There were no doubt a few hearty cheers in the Medway Conservative Group last night that Boris Johnson had secured the London Mayoralty for another four year term.
After a routing at the English Local elections and Labour once again securing its domination over the Scotish and Welsh electorates yesterday we did see the first signs that Labour is returning as the only true one nation party of the United Kingdom. From Sefton to Southampton, Carlisle to Cardiff, Newport to Norwich the Tories fell like bowling pins.
The Tory party was mauled across whole swathes of the United Kingdom; yes as a response to incompetence in government but also because of the inept way in which Conservatives manage local finances and Councils. Look locally over the financial mess over the Chatham road system, the bus station, the Brook regeneration, the school-programme mismanagement, the Aveling & Porter demolition, the Hawkins flyover.
Mismanagement and fiscal incompetence as standard; omni-clustershambolic.
They were mauled also because people are loosing trust on Tories not willing to stand up to government and fight for them. Tories are quite simply not on your side; they fight for the elite.
An elite which alas comes from local party structures transposed onto central government. Tories in local government who have created fiefdoms where the old school-tie and Association glad-handling guarantees you a Council place; it is a sickly way to conduct local politics that shuts out the single parent, the family man, the worker, the state school pupil or indeed ethnic minorities. It is quite literally a little-Englander and stale way of conducting 21st century politics; in Chatham & Aylesford Tory Councillor's dont even need a democratic mandate from members; as incumbents they are selected on the nod.
The election of Boris however does present Medway with a clear and present danger; as many Medway Tories celebrated his success last night they were in fact celebrating further months of pain and anguish for the Hoo Peninsula and Medway for the sake of a partisan win. It is that type of pure partisan self-interest which characterises local Conservatives; instead of fighting Boris they have sat back and given him an easy ride during his election period. Many have also openly backed him.The Council will now have to fight one of the most powerful and influential Conservative Politicians in the country who will now seek a major piece of infrastructure to his name, a man who is only interested in London and who will happily tread on local residents to get what he wants.
The Hoo Peninsula have now had four years of Tory dithering, flip-flopping and threats and yet some of the Parish Council's up there continue to give tacit support to the way in which local Conservatives are managing this process.
I salute your efforts; but you can not trust Tories. Your residents, whose businesses are threated, whose houseprices are wrecked, need an aggressive position. They need you to challenge the MP; threaten their chances in 2015 and you begin to get an audience, believe me, in the upper echelons of Westminster.
It is base politics but it works; it worked with Heathrow when campaigners threatened to oust local MPs there, it worked in Gatwick with the Crawley Labour MP. If you threaten the Parliamentary MPs in hyper-marginal constituencies across North Kent with anti-Tory leaflets you will make them sit up. I sense the Tories on the Peninsula are whispering the ear that only a cross-party and unified campaign will work; that is true but also a big fib. You wave the potential sword of Damacles over the MPs and you will make CCHQ sit up and listen if you start to threaten them.
They will tell you that by attacking the MPs you will loose cross-party support and make it more likely for an airport; that is false, as it is we have ineffective representation in Westminster who are not making the case strongly enough. We have Cameron who has u-turned at will and Osborne visiting China to discuss infrastructure projects.
The simple truth however is that MPs fear loss of control over a campaign; all the efforts thus far by Medway Conservatives have been attempts of control. Over the Christmas period last year they were overtaken by events, and the same happened in March.
If local activists step up and state to Cameron that if you push this airport we will actively campaign against Tories across North Kent; believe me the man will listen.
Cameron has now been mauled in the Midlands and his Estuary marginals can not be put at risk.
A referendum for Medway; which is something the Labour Group has advocated will allow a message to be sent; because the result will be a resounding No. The cost of such a referendum is utterly spun by those with a vested interest; an interest to retain control. If conducted at the same time as another election the only cost would be to print the ballots and the staff time for counting a simple yes/no ballot.
It is basic common sense that this would not cost £250,000-£300,000; it is total Tory scaremongering.
And what of the pro-campaign; the Yes DRINK campaign cant even organise attendance to its own events; the pro-lobby has zero resources and no campaigners on the ground; its derided as a joke by Councillors from all parties. They will get butchered by the three local party machines working in tandem with a grassroots and political base; there is no groundswell of popular support for an airport. There is a lack of education on the issue which relies of the fib that jobs will come the moment the airport is given the nod.
Local Parishes on the Peninsula, whose no vote is assured, could easily call for a local ballot, and yet there appears to be a lack of willingness to rock the boat.
Politics is about rocking the boat, its about pushing vigorously.
Of course I would say this wouldnt I. A Labour politician with a vested interest; yes, but my vested interest is no Estuary airport and to attack anyone who fawns loyalty to any machine that supports it. Tories locally are fair game; they pay for Cameron and they campaign for Boris who have quite frankly led and continue to lead the destruction of my community and have also undertaken u-turn after u-turn.
I have a vested interest which is punishing those, democratically, who support those who want to destroy my community and I absolutely, categorically, do not trust a word that is said from local Conservatives who have called this wrong so many times. Time after time after time.
Prior to last year Tories promised this idea would never see a government consultation; this after three years of detailed analysis from London Conservatives. We saw the Boris Island proposal slip onto an onsite solution and then we have Justine Greening MP step into the Transport brief; this is too co-incidental and entirely predictable.
Having backbench 'irritant' events in Westminster is a useful part to the campaign; but unless our MPs can get a grip and start to publicly and actively lobby Cameron and Osborne we wont get any movement on this issue. They will sit up and take listen if campaigners and community activists start to threaten the North Kent marginals; believe me.
Why is it that Zac Goldsmith can threaten to resign the whip and the party and yet Tracey Crouch, Mark Reckless or Rehman Chisthi cant promise the same?
Ask yourself that question and you get the answer; because Zac knows the anti-airport campaign would target him directly; and he would lose. Our MPs think they have control over the campaign so have no need to step up.
If I were the Tory MP now; I would get all my chums together in North Kent and say simply; you plonk and airport in our area and we all quit.
Done and dusted; if they wanted it to be.
Not one of our Tory MPs stood up for our area and attacked Boris during the election in a full throated manner. We have had four years of threats and now, with the election of Boris, we will have four more years.
Tories can sip the champagne for now; but at what cost to Medway.
