Is Sandwell's Postman Prat "Sorry"?

One of the ways the real "leader" (at least until last Friday) of Sandwell's rotten Labour Council, Mahboob Hussain, and his imbecilic sidekick, Darren "The Turdmeister" Cooper, have sought to influence the motley band of (with just a few shining exceptions) venal incompetents in the "Labour Group" is to place them on a series of ludicrous committees and boards - irrespective of their (dubious) abilities. This not only plays to their preening vanity but, happily, also boosts their income. All but a handful of Labour councillors also score "special responsibility" payments from the taxpayer in addition to the normal "basic allowance".

I cannot give you the precise figures as they are not yet available but there are only 6 (six) full Council meetings for this financial year. These usually last only a very short time (the last meeting lasted just 40 minutes) as the sheep are told how they must vote beforehand and then oblige. For this they receive at least £1,769.84 per meeting (basic allowance £10,619.04 divided by six).

Don't forget there are 70 (SEVENTY) of this lot! As above, Hussain has dispensed patronage like a medieval monarch so they get extra cash too!

It is said that if you put a red rosette on one of Cooper's beloved dog turds the people of Sandwell would vote for it which can be the only explanation why the good folk of Wednesbury North elected Labour candidate Tony "Fudgy" Meehan to the Council last June.

Meehan appears to be a man who is careful to shield his talents from public view. He is also a liar having, for inexplicable reasons, initially fibbed about his ownership of his own house in the Register of Members' Interests (he has now amended the record). He also claimed to be a "Trustee" of an allegedly charitable body (which is not registered with the Charity Commission) but has refused requests from The Skidder to disclose the actual facts.

"Fudgy" has no previous local government experience and works as a postman but is a party loyalist likely to follow the "leader" without rocking the boat and so Hussain and The Turdmeister immediately appointed him to the Wednesbury Town Service Improvement [sic] Board and, unbelievably, to the important Audit Committee!

Well, the Wednesbury Board is just a joke "talk shop" with no useful purpose. Nevertheless, it was on Fudgy's own patch. It has convened just three times since Meehan was elected but Fudgy has managed to miss one of those meeting and could not be bothered to put in an apology for absence.

Remember, this shower are getting extra cash for being on these bodies....

Everyone now knows that, thanks to Labour, the Council is mired in scandal and that there is an ongoing investigation by the police Regional Fraud Team (contact DS Wayne Haynes and team in confidence if you have any information on 0121 251 2175). In December two senior officers were actually frogmarched out of The Kremlin following "dismissal" by Cooper and one of these was Stuart Kellas, the Chief (and statutory s. 151) Finance Officer.

Surely, if there was ever a time for a disastrously-run Council to have a strong Audit Committee this is it? Quite what Meehan with his vast knowledge of Council finances (joke) could "bring to the table" is debatable but, fortunately, we do don't have to consider that as Meehan has not bothered to turn up to ANY of the three meetings so far! Here is the official Council record:

24th July, 2014 - absent without submitting an apology;

23rd September, 2014 - absent without submitting an apology;

15th January, 2015 - Absent with apology!

Once again "Fudgy" couldn't even bother to apologise for his absence at two of the three meetings but managed to do so at the crucial January meeting following the de-bagging of Kellas! Sorry seems to be the hardest word for our Wednesbury North hero!

Muppet on a string - disaster looms!

Following the Hussain and (mysterious) Jones debacle last Friday there is now a power vacuum at the top of the Council. If the sheep do not sack the nominal leader tonight one would surely expect him to sack Meehan from the Audit Committee AT THE VERY LEAST!

Of course, Cooper has tried to sweep the whole issue of dishonesty under the table. On the question of false entries in the Register of Interest and leaving aside the "special case" of Hussain, the following Councillors, at least, have lied on the Register:

Meehan; Cashmore, and Sandwell council house residents Frear and Rouf.

We know that Cooper is way out of his depth but he has NOT EVEN disciplined this bunch my forcing them to stand down from their various committees let alone from the Labour Group as a whole. (Incidentally, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police has taken a unilateral decision not to enforce the law in this regard - watch this space...)

And so everything carries on as normal until the next fiasco and this bunch also get their "special responsibility" payments. You may find this appalling but I couldn't possibly comment. Well yes I could actually:

IF YOU ARE NOT SACKED AT TONIGHT'S MEETING DO THE DECENT THING AND RESIGN YOU XXXX!

ADDENDUM 14/03/15

The feeble Cooper was faced with a rebellion at the last Labour Group meeting and so has tried to hang on to loyalist "Fudgy" rather than do the obvious thing and fire him. Such is the contempt that Labour have for Sandwell as soon as they are voted in that Meehan then missed the last Audit Committee meeting on 12th March too! Once again the Council website shows that he once again did not proffer an explanation for his absence. Accordingly he was appointed to the Committee and has MISSED ALL FOUR of its meetings this financial year! What a man! Vote Labour!

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