Wednesday 14 May 2014

Thanet District Council two cabinet members resign

Alan Poole and Michelle Fenner appear to have resigned, I will get confirmation and add to this post as the information is confirmed.  


In the meantime here is a video Alan Poole showing him promoting democracy in action.


This seems a case of two queens in the hive causing a swarm, the rumour is that Iris Johnston kicked Alan Poole out of the cabinet causing Alan Poole and Michelle Fenner to resign from the Labour group and maybe even the Labour party. Still no confirmation from TDC, no one there seemed to know about this but they have promised to phone me back 

Ok sorry about the messy post I am busy in my bookshop today, editing a new local history book, but I will attempt to bang out a bit of editorial here.

I would say that although we have three labour members who have left the cabinet it doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t vote for a/any Labour leader tomorrow.

I also have my doubts that the Conservatives would want to take over the leadership at the moment and think it likely that they would be busy negotiating with Iris to ensure the get some good representation on committees.

There are various problems at the council at the moment one being that they haven’t yet shaken of the Sandy Ezekiel trial and associated public perception, another being that the most likely reason Clive Hart resigned is the EKO investigation and the associated fallout and that the other person being investigated here is the chief executive.

Now under the new government system we have at TDC, which is strong leader and cabinet, the “strong leader” can refuse to accept the chief executive, this is also combined with a change in the rules over 151 officers and other stuff which to most people is just gibberish, seems to mean that a leader could have pretty much any council officer the want.

Don’t get me wrong here I am not saying that the previous leader or the current chief executive have done anything wrong, just that they are both under investigation and that any new leader would have considerable problems functioning with a chief executive who is under investigation, particularly with the current public perception of the council.   

In short “interesting times at town hall” and I think that at the moment there may be a consensus emerging that Iris may be the woman for the job.

There is also a question going begging here: where there any members of the Labour group who would have accepted the job of leader who would have been acceptable to the whole group?

Anyway the council have now closed for the day and I still have no confirmation that there have been any resignations.


Glad to see the Gazette are as confused as I am








I wonder whether anyone really knows if anyone resigned.

27 comments:

  1. Good. Macgonigal out next.

    What is bint Harrison doing in the cabinet?

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  2. I try to avoid knee jerk reaction, or indeed, reaction of any sort.
    But when I read this, my immediate thoughts were, in this order ... 'Pathetic' ... 'Play Nicely Children' ... 'So, still toxic as reported'.
    Our elected members [and some paid officers] seem hell bent on making TDC a laughing stock and first prize winners in the 'Rotten Boroughs' column in Private Eye.
    Angry? No1 Sad? Yep, that these individuals presumably once had good intentions.

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  3. The is some of the best news for Thanet in years. Alan has been doing a hobby for a number of years which - frankly - he is just not very good at. But this now brings in the question of will Iris be in power on Thursday? It also puts the power in Tom King's Independents hands.

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  4. Ian Driver & John Worrow are voting for Iris.

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  5. Rumour has it that the Tories, not wanting to lead a hung council, will vote for Ian Driver. Frankly, Labour having done their best to jeopardise their local support, not to mention screw up young Will's chances, could do a lot worse than elect Will Scobie as leader. Young, untarnished, intelligent and a prospect for the future, he might just be the one to pull the council together for this last year before they all have to stand for re-election.

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  6. Let's hope Worrows support means Iris clears out Gregory and Harrison as well as Mcgonigal

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    Replies
    1. Personally I was hoping that she gets rid of Worrow and his stupid "equalities" post that's a waste of tax payer's money.

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  7. 4:34, Iris cannot clear out Gregory as he is an elected councillor. Only the electorate can do that, assuming he stands again in 2015. Likewise, she cannot clear out Harrison although she can ensure he plays no part in her cabinet. Dare I say it, but you do seem a bit short on understanding how local government and the electoral process works. Leader of the council is not a dictatorship, even in Thanet!

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  8. Thank God we only have these clowns for another year. Let's dismiss them all at the polls so that they can sign up for courses on 'how to behave in public service'. This lot? You really couldn't make it up. I refer especially to the braggarts and soap box muppets who look daft and then open their mouths and confirm it.

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  9. You agree with me on Harrison. And with Gregory a new Leader can call for his resignation over the Aids remark.

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    1. 5:23, the council leader cannot call on any councillor to resign. It doesn't work like that so you are still showing your ignorance. Furthermore, I do not agree with you on Harrison but simply pointed out that the leader can choose whether or not to have him in the cabinet. Whatever, he remains a councillor until the 2015 election. Please do try to take something on board.

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  10. Moores is beyond reproach on Michael's blog of course. ..

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    1. Quite right too, the man's a hero!

      I was just coming out of The Prince of Wales pub in Maypole this afternoon when I saw him fly over with his banner... meanwhile the Labour cllrs "in charge" of Thanet were doing what, apart from squabbling amongst themselves and having hissy fits?

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    2. If there's any hero in all this, isn't it Ian Driver? It's his complaint that led to the downfall of these people, isn't it?

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    3. All say "Ah, Ambrosia" or words to that effect. Seems that Thanet Watch has now moved even left of Labour.

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    4. Have you read the magazine?

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    5. I must confess, no I haven't. I've never seen it in any of the shops here in Westbrook.

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    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    7. You've lost me Michael... you been smoking those "exotic" cigarettes again? ; )

      Back to Christine: The difference between me & you is that I can see beyond party politics, and look at individuals and their actions instead. Today for example I've openly praised both Ian Driver and Simon Moores, yet criticised Clive Hart and John Worrow...

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    8. Sorry about that Peter, I’ve removed it.

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    9. Michael reduced to censorship of himself now?!

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  11. While all this goes on the Pleasurama saga remains on the back burner and legal papers have yet to be served on SFP Ventures. Message for IRIS please get rid of SFP sharpish so we can get the seafront sorted

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    1. Amazing you should say this Barry. You have been brought out yourself! A couple of meetings and you feel you are the great man of Ramsgate! It's the only issue you know anything about, so why are you not shouting about it more?

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  12. For anyone who wants a glimpse from inside the seething cauldron which is Thanet Council, they could do worse than read Deep Throat in the latest issue of Thanet Watch magazine...

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    Replies
    1. Hope it's nothing like the movie! Don't think I could quite stomach seeing Ian Driver (or Christine Tongue) in anything like that.

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  13. Seems Kim Gibson has left labour as well!

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