When indeed.

Sadly, even the ballot box is no longer an answer as the people of Thatcham found in the last election.

Yet more questions to answer.

Democracy? Not as we know it.

Modern UK democracy is about the value of your home.

Ummm, then given the state of Newbury's housing stock I'm rather surprised Labour don't do far better


PS - a promotion on Facebook suggests NTC have organised a quiz night for early August; it seems that it's quite ok to ask US difficult questions......

I do hope it is the type of quiz where the public can quiz the Councillors?
Not that you would get any meaningful answers of course!

As RUP states I too find it completely baffling how precept payers are not storming the council offices regarding all the shenanigans and the wasted monies yet complain non stop about petrol price rises etc., chuggers in Northbrook Street trying to make them part with their hard earned cash yet allow the Council to behave as if they have the right to have a hand in their pockets taking what they like without so much as a murmer
And of course there is the totally disgusting treatment of Simon Kirby who has been severely treated for pointing out that the Council were wrong, which was backed up by Trading Standards, and it would appear that too has been brushed aside as if it was of no consequence?
We have our troops fighting in parts of the world to try and ensure people have freedoms yet we have tin pot Councillors treating precept payers as if they were nothing more than irksome midges instead of being the public servants they are supposed to be!

As the saying goes it is Democracy but it is certainly not working in Newbury is it?

Well, faith in justice restored..a bit at least. It seems our previous Town Council CEO had lost his claim for unfair dismissal. See this week's hard copy NWN.

Still A good few unanswered questions, such as why he was able to make unfounded remarks in Tribunal without challenge. Similarly, for supportive NTC, interesting that a member of staff who was off with stress related work issues for several months yet was fit enough to secure an exactly similar position at a neighbouring Council! Given the costs involved in defending this and answering his questions, has he been asked to sign an undertaking to obey the Council leadership in future?

I can honestly say that I am disappointed for although the CEO had no case against me, he still in my opinion had a possible case of 'constructive dismissal' against NTC on other grounds, which clearly did not come out.

Unfortunately, but obviously, I was never called as a witness by either side.

Still though, the people of Newbury have not been told the entire truth by NTC, and I wonder just how long the council will get away with its usual silence.

Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera
Liberal Democrat Party activist and 'Whistle Blower'

Now we need to hear the results of the Lib Dem's investigation in local party shenanigans. Any news on that Ruwan?

I was taken by Mr Hunt's statement: "I am very disappointed to have lost my claim for unfair constructive dismissal on a timing technicality". can I be excused my schadenfreude by mentioning Simon Kirby's case against him which collapsed under similar circumstances?

With former Clerk Hunt's departure now resolved I wonder that NTC will just let the whole sorry ParkGate episode sink to the bottom. There's not a great deal to be done if the Council just choose to ignore it.

For those keeping track, the spending on legal fees, as far as I can tell, is £20,636 for the last three months. No details on what that all relates to.

They wouldn't have appointed him if they had any doubts on that point, but interesting that he has been given a similar position at another council. They must have known about his history with NTC. As 'Liberal Party Activist' Uduwerage-Perera states, there's a lot more to this story than we've been told about.

http://www.thametoday.co.uk/news/local-new...-town-1-6643027

Are you suggesting that he covered up for the incompetetent leader of NTC (JSH) and therefore another set of councillors thought he would be a good appointment?

Mr Hunt was given glowing references from JSW to secure the new position at Thame.
I feel that he was used as a scapegoat for a few councillors.

I can't help think that they were 'caught out' by the relatively new media interest generated by social media sites and the like. It means they may experience more scrutiny than they otherwise might expect for some things.

If only they could have managed Simon Kirby and tolerated his somewhat eccentric attention to detail, then things might have been different.

Swift-W***?

It's not about me, the Town Council's woes all follow from their arrogant narcissistic self-serving control-freakery and plain old moral cowardice.

It's pretty clear that the CEOs reign would have ended sooner or later without SKs help! His (CEO) case at the tribunal underlines that. Apparently, NTCs most successful CEO who only made one mistake. The deeper you dig the hole the further you get from those at the top.

SK's influence is greater than that I suspect. Without SK and RUP it would have just ticked along 'nicely'.

That is why they have ensured Simon & RUP are made an example of.........they can't let it be seen that precept payers can get away with daring to challenge their rule even though the challengers were perfectly correct in these instances...........they have ruled for years without anyone holding them to account and they are not going to start now!

As for the ex CEO just moving to a new Council with no sort of consequence after the council costing precept payers thousands, they are just copying all the other great and goods, such as the financial sector especially bankers, and just moving the deckchairs on the ship until the next expose but of course they don't expect to have to pay any sort of penalty!

Yes, the dogs may bark but the caravan keeps on moving. Same old faces just sitting in different seats. Yeah, there has been a pretty Facebook advert for allotments and yeah, a memorial stone no one knew anything about was unveiled and yeah, they are bickering with WBC. What else did we expect?

As for the CEO, essentially a few weeks break, sideways move to an exactly similar role, with a short commute for sure, but it keeps him nicely out of view when off duty. Not sure I'd be unhappy about that.

And Ruwan? Clearly destined for better things; but not here. The LibDems previous success here was really an aberration and unlikely to happen again; with their many other problems why waste any resource or effort in sorting out West Berks? RWEs undoubted talents have more pressing uses.

And so our tale is over; but the pantomime continues...

Reminds me of football managers - who repeatedly fail at one club before being employed by another.