Sunday, February 03, 2008

Weapon of Choice

With a by-election only a few weeks away, I have been spending a lot of time in Cheam recently. Many people will think of it as a wealthy village with Jeremy Vine and Harry Secombe as previous residents and home to the fictitious Railway Cuttings of Tony Hancock. Nothing much else happens in Cheam does it?

As in most parts of London, traffic spoils what is a picturesque village centre but the beautiful church spire dominates the landscape reminding passers-by that Cheam has a long history dating back to at least 1018.

The congestion is not the only modern scourge to come to Cheam. I was astounded to read of a man attacked by a machete-wielding thug on New Year's Day. It is a testament to the proliferation of such crime in London that the yellow sign appealing for help has quickly become part of the furniture on the Cheam by-pass.

Sutton Police do a great job but they need far more help from the Mayor and central government in particular. We need to tackle gang violence in London. Nearby Croydon suffers terribly from this. Fortunately Carshalton only has comparatively minor antisocial behaviour problems from groups coming from Waddon and beyond. Left unchecked, this will get worse as gangs are able to get away with more and then look beyond their current boundaries. Police bureaucracy is a perennial source of moaning but rarely gets tackled. It takes 25 minutes for a police officer to complete a foot-long form every time someone is stopped in the street, even if only to account for themselves. I'll be pushing Boris to keep talking about how he will deal with this head-on when he is Mayor for London. We have to keep the crime in Sutton in perspective. We are not a Hackney or Tower Hamlets but there is nothing wrong in demanding that we are as safe as we can be in our homes, streets and parks.

66 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the person in the picture the victim or otherwise? He looks a bit shady to me.

Anonymous said...

If the chap in the picture is the victim then it was a truly heinous assault..... poor man!

Anonymous said...

I don't live in Cheam but my mum and dad do and I grew up there until I left home at 21 ten years ago.

Cheam is a nice place to live but it suffers from crime just like any where else..
I know that I would vote for any candidate that knows this and places and doesn't let politically correct crap put them off doing the proper job. And that job IMO is speaking up for Cheam people and making sure idiots that don't know any thing about it get in.

Anonymous said...

Some local Conservatives knocked on my door last night and I am impressed someone has taken the time to do it.

I feel that the council in Sutton forgets about Cheam and focuses it's effort on areas where it knows it has support. For example: I am shocked to hear that it is planning to shut down Cheam Baths. Why are they doing this? The baths need investment to attract more visitors not closure! Surprise surprise, the new build is being looked at in a central Sutton area, again surprise surprise.

I will be voting for the Conservative Party in the by-election. The Liberal-Democrats do nothing for me in Cheam.

Anonymous said...

Wow Michael! You must be desperate. Either that or a plant.

Anonymous said...

Ms Bumolian.
Tou are the plant and poisoned ivy at that.

Anonymous said...

>>I will be voting for the Conservative Party in the by-election. The Liberal-Democrats do nothing for me in Cheam.

It's hard to see they've done anything for Worcester Park either! :(

If they want to detect and prevent crime they need to stop sticking up CCTV and use the money to get more police on the beat!

And don't get me started on Cheam Baths........ [grrrrrr].......

Anonymous said...

i agree with michael and i do not know much about politics and things political but i really do agree when he says that the lib dem council does nothing for cheam people because they really really dont do anythiung.

as i have also said on the blog from paul scully i am really hoping they dont close the cheam baths. given we pay so much in taxes why do we need for a leisure centre to close leaving nothing for miles around,, its not fair!

shemi
cheam

Anonymous said...

The machete attack is deeply disturbing. How much more spin must we endure before the powers that be finally admit that Sutton - all parts of Sutton including Cheam - is not an ultra-safe environment as they would have us believe.

After all has anyone heard of the CS gas used to break up a riot in the town centre?!

Safe? Safe my arse!

Anonymous said...

Is the man in the picture the man quoted in the Sutton & Epsom Advertiser as saying "The Tories will walk it"? (meaning the forthcoming by-election. He must be the candidate then.

Unknown said...

David

Interesting comment except that wasn't a quote. He said that he is confident but wasn't treating this as a safe seat when directly asked. It was the Advertiser's copy that said the Tories believed they would walk it. We've delivered 16,000 leaflets and knocked on some 1800 doors so far. It is this activity and the responses that garners confidence rather than hubris. (Glad to see you've come out of the shadows to post under your own name.)

Anonymous said...

Strange that. "Weve delivered 16,000 leaflets and knocked on 1800doors so far" Well so far we have delivered in excess of 20,000 leaflets and newspapers, knocked on around 750 doors and have been told that "weve received not a thing from the Tories".

So one of us is telling porkies.

Anonymous said...

......oh and Paul - is your comment about you will be "pushing Boris when is Mayor" not akin to saying "we will walk it"?

I think so.

Anonymous said...

Must say this blog & its commenters are rather unedifying, but it has a certain "roadcrash" quality to it that makes one want to stick around for more.

I can well understand how, after the disgraceful way they treated Miss Penfold, many Conservative voters (& even association members) are swinging behind UKIP and I can't say I'd shed a tear to see the party double its representation on the council.

Cameron's wobbles and backtracking over our association with the fanatics in the European Superannuation scheme (sorry, "Parliament") has been nothing short of a disgrace and I rather hope this by-election will be the wake-up call we need.

Unknown said...

David

Well done for your activity so far, but are you seriously calling me a liar?

PS No idea what you're talking about with the Boris quote. Maybe you can clarify what you mean if you want me to comment.

Shame rt seems to want a pro-European LibDem councillor in Cheam. Maybe they are a federalist stooge hoping to play a long game by going through a council seat? First Cheam, then Europe!

Anonymous said...

I am convinced that "gang violence" is symptomatic of alienation and apathy caused by all us politico's up to and including the PM! Every normal person rebels and rails against something as a teenager, sadly we have a generation that rebels against a vacuum and revels in uniformity. We have a tribal instinct, a need to belong to something, at the moment, sadly, the tribes are not Emily Post!

Anonymous said...

Paul - no I am not calling you a liar - that is unparliamentary, but I question the 16,000 leaflets delivered, as we started two weeks before the Tories and have spoken to many on the doorsteps who have said they haven't received anything from you. Anyhow - may the best man win is my motto. As for the Boris quote, I aligned it with the presumption you have made saying "when is mayor" to that of your candidate who said "we will walk it". Both have a similar thread running through them in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

I find it amazing that Cllr Pickles has so much to say on this blogsite considering he says so little at formal council meetings.
I wonder if his residents no how reticent he is.
This from a man who once famously said he had an art for "self publicity"

Unknown said...

David

We've delivered a survey, a newspaper a flyer and a newsletter. Another one is on its way out now. If you give me the address of the people that say that they haven't received anything, I'll be happy to get something to them ;)

The "we will walk it" quote was inaccurate. None of us are taking things for granted and hope to win with positive messages rather than some of the negative stuff that has gone around, most recently from the cuddly LibDems. I only phrased the comment "when Boris is Mayor" because it would be pointless to ask him what he was going to do about antisocial behaviour having lost the election! IMO he is shaping up well, but we can hardly take that election for granted when he is coming from behind.

Anonymous said...

Paul - re Boris - yes I agree with you on that. Only wish you could get rid of some pillock called Aardvark, who seems to have a personal interest in me. Perhaps he is a closet UKIP voter.

Anonymous said...

Only wish we could get rid of an even greater pillock called Pickles.
Just for your guide i would rather have an interest in Livingstones pet newts tan a Cllr
who swaps sides during a term without standing for election under that banner.

Anonymous said...

So we have the Tories, represented in Cheam by the one and only Jonathan Pritchard, who when it comes down to it, are gutless, and chicken out of the real debate. Are they, for instance, in favour of capital punishment? Would Pritchard pull the lever and hang the scum who blight our lives? Would he press the button and fry the scum who blight our lives? Of course he wouldn't. The Tories are the face of the establishment, just like the Lib-Dems, and the Labour government. Vote for any of them and vote for all of them.

Unknown said...

David

Becoming the next Albert Pierrepoint is not in the job description of a councillor, so the only thing Jonathan need fry is lunch.

I thought we were making progress but I sense another few days of alcohol-fuelled polemic coming up. I look forward to the comment describing how it is the EU that is stopping us having the death penalth through Article 7 of the EU Treaty. Your last comment fails to take into account that such a vote would not have a party whip.

Anonymous said...

Paul - you are correct. Such a vote would not have a party whip, indeed all the recent votes on the subject have been a "free" vote. But you know as well as I do that the creeping interference from Brussels is seeping into the mindset of politicans. It is by it's very nature a left-wing undemocratic caucus, and it's most disappointing that none of the three major parties can be honest about it's (and their) intentions. For all Cameron's posturing about a referendum vote, he knows full well that by the time of the next election the treaty will have been signed. It is also as wise to remember that it was a "Tory" who betrayed this country in the first place and took us in, so I don't think any right thinking independent minded person can take any lectures from the Conservatives on democracy. I just cannot understand why all of the main parties find it distasteful to tell the general public the honest truth, but hey! that's politics.

Scullduggery Watch said...

Is that Johnathan Pritchard in the by-pass picture?

Is he the Conservative candidate for the Cheam by-election?

Didn't Johnathan recently claim that he lived in the Cheam Ward?

But...wait a moment, wasn't this the same Johnathan Pritchard who during the Local Elections of 2006 made great fanfare of the "fact" that both he and Richard Willis (the pro-apartheid supporter) were residents of the Sutton West ward, unlike their opposite numbers in the Lib Dems?

Can anyone enlighten us as to whether Johnathan Pritchard moved house in the last 20 months? Or have the electoral boundaries been re-drawn since May '06 to conveniently place his home within the confines of the Cheam ward?

Or perhaps his abode has nomadic tendencies, maybe it grows legs and 'moonlights' in either ward depending on where Pritchard feels that he can best get elected!

Shurely shum mishtake? Perhaps Pritchard is currently suffering from a bout of selective amnesia (anyone would think there was an election on!)

Be honest, Pritchard! You actually reside in SUTTON WEST WARD!

Unknown said...

Yes it is Jonathan Pritchard in the picture and no he has never claimed that he lives in Cheam Ward. He does, however live in Cheam which takes in some of Sutton West, Belmont and Nonsuch wards.

Your second false allegation in a day. Why not concentrate on the issues to begin and see how you cope before moving on to the personal attacks that UKIP and a few others seem to enjoy, to the exclusion of substance?

Anonymous said...

Are UKIP suggesting that Mr Pritchard should be forcibly repatriated to another part of the borough as repatriation is one of their policies..
What absolute tosh.

Mr and Mrs Vark

Anonymous said...

No we are not - just suggesting some honesty should be shown actually. Interesting to see you are a married aardvark!

Scullduggery watch - whoever you are thank you for your kind words of support. At least someone else other than me on this thread is talking sense.

Scullduggery Watch said...

Cllr Pickles you are naive, sir!

Conservatives showing honesty???
You should know from first hand experience that members of the contradicTORY party do not deal in honesty! The dishonest approach is almost an unwritten manifesto pledge of their's.

Scully is up to his usual tricks by attempting to be deceptive once again. The Tories, rather than being honest, have instead used a duplicitous 'play on words'.

Scully is only too aware that at the Local Elections of 2006 the contradicTORY party candidate for Cheam, Johnathan Pritchard, was attempting to pass himself off as the 'poster boy' for all things Sutton West by stating in their literature how he (and Apartheid's greatest admirer, Richard Willis) were more worthy of the Sutton West electorate's vote due to the fact that they unlike their Lib Dem rivals actually lived in the ward.

Fast forward two years however and Johnathan Pritchard is attempting to mislead the voters of Cheam ward by declaring "...I have LIVED in Cheam for ** years..." whilst knowing full well that he actually lives well outside the electoral boundary.

Pritchard could just have said that he has had associations with Cheam for many years and left it at that, but alas he has chosen to attempt to mislead the voters by using a deceptive play on words.

As much as Pritchard would LOVE to have his cake and eat it too ; ) he simply cannot insinuate that he resides in multiple wards just because he fails to get elected in one campaign but wants to try his luck in another ward's by-election two years later.

It is inaccurate, deceptive descriptions such as the one Pritchard made regarding his residual arrangements that causes widespread voter apathy.

It is almost akin to a shadow council leader attempting to slap-down a prominent elected Councillor from his own side by falsely alleging "inflammatory" comments, and then that same shadow council leader actively refusing to issue a retraction or apology for such derision when the leader of the national party makes the same comments virtually word-for-word. The only other option would obviously be to offer equal criticism to your party's national leader (perish the thought- that would require courage!)

Alas, if one wants to remain a PPC for the GE 2009 then one would suppose it does not pay to upset "The Boss", even if your actions would appear to be contradicTORY...

Anonymous said...

The last post by this Skullduggery character just shows why UKIP are not fit for anything.
If all they can do is criticise a candidate according to ward boundaries then their ambitions are obviously limited.
Who are you enemies Mr Skullduggery?
The Tories,Lib Dems Or Labour?
Perhaps you should rename yourselves the"We want to destroy the Tories Party" as you seem to have no other ambition.
Keep thinking of Puns because that is all you have in your locker.

Anonymous said...

Actually Numbscullduggery you did get something right in your last post and it was your opening comment
"Cllr Pickles you are naive, sir!"
Did you also know that you can live in a ward and yet be in a different parliamentary seat to that which the ward is in?
What do you do then?
Interseting waht you were saying the other day about Cllr Pickles and swooning women in Belmont.
Was it his aftershave or some other liquid?

Bi for now

Ard

Unknown said...

Below is the entry on the 2008-9 Electoral Register showing Jonathan lives in Cheam.
"FA","88","MR","Pritchard","Jonathan D.","","","15 The Maisonettes","Alberta Avenue","Cheam","SM1 2LQ","","","","BRITISH/COMMONWEALTH/IRISH","1418","FA!94"
No-one has said at anytime that he lives in the ward of Cheam. This is something that has only been in existence for the last two local elections and is an artificial political boundary based on population movements. Jonathan lives in the Parish of Cheam which has been around for far longer. This is pretty basic stuff. People who live in Sutton could come from one of six wards, Carshalton also six wards. The Borough of Sutton did not exist when these places came about.

If you want to consult the royal mail website for confirmation, you will actually find that no-one lives in Cheam as they have abolished Cheam as a postal area, treating everyone as Sutton. A cursory investigation into political issues in the constituency would show that this has been an issue that both the LibDems and the Conservatives have fought for a number of years.

None of the candidates for Cheam live in the ward. Picking up on Aardvark's point, the UKIP candidate will understand that it is possible to live in one constituency and stand for election in another having done so at the last General Election, thus helping the LibDem incumbent to enjoy another four years.

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love the way he thinks that the miserably dire pun "ContradicTORY" is so clever that it's worth repeating several times.

Whoever this is they're clearly proud of their earth-shatteringly witty play on words.

You'd think he'd have figured out how to spell 'Jonathan' as well. But hey.

Lexia257 said...

Stuart : I thought the "ContradicTORY" comment was neither miserable nor dire - in fact it quite amused me, which is more than can be said for the comments of you and your colleagues here who now seem to be getting so insensed that you just say "he" instead of Scullduggery's name expecting us to know who you are referring to.
You do not appear to deny much of what "he" says and have to resort to commenting on what is very clever word play and rhetoric.Come on guys, why so little denial? (the spelling of Jonathon, Jonathan or whatever does seem a little irrelevant, by the way)

Anonymous said...

Well then ‘Lexia’: I would take up your challenge, but I have no ‘colleagues’ to defend. I vote Conservative admittedly (hence why I like to read this blog) and have done since 1974 (not a good year!), and would describe myself as a conservative (small c, dear) but apart from that I have no association with the Tories' party at all. So I won’t defend or deny the prior posts except to point out that I, like many others, want a change of leadership on this council in the borough of Sutton. There’s only one alternative and from what I see and hear locally and nationally they make me even more motivated to tick the Conservative Party in the ballot box – at all levels.

I’ll charge you with having incredibly impoverished taste and a destitute grasp of the ‘witty’ if you think the ‘contradicTORY’ 'pun' was of any merit. I’m sorry it did amuse you, sweety, but I’m not that bothered, in fact you have my sympathies. My post wasn’t intended to be amusing, although it does conversely make it the polar opposite of “sculldugery watch”’s comment which set out to be funny but failed.

It’s not all that clever really; for example with your defence of poor spelling I could call you DYS-Lexia. Anyone can come up with dire and indeed miserable puns which merely consist of emphasising certain letters in one word. Round of applause please audience.

But I congratulate you for achieving nothing in your post, darling. Keep up the good work.

Scullduggery Watch said...

My goodness! Look at all this Tory bile! Scully must have been busy with his Blackberry, ordering his Sutton & Carshalton lackeys to "Get on my blog and defend us, dammit!"

Aardvark made a point? I must have missed such philosophical analysis amongst his anti-opposition waffle!

Stuart? Can I help it if Scully's criticism of Councillor Pickles, (then Scully's refusal to criticise David Cameron for repeating Councillor Pickles' comments) was contradicTORY? (If not cowardly?) If you have an issue with what went on then you should complain to your master (but be warned, you might not get your belly tickled...)

With all of his chest-puffing and vitriol Stuart obviously achieved extraordinary amounts with his posting, which did contain quite a few condescending references to 'lexia's' gender and of course his patronising content was light-years ahead of anything I could have written. My point was simply that the Tories were acting in a contradicTORY fashion and I did offer the facts to support this. Your usage of words did not seem remotely relevant however as I did not notice anything 'lexia' typed which appeared to be the product of someone who was learning impaired.

(After Scully's thinly veiled threat at litigation yesterday he surely should warn his cheerleaders that such Tory ridiculing of the learning impaired might leave the door open for an outraged dyslexia charity to take libel action against the Sutton & Carshalton Conservative Association! Does Stuart's statement mean that the Conservatives are still the nasty party?)

Perhaps as Stuart's 'year' was 1974 he might be the ghost of useless Ted Heath! Whilst it would seem that Stuart has swallowed a dictionary it would also help him if the NHS offered sense of humour transplants to persons of his ilk!

It has also been duly noted that the Sutton Tory aggression is not only reserved for loyal members of their own side (who get in the way of certain ruthless individual's lofty ambitions) but for anyone that exposes such Sutton Tory treachery on a local public blog.

Unlike the Tory detractors on here I can honestly say that I am not a current member of ANY political party. If I were a member of any local Association however I would not consider those on my own party's side to be my enemy and duly place knives into their backs! Though Scully and his dutiful lapdogs Aardvark/Stuart may disagree with this point given their behaviour in early-2007...

(When politicians repeatedly avoid commenting on a subject you have to ask yourself the reason why...)

Whilst the "earth-pig" feels that other rival parties are not fit for any kind of purpose one must consider how worthy of the electorate's vote the Sutton Tories could possibly be when they can be so very duplicitous towards their own senior Councillors and loyal activists.

Surely the electorate has a right to hear about such back-stabbing? Perhaps the voters might even consider that A local party which can be so blood-thirsty towards its 'own' would probably have no hesitation in treating their Sutton & Carshalton constituents with the same flagrant disregard.

I too would like to see change from the hopeless Lib Dems but on the behaviour I previously mentioned I am not so sure that Scully & Co. are the change that is needed.

However, Scully is quite right as regards to the Royal Mail listing of Pritchard's address. I have even had sight of the candidates list from LE 2006 which also listed him as residing in Cheam. However, when declaring your electoral credentials surely Pritchard should have used the same 'rule of thumb' as he used in LE 2006. You cannot say you live in one ward at the LE then insinuate you live in another come the next by-election!

I also take on board what he has said regarding Sutton West, Belmont and Nonsuch wards overlapping into Cheam. However, I must ask for advance warnings as to which other towns Sutton West overlaps into. For if Pritchard should lose this election I am sure that one day see him running for Council elsewhere, insinuating that he has lived those other towns for many years...

(Stuart, feel free to spell check this posting- we know you love it!)

Anonymous said...

Oh my God, you must have so much time on your hands...

Get out some time. For your own sake.

Anonymous said...

Mr Courtney - when "scullduggery watch" refers to your "bile", he certainly has a point! I think the word mysoginist could be added too! Just to think that I wasted all those years in the Tory party thinking they behaved like gentlemen and were superior in every respect.

Whoever this guy/gal is, backed up by "lexia" they certainly have touched some raw nerves within this rag-bag assortment of so-called "professional" councillors. Even A.Hitler would have to work hard to surpass the nastiness that can eminate from the Conservative party. Thank god I'm out of it.

Anonymous said...

Cllr Pickles
The word nastiness and description of it could have been dreamed up for you and your incredibly witty followers.
What next "The Church of the Latter Day Pickles"
Perhaps give Tom Cruise a call and apply to become a scientologist.

Have fun in Cheam,if you can find it all.

Kiss me Ardy

Anonymous said...

Yes aardnut - the church of the latter day pickles sounds wonderful. Better than being a complete nobody.

Anonymous said...

Ah Great now we have uncovered the real reason for the defection of Cllr Pickles to UKIP.
He wants to be loved ,he wants to be recognised ,he wants to feel important.
Have you tried auditioning for Pop Idol. It might suit your talents better.

Regards.

Vark

Anonymous said...

Bit late for that aardvark old bean. I am recognised, I am known, purely because I work exceedingly hard for my constituents. And yes I do have a talent for music too, so you see the lucky people of Belmont have elected and will continue to elect a real star, not a faded meteorite.

Anonymous said...

Cllr Pickles
I gather there is a bye-election in Cheam tomorrow.
Are you going to be canvassing in a Zoot suit?
Will you be turning up at the count looking like Screaming Lord Sutch?
Hope to see some piccies of you in the press looking well attired next week.

Your Beloved Aardvark

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't really call it bile, Cllr Pickles, I just think your mate's talking a load of crap.

Lexia257 said...

Wonderful Vark ! I just love it ! You are degenerating even further in this "debate" and resorting to a full blown system of name calling and abuse rather than any reasonable suggestions for the way forward (something which "scullduggery watch" seems to be being accused of constantly,I notice)
Get some ideas on here of what you think needs to be done; maybe then all can move forward.
By the way David I am not "backing up" anyone - seems to me that "scullduggery watch" can do perfectly well on his/her own. Simply an ordinary citizen noting and commenting on the depths to which some, as you say, so called "professional" councillors will stoop.

Lexia257 said...

Very short posts today, Stuart. What's up? You lost your manifesto document?

Anonymous said...

Lexia - thanks for your post. Whoever "sculldugger watch" is as you say, is a very clever and articulate individual who has sussed out Cllr Scully and his planted cohorts on here. Thanks for your support though in earlier posts. Methinks the Tories are exceedingly rattled. Perhaps the result of the Cheam by-election tomorrow evening will settle their stomachs somewhat, when they finally accept defeat.

Lexia257 said...

David..nice to know you appreciate "outside" support ! The Tories do seem exceedingly rattled...love the terminology...and may the best "man" win as they say , tomorrow. As The Bible reports that Jesus said as his dying words.."Father , forgive them, for they know not what they do" !!!

Anonymous said...

Cllr Pickles
Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.(Apart from joining UKIP which is the second)
In the Madness of King George the doctors resorted to examing stools to ascertain the true extent of his madness.
Suggest you do the same.

Perhaps i do you a disservice and really you are quite sane.After all you will not fight a by-election in Belmont now.
I see you are standing for the GLA in your eotistical way.
You need to read the book "The Cult of the Personality"
It will give you another great insight into yourself.

Look around you and remember the phrase.
"Keep your freinds close but your enemies closer"

Good luck today but i am sure you have convinced yourself you dont need it.

Oh and one last thing.

Its a shame you are married because tomorrow is the one day in 4 years where women could propose to you.
They could have been lining up in Belmont.

Ard-ly worth it.

Anonymous said...

Don't you have to have a personality before you get a cult?

lol

Scullduggery Watch said...

Before Aardvark waxes lyrical on the merits of examining flotsam and jetsam I would suggest that he stops and observes how much of the stuff he is expending verbally right here on Scully's blog.

(Aardvark does appear to be a big fan of Nigel Hawthorne as well doesn't he? Perhaps he is also a bureaucratic mandarin akin to Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes, Minister).

I love the way that Earth Pig sees political success as being egotistical! Two years prior to election is a great time to get started on introducing yourself to the local electorate so if Aardvark could snip himself free from Scully's puppeteer strings then he might finally accept the challenge, stand against Pickles in Belmont and MAYBE get the chance of holding office in 2010 (that way Aardvark might finally be able to contain his jealous rage towards COUNCILLOR Pickles).

Aardvark, stop being a coward. Put your money where your mouth is! Why can't you Tories say something and have the courage to stand behind your convictions? What could you possibly doing in 2010 that could prevent you from holding Peter Geiringer's hand over in Belmont?

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer"
Isn't it ironic that this phrase was posted by a Conservative? It sounds like a warning that could be issued to all members of the Sutton & Carshalton Tories whilst Scully remains leader! (Remember Eleanor Pinfold, anyone?)

"Good luck today but i am sure you have convinced yourself you don't need it"
Again, this is highly ironic considering the only person who has claimed that he will "walk it" is the Conservative candidate for Cheam ward: Johnathan Pritchard. Not even the Lib Dems have been so egotistical to as to allege that the vote is a forgone conclusion! Yet another example of the Sutton & Carshalton Conservatives taking the local voters for granted.

(p.s. Shall we hold a wager on whether Eponymous Anonymous actually transmits from Scully's own URL?)

Anonymous said...

Oh dear - aardvark you have a victory, but a very hollow one I'm afraid. Considering your candidate boasted in the press "we'll walk it", to carelessly lose 638 votes (majority 725 down to 87) is hardly inspiring is it?

Noticed the Tory faces looking like thunder tonight, apart from one who appeared slightly overweight who tried to inject some bellowing into the proceedings, but really the cheers rang very low.

Watch out in the future aardvark, especially if you want to stand against me in Belmont. I think you will be in for some kind of shock me old mucca.

Unknown said...

(p.s. Shall we hold a wager on whether Eponymous Anonymous actually transmits from Scully's own URL?)

OK.

Anonymous said...

The only certainty that can be gained from last night is that Cllr Pickles will not be Cllr from May 2010.
Even with your immense personal following you have no chance of taking Belmont.
At least you can take the allowance for the next 2 years.
Please answe my previous question.
Would you prefer the LDs or the Tories to win if you can not?
For the wider audience Cllr Pickles will not answer that question because he will not be able to bring himself to answer it honestly.

Once again Cllr Pickles call a by-election in Belmont now.

Appy Ard

Anonymous said...

Please can Aardvark and the others stop this personal vitriol against David Pickles and concentrate on the facts and policy.
We have to ask what do UKIP offer and who do they offer it to.
The answer is a simple set of policies aimed at exploiting base instincts.
They have a very right wing agenda
so naturally they need to take votes off the Conservatives.
It is clear that aligned to this in Sutton David Pickles is running a personal crusade against the Tory party for whatever personal reasons.
He will in the end though be sadly dissappointed over the future.
All Ukip can do is split the vote and not win even in Belmont where Mr Pickles feels he has a strong personal vote.
Strong it maybe but it just isnt strong enough when put up against the bigger party machines.
What does make me smile reading all the comments is the way that Mr Pickles seems to think his party have the moral high ground.
Has not his leader Nigel Farage just been rebuked for being on the EU gravy train and paying his wife an allowance.
The practice what you preach theory should kick in here.

Anonymous said...

sanity at last. Go on to the UKIP website and read Nigel Farage's response to the rigged media story against him.

Aardvark - given that the local tories do not appear to be very nice bunch of people, I'll answer your question in one - The LD's.

How's that. Have a nice weekend.

Anonymous said...

So if you dont agree then its a rigged story..very interesting.
Come on Cllr Pickles you really need a reality check.
Perhaps on Monday at the full council someone will offer you full membership of the LD group then.
I wonder what your residents of Belmont will make of your unholy alliance with them.
Newsletter time perhaps.
There is more than one way to skin a cat...

By the way someone i bumped into today said you didnt look well at the count last night.
Hope you are ok.

LOL

Ard

Unknown said...

This thread is going round in circle with some vitriolic personal attacks which we could all do without. It was supposed to be about someone who had been stabbed with a machete in Cheam.

One interesting point though that has come out in the last few exchanges is the fact that David would prefer the LibDems to be in control because they are "nicer" than the Tories. This is a complete volte face. David has spoken out over a number of years about how the LibDems portrayed themselves as nice community-oriented people but in reality were not to be trusted. Now he is taken in by this because of his blinkered opinion of his colleagues. Never mind the vitriol that has come from David and his new colleagues, invariably late at night looking through claret-coloured glasses.

Surely the point is who will be most effective, run the borough in the closest way to you and who would offer value for money. If you believe that is the LibDems, I look forward to you approving their Budget on Monday. If you were going to have open heart surgery, would you prefer a bastard with a steady hand or someone with a good bedside manner that did not know which end to make the incision. Personally I'd pick the bastard every time.

Anonymous said...

Yes Paul - it may surprise you to learn that I have a speech written which actually attacks the Lib-Dem budget, and basically sides with the Tories. But I tell you what, some of the prats that post here, are the most obnoxious people that prefer to get personal.

Of course, on the other hand it's quite obvious that you lot were rattled to hell last night. After all, Cheam as I recall has been Tory since 1931, you spent a lot of time and money defending it, after stabbing Eleanor in the back, and all you could achieve was a majority of 87. Don't worry, I and my group were watching you lot closely, and you were sweating buckets, whereas we were quite enjoying it. Oh and tell that prick aardvark to roll up will you - he's getting rather tiresome and nasty - or is he already part of your "front bench"?

Tell him I'm quite well thank you, and if I drop dead on Monday night, he's the last scumbag I'd want at my funeral.

Anonymous said...

Oh David,and i hope you dont mind me calling you by your first name,i am so sorry if i have upset you.
Obviously a raw nerve has been touched.
All i am trying to do is be your alter ego and balance things up in your mind a bit.
It must be difficult struggling with your conscience recently after all the trials and tribulations you have been through.
Please dont drop dead on me. The last thing you want is an immeadiate by-election in Belmont.
Mr Scully i apologise to you as well if you think the comments were getting a bit O/T.
Good to hear David is going to be giving a speech on Monday.
Is that his first since he left the Tories?
I look forward to hearing it on the website.
Must dash looks like a nice weekend.
Toodlepip.

Ard

Unknown said...

David

I'm glad that you will be attacking the LibDems for a change. The Conservatives did not disqualify Eleanor from being a councillor. This was done by the Adjudication Panel at a hearing that she did not attend. No level of support could have prevented that.

I'm pleased Jonathan has won. He'll make an excellent councillor. I don't mind admitting that Thursday could have been better. This was because we were run close by a candidate whose sole reason for the electorate to vote for her was because Cheam already had two male councillors and they didn't need a third. Such a personal negative campaign finishing off by patronising half of the electorate does not deserve to be rewarded. This is the net result of UKIP's intervention.

Your party can only play one role in Sutton politics; LibDem kingmakers. In attacking the party that you believed in for decades, you help two federalist MPs and a Council group who have consistently pushed up Council tax to its very limits and fails to listen to residents. Whilst Hammersmith & Fulham residents enjoy a second year of reductions and Hillingdon pensioners are cushioned from tax increases, your hobby is a very expensive one.

Scullduggery Watch said...

Before Scully starts to believe that he has been annointed we must ask whether it was he who cut a deal with the Lib Dems to raise Councillor wages? (Against the Tory manifesto pledge too, I might add).

Excessive council expenditure is not acceptable to Scully (unless it involves money that could be going into his pocket of course).

Snouts in the trough and all that- trebles all round at the Sutton Civic Centre! Woo hoo!

Wasn't Pickles against such wage rises though, Paul?

Just for the record: Paul Scully stabbed Eleanor Pinfold in the back and then sat on his hands and refused to support Eleanor in her hour of need.

Eleanor was being persecuted by the Lib Dem controlled council for being too tenacious in her pursuit of eradicating Lib Dem bureaucracy and inefficiency. The standards committee fell for Lib Dems' oscar worthy performance of grief, Eleanor was removed from office and the ruthlessly ambitious Paul Scully & the sociopathic Tony Shields were extremely happy to see her out of the way.

For all of Scully's empty rhetoric about disliking the false niceness of the Lib Dems that was certainly one bit of Liberal nastiness he was happy to support by simply sitting idly by and waving her off. What a nice loyal friend Scully must be!

There were indeed two attacks involving sharp instruments referred to here on this blog. The first was the machete attack in Cheam which was reported in the news, the other was a knife-in-the-back attack on a Cheam Councillor by her own colleagues which Scully wants hushed up.

And the Knife Wielder In-Chief was: Councillor Paul Scully!

Actually Paul there are quite a few of us who have witnessed the nastiness of both you and your Tory colleagues firsthand, so I would hardly call Councillor Pickles' opinions "blinkered".

Anyone who is criticised by his own party for taking time off during the General Election after losing a close family relative has more than a little right to feel aggrieved at his poor treatment (the slurs were made behind his back too- how very Tory of those critics!)

Of course, opportunist scum like Aardvark would probably find the above paragraph amusing to read which only serves to illustrate further why the Sutton & Carshalton Conservatives cannot be trusted to wield majority power over the council.

If they can be so ruthless towards your own loyal activists then who knows how lacking in scruples Scully & Co. would be with the council budget. Given such examples they would most likely treat Sutton's electorate with the same contempt that they showed to Pinfold, Pickles and several others.

Scully has the audacity to publicly bemoan a rival party's growing popularity for campaigning with its patriotic manifesto. Why he cannot fathom that there was a large sympathy vote for Eleanor as a direct result of his treachery I shall never know.

I for one think that the Lib Dems are a hopeless bunch of money wasters and certainly not the nice community people they make themselves out to be. In their current state though I do not feel that the Tories offer we the voters a great alternative and their disgusting treatment of their 'nearest and dearest' only galvanises this point further.

Scully also accused Pickles of giving a helping hand to the federalists and yet the Sutton & Carshalton Conservatives still refuse to support a complete withdrawal from the European Union, a policy that I believe is has been in the UKIP manifesto ever since it's formation.

Scully also seems content at the EU federalists having the power to curtail subsidies to the Post Office. All this despite his hypocritical campaign to save the local branches. Surely this can only be interpreted as a cynical ploy to raise the Tory profile?

Scully must therefore be more than happy with continued EU interference and with the UK Government repeatedly having their hands tied by Brussells on major issues such as this. Who is the federalist sympathiser again, Paul?

(p.s. Scully insinuating that Pickles is a drunk won't endear the Tories to the voters of Belmont in 2010. Perhaps there could be the curse of "Scully Effect" part II? )

(p.p.s. Aardvark, if you so clearly fancy Councillor Pickles then why not offer his missus to a duel with pistols at midnight? Given how cowardly you are by STILL refusing to stand in Belmont in 2010 I wouldn't bet on you turning up...

Anonymous said...

Numbskullduggery.
You really are not very bright.
Look back on previous posts and read what i have said.
If Cllr Pickles deigns to hold a by-election now then i would love to stand against him.
But no the brave man that he is refuses to put up against anyone now.
If the Tories are in such disarray why not stand and get areal mandate under the UKIP flag.
Just remember "pigs" are a lot more intelligent than chickens.
Your precis of facts in your last post is also fatally flawed.
Would be good to see some of the evidence from that time rather than elaborate fiction that you self publicists put forward.

See you soon Numbskull

Ard

Scullduggery Watch said...

Dear Earth Pig
Whilst your master might have convinced you of your intellectual capacity we are still yet to see any actual evidence of such prowess here on this blog.

Please inform your master that you don't always need to be his mouthpiece- he has had countless opportunities to offer his version of events regarding the "Night of the the Long Knives" and the "Pickles/Cameron" contradiction yet he still uses his Earth Pig to come out fighting for him (aww, bless!)

Please tell the world why these FACTS are fatally flawed? If my FACTS are so very untrue then why hasn't Scully (your master and the consummate politician he poses as being) come out on the attack? He so desperately shouts his mouth off on every other subject so why is he deliberately avoiding these issues?

As I have said repeatedly: When a politician avoids answering a question then you have to stop and ask yourself why...

The Scullyite tactics on question avoidance make the Blairite culture of spin and soundbites look positively honest in comparison!

Aardvark: Besides baiting me your social calendar is not so very busy socially as to not be able to announce your intention to stand against Pickles in 2010. As the Tories are the bigger party with more financial clout surely you would accept that 2010 is a good year for you to fairly contest Pickles at the polls? Or are you a politico who prefers to win by default rather than by your political ability (or inability as the case might be)?

Remember, Pickles is a politician who get re-elected when he heads to the polls every four years. You are the chicken who is still running away from the challenge!

Unless the Conservatives are too cowardly to field a non-paper candidate against Pickles at the next election of course...

Anonymous said...

Tut Tut Numbskull.
So you are a bunch of KFC after all.
Cllr Pickles did get elected on a Conservative ticket.
I will stand against him now..I repeat now. But you are all chickens with no backbone.
I am my own mouthpeice and unlike you i can fight my own battles which i have said consistentley i look forward to doing.
You are the guys ducking a fight.

May i suggest an offer of a truce tomorrow seeing it is both Sunday and Mothers day and whatever we may think of each other it would be wrong to spoil it for others.

Regards

Ard

Scullduggery Watch said...

Aardfart

Pickles is a walkover, remember?

Those were your sentiments.

Any time, any place, anywhere. It should be of no matter to a seasoned political keyboard warrior like yourself.

Pickles got elected, absolutely. He also did a massive amount of Conservative bidding which he has never asked for payment for. Services were rendered unto the Tories. Nothing is owed to the Conservative Party.

Pickles was elected on a ticket to serve his constituents which from what I hear is exactly what he is currently doing over in Belmont.

Pickles' constituents elected him to serve the good of the community- not the good of the Conservative Party. Your selfish sense of entitlement is typical of the Conservative Party's attitude but trust me when I say that it cuts no ice whatsoever with the voters of Belmont. They just want a good Councillor who works hard for them.

Pickles usually runs for council every four years and his tenure is not up for renewal until 2010. Do you feel that the democratic process should be altered just to help the Conservatives gain a perceived advantage or what?

Is the real reason you are too gutless to announce your acceptance to challenge Pickles at the end of his tenure really because you have no intention of standing in Belmont at all?

Is your 'Scully authorised' mission objective to anger Pickles into resigning in a bid to receive the glowing praise from your master?

Nice plan, Aardfart. No doubt your insulting words to Pickles were made at Scully's behest as well. Psychological warfare and all that. Not too sure Pickles will fall for it though, your approach is so blatant it smacks of amateurism.

2010: Yes or No? Put up or Shut up.