Where were the dissenting voices on this vote?

By The Post | Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 16:37

WEDNESDAY night, 14th December 2011 will be seen by future historians as the darkest and most shameful night in the history of this region.

Although it was the first time I've ever attended a council meeting, I was shocked by the cavalier, and with some councillors, the quite naive and uninformed attitude they showed towards the topics they were being asked to vote on.

Some of the Tory councillors even looked so bored that they seemed to be nodding off in their chairs during the parts of the discussions that they really should have been paying close attention to.

I believe none of the Tory or Lib Dem councillors showed any integrity in what they did that night, nor the way in which they did it.

This is why I would like to list here, for posterity, the names of those councillors who chose to either vote against or abstain from saving Filton Airfield, so that our future generations can see who it was that chose to destroy the economic prosperity of South Gloucestershire and North Bristol.

The Whip Crack Away Wall Of Shame:

Conservatives

Ian Adams – Siston

Brian Allinson – Stoke Gifford

John Ashe – Bradley Stoke South

June Bamford – Hanham

Nick Barrett – Parkwall

Janet Biggin – Downend

Tim Bowles – Winterbourne

Sheila Cook – Almondsbury, Deputy Leader of the Council

Keith Cranney – Stoke Gifford

Heather Goddard – Hanham

John Goddard – Hanham

John Godwin – Winterbourne

Robert Griffin – Pilning & Severn Beach

Brian Hopkinson – Bradley Stoke Central & Stoke Lodge

Justin Howells – Stoke Gifford

Colin Hunt – Emersons Green

James Hunt – Emersons Green

Jon Hunt – Downend

Robert Jones – Bradley Stoke South

Trevor Jones – Frenchay & Stoke Park

Dave Kearns – Emersons Green

Carol McCarthy – Rodway

Katherine Morris – Downend

Tony Olpin – Parkwall

Sarah Pomfret – Bradley Stoke Central & Stoke Lodge

Christine Price – Longwell Green

Bob Pullin – Frenchay & Stoke Park

Steve Reade – Boyd Valley

Matthew Riddle – Severn

Kevin Seager – Rodway

Erica Williams – Bitton

Liberal Democrats

Ian Blair – Yate North

Ruth Davis – Yate Central

Clare Fardell – Thornbury North

Howard Gawler – Ladden Brook

Neil Halsall – Thornbury North

Dave Hockey – Frampton Cotterell

Pat Hockey – Frampton Cotterell

Dafydd Holbrook – Dodington

Sue Hope – Cotswold Edge

John O'Neill – Charfield

Mike Robbins – Yate North

Adrian Rush – Chipping Sodbury

Marc Scawen – Oldland Common

Maggie Tyrrell – Thornbury South & Alveston

Sue Walker – Yate Central

Claire Young – Westerleigh

Abstentions

Linda Boon – Chipping Sodbury

Ben Walker – Bradley Stoke North

There was no question in my opinion that someone had applied a whip to them all, because surely, if it was a free vote, there would have been at least a few dissenters in the Tory and Lib Dem camps?

As it was, not one of them voted for either saving the airfield or protecting the green belt land.

As it turns out, in the very same meeting, immediately after voting against saving Filton Airfield, almost all of the very same flock of councillors voted for not protecting the green belt land as well!

That in itself just makes a total mockery of one of the main arguments for building on Filton Airfield, which was that building there would prevent the council from having to use green belt land.

Overall, it was a disgraceful performance.

D Figg

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Comments

The save filton group is not lead by Ian Boulton. He is a member, but there are quite a few others who are more active than he is, most of whom are independent.

No matter how you look at it: public consultation showed a high majority against closing the airfield, there are concerns over jobs long term if it is closed, and a lot of the people who voted to close it talked about avoiding housing development near town XXX or on green belt (most of whom are getting that housing as well!). That was in the council's consultations. There has not been an independent review (the 3rd party review was not independent but was controlled), and the concerns of the Save Filton Group have not been answered with any evidence.

The other major fact is that the vote went against the airfield, and went against it in the core strategy, several councillors who were explicitly requested by their local councils to vote to save the airfield did not, and the decision by SGC in no way represents the quite strong views shown by the people it impacts. If you want to say Labour this or Conservative that go ahead; fact is the council as a whole have failed us, the WHOLE council should be held responsible for this, and each person held personally responsible for their actions without hiding behind a party whip.

By KBarad at 05:05 on 31/01/12
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Hi RocketBob - I thought that all Filton residents had been asked what they wanted in their area.
Supposedly a high percentage of people were asked what they wanted by a group called "Save the Airfield" only problem being it was led by a Staple Hill councillor called "Boulton" who really aspires to being the next Labour M.P. for Filton.

Filton residents really have to ask what our own Labour elected councillors here in FILTON were actually elected for and What are they actually doing for Filton - Paul Daniels would sum it up "Not a Lot"

By bomberman at 10:13 on 12/01/12
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Dan Gleebles - Bert is being Liberal with the truth and trying to re-arrange the facts to suit himself and all others within the Labour group who as per usual try and blame everybody else except their incompetent selves.

Ah well residents only get what they voted for and Labour are notoriously known for their incompetence, arrogance, and their inability to make their sums add up and this is why the country is in the position were all in today.

And it does not help when there are Labour supporters like Bert and D.Figg who appear to be suffering from selective hearing and impaired vision !

Bert why not take a trip down to Specsavers today and book a hearing and sight test.
You might find it extremly beneficial.

By bomberman at 09:57 on 12/01/12
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yet again all the comments are nothing but political propaganda by one derogatory political party against another.When are the people of Filton going to get someone or a group who have consulted or asked them what they would like to happen if indeed the Airfield is up for grabs.

By rocketbob at 09:48 on 12/01/12
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The "airfield vote" as people keep talking about, remained WITHIN the core strategy when labour failed with their motion.....but they then abstained from the core strategy vote...will people get the facts straight...they did abstain from the main vote which still had the proposal to develop the airfield within it. If they felt so strongly why didnt they vote against the core strategy too?

There were therefore, TWO separate votes on the airfield one proposed by labour, the other within the core strategy which all labour councillors abstained from
Bert, if you were sat in the room of course you would know this, but funny you didnt mention the second part in your comment!!!!

By DanGleebles at 09:05 on 12/01/12
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