Cllr Keith Mackman: Anything less than 26 votes fatally damages UDC authority

The full council meeting tonight will be viewed differently by the various people involved. It seems that the Tory group are being relentlessly whipped (or advised to take a diplomatic absence….I shall be interested to see just how many of them don’t actually show up on the night).

My argument would be that if the Conservatives fail to secure less than 26 votes their authority is fatally damaged. Bear in mind that 22 votes is merely half the current council. I would also highlight that they needs to secure cross party support and I don’t think that will be forthcoming.

Recently, it has been claimed by the opposition that I lack experience. I have been a councillor for the same amount of time as many of my council colleagues so I would observe that the draft local plan was supported by some very experienced council members and their combined experience appears not to have resulted in a viable plan. Evidently experience and ability are not automatically linked when considering councillors and the draft plan. I have clearly stated my reservations about the draft plan for many months now and despite my lack of experience it appears that I was correct to have doubts.

I take little satisfaction from being right about something that is so damaging to the district. I genuinely love where I live and I want the best for it. I feel contempt for the incumbent clique  that have brought us to the current pass, along with those that continue to support them.

Fortunately I am an optimist and I believe that the council WILL recover from the current problems, we will sweep away the Tory incompetents, reconfigure the officers and salvage something from the wreckage of administrative drift.