Eagled eyed readers of the Evening News website are regularly amused by their opinion polls. Always with one eye on the big news, this week readers are being asked if they agree with council leader Steve Morphew in rejecting the proposed congestion charge for Norwich. Of course, needless to say, it should be asking if they agree with me as I was the first party leader to oppose it and it has taken Labour over 12 months to end up agreeing with me. Anyway...
When checked at around 4pm yesterday afternoon the results showed about 85% agreed with our Great Leader and 15% didn't - not a shock as the congestion charge is about as popular as cold vomit.
However, check back at 7pm and in just a couple of hours had changed to 45% agreeing with Morph and 55% disagreeing. A truly remarkable political switch by the good people of Norwich. Or so it might seem...
This is such a big movement that I cannot get it out of my head that it has fallen foul of a concerted effort here - either voting on multiple computers or messing about with the cookies on a computer to allow multiple voting. If this is genuine then the good people of Norwich might be collectivly losing their marbles. Short of that, I wonder if foul play is afoot?
Who would benefit from seeming public support for this? Ah, our Green colleagues - the last party still clinging to a pro-charge stance (yes, even Cllr Cooke's dullard LibDems have managed to spot the electoral problem with this). Maybe this policy isn't down well on the doorsteps of the intelligencia and a nice fair opinion poll is required to help the pill go down?
7 comments:
it's now 50/50. I reckon it's going to happen.
I've full praise for you Antony over this issue. Also to Morph for giving it consideration and pragmatically rejesting it.
It does also raise how out of touch Norfolk Transport officers are with Norwich's Transport needs and solution and the willingness of Tory County Concillor Adrian Gunson (he sees at a new County tax stream) to swallow this cold vomit as Antony rightly calls it, not to resolve congestion by to raise money to pay for the NDR, or just a unethical grap of £250k evaluation money, a waste of public money.
Greens dogmatically support anything that penalise car uses (anti car). Whilst misguided and wrong on this issue in a city the size of Norwich, at least they are consistant and genuine in there backing of congestion charges.
Most congestion in Norwich is caused by incompetent driving. My two favourite ones are 1)Drivers who can't read the big white words 'KEEP CLEAR' painted on the road. Maybe it's because their cars don't have windows in the floor. 2) Yellow box junctions. Now i think that everyone knows that there is one exception to the rule and that must be the that it 'doesn't apply to me'.
Maybe we should fine the ignorant morons and watch traffic flow freely. I'm now on a mission to name and shame these people on Betterdrivingplease.com!
Hi Antony,
Sorry to delve off-topic for a second, but if you could change the link to my site on your blogroll to my new address - www.iainlindley.co.uk - I would be very grateful. Thanks!
Is Norwich planning a bid for TIF funding or has congestion charging reared it's head all by itself?
Keep up the good work!
Iain
Aaaah yes.. newspaper polls. Some love ‘em, others love to hate them. How many of those who vote in newspaper polls enjoy the game of political manouvering and skewing the results? Many voters just seem to like the idea of being connected to others in their community and in a misguided way think they’re bringing about change. Are they simply measuring fluctuations in public opinion with respect to issues; or are they manipulating outcomes? Strangely it would seem that those who complain the loudest about newspaper polls, are the ones who can quote all the latest numbers most readily! (Not sure where this leaves you Antony…)
Oh yeah and the newspaper just wants increased website visits.
I am afraid it doesn't leave me anywhere Schutzstaffel ... I only like newspaper polls that have the result I want ;-) But having said that, I couldn't be bothered to try and rig one!
Hi Iain
Blogroll changed!
We have been given some money by the government to investigate the feasibility. At the time, the Conservatives voted against this as we knew there would be no point and the £50k would be wasted. All other parties voted in favour of using the money that way.
Now, interestingly, Labour have come out against the CC before the report has even been written!!! So why spend the money on something you know won't happen? Maybe to shoot a few Green foxes perchance?
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