On 12 Jan 2013 at 12:44am Jim Cornelius wrote:
I'm informed that loony Libertarian Councillor Edmunds of "You're an Idiot, die of Cancer" fame has resigned from the Tories. Ohh err.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 2:55am Stradivarius wrote:
Can't afford to lose too many councillors - majority is quite slim.
Are the District councillors who had to withdraw from the party for the sake of appearances back on board now?
On 12 Jan 2013 at 8:37am Tweeter wrote:
She said on Twitter last night, 'Regret to say that the decision taken by Lewes District Council yesterday on Council Tax has made my position within Tory party untenable' and that it 'Was a difficult decision, but I figured we could do with a few more conviction politicians.'
On 12 Jan 2013 at 8:40am Southover Queen wrote:
Gosh. What a loss to democracy.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 10:06am TDA wrote:
I believe she was the councillor who asked "do we have to obey highways agency recommendations?" at a planning meeting I attended. (She arrived 20 minutes late). Luckily the consensus was that they should indeed go with the recommended 'Refusal' and we managed to get a few more months of light in our garden before the developers come back with new plans to build a set of 3 storey behemoths at the back of our house.
I was surprised that "idiots" like her are allowed into such high office to be honest.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 11:33am padster wrote:
She was a poor man's Louise Mensch.
good riddance to both of them.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 3:43pm John Stockdale wrote:
Padster, I think that is a little harsh. I sat with Donna on the Scrutiny Panel that considered the Council Tax Benefit issue and I know how strongly she felt about reducing the income of the poorest in the community (as did the rest of us). I also listened to her dignified and well argued speech in the Council Meeting, not knowing she had made up her mind to leave the Conservatives. I don't share a political philosophy with her and I disagree with the conclusion she reached on CTB. But, I think Donna deserves some respect for sticking to her principles.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 3:49pm bastian wrote:
John she's a loose canon and the conservatives will be glad she's resigned. After all, public opinion is crucial for votes and on this forum you will see all amnner of public opinion.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 4:26pm brixtonbelle wrote:
Can you tell us more John on the Council Tax benefit issue ?
On 12 Jan 2013 at 4:55pm Blip wrote:
Bastian, I do like the idea of a "loose canon" - presumably some respected member of the clergy frisking about with a glass of champagne in one hand and a nubile lady on the other arm. I would rather encounter one of those than a "loose cannon", which could hurt!
On 12 Jan 2013 at 6:04pm Vic wrote:
John. Your party must be well chuffed that there is one less Tory in Lewes District Council. That said, you're all the same party now in LDC with no true opposition. Just Ruth and now Donna. There should be more independents in all councils and less political careerists and dead wood.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 6:19pm Deelite wrote:
She never did anything when she was a councillor anyway. The extent of her work in Barcombe was to write a single piece in the parish mag. She was on the LDC planning committee but didn't turn up for *any* of the meetings. In her defence though she has had a baby and also her mother has been ill.
I'm guessing either she'll turn up in UKIP or, like many females before her having a baby has changed her perspective.
On 12 Jan 2013 at 8:27pm Zebedee wrote:
Who the hell is Jim Cornelius? Him of the infamous "cancer/deserve to die if you're poor" twitter exchange with Donna Edmunds.
Pretty certainly a psuedonym as he purported to be from Donna`s constituency (and there's no Jim Cornelius living here in Barcombe). Matt Kent? Eugene Gill? cyclist John McGowan or Steve Watts? Any other candidates? Extra?
Who is Jim? Not life as we know it.
On 13 Jan 2013 at 2:35am Fairmeadow wrote:
I take it she is resigning from the Conservatives rather than resigning as a councillor?
On 13 Jan 2013 at 11:29am Matt Kent wrote:
@Zebedee. I am not Jim Cornelius. The username is from Twitter and have met the man who uses this name (real or otherwise).
On 13 Jan 2013 at 4:16pm Captain Kirk Douglas wrote:
I'm Cornelius !
On 13 Jan 2013 at 5:35pm Cllr Donna Edmunds wrote:
@Deelite:
I write a monthly article for the Barcombe Parish magazine, and offered to write for the Hamsey one too, but they declined.
I have been to every Planning Committee meeting since joining that committee bar one. I've not been 20 minutes late to any of them, although as you point out, I do have a baby at home so have been a few minutes late once or twice whilst waiting for the babysitter to arrive.
I also sat on the Scrutiny Committee, including a special panel on the changes to Council Tax, so I think you'll find that I do rather more as a Councillor than many of my colleagues.
I'm now Independent, with no plans to join UKIP.
On 13 Jan 2013 at 6:41pm expat two wrote:
That's good going Donna love, there's not many people in the world who can boast they've never been more than 20 minutes late for work. How ever do you manage?
How many meetings is that in total? Including the ones you were late for?
On 13 Jan 2013 at 8:11pm Another Local wrote:
@expat two
According to the LDC website Donna made it to 4 of the 10 planning meetings since being appointed to that committee, see:
h++p://cmispublic.lewes.gov.uk/Public/CommitteeDetails.aspx?committeeID=199.
On the plus side though, she did manage to get to all THREE of the Scrutiny meetings!
On 13 Jan 2013 at 8:48pm Deelite wrote:
Ah, I stand corrected. Donna has started to attend the planning committee meetings. When I last looked in October 2012 she'd not attended any, not one.
The Barcombe Parish mag is a monthly production. Maybe I missed a couple.
So Matt, is Jim Cornelius a pseudonym?
On 13 Jan 2013 at 8:59pm Expat two wrote:
I also notice she's a member of the gloriously deceptively named Freedom Association, those clowns that vigorously protested the anti-apartheid sanctions in South Africa.
Presumably on the grounds they infringed the white's freedom to oppress blacks.
I never understand how people from a comfortable background become so filled with hate. But on a constitutional level alone, shouldn't she be sacked?
Did Barcome voters vote for Donna Edmunds or did they vote for a Conservative representative?
On 13 Jan 2013 at 10:59pm Deelite wrote:
Barcombe is 'country', and as such has such includes a fair number of well off middle class families (of the type that sends their offspring to public school and adds little to village life). Untypically Barcombe has historically voted in an independent candidate, a member of the village's main farming family. In recent years more green types have moved in and the independent candidate retired. In the election both Green and Lib Dem did well but were pipped to the post by the Conservative vote. I don't think it was anything to do with Donna as she was an outsider and not known in the village. Her promotional literature was well done though but omitted to mention her libertarian leanings and desire to privatise the National Health. If it had she'd have stood no chance. She has now moved to the village and written a few articles for the parish mag. If a reasonably respected local put themselves up as an independent at the next election I imagine she'd be fairly easily ousted.
On 13 Jan 2013 at 11:49pm expat two wrote:
John Stockdale wrote;
"...and I know how strongly she felt about reducing the income of the poorest in the community (as did the rest of us)."
Yeah, I can imagine, some of them are still earning as much as they did 5 years ago.
On 22 May 2014 at 9:37am Innocent Bystander wrote:
On Sun 13 Jan at 5:35pm Cllr Donna Edmunds wrote:
"I'm now Independent, with no plans to join UKIP."
A modest change of mind has occurred. Think UKIP might note be the vote for me today. How would I know what I'm getting?