Brighton & Hove's REGENCY Magazine » Conservative Party

Handbags At Dawn

REGENCY — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:50:22 +0000

Last month local Labour MP Celia Barlow (she of the “high lustre” shower head billed to the British taxpayer) was all set to star as guest of honour at the opening of a new branch of Boots – what glamourous lives these MPs live – and had the great honour of cutting the ribbon. The people flocked to the new chemists in er … single figures, but guest of honour Ms. Barlow was nowhere to be seen … and no phone call. After 30 minutes of waiting local Tory councillor Dawn Barnett stepped in, cut the ribbon and the festivities commenced. When the bedraggled Ms. Barlow finally arrived, assembled residents were forced to endure the entire ribbon cutting ceremony again after Ms. Barlow was informed that it was a Tory councillor who had already cut the ribbon. If looks could have killed ….

Conservatives Pick Pavilion Candidate

REGENCY — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:46:46 +0000

Brighton Tories were out in force for Sussex’s first selection of a Conservative candidate by the general public as opposed to the usual local political party group meeting. It seems however that the majority of the public stayed at home. It probably didn’t help that the published email address bounced back and the telephone number wasn’t always answered, according to residents that we spoke to. The winning candidate was Charlotte Vere from London who will wrestle (literally I hope) Caroline Lucas (Green) and Nancy Platts (Labour) for the Pavilion seat. Oh, and there’ll probably be a Lib Dem thrown in too.

Tories Hold Open Primary For Some Strange Reason

Tories Hold Open Primary For Some Strange Reason

REGENCY — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:26:49 +0000

With a general election on the horizon all the political parties are getting geared up in the centre of town. The Tories have decided to do something rather different though — they intend to hold “open primaries”, allowing local residents to decide who they put up as the Tory candidate for MP of Brighton Pavilion. Open, transparent democracy in action, or an accident waiting to happen? Probably the latter, as voting is open to any resident regardless of political party membership. Greens and Labour must be rubbing their hands with glee. If they can get enough residents to attend they can pick the worst Tory candidate and give themselves a much better chance of winning! Didn’t the Tories think of this?! If you wish to attend you must telephone 01273 411844 or email pavilionopenprimary@hotmail.com.

Communal Bins Overflow

REGENCY — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:14:43 +0000

I cannot claim to be surprised by the stacking up of refuse around the communal bins all over the centre of the city. Councillor Gill Mitchell, who was Labour chair of the environment committee which forced through these refuse changes several years ago, Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, the current Tory cabinet member for the environment, and CityClean assistant director Gillian Marston have all at one time or another categorically assured residents that such an overspill scenario could never occur. They argued that the communal bin collection truck only required one driver, and so this person would be easy to replace should a problem arise.

The sight and smell of the overflowing bins is truly disgusting and a serious health hazard – some residents have already spotted rats amongst the torn sacks. Let us not forget that many communal bins are sited directly outside people’s homes. What I find truly amazing is the dire management decisions taken by CityClean. Whilst the filth has been piling up around the communal bins over the past few days CityClean caged trucks could been seen driving around the central area, but only collecting the waste from litter bins. Would it not be more intelligent to task these workers with collecting the hundreds of strewn sacks around the communal bins? One would have thought that would be common sense.

Perhaps it is time for CityClean and our council to follow the lead of Jersey Council who disposed of communal bins as a failed and costly experiment. Furthermore with the lower ranks of the CityClean workforce threatened with massive pay cuts it might be more appropriate for our city council to dock the over-inflated salaries of CityClean management, who have clearly demonstrated their hopeless lack of competence and propensity for creating city-wide problems.

Some good news is that the strike has been delayed by 28 days, apparently after the personal intervention of the new chief executive, John Barradell. We shall have to wait and see if they can hammer out a long-term solution.

Ceremony Marks 25th Anniversary  Of Brighton Hotel Bombing

REGENCY — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:54:10 +0000

Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret, who was paralysed in the bombing

In the early hours of 12 October, 25 years ago, residents of Brighton and Hove were woken by the sound of an explosion. A bomb, planted by the IRA to strike at the heart of Margaret Thatcher’s government, tore a gaping hole straight through the Grand Hotel. Their primary target, Margaret Thatcher herself, escaped unscathed, but five people lost their lives in the attack.

25 years on and people again gathered in the Grand Hotel to witness the unveiling of a plaque in memory of those who lost their lives. Lord Tebbit and his wife, who was paralysed by the blast and confined to a wheelchair for the past 25 years, were in attendance to speak of the dedication and selflessness demonstrated by the emergency services that night.

Whilst the structural scars of the Grand healed quickly it was clear that was not the case for many present, who still suffered from the emotional scars of the attack. Although a sombre occasion Lord Tebbit raised the mood considerably with several quips, such as referring to when everyone present meet again “in another 25 years”.

Anger At Argus Cameron Story

REGENCY — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:24:49 +0000

On the day Tory leader David Cameron’s son died the Argus chose instead to run a story about the legality of donations to Tory party coffers by Lord Ashcroft. The national story was already several days old at that point, and prompted readers on the Argus website to post messages of disgust, even from non-Tories, including one calling for the editor to be replaced.

Welcome To The Future

REGENCY — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:51:44 +0000

Japan’s bullet train move aside – Brighton is on-track to be the envy of civilised world. You’ve seen the press reports, heard the endless quotes from councillors including Gill Mitchell and Geoffrey Theobald, been deluged by the articles and press releases from the city council offices, but what is the mysterious “Rapid Transport System” they keep hyping actually all about?

The Rapid Transport System is a fascinating union of forward-thinking and cutting- edge 21st century technology. It consists of a modular transport device which moves by means petroleum-fuelled propulsion system which in turn drives a set of four rounded units constructed of space-age rubber, two of which can be controlled by the Rapid Transport System’s control wheel (similar in some ways to an old-fashioned ship’s wheel) and used to change its direction mid-journey.

REGENCY magazine’s editor, Tony Davenport, was lucky enough to have a trip on the Rapid Transport System.
“When I was a boy this was the sort of thing you just read about in science fiction comics – I never thought I would see such a thing in my lifetime, let alone have a chance to ride in one.” Tony told us. “I stepped on in the town centre, and within about 23 minutes I was at the Marina. Prior to the multi-million pound investment by Brighton and Hove Council such a journey would have taken a full 2 minutes longer. Thanks to this boost from the taxpayer soon everyone will have the chance to ride on this.”

Smelling salts were offered to disembarking passengers for whom the speed and excitement had proven too much.

Communal Bins Overflow