The end for FODDC? certainly, if The GreenLiebour Pact have their way
The final full council meeting of the year on Thursday 12th of December 2024 may prove significant for several reasons.
Firstly, it will be the last meeting before the Starmer Government releases a white paper that is expected to signal the end of district councils in two-tier counties such as Gloucestershire.
In itself, this would normally be worth entry on these pages.
The end of the FODDC, of truly local representation, in favour of some supersized County Council run from Shire Hall.
If that thought isn't horrendous enough for anyone with postcodes from Redmarley to Sedbury, it's happening because the Greens have let it happen.
The previous administration was leading a scheme that would have seen the District Councils of the county form an executive and devolve real power to Coleford, the Greens and their various Leaders in the last 18 months seem to have done nothing.
Instead, they have concentrated their majority attacking among others tourists and farmers.
Increased AirBnB council tax charges were dwarfed by a motion attacking Shropshire County Council and its planning policy. All to do with Chicken farms, chicken poo, and our rivers.
The state of the rivers, obviously a major concern to everyone and a most shameful episode of our time, was pretty much down to farmers allowing runoff of this chicken manure according to the Greens. A strongly worded letter must be written to Shropshire expressing the FODDC's distress at their policies., like there are no Shropshire Councillors with the same concerns and the same drive to do things better.
The Wye and the Severn were damaged by a Council, farmers, and people wanting cheap chicken. No mention of water companies spilling tons of sewage into our rivers, no instead let's flex those environmental muscles and attack a Council and once again those pesky farmers ( remember the plant-based food motion of a few months ago ?)
Those not in the "pact" lined up to speak up for Farmers and against attacking another sovereign Council.
" Posture politics at its worst" at a time when the value for money of these meetings and the very future of the council was under scrutiny, Any wonder devolution might suggest this BS, time spent on things that cannot be effective is a very good reason to end the 50-year existence of the Council is just one thing Bernie ONeill had to say.
Jamie Elsmore had an impassioned defence of the Farming industry, written from the heart and explaining the facts around Farming policies.
Another Councillor from another group with recent experience on such chicken farms had an explanation of what's done with chicken poo from said farms and has another speech to offer the council.
Except none of them were allowed to speak.
The Chairperson of the Council instead, after allowing several Green Cllrs to put their view across and with half a dozen or so Councillors still on the screen waiting to speak and with loads of time left in the meeting decided to allow the motion to be put.
This means she effectively shut down the debate and allowed the Greens to stop any opposition comments.
Vote taken, Greens win with support from her Liebour Group and the Flib Flams.
Posture Politics 1 Democracy 0
They would have won the vote anyway but that's hardly the point.
Some of them laughed on the way out. apparently.
Our rivers are in a shameful state and need addressing, they need government intervention and it needs the water companies and anyone polluting our waterways brought to book effectively, and quickly.
No one is doubting that.
However so does the mining industry for its extraction of lithium and cobalt that goes into electric vehicle batteries, such as Refuse collection vehicles but that might be a tad tricky for the Greens to talk about.
Far easier to send a letter to a Council that is not a neighbour, that has already acknowledged it needs to do more and to get some healthy Green-style publicity than get involved in the somewhat awkward discussion over Electric Batteries.
This way they get to attack Farmers and Tourists all in the same meeting, Happy days, and supported by the increasingly ridiculous Flib Flams and Liebour.
Still, you won't have to put up with this nonsense for much longer, Theyve seen to that with this type of nonsense.
Please remember them and what they've done when you're voting for Gloucestershire's first Mayor. But certainly, remember in May 2025 in the County elections