Over a Curly’s Corner Shop the proprietor seems to be having a little bit of trouble locating Councillor Paul Waggott, leader of South Tyneside Council. I suspect the King may be in his counting house, as the joint income into the House of Waggott has been considerably increased by Lady Linda’s recent election victory in the Boldon Colliery Ward (pronounced “Bede”).
Curly’s issue with Lord Waggott centres around a post on his site dated 20th April 2007 where the council elite and its chums congratulated each other on doing their jobs properly (I thought that’s what you got paid for?) A comment posted by David Slater has rightly caused concern, with Curly’s attempts to contact the council leader for clarification on who sets policy so far going unanswered. The problem here is very simple: who sets the direction for South Tyneside Council, the elected councillors who have a moral obligation to their electorate, or the council’s unelected executives (whom Slater is one) who have an obligation to, well nobody really, just themselves.
What started as an exchange between a blogger and a council official has the potential to spiral, with Waggott’s refusal to reply to the Corner Shop fuelling the view that Labour’s relationship with the Council hierarchy is far to cosy for comfort. As Curly is currently pursuing the issue of representation at Council level, I thought I would bring the Chief Executive up to speed as to the outpourings of her minions. A Freedom of Information enquiry re the full nature and expenses of the said mentioned “back slapping bash” is currently winging its way to Irene’s conclave as you read this missive, with a little paragraph tagged on the end;
"I am further perturbed by a comment which has been placed by a Mr David Slater on the South Tyneside cultural blog “Curlys Corner Shop” http://curly15.wordpress.com on the 20th April at 9.16 p.m. Mr Slater states that;
“Last Friday was great at Temple Park. yes, we do it every year, because every year we set direction for the council, and reflect what has gone well (and not so well).”
I assume that as Mr Slater refers to “we”, then it is Mr David Slater, Executive Director
Regeneration & Resources. You will therefore no doubt understand my concern when Mr Slater comments “every year we set direction for the council”. I have always been under the impression that councillors set direction for the authority, and as employees you implement that direction, not the other way round. Perhaps you could clarify this position and comment on Mr Slater’s post."
The reply will be interesting to say the least. Thanks to Curly for bringing this up and starting the ball rolling. Here’s his address should you need it.
http://curly15.wordpress.com
1 comment:
Well, if Cllr. Waggott has gone missing, I hope he hasn't been caught by the Undead!
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