Friday 8 April 2011

Election-watch 1

This is my opportunity to respond to other candidates' propaganda. First, Chris Lale's leaflet headed 'local community news' which just happens to be the first edition timed to coincide with his nomination for Abbeygate ward in the borough elections. Quelle coincidence! With the headline PARKING NIGHTMARE Chris says that streets in the town that are not designated for residents' parking can suffer from increased problems, and claims these may be worse when the parking charges go up.

In particular he rightly cites Hospital Road as one which is always full of cars. OK Chris. What is the answer? He is quick to empathise with his readers worries, and then offers no solutions. If he thinks getting residents parking for Hospital Rd is the answer he may be right, except that when I canvassed opinion months ago I could not find a majority prepared to join the scheme. Even if I had, it could take years to get it established, as he will find out if he ever gets elected.

Overleaf Chris 'tackles the council over pedestrian safety', describing his petition: 'Make Kings Rd Safe' and allowing the reader to think that the result of his presenting it to the council's Bury St Edmunds working party on 22nd Feb was various measures to be taken in the future, such as bollards and chicane parking. What he failed to point out was that these measures arose as a direct consequence of a site meeting which he actually walked past and saw taking place on 14th Feb with police, borough and county officials, residents, County Cllr Ereira and me. In fact the bollards were my suggestion!

Is this the LibDem election-winning strategy, making out they are responsible for some good or popular result? A very cheeky example of this is on Chris Lale's website, where he describes the Special Area Policy vote as 'a move supported by LibDem councillors'. Full marks for trying Chris. It was Richard Rout and I who first got the SAP introduced, and since July 2010 I have worked relentlessly with the CAA to regain it. I didn't notice you or any LibDem councillors not on the Licensing committee showing any interest until now. Let's see if the public are fooled. I'm not.

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