| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re::Trimmer Hall a listed building | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 24/05/16 12:55:00 |
| In my view there is financial corruption and there is political corruption, two entirely different things with different objectives being served. The only instance of obvious financial corruption that I witnessed was a housing officer who let out several homes to non-existent tenants and then absconded to Nigeria when he was about to be rumbled. Not much to deliberate over on that one. Political corruption however is a different matter. I have encountered many officers - a small minority to be sure, but a determined one all the same - who have been quite blatantly obstructive towards me in what was sometimes the quite obvious pursuance of a definable agenda. This can be motivated by the simple desire to exploit a situation (as in the case of a coalition) to enhance their own position by getting between the partners, or it can be of a more obviously party political nature. At its worst, I had a very senior officer who would not speak to or deal with me as he did not agree with my election to the Council (in an interesting, and very gratifying, twist of events I later became his boss!). I have witnessed polling station staff (LBH officers on a jolly) quite unbashfully using their positions to facilitate an advantage for candidates representing their party of preference. And, subsequent to 2010, there have been numerous and demonstrable instances of officers going the extra mile for individual Isleworth councillors, including the sharing of confidential FOI requests with (political) members of the public who had an interest in them, and the attempted bullying of tenants who were involved in community activity which is independent of the local authority (this is a current and ongoing issue on Ivybridge). That's without even mentioning the salaried "spy", on taxpayer time, at the Paul Slattery court hearing, or Curran's highly-paid "consultant"/PA who did everything for him bar his washing-up during his tenure as Lead Member for Housing. None of this is likely to be applicable in this instance I grant. But let's have none of this whiter-than-white council officer nonsense. Officers are human beings who are employed by the regime and their character, collectively, will inevitably over the course of time come to reflect the character of that regime. It really is that simple. |