|
|
 |
| |
Tucson-based Lib Dem ‘to pay back allowance’
• FOLLOWING your story about Philip Thompson (Lib Dems admit councillor is studying at US university, September 11), I would like to make it clear that I certainly do not think it is feasible for a councillor to live permanently in another country and do justice to that important role, which involves regular and close contact with the community the councillor represents.
It is, of course, possible for councillors to keep up with some aspects of their role via telephone and email during short absences from Camden, as many of us do when holidays or business trips take us away from home.
It briefly appeared that Philip Thompson might be able to do much of the work on his PhD in the UK, combining that work with his role as a councillor, just as many very active councillors combine their day jobs with their council work.
However, once it became clear to Philip that his PhD required him to spend most of his time abroad he quickly decided to resign and has offered to repay his councillor’s allowance for the period he was in the States.
Camden is lucky to have such a wide range of councillors who represent our borough’s diverse population, and that includes the many younger people who live here.
I hope we would all agree that if the council’s make up is to include younger people whose lives are still developing, we need to recognise that opportunities may come their way that mean they need to step down from the council, and that they should have the right to spend a little while exploring those opportunities before making a final decision about their future.
Philip worked hard during his time on the council – for example leading the campaign to save Kentish Town baths – and we wish him well for the future.
CLLR KEITH MOFFITT
Leader Camden Council
Local choice
• WHILE the revelation that a Lib Dem councillor has sloped off to study in Arizona is shocking, what really takes the biscuit is their weasel words in his defence (Lib Dems admit councillor is studying at US university, September 11).
They clearly would have been happy to cover up this shameful situation.
Once the Lib Dems are found out, they pretend it’s no big deal and he can perform his duties by email!
Residents in Kentish Town must be furious that the Lib Dems take them so for granted.
Let’s not forget, this is the party which has made so much at election time of being the local choice.
I should know.
When I stood in the Haverstock by-election last year, the fact I lived outside the ward was the main plank of their election campaign.
Who can take this boast seriously now, with a councillor 5,000 miles away?
The truth is the Lib Dems will do anything to hang on to power at the Town Hall, and care little for the needs of their constituents.
They are hypocrites, and now nobody should trust a word they say any more.
MIKE KATZ
Chair, Hampstead & Kilburn Labour Party
NW6
Explain!
• THE bizarre set of circumstances around why and when Councillor Philip Thompson
ended up in Tucson, Arizona, without telling his Kentish Town electorate, needs a explanation from the Lib Dem leadership who were initially prepared to back his odd attempt to be a councillor-via-email.
Taking £700 a month and not being able to attend community meetings when he is abroad is bad enough, but Cllr Thompson is also on two important scrutiny committees, apparently holding the council to account for their housing and crime policies as well as overseeing Camden’s powerful environment department.
This involves quizzing officers and hearing deputations from concerned residents about the impact of policies – something the Lib Dems think can happen from 5,000 miles away.
I’m really pleased that Philip has now done the right thing and decided to resign. He is a young councillor and should have been given proper advice from his leadership about what to do when this opportunity to study abroad arose.
People living in Kentish Town are rightly angered that the Lib Dem leadership seemingly colluded with the plan to cover this up.
I wish Philip well with his studies. The real error of judgment in this case seems to sit with the Lib Dem leadership, and there are real questions to ask about how long they knew and why they were not prepared to act.
CLLR ANNA STEWART
Labour Group Leader
Camden Council
Outrage
• IT is not often that you hear local politics being spontaneously discussed in local pubs and shops, but people around here really are discussing Philip Thompson’s secret move to Arizona with amazement and outrage.
They find it incredible that he really thought he could continue to serve local residents purely by email and claim the full councillor’s allowance for doing so, and that he only changed his mind and resigned after a media outcry.
When I was a Conservative councillor in Belsize I realised you simply can’t do everything by email. I often took my damp-detecting meter and other testing equipment with me when I visited constituents, especially those in council homes or other social housing. Philip Thompson, of course, is very young, he’s made an error of judgment and he’s now rectified that. What is much more concerning in fact is the way in which Camden’s senior Lib Dems backed up his attempt to hang on.
JONNY BUCKWELL
Chamberlain Street, NW1
It’s not on
• THE depths of contempt that the Lib Dems have for voters seems to have reached new lows.
First Lib Dem Philip Thompson thinks he can move to Arizona for three years and that constituents won’t notice, then he claims he can provide an acceptable service to the ward via email! Lib Dem leader, Keith Moffitt initially backs the move, supporting Thompson’s claims that virtual representation is acceptable.
It simply isn’t.
At least the u-turn came quickly, taking less than 24 hours.
The nadir probably comes in a letter Thompson wrote to some of his constituents at the weekend. He tries to claim that being offered a place to study a PhD “was a big surprise”. The arrogance is breathtaking. So Philip, was it “a big surprise” that you found yourself researching PhD courses and institutions, or maybe it was “a big surprise” to be filling out the application forms. It’s possible that it was also “a big surprise” suddenly to find yourself applying for course funding, or a USA visa. It takes considerable time and effort to secure places on PhD courses and must have been planned for months.
SARAH HAYWARD
Leighton Road, NW5
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
