Three cup finals and a local election

I said before we had loads of cup finals left. We've won none of them, and now are 8 points adrift of safety with three to play.





Safety is a strange term at the bottom of the pyramid. What it actually means is a summer of anxiety, wondering whether we'll be reprieved or not. We should be, as six teams have either gone to the wall or sought voluntary demotion, but its not a given. The Kent Premier League will be light on teams next year, and the FA are under pressure to strengthen it. We'll have an anxious summer, but should be OK. The most likely outcome is that we're moved to the Ryman 1 North. Again. It might all come to nothing though. We need to win our last three, including a final game of the season against Bognor Regis, who might need a win to secure the title and automatic promotion to the Ryman Premier. And we need Corinthian Casuals to lose all three of their games, two of which are against Whitehawk and Met Police, who are in the top four. Its not an impossible dream, but more of an improbable one. But it could all be decided if the results don't go our way on Saturday when we entertain Neil "Place of birth: Chatham" Shipperley and his Walton Casuals side at TOSC. They've been in poor form of late, so the improbable dream lives on.





And of course, there are nearly four months without football to wait on as of one week's time. Our season will end on 30th April 2011, so the blog will need new direction. I may turn my writing to the subject of politics and other dirge that springs to mind. I once wrote a review of a bad Richard Gere film in protest at the Chats. Maybe the comedic goings on at Medway Council's Gun Wharf will fill some space. So I'll start here.





May 5th sees a full council election. Standing again are Mark Reckless and Rehman Chishti, both Tory MPs as well as councillors. I can't help but wonder what happens, if, as expected, the council is tighter this year than ever before, and they need to vote at Gun Wharf and Westminster at the same time.

Additionally, it will be tight this year as the Conservatives have to an extent done their own legs with some, to be blunt, woefully poor administration on their watch.





Bias? Yes, of course I am. I am a nailed to the mast Labour supporter. I'd rather have an economist (Brown) run the country than an advertising executive (Cameron). In fact the only advertising exec I'd have run the country would be Don Draper. But he's fictional, and if he was real, would be dead.





Realistic? I believe so. Let's look at the mess the Tories have made here in Medway. Its a story made from incompetence, arrogance and self-service not seen this side of Liverpool since the 80s. Let's take a look at the evidence..

• The botched regeneration of Chatham, particularly the disgraceful state of the town centre's roads. Public opinion said "Don't do it - you'll kill the town". They did it. The town is dying.




• The destruction of important local heritage; the theatre royal (ropey for years, conveniently unsafe when the flyover needed to come down and the buses couldn't get anywhere); the Aveling and Porter building, now an unnecessary Strood car park (but the land value has soared), and the remains of the Jezreels site gone for good. At what price progress? What progress?

• A Conservative Councillor, Nick Brice who was cautioned for trying to procure the services of a prostitute, who continues despite his expulsion from the party, to vote with the Whip, and refused to resign his post. This may seem wafty, but its a disgrace. Prostitutes are amongst the most vulnerable in our town. They are more often than not the victims of vile men and the drug trade. They often have substance misuse problems, and mental health problems. A councillor should not be perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
http://democracy.medway.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=6329



• A Conservative Councillor, Jane Chitty, found by the Standards Committee (they oversee our councillors in relation to obeying the members' code of conduct) to have publicly humiliated a council employee, by shouting and gesticulating at her in a public area of the Council's offices. Chitty has been ordered to apologise to the employee (who worked in a paid role for the Labour group), but spent 40 minutes at the hearing defending her actions, and not apologising. Interestingly, she thinks the incident happened at a different time to both the victim and an independent witness. The arrogance says everything we need to know about our local Conservative party. http://democracy.medway.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=4441

• The preference of the rich over the Town's poorest: Residents of Twydall, of which I am one, were heavily consulted on a far ranging road safety scheme for the ward, for which half of the cost would be met by the charity Sustrans. Tens of thousands were spent on this exercise, which was dropped when the ConDems cut budgets. The total cost to Medway would have been £330k. Too much we're told. Medway Council still managed to fund one major road safety scheme in the Towns this year (at over £130k). In Hempstead, the Town's wealthiest ward. And funnily enough, the safe seat of the incumbent leader of the Council, Cllr Rodney Chambers. Blatantly, the Conservatives think that the safety of poor children matters less than that of those with money and Tory votes. Twydall is a safe Labour ward.

• The promise that the £23 million cuts to the council's budget won't hit front line services. We've all been wondering what a front line service is, as the ConDems keep telling us they're safe. Apparently SureStart isn't a front line service. A real terms cut of £281k in Medway, whilst the Council's freebie, every-house-gets-one-you-can't-opt-out Medway Matters is still produced. In 2010, this cost £116k a year. Its a little less party political since a complaint, which was not upheld, about an interview that told us that Gillingham and Rainham PPC (now MP) Reh Chishti liked Ice Cream, every genre of music and "helping people". But its still a massive waste of money. Its too glossy. Its too expensive. It has to go.
http://www.medway.gov.uk/pdf/med_matters_issue26.pdf (page 29)



• The City Status ASA debacle. Medway Council was told by the Advertising Standards Agency to stop using the term "City of Medway". Rather than take it on the chin, Medway issued the following press release http://www.medway.gov.uk/information/newspages/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=3609 This is perhaps the most embarrassing piece of PR I've ever seen. Its shameful, and Medway's administration is so arrogant, it feels it can even stick two fingers to a respected institution such as the ASA. Face it Medway, you were caught doing wrong. Deal with it. And you question why Milton Keynes City FC are called as much - they don't even exist anymore, you insipid idiots.

Of course, you might not agree with me. If you live in Medway, you have a choice on 5th May. Personally, I think that the Conservatives have become complacent and cocky in how they run our Towns. Time to show them what you think; you have a vote. Use it.