A very sad weekend 9 November, 2007

At the stoke of midnight this Wednesday the leader of the opposition in Hackney Eric Ollerenshaw OBE resigned. Eric is fighting the marginal seat of Lancaster and Fleetwood in the North West. As ever Eric put the country the people and the party first, as he could very well have done what most other politicians do, stay on till the next election.

Especially considering there is no one in Hackney and few in the party that is as competent as him, Hackney has lost is best statesman (ironically since its last one also a Conservative “Tory Joe” lobenstien) and dare I say will not replace for years to come.

Not only was he liked and respected be friend and foe alike he was also my Mentor and man I leaned most of what I know about politics from and a master tactician.

Ever since I first met him at a husting to select our candidate for Mayor of London in 1999 he impression was instant and his passion oozed from the man and this in a decade which you could say was not his best.

I do not wish to write and obituary yet because arguably his best days are before him, and he would not want or like him, just to say a few things of what he did;

·        1987 Parliamentary candidate Manchester

·        1988-1990 Conservative leader ILEA

·        1990-2007 Councillor/Leader of the opposition Hackney

·        2000-2004 Member and Conservative Leader of the GLA. 

The final chapters have yet to be written, but I know they will be full and glorious, Eric is the best Cabinet Minister we have not had YET!!!

Best of luck Lancaster we are all rooting for you.

Update

• Eric also stood for Heywood and middleton 1992.

Bins – what a load of rubbish 9 November, 2007

Firstly could I say that the conservatives are totally apposed to chips in bins it is anti libertarian and we are categorically apposed to new stealth taxes.If we are to recycle more it is through education not forcing people.It takes me and one other person three days to deliver a leaflet to 4000 properties in Kersal. So why does it take more than 10 council officers two weeks to deliver 2000 full time?Furthermore the letters came we and some people had it shoved into their gates because officers could not be bothered walking up the drives, or in one case putting it an outside letterbox a few yards away what a disgrace! It would be comical if not true the fridge magnet handed out does not even stick.If anything ever typified how incompetent Salford Labour is this does, just look how other Conservative councils are collecting twice and three times the recycling for a fraction of the cost. Suffice to say the complaints are already coming in and this won’t be the last ill have to say on this.

more Labour closures 9 November, 2007

 The other night I met parents and staff of St Gorges High school in Walkden, another good school being closed by Labour. I cannot to obvious reasons repeat what I was told, but suffice to say for me it brought flashbacks of Hackney Labours sweeping closures of good community educational establishments in Hackney over the head of parents and the communities advice. I only hope the tremendous showing and the strength of support will show the folly of their ways and they row back from closure before it’s too late. Not only did my mother-in-law (O I must just add the worlds best teacher) do time there and come out with glowing reports, it is also a well performing faith school that parents are clambering for more of.