Monday, May 28, 2007

The minutes will never really show this moment of absolute LibDem stupidity

The keen eyed amongst you will have spotted a moment of absolute political stupidity amongst the pomp and ceremony of last Tuesday's "Mayoral Making" at City Hall.

In amongst the hats, tights, men in wigs and newly elected Tory Councillors (a-hem!) there is a nasty bit of politics during which the council votes for a new Leader of the Council and then his (or her) Executive.

Who wasn't paying attention at a key moment, then? For just as Cllr Morph is up for a second year in the tob job, the Labour Councillors all duly vote the right way. The Greens and Tories sit firmly on their hands and then suddenly ... up pops the hand of one Cllr Hereward Cooke, the LibDem Leader.

The councillors suddenly double-take - was Cooke voting for Morphew to be Council Leader? In either a daze or too embarrassed to rectify the mistake, Cooke keeps his hand up and a handful of his backbenchers (who either aren't paying attention or resemble sheep) also vote for Morph. There were at least 5 - and maybe more.

Are the LibDems split over the future Council Leadership or did their Leader take his eye off the ball at what can be considered one of the more important moments of the civic year?

At best this will be remembered fondly as an error of judgement, but at worst every time his criticises Labour at a Council meeting I am sure some kindly soul will remind Cllr Cooke that he put Morph into power.

Moments after this incident, the LibDems then en masse abstained over the executive. Or maybe Cllr Cooke wanted Morph but not the rest of the Labour crew!

The mumblings over Cooke's leadership continue and this will not have helped. One LibDem Councillor fumed after the meeting that Norwich now had its very own Sir Ming Campbell.

Oh dear.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ming would be better, he has to go!!!