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« Why Traditional Games Are Good | Opinions Please »

March West

March West
Following the sad death of Peter Skoulding, the March West District Council Seat will shortly become a political battleground during the necessary by-election that is triggered when a seat becomes vacant.
  
So far we know the Conservative candidate will be Steve Count.  I’ve never met Mr. Count but I do know that he beat off stiff competition to be selected as the Conservative candidate and that he did this despite something of a history of causing the Conservative-run District Council headaches in the past.  The Wisbech Standard columnist Breakespeare had to admit that the fact that our party were so quick to forgive and forget was an interesting and encouraging development.  Of course, those of us who are active Conservatives know that the party doesn’t deserve half the criticism that opponents sometimes throw our way.  The right man for the job (in the view of those selecting) will usually be chosen because that’s the correct thing to do.
  
Meanwhile, local independent Reg Kemp has also thrown his hat into the ring.  I’ve seen his comments plenty of times since he’s not at all shy at making his opinions known (much the same can be said about me - I’m aware!)  He has recently been a member of the political ‘party’ called “Jury Team” (I’m not sure if he still is) - you might remember them, they were beaten by just about everybody except maybe Animals Count, mostly due to the fact that the only thing they seem to stand for is that they don’t want to stand for anything.    He lost the County elections in June, beaten fairly resoundingly by Cllr. John Clark.  He’s also well-known for his disdain for Freemasons and his attempts to have them removed from any office they might hold at the District council.  An interesting character who will be entertaining during the short campaign, I’m sure.
  
Among those who are interested in local politics there is a lot of discussion about who might win this.  Some previous by-elections have been unopposed and so the fact that this might be more of a battle is causing some excitable folk to salivate. 

Some commentators think that Labour have a chance here but I doubt that very much.  Labour, in my opinion, are a dead duck right now.  I don’t see them as a major threat this year in Fenland.  But UKIP are a fly in the ointment.  If they have a candidate in, that makes things more uncertain.  As for the Lib Dems?  Who knows with those guys?  Sometimes they come out all guns blazing and other times they fizzle out like damp sponge (do damp sponges ‘fizzle’?  I suppose not.  Oops.  Bad adjective.  It’s been a long day!) 

Whatever the case it’ll sure be an interesting one and it’s just a terrible shame that it has come about through such tragic circumstances. 

If I were a betting man I’d be betting Conservative.  But, of course, you know that.  

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This entry was posted on 26/08/2009 at 10:38 pm and is filed under March, Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, Fenland District Council, Conservatives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “March West”

  1. Gone-after-the-next election says:
    26/08/2009 at 11:14 pm

    Labour are standing in this by-election because their PPC (prospective parliamentary candidate)_is hassling long forgotten members into activity, that’s how they put up a full slate for the County in June.
    But after their forthcoming humiliating defeat in the next General Election, they’ll disappear from the Fenland political landscape. Probably for ever.
    In fact they’ll be GONE-AFTER-THE NEXT-ELECTION

  2. D.Nyle says:
    27/08/2009 at 11:20 am

    I do appreciate that this is a Conservative Party blog, but Mr Tierney appears to have a downer on just about everyone who isn’t true blue. Oh no not another Independent ! We all know about his disapproval for the District’s current sole indy (the manic WORD EDITED OUT BY MODERATOR). Reg is being tarred a ‘loony’, Labour a ‘dead duck’, and the yellow peril’s a ‘damp sponge’. Well in your ideal world Steve, it’d just be a dictatorial one party state. No need for expensive elections, no opportunity for the Public to speak, just another stooge foisted upon us by the politburo !

    I’ve got a badge. It says “the Tories are the cream of England, rich, thick and full of clots !” Well Rich they are.The last accounts posted by North East Cambs Conservatives (December 2004) show over £80k in the bank. That’s how they’re able to afford to employ Debbie as their Agent. March West is a 3-member ward. Poor old independent Reg will have to pay for 14,000 leaflets, then try and individually deliver them. An almost impossible task for a younger man let alone one over 70! The Conservatives can produce a glossy advertising brochure, and it won’t even make a dent in their bank account. Of course they’ll win the by-election. It’s a no brainer.

    Last District election only 4 people stood for the 3 March West seats: -
    Stephen Court (LibDem) 727
    Jan French (Con) 1045
    Kit Owen (Con) 1049
    Peter Skoulding 883
    Stephen Court (not Steve Count) wasn’t too far behind! Particularly when you consider that the last named candidate owned two old people’s homes in the ward. It looks likely that there will be more candidates for this one seat, than there were for all 3 seats last time. I suppose that’s the nature of by-elections. Lets just hope that when, inevitably, yet another Conservative gets elected, he’ll have the balls to serve his electorate, not the puppet masters!

    Moderator (Steve Tierney)’s Response:
    Mr. D, you are either being deliberately unfair, or my ability to communicate is lacking. If its my fault, I apologise. But I’ll have to address your points anyway.

    You say: “Mr Tierney appears to have a downer on just about everyone who isn’t true blue”.

    Huh? I’ve had a problem with only one independent in my blog so how that translates to “just about everyone” I don’t know. I’m a Conservative so I support my conservative friends quite often as you’d expect, but I think it unfair to characterise me as ’slavish’. I’m sure some of my colleagues must actually think I’m a royal pain in the butt : ).

    You seem to suggest I have a ‘downer’ on Mr Kemp. I don’t. Nor did I say anything of the sort in my blog entry. Might I suggest a reread? I don’t have a very high opinion of the Jury Team, which seems to me to have been a silly idea and a failed project. But that’s not a personal issue with Mr Kemp. I commented on the fact he lost in the county elections, but I can’t see how the stating of this fact could be characterised as any sort of personal attack. I commented on the well-known issues he’s been involved with in the past, but took no view on them and didn’t criticise him for his views. In fact the only thing I did say about him which was ‘personal’ was: “An interesting character who will be entertaining during the short campaign, I’m sure.” If you consider that as meaning I have a “downer” on him or as any sort of attack on him you must have a very different understanding of the English language than I. In actual fact, while I will fall short of wishing Mr Kemp “good luck” for obvious reasons, I certainly respect anybody prepared to make a stand for office the way he is going. And I rather like all the pictures of him covered in UK Flags. http://static.socialgo.com/cache/47187/image/410.jpg He seems like somebody I’d get along with just fine.

    In regards to your comments about Cllr Archer, my ‘disapproval’ (your word not mine) of the Manea councillor is not personal, nor have I ever said it was. I had an issue with the way he ran his campaign, I expressed it clearly and I think fairly. That was that. I don’t hold any grudge against the man, he seems perfectly nice, and I have said as much several times. If he does something that I think is cool, I’ll say so. I would add that I don’t really understand the rather personal remarks you made about him in your comment, but I felt that even if they were a joke it would be a good idea to edit them out. I don’t like censoring words, but it seemed a little disrespectful and I didn’t really want it in my blog.

    Finally, you said: “I do appreciate that this is a Conservative Party blog…”.
    This is NOT a Conservative Party Blog. This is a personal blog from a Conservative’s viewpoint. A subtle, but very important distinction. See more here: http://blog.stevetierney.org/important-information/
    I should probably change the wording on my masthead which may not make this clear enough and I thank you for your comment which made me realise that.

  3. ChatteringMan says:
    27/08/2009 at 02:29 pm

    Doesn’t it come with terri-tory of a byelection that every man and his dog seek the oxygen of publicity? Like Andy said - “famous for 15 minutes”.

    Moderator (Steve Tierney)’s Comments: Yes. Of course it does.

  4. emmanuel shakespeare says:
    27/08/2009 at 03:56 pm

    Extraordinary comment from gone-after-the-next election. Gone with the wind seems more apt! He/she really has little comprehension of how politics work since it would be a naive and foolish main stream party that did not field (no pun intended? at every opportunity.
    Personally in this by election, sitting astride a whopping Fenland fence, I see merit in the ambitions of not so young Mr Kemp, I see Mr Tierney embracing a kindred spirit in Mr Count, and I see Mr Court proving troublesome to them all.
    Make no mistake, me hearties, this is no walk in the park for the blue rinse brigade. If the Tories want to win (and don’t forget that Mr Skoulding only just got in here last time round-FACT) then it will be all work and no play for a while for those doing the canvassing. Luckily the plucky Ms Clarke as Tory HQ in High Street likes a decent scrap, so woe betide those Tory slouches who don’t do what she tells ‘em.
    Much joy to you all
    The Bard

  5. David Banner says:
    28/08/2009 at 02:12 pm

    D.Nyle must be in denial! your right in your blog. Reg kemp is a loony, Labour is a dead, and the lib dems are the same useless luvvies they always have been. UKIP on the otherhand have something to offer. Other local areas have chosen them recently havent they? I hope a UKIP is on offer. I have never voted UKIP but if we keep getting given the short straw on every decision by you conservatives thats going to change.

    Moderator (Steve Tierney)’s Reply: I never said Reg Kemp was a “looney”, they was D.Nyle’s words, not mine. He’s colourful and interesting. That’s not the same as ‘looney’ at all. I’m sure he’s a dedicated and decent man.

  6. hugh-briss says:
    28/08/2009 at 05:49 pm

    Please forgive me asking, but why does this blog try and connect me to “Judgex.com”. What is Judgex ? You’re nor trying to give your legion of faithful readers some sort of nasty little virus ? Despite Cameron’s current claims, it’s always been bad for your health voting Tory, but is it similarly risky visiting a Conservative blog site (even if it’s a personal opinion within a con site ?)

    Moderator (Steve Tierney)’s Response: The imagine in my post about traditional games had a link attached which took you to the blog from which the image was previously used. I suspect you probably clicked on it. Embedded links wont do you any harm and are nothing to do with viruses or spyware, but I usually try to make sure they are clear where I use them. I’ve removed that one, which wasn’t really supposed to be there and came with the image I used to demonstrate my point. Apparently judgex.com is the blog site of a keen gamer. Quite a fun blog actually. I had a read of it while investigating your problem.

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