I used to knit whilst attending Stockport Council meetings, so it wasn’t a complete waste of an evening. Hence part of the email exchange below between useless, booted out LibDem Councillor Ann Smith and me.
These emails show that as far back as February 2009 LibDem Councillors were fully aware of what was being done to Mr Parnell RIP, yet they did nothing.
06 February 2009 17:45
Dear Councillor Smith
Do start council meeting knitting; that would be
brilliant. I know Cllr Weldon sends his emails during the meeting, so why not (he
has emailed me during a full council meeting). The reporter, Peter Devine, told
me last night there is a knit-in happening at Chadkirk Chapel so I might go
along. I think I will knit a Councillor Goddard, if I can get enough
stuffing.
Wonderful if you make your own enquiries about Mike
Parnell – that is just what we need.
The Council won’t get a bad report if it never
acknowledges official complaints, will it? Scullion still hasn’t acknowledged
receipt of mine since July over several million pounds. Also maybe you should
speak to the parents of the autistic children regarding what has happened to
them. I can give you their email addresses if you want. Don’t forget Haringey
got a glowing report too before Baby P died. I would love the Council to get
things right because people would have a better quality of life, the council
tax wouldn’t be wasted and I could go back to reading and tackling the damn
Himalayan Balsam everywhere.
Lots of love
Sheila
—– Original Message —–
From: Cllr Ann Smith
To: Sheila Oliver
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 1:07
PM
Subject: RE: Mr Parnell
Thank you for your
reply.
I heard your comments at Council last night but
was more intrigued by the knitting. Brilliant idea particularly when things get
a touch tedious.
Will have to make my own enquiries re your
comments and draw my own conclusions.
Incidentally, in the light of your campaign
against the Lib Dem Group, the news of Stockport Council’s latest performance
assessment – 4* and improving – wouldn’t have gladdened your heart presumably.
However, we must be getting something right.
Ann Smith
From: Sheila
Sent: Wed 04/02/2009
18:17
To: Cllr Ann Smith
Subject: Re: Mr
Parnell
Dear Councillor Smith
Thanks for your response.
I think when I saw people had elected another
LibDem I just blotted the details from my mind. I haven’t heard you make any
contribution in full council meetings, but maybe I missed it if you
did.
Mr. Parnell is the pressing issue at the moment.
The most significant thing that has happened to him has has happened since you
have been a councillor. For background, he adopted two troubled daughters,
which was an out of area adoption. Due to a foul-up on behalf of SMBC these
girls were never officially registered with Stockport. As these poor young
ladies hit problems because of their past life, Mr. Parnell merely asked for
some counselling help for them. I think that was a decade ago. If they had
remained in care they would have cost SMBC a fortune. After getting nowhere
for years he started his protest, maybe one and a half years ago. He is, I am
sure you will realise, a decent and gentle chap. SMBC has had him arrested 44
times and he is currently awaiting trial on charges of assault on a council
employee with a sneeze with intent to infect him with a cold. Mr. Parnell has
been taken to court before by the Council and had the proceedings dropped on the
day of the hearing. This time it will have to go through to the bitter end.
The Council is trying to criminalise and break this very simple, gentle man.
You could look into what has happened, it is all a matter of record, and speak
out against what is happening to him. The LibDem Executive Councillors have
repeatedly refused to do so.
I am trying to find out if the lady who jumped off
the Humber Bridge with her 9 year old autistic son had similar problems with the
Council to Mr. Parnell.
There are other problems. The houses in Bredbury
are already slipping into the coalmines below. I merely asked the LibDem
Bredbury Councillors to read the A6 Bypass geological survey, which pointed to
the further problems local residents would have if the road goes ahead. They
couldn’t be bothered.
The local residents around Aquinas were telling me
the other night how the local LibDem councillors were all over them like a rash
before the election. Now they are having major problems, there is no sign of
Cllrs Derbyshire or Humphreys.
If you look around Offerton (entirely LibDem
councillors), especially the Precinct, I would be astonished if you could point
to any improvement the councillors have made. I managed to get £80,000 for
children’s play equipment by putting the squeeze on a council officer. Cllr
Meikle claimed she had got the money. She had done diddly squat.
At a past budget meeting where there was a £10
million shortfall, Cllr Derbyshire hadn’t read the documents with regard to her
own transport portfolio at the Executive Meeting a few days before and she
hadn’t read them for the Full Council meeting later in the week. This was over
an issue she thought was £425 million and it was actually , I think but can
check, £665 million. “Where does Mrs. Oliver get these ridiculous figures?” she
asked. From the documents in front of her that she should have read
(twice).
At that same budget meeting, two severely mentally
handicapped people addressed the full council meeting (which must have taken
guts). The Council was going to close a special centre where they could look
after their baby. (Obviously, it wouldn’t be safe to leave the baby with them
unsupervised). They begged the Council not to close the centre. At that same
meeting, despite the £10 million deficit, councillors voted themselves an
increase, which I believe none of the Tory councillors accepted for themselves.
Add to that the fact that we are paying millions
and millions of pounds over the odds to put children’s lives in danger regarding
the Harcourt Street school, and that I have been asking for a year now for an
explanation of these financial anomalies, it is impossible for me to have any
respect for the ruling LibDem councillors. In trying to expose these funny
goings on I have been banned, threatened with exposure in the press, and had an
illegal FOI ban put on me and everyone else in the town – just to stop me
getting at any documents. If you are going to be a breath of fresh air, then I
am delighted.
At a full council meeting I saw Cllr Candler
gesture rudely to the local people in the gallery (people who pay is £35,000 pa)
over his shoulder and accuse them of planting asbestos on the site.
If you want to see documentary evidence of what I
am saying, particularly about the danger to children, let me know and I will
show you anytime.
I don’t see any desire to serve the community from
the LibDems and I have seen the money-grabbing.
Jolly good news re your Tesco commitment. Thanks
very much. I always stand up to bullies, always have, always
will.
Kind regards
Sheila
