Not Keeping An Especially Wise Council
posted: October 16th, 2010
XS MALARKEY
I’m likely to get rather intemperate if I blog about this now, but have a butchers at the story on Chortle to get the gist.
The bottom line is, the show goes on, but the story underlines just how pointless it is to waste public money on a target chasing police force more interested on being seen to crack down on crime – employing empty gestures and tough rhetoric rather than actually keeping the streets safe – and a council chock full of pen pushing bully-boys with no interest in the community they represent.
See, I told you I’d start getting intemperate. Just follow the link (thanks to Steve Bennett for trying to cover all sides of the argument and giving us an outlet for our objections).
There’s a Manchester Evening News story too. I’m grateful for them breaking it, though it doesn’t question the basis of the spurious and inaccurate claims made by the police and the council, nor their seriously dubious conduct at the hearing (oh, and Michael MacIntyre’s never done the gig, nor have we ever claimed such a thing).
Rest assured, XS Malarkey continues every Tuesday.
Thanks to everyone for their support – Lee, Spider, Ros, Fishy, Leanne, Glen, Jason Cook, Brendan Burns, Mundo Jazz, Mick Miller, Justin Moorhouse, Toby Foster, hell, everybody - and especially Jason Manford and Sarah Millican for taking time from their busy schedules to speak to the press and make representations to the council on our behalf.
Anthony Miller
04.11.10
Toby,
There is an organisation to which you can complain about the Council not following proper decision making proceedures if you believe this to be the case.
It is the much ridiculed Council Ombudsman.
http://www.lgo.org.uk/
A quango so popular it has an entire website dedicated to its abolition
http://www.ombudsmanwatch.org/
However, before you can complain to the LGO it is a little known fact that you have to complain to the council CEO.
The Council CEO is the person who runs the Council and not be confused with the Council Leader who is the elected representative who thinks that they control what the Council does.
Wait 3 months and then when they dont reply forward your initial complaint letter onto the LGO – by this time you will have lost the licence and the bar will have gone bust but you still may be able to get some compensation if proceedures have not been followed … in theory …if you are prepared to wait till the crack of doom.
This is to make the whole process much more time consuming and tedious so that people give up but it is not impossible to get some financial compensation if you are so determined.
The reason for the existence of the LGO is to avoid situations where local councils are regularly taken to expensive judicial review such as the ASSOCIATED PROVINCIAL PICTURE HOUSES, LIMITED v. WEDNESBURY CORPORATION case
http://www.pearshapedcomedy.com/ban_history.html#AW
or more recently the infamous Fitzroy Tavern Buggery in the toilets case
http://www.pearshapedcomedy.com/ban_history.html#fitzroy
It’s also worth keeping an eye on the Home Office website
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
for their various review consultations of Licenceing Law to make it more draconian.
The Coalition Government are not big fans of late licenceing and I have to admit that in some cases they have a point but you may have been caught in the crossfire/ become collateral damage in general policy implementation here …
…but anyway it’s always worth moaning.
And even if it isn’t I like to think of it as a fun hobby.
Hope that helps
Best wishes
Anthony Miller
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