Monday 26 March 2012

Libdems are "Insignificant" says Nadine Dorries

It appears that Nadine Dorries has won more friends in the Liberal Democrats with her latest statement.

As the Boundary commission looks at redrawing the map of British constituencies and politics some MPs are fighting losing wards and gaining others who tend to vote the other way and other MPs, like Nadine Dorries are fighting to keep their constituencies alive and themselves employed.

As this battle rages MPs are turning to those on the ground, local Councillors, who represent the individual wards that are being moved and urging them to help, to convince voters that it is in their best interests to stay in their current boundaries, to argue with their County party colleagues and local party to make representation to the Commission.
This is indeed what Nadine Dorries has done, sending off emails to local Councillors saying that she fears that Mid Bedfordshire will be split between North Bedfordshire, South West Bedfordshire, Bedford and Hitchin and Harpenden.

One such recipient was local Libdem Councillor Tim Hill. He was surprised that for the first time in his five years as a Councillor his local MP was finally communicating with him after his many attempts to try and contact her. Then again she needed help so it made some semblance of sense.
I think she's clutching at straws and is desperate to keep her job. She doesn't want the hassle of applying for a different seat.

He also says;
It seems ironic that after five years she chooses to contact me for the first time when we could have done so much together to improve the lives of people in my ward.

He politely replied saying he did not support the cause.

Now if the story ended there it would be all fine and dandy.... However Ms Dorries would not let it lie;

I make a point of not contacting the Liberal Democrat, Tim Hill. As the Lib Dems generally have no position, principles or beliefs and tend to make it up as they go, I have never felt the need to consult him, and I'm afraid I have to disabuse him of the notion that contacting him was a deliberate act.
I'm afraid his name just popped up in a mail shot of councillors. As I regard him as an irrelevance, I would have removed it had I spotted it.
(my emphasis)

Really?

What ever your political beliefs or agenda you have to respect that the people of the ward, in this case Wootton, Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick ward, voted for their representative. Mr Hill represents, and has done for five years with 39% of the votes in 2011, these people and knows what is going on in the ward and could assist.

It seems exceptionally arrogant to dismiss him for the capital crime of being a Libdem and an irrelevance...

Did the Rebellion refuse the help of the Ewoks because they were an irrelevant indigenous species that couldn't possibly defeat the Empire?

Did Britain and it's Empire refuse the help of Brazil during World War Two because they were irrelevant to the struggle?

Nope...

As for the party having no beliefs and "making it up as they go" those are obviously misinformed generalisations. Liberal Democrats as a whole are flexible and deal with issues, especially on a local level, as they arise and individually. Being held in a rigid party doctrine means that you are unable to react as well to situations. In fact the only doctrines we follow - Liberalism and Democracy mean that we do what is in the interest of people which can change regularly.

Maybe someone should send a copy of Mills On Liberty to Ms Dorries and then she will understand and see the Party's true guiding principle (a copy of which is passed down to each party President on the inauguration.) and I hate to point this out to her but... Liberals have began running Parliament with Lord Palmerston in 1855 and have successfully brought in many reforms including Old age pensions, helped form the NHS and the fact that we're still about and having an effect on British politics and still exist we are clearly not Insignificant.

The whole thing reeks of snobbery and personal dislike. The fact that she refused to call for help from Mr Hill just because he was a Libdem. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of this because I'm an irrelevance also... but then again these are my beliefs, as they are for quite a few other people and I've suddenly been labelled pointless. That and I cannot understand the arrogance behind it and the fact that an MP would disregard an entire ward that is in her care, full of voters who would may have voted in support of her in 2010 because they are in the wrong party. A councillor will help any one from their ward no matter what party they voted for yet Ms Dorries appears to not take an interest in a whole ward because a 6% majority voted for the wrong party, for at least five years!

Forget your party allegiance for a moment... If your Councillor was trying to raise your issue with the MP and they could get no answer on your behalf would you be annoyed?

Would you want your MP to take an interest in things happening in your ward and work with your elected representitive?

Lets be honest?

Cllr Hill says that he has made many strenuous and consistent efforts in trying to contact her office, each without success and receiving no feed back.

If this was my MP, I'd want something better and I'd want someone who would engage in grown up and engaging politics.

1 comment:

  1. minor editing point: when discussing constituency splitting, do you mean "Bedford & Hitchin, and Harpenden", or "Bedford, and Hitchin & Harpenden". The ampersand is very useful for disambiguation when the "and" is part of the name of something that appears in a list of things. Normally ampersands should not be used in paragraph text as a substitute for "and", but I think an exception should be made in this situation.
    "... Mid Bedfordshire will be split between North Bedfordshire, South West Bedfordshire, Bedford and Hitchin & Harpenden"
    much clearer than what you have written.
    The so-called Oxford comma is another option.

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