The political Whip at local level is a dangerous thing. No wonder they call it a Whip. Within the Brentwood Conservative Group that holds control of the council by just three seats, it is used in order to dictate to Tory councillors how they MUST vote on issues such as car parking, community initiatives, town centre developments, rubbish collection, street cleaning and housing matters. Significant examples are decisions such as the William Hunter Way cinema project and the future of our a Town Hall. No matter what your opinion is or what your conscience dictates, the Conservative policy is that all of their members agree publicly regardless. In essence, what this results in is little more than a pseudo elected dictatorship where the leader decides on what should happen and no matter how barmy that is, everyone toes the line. I have spoken to several Conservatives in recent weeks who all admit to having a particular belief but to having voted en masse for fear of falling foul of the party machine. It takes a strong person to stand up against 20 people in a room and to contradict a diktat that states Youre either with us or against us. But who should councillors stand up for? The leader of a local branch of a national party, the former which has lost its way and is out of its depth? Or to support the people that elected them in the first place? For Phil, William, Nigel, Joan, Lionel and I it was an easy choice which is why we resigned from the Brentwood Conservatives. But for those that put party before principle it is up to the electorate to change things for the better. This Thursday Brentwood can vote for real change and to the benefit of our town. Or it can remain supportive of an administration that has proven its failure multiple times over the last four years. Its up to you. Russell
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 11:03:31 +0000
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