Chalk one up for our side, scorer.
Click Here for all previous articles on the Stony ban proposal.
UPDATE: Just to add a little more on this.
I first heard a rumble that Bartlett had ditched his plan yesterday afternoon, but thought it best not to tempt fate until there was confirmation. As always, AMA/MK11 proves to be a top quality local news source, as they did before and during the 'Standoff' in July.
If we had the luxury of a peer into Bartlett's confused and heavily-jumbled mind, I suspect the withdrawal of his motion was more due to his coming down from the high of national publicity than his respect for the residents of Stony Stratford, or their overwhelming rejection of his daft proposal.
It would appear that a video spot on BBC local news, a visit from Rod Liddle, and his 'tired and emotional' rant on TalkSport convinced him that he had somehow been catapulted into the big time. Like some political X-Factor wannabe who stubbornly refuses to notice the thinly-veiled smirks of those judging him.
In the intervening couple of months, he has talked of a 'national debate' in the media - heavily involving him, of course - and even at one point suggested that Tuesday's meeting should be televised for the nation!
If any individual - or organisation - has been encouraging his sad delusions of grandeur, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Because what has become patently clear from the report stage of the Localism Bill is that Bartlett's idea of the police enforcing his little scheme was pure fantasy. There are no powers afforded to councils for such initiatives, only primary legislation - it would seem - is able to offer the kind of big boot required to make a localised outdoor smoking ban stick.
What his supporters may have wished for, though, was a cause to hang their anti-smoking hat on. Something to point to as 'proof' that the public are ready for bans on smoking in the open air.
As his plan lies in smouldering ruins (it's OK, that smoke doesn't harm anyone), so too does Bartlett's political career if local reports are to be believed. He himself has admitted to being subject to insults, and one has to wonder how long he will be able to hang on to his post on Stony's Town Council - perhaps something which he has previously found to be quite life-enhancing.
For a brief while, he was the cause célèbre of the anti-smoking community, but he'll now be left friendless and without support as they forget Stony Stratford and move on to somewhere else to get their kicks.
I suppose that's politics and he partly has himself to blame for being an utter fool, but a little word to the wise - from professional bansturbators who knew full well he was setting himself up for a massive failure on a futile exercise - should have been offered a long time ago.
Of course, those of us who were targeted by Bartlett's prejudices are pefectly entitled to blow the short-arse a hefty raspberry. C'est la guerre, doncha know.
