Forum Topic

A Local Coalition - CON / LIBDEM / Others to Oust Bell & Co.

How hard would that be?Get together NOW, hammer out a Joint Mainfesto (which hopefully will basically be "No politics, just run the Council, and provide Good Services") and work out a formula for the Ward Seat Allocation.They'd landslide it I'd have thought?

Rosco White ● 1668d24 Comments

No idea to whom this is addressed.  If you want to contribute to the debate, you should do that instead of making this cryptic remark.

Andrew Farmer ● 1657d

You need to listen to yourself.

Alan Anderson ● 1657d

“White fragility”, Mr Wilson, is a theory not a fact as you seem to think it is. Mr Fox was accused of “male white privilege” (on Question Time).  The notion that white people are privileged to be white yet by the same token fragile seems to me a ludicrous self-contradiction.  Privileged to be fragile!Were you born white, Mr Wilson?  If so, are you feeling defensive and fragile? A member of the audience (a lecturer researching race and ethnicity) claimed the media's treatment of Meghan Markle was "racism".  You say Mr Fox displayed white fragility “when those facts [were] offered.  No facts were offered by the member of the audience.  It was mere opinion. Opinions are not facts.  You seem to think that everything that happens to be your opinion is a fact.You say that Mr Fox thinks minorities never served in wars for the empire. Please cite your source for thinking he thinks that. 

Andrew Farmer ● 1659d

Gurnell falls under Cleveland Ward which also has the West Ealing Station development - a ward they are seemingly willing to lose. It appears as though Gurnell will be razed to the ground soonish, there were demolishion vans parked outside the other day. I guess it’ll be easier to push through using more political  spin .  Regarding Southall, the main issues there are the toxic gases coming up from the ground, like the Glaxo site in Greenford it was in need of development with a series of buildings which on the whole don’t look that bad as a collective unlike a single tall tower... seems a change of leadership in the council will not come soon :-( all these processes are all very undemocratic despite so many residents objecting...

Kris Smith ● 1660d

Hey, white fragility is the defensiveness and resistance felt when presented with issues about racial bias. This is exactly what Fox does when those facts are offered. He calls it boring, thinks minorities never served in wars for the empire, says we're the most tolerant country in the world and says he is racially abused as a privileged white male. He is clearly hopelessly insecure about something.

Kevin Wilson ● 1660d

Thank you, V interesting, but totally unsurprising to most on here.I'm not following all the Labour shenanigans Ward wise, but aren't part/s of Southall up in arms about the huge development/Towers on the old gas works there?And is the highly contentious redevelopment of the Gurnell Pool Complex in Greenford?

Rosco White ● 1660d

sadly this is unlikely to happen. Labour are playing a safe political game. Looking at the affected wards of LTNs and proposed high rise towers there is a sprinkling of conservative voters within these areas. Existing labour voters may as a result swing their votes to the conservatives or lib dems should these issues make the political agenda. Interestingly there are No LTNs or high rise developments in Labour Safe seats like Southall, Greenford or Northolt, therefore if they lose Northfields Elthorne  and Ealing wards it won’t really affect their overall Majority.

Kris Smith ● 1660d

Do you have a link to the document?I have had dealings with this woman Taylor twice, once in respect of a planning matter, once in respect of a complaint against one of her senior colleagues with which she was dealing. In that case, she failed to deal with it, in my opinion, with anything resembling integrity or honesty.  I made a complaint against her for that which was dealt with by Alison Reynolds Head of Complaints) with nothing resembling, in my opinion ..... well, I need not go on, except to say that the lack of professionalism, honesty and moral decency in Ealing Council is as multi-layered as a slice of mille-feuille pastry.

Andrew Farmer ● 1661d

There's a laughable letter circulating from a Council Executive called Lucy Taylor.If you're wondering just how politics and bureaucracy underline ineptitude and collusion then this is it.It reveals the fact that there will be no real open honest outcome to this and no respect or regard for local community, just division to rule and keep the cosy clique in place at any cost.Only those online or part of the digital world will be involved. Yet again excluding old and non online citizens of whom are a considerable proportion still.This is public servants adding their preferences into this and then using plannerspeak to justify yet exonerate themselves.or in my trade, Slippery.

Raymond Havelock ● 1661d

Mr Wilson, please, spare us the jargon (“white fragility”), carry on reading your copy of CRITICAL RACE THEORY FOR DUMMIES and have a nice glass of soya milk.

Andrew Farmer ● 1661d

"the far right libertarian crowd who've poisoned politics already."Really? I think many others from all sides have "poisoned politics", let's start with Bliar.I'm afraid I very much beg to differ. If "there's an audience out there", and there's more of them than you, who is "right"?

Rosco White ● 1662d

The Reclaim (or 'White Fragility') Party would be laughed out of Ealing. The guy is a total grifter. Who knows if he believes any of it, but he knows there's an audience out there. How do you think he was able to get millions from in such a short space of time? It's the far right libertarian crowd who've poisoned politics already.

Kevin Wilson ● 1662d

I like Solutions, not Problems, and have already suggested two IMHO very viable ways to boot "Two Houses" and his Southall Posse out on their ears:-1/ A Local Coalition of All Non Labour Partiesor2/ Residents Associations to unite and field RA Candidates.I am now out of ideas and have better things to do, so, anyone got any further Solution/s to our VERY real and painful situation regarding our constant and lengthy suffering under the dubious "governance" at The Ealing Kremlin?

Rosco White ● 1664d

If you really want to do something along these lines then I suggest you start immediately as you only have 19 months to go till the next council elections and it will take that long to organize a strong enough campaign to offer a serious threat to the present shambles.Any thoughts of the Tories or Limp Dems being any threat are pointless as they only want to appear pleasant and respectable and offer no threat what so ever when what is needed is a slash to this Labour councils jugular vein.I have stood for the council three times, the last time as an independent and been an election agent more times than I care to remember and would be more than pleased to help out with something like this.So if you guys are serious about this lets get organizing now but please don't bother unless you're prepared to be 100% dedicated as British politics has enough idiots just shooting they're mouths off.

Bob Little ● 1664d

Mr Havelock's information about what happened to independents elsewhere is interesting and needs to be taken into account.Otherwise, this excellent idea seems to be running out of steam. That is probably because, as Mr Southwell points out, "the real opposition to the council is too disparate and too focused on single issues".  It is also because much of the criticism of the council is trivial in the borough-wide context:  the green rubbish was not collected; the  curb outside the house is damaged.  Once the green rubbish has been collected and the curb mended, all's well with the world, god's in his heaven and Bell's in the Town hall.  What if he tells lies, that's only a moral matter.  It is difficult to interest people in moral issues.  They should be interested. Curbs can be mended, but a liar is always a liar. Mr Laurence Fox has recently established a new political party.  The Reclaim Party.  He has already raised over five million from backers.  Could we be one of its candidates?  It is not politically motivated.  People will say it is.  Some people say everything is political.  I say everything  is a moral matter, not least politics.So,can we draw up a list of non-political issues that might form our manifesto?  Liars in public places?  A very  locally-relevant issue.

Andrew Farmer ● 1664d

In Hounslow there was a group of Independents who stood and won some years back.It started to make a difference. An independent candidate also stood and won in Brentford, Luke Kirton, who was the catalyst for getting a site for Brentford FC to secure a site and remain in Brentford after years of indifference and inept handling by Hounslow.People power was proven to work.However, both main political parties absolutely loathed this incursion of independents who became referred to as the ICG. I think this is because it evolved in IsleworthThe established parties used every dirty trick in the book ( and quite a few not in any book ) Thuggery, intimidation and character smearing. Real nasty stuff, anything to sterilise and strangle the popularity and achievements of this loose group of independents who were starting to form a formidable opposition.It ruined some people, and most was eventually untrue, and pales to the records and backgrounds of many Labour, Tory and LibDem politicians who get protected by the party machines. But the damage was done. The Boot Boys won and no-one has dared stand as an independent in Hounslow since.It takes Ultra thick skinned people to stand up and be counted against the political establishment, Probably why so many good intentioned people who enter party politics end up towing the line and reneging on so much they believed and stood for and hide away when the going gets tough.The system is how the likes of Bell, Sabiers, Mason et all flourish, similarly Jenrick and Shapps and a hatful of others at the top end.But I do think both boroughs would be better places without this domination of egos and party policies and the degree of corruption and collusion between councillors officers and outside influences like Property developers and businesses with insider links who use them as an in for local authority contracts.Certainly something has to change and Residents need to think about who and what they are voting for and not just blindly vote Labour, Lib Dem or Conservative. They are all as bad as each other.Biggest question is how on earth a stable Borough which had decades of small majority councils suddenly becomes one of extreme one sidedness?Especially as the incumbents have performed poorly for a very long time and certainly no better if not far worse than the last Tory administration.Something really wrong there.

Raymond Havelock ● 1665d

Is this to be a political party registered with the Electoral Commission or do we want candidates to stand as independents?    I am not sure whether an association of like-minded individuals with identical policies can legally claim to be a political party.  If not, every person  would have only their own name to recommend them.I don’t fit today’s ideal political candidate profile.  I had the misfortune to be born white rather than black, male and have never suffered from gender dysphoria.    Joking apart, this is an idea worth considering. An alternative.  A war of attrition.  Keep every misdeed of councillors and officers before the public.  Don’t just have your say and let it rest. Give them work. Make formal complaints.  Pursue them up through all three stages of the complaints procedure and on to the LGO.  The complaints have to be genuine and supported by evidence.  They are more impressive if they come from more than one person, as many as possible.Establish and advertise a website to help people who may have a grievance but do not feel confident to pursue it or, if they do, are not capable of analysing the weaselly response they receive, in my experience brazen lies.  Could such a service enjoy charitable status.  To do this, we would have to recruit translators.  Most communities have members who could supply this help.  Within yards of my home are people who speak Spanish, Polish, Russian, Persian and Arabic.  A friend helped a Thai speaker to make a complaint.  The Thai speaker should have been encouraged to make his complaint in his own language as should anyone whose first language is not English.  Surely, Ealing, the multicultural paradise of diversity and inclusivity could not object to conducting a complaint in the language the complainant felt comfortable to conduct it in.  It would cost, but so would the complaint that would be made if they didn’t, one for operating a racially-discriminatory policy. And there is always the power of prayer:  Dear Lord, please visit cancer of the throat on all liars in public places.  It  would get you off to a good start if you had a look at what goes on in the London Borough of Ealing.

Andrew Farmer ● 1665d

VOTE THEM OUT

Colin Goodman ● 1666d

The answer isn't really a coalition but a residents led independent group which is non party political but focused on local issues and a high quality level of service. The Conservatives have some excellent councillors who are badly led and the Lib Dems are strong in only a small number of wards. Elsewhere a combination of over development and poorly thought out traffic schemes is creating a demand for an alternative but this calls for some talented, level headed and committed individuals to come together and make a huge collective effort. At the moment the real opposition to the council is too disparate and too focused on single issues.

Gordon Southwell ● 1666d

Who knows what lies at the bottom of the swamp or even if it's subterranean?

Raymond Havelock ● 1666d

>>RH wrote>> struggling to find a better apt description for this particular brand of collective. Maybe a competition for a new word?>>TH replies>> Not new, but we could borrow an expression, 'The residents of Ealing need to drain the swamp'.

Tony Heath ● 1666d

Yes indeed, Grammatical slip up or three there.In hindsight, I think it's probably a disservice to lunatics, but struggling to find a better apt description for this particular brand of collective.Maybe a competition for a new word?

Raymond Havelock ● 1666d

>>RH wrote>> It lets these lunatics in . . .>>TH replies>>  Your (barely comprehensible) comment presupposes that 'Ding Dong' Bell isn't a lunatic.

Tony Heath ● 1667d

What decent normal person would EVER want to be associated with this breed of mutants?Bad news is normal decent people having a natural aversion to the likes of Bell, Sabiers, Mason et all, having more sense than they and their executive cohorts ever will, have one flaw in their wisdom to avoid. It lets these lunatics in and gives them the run of the asylum.

Raymond Havelock ● 1668d