The ‘Tweed Jacket Scandal’ about to hit County Hall in Morpeth

 

Democracy has been a great thing ever since the ancient Athenians began to ensure everyone had a voice in the governing of their state. Wars have been fought and are still ongoing to bring ever more of the world's population under its spell of equality and fraternity, so why has it bypassed Northumberland?

After six years of the toxic annihilation of democracy across the County of Northumberland by an administration that values no one but themselves we have noticed the many faces of the Counties leadership being photographed wearing an amazing amount of expensive tweed in order to glamorise the image that falling off a cliff can be beautified. 

Democracy is so damaged that the County Council simply omitted going public on their (recently set by abstaining Greens, LibDems and some independent Councillors) budget in the normal ‘state of the county’ events traditionally held in November of each year.

Following complaints from opposition councillors about the complete and utter lack of public consultation or the release of information other than the Leader’s constant brag about how much he will slash from the high level wage budget, a short e-consultation was held, without any public announcement and help from the now downtrodden press, who can assist greatly in these circumstances, a miserly 0.06% of Northumberland’s residents took part and with the data protection act in place we can’t find out if the 192 of the 320,600 residents who bothered to complete a questionnaire are the aunts, uncles, mothers and fathers of the Conservative Party Councillors. We know quite confidently through the high number of press reports of misogyny and bullying that spouses of those elected members won’t sit in those figures. 

The Conservative Leadership of the Council performed an act of defiance, sticking two fingers up to the residents of the County they are meant to serve and spoke into the upper sleeves of their tweeds when reporters tried to glean information to brief the public on what devastatingly was labelled a ‘Train Crash’ by Labour opposition councillors when the full force of inadequacy, inequality, estrangement and discord was revealed a few short days before their secret regimes version of democratic decisions had to be made at full council.

According to Labour activists the Train Crash is still moving forward in slow motion as equality, fairness and understanding has simply been cast aside by the Conservative administration in their latest race to destroy democracy to cover their tweed clad backs from exposing their crooked spines to the fresh air of openness and accountability.

Since the Atheniens created the involvement of all in decision making, rules have had to be agreed to protect those involved in delivering decisions? The prime ‘rule book’ for any Council is ensconced in a document known as the Constitution of the Council.

Council constitutions are modified and modernised from time to time through a protracted internal and external process overseen by a committee usually comprising many of its elder councillors outside of its leadership team and cabinet in conjunction with legal advisors and independent from political affiliation ‘partners’ for the want of a better word. This is commonplace in most Councils, but not in Northumberland.

We suspect the ‘Tweedies’ must have been found out by those high level investigators engaged in the Caller report into bullying and mismanagement that the last revision of Northumberland’s Constitution was undertaken in secret by its one party cabinet as the Leaders photographed so many times wearing the honest cloth of the Northlands disgracing its image have called an urgent meeting where opposition members of Council will be given one hour to digest the ramifications of the latest revision of the constitution and therefore the future direction of democracy on behalf of Northumberland’s unsuspecting public before its voted through. Allegedly giving three working days notice of the meeting.

We must ask on the public’s behalf if that's what democracy run by farmers and gentlemen is all about?

How do working Councillors get time off to debate something they don’t yet know about?

How can opposition members take unbiased legal advice when they aren’t yet aware of the content they require advice on?

When will the public get to see the democratic changes undemocratically being thrust upon them?

When will the ‘Tweedies’ decide to call it a day, they have been found out for what they are over the last six years and need to ask the public if secrecy and un-accountability, proven bullying and lack of reality is what people want from their Council?