The Plumstead Party

Riviera

I have noticed that three wards (Plumstead, Glyndon and Shooters Hill) in the borough have candidates from recently formed Plumstead Party standing in Thursday's council election.
Anyone on here involved?
Are they going for independence? Having been born in Plumstead I'd like to know. Are @Curb_It, @Tavern and @Plumstead_Micky involved?

But seriously I think local councils should be made up of local residents working for their wards and not linked to the major political parties.

Riviera

Further research into the coming election shows that there is only one BNP candidate standing (New Eltham & Coldharbour), still one too many. Also just one Monster Raving Loony in Blackheath & Westcombe.
In Woolwich Riverside is a candidate from the Duma Polska (Polish Pride) Party, a new one on me.

mickc

I'll vote for a Long Pond Party

Airman Brown

Riviera said:

I have noticed that three wards (Plumstead, Glyndon and Shooters Hill) in the borough have candidates from recently formed Plumstead Party standing in Thursday's council election.
Anyone on here involved?
Are they going for independence? Having been born in Plumstead I'd like to know. Are @Curb_It, @Tavern and @Plumstead_Micky involved?

But seriously I think local councils should be made up of local residents working for their wards and not linked to the major political parties.

Recipe for absolute chaos. Running a major local authority requires a degree of consistency and accumulated experience that isn’t achievable without political parties. There should always be a place for mavericks but a council run without the discipline of political parties - whether you agree with a particular one or not - would be less, not more, accountable because the vast majority of people would have no idea what they were voting for and there would be no structure to keep those elected to the programme on which they were elected.

As for “working for their wards”, the point is that the council is a collective body which has to reconcile competing interests within its area. That means taking a strategic overview, which is very difficult if there is no loyalty to the whole, as well as to the very local.

Curb_It

Big fan of Stewart Christie who has set this up. I think he was a Lib Dem candidate before. He’s very involved in the local area. A good guy.

I know John Nichols who’s on the Shooters Hill ward too. And Ebru for Glyndon. Plumstead Party are getting my vote.

Riviera

Airman Brown said:

Riviera said:

I have noticed that three wards (Plumstead, Glyndon and Shooters Hill) in the borough have candidates from recently formed Plumstead Party standing in Thursday's council election.
Anyone on here involved?
Are they going for independence? Having been born in Plumstead I'd like to know. Are @Curb_It, @Tavern and @Plumstead_Micky involved?

But seriously I think local councils should be made up of local residents working for their wards and not linked to the major political parties.

Recipe for absolute chaos. Running a major local authority requires a degree of consistency and accumulated experience that isn’t achievable without political parties. There should always be a place for mavericks but a council run without the discipline of political parties - whether you agree with a particular one or not - would be less, not more, accountable because the vast majority of people would have no idea what they were voting for and there would be no structure to keep those elected to the programme on which they were elected.

As for “working for their wards”, the point is that the council is a collective body which has to reconcile competing interests within its area. That means taking a strategic overview, which is very difficult if there is no loyalty to the whole, as well as to the very local.

What a load of tosh!

Politics has changed you dinosaur!

iainment

They are a complete irrelevance. I live in Glyndon ward and expect that they have little or no chance of getting elected.
As far as I can see all they've done is deliver a letter. Really not enough to make any effect.

johnny73

Working at a local Town Council the local constituents would benefit greatly without dual hatted / major party affiliated Councillors.

Addickted

iainment said:

They are a complete irrelevance.

Funny how many local politicos said the same about The Valley Party.

JohnnyH2

iainment said:

They are a complete irrelevance. I live in Glyndon ward and expect that they have little or no chance of getting elected.
As far as I can see all they've done is deliver a letter. Really not enough to make any effect.

At least you have had a letter. In my ward in Welling very little has come through my door, despite us having the main political parties with all their members/experience

Addickted

Airman Brown said:

Riviera said:

I have noticed that three wards (Plumstead, Glyndon and Shooters Hill) in the borough have candidates from recently formed Plumstead Party standing in Thursday's council election.
Anyone on here involved?
Are they going for independence? Having been born in Plumstead I'd like to know. Are @Curb_It, @Tavern and @Plumstead_Micky involved?

But seriously I think local councils should be made up of local residents working for their wards and not linked to the major political parties.

Recipe for absolute chaos. Running a major local authority requires a degree of consistency and accumulated experience that isn’t achievable without political parties. There should always be a place for mavericks but a council run without the discipline of political parties - whether you agree with a particular one or not - would be less, not more, accountable because the vast majority of people would have no idea what they were voting for and there would be no structure to keep those elected to the programme on which they were elected.

As for “working for their wards”, the point is that the council is a collective body which has to reconcile competing interests within its area. That means taking a strategic overview, which is very difficult if there is no loyalty to the whole, as well as to the very local.

Why can you not have a 'collective body' made up completely of independent Councillors where all interests in the area are considered rather than being told what they should be due to the wonders of party politics?

I'd have thought a strategic overview would work better if it was agreed democratically, rather than forcing Councillors to 'tow the party line'

paulbaconsarnie

Martin Simons standing in the Woolwich Common ward.

RodneyCharltonTrotta

Airman Brown said:

Riviera said:

I have noticed that three wards (Plumstead, Glyndon and Shooters Hill) in the borough have candidates from recently formed Plumstead Party standing in Thursday's council election.
Anyone on here involved?
Are they going for independence? Having been born in Plumstead I'd like to know. Are @Curb_It, @Tavern and @Plumstead_Micky involved?

But seriously I think local councils should be made up of local residents working for their wards and not linked to the major political parties.

Recipe for absolute chaos. Running a major local authority requires a degree of consistency and accumulated experience that isn’t achievable without political parties. There should always be a place for mavericks but a council run without the discipline of political parties - whether you agree with a particular one or not - would be less, not more, accountable because the vast majority of people would have no idea what they were voting for and there would be no structure to keep those elected to the programme on which they were elected.

As for “working for their wards”, the point is that the council is a collective body which has to reconcile competing interests within its area. That means taking a strategic overview, which is very difficult if there is no loyalty to the whole, as well as to the very local.

Ah the old "We know best" approach that has "served" this country so well over the years via the major self- serving political establishments.

Airman Brown

People arguing independents should run councils seems to miss the point that the reason they don’t is that people don’t vote for them, not some conspiracy organised by the major parties. It’s a function of how electoral politics works that candidates form parties because that is the only practical way to organise.

UKIP tried to operate without a whip and the consequence in Thanet was that they ended up splitting over and over again, to the point where they lost control to a minority Tory administration despite having the most councillors and could then not even agree which sub-group should be the official opposition.

Howells

Labour just so happened to plough five million into Plumstead high st a few weeks ago. How convenient!
That doesn't undo years of neglect. They've failed Plumstead but ultimately they'll get their seat, they always do. Same in Woolwich wards.

On a side note, 'renew Britain' are on a wind up, ain't they?

ShootersHillGuru

Live within the Shooters Hill ward. The only party to have delivered or knocked on my door so far are The Labour Party.

The thought of Greenwich Council being run by a group of inexperienced and slightly deranged individuals is why I wouldn’t vote Conservative ;0)

clive

I've just received a leaflet from the Plumstead Party,the only communication i've had from any party.

Riviera

Airman Brown said:

People arguing independents should run councils seems to miss the point that the reason they don’t is that people don’t vote for them, not some conspiracy organised by the major parties. It’s a function of how electoral politics works that candidates form parties because that is the only practical way to organise.

UKIP tried to operate without a whip and the consequence in Thanet was that they ended up splitting over and over again, to the point where they lost control to a minority Tory administration despite having the most councillors and could then not even agree which sub-group should be the official opposition.

Well they would if politics was taken out of local government. Take your blinkers off.
To use UKIP as an example just shows your total lack of understanding, and I understand you were/are a local councillor somewhere. Typical.

rananegra

Riviera said:

Airman Brown said:

People arguing independents should run councils seems to miss the point that the reason they don’t is that people don’t vote for them, not some conspiracy organised by the major parties. It’s a function of how electoral politics works that candidates form parties because that is the only practical way to organise.

UKIP tried to operate without a whip and the consequence in Thanet was that they ended up splitting over and over again, to the point where they lost control to a minority Tory administration despite having the most councillors and could then not even agree which sub-group should be the official opposition.

Well they would if politics was taken out of local government. Take your blinkers off.
To use UKIP as an example just shows your total lack of understanding, and I understand you were/are a local councillor somewhere. Typical.

Not sure you can take politics out of local government. While it is pretty heavily controlled by central govt (in itself political), local govt is about choices. These days it's where to cut most of the time. That in itself is a very political thing - someone who is Labour would direct cuts to a different place than someone Tory. If they are looking at new spending, different areas would be prioritised - both would look to reward their voters. If they were dealing with a property developer, Labour might hold out for some social housing in the development, Tories would be less likely to.
I think there's a myth that you can just "administer" things without politics creeping in. You look at how SE London has changed, particularly along the river, in the last 30 years; there's a clear priority, from both main parties, to prioritise housing over employment for that land. That's a political decision: people need homes, but they also need jobs. Move out skilled engineering jobs and replacing them with warehouses has an impact. And the impact of moving large heavy industries out can mean, for example, more road journeys rather than heavy goods being moved by barge.

Starinnaddick

paulbaconsarnie said:

Martin Simons standing in the Woolwich Common ward.

Is this our Martin Simons ?

paulbaconsarnie

Starinnaddick said:

paulbaconsarnie said:

Martin Simons standing in the Woolwich Common ward.

Is this our Martin Simons ?

Pretty sure it is. Martin Alan Simons standing as libdem candidate. Address in the statement of persons nominated document is the road I think he lives in.

Riviera

rananegra said:

Riviera said:

Airman Brown said:

People arguing independents should run councils seems to miss the point that the reason they don’t is that people don’t vote for them, not some conspiracy organised by the major parties. It’s a function of how electoral politics works that candidates form parties because that is the only practical way to organise.

UKIP tried to operate without a whip and the consequence in Thanet was that they ended up splitting over and over again, to the point where they lost control to a minority Tory administration despite having the most councillors and could then not even agree which sub-group should be the official opposition.

Well they would if politics was taken out of local government. Take your blinkers off.
To use UKIP as an example just shows your total lack of understanding, and I understand you were/are a local councillor somewhere. Typical.

Not sure you can take politics out of local government. While it is pretty heavily controlled by central govt (in itself political), local govt is about choices. These days it's where to cut most of the time. That in itself is a very political thing - someone who is Labour would direct cuts to a different place than someone Tory. If they are looking at new spending, different areas would be prioritised - both would look to reward their voters. If they were dealing with a property developer, Labour might hold out for some social housing in the development, Tories would be less likely to.
I think there's a myth that you can just "administer" things without politics creeping in. You look at how SE London has changed, particularly along the river, in the last 30 years; there's a clear priority, from both main parties, to prioritise housing over employment for that land. That's a political decision: people need homes, but they also need jobs. Move out skilled engineering jobs and replacing them with warehouses has an impact. And the impact of moving large heavy industries out can mean, for example, more road journeys rather than heavy goods being moved by barge.

The people can do whatever they want. We need a revolution.

Stig

Where I live we've a group calling themselves 'Friends of Rochford', which is bizarrely made up of Lib Dems and ex-kippers. Seems to me like a coalition of the unelectable trying to hoodwink the public by pretending that they don't have other affiliations. I don't care how friendly you are with Rochford, I'll spare my vote for someone who is open about their politics rather than hiding behind the fact that they've lived all their lives within 100yards of the place they were born.

Super_Eddie_Youds

Had no communications until a week or so ago, as expected in my safe tory council, then the Lib Dems started doing some great work on very specific local issues and low and behold the campaigning started. Been really refreshing to watch and shows that locally, parties can still work for people locally. Greens, Labour and the lib dems have been out, so i hope the bromley conservatives get the kicking they deserve (figuratively, officer) and the diluted vote doesn't see them home safe.

I think the lib dems are hoping for significant gains on council seats, anyone else seeing similar?

Riviera

Super_Eddie_Youds said:

Had no communications until a week or so ago, as expected in my safe tory council, then the Lib Dems started doing some great work on very specific local issues and low and behold the campaigning started. Been really refreshing to watch and shows that locally, parties can still work for people locally. Greens, Labour and the lib dems have been out, so i hope the bromley conservatives get the kicking they deserve (figuratively, officer) and the diluted vote doesn't see them home safe.

I think the lib dems are hoping for significant gains on council seats, anyone else seeing similar?

Where do you live? LB Greenwich has been Labour since the borough was formed in 1965 but for one Tory administration in the late 60's. It ain't gonna change this week.

Super_Eddie_Youds

I live in Beckenham, so Tory it is ridiculous, hoping for change but for every block of flats there seems to be two retirement blocks.

Riviera

Super_Eddie_Youds said:

I live in Beckenham, so Tory it is ridiculous, hoping for change but for every block of flats there seems to be two retirement blocks.

Well there you are, hence my argument that politics should be taken out of local councils. Bromley is as solid Conservative as Greenwich is Labour. We need Parish Councils.

Plumstead_Micky

Noting to do with me guv @Riviera
I live in Leeds Erith now.

Starinnaddick

paulbaconsarnie said:

Starinnaddick said:

paulbaconsarnie said:

Martin Simons standing in the Woolwich Common ward.

Is this our Martin Simons ?

Pretty sure it is. Martin Alan Simons standing as libdem candidate. Address in the statement of persons nominated document is the road I think he lives in.

He's got my vote then. Be good to get an Addick on the council .

Airman Brown

Starinnaddick said:

paulbaconsarnie said:

Starinnaddick said:

paulbaconsarnie said:

Martin Simons standing in the Woolwich Common ward.

Is this our Martin Simons ?

Pretty sure it is. Martin Alan Simons standing as libdem candidate. Address in the statement of persons nominated document is the road I think he lives in.

He's got my vote then. Be good to get an Addick on the council .

Martin's always been interested in politics and he is is very, very anti-Brexit. Was the first thing he brought up when I met him before Christmas. He'll be a paper candidate here though.

InspectorSands

Airman Brown said:

Starinnaddick said:

paulbaconsarnie said:

Starinnaddick said:

paulbaconsarnie said:

Martin Simons standing in the Woolwich Common ward.

Is this our Martin Simons ?

Pretty sure it is. Martin Alan Simons standing as libdem candidate. Address in the statement of persons nominated document is the road I think he lives in.

He's got my vote then. Be good to get an Addick on the council .

Martin's always been interested in politics and he is is very, very anti-Brexit. Was the first thing he brought up when I met him before Christmas. He'll be a paper candidate here though.

Indeed, he didn't show at the hustings for Woolwich Common ward on Friday night.