A time for change
What a month it turned out to be for our member of parliament Derek Conway and his family. Following his apology to the House about how he allocated his allowances he probably thought that would be the end of the matter. After all the story was almost a year old but it was like snow on a mountain building up to an avalanche of criticism mainly from his own colleagues and Tory media.
It was also a week when there wasn’t much else to report on by the national media who seized on the story like mad dogs in a news eating frenzy.
Whatever has been said about Conway when he took on the constituency from his predecessor he had a big pair of feet to fill and to be fair he was beginning to find a place on his political patch getting involved in lots of local issues including the fight to save services at Queen Mary’s hospital. His reputation was growing as a sound constituency MP. But now he has said he will not fight the next election will mean a new candidate will have to be found to represent the conservative party in Old Bexley and Sidcup.
It is obvious from the few people who are members of the local Conservative Association they do not represent the bulk of those who vote for a conservative candidate. After all there are only just over a thousand members in the whole of Old Bexley and Sidcup and they shun publicity as if it was a disease! Their counterparts in Bexleyheath are the opposite and promote themselves and their party at every given opportunity actively seeking out new members to take on the role of councillors.
But it will be up to the local association in Old Bexley and Sidcup who will decide who is to be the new candidate if Mr Conway does stand down. Or will it! Because it is a ‘safe’ seat the Conservative Central Office will have a string of prospective MPs just as Mr Conway was when the seat became available anxious to foist him/her on the good trusting people in the constituency.
The Chronicle would like to suggest they disregard what Central office have to say and put forward their own candidate, someone like Mrs June Slaughter (Pictured right) who lives on the patch. She would be an excellent representative. Lives here, dedicated to her party, loves politics, can listen, read and digest information and is articulate when giving an informed opinion. She would be an asset in Parliament and because of her reputation in the constituency as a councillor would soon make herself felt in the upper echelons of the Commons club.
So come on sleepy Old Bexley and Sidcup Conservative Association persuade Mrs Slaughter to stand but if she won’t then someone like her.
Council Tax Up Again!
The word is that our council tax is going up yet again. Some say by as much as 4% locally plus of course the GLA part which also grows year-on-year.
Pensioners will as usual suffer the increases most. They have already been told about meals on wheels and cuts in their medical care and increases in their utility bills which has wiped out the governments contribution of £100 toward keeping warm.
The government will not be amending pensions by the amount of increases they have had to bear.
Many pensioners live in larger houses which they have owned for years and many pay well in excess of £200 every month to the council to take away minuscule amounts of rubbish each week. Sweep their streets once in a while and keep their roads lit at night when they’re fast asleep! Few can remember the last time their roads or pavements being repaired and probably over half who have been forced to pay the levy for the Olympics will be dead by 2012. Most Bexley pensioners believe they do not receive value for money.
The Council say their hands are tied because of the amount of money they are given by central government which this year will be less than inflation. They say they have saved £6m a year since they took office from the previous administration.