Enjoy your Bank Holiday.
We'll be back tomorrow.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Monday, August 31
Jam today ... and jam tomorrow as well in all likelihood!
Enjoy your Bank Holiday.
We'll be back tomorrow.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Friday, August 28
Week ending 28th August
Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
One down one to go ... The Dear Leader Councillor Richard "Papa Dick" Austin has at last renounced one of his public claims that he still represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. After some chiding on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's durable and entertaining blog, he has removed the reference from his biography on the borough's website. However, he still seems to be clinging on to the former title on the Lincolnshire Independents website. We cannot believe that he can hold out for much longer. If he still wants a place at County Hall, it's all the more reason to contest Boston North West when it comes up in just over a month's time.
Just the ticket ... Another Boston website last week asked when anyone last saw a traffic warden issuing a ticket. We watched one industriously scribbling away in West Street about three weeks ago, before slapping the penalty on the windscreen of a car displaying a disabled badge. The car was parked next to the last available space on the south side of the street almost opposite the eastern entrance of Rosegarth Street. Its "offence" was to park on the broad yellow line marking a "buses only" area. However, the whole of the rest of the bus area was out of commission, having been taken over by the contractors building the new Wickes store to provide a pedestrian walkway. Don't these jobsworths ever exercise common sense or discretion?
Parking up the wrong tree ... Talk about rubbing salt into the wound. Not only does a Boston policewoman park in a disabled space rather than walk all the way from the nick to the borough council offices to view some CCTV coverage, but town inspector Phil Clark announces: "As a goodwill gesture we will donate what could have been a £70 fine to the Butterfly Hospice Trust." Er... that £70 would be ratepayers' cash from our council tax, wouldn't it, inspector.
Press cuttings ...
Keeping it brief ... we loved the quote from the prosecutor who said "X made unsolicitored remarks that he was growing cannabis in the bedroom." We agree it's always best to stay silent until your solicitor is present!
Reporter at large ... Our thanks to the irrepressible George (Nowhere's a Thought) Wheatman for his hilarious recounting of the conversation between a cockney couple on whom he eavesdropped in a local restaurant as they discussed the Into Town bus service. Such realism! We haven't read a script like that since the days of the Al Read Show, which is probably when George last heard it too. Sadly he failed to mention whether the couple concerned were wearing their pearly coats and hats as well!
Soft shoe shuffle ... A word of comfort for anyone being picked on by Boston prospective Labour parliamentary candidate Paul Kenny. His name is an anagram of "Puny ankle" - so whilst he may kick out, he can't do too much harm!
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
One down one to go ... The Dear Leader Councillor Richard "Papa Dick" Austin has at last renounced one of his public claims that he still represents Boston South on Lincolnshire County Council. After some chiding on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's durable and entertaining blog, he has removed the reference from his biography on the borough's website. However, he still seems to be clinging on to the former title on the Lincolnshire Independents website. We cannot believe that he can hold out for much longer. If he still wants a place at County Hall, it's all the more reason to contest Boston North West when it comes up in just over a month's time.
Just the ticket ... Another Boston website last week asked when anyone last saw a traffic warden issuing a ticket. We watched one industriously scribbling away in West Street about three weeks ago, before slapping the penalty on the windscreen of a car displaying a disabled badge. The car was parked next to the last available space on the south side of the street almost opposite the eastern entrance of Rosegarth Street. Its "offence" was to park on the broad yellow line marking a "buses only" area. However, the whole of the rest of the bus area was out of commission, having been taken over by the contractors building the new Wickes store to provide a pedestrian walkway. Don't these jobsworths ever exercise common sense or discretion?
Parking up the wrong tree ... Talk about rubbing salt into the wound. Not only does a Boston policewoman park in a disabled space rather than walk all the way from the nick to the borough council offices to view some CCTV coverage, but town inspector Phil Clark announces: "As a goodwill gesture we will donate what could have been a £70 fine to the Butterfly Hospice Trust." Er... that £70 would be ratepayers' cash from our council tax, wouldn't it, inspector.
Press cuttings ...
Keeping it brief ... we loved the quote from the prosecutor who said "X made unsolicitored remarks that he was growing cannabis in the bedroom." We agree it's always best to stay silent until your solicitor is present!
Reporter at large ... Our thanks to the irrepressible George (Nowhere's a Thought) Wheatman for his hilarious recounting of the conversation between a cockney couple on whom he eavesdropped in a local restaurant as they discussed the Into Town bus service. Such realism! We haven't read a script like that since the days of the Al Read Show, which is probably when George last heard it too. Sadly he failed to mention whether the couple concerned were wearing their pearly coats and hats as well!
Soft shoe shuffle ... A word of comfort for anyone being picked on by Boston prospective Labour parliamentary candidate Paul Kenny. His name is an anagram of "Puny ankle" - so whilst he may kick out, he can't do too much harm!
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Where's the Rush?
We mentioned the other day that a reader got in touch to question how assiduous one of our borough councillors was when it came to his civic duties.
The member in question was Councillor Paddy Rush, Better Boston Group member for Skirbeck ward, and a week ago today we sent him an e-mail to see what he had to say.
We wrote again on Sunday, requesting a reply by close of business on Tuesday night, as we intended to write a piece in Wednesday's blog.
As it happened, we spent more time on the Boston North West by-election debate than anticipated, which gave Councillor Rush another day in which to respond.
But he did not. Since then there has been a third request to him to respond to us - again unsuccessful.
He could have been away, but normal procedure is to set up an automated "out of office reply" which tells people who e-mail an individual that he or she is not available - and we didn't get one of those.
We briefly considered the telephone, but whilst 30 of the borough's 32 councillors provide a number at which they can be reached directly, Councillor Rush is one of only two who refers callers to Boston 314511 - the number for the borough's Civic and Member Services.
The only other councillor to use this buffer between himself and the punters is the former deputy leader Peter Jordan, who is not famous for his fondness for the great unwashed electorate.
So we decided to look a little further, and this is what we found.
Councillor Rush's photo is no longer on the list of councillors. Only one other councillor does not have his photo on the list - and as he was only elected in June, this is probably due to time considerations more than anything else.
In the borough's thumbnail sketches of its members, Councillor Rush is listed as a member of BTAC (the Boston Town Area Committee) and the International Links Committee.
However to call his attendance patchy could be considered an understatement.
A browse through the BTAC minutes shows that he was neither listed as attending nor apologising for the meeting of 6th July. He sent apologies for 29th January 2009, for 3rd December 2008 and 3rd September 2008.
He is listed as attending on 11th June, neither attending nor apologising for 5th March, 21st January, 28th November 2007, and apologising on 5th September 2007. Prior to that meetings were held under the former council.
Online minutes of the full council are a little haphazard, but they show that Councillor Rush sent apologies for the meeting of 25th June, and is neither listed as attending nor apologising on 18th June. He is neither listed as attending nor apologising for 2nd April, attended 2nd March, apologised 19th January, apologised 18th August 2008, attended 30th July and attended 26th June.This is a very poor attendance record.
A seat on two committees - one of which ... International Links ... seldom meets - puts Councillor Rush next to bottom of the list when it comes to shouldering the workload within Boston Borough Council.
Only BNP Councillor David Owens has less on his plate - and that is because of party political prejudice by the Bypass Independents who refuse to appoint him to any other committees. Councillor Owens declares on the borough website that he "is looking to gain permission to sit on many more, should council permit."
When seeking election, Paddy Rush wrote: "I have had a strong interest in politics. I feel that the voice of the younger person within the established parties has not been understood or accommodated until now."
He urged everyone in Skirbeck to vote for BBI, and was elected in May 2007.
He subsequently quit the BBI for the newly formed BBG in January 2008.
In his resignation letter he said: "It was the sad, but brave, departure of Councillor Tony Clarke, which gave me the courage to make this decision, and take this action, so that the people of Boston will know that there are still councillors who want to make a difference, and stand for what they pledged to try to do for our constituencies."
Hmmmm.
Calling Councillor Paddy Rush.....
Is anybody there?
Knock once for yes, twice (or thrice) for no.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
The member in question was Councillor Paddy Rush, Better Boston Group member for Skirbeck ward, and a week ago today we sent him an e-mail to see what he had to say.
We wrote again on Sunday, requesting a reply by close of business on Tuesday night, as we intended to write a piece in Wednesday's blog.
As it happened, we spent more time on the Boston North West by-election debate than anticipated, which gave Councillor Rush another day in which to respond.
But he did not. Since then there has been a third request to him to respond to us - again unsuccessful.
He could have been away, but normal procedure is to set up an automated "out of office reply" which tells people who e-mail an individual that he or she is not available - and we didn't get one of those.
We briefly considered the telephone, but whilst 30 of the borough's 32 councillors provide a number at which they can be reached directly, Councillor Rush is one of only two who refers callers to Boston 314511 - the number for the borough's Civic and Member Services.
The only other councillor to use this buffer between himself and the punters is the former deputy leader Peter Jordan, who is not famous for his fondness for the great unwashed electorate.
So we decided to look a little further, and this is what we found.
Councillor Rush's photo is no longer on the list of councillors. Only one other councillor does not have his photo on the list - and as he was only elected in June, this is probably due to time considerations more than anything else.
In the borough's thumbnail sketches of its members, Councillor Rush is listed as a member of BTAC (the Boston Town Area Committee) and the International Links Committee.
However to call his attendance patchy could be considered an understatement.
A browse through the BTAC minutes shows that he was neither listed as attending nor apologising for the meeting of 6th July. He sent apologies for 29th January 2009, for 3rd December 2008 and 3rd September 2008.
He is listed as attending on 11th June, neither attending nor apologising for 5th March, 21st January, 28th November 2007, and apologising on 5th September 2007. Prior to that meetings were held under the former council.
Online minutes of the full council are a little haphazard, but they show that Councillor Rush sent apologies for the meeting of 25th June, and is neither listed as attending nor apologising on 18th June. He is neither listed as attending nor apologising for 2nd April, attended 2nd March, apologised 19th January, apologised 18th August 2008, attended 30th July and attended 26th June.This is a very poor attendance record.
A seat on two committees - one of which ... International Links ... seldom meets - puts Councillor Rush next to bottom of the list when it comes to shouldering the workload within Boston Borough Council.
Only BNP Councillor David Owens has less on his plate - and that is because of party political prejudice by the Bypass Independents who refuse to appoint him to any other committees. Councillor Owens declares on the borough website that he "is looking to gain permission to sit on many more, should council permit."
When seeking election, Paddy Rush wrote: "I have had a strong interest in politics. I feel that the voice of the younger person within the established parties has not been understood or accommodated until now."
He urged everyone in Skirbeck to vote for BBI, and was elected in May 2007.
He subsequently quit the BBI for the newly formed BBG in January 2008.
In his resignation letter he said: "It was the sad, but brave, departure of Councillor Tony Clarke, which gave me the courage to make this decision, and take this action, so that the people of Boston will know that there are still councillors who want to make a difference, and stand for what they pledged to try to do for our constituencies."
Hmmmm.
Calling Councillor Paddy Rush.....
Is anybody there?
Knock once for yes, twice (or thrice) for no.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Wednesday, August 26
BNP choice steps up by-election pressure
It looks as though there could be an entertaining fight ahead for the Boston North West seat on Lincolnshire county council - which was made vacant by the forced resignation of Andrea Jenkyns.
Back in June, seven candidates contested the seat, which Miss Jenkyns won with 462 votes ... 89 ahead of the BNP candidate, and 180 ahead of the next placed candidate - Boston Bypass Independent Alison Austin, wife of the Dear Leader.
The BNP candidate - Colin Westcott from Lincoln - was an unknown quantity, but that didn't stop him getting an impressive result.
But Mr Westcott will not be contesting the seat at the by-election.
His place has been taken by Boston Borough Councillor David Owens, who was elected to the Fenside ward in November last year.
He told Boston Eye: "The situation which has led to this by-election has shocked and angered voters, whose hard earned taxes will now have to be used to pay for this by-election.
"This careless waste of money by people who should know the rules but clearly don't, brands them as incompetent and not worthy of trust.
"This election will give the people of Boston North West a chance to elect a BNP councillor to the county council, a councillor who does care about how money is spent and waste avoided."
Councillor Owens's selection is a shrewd strategic move by the BNP.
Fenside and Boston North West wards share a great deal of common territory, and if Councillor Owens has been putting himself about since his election, he will hit the ground running as a candidate well known to local voters, which must improve his chances.
This piles the pressure on to whomever stands for the other parties.
Not only that, but it could well see some rethinking about the nominees.
Miss Jenkyns has already said that she will contest the seat once again and, given the anger at the way she was forced out, has to be considered a highly popular candidate.
But what about the BBI and Labour?
While Councillor Alison Austin fought Boston North West, her husband was defending Boston South - which he had previously held, but from which he was rejected by the voters.
If Councillor Richard Austin now decided to contest Boston North West - and if he were to win it - he would again become a voice at County Hall, rebuild some important personal credibility, and hope to be taken seriously once more.
Labour's candidate in June, Pam Kenny, is the wife of Paul - the man responsible for forcing this by-election on what was more or less a technicality.
Mr Kenny lost the borough council by-election for Pilgrim Ward to none other than Myles Larrington - the man he is now pursuing through the council's complaints procedure, having been stung by comments allegedly made in Councillor Larrington's blog. Let's not also forget that he lost Boston East to the Tories at the county elections.
Mr Kenny will look more than a little silly if - after all the trouble he has taken to force a by-election in Boston North west - he doesn't then bother to contest it personally and see if the voters share his sense of moral outrage.
However he might be afraid to risk three electoral flops in around as many months ... which scarcely looks good on the CV of a man who hopes to be Boston's Labour MP this time next year.
He might also wish to have to avoid writing the press release if his intervention resulted in the BNP winning its first seat on Lincolnshire County Council.
But before all that, both men would have to persuade their respective spouses not to stand again.
Interesting times ahead, as they say.
The full results for Boston North West on 4th June were:
Andrea Jenkyns - Conservative 463
Colin Westcott - British National Party 374 Alison Austin - Boston Bypass Independents 283
Richard Leggott - Independent 279 Pam Kenny - Labour 205
Paul Appleby - Liberal Democrat 130
Andrew Bakewell -Independent 82
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Back in June, seven candidates contested the seat, which Miss Jenkyns won with 462 votes ... 89 ahead of the BNP candidate, and 180 ahead of the next placed candidate - Boston Bypass Independent Alison Austin, wife of the Dear Leader.
The BNP candidate - Colin Westcott from Lincoln - was an unknown quantity, but that didn't stop him getting an impressive result.
But Mr Westcott will not be contesting the seat at the by-election.
His place has been taken by Boston Borough Councillor David Owens, who was elected to the Fenside ward in November last year.
He told Boston Eye: "The situation which has led to this by-election has shocked and angered voters, whose hard earned taxes will now have to be used to pay for this by-election.
"This careless waste of money by people who should know the rules but clearly don't, brands them as incompetent and not worthy of trust.
"This election will give the people of Boston North West a chance to elect a BNP councillor to the county council, a councillor who does care about how money is spent and waste avoided."
Councillor Owens's selection is a shrewd strategic move by the BNP.
Fenside and Boston North West wards share a great deal of common territory, and if Councillor Owens has been putting himself about since his election, he will hit the ground running as a candidate well known to local voters, which must improve his chances.
This piles the pressure on to whomever stands for the other parties.
Not only that, but it could well see some rethinking about the nominees.
Miss Jenkyns has already said that she will contest the seat once again and, given the anger at the way she was forced out, has to be considered a highly popular candidate.
But what about the BBI and Labour?
While Councillor Alison Austin fought Boston North West, her husband was defending Boston South - which he had previously held, but from which he was rejected by the voters.
If Councillor Richard Austin now decided to contest Boston North West - and if he were to win it - he would again become a voice at County Hall, rebuild some important personal credibility, and hope to be taken seriously once more.
Labour's candidate in June, Pam Kenny, is the wife of Paul - the man responsible for forcing this by-election on what was more or less a technicality.
Mr Kenny lost the borough council by-election for Pilgrim Ward to none other than Myles Larrington - the man he is now pursuing through the council's complaints procedure, having been stung by comments allegedly made in Councillor Larrington's blog. Let's not also forget that he lost Boston East to the Tories at the county elections.
Mr Kenny will look more than a little silly if - after all the trouble he has taken to force a by-election in Boston North west - he doesn't then bother to contest it personally and see if the voters share his sense of moral outrage.
However he might be afraid to risk three electoral flops in around as many months ... which scarcely looks good on the CV of a man who hopes to be Boston's Labour MP this time next year.
He might also wish to have to avoid writing the press release if his intervention resulted in the BNP winning its first seat on Lincolnshire County Council.
But before all that, both men would have to persuade their respective spouses not to stand again.
Interesting times ahead, as they say.
The full results for Boston North West on 4th June were:
Andrea Jenkyns - Conservative 463
Colin Westcott - British National Party 374 Alison Austin - Boston Bypass Independents 283
Richard Leggott - Independent 279 Pam Kenny - Labour 205
Paul Appleby - Liberal Democrat 130
Andrew Bakewell -Independent 82
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Tuesday, August 25
What would Fred Kite have done....?
Oh bruvver!When shop steward Fred Kite found himself in a fix, he turned to the rule book.
Sound familiar?
In his war on the Tories, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Boston Paul Kenny used the rule book to oust Conservative County Councillor Andrea Jenkyns.
We're not entirely sure what sort of game he's playing where county and borough councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire is concerned, but there is no doubt about his antics with regard to the blog written by borough councillor Myles Larrington.
Commissar Kenny has made it the subject of a complaint to the Borough Council's Standards Committee.
Yesterday, when we first made reference to this, we supplied a link to Councillor Larrington's statement regarding the referral, which has led him to withdraw all previous entries.
When we looked later, we found that even that reference has now been removed, and now only contains its original welcome message, part of which reads: "I am trying this blog out in order to better communicate directly to local people. Members of the public will be able to keep informed about what is happening on Boston Borough Council. I also believe the public have a right to know where I stand on local issues, so I will be detailing some of my opinions on these. My aim is to keep this blog updated on a regular basis. Hopefully you will see that I am hardworking, straight talking and able to make a real difference."
How sad that this laudable exercise in communication has been the subject of such pettiness and spite.
We took a look at the code of conduct which binds members of Boston Borough Council to see what grounds Mr Kenny might have for complaint.
Without sight of the blog now that it has been withdrawn, it's difficult to remember everything that was written.
But there are really just three sections of the rules that could apply.
Section 3 (1) says "You must treat others with respect." As far as we can recall Councillor Larrington was critical - but not disrespectful - of Mr Kenny.
How sad that this laudable exercise in communication has been the subject of such pettiness and spite.
We took a look at the code of conduct which binds members of Boston Borough Council to see what grounds Mr Kenny might have for complaint.
Without sight of the blog now that it has been withdrawn, it's difficult to remember everything that was written.
But there are really just three sections of the rules that could apply.
Section 3 (1) says "You must treat others with respect." As far as we can recall Councillor Larrington was critical - but not disrespectful - of Mr Kenny.
Section 3 (2) (b) "You must not bully any person." Councillor Larrington at 22 years-old and with just two-and-a-half months in office, would surely not disagree that he is a beginner. The idea that he could "bully" a seasoned politician like Paul Kenny beggars belief.
It is a joke - but we're not laughing.
If Mr Kenny seriously feels bullied then it's time for him to get out of politics until he grows up.Section 5 of the code of conduct says "You must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute." In fact quite the reverse is the case. Councillor Larrington was defending a colleague forced out of office by a "politician" crowing about a breach of the rules.
It is a joke - but we're not laughing.
If Mr Kenny seriously feels bullied then it's time for him to get out of politics until he grows up.Section 5 of the code of conduct says "You must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute." In fact quite the reverse is the case. Councillor Larrington was defending a colleague forced out of office by a "politician" crowing about a breach of the rules.
Now, Councillor Larrington faces a jury of his peers to consider the Kenny complaint.
As we said yesterday, despite wearing his Labour Party hat when he attacked Andrea Jenkyns and Councillors Singleton-McGuire and Larrington, he is now sheltering behind a procedure designed for members of the public to complain.
The Local Assessment Panel can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a member, and cannot deal with complaints about things not covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct.
Blogs are such new development in local government, that we hope this fact alone will be enough to disqualify Mr Kenny's complaint.
Failing that, we don't think that he should have his cake and eat it.
If he attacks as a politician, then he cannot suddenly renounce that status and become a wounded member of the public just because it might help him to achieve his shabby objectives.
Mr Kenny's actions have so far led to the resignation of one councillor, and silenced another's right to free speech. His third target has been a politician for longer who is so far weathering the storm.
The Bypass Independents must be spinning with laughter in their collective grave - Paul Kenny is playing into their hands and all they have to do is sit and watch.
The most elegant solution would be if Commissar Kenny were to recant his boorish Old Labour flat cap politics, act his age and withdraw his complaint against Councillor Larrington.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
As we said yesterday, despite wearing his Labour Party hat when he attacked Andrea Jenkyns and Councillors Singleton-McGuire and Larrington, he is now sheltering behind a procedure designed for members of the public to complain.
The Local Assessment Panel can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a member, and cannot deal with complaints about things not covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct.
Blogs are such new development in local government, that we hope this fact alone will be enough to disqualify Mr Kenny's complaint.
Failing that, we don't think that he should have his cake and eat it.
If he attacks as a politician, then he cannot suddenly renounce that status and become a wounded member of the public just because it might help him to achieve his shabby objectives.
Mr Kenny's actions have so far led to the resignation of one councillor, and silenced another's right to free speech. His third target has been a politician for longer who is so far weathering the storm.
The Bypass Independents must be spinning with laughter in their collective grave - Paul Kenny is playing into their hands and all they have to do is sit and watch.
The most elegant solution would be if Commissar Kenny were to recant his boorish Old Labour flat cap politics, act his age and withdraw his complaint against Councillor Larrington.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
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