On 5 Jan 2012 at 12:50am Dave wrote:
Astonishing new on Matts blog saying he's left the Greens citing lack of strategy and organisation. Just what many of us knew anyway.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 6:45am Matt Kent wrote:
@Dave. It was a decision that I didn't lightly, but I will however continue to work hard for the residents of Lewes Bridge Ward. That will never change. Cheers - Matt
Check it out here »
On 5 Jan 2012 at 7:19am Deelite wrote:
'Astonishing' is a bit strong. Where is It that Matt gives his reason's for leaving the Green Party? I can't see this info in his blog post.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 8:36am DFL wrote:
Where does he state " lack of strategy and organisation" ?
On 5 Jan 2012 at 8:37am TWEETING PIRATE wrote:
YARGH ME POLITICAL HEARTY!
It be in his tweat:
h++ps://twitter.com/#!/mdkent/statuses/154687055090290690
Check it out here »
On 5 Jan 2012 at 1:54pm Clifford wrote:
Anyone who is elected as the representative of a party and then decided to change parties or be an independent should resign and submit him or herself for re-election. Even if local politics people tend to vote for the party rather than the person (Ruth excepted of course).
On 5 Jan 2012 at 2:43pm barcombe boy in lewes wrote:
That's a very good point.
Any elected councillor who publicly calls one of their constituents an idiot or hopes that they die of cancer ought to resign and resubmit themselves for election too.... which reminds me, Barcombe Lewes, Tory East Sussex County Councillor Donna Edmunds has been very quiet of late.
Good.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 4:20pm Clifford wrote:
In the case you refer to barcombe boy I'd expect the party to disown the councillor. The fact that they haven't speaks volumes.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 6:09pm The Boy Bernie wrote:
Yes Clifford. Matt should submit himself for re-election that is beyond question. Will he do it though?
On 5 Jan 2012 at 8:06pm drone wrote:
I wonder what Cllr Kent has learned about Green Party strategy & organization in the seven months since he has been elected that he did not know before.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 8:51pm Soamsy wrote:
I would like to congratulate Cllr Kent. It takes balls to do what he has done and I respect him for it.
I see no reason why he should step down from his position on the council.
I for one detest the Green Party. I've all ways been of the opinion that they are the old socialist workers party in drag. They use the climate purely as a way of legitimising their far left agenda.
Best of luck in the future Cllr Kent.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 11:27pm Dave wrote:
How would it be if you voted for a candidate for the trendy lefty party and then he jumped ship and signed up with the BNP?
I'm sure Matt Kent as an honourable man would be happy to ask the voters that supported him as a Green Party representative whether they support him in his new boat.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 11:46pm Paul Newman wrote:
I always thought Matt seemed a bit too bright to be hanging around with a lot of irrelevant kidults. Its not my bag especially but there is plenty of room for environmental concern in the main Parties ( a Category that does not include The Liberals ).Why not join the Conservatives Matt ?
You would fit in a lot better than I do
On 5 Jan 2012 at 11:50pm Dave wrote:
Join the Conservatives Matt and you've lost my vote in your reelection campaign
On 6 Jan 2012 at 7:44am Matt Kent wrote:
@Paul Newman & @Dave. I very much intend to stay independent and I haven't been approached by any other party either. I recognise the comments above, and have also had plenty of support from many people that did and didn't vote for me back in May 2011.
As I say, the decision was something I didn't take lightly and I will continue to represent the residents of Lewes Bridge Ward diligently and with enthusiasm, whilst promoting and communicating the hard work of Lewes Town Council. Cheers - Matt
On 6 Jan 2012 at 8:17am Clifford wrote:
No Matt, you were elected as a Green. If you are no longer a member of the Greens you should stand down to enable your constituents to say whether they want a Green or you to represent them. That is a basic democratic principle.
On 6 Jan 2012 at 8:19am DFL wrote:
I agree with Clifford on this, i.e. Matt should stand again for re-election.....unless he joins the Labour party (just to counter balance Paul N!)
On 6 Jan 2012 at 10:03am Clifford wrote:
And just to be clear Matt, I make no personal criticism of you as you have always seemed a decent and hardworking councillor. My concern is the principle. I would say the same about standing down if you were a Tory, Labour, Lib Dem or even an Independent councillor who had decided to take a party whip.
On 6 Jan 2012 at 10:44am Kettle wrote:
Soamsy - not true - can't stand the SWP either. It's not a question of 'using the climate' to further another agenda. The climate IS the agenda. Wake up.
Matt Kent - There's one way to check whether people voted for you personally or because you represented the Green party...
On 6 Jan 2012 at 12:06pm Deelite wrote:
Paul Newman said:
'plenty of room for environmental concern in the main Parties (a Category that does not include The Liberals).'
Not a great deal of choice then! Two out-of-date and out of touch parties, mainly unwanted and weighted down by their legacy class and establishment baggage.
On 6 Jan 2012 at 9:13pm Fairmeadow wrote:
I agree with the principle that if you change party you should also stand for re-election.
However, a practical point is that it costs several thousands of council tax payers £Â£Â£ to hold a town council by-election. Probably not good value for money?
On 6 Jan 2012 at 9:22pm Soamsy wrote:
kettle, I agree with you about the climate.
My point was that the Greens are using the climate as a way of legitimising there far left policies. In the same way that the BNP use the Union Jack and 2 world wars to legitimise their Right wing views.
On 7 Jan 2012 at 8:35am The Boy Bernie wrote:
Democracy is a good way to spend council money and it should be spent on democracy now.
On 7 Jan 2012 at 1:36pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
Yes, agree with Clifford, MK should stand for re-election. Personally I vote for the party I want to represent me, not the person. I'm in MK's ward and I wouldn't vote for him again as an individual because of some of his public comments on this forum.
On 7 Jan 2012 at 2:45pm The Boy Bernie wrote:
Bang on the money Brixtonbelle if Cllr Kent wants to keep saying he'll continue to represent the people of Bridge he needs to give them the opportunity to choose him to do it because he doesn't represent me any more either.
On 8 Jan 2012 at 4:35pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
And just to be clear I probably won't vote Green again either. Can't think how I will vote, but I think the performance of most councillors is pretty rubbish to be honest. The whole system of town, district and county councillors needs to be reviewed and just one unitary authority elected for Lewes and district. Our current representation at all levels leaves much to be desired and our town and district councillors are pretty toothless and seem in thrall to the local civil service.
On 8 Jan 2012 at 10:39pm Alfie Stirling wrote:
Not saying I disagree, Brixtonbelle, but out of interest if councillors were doing a good job how would you tell? How do you measure the performance of your councillors?
On 9 Jan 2012 at 4:30pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
I measure the performance of the councillors on the fact that three years after moving to this fine town the same complaints come up on this forum time and again. And also based on some of my own interaction with a couple of the councillors, who thought they may be very nice well meaning people, just haven't been able to break the stranglehold 'the officers' (unelected civil servants) have on policies. I've also used the county council email system to complain about some services on several occasions and have never had a response. I mean how hard is it for leaves to be cleared from drains and for a wider recycling scheme to be implemented ?? It all seems shockingly inefficient to me - and this is comparing with Lambeth council !!!
On 9 Jan 2012 at 4:39pm Cllr Ashley Price wrote:
I don't believe I've had t had the pleasure of meeting you in person yet, Brixtonbelle.
Since becoming elected in May, fallen leaves and blocked drains seem to have become my speciality (well it what people have come to me about) and I have had some successes in this area. If you would like to contact me, I'd be happy to help where I can.
You may not be in my Ward, but as Town Councillors we do represent the WHOLE of Lewes - not just a specific area.
On 10 Jan 2012 at 11:46am Brixtonbelle wrote:
Thanks Ashley - the leaf problem at the corner of The Avenue and Offham Road was raised about two years ago and last being dealt with by ROK but with little success. Since I rarely walk that way anymore I'm not sure whther it is still a problem TBH. Good Luck
On 10 Jan 2012 at 4:47pm Cllr Ashley Price wrote:
@Brixtonbelle - It can still be a problem, at times especially during periods of heavy rain. It seems Highways generally do a leaf clearance once all the leaves are down, otherwise they'd have to keep coming out.
However, when submitting a complaint it does to help if there's a photo. I submitted a photo to Highways of the flooding at Nevill Road/Crescent & Christie Road and, a week or so after, the drains were unblocked and leaves were cleared.
I know a lot of people get fed up with my self-promotion but I do want to help where I can in the Town - after all so few people know I'm a councillor yet.