Seventeen-ten may read like a rugby score, but there was little sporting about the vote to charge disabled blue badge holders to park in Boston.
Beore the Tory leadership gets too carried away with consensual gloating and backslapping, there have been warnings that the fight is not yet over, and the issue could find its way to the courts.
Becky Wood, Secretary of Boston Disability Forum -  which staged a silent vigil outside the council’s Worst Street offices to protest that the public were denied the right to speak at the meeting -  wrote to Boston Eye to thank members of the public and local councillors who turned up to support them.
“We were very disappointed that we were not allowed to ask questions or speak on the night, and we are also upset that our petition with nearly 1,000 signatures was completely ignored,” she said.
“This just confirms our suspicions. Democracy is dead in Boston.
“We are urgently calling a meeting with the Lincolnshire Association of People with Disabilities to clarify why one representative of the organisation was allowed to be used as a political puppet and give recommendations which appeared to show that LAPD supported the actions of Boston Borough Council - even though the Boston Disability Forum are aware that the Chairman of LAPD has said that Boston Borough Council are out of touch -  and they do not support their proposed charges.
“The council are wrong when they say they are not being discriminatory - they could only make that claim if all Tory councillors were paying for their parking as well!
“We are saddened by the way the council has treated disabled drivers. I am sure however that this is not the end - we expect legal challenges to commence in the near future.”
Meanwhile, an observer at the meeting complimented the Independent councillors for trying to ameliorate the effects of the Tory administration's plans for pricing disabled parking.
“Although unsuccessful, I felt they, and other opposition parties, were 'pulling out all the stops' in their arguments.
“The financial arguments for the Tory proposition had been shown to be less than totally sustainable. The justification for only an extra half an hour carried no justifiable weight either when challenged.
One of the Independents who joined the protest was Councillor Carol Taylor, who told Boston Eye that the failure to persuade the Tories to do a 'U' turn came as absolutely no surprise.
“I believe that everyone should pay to park - including those holding a blue badge - but also believe that there are many disabled people with severe disabilities who deserve a better deal than just having an extra 30 minutes added on to their time.
“The vote to have a full debate at the meeting was a resounding no! -  although it did seem at times to have turned into a full debate …  even though standing orders had not been suspended.
“This meeting confirmed to me the lengths and depths the administration will go to -  to display their peacock feathers.
"This was not about gaining tens of thousands of pounds for the council and its tax payers.
“It was not about casually issuing free parking to citizens who can well afford it. It was not about political one upmanship. 
“It was about listening to our disabled community and their difficulties. It was about seeing if there was a way to help some of these people whose lives are already made difficult by their inability to enjoy the freedom most of us have by just being able to walk or run. 
“As a council, we failed them spectacularly.
“Unfortunately the Conservative group voted for the Conservative blue badge as opposed to the disabled blue badge. What a fantastic demonstration of political power!  Give yourselves a pat on the back! 
“We may have lost this battle …  but the war is not over.
“After all this, it does bring in to question my concern about those who do not pay for parking .... council officers, councillors, and staff. 
“It is time we looked at this again - especially as there has been a significant influx of Lincolnshire County Council staff to Boston Borough Council’s premises.
“I wonder how many free permits are issued now.
“Several months ago it was 240!
Just think, the potential revenue of £100,000 plus could easily pay for that very expensive extra 60 minutes for the disabled!”
Boston’s Labour group reiterated that the battle may end up in the courts.
“We do not believe this is the end of the matter,” read an item on the group’s website.
“We think that a legal challenge is imminent.
“It was sad to see a petition with nearly 1,000 signatures being handed over to the Mayor in a small coffin and being ignored.
“This just shows how uncaring and out of touch our Conservative councillors are.”

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