Golden-Bollocks gets tough!

"Tow the line or you will be de-selected. Anybody who doesn't conform will not be selected to run for council at the next election!"

That was the message from one of Scully's lieutenants (who is more commonly known by the above nickname, even by those on his own side) when he addressed the rest of the Sutton Conservative group of Councillors.

It would seem that Paul Scully and Tony Shields gave the authorisation for such an aggressive stance and are slowly tightening the screw and putting the frighteners on any would-be dissenters in the Tory ranks.

Now, usually those who become members of a party do so because they loosely believe in a fundamental set of political ideals.

The party then chooses a selection of candidates to act as ward spokesmen to fight for any vacant seats and then it is off to the polls to see if the public wants those same candidates to select their interests.

Normally Councillors would only find themselves deselected if for instance they could not be bothered to work hard for their local residents or if they ended up involved in some kind of voting fraud. Councillors would only be booted out of their party if they had succeeded in dragging that party's name through the mire and caused damage to the party's reputation.

Not so if you are an elected Councillor in the Sutton Conservatives!

Stuart Gordon-Bullock, a Conservative Councillor for Worcestor Park and one of Sutton Conservative leader Paul Scully's loyal henchmen, read the riot act to the rest of the Conservative Councillors just before the election of May 1st.

Most voters would prefer to see an elected Councillor serving his constituents using his own moral compass and using his electoral mandate/manifesto as a guide. The same voters would surely not wish to see a Councillor blindly pledging allegiance to his party even when he knows that his leaders are wrong.

How many voters felt that it was fair that Conservative Councillor Tony Shields brokered a six thousand a year pay rise with the Lib Dem run council just for being a deputy opposition leader, despite the fact that this is a position which has rightly never received remuneration? Such an award was actually AGAINST the Sutton Conservative manifesto of 2006 and only serves to make the Conservative criticism of pay rises for senior Council Officers sound rather hollow when one of their own has his snout firmly in the taxpayer's trough.

Conservative Councillor Peter Geiringer also failed to speak out against Scully's successful plan to replace Eleanor Pinfold as leader of the local opposition and to have her thrown out of the party. This was despite Councillor Geiringer having had a close friendship with Eleanor Pinfold and having previously been a strong supporter of such a talented group leader and compassionate Councillor. Clearly Councillor Geiringer's desperation at not being deselected was a more powerful incentive than insignificant things such as friendship, loyalty and 'doing the right thing'.

Should voices of dissent be brutally suppressed therefore in situations such as this? Councillor Stuart Gordon-bullock seems to think so and so does his despot of a leader, Councillor Paul Scully.

I have said it before and I will say it again: God help the Sutton taxpayers if the local Conservative hierarchy manage to take full control of the Council...