Aww, politics. That system that best resembles a kitten stuffed with snakes.
Soubry met Pickles today, as previously noted.
She met him to try and persuade him to reject the Borough Council plan to develop on Field Farm.
He met her, she said her piece. He replied. The rest is in not recorded.
Anna then released a statement. It laid clear why she understood the Tories would take a hit. Mid-term disillusionment, etc. Osbornes austerity plan, that now even have the IMF shouting down as a fast-track to collapse are dismissed thus:
the economic recovery is not where we had hoped it to be
At least they are not trying to deny they have made major economic mistakes.
Yet her central local campaign, Greenbelt protection, is in pieces should Pickles refuse to veto Broxtowe’s proposal. It will show that despite the best of efforts, and I commend Anna on her vociferous and dedicated campaigning, despite all this it was mere pissing in the wind.
So she meets Pickles, and what occurs? Alas, we will not find out until AFTER the election as Pickles has waddled off to apparently consider the proposal.
How convenient. I spoke to Richard MacRae earlier today (Wednesday). I outlined the fudge and he expressed a massively pragamatic response: ‘Ah. She’s a politician’
And she is. Nothing less, nothing more.
She knows what Pickles will say. He will tell her to apply a veto his office will see an avalanche of anger. Chief among these will be Westermans, the builders who are eagerly awaiting th green light to send the developers. I stress this is a personal view, but Westermans Homes are up there with Persimmion Homes for providing the kind of box only a gimlet-eyed sociopath would wish to build.
Anna is aware of this, let this be clear. So she has purposely refused to let the residents of Trowell, Stapleford and Bramcote know -and she knows, not let that be in doubt- where Field Farm lies.
I do not endorse any party or candidate. I only hope I shed a light on the local scene. In this case I think anyone looking for answers on Green Belt development realises that Anna Soubry, MP, is not the saviour they think she might be. The Field Farm issue is wildly complex, and I swear I will soon post up a analysis of the situation, but for now it seems that if you do wish to oppose development there; or at least trigger a debate that is not hi-jacked by political opportunism, vote accordingly. Readers in Stapleford and Bramcote, you have two votes. Use one to vote for your stripe of choice, but if you want to really get your voice heard, use your second choice and vote MacRae.
I will repeat: Beestonian does not endorse any Field Farm stance. I grew up near there, and I;d hate to see it go. On the other hand, I understand the pressures that councils are under to provide sites for development. I understand that the inequities in property ownership are so great we are creating another bubble. I do understand that we need to have a review on council tax valuations; on property tax viability, on land tax. There lies the argument.
What I don’t stand for is highly cynical attempts by politicans who hijack a strong campaign for their own ends; knowing it was doomed to failure cos -oops- their own party is chomping at the bit to chew into greenbelt- to take a real grass-roots campaign ran by politically-neutral activist, and pervert it.
Pervert it for their own means. Soubry lies supine before Pickles, let there be no doubt. She came away with one compromise today: they would not announce until you’d all safely slipped your slips into a ballot box. Vote accordingly.
Soubz, I need not tell regular readers, is the epitome of cynical politics.Vote tomorrow. Vote accordingly.
Beestonia 