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Mar 26 • 23 tweets • 8 min read
With BCP elections nearing, I’m being asked one question more & more.
WHAT ON EARTH HAS HAPPENED?
So if you haven’t been watching the BCP soap opera, need a reminder of the highs & lows, or just want an info source to share, this is for you.
The BCP Council THREAD OF THREADS.
1/
The first BCP headline:
The council is in trouble. 2 years of gambling with public finances has left BCP with the prospect of fighting off bankruptcy.
Whoever wins in May will grapple with this for a few years to come.
This thread explains more:
2/
The reason we’re in this situation is the Casino Economics policies of BCP’s ruling Conservatives.
From FuturePlaces to the Beach Hut Scam, the leadership team of Phil Broadhead & Drew Mellor pushed BCP into colossal risk-taking.
This article explains:
3/
The slide began when Broadhead & Mellor announced their "Big Plan": a coked-up version of BCP's transformation project.
But the Big Plan would DOUBLE the cost of that project.
The Plan was about turning BCP into a "City Region".
But it was a damp squib.
4/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19053104.…
FuturePlaces was presented as their tentpole project, an external consultancy that attracted the “brightest and best”.
But it’s been dogged by accusations of colossal overspending, cronyism, secrecy and unaccountability.
And that £8m "loan"...
5/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19941380.…
And then there were the vanity projects.
Millions were spent by BCP Conservatives on failing beach barbecues, a failed City Status bid, a failed Freeport bid, and more... and even a failed restaurant:
6/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23259470.…
The Beach Hut Scam was dreamed up to pay for all this.
Selling BCP's 3,000 beach huts to itself for £50m? What could go wrong?
Well, it was illegal. The Govt stepped in, branding the scheme a “dodgy deal”. Which left BCP with a huge black hole to fill.
7/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/20601007.…
Although Mellor and Broadhead continued to insist that Everything Is Awesome, the truth was starting to come out.
After the Govt outlawed the Beach Hut Scam, even the auditors started to ask questions about BCP’s financial health and governance:
8/
BCP Conservatives were forced to sound UK Govt out about a £76 MILLION bailout loan…
9/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/20598690.…
… and even had to flog £21 MILLION of council assets in a firesale, just to stay afloat this month:
10/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23247176.…
Mellor resigned in disgrace after he was caught trying to do ANOTHER DODGY DEAL this year.
Supported by his Conservative colleagues, including now-leader Phil Broadhead:
11/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23320867.…
As well as financial mismanagement, the Broadhead-Mellor regime will be known for its shocking disregard for acceptable conventions & behaviour.
Within months, BCP Conservatives gutted the Scrutiny function, leaving BCP without any neutral oversight:
12/
At one point, leaders were accused of dragging Covid-stricken cllrs from their sickbeds to the chamber, to try to win a crucial vote – during Covid restrictions.
The resulting farce forced the meeting to be closed, and triggered a no-confidence vote:
13/
 westcountryvoices.co.uk/fear-and-loath…
A public petition was created, calling for Broadhead and Mellor to resign.
It got so many signatures from BCP residents that the leaders were forced to debate it in the next Council meeting:
14/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/22470677.…
In that debate, Conservative Cllr Duane Farr created an infamous moment in BCP’s short history.
In his speech, Farr described members of the public who criticised his party as “creepy, sad little people”, and the local paper as “the Fake News Media”.
15/
This aggression by BCP Conservatives towards the public continues even now...
... with current leader Phil Broadhead also making a controversial speech designed to intimidate and delegitimise the public:
16/
[Although frankly, Phil Broadhead would be better served keeping his head down. We always retain a copy of the receipts, Phil:]
17/
Meanwhile, Mellor is one of FIVE Conservative Cllrs ordered to apologise to Council for misconduct.
As well as Farr & Mellor, Cllrs Beverley Dunlop & Bobbie Dove joined the hall of shame, both for abusing the public.
And then there was this:
18/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23397073.…
Conservative cabinet member Mark Anderson was found to have broken the Code of Conduct on SIX counts, as explained by Alex here:
19/
In their desperation to shield themselves from criticism and scrutiny, BCP Conservatives have even suppressed public participation in meetings, leaving BCP with one of the most anti-democratic regimes of all UK councils:
20/
And so, 2 years of Conservative dysfunction and mismanagement have led us here, where BCP is on the financial brink, and services from Childrens' Services to potholes are struggling:
21/
And critical depts are in turmoil, because stressed-out staff have had enough:
22/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19877192.…
Thursday 4th May is the only chance we have to stop the Conservative chaos in BCP.
The power will rest with us residents.
We all rely on local services in some way. Let’s see if we can save them.

- REGISTER TO VOTE
- GET YOUR VOTER ID or POSTAL BALLOT
- VOTE ON 4TH MAY

23/23

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More from @AdamHighcliffe

thehighcliffeguy Profile picture
Mar 23
BCP election news...
I'm hearing that Conservative cabinet-plus member Nigel Brooks is quitting the party to run as an independent candidate in Highcliffe & Walkford.
If true, it would be Brooks' 3rd change of political allegiance in 3 years.
1/ Image
Brooks first entered local govt in 2019 with @CIndependents, quit the party the next year, then joined BCP Conservatives with a paid role under Drew Mellor.
Brooks may be influenced by rumours that local Conservatives are struggling to field candidates at all in Highcliffe.
2/
Will Brooks indeed announce his resignation from the party and cabinet? Or will he run as an indie whilst continuing to draw a cabinet allowance?
Either way, it's unclear what chances he has, with 2 CI candidates already well-established in Highcliffe...
3/
Read 4 tweets
thehighcliffeguy Profile picture
Mar 4
Are Local Authorities deliberately suppressing services for kids with special educational needs & disabilities (SEND)?

Is the Dept of Education leading them to do this?

A thread, which applies to any LA, but with an emphasis on my local BCP Council.
1/
It begins here, with an article by @edreyesjourno.
The DoE runs a scheme called Safety Valve, which provides funds to councils struggling with education budget deficits.

There's a catch: the council has to find savings and carry out SEND service cuts.

2/
These budget deficits only exist because Govt funding has halved over the last 12 years.

As noted in this article, councils "have no choice but to implement significant cuts to services including to those for the most vulnerable in our societies”.

3/
 lgcplus.com/finance/new-ch…
Read 13 tweets
thehighcliffeguy Profile picture
Mar 4
The BCP Conservative Scandals, episode #58,396.

Mark Anderson finally resigns from Cabinet, after being found guilty of 6 (six) Code of Conduct breaches.
He accepts the findings, and is now expected to make an apology to Council on 21st March.

1/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23361378.…
A cross-party Cmtee found that Conservative frontbencher Mark Anderson “acted in a politically-motivated way to try to gain political advantage ahead of an election”, as described here:

2/
Anderson isn't the first BCP frontbencher to resign in shame. Ex-leader Drew Mellor stepped down after a financial scheme was stopped by UK Govt.
Mellor has repeatedly avoided making a public apology for misleading Council and public last year:
3/
 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23341514.…
Read 5 tweets
thehighcliffeguy Profile picture
Jan 29
BCP Council ON THE BRINK.

BCP is a major bankruptcy risk for at least the next 3 YEARS.
That's the big takeout from its 23/24 budget, published on Friday.

Key bombshells are listed in the thread below.

This is important: please share, retweet, and tag BCP Cllrs & groups.
🧵
BCP Bombshell 1: Council Tax.

CT is set to rise by the max 5% in April 23 and April 24.

To confirm: Conservatives have budgeted to increase CT by 5% for at least 2 years.
It will rise further if BCP takes a Govt bailout loan.

This will have to be done, whoever takes power.
🧵
BCP Bombshell 2: More service cuts.

BCP will need to find £35m 'savings' in 2023/24.
These will come from council services.
This is in addition to cuts already phased in recently.
Most are budgeted from Adult Social Care and Kids Services.
🧵
Read 15 tweets

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