By- Election imminent LUCAS arrested at Balcombe.

[attila]

Well done Caroline. Lovely person, great constituency MP, more guts and principles than most of the other slimeballs in Parliament put together. End of

 

[Lord Bracknell]

All these protesters going after a drilling company doing what drilling companies do, (and did back in 1986 at the same site, with no problems) seem to be missing the point.

Obviously one of the local landowners has been paid to grant drilling, so why not have a chat with them!

According to the latest Private Eye ... the landowner is Simon Greenwood, who inherited the Balcombe estate from his mother, who was gifted it by the Cowdray estate, as a dowry. Simon Greenwood is a Balcombe Parish Councillor, and was a party to the decision of the Parish Council not to object to the planning application by Cuadrilla for permission to drill - although there is no record of a declaration of interest by Mr Greenwood at the time, nor is there a formal record in the minutes of the Council of the matter even being discussed. The only public record of the Parish Council's decision not to object is a letter from the Council to WSCC Planning Officers saying that "the matter was discussed at the last regular meeting" and there was "no objection".

As a former parish councillor myself, I would say without hesitation that even the smallest of parishes would normally alert local people about a proposal such as this, while there is still time to object. On this occasion, for some reason, Balcombe Parish Council seem to have reached the decision not to object, without any local consultation at all. It was surely the responsibility of Councillor Greenwood and his colleagues at least to tell local people about the fact that a planning application had been passed to them to express the views of the locals to the planning authority?

The fact that there was no objection from the Parish Council (or any local people) allowed West Sussex County Council to grant planning permission without even referring the application to a meeting of its own councillors.

Something smells.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I didn't have a lot of time for this Woman before but she has gone up hugely in my estimations. Good for her.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Well done Caroline. Lovely person, great constituency MP, more guts and principles than most of the other slimeballs in Parliament put together. End of

This.

 

[BLOCK F]

I expected nothing less of her. It was a no-brainer her getting involved. It would seem some people on here prefer snivellling right-wingers who suck up to big business, who are looking to make a killing at the expense of the environment. One planet, unfettered economic growth with finite resources. It's not sustainable. Leave something for our grandchildren FFS!

Perhaps if we explore the possibilities that fracking offers,our grandchildren may be able to afford to warm their houses.

 

[Insel affe]

Well done Caroline. Lovely person, great constituency MP, more guts and principles than most of the other slimeballs in Parliament put together. End of

Maybe, however with an election coming up she knows this will win her votes.

 

[Simster]

Perhaps if we explore the possibilities that fracking offers,our grandchildren may be able to afford to warm their houses.

Just not under your house though, eh? I think that's the issue. Well that and the shocking amount of water the process uses.


As for Lucas, I'm in two minds. Why does it follow that an MP should have any respect for the status quo? If she hadn't turned out to protest and risk arrest, she'd have been accused by her own kind of turning all Uncle Tom now that she's in parliament. Besides which, her success and behaviour annoy hove moron & inbred, so she deserves to be cut a bit of slack.

 

[keaton]

It's pretty obvious Hb&b would be against a politician with any actual political beliefs

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

I didn't have a lot of time for this Woman before but she has gone up hugely in my estimations. Good for her.

Really?

I mean, as politicians go, she seems pretty decent to me. Fairly honest, certainly down to earth. But one self-publicising PR act like this doesn't say much about her in my eyes She wanted some attention and got it. If that gets her more votes then good luck to her - but it shouldn't.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

According to the latest Private Eye ... the landowner is Simon Greenwood, who inherited the Balcombe estate from his mother, who was gifted it by the Cowdray estate, as a dowry. Simon Greenwood is a Balcombe Parish Councillor, and was a party to the decision of the Parish Council not to object to the planning application by Cuadrilla for permission to drill - although there is no record of a declaration of interest by Mr Greenwood at the time, nor is there a formal record in the minutes of the Council of the matter even being discussed. The only public record of the Parish Council's decision not to object is a letter from the Council to WSCC Planning Officers saying that "the matter was discussed at the last regular meeting" and there was "no objection".

As a former parish councillor myself, I would say without hesitation that even the smallest of parishes would normally alert local people about a proposal such as this, while there is still time to object. On this occasion, for some reason, Balcombe Parish Council seem to have reached the decision not to object, without any local consultation at all. It was surely the responsibility of Councillor Greenwood and his colleagues at least to tell local people about the fact that a planning application had been passed to them to express the views of the locals to the planning authority?

The fact that there was no objection from the Parish Council (or any local people) allowed West Sussex County Council to grant planning permission without even referring the application to a meeting of its own councillors.

Something smells.

Indeed and that something is money and self interest.

 

[kevo]

there is no record of a declaration of interest by Mr Greenwood at the time, nor is there a formal record in the minutes of the Council of the matter even being discussed.

So no minutes were taken regarding the decision or how it was reached? Aren't publicly-elected bodies required by law to make a record of their meetings?

 

[Hotchilidog]

Really?

I mean, as politicians go, she seems pretty decent to me. Fairly honest, certainly down to earth. But one self-publicising PR act like this doesn't say much about her in my eyes She wanted some attention and got it. If that gets her more votes then good luck to her - but it shouldn't.

Her action is entirely in keeping with her beliefs. She has put her political money where her mouth is so to speak and stood up (or in this case sat down) for her principles. Whether you agree with her or not at least she is not afraid to get stuck in. I look forward to voting Caroline back to westminster at the next election.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

So no minutes were taken regarding the decision or how it was reached? Aren't publicly-elected bodies required by law to make a record of their meetings?

As a planning consultant, my experience of council Parish meeting notes is that they are usually very brief and not minutes but just a summary of what has been said, so I wouldn't hold out much hope for finding anything substantial.

It is a surprise that the application went completely unnoticed by the local people though, and also a suprise that West Sussex just made the decision themselves. It is typical that applications for major development would go to a planning committee as a matter of course- I'm not 100% on Couty Council applications though as I'm not involved with a lot of waste or school developments.

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

Green MP against fracking. Shocker.

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

Her action is entirely in keeping with her beliefs. She has put her political money where her mouth is so to speak and stood up (or in this case sat down) for her principles. Whether you agree with her or not at least she is not afraid to get stuck in. I look forward to voting Caroline back to westminster at the next election.

This. People are probably so surprised because an MP actually showed a bit of back bone and showed some integrity.

 

[MintonNo.4]

Good constituency MP, great on local issues. I'll be voting for her again next time.

You clearly live with your head in the cloulds!!!!

 

[Triggaaar]

You two would go well together, Timothy.

Oh and I'm with her.

A threesome with Caroline Lucas and TSB Run Timmy, run.

 

[Diego Napier]

Disgraceful " sitting in the back of a Police van screeching " do,you know who I am?" No love, none of your constituents have a clue.

Aha! half board&breakfast has been quiet for a while but now he comes to the fore with his trademark journalism; eschewing any scintilla of bias and expertly blending only facts into a compellingly believable report.

Surely the Pulitzer must be yours for the taking?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Really?

I mean, as politicians go, she seems pretty decent to me. Fairly honest, certainly down to earth. But one self-publicising PR act like this doesn't say much about her in my eyes She wanted some attention and got it. If that gets her more votes then good luck to her - but it shouldn't.

She gets a heap of attention simply for being the first Green MP. She doesn't need to do this to raise her profile or get attention. Besides, she has a number of protests and high profile stuff under her belt already. Raising awareness is part of what she does. Maybe this is the first one which has registered on your radar? And she is not standing for re-election so she doesn't need votes.

 

[SussexHoop]

I bet the Chief Constable's ears are burning this evening but good on Sussex Police for upholding the law. I hope they aren't influenced to back down.

No intelligent voter will swallow Lucas's belated attempt to jump on the media frenzy at Balcombe or her wailing in front of the cameras, its just a cheap stunt and her rhetoric does nothing to further the proper debate on fracking.

Haven't read the whole thread on this so it may be covered later on but where's the proper debate that's being had on this? Some have suggested it is dangerous, could contaminate the water supplies and various other things, the government have said 'No no it won't' and are ploughing ahead regardless. That's the British government that said 'No no BSE can't be transferred across to humans, here you go little girl get that down your neck in front of the cameras'.