Daryl’s combative return
I EXPECTED the sparks to fly when Daryl Turner returned to the Lyme Regis Town Council chamber after a lapse of three years, but even an old cynic like me did not expect his new collegues to get such a battering.
At times they looked dumbfounded, such was the ferocity of his dissatisfaction.
There can be no doubt that his frustrations with the current administration have been slowly building over the past few years and were at boiling point.
He’s a stern looking bloke at the best of times. but on occasions he looked positively scary. I lost count of the number of times he got to his feet to raise an objection on a point or order.
At the end of the evening the Mayor, Michaela Ellis, looked a little shell shocked, especially as Councillor Turner was highly critical of the lines of communication between the town and district councillors.
After winning a seat on the district council, Daryl attended every full council meeting to report on district affairs, as does the county councillor, Colonel Geoffery Brierley.
In recent times, however, he stopped attending and we wondered why. He made it perfectly clear why in a statement at the beginning of the meeting.
He felt it was a pointless exercise as the lines of communication between him and the town council were so poor.
Apparently, Daryl kept in regular touch with former mayor Sally Holman by e-mail and telephone calls but said the curent mayor had not contacted him once.
Councillor Ellis reminded him that communication was a two-way street and he had not sent her one e-mail either.
Daryl has clearly worked hard over the past three years in building his local government knowledge. He’s attended no fewer than 47 training sessions for new councillors.
And it seemed to me that none of the town councillors really wanted to take him on. Some of the more experienced ones are likely to stand down at the next election but if they thought they were going to have a comfortable last 15 months, Daryl made it clear that is not going to be the case.
I felt a bit sorry for the Mayor and I thought some of her more senior members could have been more supportive.
Stan Williams, Owen Lovell and Ken Meech did defend their position to a degree but the cutting wit of years gone by was clearly in decline.
The first exocet Daryl fired was the suggestion that the the whole town should elect the mayor and not just the councillors.
It’s a nice thought but one that will never reach fruition without a change in legislation. Town clerk Mike Lewis told me later, after checking the situation, that it was not possible in small authorities like Lyme.
It’s not a policy I would advocate for two reasons. One - it would give the mayor even more power and two, it would be open to political manipulation. Daryl has always polled well in local elections but he had the support of the Lib Dems who are well organised at grassroots level.
He also suggested separating the roles of mayor and council chairman with the appointment of a leader.
No doubt I will be accused of harking back to the “good old days”, but again, I would oppose such a move strongly for a similar reason.
That would be the beginning of the end for an independent town council.
To dilute the duties of the mayor would ultimately lessen the historical significance of the role. Also, Lyme is a small town council and should not aspire to be anything but. To have a mayor and leader would be complete overkill.
I do accept, however, that every organisation has to respond to the times we are living in and I am not opposed to change in the council chamber.
In fact, some of the points raised by Daryl I would support. I have thought for a long time that too many decisions are made behind closed doors with matters being dealt with by various sub-committees and working parties which are not open to the press.
Daryl was highly critical of the town council and has committed himself to improving matters. I wish him luck.
However, there is also a fair amount of concern over how the district council operates and one wonders how much influence our two district councillors have in Dorchester.
I’ve had my moments in terms of being critical of our town councillors, but I also understand, having been the other side of the press bench, that most if not all have the best interests of the town at heart.
Daryl says that he will be part of a group putting up at the next election advocating reform. Hopefully that will ensure there will be an election.
There have been groups before who have put themselves forward campaigning on a single subject. They have not proved that effective in the past and usually fade away.
The group that Daryl refers to will, I understand, be campaigning for better facilities for the youth of Lyme.
That’s something which has my full support but a solution to this problem is not fully in the gift of the town council.
Daryl’s return was a combative performance, make no mistake. The message was definitely “I’m back and don’t you forget it”.
He ended his statement by saying that any conflicts in personalities and dislikes should be cast aside for the sake of the town. A good sentiment.
I wasn’t present but I’m told that if the tone of the conversation among councillors in the pub afterwards is any indcation, that may be a more difficult job than expected.
All set for the Easter bonnet parade
CONTESTANTS are being invited to enter the annual Easter Bonnet Parade to be held in the town next week.
Home-crafted bonnets will compete for cash prizes and Easter eggs before parading through the town led by the Lyme Junior Band and followed by the Lyme Majorettes, who will both then perform in Theatre Square.
Generous prizes have been sponsored by Staples Stores, The Rock Point Inn, Colin and Judith Pothecary, Chick Computers ofCombpyne and Pop Goes The Weasel.
There will be a cup for the winning bonnet sponsored by Tree Tops Residential Home. Residents and visitors are invited to attend or take part in the parade next Sunday, April 4th.
Judging will be held at the Baptist Church Hall from 2pm and the parade will start at 2:30pm.
www.viewfromonline.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment