And so it came to pass.........................After just 3 years and 4 months the Liberal Democrat majority on Northampton Borough Council has been wiped out. Having started with 23 councillors and a majority of 6 Cllr John Yates' defection to the Tory benches has placed them in a minority with just 20 votes left to the oppositions 21.
Ironically it wasn't council policy or the shame as to the Liberal Democrats actions in power which finally broke the back of Liberal Democrat resistance, no in true Lib Dem fashion it was good old self interest and infighting.
John Yates, a likeable ruralesque Lib Dem who will settle well in the Tory Party crossed the floor simply because in his absence his Lib Dem colleagues ousted him from his Council seat as a potential candidate for next years election! He wasn't alone, even the current Lib Dem Mayor Cllr Marianne Taylor couldn't escape the cull as her seat disappeared to another favoured replacement leaving her in an embarrassing situation of not even being able to see her Mayoral year out as an elected Councillor.Others also have fell foul of the selection processThe night of the long knives it seems has been orchestrated by Cllr Andrew Simpson aided and abetted by Cllr Richard Church and as a result the internal atmosphere inside the group is outright poisonous. So driven apart are the local group that Cllr Malcolm Mildren and myself popped into the Wig and Pen the other Friday for a quiet drink only to find two sets of Lib Dem Councillors drinking in two different parts of the pub! We didn't know which way to turn or who to upset first!
But it just might turn out to be good news for the people of Northampton, no more will we have to suffer the arrogance of the Liberal Democrats when forcing through their pet projects over the heads and suggestions of others and no more will we have to listen to the uncompromising whinges on why the Council won't sit down with our sporting clubs and find a way out of the Planning mess that they themselves have created with their outright subservience to national planning advice and their over friendly relationship with Legal and General.
At some point in the coming months a sensible motion will be moved in the Council Chamber offering a way forward for the town and for Saints and the Cobblers without the need for the future of the town centre to be jeopardised. When it happens it will be interesting to see how the votes stack up? my guess is that with an election just around the corner we might find a few Lib Dem's suddenly have a change of heart!
So well done John, the town owes you one!
I think someone leaving a party they have represented to join another one because they are not selected for a future election is typical of the self interest we see all too often in local politics. What do you think Tony?
ReplyDeleteI agree indepenDENSE and if you read my very first blog you will see that A) I was selected B) I was then expelled and C) I never joined another party! But why let a little thing like the truth spoil a punchy comment
ReplyDeleteC) Wikipeadia defines a political party as '...a collective of individual with similar political beliefs often who stand in elections...'
ReplyDeleteNIV defines itself on its website as '...
a collective of independent candidates standing in elections within Northampton....'
Cllr Yates contribution won't be missed. I doubt anyone will recognise his change of political direction. I heard him speak once at a Full Council meeting - it was instantly forgettable.
Are we seeing the Lib Dems falling apart nationally and locally because of their DNA?
I am not convinced a party that is scientifically constituted of disgruntled right leaning former Labour supporters, caring and sharing former Tory wets with a sprinkling of moralistic academics can exist once in power.
While in opposition fine - but are we seeing a natural but predictable outcome?
can you let us know all of the Lib Dems who have been de-selected please?
ReplyDeleteHopefully all of them. Interesting that Yates has joined the ranks of the Tories .... following the lead of Nick Clegg presumably ...
ReplyDeleteCurrent Lib dem Mayor marianne taylor has been de-selected in favour for the flawed former ppc Andrew Stimpson.
ReplyDelete@ Tony Clarke - John Yates' de-selection wasn't done "in his absence". There was a postal ballot of members in which John Yates had the same chance to campaign for votes as his opponent(s) - but in the end, members made a democratic choice to choose someone else.
ReplyDeleteSo how does a democratic selection process end up being called a "night of the long knives"?
Anonymous - that's a bit rich for a Lib Dem to lecture us on democracy! If I remember rightly there was a democratic decision made in May that saw UK plc give a major thumbs down to Nick Clegg and Co. Didn't stop him or you guys letting the bright lights of power and a broom cupboard at No 10 stop you ... for what its worth, Tony Clarke did get it wrong on calling it the night of the long knives. Northampton Lib Dems are not sharp enough for that!
ReplyDeleteI always thought that it was the decent thing to do to allow a branch/ward to decide whether or not to "re-select" their sitting Councillor first before calling for a ballot.
ReplyDeleteA most odd way of rewarding loyalty and bound to cause upset!