Call us petty if you will (because we are), but we did say that when it happened we’d be all over it. Whilst our enthusiasm started to wane, eventually the inevitable happened. Councillor Helen Hadley missed a meeting for the first time last night. Don’t get us wrong, we never cared if Councillors missed meetings, especially the side meetings or ‘scrutiny’ which do nothing useful for man nor beast. What we did care about is these immortal words used by Hadley during the campaign to get elected:
This, remember is where all of the Labour party candidates, nearly all of whom got elected in May 2024 decided they’d gleefully attack the attendance of sitting Councillors. It was a relentless coordinated stream of Labour posting attendance records, with the same statements. Amidst this, the lies they told on the doorsteps and the national government picture, not to mention that well thought out idea from your average voter that the wallpaper needed changing, Labour got control of Tamworth Borough Council.
Now Helen, so far as being a Councillor is concerned, has turned out to be one of the better ones on her patch. She has had to pick up a lot of the slack her Labour colleague Councillor Chris Bain didn’t deal with. We at Debunking as we’ve said before, have a long memory, and we couldn’t just let the occasion pass. Shit happens, life happens, Councillors for the most part are normal enough people plucked from the street and elected. Occasionally a meeting will be missed here and there and it makes zero difference to the running of the council.
What we do object to is ‘representing’ Tamworth from 5 thousand miles away in Brazil. Which is currently what Councillor Thomas Jay is doing having permanently moved there earlier this year. He has been to zero meetings since he flew off there, and isn’t likely to come back for any. All whilst still claiming an allowance from taxpayers. This is just plain wrong, and it seems the Tory party agreed having cast him out to be an Independent Councillor, which is all they are able to do, as you can’t sack a Councillor.
With the County Council elections coming up in May, it would seem to us to be the perfect time to hold a by election in Jay’s ward of Belgrave at the same time, since it won’t cost the Council much if anything as an election is already happening. As such, we call on Councillor Jay to do the decent thing for Tamworth and immediately stand down as a Councillor and allow someone else to take your place. You know it’s the right thing to do.
