A candidate for the Kursaal ward seat turned down the chance to run as the Conservative contender because he found his ‘lower class background’ to be incompatible with the party’s ideology. In October 2010, local conservatives ran a vote within the Kursaal ward, which they branded an ‘X Factor style’ competition. Local residents were...
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In an exclusive insider column, an anonymous Southend councillor lifts the lid on the fractures within the council and the administration’s effort to steer the town through the austerity cuts. It’s totally frustrating that we are getting well recognised as a council, shortlisted for Council of the Year and deferred to by other local...
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James Duddridge, the Conservative MP for Rochford and Southend East, has expressed his delight at having 500 followers on social networking site Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging social media site, in which members have a profile, are able to follow each other, and must write status updates and messages using 140 characters or less....
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Last Thursday, the Council’s meeting was dominated by the recent cuts from central Government, which left Southend Borough Council with £1.4 million less funding than planned at the start of the financial year. Here, Executive Councillor for Transport and Planning Mark Flewitt (Con) gives Councilbust.com his view of what might be this year’s most...
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Last night’s full Council meeting brought fresh criticism from both the Independents and Labour for the Conservatives. The Independents’ main line of attack was over affordable housing. Kicking off the questioning was Independent leader Martin Terry. He asked Cllr Waite, who is now executive councillor for Adult Social Care, Health and Housing: “Now that...
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Cllr Martin Terry, leader of the Independents and councillor for Westborough, has commented on Cllr Jason Luty’s return to the Conservative party. Cllr Luty spent four months as an independent councillor for Eastwood Park, claiming that he planned to run as an independent in Westborough with the express purpose of ousting Cllr Terry (left)....
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James Duddridge, the Conservative MP for Rochford and Southend East, has been given a role as a Lord Commissioner; a party Whip in the new Coalition government. A whip is an official role within a party. Whips enforce uniform voting on particular issues from the MPs. The role will mean that Mr Duddridge is...
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Jason Luty, the councillor who returned to the Conservative party after a four month-stint as an independent, has said that a role within the Tory party requires less energy than one outside it. Cllr Luty is a Conservative councillor for Eastwood Park, and a resident in Westborough. After a long-running feud with Westborough councillor...
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The new Liberal-Conservative government this morning published a document that sets out the policies to be implemented by the coalition. Speculation over how the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats would work together has been heated, and after a week’s intense negotiation, the plans on how the coalition will tackle the deficit, defence, political reform...
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OPINION: Is UKIP anti-Tory or just running scared?
Today’s Echo brings food for thought. Local UKIP chairman James Moyies announced the party will not put up any candidates where the Independents are standing. Is it some kind of arranged pact? It doesn’t look like it, if Independent leader Martin Terry’s comments are anything to go by. Apparently, it’s as much of a...
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Tags: Conservatives, Independents, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Southend
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