Friday 30 October 2009

The One That Doesn't Think We're That Powerful . . .

Interesting to read that pretty much the entire compliment of Somerton Town Council quit on Tuesday, sparking a round of fresh elections for the town.

What caused this?

Well, according to Al-Jabeeba, it was the Muck & Brass blog, written by Niall Connolly.

Now, I'm no expert on what is going on at Somerton Town Council (in fact I had to Google where Somerton was) but can one blogger really bring down an entire town council? Even if he had some really explosive information and managed to grab a scalp, Guido style, then one would expect one or two councillors at the most to fall on their swords, but to take down a whole council? Bloody hell, I'm impressed.

How did he do this?

In one entry, he writes that a council pamphlet entitled 'Good Citizens' and regarding voting rights "reads more like a Nazi call to arms or an invitation to ethnic cleansing."

In another, he complains "clown" councillors have ignored democracy and behave as though they had "only just discovered the word".

He goes on: "And now, as Somerton starts to find a voice, you bunch of jackasses start to whisper the 'D' word."

Well, it isn't exactly Watergate, is it?

In response to the resignations, businessman Mr Canvin, 61, said: "I'm not going to tolerate it when I'm working for the town.

"I started it. I said 'I've had enough' and handed in my resignation."

A motion was then proposed that members leave due to "impossible working conditions", leading to 11 resignations with another walking out in sympathy, and one more on holiday.

Well, that all seems a little precious to me. There's something more than meets the eye going on there, and I can't believe that one blogger having a pop can yield such results.

However, just to be on the safe side, perhaps Mr. Connolly would like to turn his attentions to Westminster? If he carries on this run of form then it won't just be the good townspeople of Somerton.

'this stunning news was greeted by the audience with rapturous applause.'

It can be the whole country.

More power to you, Niall. Just don't get too good, otherwise we'll all be subject to regulation before you can blink.

1 comment:

niall connolly said...

Somerton still has a long way to go but seems to be racking up another 'first' along the way. The day after the mass resignation, the first of 3 complaints against the Council under the Freedom of Information Act, moved into its final stage. The Information Commissioner issued an order requiring the Council to release public documents. This will lead to contempt of Court if the Council continue to refuse. Now we have a situation where Somerton Town Council is the first in the UK to sef-immolate rather than give up the documents. Can minutes of committee meetings really be that scary? Time will tell.

Niall Connolly