Crumbs! Leadership

agreed over

tea and biscuits

It looks as though you may well get two blogs for the price of one again today, as we struggle to penetrate the mists surrounding the Tories’ decisions regarding who is leading what.
After yesterday’s short addition, in which we queried the nature of Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire’s departure (“did he fall or was he pushed?”) we received an e-mail which said that this was unfair, and that we had misinterpreted a sacrifice for the good of Boston as some sort of political coup d'état.
Hopefully, more detail on this will emerge later today - and if it does, we will post again.
Meanwhile, we remain concerned at some of the comments from the new leader, Councillor Peter Bedford, which came after the leadership news apparently broke on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, shortly after 7am yesterday - a management “style” more commonly associated with national rather than local politics, and which may well have been the first time that some people who should have been told before heard the news.
Here’s what Councillor Bedford had to say.
“We made a decision as a branch and as a group. Raymond is still the branch chairman of Boston and, of course, he led the magnificent campaign to bring this together.
“It was felt that it needed a steady pair of hands, should we say, at the helm, and to allow Raymond to specialise in looking into the finances, because as you are well aware, with the cuts that are upon us from central government and we accept those, the fact that it has to happen, but we do need a specialist in the area, and on the Conservative group, he’s the only person that we have who’s a specialist in that area.
It would be absolutely impossible to do both jobs.
“Everybody is happy with what’s gone on. It was done amicably over the weekend; we had a group meeting yesterday (Monday) teatime to agree and rubber stamp the outcomes.”
So this wasn’t planned ahead of the election result?
“We thought that we would win but we honestly did not expect to win by the majority that we did. We thought that Boston would go back to a no overall control council.”
So, taken by surprise by their own success, the Conservatives are left without a plan, and cobble one up over a cuppa and teacakes. Not a good start.
Councillor Singleton-McGuire gets an added crumb from the tea table by becoming joint deputy leader with Councillor Michael Brookes. Councillor Brookes was not even a Conservative a year or so ago - he was an Independent on both the borough and county councils before switching allegiance - and his appointment is something which we hear has ruffled some feathers in the Conservative camp.
And unbelievably - especially given the rancour with which the BBI’s change to the rules regarding the appointment of Mayor was greeted – we hear that this post may well have already been stitched up.
You thought it had to go to the vote?
Not if you have a generous majority like the BBI once did.
It was Harold Wilson who famously ran a so-called “kitchen cabinet.”
Now it seems Boston has an equivalent – the Tory tearoom!

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