Councilbust

It’s all kicked off today, thanks to a careless comment by Lib Dem Councillor Ric Morgan. According to the Echo, Cllr Morgan referred to the new Mayor, fellow Liberal Democrat Councillor Brian Smith, as a “nob”.

In the letter published in the Echo last month, Cllr Morgan said that he had been working at the Festival of the Air whilst the “nobs” ate lunch at the Cliffs Pavillion on the Bank Holiday Monday.

By “nobs”, Cllr Morgan meant Mayor Smith, and two other people, who were attending a council lunch event.

Since then, Cllr Morgan has refused to apologise for the comment, saying that it was not meant in the way it has been taken to.

The Tories are having a field day with this nob-wielding. Naturally, they are taking it to mean “penis” rather than a posh person, and laying on the criticism.

Apparently, flinging “nobs” around brings the office of Mayor into disrepute.

Poor West Shoebury Conservative Councillor Derek Jarvis is upset by the whole thing. He was at a similar lunch event on the Sunday of the festival, and said he felt hurt to have been included in the nob-group.  

He told the Echo:

“Never in my years as a local councillor have I heard of a councillor calling a current serving mayor a nob publicly, especially as they belong to the same party.”

Presumably, this means that councillors may quite often call the mayor a nob in private, or in public if that mayor is no longer serving.

“The mayoralty is a fine office and a tradition that should be respected by all councillors and not brought into disrepute in this way.”

So, of course, it’s dictionaries at the ready. Cllr Morgan appears to be one of those old-school type chaps who will use a word according to its less-known or less-used definition, even if most people would take it to mean “willy”, and even if it makes you look like a fool in the local paper. Then, of course, people know that you are knowledgeable about things like old definitions of words, and, presumably, trust you more as a local representative.

“Councillor Jarvis should check his dictionary,” said Cllr Morgan tartly to the Echo, “the term ‘nob’ is an old fashioned term for a socially exalted person.”

Well, that’s alright then.

Still, it’s not too bad, because the nob in question, Mayor Brian Smith, said he knew all along what Morgan was driving at, and was flattered by the comments.

He said that being a nob was “quite an achievement”, as it means you are a “well-respected member of the establishment.” 

 Southend West Conservative MP David Amess’ expenses were published yesterday on a government website.

Since then, rival candidates for his seat have called for explanations of his expenditure.

Liberal Democrat candidate Peter Welch sent a letter to Mr Amess last night, outlining his questions about the expenses.

Mr Welch wrote:

“You are one of a group of just 32 MPs to have claimed the maximum for food; £400 month in, month out, with no sign of a receipt, and regardless of whether parliament was sitting or not.

“Your charge for mortgage costs is £600 month in month out, and again no document has been published to support this claim.

“All the other claims are for round figures below the £250 point where receipts have to be produced (I note that some bills are available).

“Essentially you appear to have received around £60,000 over the last three years, without being required to publish supporting documentation.”

Mr Welch went further to question Mr Amess’ other expenditure, as outlined in his Incidental Expenses Provision paperwork.

Here, Mr Welch had further questions about the services Mr Amess had paid for on government expenses:

“There are regular payments to something called ‘Westminster Consultancy’ for sums in amounting to tens of thousands of pounds,” Mr Welch writes.

“The published invoices are handwritten, do not give a VAT number, and give only the vaguest indication of the services provided.

“Who is ‘Westminster Consultancy’? What are their tax arrangements?”

Further, Mr Welch raised questions of the propriety of the money Mr Amess has paid to the Southend West Conservative Association:

“There are regular payments to Southend West Conservatives.

“These have risen from £3500 in 2004/2005 to £4750 in 2007/2008.

“The payments are said to be for the cost of the use of the hall and office space.

“But the accounts of Southend West Conservative Association do not provide an explanation for such an increase in costs, do not explain why these figures should be charged, and do not record any such income in 2004 or in 2005.

“Where did the money go for those years?

“Does the money you have passed from taxpayer to your association really represent State Aid for your political campaigning?”

Mr Amess gave the following statement in response to questioning from CouncilBust.com over his expenses in general:

“All the claims that I have made since I was first elected to Parliament in June 1983 have been made in good faith and I have always consulted the Fees Office about their appropriateness. 

“The range of allowances has also increased. 

“I absolutely agree with David Cameron that we have to acknowledge just how bad this situation is and just how angry the public are. 

“We have to start by saying the system we had and used was wrong and that we are sorry about that. 

“We should support an independent audit. 

“That would be a step towards rebuilding the trust between Parliament and the people it’s meant to represent.”