So while you’re all trotting off to the polling stations today – well you are, aren’t you? – it’s worth reflecting on one or two of the election practices, fast or slow, which surfaced this week.
First up has to be the ridiculous stand-off between the Tories and UKIP with the former allegedly pinching 11 campaign posters put up by the latter. UKIP said it represented a “nasty twist” in the campaign (although not half as nasty as the clear emnity between the two parties nationally) while the thin-skinned Blue corner said it had taken “great offence” at the posters themselves.
Elsewhere, what about former Lib Dem leader, Brian “Norris Cole” Hoare? He wasn’t exactly flavour of the month in his old stomping ground of Abington. Firstly, he managed to upset the Friends of Abington Park, whose chairman, Brian Stevens, wrote to us furious that the group’s logo was being used in Norris’s canvassing material which referenced previous donations by him to the group via his empowering councillors’ grant.
Or, as Brian puts it: “Such grants do not place under any obligation to support any councillor who makes such a grant...” Meanwhile – and possibly worse still – he pops up on the front of a Lib Dem leaflet headlined “We’re backing Brian to win” with a quote from the deputy chair of governors at Stimpson Avenue Primary which appears, unwittingly, to endorse him as a candidate. Should schools really be doing that? Nope.
Elsewhere, thank you to ex-Christian Peoples Alliance candidate, Colin Bricher, UKIP’s candidate in Headlands. Firstly for pointing out “that after 10 years Aufona has not noticed there is no apostrophe in the party name”. Aufona can only apologise and will in future refer to it is as “Christian Peoples (sic) Alliance”. Better still, Col reminds us that – while he doesn’t want the UK swamped with those 29 million Romanians and Bulgarians doubtless packing their bags as we speak – “Jesus said: “There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth”. Quite.
Hopefully, Aufona won’t be locked up for briefly breaching the Representation of the People Act yesterday. We posted THAT image of a ballot paper for Moulton with a clear tick next to the Tory candidate which the Inner Circle’s advisors wittingly, or half-wittedly depending on your take, stuck on Facebook and the County Council Conservatives page. Our initial brief was they were just within the law on the grounds that it wasn’t polling day itself, but Aufona’s followers thought differently. As one of them pointed out, The Mack is normally a stickler for such transgressions, but perhaps he was too distracted fighting his own little battle in Rectory Farm with Paleface?
PS: What do we make of Bob Seery standing as an independent in Thrapston? A couple of years ago, our Bob was running transportation (helicopter community remember?) at County Hall. Proper Inner Circle in other words. Is he now a proper deselected outcast?
Water vole poo makes for fascinating radio...
Away from all election madness, how about news of a fresh leadership challenge within the borough council?
Step forward Beverley Mennell, alias Red Bev.
Our Bev is currently hoping to expand her political powerbase by taking Duston West in the county elections, but she’s all set to make a challenge to veteran leader, Terry Wire.
Good luck with that Bev. We’ll watch your progress with interest.
Amazement even.
Finally, leaving politics altogether, how lovely it was too see Annabel Amos’s beaming smile popping out of the pages of this week’s Radio Times.
The intrepid BBC Radio Northampton reporter was the subject of this week’s “Face Behind the Voice” feature.
Hers was an especially lively contribution, revealing, for example, her ability to move an After Eight mint from forehead to mouth in under five seconds using only facial contortions.
Better still was her “Best Moment in Radio” . This happened to be the station’s “Clear Up Dog Poo” campaign during which her photo was printed on bags captioned Faeces for Radio. Which was nice.
And her worst moment in radio? “More poo, I’m afraid” before telling gripped readers of the time she was sent – and we may need to repeat this for you – to investigate water vole poo in the River Nene. Which, dare we suggest, must have made for fascinating radio.