By Ewen Simpson
Protest outside George Osborne’s meeting with Parish Councillors
His Constituents, from areas of his Tatton Constituency that will be badly affected by HS2, had been trying to meet with him at Surgeries, which the Politicians hold within their constituencies, so that constituents can meet a Member of Parliament “face to face” to air their views and grievances. But not George !
His PA told us that he was “too busy” to hold surgeries – despite what it says on his website – but that he could respond to letters ! Nice of him ! Yet on the subject of HS2 – no way would he meet face to face with voters.
Instead he invited Parish Councillors from those Parishes within Tatton to have an “audience” with him where he would answer voters questions previously submitted in writing! No Voters allowed in his presence.
Originally this meeting was to be held in Plumley Village Hall, but at the last minute the venue was secretly changed to Macclesfield Town Hall, supposedly on “Security Grounds”.
Fortunately we saw a copy of the “secret e-mail” and turned up at Macclesfield Town Hall, twenty of us in total. BBC TV was present as well. Sadly we didn’t spot him arriving and we only saw the Decoy Vehicle leaving, despite covering as many exits as possible.
“No votes for you with HS2” sign reads
We thought this was to be George on his own, but NO – HS2 Ltd people were there too. In other words an HS2 Ltd presentation as well. No opposing views or challenges allowed.
George must surely realize that by continuing to avoid his constituents, that a groundswell of opposition is building up, such that Fringe Parties that oppose HS2 are gaining a great deal of support. If he and his advisers thing that his majority of just under 15,000 makes Tatton a safe seat, he should think again. A previous Conservative MP thought so and lost out. HS2 is fast becoming the “Tatton Brown Envelope”
We have a letter from our MP saying we should petition parliament with any concerns we have with hs2 the cost will be £20.00per petition to cover admin we can not petition until after the second reading which happens end of March 2014 .Should we all be getting this ready for the new year?
If you live in Knutsford, do you complain that the line is unfair to those affected to the west and north of the town?
If you live on the east side, do you complain that the line is unfair to those affected in the west?
With a Hybrid Bill, HS2 can go where they want to go, do what they want to do, so:
sheep and ordinary punters are lovely creatures but they are not known for saying:
“Don’t take him, take me!”
Of course they (we) will continue voting for the status quo if they don’t do to us, what they inflict on the few.
Excellent stuff go for the jugular.Lots of “George Osborne where are you” poster pics fired off to the very rapidly turning UKIP Torygraph etc etc Then he might actually get to meet the great unwashed in his “constituency”
Remember, no previously submitted questions, he ,though it may seem otherwise ,is your servant.
Has he been to Tatton since the election, indeed could he find his way there without a chauffeur and google maps.
Oh, you are funny!
I live in Tatton constituency so I should have some insight into local concerns. HS2 isn’t one of them and it never has been. I won’t be voting for George in 2015 but that won’t make any difference to the outcome in 2015 – a fate also reserved for the NO VOTES FOR YOU WITH HS2 campaign.
I’ll be surprised if UKIP even put up a candidate in Tatton because they know only too well they are wasting their time trying to unseat Mr. Osborne – if you want a reality check I suggest a quick visit to any on line resource showing previous constituency election results – then work out potential shifts in voting affinities between 2010 and 2015 – it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that George will romp home with similar majority at the next election.
Fine Peter,I bow to your greater knowledge of shifts in voting affinities & the indifference of some well heeled residents of Tatton to HS2 .But at least some of them are getting off their butts & gaining some publicity for their cause.If it is all so cut & dried and UKIP are wasting their time are you not wasting yours with an oh so smug reply. Indeed have Joe Rukin & Penny Gaines efforts been for nothing if its all over bar the shouting.Voting has been a waste of time for decades & any form of direct action in whatever form should be applauded & encouraged this got National Publicity.”I suggest a quick visit to any online resource etc” you sound like a politician !
What do you suggest the great “unwashed” should do.
Don’t worry RR, if you have made Padav chuckle then that is a good thing. Unless he is some sort of “Professional Facilitator” the ubiquitous nature of his contributions ( including on Christmas Days past ) suggests the poor soul has quite a dull life.
In any case his brand of warped propoganda has been making me split my sides on a regular basis for the last 3 years.
It is true Tatton is one of the most affluent consituencies outside of London ( meaning that the good folk of Alderley Edge don’t really need the RELOCATED jobs that would be brought to a massive Chinese backed business park at Manchester Airport – or indeed any local house price increase that might arise ) but there is still plenty of scope to seriously embarrass and weaken Osborne. At the very least that is still good sport and well worthwhile anyway.
Thanks KNC and a very happy Christmas to you & yours and all Stop HS2 campaigners nationwide.Remember it ain’t over til’ it’s over.
“Illigitimum non tatum carborundum”
[Assuming your moderator (Penny Gaines) permits this response]
@Roadkill Restaurateur
Apologies for the perceived “smugness” of my response – I am only reporting the state of play in Tatton – I can’t help it if local concerns don’t really generally involve (except for a few people with an obvious interest) HS2
Your barbed response aside, you mention two relevant aspects of this debate (and indeed any debate involving a matter directly influenced by the “political” environment – this obviously includes HS2), to which I have referred in the past and been rebuked for doing so – apparently they are off topic – however it seems you can highlight them with impunity?
It may or may not interest you to know that I am an active member of the Democratic Renewal community – that may explain why I sound like a politician. You ask what people should do about the perceived erosion of democratic efficacy?
My response is very simple – the single biggest change (for the better) that the UK could see in the next decade or so is a change in the voting system in order that;
a) The complexion of votes cast in any given election gives rise to an elected assembly that bears a passing resemblance to those votes
b) A greater sense of connection/engagement develops between those we elect to govern on our behalf and those who are governed (the public/electorate)
Please see the following URL for an explanation of what I am talking about
http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/?PageID=483
hs2 is obviously the brain child of a childs brain, two or three years into the project when the estimated 40 billion has gone what will happen then will it all be written off , of course not the contractors know it will go on and on to double or even treble the original estimate , and then a few years after when its losing money and its cost every taxpayer in the country god knows how many thousands it will be sold off to some private consortium for a fraction of what its cost to build . incidently has anyone any idea how many of the millions of tax payers that will be forced to pay for this project will be able to afford to use it . i would consider this much more of a priority for a referendum than the withdrawal from the common market is
No to HS2 !
If it goes ahead we should promise NEVER 2 Vote Tory again.
John They will grab more land once work is in progress. This is what happened with TGV in Gerona. My mother kept loosing more and more land than she was told. No compensation either !!
They will take as much land as they need. My mum nearly had a breakdown fighting diggers !
Shame on the Tories !! HS2 will run on NUClLEAR power hence the a noun cement of HS2 and Somerset on the same week. You run the UK like a Chinese Republic with no consideration to the Environment or it’s citizens.
And if you really believe your NO VOTES FOR YOU WITH HS2 campaign is going to make any difference to the outcome of the Tatton constituency result in May 2015, it is you who needs to think again!
For the vast majority of Tatton voters, HS2 doesn’t register on a horizon of even vague concerns. You also need to take into account the fact that the LibDems were the runners up in 2010 – their vote will likely diminish in 2015 with voters transferring to Labour and possibly UKIP (assuming they actually put up a candidate?)
I visited the consultation roadshow at Tatton Hall on 7th December – there didn’t seem much local interest at all – I only counted a handful of visitors during the period I was there (maybe an hour in total) – no song and dance about HS2 in Tatton I’m afraid.
In short, you are flogging a dead horse – George will be safely re-elected in May 2015, possibly with an even larger majority – by the way I won’t be backing George because I like to number of myself amongst his fiercest critics – sadly Single Member Plurality voting means he can effectively ignore such critical voices, yours and mine included!