Forum Topic

Cllr McGregor's hyperbole

'Apartheid in Chiswick'. Shame on you, Cllr McGregor, for trivialising the crimes of apartheid or 'separate development'. I see no evidence of Chiswick residents having their homes demolished (District 10 in Capetown) or being deported to so-called homelands. Or of being removed from the voters roll. Or of being shot down while peacefully demonstrating (Sharpeville 1962, Soweto 1976). On the last day of Black History Month. I hope our local black and Asian Conservative Cllr will have the courage to tell Cllr McGregor tht it's time to read and reflect.

David McLoughlin ● 1820d25 Comments

The local Conservatives have invoked Belfast, Ghettos, the Taliban and now Apartheid. They really aren't a very thoughtful or articulate bunch and they seem determined to write themselves even further into irrelevance.

Paul Campbell ● 1820d

No surprise from these laughable spiteful clowns.

Basil Finnis ● 1820d

The real shame is on this Labour Council who are un democratic. With over 80 percent of respondents wanting rid of the Chiswick LTNs and have our roads opened for ALL Chiswick residents. And then to say they have listened.Sadly Labour you have not listened.When you listen you need to respond to Chiswick residents.

PATRICK MULHALL ● 1819d

Has there been any change following the Ombudsman’s verdict on Cllr Curran?

Maggie Dodge ● 1819d

I am surprised Ruth Cadbury MP hasn't pulled him in over the red carpet, and put him on a disciplinary. She needs to give him 100 Lines to write.I must LISTEN and act on the Chiswick Residents responces.

PATRICK MULHALL ● 1819d

off a bigger picture.

Philippa Bond ● 1819d

Whilst you might have a point,  the thread is about this councillor who is ill-informed and will say anything outrageous to attract attention. It’s a pretty vile analogy but he won’t apologise. They never do. They used to but those days are over.

Stewart Jones ● 1819d

It truly is disgusting to see the level of complete ignorance of anyone else's suffering or belief in order to make a cheap shot.  I would have thought one high profile party member suspended for the same thing was enough.  I found Cllr McGregor's assertion that there will be big changes afoot at Hounslow next election rather disturbing in one way as it shows a complete ignorance of the rest of the Borough of Hounslow something he likes to call out Labour councillors on frequently when W4 is the subject.

Caroline Carney ● 1819d

Disgusting, yesSurprising, no.

Stewart Jones ● 1819d

Are they on a level with Angela Raynors scum comments?

Paul Fisher ● 1819d

Cllr McGregor's ill-judged hyperbole is more than matched by the froth of self-righteous indignation it has attracted.

Robert Fish ● 1819d

Predictable fake-indignation smokescreen to cover the truly indefensible - viz Hounslow's arrogant dismissal of stinging criticism of its behaviour by the Overview and Scrutiny committee and the Local Government Ombudsman. What's the point of having these bodies when Councils are apparently free to ignore them?

Bruce Hammal ● 1819d

Come on you Lefties. Can't you recognise the council's failure to act in a democratic manner?

John Davies ● 1819d

Surely the people who hold the power are the ones to worry about.  Hounslow Council are a law unto themselves.  Why are people letting this go.  Perhaps we are being side tracked from the real issues of Hounslow not listening to residents.  When did they get the power to ignore everyone.

Maggie Dodge ● 1819d

You mean the Govt Maggie?

Philippa Bond ● 1819d

For what it’s worth I’ve seen many and regular examples of ‘lefties’ on this forum criticising Hounslow.  But scarcely a word from local Tories doing anything but defending, or being defensive about, the government in Westminster.

Alastair Banton ● 1819d

I will tell  you what I can recognise. People who have no idea how to get things done who missed the boat at the beginning of this exercise some years ago when Johnson was Mayor of London and his minions came up with yet another vanity project.  The whole thing was a disaster from the start.  They told boroughs to come up with individual plans instead of a London wide plan complementing all the boroughs.  What I know is there are some people who would prefer to snipe and abuse individuals than admit they let the time for true opposition pass them by.  I don't drive and I don't ride a bike but as a disabled person I can and have made my criticisms of the whole scheme across the borough and I have been critical of the council many times.  I know full well the cost of all of this as it has impacted my carers exponentially they have been unable to park anywhere near some clients and are late for calls all the time stuck in traffic.  Their clients need medication given at strict times and are left wet waiting to be bathed and fed. They have been hit by bikes getting off buses in the middle of the road.  Some of their clients with neurological conditions or learning disabilities will no longer go out as they are terrified to cross the road even with the carer.  So I know how people are being affected by all of this.  But the answer is not to go back to how it was because it really was bloody awful.  The answer is to take the scheme as a whole and be honest about it which is hard to do when people make things personal it entrenches opinion and those involved become defensive. This is not helped by turning every thread into an anti council rant. The Ombudsman has ruled and if the council chose to ignore them then the Ombudsman will take action.  The system for consultation and complaint like many other legal systems is poor and also needs to be overhauled

Caroline Carney ● 1819d

When can we expect to hear about actions on the Ombudsman’s findings then? If we weren’t fighting this Council every step of the way maybe you wouldn’t see so many anti Council rants. Have you thought about that?

Maggie Dodge ● 1819d

Wow! What pees me off is the fact that so many people are prepared to defend the council and a lot of the councillors when they act like playground bullies over meaningful consultation when it comes to so many local issues. I have always voted Labour - but not  now, I think this council is possibly one of the worst we have ever had and it is lead by an overbearing, arrogant and not very bright individual (wheelie bin attacks anyone?). Party loyalty is one thing, but not to the degree of defending the indefensible, and woe  betide the idiot who sticks their head over the parapet! The whole concept of civic duty and advocacy for the residents who elect these people seems to have gone the way of the Dodo, and we are poorer for that. Surely politics is about debate and listening to opposing views before making decisions? Not about showboating and thinking you are so much more important than you are. Most of all this is a tragedy for the Labour party.I was very taken with a quote from George Orwell that the great and glorious Leader might like to read? 'If Liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear'. Hope springs eternal.

Vanessa Smith ● 1819d

So many of our problems go back to the fact that social care has still not been sorted out in this country.  Carers should be paid for their travelling time - they are supposed to be - but many are not. Carers often have timetables that have overlapping apptmts with no time allocated for getting from one client to another - I discovered that when I investigated why some clients were getting short time.  It also means that the job is far less satisfying for the carers involved. With poor satisfaction and poor pay no wonder there is a shortage of carers. Some are gems and some aren't. Families have to oversee and augment in case no-one turns up.  We all deserve better.

Philippa Bond ● 1819d

"...an overbearing, arrogant and not very bright individual..." who is currently starring in the new series of Doctor Who.

Richard Greenhough ● 1819d

https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/news/article/2469/statement_from_the_leader_on_the_councils_low_traffic_neighbourhood_programme

Vanessa Smith ● 1818d

It would be fair to say the the council statement that was referred to is a wonderful example of misinformation and deliberate misconstruction of the Ombudsman's findings.  It was not about some minor failure of record keeping, but instead a fundamental failure by the Council to follow the law.Anyhow back to Cllr McGregor's comments.  I understand what he is saying but I would not have used the word apartheid.  What LBH are doing is forcible creating separate communities irrespective of the wishes of Chiswick residents.  Whilst it is true apartheid was also, in part, about forcibly creating separate communities, that was just one part and of course unlike Chiswick, in South Africa you could never move from one community to the other just because you had money

Justin Stephenson ● 1818d

I see that Cllr McGregor has apologised for his comments. Which is welcome.  https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/chair-of-brentford-isleworth-labour-party-attacks-conservative-leader-gerald-mcgregor-for-deeply-disrespectful-comments/?mc_cid=0090681abd&mc_eid=cd48275cc1

David McLoughlin ● 1811d

His apology is very welcome. I hope that many others in all political parties reflect upon the appropriateness or otherwise of the language they use. Tories are not helped by having a leader who not only lies without a thought but who has never apologised for his thoughtless descriptions of black people, gay people etc etc.

Stewart Jones ● 1810d