Songs that
say
"so long, BBI"
How ironic that in a week when the showmen at the May Fair were pulling out all the stops to entertain the town, the biggest laugh of all came not from the House of Fun but from the infinitely more prosaic Boston Borough Council elections.
We’re talking, of course, of the trouncing of the Boston Bypass Independents at the polls - where they lost 14 of their 18 seats.
The Tories now run Boston, and we wonder what the future holds for BBI has-beens Richard and Alison Austin, Helen Staples and David Witts.
Will the party still require a leader?
Frankly there seems little point - particularly when two of the four survivors are married – can you imagine the potential for domestic disharmony?
If Councillor Austin persists in leading it, the group is so shrunken that it might as well be renamed the Boston Austin Party – certainly, the acronym BAP might win it a few more seats next time around!
In fact, it would not surprise us if the councillors Austin considered calling it a day and quitting politics altogether – leaving the remaining party rump to reconsider their options.
Certainly, the BBI’s future at West Street is unlikely to be a happy one.
Given the way they dealt with colleagues from other parties, the least they may expect to encounter is a lack of forgiveness.
At worst, they might anticipate a politically vengeful response.
On the night of his election wipe out, Councillor Austin remained upbeat.
“We’ve had a big effect on Boston in the last four years and I’m very pleased at our achievements and I think we’ve done a lot of good for Boston which will stand Boston in good stead for many years to come.”
Luckily for him, the interviewer did not persist with his questions, as we cannot think what Councillor Austin would have said if asked for a few specifics – although we cannot disagree when he said that the party has had a “big effect” on Boston. Think ‘H’ bomb, think Hiroshima
The BBI has now made history twice in four years.
The first time was when it swept to power on a raft of promises which were not to be kept.
The second was when the voters saw through the flim-flam last Thursday and gave the party the boot.
It would be possible to sympathise with Councillor Austin to some extent had we not seen for ourselves first hand evidence of the sometimes downright rude and frequently offhand treatment of opposition colleagues.
His classic mistake – particularly for a former “civil” servant – was to become so uncivil and autocratic – wrongly confusing the English word leader with its German counterpart, fuhrer.
Before he returns to clear the “leader’s” desk, we wonder if Councillor Austin spent some time at the weekend changing the ringtone on his mobile – replacing the Harry Secombe ballad If I ruled the World with the Beatles’ 1964 hit I’m a loser.
Or could we perhaps suggest Lesley Gore’s It’s my party (and I’ll cry if I want to….?) – or staying with that era, the Surfaris hit single Wipeout.
The list of possible titles is long– but our favourite so far comes from the Little River Band - Lonesome Loser.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
We’re talking, of course, of the trouncing of the Boston Bypass Independents at the polls - where they lost 14 of their 18 seats.
The Tories now run Boston, and we wonder what the future holds for BBI has-beens Richard and Alison Austin, Helen Staples and David Witts.
Will the party still require a leader?
Frankly there seems little point - particularly when two of the four survivors are married – can you imagine the potential for domestic disharmony?
If Councillor Austin persists in leading it, the group is so shrunken that it might as well be renamed the Boston Austin Party – certainly, the acronym BAP might win it a few more seats next time around!
In fact, it would not surprise us if the councillors Austin considered calling it a day and quitting politics altogether – leaving the remaining party rump to reconsider their options.
Certainly, the BBI’s future at West Street is unlikely to be a happy one.
Given the way they dealt with colleagues from other parties, the least they may expect to encounter is a lack of forgiveness.
At worst, they might anticipate a politically vengeful response.
On the night of his election wipe out, Councillor Austin remained upbeat.
“We’ve had a big effect on Boston in the last four years and I’m very pleased at our achievements and I think we’ve done a lot of good for Boston which will stand Boston in good stead for many years to come.”
Luckily for him, the interviewer did not persist with his questions, as we cannot think what Councillor Austin would have said if asked for a few specifics – although we cannot disagree when he said that the party has had a “big effect” on Boston. Think ‘H’ bomb, think Hiroshima
The BBI has now made history twice in four years.
The first time was when it swept to power on a raft of promises which were not to be kept.
The second was when the voters saw through the flim-flam last Thursday and gave the party the boot.
It would be possible to sympathise with Councillor Austin to some extent had we not seen for ourselves first hand evidence of the sometimes downright rude and frequently offhand treatment of opposition colleagues.
His classic mistake – particularly for a former “civil” servant – was to become so uncivil and autocratic – wrongly confusing the English word leader with its German counterpart, fuhrer.
Before he returns to clear the “leader’s” desk, we wonder if Councillor Austin spent some time at the weekend changing the ringtone on his mobile – replacing the Harry Secombe ballad If I ruled the World with the Beatles’ 1964 hit I’m a loser.
Or could we perhaps suggest Lesley Gore’s It’s my party (and I’ll cry if I want to….?) – or staying with that era, the Surfaris hit single Wipeout.
The list of possible titles is long– but our favourite so far comes from the Little River Band - Lonesome Loser.
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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