Topic: Live from the count at the Oasis......almost!

[Tobes]

Clearly this is a website that appeals to children.

Certainly someone seems to have thrown her toys from the pram...  ;)

Caz - never ascribe malice to something which might be a mistake. Geoff, from my experience, is pretty assiduous in making sure that he's being fair. In ters of stating that there was a rumour (ie not a fact) that something took place, he was enabling someone like yourself to come forward and correct that assumption.

Geoff's comments though reveal that he, like so many of the rest of us, are fully prepared to believe the possibility that something like that described actually came to pass. The Labour group would appear to have completely debased both our potential trust - and their moral high ground - through the content of certain leaflets issued on the behalf of certain Labour candidates... Mud sticks.

I have no reason to disbelieve you or your take on what happened. But if it had it would certainly have been in keeping with the sort of approach we have come to expect, perhaps?

[James]

I trust Geoff.

James

[Geoff Reid]

Thanks for the expressions of confidence in my sincerity. 

...and I'm still very grateful to Caz for contributing.

Of course what Caz doesn't know about me, (which many of the TS members have already learned), is that I try to practice what I preach, say what I mean and do what I say.

Putting the Montaut rumour to one side for a while, I'd like to add this:

I wouldn't encourage anyone else to say or do something that I wouldn't be prepared to do myself, which is why I found myself in the council chamber last Friday afternoon asking the council whether, as letters printed and promoted by Kevin Small had alleged, some Conservative members of the council had been lining their own pockets with our council tax.

The allegation was refuted completely by Rod Bluh who answered my question fully, without a trace of hesitancy, evasion or sidestepping. He looked me square in the eye and didn't look away.  I believed him, and I believe everyone in the chamber believed him as well, especially those members of the Labour group who'd assisted in distributing the letters because I'm sure they already knew he was telling the truth.

This was something more than a rumour they'd started, it was a very deliberate and calculated act of writing, printing and distributing a lie.

Did anyone from the Labour group choose to answer my question?, or rise to repeat their allegations against the Tory evil doers?, they did not.

Not one word.

So, perhaps it's understandable that they desperately want something to pin on the Tories, and the Montaut rumour would be just the ticket.....and if they can have a slash at me, and Talkswindon on the way past, all the better......

...but there's a small problem, an inconvenient truth that stands between their desire to have a stab at me for giving time and air to the Montaut rumour and asking a question at council which they didn't, and which they couldn't respond to directly without admitting they'd lied,....

....and that problem is that there really isn't anything about the Montaut rumour which should be irritating them quite as much as it is.

If Montaut did have extral help, if a busload of volunteers had helped him by banging on the doors of Goan/English/Asian/Welsh voters....so what?, what does it matter?.

Surely there's nothing actually wrong with Montaut having help, and if polling day in Central was as Caz has described it...what's the big deal?, the rumour is wrong, didn't happen, wasn't true.....end of story really.

Or is it?, why revisit it, why open it up in that particular way, at that particular time?

Something about this rumour, and its discussion on Talkswindon is provoking a deeper reaction within the Labour group than Caz's mild hysterics on forum would suggest.

I think I know what, but I'm happy to sit back and watch it all come out in the wash...

.....information, (it is often said), wants to be free.... 

 
 

[kecl]

It does seem rather strange that Caz is making a big deal of this rumour heard at the count, maybe the cap fits???

What I do know is the Broadgreen box contained by far the most voting slips of any of the Central boxes, and from this box Labour were picking up 2 or 3 votes to every one Conservative vote. 

Selective door knocking by Labour was very much in evidence on polling day.  I witnessed it first hand on a number of occasions including whilst sitting in my front room in Salisbury Street, enjoying a cup of tea.

Now I know there is nothing wrong with selective knocking, but one has to wonder what makes Broadgreen so unique that Derrique and his followers were drawn only to the Broadgreen area on that particular Thursday.

Time will only tell if our new Councillor is now going to work as hard for the people who voted for him as he worked in persuading them to put their X in his box. Lets hope they are not disappointed.

Mind you if he doesn't, the fact is we have been used to Councillor support being rather thin on the ground in Central for a long time now and we in Broadgreen have become quite adept at successfully fighting our own battles and have no intentions of stopping now. :fence1:

[NickySewell]

I can't imagine anything drew them to the area more so than knowing it has the largest voter turn out of all the polling districts?

[kecl]

This is a fairly recent occurrence.

[NickySewell]

Surely always better to work with recent data than historic ... ?

[Geoff Reid]

Bump

Looks at calendar.

Pauses for breath.....

....and cracks knuckles noisily above keyboard. 

[Geoff Reid]

Okay, there is a related update here: http://www.talkswindon.org/index.php?topic=1982.msg13546#msg13546 on the 'Right Wing Prejudice' thread.

It is related because the two topics are intrinsically linked.