Can lone Major have any voice at County Hall?

Yesterday we heard comment from the sharp end in the person of Better Boston Group Councillor Brian Rush, who had strong things to say about the BBI after its spectacular failure at the polls for County Council and Borough Council seats.
Optimists might say that the borough still has a voice at County Hall, and Councillor Major (Retired) Ramonde Newell is certainly vocal, as readers of the local papers as well as fellow councillors will testify.
But whereas the borough was previously represented in Lincoln by its leader, Councillor Richard Austin, this is no longer the case.
Councillor Austin's leadership role might just have given him some sort of clout in Lincoln, but we doubt whether Councillor Newell will be able to achieve much if anything as a lone voice in the wilderness.
Even the County Council's post election seating plan (above) - which may of course be literally graphic and not substantive - shows Councillor Newell isolated from the rest of the pack.
But how will the the BBI message from Boston now travel to Lincoln?
Councillor Newell is just a member of the BBI, not leader nor a deputy, and this will put him in a fairly weak position in our view - effectively little more than a glorified messenger boy when It comes to speaking at Lincoln on behalf of Boston.
Coupled with that, his majority of 11 is not exactly impressive, even less so when achieved in the ward with the smallest electorate.
Then there is the message that the BBI's disastrous performance sends to County Hall.
In the absence of any recent test of public opinion, it might have been possible to boast:"Give us a bypass or we will run against you at election time. We are very strong you know; we can win any election............ we can walk on water!"
But to fight six seats at county and local level, have your leader thrown out by the voters, lose two of the other three county seats whilst winning the fourth by the narrowest of margins - and being rejected totally at the grass roots level in the borough council elections - won't cut any ice in Lincoln.
The BBI has lost its support, something that was almost predictable given its decline through internal wranglings, and rejection at earlier by-elections - but no doubt the rout will be explained as the fault of a fickle electorate solely influenced by the sordidity of national politics.
Fortunately, the voters have shown themselves cleverer than the BBI might think, so we suggest that they try looking long and hard in the mirror and coming up with a few things that the public really wants.
Winners and losers? Well Councillor Austin is poorer by £7716 in allowances, and Councillor Newell richer by the same amount. But given the state of the BBI these days, we wonder whether it's worth making the journey to Lincoln to earn it.

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