I was elected to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in May 1996 on the same day that Roy Bullock and John Cunningham were first elected to the Council. In 2000 I retired but Roy and John soldiered on. It came as no surprise to me that Roy became Leader of the council as he had enthusiasm, dedication, determination and doggedness. However his progress was not greeted within the Conservative Party with overwhelming enthusiasm, he made enemies and divided the party.
His downfall and the circumstances leading up to it have been documented in this blog. He was attacked on two fronts: by the Liberal Democrats making justifiable complaints about lack of transparency and consultation by the Council on the workings of the regeneration company and by a group of individuals whom I have dubbed 'The Aspic Tendency' whose vision for Tunbridge Wells is to keep it as a backwater for the baby boomer generation.
Roy was doomed as Conservative councillors lost their nerve over the regeneration of the civic complex and saw an opportunity to gain revenge. Vitriolic pro and anti Bullock letters appeared in the local press and it came as no surprise when he lost a vote of confidence and was replaced as leader by Robert 'Bob' Atwood.
The new Leader claimed he would unify the party, but this has been lost on the Conservative Association. The chairman of the Conservative Group on the Council has been de-selected. Then Roy Bullock was deselected as a candidate for the forthcoming local elections which led a Tory councillor to resign in protest. Tory councillors have been taking lumps out of each other in the letters column of the local press.
More vitriol in the letters column this week with a Bullock supporter attacking the current regime in the town hall with the words 'lunatic' and 'crazy'. The Mayor, David Jukes, who is regarded by some as having a pivotal role in the demise of Roy Bullock is being castigated for living in East Sussex.
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