Full Council tonight. An inward looking agenda dramatised and enlivened by the early departure of 4 Tory councillors to the opposition seats over the schools debacle.
After the Council Leader won his vote of confidence before the Council meeting over his school proposals by 27 votes to 6, Cllrs Joyce, McRobert, Churchman and Bishop all declared they were leaving the Tory Group at the commencement of Full Council. We all had to budge up a bit in the opposition side of the Council Chamber.. The other two were, I guess, Ward and Peacey-Wilcox.
Only a matter of time before more of the Tories with vulnerable primary schools in their wards smell the coffee........
This Leader started with 35 Tories in his group. He is now down to 29 in just 4 months. By Easter he may not have a majority.
6 comments:
What an embarassment, dressing up to make a poimt. It seems they care only for their local ward not the greater good of island children. A real problem for our political system.
Perhaps "the greater good of island children" is what they are concerned about. After all that is what their party promised in their manifesto.
Thank you for retaining your sense of humour during these gloomy times, Geoff - this blog entry did make me laugh. It's all getting a bit Da Vinci code, isn't it? I think the schools reorganisation is actually being masterminded by a secret sect.
When you're an elected member you can't always be popular. Sometimes you have to hold your nose and vote. Think Tony Blair and Iraq.
I couldn't stand Blair, he made my flesh creep, but I was convinced that he believed he was doing the right thing, even if he knew he was ordering our troops into a war that would cost lives. That friends is leadership. You can only sleep at night if you believe you have done the right thing.
I'm bemused.
(1) What will happen to the buildings and the sites of the schools that will close? I assume the ones in the ripe positions will be sold off for residential redevelopment...where will that money go?
(2) I presume these small children will have to travel much further to get to school, putting even more traffic on our roads at 8.30am as hundreds of children sing in unison "Oh my God I don't believe it, I've never been this far away from home..."
(3)How on earth is a teacher, any teacher, supposed to feel confident in thier career on the Island at the moment. I'd actually lost the will to live over the three tier v two tier argument before all this latest trouble started.
(4) Finally, an ex colleague of mine who has been in education for a long, long time, is respected and great at his job has decided to leave the Island.... he cannot stand the thought of his children being educated here.
We're in a very, very sorry situation.
PS...I hope this schools uproar wont overshadow the next round of council tax increases to be announced. My wallet is braced for impact...
A sorry situation indeed Lisa.
Council Tax Budget for next year will be discussed at the Full Council on Feb 20th. Personally I see no reason for any above inflation increase, such has been the generosity of the Government's increase in grant this year.
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