Why I’m standing to be a local councillor
Kelvin MacKenzie says that his fury over an extortionate hike in parking prices drove him to stand for election to Elmbridge Borough Council
It was a strange place for the red mist to descend. A railway car park in the snooty Surrey town of Weybridge. I was putting my £3.50 into the ticket machine when I spotted a notice from Elmbridge Borough Council which told those of us who had the temerity to pay for our parking spot rather than leave our car for free in the street that there was to be an increase from 1 April.
My bet was that a 10 per cent rise would be the top whack. In a climate where customers were lending money to banks to keep them solvent and where new-builds in Bury could be bought for the price of a pomegranate, anything else would be scandalous.
I was quite wrong.
As I worked my way down the notice I saw in 2pt type (this article is in 9pt) the number they had in mind. And the red mist came crashing down. All-day parking was going up by £1.50 a day to £5 a day — a whopping 43 per cent hike. A quick check of my pay packet confirmed that I had not received a 43 per cent pay rise lately.
I felt like punching somebody. It’s tough to identify civic leaders as they walk down the road. Why don’t they wear yellow fluorescent jackets (everybody else seems to) with the word councillor on the back?
When I got home that night I was still seething. The first thing I did was call my local MP Philip Hammond on his mobile. I was certain that he would be outraged. After all, he was shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and although the Tories don’t believe in much these days, they would be hostile to a 43 per cent rise in anything with the notable exception of their second homes. Surely a sympathetic ear since the car park is a monopoly (bad) and governments of every colour want us to travel by public transport (good). Mr Hammond’s reaction was unexpected. He left me a message containing the telephone number of the leader of Elmbridge Council and said he would be expecting my call.
Frankly he didn’t want to get involved. A constituent’s concerns were far too low down a politician’s priorities.
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AlanofEngland
April 24th, 2008 10:40am"I presume he had relatives in the Liverpool area." A cheap shop from a cheap and revolting man...I hope you are elected because politicians are all alike...cheap and revolting.
Cheryl Mortimer
April 24th, 2008 1:01pmWhat self-indulgent nonsense. How can you expect an electorate to support you when your own ability to react rationally to a problem is personified by your admission that you've spent £600 to protest against a £1.50 daily increase in a car parking charge. Most people's rational reaction would be to check out the local bus timetable or invest in a new pair of shoes. I also expected more consistency in your piece, afterall, you were at one point a relatively well known journalist e.g. how can you beat 'the socialist' if, as you state earlier in the article, they're not even putting up a candidate? I expected more from you .... disappointed and not voting MacKenzie of Surrey
DisillusionedVoter
April 24th, 2008 1:19pmGood luck, Kelvin, but if you do get elected you will find that you have no power to implement your excellent manifesto. Local councillors are there to rubber-stamp council officers' policies which in turn have been handed down to them by the government in Whitehall (not Wesminster) and Brussels. Enjoy!
Merda taurorum animas conturbit
April 24th, 2008 2:23pmSadly, Kelvin, the bulk of the money in the pension fund you intend to scrap is paid out not to the relatively small number of chief officers on six-figure salaries, but rather to the dinner ladies, home helps, street sweepers and account clerks who make up the majority of the council's workforce, and who are not exactly society's more notable 'fat cats'.
AndyB
April 25th, 2008 5:51amI watched people literally explode at Hillsborough. I saw the dead being laid out on the grass. I suppose we should forgive and forget such a little man who takes such pleasure in insult.
If only William Hazlitt was still alive-I believe MacKenzie is a perfect William Gifford for this era.
Yes from the "Liverpool area" but rather than use the term detailed I might prefer "odious creep".
Prodicus
April 25th, 2008 11:40amBloody good. Go, Kelvin!
William
April 25th, 2008 12:38pmThe Liverpool comment should have been spotted and removed. Some people never learn, sadly.
May I take this opportunity to wish Kelvin nothing but the very worst of luck.
Paul Potts
April 25th, 2008 7:10pmI'd have thought there were a lot more other things to complain about. So go on, do it.
Ruth Fitch
April 25th, 2008 7:50pmGood luck, Kelvin, I'd vote for you. My council wants to charge us for parking outside our own front door - perhaps I should stand as well! Unfortunately we aren't having Council elections at the same time as everyone else.
I hope you get in and look forward to hearing how it went.
Gerald Gilbert
May 11th, 2008 10:54amToo bad this time, but the consolation is that being unelected, you won't have to waste time at all those committee meetings. Walton PACE is trying to do many of the local things you advpcate, and can give examples of the money-wasting bureaucracy in Surrey and Elmbridge. Why not get in touch, Kelvin?