Displays of

λεκτική διάρροια

are all Greek to

most of us!

Tonight sees the full meeting of Boston Borough Council – these days a rubber stamp job where even some of the so-called opposition put their teeth in their water glass for the few minutes the meeting lasts and vote with the leadership.

The only real items of interest on the agenda these days are questions from elected members in which they try to wrong-foot their leadership masters.

These questions used to be listed in advance – but alas this is no longer the case … perhaps because it might serve as an appetiser and lure our local “newspapers” to the meeting. Heaven forbid.

It was questions asked during this section that revealed that whilst Worst Street was going hell-for-leather to install biomass boilers at the Moulder Leisure Centre and the PRSA, it had no idea what the fuel would cost.

We still don’t know, but we hope there are no nasty surprises such as when the borough underestimated the cost of the installation which saw the price rocket by 64%, from £456,000 to £749,000.

Tonight, the minutes of the April 4^th meeting report a number of questions from the UKIP contingent, which again held up a mirror to the unattractive face of some of our so-called leaders.

A question from UKIP Leader Brian Rush regarding the running of the PRSA by the preposterously named C-SALT and asking if we have at last seen the end of the long running debacle prompted a feeble stab as what we think he considers politics by the council “leader” Pete ‘Nipper’ Bedford, who said: “As the former portfolio holder for the facility, you did not sort it out. This administration has.” Huzzah!

Another UKIP questioner, Jonathan Noble, listed the rises in Councillor Bedford’s special responsibility allowance from £6,487 in 2012/13 to £7,366 the following year and to £8,070 in 2014/15.

He asked: “Could you enlighten us with the wondrous works you have performed to receive such increases?”

Apparently no ready answer sprang to mind, so Councillor Bedford chose to explain that “The increases were recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel, originally as a single increase, but the council decided to phase over a three year period …”

He then pointed out that all other Lincolnshire district council leaders got more than he did. Which apparently make everything hunky-dory. Some might say, however, that the low rate of reward reflects the achievements delivered. We couldn’t possibly comment.

‘Nipper’ also claimed that that over the last three years the council had “brought in” £6.5 million to Boston, compared with “only” £14.3 million for the previous 17 years.  A little more detail on that would surely make interesting reading.

The last question to catch our eye was again from Councillor Rush – to Conservative Councillor Doctor Gordon Gregory – the self-appointed investigator of the Million Pound Loan Mystery.

And Councillor Gregory used the Complete Oxford Dictionary as a soapbox on which to stand to deliver his reply.

For example … “in order that I may shine the light of knowledge on the tenebrosity of this question, I sent an email; composed for clarification as to what he would like me to include in my answer. The councillor has reworded his question, though its opacity of purpose is as yet left undiminished …”

He went on: “The specific foci (sic) of my desire for clarification was and is the fact that in the intention, process and findings, in thought, word, and deed, I have openly shared to all members, including with the councillor himself.”
And so he went on …

Whilst we accept that written answers present an opportunity to portray oneself as literate and lucid, this was going too far by any stretch of the imagination and appeared more as an exercise in showing off.

Councillor Doctor Gregory – who given his day job must sure be able to diagnose the  ailment known as verbal diarrhoea – promised  that all would be revealed in a final report, which appeared at the end of May.

Sadly, we have to say that we found it less than enlightening.

Old hacks like us obey a basic rule that the bones of any story will be found by asking the questions “Who, What, Where, When and Why?”

In the case of the Million Pound Loan, the vital information of "Who, What and Why" are unfortunately absent.

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