Wednesday, January 23, 2008

22 Reasons Not To Vote LibDem

Excellent article on the Sutton Guardian website this afternoon which you can read here.

The Sutton LibDem MP has sent out a magazine resembling the sort of 'Real Lives' magazine that usually has articles like pets uncovering extra-marital affairs and Britain's Biggest Love Rat etc. Have a look at an example and play spot the difference.

Despite the LibDem Chief Whip failing to save a single post office from closure and, indeed losing the whole postal town of Cheam, twenty two posed photos appeared in the glossy tome. The Guardian article in describing it as exhibiting new levels of narcissism, pointed out that Rembrandt may have turned out 40 unvarnished self-portraits but at least the versatile Dutch master spread them over half a century.

Sadly I often remind myself of the epithet "Politics is showbusiness for ugly people." Ploughing out this sort of lightweight newsletter doesn't really help politicians from any party raise people's expectations of us.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

couldn't agree more Paul, I got this delivered sometime last week and it raised more than a chuckle. pretty cheesy stuff...

..."local boy made good"...don't make me laugh, Burstow is USELESS!

;)

Anonymous said...

So let's have some honesty here "Paul" - instead of some of your cronies posting "staged" messages. You know as well as I do, and as well as the Lib-Dems do, that your pathetic attempts to make out that Philippa Stroud, Ken Andrews, and indeed any other tory councillor you might wish to name, can do absolutely nothing to save any post office in the borough, nor indeed in the country. The reason they are closing is simply down to the EU - because one of their famous directives states that "The UK government are allowed to subsidise the post office by up to £150 million per annum". Those with an understanding of maths and finance have calculated that the post office needs a subsidy of at least £400 million per year, therefore the post office have hard choices to make. Banging the drum and pretending that you are and your party are the answer is frankly pathetic. That is why we are setting the agenda in the Cheam by-election by telling the people the TRUTH on this, something I'm afraid that the Tories wouldn't understand if it bit them on the arse.

Anonymous said...

Oh and I hope that your candidate in Cheam will at least have the decency to be honest about this issue if he can't be honest about anything else.

Unknown said...

David
1. The Post Office story is further down the blog. This is one about Paul Burstow posturing in his leaflets.
2. As an elected councillor, you had plenty of time to offer your view on this when it was discussed at the last Council. Then as usual, you chose not to. Any resident can write to the papers, photocopy leaflets or chase headlines. Only a councillor can speak up for his residents opposing the administration who are spending their money.

3. The last EU Directive that you claimed was responsible was the one that ended the monopoly of the Post Office for smaller items of mail. Can you clarify if you are now claiming that there are two directives that have caused this.

There are many factors that are leading to the closure of post offices. The next round are due to be announced next month. I suspect that even with your best efforts, we wouldn't be in a position to have UKIP take us out of Europe in that time.

What can happen in the meantime instead of shouting from the sidelines helplessly is that we seek ways of making sub post offices profitable.

I cannot remember the last time that you directed some of your energy at the people that are in power making decisions. We have a LibDem Council and a Labour government which you seem happy to retain in your quest to attack the Conservatives. Personally I want to see change. Since UKIP are at a low, not even registering a single vote of approval in a recent opinion poll, I cannot see that you will be that change.

The LibDems are heading towards a council tax rise of at least 1% more than most Conservative councils in London. I want to reverse this. I have to question if you really do.

I have seen you post many messages on this blog under different names, once using 10 different pseudonyms in a single evening. I'll go elsewhere for my lessons in honesty thanks.

Anonymous said...

here here Paul!

i take exception to being referred to as a staged crony!

Anonymous said...

Paul - the EU have directed that our "government" cannot subsidise the Post Office by more than £150m per annum, when they need £400m. It therefore follows there will be closures. By all means protest about them, but all I'm saying is that at the end of the day it is disingenuous because the PO and the government's hands are tied. Like you I do not want a Lib-Dem administration here, and certainly don't want a council-tax rise at all. The difference between our parties is that the Tories are quite happy with a rise say around inflation or slightly above or below, whereas we are calling for a freeze which you know can be achieved. It's not a question of whether I or you are honest, it's a question of honesty in politics. Believe me our message is getting across loud and clear and the tories are obviously rattled or else one of your colleagues would not have written the letter he did last week in the Guardian about us. I've never read such drivel in my life.

Anonymous said...

'Take A Break' - more like 'Give Us A Break' from the Daily Burstow!! lol

Unknown said...

David

There's the difference. I don't believe that state subsidies are the be all and end all when looking at organisations such as the Post Office. British Telecom, British Airways and several other companies became world-beating companies after the end of subsidies.

In the case of the Post Office, it is true to say that politicians at our level are limited in what they can do but we can look at imaginative solutions to make smaller post offices profitable. Why not use some as a one-stop shop for council services? Allow the post offices to work with other delivery companies than the Royal Mail.

No-one in the Conservative group would be 'happy' to settle with limiting Council Tax to inflation. I look admiringly at Hammersmith and Fulham who are cutting their sum by 3% for the second year running. Westminster are keeping theirs the same and Hillingdon are proposing a freeze for pensioners. This is what we need have real ambition to acheive. Since becoming leader, I have spent as much time as I can speaking to the leaders of these and other councils to see what we can learn and bring back to Sutton.

What we will not be doing is throwing around uncosted, ill-thought out suggestions. Croydon's last Labour administration did exactly that putting their Council Tax up by 2% without significant changes in their spending and then had to increase tax by an eye-watering 24% the following year. This is my honesty: Promising what I know we can and should acheive, working for residents on issues that concern them. As the opposition we can only influence not make the big decisions. Therefore it is only by a change of administration in 2010 that we will see the changes that we both want to see in Sutton. You might not get everything you want on your shopping list but I'm sure you will agree that it should be a whole lot better than what we are getting now.

Anonymous said...

Paul - yes agree with all of that. I take it when you say "change of administration" you mean a UKIP council!!

Anonymous said...

Haha...

"UKIP council"..

Classic.

Tell us another one, please.

Anonymous said...

About time people like you learned to get a sense of humour Monsieur Stanford. It was a tongue in cheek remark - even Cllr Scully would realise that. Suggest you join the Lib-Dems if your that glum.

Anonymous said...

Well Cllr Pickles i certainly would rather join any party apart from ukip

Unknown said...

Now, now children. Glad that Cllr Pickles still has his mischevious sense of humour:)

Anonymous said...

Paul - thank you. As for anonymous, well you obviously know nothing about us, so that if I may say so, is rather an ignorant comment.

Anonymous said...

Well here's one not to vote Conservative.

Whither Derek Conway - or is de rigeur now by the Tories to keep it in the family?

Unknown said...

Jeremy Paxo

No. This is why not to vote for Derek Conway. This is why he has had the whip withdrawn.

Each party seems to attract some people who are prepared to commit some stupid offences. UKIP had Ashley Mote who has just been released from prison with a tag after conviction on 21 separate charges of fraud. The Labour party has more financial sleaze cases than you can shake a stick at and the LibDem's biggest individual donor is another convict.

Anonymous said...

Going back to the ridiculous LibDem 22-photo "Daily Burstow", yes I agree that it shows a worrying degree of narcissism and hopefully a sense of desperation in the LibDem camp, but at least it is readable.

Compare this with the sophisticated soft-focus blue and green leaflets from the Conservatives and you will find a significant proportion of elderly or partially sighted people cannot read them. Someone at Conservative HQ needs to redesign the literature to be accessible to all possible voters.

Anonymous said...

Does that mean that Conservative policies are blind to the truth?

Anonymous said...

A party truly rattled. A party ready to be defeated in the Cheam by-election, because it's a party that has no hope, and all it can do is espouse double standards.

A once great party, now reduced to this pathetic attempt to criticise without having radical policies to counter its opponents.

A party truly rattled.

Anonymous said...

Cllr Pickles.
Just answer one question for me without any rhetorical crud.
Would you if UKIP could not win rather the Tories win or the Lib Dems?
Its very simple can i have a simple answer please?


A

Anonymous said...

My god aardvark - you are reaching far above your intellectual intelligence here. Have you been taking lessons from Jeremy Paxo?

If UKIP cannot win, then I could not care less who comes first. If I had to be pressed I would say that I would want a decent person to win (rather than a set political party), and to that end I find the Lib-Dems far more amenable at the moment than the Tory shower. It may interest you to know (although I know that you already know it, either being a Tory councillor or a rabid supporter), that the vast majority of them have now decided not to talk to me, or are rather rude. I find that not only distasteful, but rather childish. But then that's the regime now in the Tory party. Come back Eleanor - all is forgiven.

Anonymous said...

I think you better get used to the Tories not talking to you.
Enjoy your next 2 years of being dishonest to the electorate.
They will be your last in politics in Sutton unless perhaps if you switch sides again probably after your last comments to the Lib Dems.
We know your real agenda now.
Politics is a dirty game and you are about to find out how dirty it can get.
Farewell Pickles...

Anonymous said...

Thanks terminator. It's always nice to know how childish some people can be, but your threats don't bother me one bit.

Hope you enjoy your next 2 years as well, and then the next election results. You and your bunch really are pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Not as pathetic as a councillor who switches sides,professes to supporting the Lds,takes his allowance contrary to his own parties policy and refuses to go to the electorate.

Pathos indeed