13,001 reasons not to vote Conservative

"If you want to know what a Conservative Government will be like just look at our Conservative Councils".

David Cameron, Conservative Party Conference 2009

A massive 13,000 signature petition, believed to be the biggest ever presented to the County Council on a single issue, was delivered to Kay Cutts. It was requesting the Conservative administration reconsider the sale of the 13 residential homes in the County. This huge display of public concern triggered a motion at full council to reverse this Vogon policy which was "debated" on Thursday. The opposition parties made strong representations and presented a case for the motion. Kay Cutts would have none of this, treating the Council, democracy and the electorate with complete and utter contempt.

She simply sat there, ignored it all reading the Nottingham Evening Post in the chamber when she should have been defending her policy.

Was this because she knew her arguments are indefensible and after all she had previously told her puppets how to vote, so why should she care?

David Cameron has, for once spoken the truth.

Gedling Tories realise they were conned

Before the election a promise made by Kay Cutts and her puppet the second hand car dealer Richard Jackson was to remove the Gedling bus plug. Subsidie Junkie Bruce Laughton staked his reputation on it. It later transpired that this, like the promise to scrap the tram and provide an additional £12m of bus subsidy was undeliverable (see here for story). But never mind it won them the election.

Now the Burton Joyce Conservative voters are begining to realise just how much they were conned. Dick Huskinson writes a very clear and concise letter to the Evening Post see here.

Bruce Laughton may well find that the saying in the motor trade and Jackson's catch phrase "there's one born every minute" may not ring true when he stands for Parliament in May.

Mission Impossible for the guru of spin?

Mark Fletcher-Brown has a track record of being an excellent 'reputation management guru', "worth his weight in gold" according to one council chief. He certainly does not come cheap, commanding fees of up to £850 per day.

However, he will have to go into overdrive for this mission. Kay Cutts will reward him with up to £50,000 of chargepayers money if he can handle the media and explain why her policies of cutting help to the elderly and vulnerable are in the best interests of the voters.

When he inevitably visits this site, noting the hit counter on the left, (from home unless he wants his details automatically relaid to the planet Vogon) he may like to click here to see what a massive uphill task he has landed himself.

Will we soon see the benefit? Time will tell. There is however one thing for sure - We're all going to pay for it.

Mansfield electorate sold a Booby

Last June the electorate in Mansfield proudly elected Victor Bobo as an Independent who stood on a platform of "People Before Politics". Of course he's maintained that slogan - he is a person and he's put himself first. Following an abysmal attendance record the Independents threw him out of their forum. Of course it wasn't long before Kay Cutts recognised talent and a man who was prepared to stand by her principles and so, offering him a paid position on the fire authority which he was glad to accept, he is now a member of the Conservative group.

Is the Vogon ship on the way down?

Signs are that the relentless pressure from this site, the public and the County MPs is starting to have an effect on those around Ms Cutts. Martin Suthers, the member for Bingham let it slip in Cabinet today that "They need to have greater confidence in their Chief Officers to advise".

Perhaps he's been spending too much time reading these pages for Ms Cutts liking - or listening to his staff or even (contrary to Vogon policy) his constituents.

Why Kay Cutts could never be an MP

Kay Cutts met with a number of MPs on Friday to discuss her proposed Cutts which are aimed at the elderly and vulnerable but ensure that the well landed are cared for.

Clearly she did get a lot of lobbying and dismissed it by saying "I know that MPs have to lobby on behalf of their constituents,"

This begs the question - On whose behalf does she work?

Tory Bassetlaw goes Vogon

"If you want to know what a Conservative Government will be like just look at our Conservative Councils".

David Cameron, Conservative Party Conference 2009

Under the leadership of Conservative County Councillor Mike Quigley and assisted by his his fellow Tory County Councillor Liz Yates ("I live 16 miles away but have my heart in Worksop"), the Bassetlaw District Council Development Control committee have rejected several million pounds worth of much needed inward investment into Worksop town centre. In fact all seven Tories voted against a prestigious hotel development which would have saved the town's football club and generated a sustainable 686 jobs in this ex-coal mining locality. The professional officers recommended approval and all members from other parties voted for the scheme. A perceived problem appears to be that it would involve an ASDA which would directly compete with the out of town Tesco development on land recently sold by a variety of people including the council.

Of course the developer has the right of appeal, and I understand may - although he would rather spend his money in a more forward thinking Borough and County.

It has been pointed out that none of the Conservative Councillors live in Worksop. The local MP has now described Bassetlaw as "truly the worst council in the country"

Perhaps he should visit this site.

David Cameron is "not amused" by Cutts

A source within the County Council tells me that David Cameron either has or is expected to soon get in touch with Cllr Cutts to "express his displeasure" at the damage she is clearly inflicting on the Conservative Party and their chances of winning at least two target seats in Nottinghamshire. I understand that areas of particular concern are where Vogon Tory policy differs from UK Tory policy and he sees the proposed cuts and increases in councillors expenses as providing the opposition with an "open goal".

My source in Westminster confirms this is the case. He has heard several whispers around the corridors that relationships between Conservative Central Office and Nottinghamshire are reaching an all time low. David Cameron is particularly embarrased as he said at conference "If you want to know what a Conservative Government will be like just look at our Conservative Councils". For once a Tory politician was speaking the truth!

I understand that Ms Cutts has called a meeting of all Nottinghamshire MPs next Friday. The two County Conservative MPs will not be attending.

Tory administration gives up on election pledges

Two of the pledges made by Kay Cutts and her team of puppets before the election were to scrap the tram (to please Cllr Jackson) and to scrap the Gedling bus plug (to please subsidy junkie, Laughton). Immediately after the election they found that they couldn't scrap the tram and went back on that pledge. I revealed here how it would cost £7.5m to remove the Gedling bus plug and I understand that as Bruce Laughton has staked his reputation on this promise and is standing to be an MP; Kay Cutts was still willing to do whatever had to be done to fund this. She even stood by the decision when a high profile visit by a cabinet minister bearing £17m in funding was cancelled at the last minute (see here for story). However, she has now had to admit defeat. The Evening Post announced today that the bus plug will stay.

This rather shows how hollow Tory promises and especially those made by the subsidy junkie Bruce Laughton and the second hand car salesman Jackson really are. The people who voted for Laughton on the strength of this pledge must now be as hopping mad as those who voted for Kerry and Jackson in Chilwell.

An area not Cutt

Every year streams, ditches and gulleys block, roads and gardens flood and occasionally the odd home. Last year the Borough councils took over responsibility for gulleys on public land thus relieving the County of a large burden. As the ditches on private farmland are the responsibility of the farmers, one would expect a cut in this budget as well.

However, you'd be wrong:

The County Council spearheaded by Country Landowners Association member, Kay Cutts and Farmer, Bruce (the subsidy junkie) Laughton have in fact decided to increase the gulley and drain clearing budget by "a significant amount" this year.

We have been told that so far most of the work undertaken has involved clearing privately owned ditches and channels in rural areas?.

Happy new year from the Vogon

On the BBC web site they have kindly put up a little application that allows everyone to enjoy Kay Cutts prime hobby, POETRY (see here).

For the reason Kay Cutts may be a Vogon see here