No change at the Town Hall

The Tories lost seats in Tunbridge Wells at the local elections and now hold half the seats (24).  The Lib Dems have 13, Labour 5, the Alliance 5 and there is one Independent.  Prior to the annual meeting of the council members of the opposition parties and the Independent met.  What happened at that meeting behind closed doors is not in the public domain but doubtless they were intent on sharing the spoils of mayoral, leadership and cabinet posts.  Naturally manifesto policies are compromised and deals done of which the electorate has no prior knowledge or say in the matter.  It smacks of squalid politicking.

In the event the retiring Conservative mayor (who had not stood for re-election as a councillor) used her casting vote for mayor in favour of the Conservative deputy mayor.  Thus the Tories retain control of the council.

 

Chapelard is the Lib Dem leader.

 

Rusthall's electorate: a sophisticated people.

It may be said of the Rusthall electorate that they know a dud when they see one.  In recent years the good people of Rusthall have elected to serve on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UKIP candidates.  In the process they have voted out a Leader of the Council and have not been hoodwinked by spurious claims by candidates as to the likelihood of their being well placed to win. In 2021 the Liberal Democrat candidate claimed that the electorate knew Labour could not win, but as we know she did.

The electorate has taken a dim view of the parish council.  Since its formation and the first election in 2011 not a single vote has been cast for a parish councillor.  All elections have been unopposed and vacancies filled by co-option.  At the last election there were six candidates for nine seats.  The parish council has spawned four committees has a clerk and a deputy clerk, an office and a community centre, the latter for which there was and is no real need. The pity is that it is almost impossible to disband a parish council.

More on the dubious Liberal Democrat electoral claims

 In my previous blog I commented on the disgraceful tactics of the Liberal Democrat candidate for Rusthall.  She claimed it was a two-horse race between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives and that Labour could not win.  Labour won.

She should have known better, after all her husband won the seat in 2019 and Labour was second.

2019

Lib Dem:  547

Labour:    346

Con:         283

 UKIP:      144      

 

2021

Labour:     572

Con:         455

Lib Dem:  436 

Green:      141

Never trust Liberal Democrat electoral claims.

Lib Dem candidate stuffed by Labour in Rusthall

The Liberal Democrat candidate in Rusthall, one Angela Funnell, claimed in her election address that it was a "two horse race" in Rusthall between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.  The Liberal Democrats were "the only chance to stop the Conservatves in Rusthall" and furthermore "everyone knows Labour can't win here".

Sadly for Angela the electorate disagreed.  Labour won deservedly and Angela trailed in behind the second placed Conservative.  Did she believe the rubbish she had published in her name?

Election Time

Tomorrow we may vote for candidates for borough and county council elections and for the Kent police commissioner post.

 The current holder of the latter post has done a sound job and I shall be voting for him.  I shall be voting for our current county councillor as he responded well to an issue I raised.

 The problem for me is whom to vote for at the borough council election.  The Green Party has not delivered a leaflet.  

 The Tory candidate tells us nothing about himself, not even where he lives. The election address is a mess

 The Liberal Democrat candidate lives up (or down) to the Groucho Marx comment.

 

 The Lib Dem leaflet has the usual dodgy diagram and claims of support which on its own is a sound ground for rejecting the candidate.

 The Labour Party has produced the best leaflet and has the best candidate by a country mile. Probably will get my vote.