Thursday, 19 April 2012

Not So Clever, After All

Earlier this month we discovered that Stony Stratford's resident blight had resigned from office. However, it turned out to be his slimy way of avoiding censure by the Standards Board for behaviour which only a loon would consider right-minded.

Looks like it hasn't quite worked out like that, as AboutMyArea/MK11 reveal today.
The Milton Keynes Council Standards Board has taken the unusual step of handing down a five month suspension to Mr Paul Bartlett.

Mr Bartlett resigned from his position with the Stony Stratford Town Council last week. He told AboutMyArea/MK11 that he resigned as a Councillor because "The Standards Board [was] not able to issue any sanction against a member of the public".
Nope. But, obviously, his shortcomings are so very clear to the Board that they have kept his suspension on ice until he gets back in office in May.

You may ask why he doesn't just do the decent thing and stop bothering the Council and residents of Stony Stratford who have plainly had their fill of him. Sadly, hysteric obsessives never do.

At least they'll not have to put up with his unbalanced wibblings until October 2012, though, which is a welcome respite, I should expect.


7 comments:

sokdraw said...

That bloke in Stony Stratford is insane.

John said...

I don't get it. If everyone dislikes him so much, why isn't anyone else standing against him? You've had 4 years to get another man on the council but he's going to win by default again.

Gawain Towler said...

Oh that naughty, naughty man

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Someone did stand against him, but Bartlett - the coward that he is - waited till the last minute and jumped to another ward to avoid the challenge and stand uncontested.

BrianB said...

It says a lot about the state of so-called democracy in this country that a turd like this can be guaranteed continuity of power because the population of MK is otherwise too bloody apathetic to stand for office.

Maybe there are just too many opportunities available for power-seekers, and they should consider cutting back on the numbers of councillors to deny self-serving loonies such as Bartlett their grandstanding opportunities. Or maybe the proles should get their lazy arses out of their armchairs and .... nah, it won't ever happen!

Either way, we are in big trouble.

Lysistrata Eleftheria said...

Well, I assume that he has at least TWO friends in the new ward that he jumped to, and that they are not imaginary friends:

"Nomination papers must be signed by two electors (a proposer and
seconder) who must be registered to vote in the parish/town/parish
ward for which you stand."

It's really easy to stand for parish/town council seats (they are the same thing), especially if they are vacant and unopposed. There's no financial penalty if you fail to get a certain % of the vote, unlike the more grown-up District/Borough/Metropolitan/Westminster/EU ones.

I think more of us should do it. "Reclaim the Parish".

I'm a saddo, I know more about parishes (both civil and ecclesiastical) and their history than most people, from working with local charities and trying to sort out boundaries for their legal areas of benefit. You wouldn't believe the tribal passions aroused. Involves Poor Laws and the establishment of Workhouses en route. In Kent it was Lathes and Hundreds (c.f the Chiltern Hundreds); further north at one time it was Wapentakes. It's all a bit like reading '1066 And All That', but for real.

I'll get my smoking jacket...

Mummy said...

He will be assaulting one of his female colleagues next !!
http://cmis.milton-keynes.gov.uk/CmisWebPublic/Binary.ashx?Document=30362