UKIP's hypocrisy is almost off the scale |
"I view it as
an insult to the residents of Southgate if he does not resign and seek
re-election as a UKIP candidate. When he defected to UKIP in July, his argument at the time for not resigning and standing as a UKIP candidate was the cost of a by-election. However, resigning now and holding a by-election this May would
be at the same time as the existing Council election, and at no extra cost
whatsoever to the taxpayer. Southgate residents should be allowed an
opportunity to vote on his record and for or against his new political party.
Southgate did NOT elect a UKIP Councillor and residents are being
disenfranchised by the status quo.
He should of
course resign because of his poor attendance and no obvious evidence of him
performing the role in recent weeks and months.
Karl
Williamson's suggestion of a smear campaign by myself and being offensive is
ridiculous and clearly a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the real
story which is how much taxpayers money he has received for attending so few meetings.
I have reported nothing but facts regarding his attendance and allowances and
would not intend to cause any offence to anyone by what I write. Given that
UKIP and Cllr Williamson like to publicly criticise Councillors of other
parties for the allowances they receive and infer that other Councillors are
only in it for the money, it is right that UKIP's only ever Councillor in
Crawley comes under scrutiny on this very subject.
There is
total and blatant hypocrisy here and it is right to expose it, however
uncomfortable that may be for UKIP and Cllr Williamson. When 'he' recently
wrote (many believed was written by Lee Gilroy) about "cosy
allowances" that other Councillors were receiving in 'his' Crawley
Observer newspaper column, he opened himself up to scrutiny on this topic. At
£512 an hour and £1152 a meeting, I put it to you that no Councillor's
allowances are as cosy as his! In the recent Hayward’s Heath County Council
by-election in December, UKIP put out a leaflet with a big strapline of
"Cut Councillor Allowances" at the same time their only Councillor in
the whole of the north of West Sussex was receiving more in allowances for the
work he puts in than any other Councillor in the whole of Crawley, Horsham and
Mid-Sussex. The hypocrisy and lack of integrity of UKIP is absolutely
staggering.
Given that
Karl Williamson as a Councillor has a chequered history of making false
allegations and complaints, including Standards complaints against a third of
all other Crawley Borough Councillors (of which not one has ever been upheld) I
view his threats of legal action as yet another in a long line of attempts to
bully other Councillors. I will not be bullied into silence as the public have
the right to know the work rate (or likely complete lack of in his case) of a
Councillor.
Please note
that my blog articles featuring Cllr Williamson relate only in connection with
his capacity as a Councillor and as a member of UKIP. I would not normally
comment about where any Councillor goes on holiday or spends their time/lives
as it is not anyone's business but theirs. However, when a Councillor appears
to be absent over a sustained period and not performing the role (but still
claiming the allowance) and when other Councillors mention that they believe he
is abroad much of the time, it then becomes a matter of public interest. Los
Angeles has been mentioned to me by other Councillors and it is perfectly
reasonable for me to pose the question of residency. I believed the photo I
used to have been taken in LA and the other guys in it to be from LA. However,
as I could not be certain of this (and I was hardly going to phone Karl
Williamson up and ask him, especially if he was in LA and the call charge is
high) I changed the caption description very soon after publishing to ensure I
have written nothing that could be inaccurate.
7 comments:
All I will say is Cllr W, is a bully and unfortunately he is making legal threats to subdue anyone who seeks the truth. Yes he should resign and having read Cllr Crows blog , I would say to Cllr Williamson STOP before you make a more fool of your self.
PL
Is there a button for "like"?
The conclusion I draw from this is that Cllr Williamson is only in it for the money. He is giving all politicians a bad name, not just Ukip. If he had any integrity, he would do as Cllr Crow suggests and resign so that he could either seek election for Ukip or leave and allow someone who wants to be a councillor to have a go.
If it comes to court, then an good witness would be UKIP candidate for Ifield who often complaints about Williams trips to LA.
Williamson and Wade do not get on but nobody gets on the toxic trio of Buke Gilroy and Williamson.
I struggle to see how the term smear campaign is applicable as that would imply something untruthful that is reputationally damaging was being stated as a fact. There isn't anything as such that is disputed.
Thank you to the Crawley News who printed much of my statement in last week's paper and what looks like all of it online.
I would also like to thank CN. It is interesting that Mr Williamson has not provided a full apology to both Mr Crow & Mr Peck. As they say once a bully always a bully. The truth hurts and as a Southgate OAP who did vote for him when he was a Conservative, it is not the mistake I will be making again.
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