Well, the letter has arrived from the Council, and the news is that they still will not publish the report into the possible effects of a SuperCasino on the Borough (new readers see numerous previous posts). To be fair to them, it isn't Greenwich who are blocking the release - it seems it is PwC who are causing the problem. I have therefore gone ahead with my "Fletcher gagged" press release.
The letter states: “the report was prepared by PwC on the contractual basis that the information in it should not be made publicly available… They confirmed that they would reconsider granting consent to disclosure, once the bidding process had concluded… PwC have since restated their objection to disclosure of the report.”
In my press release I have said: “This whole saga is becoming rather absurd. The casino bid is of crucial importance to the future regeneration of the Borough, and I am very much in favour of it, but people should be able to debate the issue on its merits before the decision is made, not afterwards. I have great sympathy for Council officers, who seem to have their hands tied by the obstruction of PwC. Meanwhile, I am effectively gagged from discussing information which I believe should rightly be in the public domain.”
Nigel Fletcher - Dale & Co.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
As Tony Blair finally flies out on holiday, we face the dubious prospect of John Prescott being left(nominally at least) minding the shop. This reminds me that I have still not had a response to my ongoing enquiries about Greenwich Council's contacts with the Deputy PM's office over the "Supercasino" application for the Dome, and the report the Council commissioned from PWC into the effects it may have on the Borough (see previous posts).
Having today again badgered Council officials for an answer, I am led to expect some kind of a response from them tomorrow. I hope then to be able to report an outbreak of openness and transparency at the Town Hall, with all relevant details laid before the good people of Greenwich. If not, I fear I will have to resort to rather louder tactics - how does "Tory Councillor gagged over Casino Bid" sound?
Having today again badgered Council officials for an answer, I am led to expect some kind of a response from them tomorrow. I hope then to be able to report an outbreak of openness and transparency at the Town Hall, with all relevant details laid before the good people of Greenwich. If not, I fear I will have to resort to rather louder tactics - how does "Tory Councillor gagged over Casino Bid" sound?
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
On Monday night I took part in London's first ever American-style "open primary" meeting for a parliamentary candidate selection. We were choosing the candidate to fight Labour's Clive Efford in the Eltham constituency, and under the reforms to the selection process under David Cameron, the local party had the option of opening up the process to electors of all parties, rather than just a closed meeting of party activists.
The venue was the Bob Hope Theatre in Eltham, and we had secured the services of former Defence Secretary-turned political commentator Michael Portillo to subject the three finalists to a TV-style interview on stage, followed by questions from the audience. It was pleasing to see the auditorium nearly full, with mainly Conservative-minded voters, but also some people from other parties or the undecided. We even had half of Greenwich's Liberal Democrat Councillors there (well, OK, so that does only amount to one person...). There was quite a lot of media interest too, with the BBC sending a TV crew, and journalists from the local and national press.
The three contenders were all excellent, and any one of them would have made a great candidate and MP- I take my hat off to all of them for their success in getting to the final round, and for subjecting themselves to the ordeal of such a public interrogation. They all did very well, but in the end the meeting chose David Gold, who I've known for several years and who, as a Lewisham resident who used to work in Woolwich, knows the area well. We can also both claim to have been Conservative modernisers from the start, having both contributed Chapters to "A Blue Tomorrow", published five years ago by a group of what would now be described as Cameroons.
David promised that his first meeting on Tuesday morning would be with an estate agent to buy a property in Eltham, and I look forward to campaigning with him between now and the next General Election to deliver that "Blue Tomorrow". It's great to have a candidate in place so early, and the evening proved that the experiment with involving the public in Parliamentary Primaries was a great idea, which I am sure will now be taken on by more and more Conservative associations.
The venue was the Bob Hope Theatre in Eltham, and we had secured the services of former Defence Secretary-turned political commentator Michael Portillo to subject the three finalists to a TV-style interview on stage, followed by questions from the audience. It was pleasing to see the auditorium nearly full, with mainly Conservative-minded voters, but also some people from other parties or the undecided. We even had half of Greenwich's Liberal Democrat Councillors there (well, OK, so that does only amount to one person...). There was quite a lot of media interest too, with the BBC sending a TV crew, and journalists from the local and national press.
The three contenders were all excellent, and any one of them would have made a great candidate and MP- I take my hat off to all of them for their success in getting to the final round, and for subjecting themselves to the ordeal of such a public interrogation. They all did very well, but in the end the meeting chose David Gold, who I've known for several years and who, as a Lewisham resident who used to work in Woolwich, knows the area well. We can also both claim to have been Conservative modernisers from the start, having both contributed Chapters to "A Blue Tomorrow", published five years ago by a group of what would now be described as Cameroons.
David promised that his first meeting on Tuesday morning would be with an estate agent to buy a property in Eltham, and I look forward to campaigning with him between now and the next General Election to deliver that "Blue Tomorrow". It's great to have a candidate in place so early, and the evening proved that the experiment with involving the public in Parliamentary Primaries was a great idea, which I am sure will now be taken on by more and more Conservative associations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)