There are now no Conservatives left on St Ives Town Council in Cornwall after deputy mayor Kenny Messenger resigned as a Tory councillor at a meeting last night (Thursday, February 15), saying that the party he once loved is now “full of political pygmies”. He left the party four months after the town’s mayor Johnnie Wells also ditched his Conservative connection.

Lee Trewhela www.cornwalllive.com

Cllr Messenger told the mayor and fellow councillors: “As you will recall, I announced at our September meeting that I was one more farce, fiasco or disgrace away from resigning as a Conservative councillor.

“Well, all three have happened in one email from the Conservative Party on January 18. It says we are allowing three million Brits who emigrated 15 years ago to vote in the next General Election. That, in my opinion, is gerrymandering the election system, to get elected through the back door. For God’s sake, lose gracefully. So it is with regret and a lot of soul searching that I announce my resignation as a Conservative councillor.”

He added: “The party I joined in 1976 was full of political giants and well-respected individuals. Today’s party is full of political pygmies who are not fit to lace the boots of politicians of all parties from the 1970s, ’80s or ’90s. People like Grant Shapps is a Cabinet minister of all trades and a master of none. They think more about themselves than their constituents.

“I have decided enough is enough. I haven’t taken this decision lightly, but next year I will be seeking re-election as an Independent.” Cllr Messenger made his resignation speech in front of Cllr Linda Taylor, Conservative leader of Cornwall Council., who was present at the meeting.

His resignation from the Tories came after the town’s mayor Johnnie Wells resigned from the party at a council meeting in September to cheers and claps from other councillors and members of the public.

Cllr Wells, who has continued as an independent member of St Ives Town Council, said: “I just feel that for me, in St Ives and for Cornwall, an independent role is better. Being a Conservative was becoming an issue. It was putting up more barriers than it was taking down. People would kind of shut off to you pretty quickly, so it was becoming more of a hindrance than a help.”

Cllr Messenger responded to his colleague’s resignation at the time, telling his fellow councillors: “As the last Tory standing, I resign … wait for it … I resign as the Tory group leader because I can’t be a leader of myself. All joking aside, I respect and admire the Mayor’s decision to become an Independent during the rest of his term of office.

“I am hanging on by the skin of my teeth being a Tory councillor, because I believe the Tory Government and Tory Cornwall Council have become deluded and out of touch with reality, and living in cloud cuckoo land.”

Owl’s take on the evening.

This was a civilised debate ably chaired by the Parish Council Chair, Susan Tribble.

It lasted just over two hours and covered subjects ranging from flooding, sewage and river pollution, through housing, education and ending with health.

Local services and infrastructure are crumbling around us. The problem that Simon Jupp faced is how to bat the questions away when the government has run out of ideas. 

He had two options: keep repeating the mantra that money is being spent and the plans are working (arguments that don’t really stand scrutiny as indicated by comments from remote viewers in the “chat box”. See also today’s post on failure to deliver “river restoration fund”); or simply lay the blame on someone else. He deployed both with some style.

Neither line of argument is very convincing from a member of a party in power and controlling events for the past 13 years. The conservatives’ failure is to come up with any credible change agenda.

Richard Foord’s closing remarks (paraphrased by Owl) after the final question on Health:

I want to respond specifically to comments Simon [just] made on the need for cross-party consensus. Cross-party consensus is what governments on the rack tend to plead for. When the government is on the ropes they say: come on, come on and share our pain.

This government deserves, deserves to be criticised.

All politics is about power. This government is making decisions about the health service that are detrimental to the health service and detrimental to the health of people in this country, in this county, and in this community.

I want to link this back to something Simon said on a couple of occasions attacking East Devon District Council for shameful incompetence and the same sort of charge made against our ICB. [Integrated Care Board, the NHS organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population.]

Sitting on the opposition benches of the House of Commons I frequently hear many, many conservative MP and government ministers laying the same charge that the responsibility lies with the locals: with that local authority, with that district council, with that ICB. When you look at it from a “bird’s eye” view you find they are all at it, for example all 39 ICBs are apparently failing or all the local authorities, it’s their responsibility.

Politics is about power; we cannot separate this from [the problems] in the health service. The government is on the hook for this and we need big serious changes to sort these things out. 

These final remarks from Richard Foord when Simon, in his reply, had proposed something along the lines “let’s work together to find a solution” summarises his frustration.

Is this the new Tory rallying cry, being stuffed through our letter boxes? 

“Together we’re making progress”.

[PS. Owl was astounded to hear Simon Jupp blame everything from the lack of social housing and the annual target to build 900 on EDDC pulling out of GESP (the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan). Perhaps people have short memories, but Owl’s view of GESP is that it provided an opportunity for East Devon landowners to “offer up their land” to meet Exeter’s needs. This provided an easy “win win” option for Exeter which has consistently failed to find a five year land supply. Owl notes that since pulling out of GESP a lot more development has been planned within the city and to its western side.]

And thanks to the parish council for organising and hosting the event.

Did Simon Jupp apologise for this in Thursday’s “Question Time” in Newton Poppleford? – Owl

A key fund at the heart of the government’s plans to clean up rivers has not been established 15 months after it was promised.

The water restoration fund was first pledged by Thérèse Coffey when she was environment secretary. She said it would redirect millions of pounds of raised from fines headed to the Treasury to pay to improve polluted waterways instead.

Thérèse Coffey when she first announced the restoration fund – Marigolds added for H&S reasons by Owl

Adam Vaughan www.thetimes.co.uk

However, the fund does not exist, there is no timetable for its establishment and The Times can reveal that steering groups to establish it have not yet even met.

Ministers have repeatedly cited the fund as evidence that they are taking water pollution seriously. Coffey said it would that ensure money was “channelled directly back into the rivers, lakes and streams where it is needed”.

Her successor as environment secretary, Steve Barclay, recently said: “The money raised from penalties imposed on water companies will go towards restoring and protecting our waters.”

The government has introduced unlimited fines for water polluters, up from a previous cap of £250,000. The expectation is that penalties will be in the tens of millions of pounds.

Although those sanction powers were established in December, however, there is no sign of the fund to channel the millions of pounds into cleaning rivers plagued by sewage and agricultural waste.

That has raised questions over what will happen to any money raised from penalties before the fund is up and running. It is unclear whether in the interim money will go to the Treasury as before, or be kept in some form of holding fund.

Philip Dunne, the Conservative MP and chairman of the environmental audit committee, said the fund was “crucial” to the “restoration of river health”. He said the committee was looking for confirmation of the launch of the fund and details of the projects it would support.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has officially given no indication of when the fund will be launched, but the Times understands the plan is that it be some time in the next financial year.

“We’ve been involved in discussions and invited to join steering groups to ensure they head in the right direction, but those groups have not yet met,” said one river conservationist.

The idea is that any actual restoration or improvements will be carried out by local charities and green groups, and paid for with money disbursed by the fund.

Ali Morse, water policy manager for the Wildlife Trusts, a network of local charities, said: “Setting up this fund means that fines will no longer get absorbed into government coffers, and are instead allocated, in a formal and transparent manner, to projects that will improve the water environment. It’s a huge opportunity for nature.”

She said it was imperative the fund was established as soon as possible, given the severe difficulties facing UK waters. “The fund isn’t about ‘making up’ for the damage caused by polluters — companies must do that — it’s about making further improvements to the environment,” she said.

Tessa Wardley, director of advocacy at the Rivers Trust, said: “There has been much discussion but not a huge amount of action — yet. They have promised additional funding for catchment based approach, new approach to catchment planning and a water restoration fund. None of these have been set up yet.”

A Defra spokesman said: “We are putting into the fund all the fines levied against water companies for polluting the environment since the Plan for Water launched last year. Further details will be set in due course.”

The Times is demanding faster action to improve the country’s waterways. Find out more about the Clean It Up campaign

From ESCAPE facebook page

Geoff Crawford

I believe this to be the first genuine update. John Halsall even has emotion in his voice and I thank him for this update. I feel this is the first genuine apology.

[Geoff also draws attention to apparent discrepancies in statements from Stuart Madsen-Pilcher  (head of public affairs) referring to replacing the whole rising main and John Halsall’s statement referring to just replacing a 400m section.]