Waverley Web

When the Cranleigh Conservative councillor, Stewart Stennett, was elected to the powerful Executive of Waverley Borough Council – the post was described as Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture. Now,  it has been passed over to Godalming’s Simon Thornton it has become ‘Portfolio for Leisure and Environment’.

The question is? Has WBC given up on Culture and why and when did Cllr Stennett resign? Two months in the job is probably a record for a resignation. WW doesn’t believe it was due to his work commitments or to spend more time with his family…

Needless to say WBC did not announce it until several months after he resigned… well it wouldn’t look good would it!

Answers on an a postcard to: contact@waverleyweb.org

Although it was a shock for some, it was a long awaited resignation for many Guildford residents when Guildford Borough Councillor Stephen Mansbridge threw in the towel recently.

Could Waverley’s great Leader – Cllr ‘Know-less’ be next?

Cllr Mansbridge claims it was the Guildford Green Belt Group that exposed some of his and GBC’s shenanigans, in Private Eye, which it vehemently denies. We believe the exposure came from the widely read Guildford Dragon that keeps everyone on their toes at Guildford Borough Council, and informs everyone else in Guildford of everything going on. Apparently the Lib Dems decided to call for a Vote of No Confidence in the Leader and that was the final straw.

We have heard that at WBC, the one Independent and three Farnham Residents’ Group councillors’ have been sidelined and squashed, ever since they were elected. Asking a question, particularly if it concerns the past, gets them nowhere and an honest answer is a definite no no. There are now no checks and balances in New Waverley 2015. Remember: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The Farnham Residents Group is being treated as badly as poor old Diane James, who spoke up for the people she represented and is now doing much the same as an MEP in Brussels.  Her case work at Waverley (the work she did for actual residents and which most councillors ignore) was considered by residents’ as second to none.( It was her switch from Independent to UKIP they didn’t like).  Now her patch has the archetypal Tory, who wisely does as she is told, and is just marking time until the electoral boundary changes take place and then she can go back to reading her book.

When everyone gets tired of being bullied by Bobby Know-less, we hope he will follow Councillor Mansbridge…soon…

see the video here

Apparently the Cornishman in this video clip arrived moments after the Mayor of Penzance warned the public no questions could be asked, unless they had been submitted by members of the public in advance of the meeting. These rules apply to most councils across the country. BBC Cornwall has shared this video of the Town Council meeting when Charlie Farley was wrestled out of the public gallery by three heavies, whilst he shouted:

“is this a democracy, all I wanted was to ask a question?”

Let’s face it – questioning local government officials/councillors gets more difficult every day – and even if you do succeed – try getting an honest, factual answer!

It is less than a month since the launch of the Waverleyweb.org and we have already had over four thousand hits and our followers are increasing. Not bad for a new boy on the block.

To our followers – Thank You – to those who are too shy to sign up, don’t be. WW guards your anonymity with the same determination as it guards its own. Not because we feel, as one critic claimed, that we “sit on a computer in our bedroom peddling lies” – we don’t.  Every post is carefully verified, and the information is carefully checked, after all if this was not the case, the local authorities or their councillors or representatives could feed us their ‘spin’ and we would be culpable and wouldn’t they like that? We don’t live off anyones press releases.

As explained on the Home Page, the reason WW was born, is really quite simple. Following the demise of Waverley Matters, there was no-one to inform local residents and other interested parties – and yes other local authorities too are keeping up-to-date with WW’s posts to see what is going on in the borough. We may not fill WM’s boots, as our styles differ – but we’ll have a damned good try.

If you care about the future of the towns and villages in the borough of Waverley tell your family, friends and neighbours to log on. If you don’t, then ignore us at your peril, and let the decision makers map out your future for you. But never say you were not warned.

Some people would prefer Waverley residents were kept in the dark – our aim is to foil that plan. All of us, however – pay the taxes that fund our local authorities’ (click on to the last post and read what the fat cats out there are earning.) Remember we pay officers’  salaries and councillors’ generous attendance allowances. We also reap what they sow.

So far, most of the comments from contributors have been sent privately to contact@waverleyweb.org and we pledge to respect their privacy. However, if you are an employee of either Waverley BC or SCC – be warned – NEVER, and we mean NEVER, use the internal email as these are monitored, and that applies to any e-mails residents send to them, including to councillors. Your secrets are safe with us. WW would like to think the same code applied within our local authorities.

Wherever we use cuttings from local papers, we credit them – and WW values the effort of the Surrey Ad and in particular the Haslemere Herald and Farnham Herald for their reporting and must not forget the Guildford Dragon, the on-line news paper.

Over 4,000 hits in a month is great for a new blog – we cannot determine how many hits WM’s had before it disappeared without trace – but WW intends to be a vehicle for comment, information and the truth.

So, happy reading and thank you for your kind words of welcome, and supportive comments. Only one negative comment so far, and we have posted this in the interest of fair play. Please help us to keep informing  you.