Whenever the Tories whip up a head of steam on a non-issue you know they are trying to conceal a real story or when something going on behind the scenes.
The fact we got so much of it today suggests both. A concealment of the real story and something behind the scenes.
The suggestion that anyone wants to flog off Rochester Airport or a random golf club on the Peninsula is absolute rubbish. The point made today was clear; instead of focusing on non-issues the Council should be focused on the matter at hand; the care homes closures.
The fact the Tories tried to spin a story on safeguarding Council assets on the same day as they privatised three cares homes is about as brazen as you get.
This is three publicly owned care homes, which care for hundreds of residents, privatised after a consultation which was quite frankly an utter shambles. And the Tories then complain about a sell-off of private land that happened when I was a mere teenager, from 1997-2002.
Clutching at the proverbial straw
Instead today we witnessed the shameful positioning of Tories trying to change the story.
The story today is simple; the Tories agreed after 8,000 signatures and significant public anger across the entire towns to privatise our last remaining care homes.
The consultation behind these closures was a sham; pre-budgeted in outcome and without considering all the options on partnership models it was all but decided before it even started. The fact it was in the budget for this year says everything about the intent of the Tories.
The big question I posed in the winter was why the Council had not considered social partnerships like the Norse Group. Social partnerships which are owned by and established limited companies in the ownership of the public sector. I was given short shrift but the question remained on my mind.
It is now interesting that Medway Community Healthcare - a NHS sponsered social partnership - is now putting an interested enquiry into the Balfour Centre.
My question then and it is now; why has it taken this long for a social-partnership to be looked at as a viable alternative to pure privatisation? Why was this not considered from the outset?
In addition, have significant questions about the timing of this bid. Why has it taken so long - indeed an 11th hour intervention - for MCH to submit a bid?
The timing is very interesting; whether any Council officers had previous conversations on an MCH bid prior to a formal application would be of public interest. It is very likely that conversations must have been had for them to make a business case for the service.
The Tories today have been remarkably loud; they are only ever thus when there is internal instability. I suspect that the decision to privatise homes must have weighed heavily on the more decent of back-benchers.
Whether there was a wobble in the ranks remains a mystery, but them jumping at Cllr Maple today suggests to me there was and whats more it was serious.
A reshuffle of Cllr Brake may be on the cards...
There remain significant questions about the timing and nature of the new bid for the Balfour Centre but let us not distracted; the last of our public care homes were sold off to the highest bidder today
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