Peasant's revolt, Adolf Hitler and Medway Full Council

Signs left by the protestors.

Last night I made a semi conscious decision that I would go home and spend the evening with my wife and watch comedy on E4 than go to the full Council meeting. It had been a long day at work and I was pretty hacked off and just wanted to go home but follow Ed Jenning's twitter commentary.

It appears I made a massive mistake!

There are a few issues in the Medway towns that are getting up people's noses and they are pretty passionate about.

One is the on going issue of the expansion of Rochester Airport costing the Medway Tax payer £4m for arguably very little in return, except for those few who can afford to run aircraft rather than repair roads etc. which I covered after the last meeting I attended last year.

The other is the proposed closing and re-siting of Strood Library which will result in the closure of a local Community project. Passions ran quite highly with this and a petition of 5000 names was collected in support of the Library - only for a swathe of it to be discounted because not all the signatories were from the Medway towns, indeed one was from France.

A very loud group of protesters turned up apparently and were demanding that they be heard by the Conservative Council but by all accounts they were treated in the same bluff, crass way as the Airport questions were treated. (see last link).

When the allotted 30 minutes for public questions ran out there were members of the Gallery who were less than satisfied and demanded to be heard and their questions asked in front of the Public and the gathered council rather than in the usual written form and they would not accept the Mayor's judgement to be silent and began clapping loudly. Finally the Mayor made the decision to lead the Council out and adjourn the meeting!

After ten minutes they tried a restart but the same thing occurred, with the added embarrassment that the Labour group refused to stand for the Mayor when she re-entered, showing her the same disrespect that the Conservatives were showing the public.

After another adjournment certain people were ejected from the galleries.

The problem is that, yes the protesters were over zealous and possibly went about things the wrong way but when you are passionate about something and look set to lose a valuable public asset and you are met with an arrogant answer from those who have already deemed you wrong in the first place then, yes, you are bound to get cross.

The problem with the ruling Conservative body as I, a humble observer, see it is that they think they are right all the time. They have these great ideas and plough ahead with them even against Public opinion. Time and again they have ignored public fears at Consultancy meetings over things like the Outsourcing of the Elderly care homes at Nelson's court and Robert Bean Lodge, again with the Airport where local residents and indeed people like me who fear it is an awful use of Council tax payer's money and now with Strood Library. They are quick to label those who criticise and complain as Medway Knockers. When in actual fact these are members of the public who are genuinely aggrieved and angry at their blasé and frankly arrogant approach.

However the cherry on the cake was Cllr Jarrett, deputy Tory leader and portfolio holder for finance, dropped the H-bomb.

Labour government worse than Hitler?

During a too and froe with Councillor Osborne (Lab) he basically, (I'm afraid I don't know the exact word for word but am reliably informed) said that the last Labour administration brought the country to its' knees more effectively than Hitler.

Wow... just... wow...

Don't get me wrong, I have my problems with the last Labour administration and I am glad they were elected out in 2010 but brought the country to its knees? Baring in mind where I work, in our mess room right next to my head is a photograph of a Heinkel bomber (taken from another) over the London docks on a bombing run. Yes the country was brought to financial ruin in part by the last administration but compared to the Blitz, U-boat blockade, Channel guns, invading British territories and forcing evacuations of undesirables to their deaths this is nothing. What was he thinking?

I personally find it quite offensive and I'm sure that many others probably do as well.

After prompting from Vince Maple, Labour's leader, the comment was withdrawn but in all honesty it should not have been uttered in the first place. When you hold a position like that and a meeting like that you have to show that you are the grown up adult politician you claim to be and not continue to grand stand and politically score points.

It is behaviour like last night's display that is causing people to lose faith in politics and politicians. It is bad for Politics, it is bad for Democracy and above all, it is bad for Medway. Let's all grow up and treat the public, the voters and your employers as people to be listened to and not dismiss a negative opinion just because it is not in line with yours and above all show each other courtesy and dignity.

Cllr Tolhurst and Medway Knockers

Cllr Tolhurst

I had the (mis)fortune to sit through the debate on the future of rtochester airport a few months ago. I won't go into the detail of the debate but there was something that sparked an emotion that was not frustration or anger.

It was confusion.

Councillor Kelly Tolhurst (con) gave a very rousing speech in defence of her party's plans, by far the best argument I had heard from any of the Tories that night. Councillor Jarrett had defended the position with all the airs and graces of a bison negotiating it's way out of a liquidiser and Councillor Chitty was as convincing as Adolf Eichman's defence top that of with... sorry I am digressing.

Councillor Tolhurst argued that as a local girl and local business owner she was proud of Medway and of the airport.

There came the phrase that Councillor Jarrett had used in the past.

Those that criticised were Medway Knockers who sought to have a go at any good that was in Medway and undermine my attempt to make it better.

This made me think back to other eras of History where anyone who questioned orders or government decisions were termed "Unpatriotic" "Rebels" or "defeatist" often followed by punitive measures.

It is true that there are those who say No to everything the ruling party say or support - that is the Labour Party.

I was born in Gillingham, I had family here and stayed at my Grandparent's every weekend for many years.

I have lived here since 2007, I was married here, my children were both born here and next year my eldest, Sophie, will go to school here. Hopefully this is enough to qualify me as a resident rather than someone who has just turned up.

However I too was (at least) once referred to as a Medway Knocker for daring to speak out against the City status bid against the Status Quo - Worse yet I, and the party I belong too took action for those who didn't agree with the bid and were ignored by the ruling council.

We were labelled Medway Knockers even though our motivations were for the good of Medway.

The same is true for the Airport. THere are quite a few concerned residents who live near the airport who have safety concerns and others who see the £4.5 Million price tag and balk at the investment whilst services are cut and roads unrepaired. Others are more concerned about the Conservatives "consultation" process - which if it is anything like the selling of the care homes a couple of years ago, will be a simple exercise in futility and because they legally have to do it and their minds are already made up.

Pigeon holing and profiling is sp,etjomg we are all guilty of and at times we can be correct in our assumptions and quietly smug.

It is dangerous and either politically naive/ stupid or deliberately dismissive.

I don't think Cllr Tolhurst is any of these. Her statement was very passionate and angry in the face of Labour opposition so I'd notch this one up to the heat of the moment.

But you should watch out for the Conservative group and their, dare I say it, Liberal usage of the term!

Roads before Runways

Livingston Road Canyon.

One of the things to come out of the Rochester Airport debate at last weeks full council was a plea from freshly defected Labour Councillor Andy Stamp who in his report stated that a couple of roads in Gillingham

North had now reached such levels of deteriation that they were now unsafe.

If has been something of a common complaint around the Medway towns, our roads are in a dire straights and I have as many pictures of potholes on my phone as I have pictures of my kids. Some have been there for a long time and Livingston road in my ward of Gillingham South, is particularly bad - made worse because the holes were filled in last year so badly that they have deterioated in months as well as the excess gravel not being cleared away afterwards!

Indeed the pavements are dangerous too having been dug up and filled in countless times with scars that rund in long routes along our byways. The pathment outside the esplanade of shops in Sturdee avenue is cratered like the moon and is a trip hazard for elderly residents and disabled (like my daughter who has walking difficulties and has to wear splints) alike.

Would it not be better to sink the £4.4 million that is going into the Airport reinvestment into making our roads and pavements safe?

I'm not knocking Medway or the airport - just pointing out that there are areas that are in more of an urgent need of these funds - something the Liberal Democrats (and Labour) pointed out to the Conservatives last week.

I understand fiom Cllr Juby (Lib Dem) that he has petitioned to get Livingston Road and Balmoral Road completely resurfaced and many holes are to be filled on roads like Pier Road where cars were bouncing along the road!

What of the rest though? What do the Conservative led Council think the priority for the people of Medway is; an Airport used by hundreds or roads used by us all?