Breaking: Thanet District Council vote against debating motion on racism

Thanet District Councillors tonight voted against debating a motion proposed by Thanet's Labour Group on racism. The following motion therefore fell:

"We are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society. Racism, xenophobia and hate crimes have no place in our country. 

Thanet District Council condemns racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally.
We will not allow hate to become acceptable. 

This Council will continue to work to ensure local bodies and programmes have the support and resources needed to fight and prevent racism and xenophobia. 

We reassure all people living in Thanet they are valued members of our community."

Cries of 'shame' and 'disgrace' erupted from the packed public gallery. Independent Councillor Bill Hayton turned to the public gallery to state he wasn't racist.

UKIP Councillor Sarah Larkins, also deputy Mayor of Ramsgate, who recently apologised for a Facebook post in which she urged London voters to vote for "anyone but a Muslim" in the London Mayoral election also voted against debating the motion.

Women pension equality campaigners from the WASPI campaign stood up and walked out in disgust in their lilac campaign sashes. The Council had earlier voted in favour of a motion (again proposed by Thanet Labour] supporting their campaign for equal pension rights for women.

It was a night where two universal concepts were put to the Council for support and where only one had the support of the Council even in terms of affording it a debate. The women campaigning for equal pension rights could see the problem with not proactively debating the issue of racism. It's a shame the elected Councillors could not.

Edited to add:
The motion was based on an Amnesty International campaign encouraging local councils to take a stand against racism and xenophobia:

"Local leaders must condemn these actions immediately and do everything in their power to make people safe and welcome. Tell your council to speak out against racism, xenophobia and hate crimes now." Follow the hashtag #AgainstHate.




 

UKIP's Margate Spring Conference

I've seen more pop from a party popper! UKIP's spring conference came and went. An empty purple battle bus of 'common sense' made endless circuits of Margate. The most exciting thing was a stunt pulled by the musical The Producers who turned up at the conference venue on Friday morning in a tank with a dancing Hitler.

Yesterday, Margate seafront and the Old Town were less busy than usual for a sunny Friday afternoon.

Pictures from Friday 27th.

The Reality Party bus not UKIP's

Today there was the Thanet Stand Up to UKIP march from 12pm. There was a really good turn out for what was today a cold and blustery day. There was a carnival atmosphere as people marched up from the railway station to the Winter Gardens.  I had to leave early to get back to work, so only saw the news of scuffles at the Turner on the Thanet Gazette newsfeed.

There was a small group of cape wearing UKIP supporters waiting for the march to reach the Clock Tower. I think it was an homage to Madonna.

As Channel 4 news's Michael Crick pointed out to UKIP's head of Communications, the conference has turned out to be a bit of a shambles with apparantly no wifi, no mobile phone access and crucially, no manifesto.



By far the best photography coming out of the conference was from photo journalist Guy Smallman. Simply amazing. @guysmallman

Picture: Day 1 of the #UKIPSpring conference and I'm feeling a tiny bit out of place here... pic.twitter.com/Wcbf5VPdi1
— Guy Smallman (@GuySmallman) February 27, 2015

UKIP expel Councillor Rozanne Duncan for 'jaw dropping comments'

Rozanne Duncan

The news has spread like wild fire this afternoon across local and national media that UKIP have expelled Councillor Rozanne Duncan from the party for making what is quoted as 'jaw dropping comments' in a BBC documentary to be aired in January. 

UKIP have so far declined to offer any further clarification on what Ms Duncan, the Deputy Leader of the Thanet UKIP group has actually said. There has also been no statement from Councillor Duncan either. This leaves the residents of the Cliftonville East, the ward that Duncan represents very much in the dark.

Duncan took the seat in last year at a bi-election after Sandy Ezekiel the former Conservative Leader of Thanet District Council, was jailed for misconduct in public office. I also contended this seat as an independent candidate myself.

It leaves open the question whether the so called offending comments, that were strong enough for expulsion from UKIP, a party that in recent weeks has thought it acceptable and defended a candidate's use of 'chinky' as a colloquial term often used by people who come from council houses, were comments acceptable for a serving councillor to make. Describing the comments as 'jaw dropping' and offering no further explanation has lead to rampant speculation as to their content.

So, will Rozanne Duncan, who has previously served as a Conservative Councillor, do the right thing by the residents of Cliftonville East and clarify what all of this is about without delay? The silence so far is telling. Her member information page on Thanet Council's website only has a landline number and postal address and not even a council issued email address.

Shouldn't Thanet District Council be clarifying what this is about? Surely residents need to be assured that their councillor abides by the Code of Conduct. 

Chris Wells jumps ship to UKIP

After listening to the BBC Today Programme this morning slaughtering Ramsgate in their need to editorially define Thanet South as a UKIP Tory battleground acted out on a broken town, the news has just come in of another Tory defector to UKIP.

This time in the form of Councillor Chris Wells, Shadow Cabinet Member for Community Services and Councillor for the Viking Ward. Councillor Wells told The Gazette: 

"“I have become increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the Conservative party under David Cameron, and feel that locally UKIP now offer the best potential for positive change in Thanet.”
Perhaps that would read better as "the best potential for keeping my seat".

One hopes that Councillor Wells, now jumped ship, will not carry on with the jibes in the council chamber about other councillors who've changed parties.

Wells is returning to the side of Roger Latchford. Very soon the cabinet of Sandy Ezekiel will be reassembled. We can look back on those days with fondness as we survey the enduring rubble of Pleasurama.

Remember, folks. As Dave said so well today: "A vote for UKIP is a vote for Labour".

Tricky thing, this gambling malarky.