Tuesday, October 24, 2006


Yet more sweetness and light within Torbay Lib Dems.

The Liberal Democrat group on Torbay Council have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons yet again.

This time the knives are out for Cllr Loretta McHugh for having had the temerity to accept a job in Cabinet looking after the needs of local Children.

As I read Jim Parkers piece in the paper last night reporting bitter recriminations between Cllr Loretta McHugh and her Lib Dem associates I was struck by the fact that what seemed to matter most to the rest of the Liberal Democrats was not the fate of children in Torbay but the impact on their precious party.

The most revealing statement in the story was Chris Lomas who said "Now she can walk straight out of one of our confidential group meetings straight into Nicks office..." which tells you all you need to know about the kind of discussions that go on during Lib Dem 'confidential group meetings' doesn't it?

Whereas most people would imagine that the people they elected to represent them would spend their time worrying about how to make the bay a better place the Lib Dems have lifted the lid on what they really spend their time discussing - how to get rid of Mayor Nick Bye.

Mr Lomas admits as much "How can you sit on Nicks right hand one minute and the next be discussing group ideas to defeat [him]?" he says in a leaked email.

Loretta McHugh has judged that the needs of her constituents come ahead of the needs of her party, she is right and it's about time her colleagues got the message.


With friends like these who needs enemies?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am amazed that Ms McHugh hasn't told the rest of the Lib dem pack to go hang.

Anonymous said...

This is a disgusting display of low politics by people who still haven't learned the lessons from their past mistakes.

How on earth any of these people expect people to vote for them again I'll never know.

I expect you will miss them when they are gone though Marcus, won't you?

Anonymous said...

More like the other way around Eddie. I hope she enjoys her 30 pieces of silver. Rightly or wrongly, the Lib Dem group decided not to join the Mayor's cabinet and prop up his hopeless regime. Ms McHugh would do well to abide by the democratically arrived at decisions of her group - that or officially join the Tory group.

Marcus Wood said...

I am interested in your comment anonymous. Why should Ms McHugh have to join the Tory group to serve on the cabinet?

Why do you think that shaping policy for childrens services is something so party political?

People in the bay expressed a clear preference for an end to this kind of party based division, which has held back the Bay for years, when they said yes in the referendum.

I agree with your point that the decision by the Lib dem group not to join Nicks cabinet in the first place was a mistake.

If the Lib Dem group are now so unhappy with her decision as you seem to imply, why didn't they ask her to leave?

David said...

Most people I talk to seem to think it doesn't matter which lot are in, I have lived here 9 years and I agree with most people.
So when you win next year please do some thing to prove most peole wrong. Remember the idea is:- Run the Bay, not run the other lot down.