This updated version of my previous post was published today in the Comment column of The Bishop’s Stortford Independent.       ==========!!========== Wednesday, May 26th, 2021 was an extraordinary day in both national and local politics. It was, in my opinion, a day of rotten politics. At Westminster, the Prime Minister’s former chief aide, […]

Wednesday, May 26th, 2021 was an extraordinary day in both national and local politics. It was a day of At Westminster, the Prime Minister’s former chief aide, Dominic Cummings, gave a damning account of a government in a state of chaos, dishonesty and incompetence from the beginning of 2020 over its response to the Covid-19 […]

It is thirty years since I was handed the baton   by my colleague and good friend Melvin Caton to become leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Uttlesford District Council. This coming week, it’s time for me to hand back to Melvin the baton    for him to lead the five Lib Dem councillors […]

The letter below was published in this week’s Bishop’s Stortford Independent newspaper. Uttlesford Council is in a sorry state. When routine, public council meetings are cancelled in an attempt to hide the undemocratic and obstructive behaviour of some of the majority Residents for Uttlesford Councillors, one can be certain that things are in a bad […]

Britain faces an uncertain future as it finally pulls clear of the EU’s orbit, continental commentators predict, its reputation for pragmatism and probity shredded by a Brexit process most see as profoundly populist and dangerously dishonest. “For us, the UK has always been seen as like-minded: economically progressive, politically stable, respect for the rule of law – […]

I had hoped to have a rest from blog posting and social media for the Christmas and New Year period. Unfortunately, a lack of transparency by the Council on Tuesday does justify a break from walking, reading, television, phone calls with family and sad self-isolation from that nasty virus. Well before Christmas, ten councillors from […]

In my over 34 years as a councillor at Uttlesford District Council, I have not witnessed worse behaviour by councillors than occurred last night (Tues, December 8th). All Residents for Uttlesford councillors, together with their four ‘independent’ allies, acted badly by failing to vote to reaffirm the Council’s commitment to the twenty-five-year-old Standards of Conduct […]

Green, Liberal Democrat and Conservative leaders at Uttlesford today demanded in a public statement that the Residents for Uttlesford ruling group should come clean and explain why the Council’s auditors are refusing to sign-off the annual accounts for 2019/20. Liberal Democrat Councillor for Stansted South and Birchanger, Ayub Khan, was stone-walled at the Council’s Governance […]

Donald Trump’s loss of the US presidency – despite his reluctance to concede – might be seen as a first step away from populist political leadership on the international stage. There is a long way to go to achieve a more normal politics. It will be well into 2021, or beyond, before the end of […]

My To Everest or to spitefulness post last Monday has stirred up some reaction from the Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) party and its allies. They think I am acting bitterly and unfairly by challenging and criticising their handling of Uttlesford’s Local Plan since R4U were elected into office with an overwhelming majority in May 2019. But […]