining two thirds should get an increase of around 30% to reward them for their efforts. However, given your reference to an often misquoted speech of mine only heard in the council chamber, I suspect you already know this and are simply fearful of commenting in your own name.
That would also mean of course you were present in the council chamber to hear Cllr Fenner's tortured attempt to prove that sentient beings could be treated differently under the law than animals; nor her, and Labours, and your, empty silence on the uncontrolled and damaging influx of eastern euorpean nationals under the previous government. Perhaps like 'young silver spoon' you would like to defend the public behaviour of another 23 year old labour council wannabe on question time recently?
DeleteChris, you were publicly referring to Romanians as sentient beings in the thread above as petty racism- along with your comment on uncontrolled immigration scaremongering. Along with your inbred and now silver spoon name-calling supposedly passing for political debate it paints a rather nasty picture.
DeleteWhile in terms of FOI you refer to expenses (councillor presumably) but where are all salary costs (of staff) etc. Not to know that and supposedly be running KCC and TDC is rather concerning if not downright incompetent.
And your view on 0% salaries - I think you were in TDC Cabinet at that time?
Anon of 2328: as you are well aware the salaries of senior officers are published, so you should be able to make your case from the information available; if you believe referring to the coming difficulties of January 2014 is racist then that says more about you than I, as does your deliberate refusal to acknowledge the gentle humour around the sentient beings concept and its previous use by Cllr Fenner. Silver spoon Scobie? I have been trying to imagine what commentators like you would have made of any situation where one of my children had been given such obvious assistance by family and friends influence to get on in local politics - you simply underline one of the worst curses of labour politics, "do as I say not as I do"; perhaps more accurately, hypocrisy. Every newspaper today carries labour quotes scaremongering the reform of the benefit system, having left behind an economy that, yet again, needs fixing through economic mismanagement. I know why you want to keep harping on about other things, you are terrified that the record of the previous labour governments might yet re enter debate again. Housekeeping the Ed Balls way, borrow more money to spend on top of the money you have already borrowed to spend; even Wilkins Macawber knew better than that!
DeleteYou are wrong Chris. I recall very clearly Cllr Fenner stating that she was acting on legal opinion from a leading barrister. Being as it all went so dreadfully wrong, Cllr Fenner should be taking the barrister who gave that advice to the Bar Council. Barristers can be sued for giving wrong advice and this seems a very clear case.
ReplyDeleteWRONG SUBJECT !
DeleteNo John, right subject, wrong perspective. You are just aggressive and nasty because we are not all playing along with your hobby horse is all.
DeleteIts ok that councillor Zita Wiltshire has joined UKIP, despite being elected as a Tory, because she is heterosexual.
DeleteBob Bayford demanded that Cllr Worrow call a by-election because he had the cheek to ask for equality YET never called for ex-Cllr Ezekiel to resign. So its ok joining UKIP or being a criminal as long as you don't ask for equal rights for gays
Can somebody explain how I can be consulted in the public consultation? If I am not consulted then it is not an equal opportunity and I cannot give my diverse opinion. Will it be like the Manston night flight public consultation where the only people consulted where those living under the flightpath. I never even saw how I could be consulted on that occasion. And what is meant by "Equality can never be static" What was wrong with the status quo ante? As I see it we will all be reduced to the lowest common denominator except for those who try to run our lives. 1984 was a bit late arriving but it is here now.
ReplyDeleteYou can give your views, as a member of the Ignorant Bigots Society!
DeleteA bigot is defined as a person who is intolerant of any ideas other than his or her own, especially on religion, politics, or race. I am fed up with the gay community using inflammatory phrases to defend their own bigoted position. A phobia is defined as indicating an extreme abnormal or irrational fear of or aversion to a given situation, organism or object. If we are all to be equal then my opinion is as good as yours and it is not bigoted or homophobic, it is diverse.
DeleteHere, bloody, here, Anon 14:16, and about time somebody said it how it is. During the debate on 'Equal Marriage' I was labelled a homophobe around the blogs more times than I care to recall simply because I support the traditional Anglo/Catholic view of marriage. In that respect I feel more inclined to answer to God for my conscience than John Worrow, the Thanet Diversity Champion.
DeleteOh bless you 10.09 for wanting to share your diverse opinion.
ReplyDeleteSolo Gays, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Anon 10:09 has a very valid point and is as entitled as you or I to express his/her opinion. Indeed, he/she is correct in the suggestion we are all being reduced to the lowest common denominator. People are murdered in the street by total strangers because of so called 'care in the community' policies, people have their cinema and theatre entertainment disrupted because someone else is exercising their right to take a noisy child with behaviour problems to the show. What happened to a DVD at home. I could go on, but there is no point. Society goes through cycles and a puritanical one is probably just around the corner, that is if we do not wipes ourselves out with 'green' or 'equality' policies in the meantime.
DeletePerhaps I should have left off the "oh"? Gay cultural slip on my part there Tom!
DeleteIn actual fact I would be genuinely happy to hear 10.09s opinion here. He/she surely does not have to wait for a consultation to register an opinion in relative secrecy?
Tom Clarke has made hateful remarks about gays around the blogs, he and his other self Simon Moores are a waste of time
DeleteIn that case 12.54 it would be useful if I could reference these?
DeleteIt's John....
DeleteSolo Gays, did not really follow your reference to leaving off the 'gay' slip for, as far as I can see, it made no difference to your comment. Perhaps you should try to be less touchy. The anon comments that my other self is Simon Moores follows on from being Roger Latchford a couple of days ago. Someone finds it very difficult to accept that there are others, in addition to the Tories he hates, who have views at variance with some of his own.
DeleteThank you for asking for references to my alleged hateful remarks towards gays for I should like to see these as well. I have, on religious ground, opposed so called equal marriage and I am not exactly a fan of John Worrow or his conduct in public office, but I do not make a habit of making homophobic comments. Sadly, in John's world, you are not allowed to hold differing views on these sensitive subjects.
Finally, for JW, if I have made hateful remarks about gays anywhere please report it to the police. They can trace me through my google account though, if they arrest me, I shall insist they collar Dr Carey as well as his views are the same as mine.
Tom, it was a lapse in judgement that I addressed 10.09 in the way I would have spoken to another gay person, that is all. I think it is quite brave of anyone new to join us to take any of us on, don't you think? I think it is you who is being a bit touchy here.....
DeleteFYI Solo Gays, I am Anon of 10:09 and 14:16 so you can probably work out where I am coming from.
DeleteSolo Gays, I quite often start off a comment with the exclamation 'Oh' so it is not exclusive to the LGBT community, hence my query. Do you never stop to think that, just perhaps, one group of a certain sexual persuassion should not hijack a language to the extent yours have. After all, if you look back through English literature and poetry, gay once had a very different meaning. By taking words as having an alternative interpretation you sometimes place others of us at risk of giving offence where it is not intended. After all, I once thought that Larry Grayson meant he had actually had a gay day in the happy sense.
DeleteAnd that his companion was really called EverARD.......?
DeleteWell who was Slack Alice then, his mum?
DeleteLooks like we have come up with some blogging identity suggestions for some of our anons?
DeleteSolo Gays, could not resist this though it is really me, Tom that is. Mind you, I think Candy Floss would be a better name for a seaside blogger.
DeleteIts ok that councillor Zita Wiltshire has joined UKIP, despite being elected as a Tory, because she is heterosexual.
DeleteBob Bayford demanded that Cllr Worrow call a by-election because he had the cheek to ask for equality YET never called for ex-Cllr Ezekiel to resign. So its ok joining UKIP or being a criminal as long as you don't ask for equal rights for gays
Can I apologise to Cllr Wells for posting that he was wrong. A little research this morning has proved otherwise. The export ban is likely to cost TDC £2M.
ReplyDeleteAccepted gratefully without further comment Paul. Thank you.
DeleteThere is a new game around the blogs called 'Hunt the Worrow.' It is quite easy really for all you have to do is spot one of Worrow's comments under an 'Anonymous' heading and immediately comment 'Hello Sailor' in reply. To new Thanet bloggers he can be recognised by an excessive use of capital letters, a lack of full stops at the end of sentences, a frantic search for nasty spiteful names to call anyone he perceives as bigotted (that is nearly everybody else), an intense hatred of all Tories, particularly Simon Moores, and a tendency to call other bloggers by his pet hates, Moores or Latchford.
ReplyDeleteIf only you could pin a pink star on him to more clearly identify him eh BGS
Delete"Hello Sailor!"
Delete"Hello Worrow Bigot" - it's the new game where someone says Hello Sailor to be bigoted about Worrow. We reply "Hello Worrow Bigot" it's hilarious and fills many a dull moment. Threee Hello Worrow Bigots and you get a free pink star and a chance to be rude about say Jews or The Blacks.
DeleteYour go 11:15
Why, I have nothing against blacks or Jews, Sailor, just you as a person.
Delete"Hello Worrow Bigot" - as a Jewish, Black, Lesbian formerly serving in the Royal Navy I'm glad you have nothing against me as a Black etc, just me as a person. What a relief to have your approval.
DeleteWhat a strange comment 23:31. Why do you find it difficult to accept that it is possible to dislike a person without feeling the same about their whole nation, creed or sexual persuassion? This branding of people as bigots simply because they find a particular councillor obnoxious or because they may have a different view on certain issues is in itself bigotry.
DeleteIf you are truly a Jewish, black, lesbian former sailor that is what you are. You do not need my, or anybody elses approval, for any of those religious, racial, sexual persuassion or employment attributes. All I am saying is that, if you are as a person, a rather obnoxious, self important, attention seeking, party hopping, turncoat, then I can dislike you for your characteristics without being a bigot
By the way I am a Christian, white, straight ex RAF type.
Its ok that councillor Zita Wiltshire has joined UKIP, despite being elected as a Tory, because she is heterosexual.
ReplyDeleteBob Bayford demanded that Cllr Worrow call a by-election because he had the cheek to ask for equality YET never called for ex-Cllr Ezekiel to resign. So its ok joining UKIP or being a criminal as long as you don't ask for equal rights for gays
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ReplyDeleteI observe that the labour party leadership has rushed out a new 'policy' on welfare benefits today, which replaces grey uniform equality with the diversity of contribution. It would appear that the Philpott case is doing for labours welfare policies what Baby P did for social services, and Cyprus has done for the EU. I look forward to Cllr Fenner's change of policy shortly.....nt holding my breath though!
ReplyDelete