Time for an Independent Whitby?
This post is probably only going to be of interest to those of you living in or around Whitby, but I would like to draw your attention to the following opportunity to ‘Have Your Say’ in the Whitby Gazette straw poll on the question:
“Do you think there should be a vote on whether Whitby becomes independent from Scarborough Borough Council?”
You might also like to read Nigel Ward’s comments in reply to ‘Sensibleman’, lower down on the same page, which I copy here for the benefit of those who would like to print it out to show to friends.
“There is indeed a very coherent Plan B, Sensibleman. A referendum result in favour of an independent Whitby carries no legal force, that is true, but the message it sends is just the first step in a well co-ordinated strategy to place Whitby firmly back in charge of her own destiny. That will take time. By stating clearly that we have had enough of watching our infrastructure falling into disrepair, we carry a powerful argument, supported by a mountain of evidence, all the way to Westminster.
The Mayor has stated that he will not settle for a bodge-job repair of our magnificent piers, but he is powerless to influence the outcome. We should settle for nothing less than full restoration of the piers – and never mind ‘sticking-plaster’ rock-armour repairs. Whitby should be dealing directly with DEFRA about the funding for this. Cut out the middleman. We have some very capable Councillors, and more waiting in the wings. Time to cut away the dead wood. We need strongly contested seats and every Councillor with a full electoral mandate. It’s called democracy. That is the kind of Council that will have the moral authority to regain our autonomy. It starts with a reasoned and lawful statement of intent. We are dissatisfied with SBC. It is our duty to stand up and say so. The Whitby worm has turned.”
The Mayor has stated that he will not settle for a bodge-job repair of our magnificent piers, but he is powerless to influence the outcome. We should settle for nothing less than full restoration of the piers – and never mind ‘sticking-plaster’ rock-armour repairs. Whitby should be dealing directly with DEFRA about the funding for this. Cut out the middleman. We have some very capable Councillors, and more waiting in the wings. Time to cut away the dead wood. We need strongly contested seats and every Councillor with a full electoral mandate. It’s called democracy. That is the kind of Council that will have the moral authority to regain our autonomy. It starts with a reasoned and lawful statement of intent. We are dissatisfied with SBC. It is our duty to stand up and say so. The Whitby worm has turned.”
Please take the trouble to register your opinion.
Alan
7 Responses to “Time for an Independent Whitby?”
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It tells its own story, that those who work voluntarily and without thought of self-interest are the first to answer the call for a representative and fully mandated Council. But it comes as no surprise.
There are Councillors old enough to remember the words of John Kennedy, but they have usurped them.
“Ask not what you can do for Whitby Town Council – ask what Whitby Town Council can do for you” seems to be their motto.
My motto is “Drac for Mayor!”.
Please come to the Town Assembly on Tuesday 12th May at 6:30pm – and bring some ID. Word is, our Council are planning excluding everybody without proof of identity, or on any other grounds they can squeeze out of the legislation. And 38% of them, remember, have no mandate to sit in the first place. That is not what we need.
Congratulations to 12 electors prepared to put their names on a piece of paper. They will be remembered for generations to come. To hell with those who have inhibited debate on sensitive subjects, for years and years, to no good purpose; only their perception of their own dignity. There can be no justification for invading other countries to impose democracy on them, and dying in the process, if we are afraid to use the statutory procedures in our own communities. Government has been consulting, on ways that it might be possible, to provide a new democratic structure for the English National Park Authorities. We can help them with that; it takes no more than an invitation from Whitby Town Council to North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority, for a Joint Meeting to discuss matters of common interest. If an elector of Whitby will put this suggestion in writing for Tuesday Town Meeting we can move rapidly forward to the formation of a new Unitary Local Authority with a special Constitution for the maintenance of traditional lifestyles and landscape heritage. signed Pete Budd. (Elector of Sleights)
This topic seems to be arousing some very strong feelings in the town – GREAT!
I’ve just been dealing with a Ryedale group of local councillors. I have to say that the self-serving and apathetic attitude of some of these people dismays me. Building on green-belt, fingers-in-pies… etc.
I know that not everybody is the same, but this feeling of malaise is hard to shake off.
Apathy is never a good thing – let’s shake it up a bit in Whitby!
Alan
Whitby is a grand little town, which deserves to be able to run its own affairs: why should Scarborough be allowed to take all the cream, and leave us with the dregs?
Yes, there should be a vote: who, in good conscience, would vote no? We can do this: let’s make it happen!
Billy Scoresby: BS for short [no BS!]
I’ve never heard of cooption. You mean people get to be councillors without anyone voting for them? I thought that only happened in dictatorships.
When a space becomes available, the council should take a full page in the gazette and make a real effort to get people to stand. There’s some clever blokes in Whitby. They probably dispair of getting any sense out of the sorry lot we have at the moment. That Steve Smith is unbelievable. “Neither the Town Council nor SBC have to take people’s views into account”.
Too bloody right they do, mate.
Question is, do the people have to take Steve Smith’s views into account?
On yer bike, Steve. You’ve got delusions of grandma!
It seems that the article in the Gazette seeks to portray Mr Ward in a less than favourable light, however he obviously has the well-being of Whitby and its residents at heart. Having read the comments, he is clearly a man who does much for the local community and he has great ideas to revitalise the town. We should thank him for bringing to the public’s attention the practice of co-option and for pointing out how deeply undemocratic this practice is. Until all this came to light I was unaware that co-option existed and I am sure that this will be so for most of the local residents. Councillor Rob Broadley has been prepared to resign his seat on the council to highlight this practice and to force a bye-election. Well done Rob, we applaud you.
One only needs to speak to other members of the public to hear that there has been a long-held feeling of dissatisfaction with SBC. I am sure that Councillor Smith is well aware that there is more than a minority of residents who have concerns about SBC, and he is clearly dismayed at the thought of a poll being held – he made a point of mentioning that it would be financed by Whitby taxpayers money, presumably in the hopes that we would all rise up in horror against the idea! The poll is Whitby’s chance to make our feelings clear and is the first step in reclaiming our autonomy – we deserve it. This will be a long process, and I don’t think we should panic at the idea of there not being a Plan B. In fact, if the co-opted councillors currently sitting on the Council do the right thing, and stand for democratic election, we might have a chance of a Town Council that is more than capable of running the town. Come on folks, this is our opportunity to let SBC know what we really think of them. Let’s all go to the meeting on Tuesday and take advantage of our vote!
I think readers are entitled to know that I have written to the Editor of the Whitby Gazette offering to include the Gazette in our democratic attempt to re-invigorate our Town Council.
I have had no respone.
I have emailed the Editor offering to fully explain the ‘Plan B’ which he opined was missing from our strategy in his Editorial in last Friday’s paper.
I have had no response.
I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to fully outline ‘Plan B’, as the Editor likes to characterize it. I would call it ‘Plan A+’.
Readers who would like to hear about it are free to petition the Editor to that effect.
I will be screening a Video Presentation of the ‘ARTOPIA’ Project at the Coliseum on Friday 29th May, where the public will be admitted FREE OF CHARGE, from 7:00pm, to watch it. It will be screened as many times as is necessary to allow as many as want to see it to do so.
Come on, WHITBY Gazette! Remember which town you are reporting on. And for. Our 90p per week is what’s keeping you afloat, don’t you know?