Friday 1 March 2013

Sandy Ezekiel, has been found guilty of fraud and misconduct in public office

Update Sandy Ezekiel has been sentenced to 18 months for each offence to run concurrently


The former council leader of Thanet District Council - Sandy Ezekiel, has been found guilty of fraud and misconduct in public office. He has been found guilty on four counts of misconduct in public office.
In the same hearing at Maidstone Crown Court Philip Emanuel, aged sixty-four, has been found guilty of aiding and abetting fraud. 
 

106 comments:

  1. Brarn envelopes and trebles all round!

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  2. Number 5. Guilty. Hoser, Maison, Aitken, Watt Ruffell, Ezekiel. Daly (child porn) not known.

    Will there be a proceeds of crime recovery action now ?

    How will the news fly on Thanet Life I wonder ?

    Did you hear that the Judge is considering a community service order but has been advised the offender has no realistic experience in how to serve the community ?

    Cleaning up vandalized public art in Ramsgate ?


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  3. Did you hear that the Judge is considering a community service order but has been advised the offender has no realistic experience in how to serve the community ?

    Brilliant,Gypsy Jack

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  4. In the distance you can just hear the sound of several office shredders going into overdrive.

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  5. Not fraud. That chrage didn't come to court.

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    1. Yep fraud his co defendant got a suspended sentence for aiding and abetting fraud.

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  6. Enjoy your moment, plebs, for your turn will come if it hasn't already with all those incarcerated Labour MPs who fiddled their expenses. So much for honesty in public office.

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  7. I suspect there's some VERY nervous cllrs in Thanet right now, some who are conspicuous by their lack of reporting on this... and they have the cheek to claim that their blogs are better at reporting local news than The Gazette! : )

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    1. Because one councillor has been found guilty of misconduct in a public office relating to property does not suddenly mean that all the other councillors are suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat. Most of them do not have the where-with-all to finance property dealing, but don't let that stop you having your snide little, finger them all, jab. Needless to say a certain flying doctor will be top of your suspect list, but not because he is anything other than a commercial aircraft operator, but because he banned you and your silly snide remarks from his blog.

      Why don't you either grow up or, better still, shut up.

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    2. One very nervous ex-councillor as well - stand at attention private Checksfield

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    3. Front page of today's Isle of Thanet Gazette:

      "THE NET WIDENS

      Police Investigate Planning Deals and Grant Money in Wake of Ezekiel Trial".

      So not just my words, Runny!

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    4. It's not only Simon Moores who's keeping quite, even rent-a-mouth Ian Driver has been strangely silent.

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    5. Well publicity is not exactly going his way at the moment with Thanet Labour exposing the lie of his proclaimed interest in Ramsgate when he cannot even bother to turn up for town council meetings. Don't even go there with his complainst about double headers when he himself holds both town and district councillor appointments, albeit obtained under false pretences by wearing a red rosette he promptly ratted on.

      Then over on John Hamilton's blogsite much of this man's blatant hypocrisy not to mention his close association with the Broadstairs rent-a-mob fraternity is regularly exposed. Fret not though for there will be another bandwagon just around the corner when those dulcet tones, more normally assoiciated with some north of Watford soap opera, will once again be polluting the peace and calm of the Thanet airwaves.

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    6. Most of the local blogs are conspicuous by their silence. John Hamilton's "talking sense and cutting through bullshit" seems to only ever focus on one person (surely there's other people worthy of his attention in Thanet?); Tony Flaig can hardly do his usual ranting about how bad Clive Hart is right now (or can he?); Matt at The Thanet Star used to post about Ezekiel every other day (no doubt he'll catch up in 3 months time); Simon doesn't want to be seen as disloyal to his former boss (why not?) but at the same time doesn't want to be seen to be sticking up for him... I'm sure there'll at leat be a lengthy post by Louise at Margate Architecture though, something I'm looking forward to.

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    7. Ian's blogged about it (at last), the first Thanet cllr to do so!

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    8. Michael. Have you seen this document that Cllr Driver is quoting?

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    9. On several occasions Tim, I have had a copy for some time.

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    10. Presumably therefore it adds nothing that we didn't already know to the debate

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  8. So will the guilty man now be stepping down from his postion as councillor for East Cliftonville?

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    1. He'll have to if he goes to prison.

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    2. Bob Bayford will have him back if he sits next to Ken Gregory

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  9. Where is Simon Moores, what are his views on this, after all, he was in Sandy's cabinet!

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    1. Is he hiding in the cabinet?

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    2. Allan MallinsonMarch 01, 2013 3:14 pm

      He is very probably either in his aircraft working or at home at the address given on the TDC councillors list, but then you knew that already, anon. As for him reporting this, well what is there to say so far that has not already been well covered by Michael. We have the jury's verdict, but sentence is yet to follow. Maybe when it is all done and dusted is the time for views, but the absence of any at this time means nothing other than in the minds of the baying crowd. It gets more like medieval hangings in Thanet when some councillor falls by the wayside yet many of the residents get their collars felt for sundry offences on an hourly basis. I suppose that's alright is it?

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    3. The difference is that they're not being paid to represent us. That's why it IS more serious if (say) a councillor kills a cat or gets convicted of drunk driving.

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    4. Allan MallinsonMarch 01, 2013 3:30 pm

      Peter, they get an allowance which, for other than cabinet members, would barely cover their council tax so it is hardly a living wage. I doubt any, with the possible exception of Will Scobie who is still of pocket money age and making a career choice of it, do it for the pittance a district councillor gets, so they are hardly your well paid servants. More like willing volunteers with a subsaistence allowance.

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    5. So because they don't get paid much then it doesn't matter what they do? I don't give a damn if they do it for FREE, the point is that they're our trusted representatives, making decisions what to do with OUR money for the (supposed) benefit of OUR area... and as for Will being "of pocket money age", he's in his mid-20s. Hardly a child.

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    6. Wow, he was 22 when he started as mayor so he has really aged in the job, or on it if more appropriate. Couple more years and at Peter's rate of aging he will be on a pension.

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    7. Well he's nearer to "mid-20s" than "pocket money age", or were you still on pocket money at 23 instead of out working for a living Mr anonymous bigot?

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    8. Why bigot or perhaps you do not understand the meaning of the word, Mr Nude Photo Taking Checksfield, if that is your real name. The hard fact remains that since school he has done uni and politics so he hasn't had a real job or is attending official luncheons as mayor your idea of a real job.

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    9. It's bigoted to believe that younger people deserve a lower wage (or "allowance"), just as it is to believe that blacks, gays, disabled (etc) deserve less than others.

      A "real" job is one that someone gets paid for, just as my "Nude Photo Taking" is a real job, at least sometimes. Presumably your job (if you have one) involves neither official luncheons or nude photos.

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    10. Perhaps I should clarify: if someone gets paid for doing dodgy illegal deals then that's not a job, that's a crime! Will = a worker. Sandy = a criminal.

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  10. Another interesting thing in today's Gazette is that apparently FOI requests can include private email accounts if business has been done this way. So remember that Michael, Richard, etc.

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  11. The plod are certainly having a thorough sniff around. I know that for certain as I have had the pleasure of personally welcoming one through my portal. Something to do with me grabbing a cheap Georgian on Augusta Road.

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    1. Maybe some cheap concrete flagpoles on the seafront soon.

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  12. 18 months!

    https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ezekieltrial&src=hash

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  13. How the hell is it misfortune, he did it himself cheating the electorate

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  14. Don't shoot the messenger anon.

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  15. Silence from the Broadstairs Tory Mafia.

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    1. I thought you were a Conservative, Tim, or has gay marriage driven you into the arms of Farage as well. Or maybe you are a socialist 'sleeper' who has been lulling us all these years into thinking you are a Conservative so you could have more impact when you made your ceremonial floor crossing or would it be quarter deck in your case, stopping at the heads to ease springs on route.

      Who would you class as Tory mafia from Broadstairs. A few quiet middle England councillors, perhaps, or Chris Wells being the most well informed and literate of the lot or Bob Bayford, hardly the most outspoken at the best of times.

      As to a view on this situation, well if the man did the job he must do the time. What else is there to say. He is not the first politician to full from grace, even in the last month, and he most certainly will not be the last.

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    2. For 'full' read 'fall, and apologies, Tim, as a matelow you will have no idea what 'ease springs' means.

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    3. Being Conservative Tom is not the same as supporting THANET criminals like SANDY EZEKIEL and his local ilk ! ... in fact local Conservative prefer UKIP rather than risk voting for a criminal

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    4. Who said anything about supporting criminals, I just wondered why Tim, a self professed Tory, should make comments about the Broadstairs Tory Mafia? Broadstairs is hardly a den of villains unlike its neighbours perhaps!

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    5. Tory, Labour, UKIP, BNP, Lib Dem, Green, independent...whatever. All politicians are one kind of crooked or another. Not all actually break the law. But not a single one of them is trustworthy. Politics, by its very nature, is a game that attracts a certain kind of personality - which is why they so often turn out to be criminals like Ezekiel.

      Thanet District Council has always been bent. It's notorious. It will always be a rotten borough. I look forward to see a few more of the crooks within its ranks banged up.

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    6. Cop out... of they are not

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    7. Tom,

      Henry Reed's poem 'Naming The Parts' [To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday] tells us of easing the spring. This has been one of my favourite war poems since I first discovered it my teens.

      In another life I had the action of easing the spring explained to me by a Rock Ape Corporal. He was less than poetic in his instruction, but I took his point and learned, it is always best to do in such circumstances. (To be fair, I recall that he was an excellent instructor).

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    8. John, you struck a nostalgic cord for I recall my first duty officer on being newly commissioned, which involved inspecting the guard. Arms duly ported for inspection, I peered down a gleaming barrel only to see a spider crawling up it towards me. "Good God, man," I said in amazement "You seem to have a spider in your barrel." Instantly the Duty Sergeant roared out "Zoo in rifle, he's in the book, sir." I turned, as if to protest, for charging the man was not my intention, but the steely glare I got from the Duty NCO stifled any such thought.

      Thereafter, I quickly learnt that it was all part of a ritual performance in a training depot, rather like the RSM screaming for a Regimental Policeman to be incarcerated in the guardroom for idle pedalling on a bicycle downhill in front of a just arrived new intake of recruits. A bit like Groundhog Day, the same performance was re-enacted fortnightly as each new intake arrived.

      All of which is totally off thread, but what the hell, I was bored with bent councillors anyway.

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    9. Tom ,

      I'm reminded of a seminal moment in my life which occurred during the first few weeks of my RAF basic training. Our training had recently been taken over by a Sergeant. This man was different for he did not yell and shout. He had instead a quieter and subtle technique and this increased our self confidence. We had reached a stage in our training where we all reckoned we had got this business sussed out.

      One day on parade Sarge was more relaxed than usual. He called out a lad and told him to stand and face the rest of the flight. “It's OK son”, he said. “I want the others to see you. I want them to see your immaculately clean and polished hat badge.” I was surprised by this for his shiny hat badge did not appear to be any cleaner than those of the rest of us. Our Sergeant clearly disagreed for he went on to say, “In fact this is the cleanest hat badge that I have ever seen. Well done son. Your are an example to the others.” The owner of the golden hat badge preened. He looked pleased with himself and rightly so.

      Sarge then removed the lads beret saying confidently, “It's Alright son. I just want the others to see your hat badge close up” and proceeded to parade the beret before us. The lad was now glowing with pride. Sarge, with his back to the badge owner, declared to the rest of us, ”And I know, I know that if I removed this hat badge it would be just as clean at the back as it is at the front” then turning to the lad he added, “I know this because I know you would not let me down. Would you son.”

      My hat own badge was as green as grass at the back. This was also true of the lad standing before us witnessed by the fact that the blood slowly drained from his face. Sarge looked him in the eye and quietly said, “You would not let me down? Would you son?” His hapless victim was by this time beyond speech.

      The Sargent commenced slowly to remove the hat badge from the beret. While the owner stood frozen with increasing terror. Then he stopped and returned the beret to its owner. “I don't need to look because I trust you. I know that you would not let me down.” He released the lad.

      At 18 this in my eyes was powerful stuff. I had grown used to be shouted and yelled at to the extent that it no longer made an impression, other than a determination to skive off whenever possible. But this was different. Here was someone in authority who would trust me to do the right thing, confident in the knowledge that I would not let him down. This lesson has stayed with me. I applied it when I was in charge both in the RAF and later. It works.

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    10. Nice lesson, John, and probably more effective than cutting the cricket pitch grass with a pair of scissors, though that lesson remains indelibly printed on my mind. What a shame the youth of today, apart from a handful of volunteers, cannot share the delights we took for granted!

      Before someone comments that officers do not have to cut grass with scissors, let me point out that there is a long phase of agony before becoming an officer. Unlike Christine Tongue's Uncle Jack and his theories, we did not all start out as aristocratic idiots.

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    11. Are you talking about my uncle Frank - who I profile in the latest Thanet Watch? My uncle Jack was an Irish doctor who drank a bottle of whisky a day and also had little respect for aristocrats. But as I haven't written about him in Thanet Watch then I guess you've just got the name wrong! By the way my uncle Frank was in the Eighth Army in Africa and Italy, and got several medals for what he did in the war, so he spoke from experience about officers and ordinary soldiers. I don't think he thought all officers were aristocratic idiots, just enough to convince him that a lot of mistakes were being made....
      Christine
      Thanet Watch

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    12. Anonymouse 1:16PM

      You talk about making mistakes in WWII as though this were some kind of revelation about which no other knew. It is the nature of warfare that it always contains a catalogue of mistakes. Mistakes that are made on both sides by all ranks. Churchill said that wars are won by the side that makes the least mistakes. We won so I suppose that means we made the fewer errors and perhaps you can find some comfort in that.

      I think it wise to bear in mind that wars are fought by the young. In WWII there were 24 year old Brigadiers and they did not earn that rank by being an idiot, aristocratic or otherwise. The Australian Don Bennett was an Air Vice Marshall at the age of 30. There were many more.

      A war requires brave, dedicated and highly skilled forces. There is no place there for class warriors.

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    13. You need to read March Thanet Watch to understand the context. Available from newsagents and Michaels bookshop!
      Christine

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    14. I read it for the first, and what will definitely be the last, time last week. The article includes the statement about officers who were aristocratic idiots and working class geniuses. There is no place for such class nonsense in the armed forces and especially during a war.

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  16. I really don't know what to add to this other than I'm really not surprised - can't wait to see what else comes crawling out of the council chambers soon.

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  17. I think it is important to understand that this is a landmark case and that it further goes on to prove that the council ran and made decisions for a number of years under a leadership that has now been proven to be dishonest and corrupt.

    There is no getting away from the issue and the consequential effects on major decisions nor is there any getting away from the fact that dodgy dealing at this level wouldn’t have been easy to conceal from other members.

    What effect this would have on decisions like the 2009 cabinet decision over Pleasurama, which was made against officer advice and appears to favour the developer over the council and leave the council at the risk of considerable liability, I just don’t know.

    I have contacted the Conservative group under the assumption that they must have had both a press release prepared for this eventuality and some plan of action, it appears they haven’t.

    I will write up a detailed blog post about the issue given time and I expect there will be considerable coverage in the local and national press and on the blogs.

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    1. http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Council-s-response-Ezekiel-jailing/story-18289032-detail/story.html#axzz2MHYALGex

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    2. That's hardly the condemning I would've hoped for, not that I actually expected it...

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  18. So now we know, all the time he was picking up the leaders £22,000 allowance he was also scheming to purchase a council property and another property at the expense of two Margate residents. TDC (us tax payers) was also cheated in that the highest possible price was not obtained. So how will TDC and these two be compensated for his crime?
    Clearly the jury did not believe the story that Sandy and his pal had make up, all proved to be a pack of lies. It looks like some prominent local people that gave character references havealso been made to look stupid.

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    1. Not half as stupid as your attempt at English grammar, anon, but 1 out of 10 for trying.

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    2. I bet Ezekiel wishes now that the most stupid thing he did was make a few spelling mistakes! 10 out of 10 for a stupid comment.

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    3. Take as you find and all that, 4:54, for giving a character reference does not mean one is saying the person is not guilty. It comes more into the category of a plea of mitigation. After all, Barbara Windsor always spoke highly of Reggie and Ronnie who, by all accounts, were good to their friends and family.

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  19. It is the 5 year anniversary of the unsolved murder of David O'Leary. Police should now include in their further TDC inquiries, mentioned by ECR, the matter of TDC decisions not to pursue crime complaints of housing benefits fraud that arose in the David O'Leary murder investigations and civil litigation process. Someone at TDC took a decision that nothing would be put in writing but there would be nil action. Perhaps cllrs into BTL property who did not want those sort of inquiries even initiating ....

    And maybe mosey into TDC Planning to see if there is any record of inquiry re demolishing a bungalow to build 3 town houses. A £500,000 investment plan from a man declared penniless by his estate after his murder ?





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  20. Well, knock me down. A crook in TDC. Who would ever have believed it.

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  21. Bradgate Caravan site expansion planning consent by Tory loaded Planning Meeting; reports of celebrations after the event? Dishonest and corrupt leader and how many others?

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  22. No Tom, I haven't crossed any floors or quarterdecks. (and by the way it's "matelot") What I do confess to is a deep sadness at the depths to which local Tory Councillors have sunk; depths that almost guarantee a Labour majority at the next local elections.
    I moved down here over a quarter of a century ago, from an area where you were more likely to find a yeti than a socialist. It didn't take me long to feel that something wasn't right in governance of the area. Since then a procession of prominent local Tories have fallen by the wayside, starting with Aitken and ending, for the moment with Ezekiel.
    I'll tell you what saddens me. It's Cllr Moores and Cllr Wells, and when he can be bothered, Cllr Wise, all taking a superior attitude whenever they speak, taking the same line as Comrade Napoleon in Animal Farm and behaving as if everyone bar them is a moron. It's Cllr Hart, desperately trying to look as if he's in control (I notice his tweets don't involve swimming any more). It's Cllr Bayford's silence. It's Iris. It's spotty youths as Mayors being lined up for advancement in what can only be called political nepotism. It's endless worrying about gay marriage and diversity when the real problems are ignored. It's bigotry and political point scoring at the expense of everyone and everything on this Island. It's idiots who think that UKIP have anything sensible to say and support them unthinkingly, thereby letting in one of the two left-wing parties. It's three political parties with hardly a full stop in their policy ideas to distinguish them from each other.
    I'm not rejoicing in ex-Cllr Ezekiel's fall from grace - I'm dismayed at the can of worms that it will open and the prospect of unending Labour rule here that will drag us down into a Thanetian Dark Ages. Making sure that this doesn't happen must be the aim of everyone who doesn't have the Red Flag as their national Anthem.

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    1. Tim taking the majority of the Conservative councillors at TDC or the North Thanet Conservative group, would you see them as having any Conservative ideology or would you see them as a group of people with their own agendas that have gained control of this political organisation to the point where they are selecting councillors?

      By this I mean, I know it says Conservative on the label, but confirmation of this would seem to be some sort of Tory ideology and I haven’t seen much evidence of this. I do see quite a bit of socialist ideology in many of our Labour councillors, but I am wondering here. And yes I know it isn’t as easy as it was to nail the particular ideologies of our political parties, but even so….

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    2. Michael

      By and large I think you're right, at least as far as what you might call the "Old Guard" is concerned. However I think the real problem for Conservatives is that they really don't know what their ideology is anyway, if indeed Conservatism has an ideology.

      I think that, if you wanted to pin me down, I would say that I'm just sick and tired of the whole local political scene. I'm tired of being pigeon-holed by my namesake, who can't see that you can be anti-Ezekiel (or even pro-Driver when it comes to Royal Sands) without being pro-Miliband. I'm tired of being talked down to by Messrs Moores, Wells and Wise, who are nobodies in a small pond but don't realise it. I'm just tired of dodgy governance ( and I chose the adjective carefully to avoid getting you into trouble.) I'm tired of being labelled homophobic because I have an opinion at variance with that of others.

      The return of ECR and the re-emergence of Bertie Biggles is the one ray of light in the whole sorry mess. They had it right in the past; maybe now someone will listen to them. At the very least we will get some more entertaining blog posts (yourself excepted) than we have had for the last year or so.

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    3. Apologies, Tim, for you have voiced my sentiments almost exactly and also for the mis-spelling of matelot. Whatever, at least you served.

      After Eastleigh last night, not to mention not securing a majority in 2010, when competing with the worst PM in living memory, I am afraid the Conservatives under Cameron have no chance nationally and the local scene is positively scary.

      Come back Ian Smith and the Rhodesia Front, if only, but the dark rule of ZANU(PF) is much more likely.

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    4. Tom
      You're right about Cameron, and NTCA are beyond awful. However, the alternative - 5 years of Millipede and Ballsup are the stuff that nightmares are made of, because behind Millipede are Bob Crow and the rest of the un-reconstituted dinosaurs of the present-day Trade Union movement. Let Millipede in and we return to the 70s. UKIP must not be allowed to split the anti-Labour vote. The best we can hope for is a small Tory victory in 2015 followed by an internal coup to depose Cameron.

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    5. Tom & Tim, 5:32, 7:16, 7:39 &7:48

      Here, here!

      I would only add that most of TDC's failures are due to good old fashioned incompetence.

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  23. Tim, If you think the local Labour party are full of Arthur Sgargill wannabees you are stuck in the same time warp as the local Tory party, anyone who lives in Thanet without political blinkers on can see there has been big improvements over the last year since the Labour party have been in control.

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    1. Neither Tony Bliar nor Gordon Broon nor Ed Ballsup could remotely be called Arthur Scargill wannabees but because of them we are in the mess we are now. There is no money - maybe someone forget to tell Clive Hart.

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    2. I am not Tory but can see no improvement in TDC year on year since moving here in the 90's, Shinguard. The only local political improvement in that time has been Laura Sandys who at least takes an interest in the place and tries to get things done.

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    3. Peter, some things I've noticed, protecting green spaces in Hartsdown and Pierremont park, a new Ramsgate swimming pool, saving Theatre Royal Margate from closure, a housing restoration programme in Cliftonville and Margate, a freeze on council tax and introducing a living wage for TDC employees. There's a big difference in trying to get things done and actually getting things done.

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    4. Ramsgate Swimming Pool - set up under previous Tory administration
      Theatre Royal - also saved by Tories in the past
      Freeze on Council tax - when, without the pay rises councillors awarded themselves we could have had a 1% reduction

      Other things I've noticed in the last year;
      Endless time wasting discussing diversity, as if it is the only thing wrong on the Island
      An increase in time and money-wasting standards complaints; I thought you had to be thick-skinned to be a politician
      Trying to flog off prime seafront land in Ramsgate to a speculative land banker
      Ill-judged banning of live exports (abhorrent trade but unfortunately legal)when the experience of other ports showed that this approach wouldn't work.

      Do you want me to go on?

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  24. Like trying to flog off seafront real estate without bothering to find out who's really buying it?

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    1. Tim, in the light of a recent verdict you may wish to reconsider you statement

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    2. They may know very well who wants to buy it

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    3. Indeed they may but I don't see what that has to do with the Ezekiel verdict. Or are you suggesting further skulduggery?

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    4. You may say that, I could not possibly comment.

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  25. Rules state any Cllr. sentenced to over 3 months in prison will cause an immediate by-election.

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    1. .. only after 27 dayshave past to allow for any possible appeal.

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    2. Is he going to appeal do we know?

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    3. thank you for the legal advice Mr Patterson

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    4. You're welcome Cllr Moores

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  26. Another senior Tory is going to resign over the next few days. You read it here first.

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    1. Yes, Cllr Bruce

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    2. Anonymice,

      We're still waiting.

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    3. Not even Ezekiel has resigned yet (so presumably he's still getting his allowance)...

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  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  28. Poor sandy. Years of unblemished leadership ruined

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    1. Poor Sandy!!!!! Poor kin taxpayer more like! unblemished or just not caught?

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    2. hardly unblemished people knew but it was covered up

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  29. Is it not appalling that David Green and his cronies are wasting their time slagging off Ian Driver when serious fraud and corruption has been taking place right under their noses? The Tories are finished in Thanet. They elected Ezekiel, kept him in office and failed to scrutinise what he was up to. But the Labour group are not fit for office unless they can explain why they failed to do anything either.

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    1. Anon 8:35pm You first have to distinguish between corruption and incompetence. Only Iris is capable of sniffing out corruption as she has done with Ezekiel.

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    2. Was it her who reported him to the police?

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  30. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Sorry I zapped that comment by mistake, bit of a spam storm today

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  31. Interesting comment, derick97, for the man has been found guilty of misconduct in a public office, not of cheating the public. Indeed, the records show that he paid more for the property than the next highest bidder. What he did wrong was that he failed to disclose his interest in the proper way.

    I am also interested in Michael's assumption of years of corruption at the head of TDC. There is no proof of that arising out of this case and, indeed, it could be reasonably argued that after a police investigation extending over a considerable time, had there been ongoing corruption on a regular basis it should have come to light. So far it has not, so such statement could be construed as prejudicial to any ongoing police inquiry.

    I am not defending what Ezekiel has done, but let's try and stick to the facts and not make broad brush assumptions, however pleasing politically it may be to do so.

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  32. The comment was made to an anon poster who has since removed said comment Tom

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  33. Understood, derick97, though it was probably Michael who slotted the anon for some contravention of decency for I have been there myself, seemingly replying to nothing.

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  34. Tom Derick as I mentioned before, I don’t have lots of time to give up to blogging and zap comment containing obscenity, anonymous comment containing the names of real people, comment apparently made by people who have blogger accounts ostensibly made under their name, but not signed on and anything else I don’t like the look of from the comment management page book marked on my mobile phone.

    It is only anonymous comment that is effected in this way, think of me a wall owner removing unpleasant and malicious graffiti, mostly to prevent the wall from being demolished.

    What I don’t do is look at the whole comment thread every time I do this to see if anyone has responded to this stuff, sorry but I just don’t have the time.

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  35. I have direct experience of Enforcement Notices being served inappropriately(4 in all) on a members of my family. All were successfully contended, but at the expense of their life savings, their health and general lack of secuirty in old age. I think it is safe to state here, that the policy in planning appears to have been, that If someone in the know wants your land or property, Officers will appear to be open with you and give advice; but when applications are put forward you hit a brick wall, and you are made to feel a nuisance for having made the application. Lawyer speak takes over since minds had already been made up. So I can understand your predicament Michael, There must be an awful lot of angry people around who need protecting from saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

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  36. Tom
    I've just come back to this bit and I'm sorry, he did cheat the electorate. He cheated them because they have a right to expect probity and honesty from their elected officials and he failed on this score. If I lived in Cliftonville East I would be feeling cheated today.
    As to the questions of corruption; we'll have to wait and see. There are a large number of unanswered questions that need resolution; Bradgate Caravan Park, China Gateway, Royal Sands, unexplained fires. Maybe the Tescos Bag will make a reappearance. Who knows? A number of acquaintances within Plodland tell me that this may be drawing the SFO into the area for a deeper look and no party can expect an easy ride.

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  37. Yes, I agree he cheated in the sense he did not serve without fear or favour, but was merely making the point that short of a public auction, we have no way of knowing if the subject property was undersold.

    Let us hope that this investigation is thorough and the whole can of worms, whoever is involved, is exposed so that maybe a new council will emerge, untarnished by the allegations and innuendos of the past, to take the area forward. Meantime we have county council elections just around the corner that may have results distorted by all this, due to resultant apathy in some quarters.

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Comments, since I started writing this blog in 2007 the way the internet works has changed a lot, comments and dialogue here were once viable in an open and anonymous sense. Now if you comment here I will only allow the comment if it seems to make sense and be related to what the post is about. I link the majority of my posts to the main local Facebook groups and to my Facebook account, “Michael Child” I guess the main Ramsgate Facebook group is We Love Ramsgate. For the most part the comments and dialogue related to the posts here goes on there. As for the rest of it, well this blog handles images better than Facebook, which is why I don’t post directly to my Facebook account, although if I take a lot of photos I am so lazy that I paste them directly from my camera card to my bookshop website and put a link on this blog.