Week beginning ...

Friday’s “Week Ending” feature brought responses on a number of issues – so many in fact that they are worth a blog of their own .
Hunter bags inquiry … The good news is that, despite our fears that the “Victor Hunter” e-mail - which demanded answers about the allocation of the Empty Shops Scheme funding - would be kicked into touch because the author cannot be contacted, the accusations made are to be investigated.
Task dodgers … Meanwhile, as the Boston Business Improvement District debacle continues, there are musings that the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s decision to use their self-allotted “Golden Vote” to oppress the other 570-plus (many of them forced, and unwilling) local members of the BID has been a large contributory factor in the continuing resistance to this scheme in Boston.
Certainly, it would appear from BIDs in other places that such schemes work perfectly well without such an autocratic – nay, dictatorial - mechanism in place.
As far as the position of the Bypass Independents Party is concerned, we are reliably informed that eligible – which means non- cabinet - BBI members have, so far, declined invitations to be part of the Task and Finish group of councillors looking into the BID issue.
Clause for concern … Our comments about the double standards of the NFU Mutual insurance company – to sponsor Council Leader Richard Austin’s Boston 200 flood fest whilst refusing to quote home owners in the town because it is in a high risk area – has prompted one reader to warn that NFU members will probably be even more worried to hear that the event is widely seen in council circles as part of BBI campaign in the lead-up to Borough Council election next May.
Turn again … After our report on the latest rant by Councillor Ramonde Newell, in which he castigates people he regards as “turncoats” for leaving the BBI after internal party disharmony, we have been reminded of a long standing story which says that Councillor Newell himself may have flirted with the Tory group on Lincolnshire County Council.
A reader tells us: “There is a story doing the council rounds that the rebuff of Councillor Newell's application to join the Tories at County Hall was the cause of his fairly recent outburst in print about the Conservative Party - just before his more recent rant about the local Labour Party if I remember correctly … do you think that means -...?
“And Councillor Newell is not the first on the list of other alleged failed defection attempts, and spurned offers by BBI Party members to be helpful to locally opposing political parties in the last two years…”
Words fail us!

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