Letters in the Hunts Post 27/01/10

Rather than doing a separate piece on each letter so I thought I would lump all I want to comment on into one article. Link to Hunts Post.

It's time to make a stand - If all these people are using the church, why does the taxpayer have to pick up the bill for a church car park? Something that I feel the letter writer Mrs K Robertson missed.

Web of intrigue - Cllr Andy Monk's letter shows a fundamental misunderstanding of local government. In it he looks at trying to have a go at the Conservative run HDC over spending money on a new website. The Editor's note is good but doesn't go far enough.  When Monk says:

"Could not the extra money spent developing this site have been better used ensuring more roads in the district were gritted, or helping the elderly and others whose needs were great keep warm during this extended cold snap."

The simple answer is NO. As a UKIP District Councillor you should be able to come up with specific costed alternative proposals. But you didn't. This is just a very poor political attack against his former colleagues. Maybe the UKIP group leader should forego the extra £723 he gets for being a minor leader?

No change - Cllr Peter Bucknell has a go at Cllr Monk about becoming a UKIP Councillor. Whilst this wouldn't cost much money as there is an election in 2010 in Ramsey anyway, I have to say Cllr Monk was elected by the people of Ramsey and he is not bound to do so by political convention. Otherwise all those Councillors who defect from other parties to the Conservatives in other parts of the country would have to do the same.

Air of resignation - Paul Dakers has a go at his former colleagues over their response to his resignation. Well DUH! Politics moves on. You have resigned. That is it. I feel your resignation has embarrassed the Conservatives and HDC so they ain't going to send you letters of sympathy.

The trouble with letters to the weekly press is they can be out of date when printed. This is the case. As I reported in an article on this blog dated 21st January 2010 a by-election has been called in Fenstanton.
Obviously the Hunts Post is behind the times.

Whilst HDC has gotten round to editing Dakers out of its website the same can't be said for the Conservatives. As found on the HCCA website today!

Council Tax reduction is a ploy - Cllr Bird reiterates her problems with the Town Council budget for not having enough contingencies. But no proposals on how much these contingencies should be! I agree with Cllr Bird the newly annexed residents are paying for this cut in Council Tax. As for the ECC estimates, I do have a degree of agreement. But the budget is ONE BIG ESTIMATE. Full of small estimates.

Again, Cllr Bird blames the Liberal Democrats for closing the public loos when it is the Conservative run HDC that decided to do this. This is a dreadful misrepresentation.

As for Rodney Bird (her husband) weighing in accusing Hunts Post of being pro Liberal Democrats I feel this is wrong. I feel the Hunts Post is pro Djanogly/pro Conservative newspaper. That is probably why the Hunts Post publishes Cllr Bird's dreadful letter.