Watford’s Labour Party really don’t understand how elections work
Yazan: Sara | 06 June 2010 | No Comments
Categories: Labour, Watford
The Watford Labour Party has published a members’ newsletter and placed a copy online. In the report of May’s local elections it reads: ‘In the Mayoral election, Nigel Bell came a close second’. Which is strange. Because in the vote for Watford’s elected mayor, won for the third time by Lib Dem Dorothy Thornhill, Labour’s [...]
For the sake of the MP's children
Yazan: sarabedford | 28 April 2009 | 15 Comments
Categories: Claire Ward, expenses, MPs, Watford
I’m getting increasingly worried that my MP Claire Ward is losing track of her life. Under pressure for claiming the maximum in second home allowances since at least 2002, Ms Ward has come up with a number of justifications as to why she needs the allowance, despite being just a 16 minute train journey from [...]
It's difficult to feel sorry for the Hatters
Yazan: sarabedford | 14 April 2009 | No Comments
Categories: Soccer specials
It’s always slightly sad to see a team drop out of the Football League. Sometimes the manner is sadder than others - I am always sad to see a team which is the only one in its part of the country go. But I find it difficult to feel any sympathy for Luton Town. It’s [...]
I don't really live in Watford because it's a long way from London, says town's MP
Yazan: sarabedford | 31 March 2009 | 2 Comments
Categories: expenses, MPs, Watford
Even I was surprised at the speed at which Claire Ward went to the local paper in an attempt to justify her second home allowance.You can see that her constituents don’t agree with her from the long list of comments (I’m the one using my real name, BTW). The paper reports Ms Ward as saying: [...]
Conservative council broke rules to lose £27 million in Icelandic banks
Yazan: sarabedford | 20 January 2009 | 1 Comment
Categories: Conservatives
Conservative controlled Hertfordshire County Council may have lost over £27 million of residents’ money by breaking their own rules to invest in Iceland’s banks. An independent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers has revealed a number of errors that led to the county council investing millions in Icelandic banks. The council did not follow its own investment rules, which were [...]
Conservatives admit that they didn't do enough to stop Ian Oakley
Yazan: sarabedford | 08 January 2009 | No Comments
Categories: Conservatives, Ian Oakley, Watford
It appears that the shock waves that reverberated around Watford, after then Conservative parliamentary candidate Ian Oakley pleaded guilty to a vile hate campaign against his LibDem opponents, has hit Conservative Central Office. Newsnight’s political editor Michael Crick has obtained a copy of the minutes of a top level meeting at CCHQ which demonstrates some real nervousness [...]
A Watford Conservative speaks about Ian Oakley
Yazan: sarabedford | 10 August 2008 | 4 Comments
Categories: Conservatives, elections, Ian Oakley, LibDems, Watford
There’s nothing like an insider’s view to get a real insight into the workings of a local party, so I was fascinated by Watford Conservative Craig Lewell ‘s view on the Ian Oakley case, posted at ConservativeHome. The spelling mistakes are all his. I actually took part in the candidate selection process in Watford [...]
What message should we send, Mr Oakley?
Yazan: sarabedford | 06 August 2008 | 2 Comments
Categories: Conservatives, crime, Ian Oakley, LibDems
Yesterday Ian Oakley was warned by the Chair of Magistrates of the seriousness of the offences that he had committed. Mr Barry Northrop said that the offences were so serious that ‘custody is an option’. These remarks drew gasps from several people in the public gallery. I can only assume that these people were not [...]
And there's more …
Yazan: sarabedford | 05 August 2008 | No Comments
Categories: Conservatives, crime, Ian Oakley
Trying to save your fingers, bandwidth and the forests of Scandinavia, here are the latest comments on the Ian Oakley case: the Watford Observer have covered it here and here. Liberal Democrat Voice has an article with comments from a wider LibDem membership and some Tories. Cllr Iain Sharpe has his thoughts. Sal Brinton has written a [...]
Removing the cancer from Watford's politics
Yazan: sarabedford | 05 August 2008 | 9 Comments
Categories: Conservatives, crime, Ian Oakley, LibDems, Watford
Over the past three years, members of the Watford constituency LibDems (of which I am a member) have suffered from a sustained campaign of harassment, intimidation and hate. Today the Conservatives’ parliamentary candidate Ian Oakley, who stepped down only after he arrested and then charged two weeks ago, pleaded guilty to seven specimen offences and asked for a [...]
