BEXLEY COUNCIL

THEY spend OUR money! WE pay THEIR wages! WE get NO SAY! Can THEY be trusted?

It is fair to say Bexley Council are not the only ones that behave the way they do. They are simply a typical example of an intrinsic problem that runs up and down our country, due to an unacceptable and outdated mindset and mentality. Something we would dearly like to see change!

Local area management is currently based on the assumption that the people who work for the local authorities (usually of very moderate intelligence and often with attitudes notably flawed), know better than the people paying their wages and whom they are supposed to be serving - the rest of society. Worse than this, it is currently based on the assumption that they have the absolute right to do exactly what they like, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, regardless of whether it is best or not, and regardless of whether the people paying the bill even agree with it, or not. Is this the best we can do in the twenty-first century, or is there a little room for improvement?


Against Our Wishes!

Rogue Traders! What have Bexley Council done for us? Over the years, they have selfishly, gradually and systematically diminished and demolished our limited, last remaining local recreational areas, facilities and greenspace. They have diminished our parking, making life more difficult, and then capitalised by fining people trying to go about their business. They have blocked off local access routes, compounding congestion, and making life more difficult. They have implemented green-unfriendly, inefficient traffic schemes, with a significantly higher congestion factor, which also compound congestion and make life more difficult. They have over-populated the area beyond its ability to cope, also compounding congestion, and at times, making life impossible. All of this against the wishes of the people whom they are supposed to be serving and that pay their wages!


No Democracy! Many people do not believe in the validity of UK politics. Even though it's peddled as a democracy, it's very plain that it is not. Consequently, many people feel that voting is a waste of time and that whoever gets in, it is the same old story! THEY do what THEY like, regardless of what WE would like! Both at national and local level, we are seriously short-changed and do not get the consideration we pay for.

No Veto! Sometimes the people we pay to order our lives are not very clever. Sometimes they just lack empathy. Sometimes they are pig-headed and arrogant. Sometimes they are unfortunately corrupt. Sometimes they are simply not the best people for the job. However, perhaps even more crucially, there are no reigns, no watchdog, no veto, and no accountability. In a more modern world, this needs to change.

Without Asking! Even though managing our country is probably THE most important job, people in politics, at both national and local levels, can do exactly what they like with our money and our infrastructure, without asking, without considering, and without listening to us! You wouldn't mind if they always got it right, but they don't! They waste inordinate amounts of public money on making a mess of things!


PMQ 2018: At Prime Minister's Question Time on 9th May 2018, David Evennett (Conservative, Bexleyheath and Crayford) said, "Will my right honourable friend welcome the re-election of Bexley’s Conservative council, congratulate it on its good record locally, and look forward to its continuing to implement efficient and effective Conservative policies?" In response, Theresa May (Prime Minister, leader of the Conservative Party) replied, "I am very, very pleased to welcome the re-election of Bexley’s Conservative council. I was pleased to speak to the leader of Bexley Council shortly before the elections last week, and I am very pleased that the residents of Bexley will enjoy yet more years with a good Conservative council, delivering great local services at lower cost."

However, not everybody's experience of Bexley Council is quite as Mrs May likes to think and many people feel they have been badly let down. People have not been adequately considered, not been adequately consulted, and not been adequately listened to. Disappointing, we feel!


Bexley Council's Track Record

A Far Cry! Having experienced our local authority for over forty years, I can certainly say they do not listen to us. They have failed dismally in just about every test we have put before them! I'm sure Mrs May hasn't got a clue as she relays the comments above. More a case of what she would like to believe, rather than the actual truth perhaps. However, for those that actually live here, her sentiments are far from the reality!

Council Mentality We know Bexley Council are no different to many other local authorities up and down the country. Many of them expressing the same infuriating air of arrogance and 'council mentality'. Perhaps due to the type of people they attract. Perhaps because of the out-dated mindset. Over the years they have wasted inordinate amounts of public money on making a mess of things. Nothing, it seems, stops them from doing just what they like! Even the disapproval of the people that pay their wages. They behave like rogue traders. Worse, in fact!

Not Working For Us: Over the years Bexley Council have given residents little or no consideration, depriving us of valuable community facilities and our secondary school. Cramming more housing into an already over-populated area, they have built on our playing fields and diminished what we have left of our green space. They have also compounded our problems with inept traffic schemes. When things are pointed out to Bexley Council, they respond with nonsense, showing that they have no real understanding of what they do, or simply don't care.

Honesty And Morality: Apart from to try and look good, Bexley Council do not consult or consider residents and, despite their motto, which they like us to believe, Bexley Council do not listen to us and are certainly not working for us! The Bexley Is Bonkers website has also made serious observations and damning reports over the years regarding honesty and morality where Bexley Council is concerned. Having seen the evidence unfold, much of it laid in stone, it is very apparent that things could be greatly improved with an adjustment of attitude and mindset!

Dubious Motivation: When things just don't add up, the rhetoric and the evidence, you have to wonder what the real motivation is. Bexley Council have been notably devious, dishonest and fixated on making money, and wasting it, at the expense of the people they are supposed to be serving, who pay twice! Once for the financial cost and once for having to live with the degradation that Bexley Council has left in the wake of its inconsideration and incompetence, making life more difficult and, in places, ruining our borough!

Simply Not The Best: Bexley Council have shown over the years that they are not interested in the best ideas or solutions. Not interested in what the public would like to see. Waste inordinate amounts of public money on making things worse. Institute schemes that are life degrading. Selfishly rob residents of vital last-remaining green and open space. Institute traffic schemes that are not the best solution on offer. Compound congestion and pollution. Fine people for trying to use their common sense and do the sensible thing in their own roads.

Do What We Likey! I have written many letters to Bexley Council over the years, trying to communicate on issues where we have had an 80% to 90% democratic agreement from the public (the people that pay Bexley Council's wages). Bexley Council have taken absolutely no notice on any issue (except one). But then why would they? They are selfish, greedy, inconsiderate and in a position of ultimate power. One way or another, they can do just what they like, and they know it. If they can't do it legitimately, without the risk of upsetting too many people at once, they do it deviously, bit by bit. This is what residents have to put up with from our current political system of management and the people it employs. It is blatantly corrupt! Not as bad as some countries, BUT, it could be significantly better! And so it should be in the UK!


Problems Residents Have To Contend With And Things That Need To Change

Con & Serve: Bexley Council have been the classic con as they 'serve' the people. They highlight much of what is wrong with today's social management system. Their motto, Listening To You, Working For You, sounds good in principle and is, as they undoubtedly know, what the public would like to hear and see from their local authority, however, these have just become cheap and meaningless words!

The above examples are just a few of the issues pertinent to Bexley Council and Slade Green in particular, as this is the base of this project. However, as soon as you start to go further afield, there are many more issues that could be listed, where residents in other parts of the borough have made exactly the same observations and have also been left feeling badly let down. A raw deal for Bexley Borough residents.

Summation

Making Matters Worse: When anyone is employed to do a job for YOU which YOU are paying for, YOU would usually expect to have some say in it, especially when it affects the place where YOU live and especially when someone is making a mess of it from afar. There should be a way of preventing the unnecessary waste of significant amounts of public money on things that are simply wrong, or serve no useful purpose. Especially when such things are life-degrading, make matters worse and create problems that weren't there before. It's not very clever!

Not Listening To You: When serious errors of judgement are pointed out, they need to be taken on board, and not arrogantly ignored and laid in stone, as has happened all over this borough. There has to be more consideration for the people paying the bill, more efficiency and more emphasis placed on schemes that are actual improvements and that do not degrade the quality of life or the efficiency of the borough.

Flawed Ideas: Bexley Council have shown persistent and significant failings in doing the job they are supposed to be doing. They have repeatedly shown that they are not interested in the public feeling, or the majority democratic public will, even when pointed out to them that they're making matters worse. They behave in a tyrannical fashion, imposing flawed ideas, schemes and systems.

Old-Hat System: They take absolutely no notice of the public and have no respect for the fact that the public are footing the bill or paying their wages. It is a disgrace to word democracy. The amount of public dissatisfaction is very clear and it is patently obvious that we need to revise this archaic and old-hat system of management and mindset and introduce something more considerate, democratic and tasteful to the public.

Public Veto: In order to correct this kind of rogue behaviour by the authorities in the future, it is suggested that a power of public veto be implemented. This would rightly prevent local authorities and governments from walking all over the people paying their wages by just doing anything they like against the majority public will. It would also prevent them from wasting inordinate amounts of public money on things that are retrogressive, unnecessary, life-degrading, or that people simply do not want!


We have the following advice for Bexley Council...

How To Avoid Being Irresponsible In Charge

Following this simple advice could make a big difference!


Similar Observations: Although this project is based in Slade Green and the London Borough of Bexley, it is fair to say that Bexley Council are not the only ones that behave the way they do. Similar observations on just about all the issues covered on this website, have been made in adjacent areas managed by Dartford, Gravesend, Sevenoaks, Bromley and Greenwich Councils. I'm sure it's the same all over the country.

Time For Change: The problems and frustrations are indicative of an old-hat mentality and mindset that the public have become accustomed to having to put up with. We must now bring about some change. We need more efficiency. More accountability. More public input and more public say in where public money goes and what happens to our infrastructure! Less autocracy and more democracy. It shouldn't be too much to ask in the 21st century in one of the leading nations in this world!