General Discussion
Deputy Mayor resigns
Burnside, I dont believe you are right, but its a fair comment.
With my small amount of dealings wth the VoD there is a small group of bullyboys/girls in power, which most probably happens in other councils in this country. they may have the best of intentions when standing, but that seems to go out the window when elected.
Another opportunity for Mr Clayson and Co to elect another one of their mates to join them in orchestrating what ever the silent agenda is for our town. Independent my foot New Labour in disguise more like.
MugOnHead, You are spot on with your comment, and I know for a fact he was involved in the pressure used.
They recently co opted young A Dimond into the council chambers which gave them an extra VFD, could that be the hidden agenda for the next cooptee.
I imagine who the next co-optee is (presuming of course someone doesn't decide to get a by- election called) will depend first and foremost on how many persons put themselves forward for co-option.
Lynne, I think you will find eight people put themselves forward previously, A Dimond didnt turn up for the vote but got in anyway another VFD who have the majority.
I take my dog in the Manor everyday as do many others, I would have thought the £4.16 that Clayson gave us off the council tax would have been better spent repairing the bridge. I believe the £4.16 amounts to approx' £23.000
Wasn't he in a play at the Shaftesbury Theatre on the evening of the vote? A bit difficult to be in two places at one time. Don't think the local amdram people run to understudies.
So, it's either a by-election being called in which case the electorate will decide who the new councillor is or a co-option taking place and the sitting councillors will decide.
From TDC's website: (In the case of Becky W I think we are talking about Dawlish's south-west ward).
Parish and Town Council vacancies - If a seat becomes vacant on a Parish or Town Council, the Clerk is required to give public notice of the vacancy. In order to trigger an election, ten or more electors for the electoral area need to submit a request, in writing, and within fourteen working days of the date of the notice. The request or requests must be sent to the Proper Officer of the District Council. If sufficient requests are received the Returning Officer will fix the date of the election which must be within sixty days of the date of the notice of vacancy. If sufficient requests have not been received by the due date, the Council is allowed to make their own arrangements to fill the vacancy by co-option.
User 4549
"With my small amount of dealings wth the VoD there is a small group of bullyboys/girls in power"
This town has many bully boys/girls who have far too much influence on this town - the majority of them ruin this town! They fear change! This town is falling apart which is a shocking shame - just look how much Teignmouth has rejuvenated and how much better it looks - about time someone steamrollered these narrow minded imbeciles into the ground!
I have just finished reading Mayor Pethericks comments in the Gazette the first one makes no sense to me maybe it does to others on the forum.
(1) We have never forgotten that the rate payers are our customers and customers make pay days.
(2) As a cohesive council working together etc:
He must be joking with that comment.
1) I think he's just admitted the rate payers line their pockets in some form or other
2) Doesn't actually say what their working together to achieve
Just a point, if you stand as an independent doesn't that mean you don't work with anyone else.
Anyone on here know who at TDC is pulling their strings, because every time some one asks them a question the answers always the same " we were advised by TDC "
I think the final act that brought her to the decision to resign, was being approached by one of her own party who had been asked by a VFD to ask her not to stand for Mayor. She would have lost anyway due to the majority vote being held by VFD.
Just shows you cannot rely on your own party for support and the sneaky ways of VFD, why didnt they speak to her directly..
I believe the next Mayor will be a conservative, which VFD will hope will relieve the pressure on their group
MugOnHead,
You know as well as I the comment "" we were advised by TDC " Is their get out statement.
Just a thought here.
If "we were advised by TDC" is seen by some on this website as the town council's get out clause for some decisions made/not made, then why don't those of you who are unhappy about whatever advice it is that TDC has given the town council approach TDC and complain to them.
Alternatively, if you don't want to do that yourselves you could ask a Dawlish District Councillor to do it for you.
You have 4 Conservative and 1 VfD District Councillors to choose from,
I think the final act that brought her to the decision to resign, was being approached by one of her own party who had been asked by a VFD to ask her not to stand for Mayor.
You seem to have an awful lot of inside information, I wonder where you are getting it all from? Care to share?
My understanding is that a family member is unwell so she made the sensible decision not to stand for election as mayor. It is a time consuming role requiring attending just about all meetings and many functions etc
As for resigning - when doing something for free affects your family, your health and potentially your reputation who can blame her?
I wonder if people look to join the council with all good intentions without realising what hard work it is and how much it is a thankless task.
Burneside - no, just someone who found her pleasant but not ruthless enough to be part of the VFD campaign to rid the council of it's staff and have ultimate control (insert evil madman laugh here)
Flo - I think you've just hit a nail on its head quite firmly.
Hells Bells I think you have just libelled VFD, hope you are able to substantiate your claim. And as for Willoughby standing down, that's the greatest service she has done for the town. She would have been an embarrassment as Mayor.
I wish she had stayed on and stuck up to these bully boys, at least she's born and bred in Dawlish thats more than can be said of alot of them. they move here then take over the place.
Burside are you one of them, come from outside? you must be other wise you would use your name, you seem to have alot to say.
Percy Tucker..
I have to agree with both Percy and HellsBells, Loverly lady too honest for the likes of VOD.
I sitll have not decided which shop to spend my £4.16 reduction in council tax in, do I spend it now or wait untill my pennies have added up to the amount that Cllr Clayson has given me. LOL
One of the things that (amongst others) the £23.000 it has cost the council, could have been to spent on the repair of the bridge in the Manor.
@Percy tucker
Are you seriously suggesting that if somebody isn't born and bred in Dawlish then they can't have an opinion about what goes on in the town? I've never heard anything so ridiculous. And in case you haven't noticed, virtually nobody posts on here using their name.
Lynne, I think you will find that it was DDC responsibility as the transfer of Manor/Lawn etc: had not then taken place.
Burneside - not libel if true. Their intentions were well known before the election last May and have been noted and repeated by a Dawlish resident in the local press - strangely no action taken against him or the paper....
I think some people are doing Mrs Willoughby a dis-service here, from what I know of her, limited though it is, she's just a normal person who wanted to do her bit. Nothing wrong with that.
I didn't realise it was in the VFD manifesto to get rid of the town hall staff, must have missed that bit.
I started this thread as I know Becky personally and think the way she has been treated is disgusting, she worked hard in the short time she was a councillor. Now she can get back to her family and lead a normal life without all the stress she has been caused by the vindictiveness which was caused by the party she represented when elected
I think it's rather disgusting that somebody is elected under one banner, then promptly crosses the floor to join another party, without even having the decency to stand down and seek re-election.
Its also disgusting when some people win anelection perporting to be Independant vfd when they quite clearly support a major political party!!!!!!!
So, will enough of you who live in the south west ward do what is necessary in order to call a by-election or will you leave it to the present councillors to decide who to co-opt to replace Becky W?
I agree. It is disgusting that somebody wins an election as an Independent then shows her true colours, and joins the Conservatives.
You know quite clearly what I meant burnside!!!!!! New Labour purporting to be Independant VFD with a hidden agenda
The only time you will find that out Lynne is when councilor Clayson has seen off the remaining Conservatives. Got overhaul power for VFD or New Labour as it really is and gets himself and his croneys elected to TDC where they can cause some real damage. Promoting gay rights perhaps.
So, if the agenda is still hidden how can you know what's on it let alone know that it even exists?
And as the VfD councillors have a substantial majority on the town council why should they need to see off those Conservative councillors that are presently on it in order to implement this hidden agenda (whatever it is) of theirs?
And what has gay rights got to do with any of this?
Just a polite suggestion that if you don't know perhaps you need to ask them directly yourself. Please report their answers on here.
Brazilnut, My thoughts were the same at the time, but now I am sure I will not support them come election time.
Ask them about what? Their alleged hidden agenda? Gay Rights? Or both?
And why should I ask VfD councillors when posters on this thread are the ones who are making the allegations? Can any of you prove what your saying? I imagine you can, otherwise why make the claims that you do? So, might I politely suggest that it is for you to report what you know on here - not least to support all the claims that you make.
Beware everyone Lynne's on the warpath as an original supporter of the VFD it seems almost beyond believe that she/he doesn't understand the points people on here are trying to make.
I'm asking you to substantiate the points that you have made. .
Give me (and others) proof of what you are alleging.
Can you do that?
Yes or no? If yes, then do so.
Oh drat! Dave Cliffe has discovered the gay strategy to replace all the lights along the Brook with pink bulbs.
Do you know anything about the Independents? No. I have been working very hard for this town for nearly a year against fierce odds and I don't know which political parties my Independent friends support. The only one to show support for a Major political party is Becky Willoughby by walking off and joining (very publicly) the Conservatives. The rest of us don't believe that party politics should play ANY part at parish/town council level.
Come on, Helen, tell us the name of the person who has been libelling the Independents with the accusation of wanting to get rid of staff. It was never said, nor intended. Members of the public with a score to settle often raised it as an issue, but we always refused to allow the topic to be discussed. It was the previous Council that was at fault and that was why we campaigned to change the membership.
I'll probably regret posting this but there's a lot of rubbishy gossip around town and it hurts when you put in twelve hour days on behalf of the council and get no thanks.
Bob Vickery
" I'll probably regret posting this but there's a lot of rubbishy gossip around town " Have no regrets at all, that's a fair assessment!
Well Well Bob. Are you now going to deny that your Civil Partner once stood for election as a Labour candidate.
I would say the only time you put in a 12 hour day working for the council is when its a rate payer subsidized jolly.
Were you advised by your mates at TDC to make the above rubbish comments? or did you think them up all on your own.
You may be able to bully the likes of ex councilor Willougby into keeping quiet, but that isn't going to happen on here, so better watch out !
One good thing only another three years max of your Independent crap to put up with before your kicked out my own view is you wont last that long
Somebody hacked into Beckys Facebook Account and copied coversations and photos, in turn they were passed to Bob Vickery and Michael Clayson, this was distributed by them to other VFD . What on earth is going on at The Manor!!!!. MI5 watch out
.
Is it possible to falsify timelines on Facebook? Sounds like a desperate person has put you up to post your ludicrous assertion.
As I don't have a facebook account I have no idea whether what is being alleged by Roberta about BW's facebook account and its being hacked is possible or not.
But let's say, just for sake of argument, that it is possible. When did this happen? Did BW make a formal complaint?
There is no mention of any such incident in the paper today where there is a whole article devoted to BW's resignation.
I would have thought that much political capital, via mainstream media, would have been made if the allegations being made by Roberta true. So I am curious as to why that has not happened.
Roberta, You are correct somebody did somehow get into her facebook, how or why is not known the police were informed . Could be burnside has connections to VFD?? Ref: the article in todays gazette, Petherick forgot to mention that he refused to speak to Becky on her own and would only speak to her when members of the public were present.
Carol Payne said she spent a long time talking to Becky trying to convince her to stay on as a councillor, but, made no mention of her asking Becky on behalf of Clayson not to stand for Mayor. My personal opinion is that finally brought her to the decsion she made.
Good luck Becky you are better off out ot it.
If personal conversations & photos were hacked from her Facebook account, the councillors must have known they were obtained illegally & should not have passed them on. I think the general behaviour of our council has been disgusting & I am very disillusioned with the lot of them - they should be working together for the good of Dawlish & not squabbling amongst themselves like a bunch of primary school children.
I'm still awaiting proof (as opposed to an allegation) that
1. her facebook account was hacked
and
2. the councillors, as named by Roberta, did what it is claimed that they did.
Cos if all that did indeed happen I don't understand why it didn't make the local paper.
I don't believe for one moment that Willoughby's Facebook was hacked, that is just a convenient smokescreen to try to hide the fact that, one way or another, her highly obnoxious and inflammatory comments are now in the public domain.
Presumably, if, as User 4549 says, it has been reported to the police, they are now looking into the matter and the conclusion will be reported in due course.
One thing that can be said in support of Becky regardless of who did what, at least she had the decency to resign. You can bet your life that if proved something underhand has been or is being done the likes of Vickery and Clayson wont follow suit.
Wonder what the Gazette will make of their childish outbursts on here next week, cant wait. Time the professionals took back control I think, and leave the children out in the playground.
Pink bulbs along the brook Bob! can the council afford them? Pathetic comment
Burnsides comments sound very similiar to a nasty letter that appeared a few weeks ago in the letters section of the gazette.
I can assure you that I have never written a letter to that tawdry rag. I guess it must mean other people think along the same lines as me, which is hardly surprising given recent events.
With no comment as to whether the account was hacked, it could be quite straightforward if one had access to the machine from which the application was used (or if the same password was used for other applications on that machine.)
@Mug on Head
If memory serves me correctly you were most miffed that when the local elections were held last May you weren't 'allowed' to stand. I can't remember the reason(s) why now but I'm pretty sure that was what you said.
Well now, here is your chance. Put yourself forward as an Indepenent non VfD candidate for B.W's seat in the south-west ward. I've told you how to do that in a posting above. And then all those who live in south-west ward and who do not want a VfD candidate to win can vote for you.
And who are these 'professionals' whom you think should take back control? And surely you mean 'elected back to' not 'take back'.
Is this what this is all about then? "Obnoxious and inflammatory comments".
I still don't understand why BW made no reference to this in the article in the Gazette. If she was/is accused of such a thing and she believes herself to be innocent of the accusation then why not say so publicly?
and any of the other posters who have referred to the facebook postings allegedly being hacked and then allegedly circulated by others. Can I ask you this? Have any of you actually seen what it is that it's alleged certain councillors sent out to other councillors? Because if you have, then do please let the rest of us know and if you haven't seen the e-mail showing the facebook content then how do you know whether or not what you say happened, actually did?
Lynne:
You should know that when giving a statement to the press its up to the editor what is printed and what is not, I have had the same thing happen to me with the Gazette.
Secondly: With regard to the hacking, I think its possible that somebody didnt like the comments by BW on facebook, cut and pasted and printed and then distributed to whomever.
I dont do facebook, but a friend who does did just that, by sending me the comments.
Ah! So it wasn't hacking then but cut and pasting. Bit different.
So, as it seems (and I've now also checked this out with some people I know who have fb accounts) that comments on fb can be cut and pasted, why then is anyone surprised when that happens?
If someone (or more than one person) didn't like what BW had posted then they were surely at liberty to cut and paste the comments and show them to other people?
And if as you say in your last line that you now have the comments why not let us all know what they say? Alternatively,BW could always come on here (if she hasn't already) and let us know what it is that she wrote.
Then we can all decide for ourselves what we think.
Lynne,
Its about time you got off your high horse and read what I said. What I DIDNT say was that it was what BW said was cut and pasted and sent to me which it was not.
. For your information they did it as a test to prove it could be done. I also did not say that it was not hacking, I only offered an alternative option
your facebook is only available to everybody if you make it public, otherwise it is only open to friends. most people keep it for friends.
I to have been in touch with BW and she told me about the above events and other things as well, the way she has been treated is bad. All she wanted to do was try and do something for the town she was born and bred in, and people shes known all her life.
@ burnside
you wouldnt be in a relationship with a VFD would you?
When you wrote "I dont do facebook, but a friend who does did just that, by sending me the comments" I think you can see how it was possible for me to misunderstand what you meant.
But we are agreed that the hacking in fact may not have been hacking but could be cutting and pasting?
I am now getting quite confused as to what B.W's grievance was/is. Was/is she concerned that comments on her fb page had been circulated (by whatever means) or was she concerned about the comments she had made on it? Or both?
Please can someone produce evidence (like BW's fb comments that were hacked/cut and pasted) so that those of us not in the know as to what was said can make up our own minds as to what we think about these comments.
If no-one is prepared to put those comments in the public domain then this whole matter is based on nothing but allegations.
Please will someone actually tell us just what it is that was said on BW's fb page.
Thank you
no Lynne you cant have those comments because if you are not a friend of hers you cant see them, and even if you are to do that would be a breach of her privacy, which is what has happened by the person who went into her account
Please shut up. Nobody on here has to prove anything its a bloody chat forum not the high court. On and on every time someone posts something prove this prove that, stop the boring repetition and get off or fall off that high horse as suggested by User 4549 and Brazilnut. As for standing for council as an Independent, thats a joke as it would tar one with the same brush as You, Burnside & Vanguard.
Anyone for another Public Vote of NO CONFIDENCE
I have been absolutely appalled by the vicious posts on this forum. Scandalous attacks on peoples reputations. I have no complaints against our new council, they are doing a difficult job under very difficult conditions. It seems these people slandering VDF members are against change of any sort.. Let them do their job if you think you can do a better job then step up to the plate. It's easy to slander people via a website not face to face. I also suspect a whiff of homophobia, in some comments. Grow up and shut up.
Will you admit to us that you and your partner received a copy of BW F/B conversation, and passed a copy on to a Conservative councillor????????
You are asking for " another Public Vote of NO CONFIDENCE" - when was the first one? As you well know, the next local elections are in three years, that's when you can have your say.
Fannyman,
(It's easy to slander people via a website not face to face -
Grow up and shut up)
I have had personal dealings with three of them one of which was so bad I have made an official complaint which has been accepted and moved to a higher tier.
You should understand that people do not slander (as you say) for no reason, its usually because they have reason to, you obviously see it from the other side, maybe you are associated with them, I dont know so I cannot say anything untoward to you with the exception of what you have written here
I have no connection with anybody on the council I just have an objective point of view as a member of this community. This is a democracy, and they were democratically voted in. By the way it's FannyANN, not fanny man.That would be wierd.
FannyAnn, apologies for Fannyman quite unitentional.
If as you say you have an objective point of view it does not say much for the "Grow up and shut up" nor is it very democratic
The first public vote of no confidence was called at the manor house when the fiasco with the previous council and selling the manor kicked off.
This was subsequently discounted as not being legal, which then caused the Parish meeting to be called at St Gregs.
The current council will certainly meet the same reaction eventually because as Brazilnut is trying to point out you cannot keep ignoring peoples direct questions and then blame officers at TDC for your actions. The current VFD led council where elected on the promises of openness, public involvement, and a conviction to back improvements to the town.
Instead we have internal squabbling and power seeking, staff issues, point scoring etc. Voters questions don't receive direct answers as they are mainly subjected to book passing. Committee meetings are poorly attended and minutes, web site updates and direct actions take far to long to be submitted. In addition the main improvement to the town i.e. The re-painting of the viaduct has now been allowed to be graffited by the Air show committee. Nothing but more holes has happened on the Strand probably because the public consultation result went against what the council wanted.
Dont know the result of the public meeting at Gatehouse School where the re-structuring of Elm Grove Road parking etc was up for discussion, but again VFD passed the book blaming Devon County Council for any resulting issues.
All I'm saying is unless the council buck up and start acting in a responsible manor with a view to getting things done, then 3 years is a long time to survive unopposed
You are entitled to your opinion as are others on this post my comment 'grow up and shut up' was born out of frustration. It just seems to me as an objective observer that some of these post are personal. , and uncalled for. Noone has mentioned the last Mayors hissy fit and walk out. Also the financial incompetance of the last council. These are my own objective observations. I don't expect many of you will agree with me, It all seems like sour grapes.
As you rightly point out, the blame for Manor House fiasco lies fairly and squarely with the old administration and I believe that played a major part in them being swept from power last May. The new Council were left a dreadful legacy to deal with, not only with the Manor House but also the disastrous transfer of assets from Teignbridge, which was ill thought through. In the circumstances I think the new administration has done a pretty good job in their first year in power, but they still have three years to prove what they can do.
As for your other points, I certainly don’t have the time to examine the minutiae of everything the Council does, or, for example, how many Committee meetings they attend, but I suspect many of the Councillors hold down a full time job and deserve credit for putting in a lot of hours from their spare time for the good of the town.