Labour want the Mayorality without a fight. OVER MY DEAD BODY.
My decision to stand for the post of Mayor of Copeland was never about the salary on offer for the job. If money was all I cared about, the package on offer would not have motivated me to put my name forward even on the terms recommended by an Independent Panel. I put my name forward because I care about public service and about the people of West Cumbria.
On Thursday Copeland Labour party produced at the last minute an amendment to the Independent Panel recommendation about the salary to be paid to Copeland's first directly elected mayor. They reduced the payment for the job by 40%, to well below the average wage for the district.
This is not primarily about the money either. The Copeland Labour group's actions are a clear and obvious attempt to sabotage the referendum vote to set up a directly-elected mayor, discourage other candidates from standing, and thereby rig the election.
If the governors of any school in Copeland advertised for a head teacher at the salary Labour are offering for the political head of Copeland Borough Council they would make themselves a laughing stock. The salary is not just lower, but massively lower, than would be paid for almost any job with significant leadership responsibilities, from a police inspector to a Ward Sister, or almost any management position in a medium or large company or indeed in the public sector.
It was openly admitted at the meeting that this decision was forced through the council by party whips with all Labour councillors required to vote for it.
I am convinced that this motion was a cynical trap for all Labour's potential opponents in Copeland and myself in particular. The people behind this motion WANT to discourage as many as possible of their opponents from standing so as to give their candidate the easiest possible ride.
And Labour are salivating of the prospect of accusing anyone who now withdraws from the election of being only interested in getting a generous salary from Copeland taxpayers, and not giving a damn about the people of Copeland.
In the past 48 hours a number of people have asked if I am still standing in the election. Several well-meaning individuals have encouraged me to withdraw in the hope that this would force a reversal of the decision.
I respect the motives of those who have made that suggestion, but sadly, I believe that they underestimate the ruthlessness, cynicism, and total contempt for democracy of Copeland Labour party. Withdrawing is exactly what Labour hope that I, and any potential Independent candidates, will do, giving a gift to their propaganda machine. If we do that, Labour will be laughing all the way to even more complete domination of Copeland.
Cancelling the election entirely would be equally wrong for exactly the same reason: it would mean that a clique who have no better understanding of democracy than Ferdinand Marcos would have succeeded in frustrating the wishes expressed by the people of Copeland through a referendum.
(I was going to make a more up-to-date comparison and compare Copeland Labour Party's idea of democracy with Vladimir Putin's, but unlike Ferdinand Marcos, Mr Putin is still alive and might sue me for the insult of being compared with Copeland Labour party.)
If Labour think they can get their man elected without a fight, my answer to them is four words:
OVER MY DEAD BODY.
On Thursday Copeland Labour party produced at the last minute an amendment to the Independent Panel recommendation about the salary to be paid to Copeland's first directly elected mayor. They reduced the payment for the job by 40%, to well below the average wage for the district.
This is not primarily about the money either. The Copeland Labour group's actions are a clear and obvious attempt to sabotage the referendum vote to set up a directly-elected mayor, discourage other candidates from standing, and thereby rig the election.
If the governors of any school in Copeland advertised for a head teacher at the salary Labour are offering for the political head of Copeland Borough Council they would make themselves a laughing stock. The salary is not just lower, but massively lower, than would be paid for almost any job with significant leadership responsibilities, from a police inspector to a Ward Sister, or almost any management position in a medium or large company or indeed in the public sector.
It was openly admitted at the meeting that this decision was forced through the council by party whips with all Labour councillors required to vote for it.
I am convinced that this motion was a cynical trap for all Labour's potential opponents in Copeland and myself in particular. The people behind this motion WANT to discourage as many as possible of their opponents from standing so as to give their candidate the easiest possible ride.
And Labour are salivating of the prospect of accusing anyone who now withdraws from the election of being only interested in getting a generous salary from Copeland taxpayers, and not giving a damn about the people of Copeland.
In the past 48 hours a number of people have asked if I am still standing in the election. Several well-meaning individuals have encouraged me to withdraw in the hope that this would force a reversal of the decision.
I respect the motives of those who have made that suggestion, but sadly, I believe that they underestimate the ruthlessness, cynicism, and total contempt for democracy of Copeland Labour party. Withdrawing is exactly what Labour hope that I, and any potential Independent candidates, will do, giving a gift to their propaganda machine. If we do that, Labour will be laughing all the way to even more complete domination of Copeland.
Cancelling the election entirely would be equally wrong for exactly the same reason: it would mean that a clique who have no better understanding of democracy than Ferdinand Marcos would have succeeded in frustrating the wishes expressed by the people of Copeland through a referendum.
(I was going to make a more up-to-date comparison and compare Copeland Labour Party's idea of democracy with Vladimir Putin's, but unlike Ferdinand Marcos, Mr Putin is still alive and might sue me for the insult of being compared with Copeland Labour party.)
If Labour think they can get their man elected without a fight, my answer to them is four words:
OVER MY DEAD BODY.
Comments
As the post of mayor is as head of the council, and thus as a chief servant to the taxpayer, then logically the tax payer is the Mayors "boss" - thus again logically, the only fair way to set the salary for the Mayor is via a local referendum. That also applies to any member of the council.
Problem solved without party whips being used to rig elections.
Unfortunately at the moment this would
a) take a few weeks to organise and
b) unless you did it at the same time as the elections are happening, cost significantly more than the difference in cost between the Labour and Independent Panel proposals.
And if the Labour proposal is not reversed very quickly, a significant part of the damage will have been done because potential candidates will have to assume that the reduced amount is all that is on offer. This is bound to reduce the choice available to the electorate - and although you might argue that I could benefit from that, it is not how I wanted to be elected.