Be gone I tell thee!

Rant update. I, like you (presumably), have kept up with this abhorrent scandal that has happened in our Town. It is quite surreal opening the papers, watching the news and listening to the radio and hearing your birthplace and home being dragged through the mud all because of some very sick corrupt groomers and the several institutions that let this happen.

I have sat and thought about this as I don’t really find knee-jerk reactions useful. And for us to move on there does need to be a clear out. But I’m not into sweeping statements so I wouldn’t (like others have) call for mass resignation without reason. So in my books, this is who should leave:

• Shaun Wright PCC – Top of the list. It goes without saying the momentous fuck up this man is. My call for his resignation goes alongside the Prime Ministers’ and Ed Miliband’s.
• Police officer – Any police officer who had been complicit or guilty in this scandal. Such as the police officers who arrested a 15 year old victim and let the 23/24 year old groomer walk free. Or those (if police at all) who raided the risky business office.
• Middle management – who acted as a barrier towards the issue when social workers who raised the issue met a grey wall.
• Joyce Thacker – For whatever little good she has done, her reign over much of this terrible period cannot go un-counted for. She also presided over the UKIP fostering scandal. This woman has to go.
• Everyone who sat on the council in 2005 – my reasoning being that those who attended the seminar knew exactly what was going on and those who didn’t attend would have still been brought up to date on the issue Which leads me onto the following.
• Cllr Caven Vines – Cllr Vines makes the excuse of being in Holland at the time (Red-light district?) But would have been brought up to date with the content of the Seminar.
• Cllr John Turner –  The fact that this man sits on our council is a mockery in itself but hey ho. His excuse being that he was warned against bringing it up because it might hinder police investigations yet this Dinosaur was on the council till 2012. He simply let the issue rest.
• John Healey MP – It has become visible from reading other blogs in the past few days that Mr Healey first of all did not want a investigation as early as two years ago. ……… A personal friend of Shaun Wright, he has been active in keeping up to date with the local governance of Rotherham and possibly advised some of his constituent Cllr’s i.e. Shaun Wright and Roger Stone. He also seems to have been texting Shaun Wright messages of support. How much did he know?
• Kevin Barron – Again, how much did he know? A daughter in the cabinet for over a decade. A brother on the council until this year. Colluding with John Healey MP? Denis MacShane stated that when he said Andrew Norfok was only doing his job and was a good journalist for trying to unveil this secret, Kevin Barron scorned him with the look of death.

Questions also lie at the front door of the Town Hall in regards of its new cabinet. Paul Lakin had been the cabinet member for four years? How much did he know and did he do all he could have? Why has Mahroof Hussain, with all his ‘connections’ and position in the community been allowed to stay in the cabinet and Labour Party? Why has Christine Beaumont, a dinosaur who has been adviser to Lakin on children services for three years been allowed to take this same position up? How much did she know? Rumours of bullying and snobbery too. Dominic Beck, from what I understand……..he cannot be blamed for this scandal but having a read of other blogs, all does not seem legit or morally right with how he has earned his current position.

Rant over, feel free to share your views.

What a shambles!

It can be assumed that you are all up to date with what is happening right now bearing in mind that Rotherham is plastered all over the mainstream media about Alexis Jay’s report into CSE. 

Here is the Deputy Leader Paul Lakin getting turned into mince meat on the issue this morning. Scary to think this hermit of a man could possibly scoop up the leadership. Only Sue Ellis can take the reins now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p024rf4r

Shaun Wright is refusing to go even after calls as such from his own party. Cllr Paul Lakin also finds his role called into question seen as Alexis Jay’s report also covers part of his period of office responsible for young people and children and his prior involvement to the department. 

Roger did what Roger does best and took the quick way out, to his credit. All members of the scrutiny board relevant to this department during this periods should also question their legitimacy. 

Lets have a clearout!

Some Questions to Sir Kev!

Received these questions through an anonymous email:

• After being MP for a ‘safe seat’ for 33 years do you worry you are now a dinosaur?
• Do you think it is smart to have employed your first wife and her sister as well as your second wife?
• Is it true that you have five houses?
• What do you think of rumours which suggest that you have took ‘backhanders’ from pharmaceutical companies and MPs who wished not to be investigated by the standards committee?
• And what do you think about the rumours that you had a witch hunt arranged for Denis MacShane’s head which conveniently ended up with him being backed into a corner and standing down, and then ‘someone’ with influence encouraging the NEC to implement an all women’s short-list?
• And that you conveniently were chums with Sarah Champion MP before this happened?
• That many in your constituency are worse off whilst you have enriched yourself through milking the system?
• That you allegedly paid a poor family off in order to make their son/daughter take the wrap for a drugs related issue which the police were investigating in order to protect your daughter many years ago?
• And what do you think about bookies taking bets that people in the Rotherham borough will see your face between now and May 2015 after not seeing you since may 2010?

Who do you think shall become the next Leader – Results!

COUNT	PERCENT
		%	OVERALL
Party
Paul Lakin	4	22.22%	22.22%
Emma Hoddinott	4	22.22%	22.22%
Sue Ellis	6	33.33%	33.33%
Dominic Beck	3	16.67%	16.67%
Ken Wyatt	1	5.56%	5.56%

 

 

How Will you vote at the next local elections – RESULTS!

COUNT	PERCENT
		%	OVERALL
Party
Labour Party	10	58.82%	58.82%
UKIP	4	23.53%	23.53%
Independent	0	0%	0%
Conservatives	1	5.88%	5.88%
TUSC	1	5.88%	5.88%
Green Party	0	0%	0%
None	1	5.88%	5.88%

 

 

How will you vote at the next local elections?

Have your say!

Who do you think shall become the next leader?

Please have your say!

What were UKIP trying to achieve?

So………….As you have all probably heard from one source of local media or another. The UKIP councillors performed a walkout of the last council meeting because they did not get to ask all of their questions. 17 questions were in existence and 15 of them belonged to UKIP. Knowing full well that there is 30 minutes allocated to questions they spat their dummy out when they overstepped the said time. If they do not like this process then they know the full formalities they have to undertake and the processes they need to follow through to change things. It’s a thing called Democracy. There true intentions could be this. They had pre-planned the walkout of their first council meeting to try and catch some headlines. Cheap and pathetic political point scoring. We shall see these tactics of by where they try and achieve tiser publicity become a common theme. But…………you can’t blame them when their own leadership in Brussels play the same type of games (below is a recent photo of Farage and other UKIP MEPs turning their back on the European anthem – average UKIP IQ 75):

 

A break with the past!

They say that Rotherham is a Rotten Borough! And you shall find no disagreement with that here. Though folk make the mistake of saying this solely lays at the labour Party’s feet. But………..it has not always been this way and I should be able to vouch for that as I was at the heart of the local party in the 90’s. We were ‘true’ labour back then…..when we stood up for people’s interests. However………The vermin started to creep into the wood work in 1994 when skies filled with career politicians and down flew Denis MacShane. A ‘careerist’ as they say with nil ties to the Town. Only interested (and proven) to be lining his own pockets. This is where it began and by the end of that decade I left the party as I could see the serpents poison seep through every level of the Labour Party in Rotherham.

Membership declined rapidly over the years till this day and so did the party democracy. And the ill-management of this Town ever since has led for our name to be dragged into the media for ill reasons time and time again. We all know these different factors and those responsible should be held account but my purpose for this article is a desire or more so a vision of a break with the past. MacShane would not dare show his face round these parts. His disappearance and the loss of some Cllrs this year plus ex-cllr Wright moving on to SYP has signalled some sort of shift in the right direction. Now there remains two of the ‘old faces’ that stand between the status quo and a break with the past. Leader Stone, not so much a worry as he will inevitably topple upon his own shoe laces if the Beck/Lakin tag team do not push him first. The other being this tag team. They remain a part of the ‘old faces’ gang and no matter what can be argued in there favour, they possibly can not offer us anything new. Otherwise they would have done it by now. The reins now need to be taken by a honest and decent cllr who is ‘connection free’ of this past. Someone who is competent and has a vast support base. A break with the past requires a woman’s touch!

A new era is beckoning!

If one was to read comments left by online contributors and the so called ‘Phantom of the Town Hall’ in addition with what cllrs are saying behind closed doors. Then you could be forgiven for viewing this as discontent among the Labour group in the Town Hall. All this speak of plotting, who said what, who did what and who is actually leading.

Firstly it can be argued that such talk as this would only occur when the leadership is weak. It would seem Roger is no longer ‘really’ running the party or the council. But there has been high speculation and talk of how the new Deputy Leader is ill fitted for the role or leadership. I would take that with a pinch of salt if I was you but his appointment and future leadership has made a few inside the cabinet and on the back benches uncomfortable. A decent Cllr but maybe not the most appropriate out of this bunch.

According to some insiders……….Roger has all but gave up on even trying and is just sitting on hist nest egg to keep it warm. Has Lakin and co got what it takes to rise up to the challenge. Whatever the speculation gone before we can only wait and see for sure.

Having been in contact with over a dozen Cllrs and one or two of the opposition ones too, we here at Rothpolt2 have been offered a picture of how it should be rather than how it actually is. And this vision that is widely shared among a large number of Cllr’s is that of a new, bold and dynamic leadership. In particular Cllr Ellis. And their arguments can even reach the widest of audiences. Firstly, the obvious, having a Female as leader will speak volumes (positive) for the Labour Party and the Borough. They believe that Cllr Ellis has the experience, the support and the know how to drive the Council rather than it stagnating.

I am no betting woman but if I was then if any leadership contest was put up before or after the election then I would be placing my sterling on Cllr Ellis. We shall see.