| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Just what are the Tories and Junior Tories doing t | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 03/06/09 12:57:00 |
| Dave I actually find myself quite encouraged by much of what you say here. When you are being sensible you are an interesting guy. I honestly do wish it would happen more often. I'm guessing the meeting you are referring to was of the Race Harassment Scrutiny Panel, am I correct? I remember that evening too. There were several councillors from across the spectrum involved but there were only two in my view who were making a sustained, intelligent contribution. One was your good self and the other, if you'll forgive me for saying it, was yours truly. If you came to that meeting with preconceptions that I would articulate a racist or right-wing view of any kind then you would indeed have been surprised, but you need to bear in mind it has been implied elsewhere that I do this whole anti-racist thing - week in, week out, year in, year out - against my true nature solely to impress Robin. I don't understand your comments about me allegedly implementing Tory housing policy. I am no longer Lead Member for Housing, but in nearly three years in that role I would challenge you to point out to me what housing stock I have destroyed or sold off, unless you are referring to the one solitary house in Chiswick which we decided to sell in order to fund major refurbishments to several other properties which were outside the Housing Revenue Account and which were completely uninhabitable. If this is what you are referring to this was a one-off, pragmatic decision which I believe to have been the right one as several large families have been rehoused as a consequence. If on the other hand you are saying that the Tories, if they had complete control of the council, would sell off our social housing stock then you may or may not be right. I honestly don't know, there are different views within the Conservative Group about this and it is difficult to know which view would prevail following an election and a subsequent intake of new councillors. But if that is indeed what you are saying then are you not acknowledging that the ICG's presence within the administration has had the effect of preventing such a policy from being implemented? And are you not, therefore, contradicting your apparent view that the ICG's role within the administration has been to implement Tory policy? I am genuinely interested in your take on this, but you need to be clearer about what it is you are saying. Either way, I don't understand your logic if you are suggesting that the sale of our social housing stock by a future full-blooded Conservative administration could be blamed on the ICG who (following the logic of your own argument) prevented such a thing from happening when in office! I have to say though that I do not the share the belief held by a growing number of Labour and Conservative councillors (and not a few senior officers if their recent conduct towards us is anything to go by) that a fully-fledged Conservative administration will be the outcome in 2010. In fact as an expectation I think it is ludicrously wide of the mark, and if I may say so myself I haven't a bad track record when it comes to predicting the outcomes of local elections in Hounslow. In my view Dave, one way or another, you will be stuck with us for quite a long time to come and if that is the case then how you and your party choose to deal with that is of course for you decide. Dave, I accept that I may have you wrong on a lot of things. You certainly have me wrong on almost everything. Speaking personally, my own political views are very far removed from Conservative ideology and not in the direction that it seems you would prefer to think. Ideology is absolutely not the basis of this coalition, and until you and your colleagues are prepared to grasp that point you will continue to be wrong and your strategies, based as they are on wilful misconceptions, will be wrong also. In truth the coalition is a coming together of two wholly different groups whose aspirations lie in wholly different areas of the local authority's operation. Our policy has been to allow our partners to pretty much do their thing in the areas which interest them in return for similar concessions in the field of community engagement. If anybody feels that we've not pursued our own objectives aggressively enough then I would implore them to watch this space. I hope I do not come across as a Tory spokesperson on this forum. I would agree, and regret, that our Conservative coalition partners seldom participate on here or even on W4. Possibly they take the view that the less one says, the less chance there is of putting one's foot in it. I on the other hand tend not to think like a politician, my approach is that if I say what I feel then I'm prepared to be judged on it. Each to their own. In conclusion Dave, your views to me are interesting but confused. If they represent the wider party view then I believe you all have a lot of work to do if you are to regroup anytime soon. |