Statement from Cllr Kenny Blair

[amazon]

Don't be so self obsessed I merely said a party can choose whoever they like deselecting an incumbent if they wish, particularly if that incumbent has not been up to the job.  You were never mentioned although your comments do bring "jump before pushed" to mind.

Why are you still going on about this .

[wheels]

Don't be so self obsessed I merely said a party can choose whoever they like deselecting an incumbent if they wish, particularly if that incumbent has not been up to the job.  You were never mentioned although your comments do bring "jump before pushed" to mind.

[CllrKennyBlair]

For info @wheels I was not deselected, I resigned from the Party.

[ringi]

Kenny, would you be able to elaborate more on your reasons? Is this regarding Conservatives in general or towards local Tory councillors/MPs. Hard to read between the lines. Would be interested to hear what exactly you weren't happy with in the way the Tories are headed.

Thanks

Personly I am very impressed that he has not given out that information as "muddying the waters" will not help the council do a good job.

[wheels]

A political party has a right to deselect their candidate or select someone else particularly when they know they have a duffer who's record they can't defend.

[JMC]

Kenny, would you be able to elaborate more on your reasons? Is this regarding Conservatives in general or towards local Tory councillors/MPs. Hard to read between the lines. Would be interested to hear what exactly you weren't happy with in the way the Tories are headed.

Thanks

[alstan]

I strongly agree with Admin. I was very impressed at the effort Kenny put into the campaign against GMSF’s proposals for development in Marple South and I believe he would be well supported as an Independent candidate. He certainly deserves to be.

[admin]

It has been my honour and privilege to serve the constituents of Marple South and High Lane as your Councillor on Stockport Council for the last three years. I will continue to represent you to the best of my ability and work hard for you for the remaining year of my tenure as an independent Councillor.

This is a great shame @CllrKennyBlair in my view you've done an excellent job as a councillor over the last 3 years.

What are your future plans in politics?
Will you stand as an Independent candidate?
I think you could do well as the incumbent and on the strength of your hard work to date.
You have nearly a year to promote your independence and for people to get used to the idea of voting for an independent candidate.

[amazon]

Quite a statement @CllrKennyBlair What was the response from the senior people in the party and the council to whom you reported this behaviour?

Sorry but why has he resignation .

[Howard]

Politics is sometimes a bruising business, but some of the tactics of younger officers and other local Area Cllrs in the local party have, in my opinion, been in their own best interest, not in the interests of local people.

Quite a statement @CllrKennyBlair What was the response from the senior people in the party and the council to whom you reported this behaviour?

[CllrKennyBlair]

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post.

I joined the Conservative Party in 2014 and although not agreeing with everything the party has ever done, I supported the Party both nationally and locally, becoming a Conservative Councillor in 2015 and campaigned to elect William Wragg as our local MP. I joined the party because their beliefs most closely align with my own. We believe in aspiration, of helping people to help themselves and on meritocracy, where you are rewarded for the skills you have, the work you have done and for what you know not for who you know.

I had hoped to stand for re-election in the 2019 local elections as the Conservative candidate. I was successful in qualifying to apply as a candidate based on my track record as a dedicated local councillor who has fought on a number of key local issues including the restoration of the Middlewood Way to an acceptable standard, to force a rethink on housebuilding on the Greenbelt land in High Lane, on holding the police to account and the latest campaign to get a new leisure facility for Marple.

Politics is sometimes a bruising business, but some of the tactics of younger officers and other local Area Cllrs in the local party have, in my opinion, been in their own best interest, not in the interests of local people.

Therefore, it is with the deepest regret and sadness that I have tendered my resignation with immediate effect from the Hazel Grove Conservative Association and as such from the Conservative Party. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the vast majority of the Members of the Association who helped me during my tenure as a Conservative Councillor and would like to wish them well and to reassure them I will continue to execute my responsibilities as a Councillor with the same dedication and with the same values at my core.

It has been my honour and privilege to serve the constituents of Marple South and High Lane as your Councillor on Stockport Council for the last three years. I will continue to represent you to the best of my ability and work hard for you for the remaining year of my tenure as an independent Councillor.