From a local news release:
On April 14, 2007, the Conservative Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Safety stated in a reply to a Liberal Democrat question at [Winchester] Council that the current combined recycling and composting rate for Winchester was 36.7%.
A few days later, George Beckett, Conservative Leader of the Council published a leaflet claiming that the recycling rate was 40% on the front side of the leaflet.
By the time he reached the rear side of the same leaflet, the figure had reached 85%.
Lib Dem Councillor Jim Wagner, who asked the original question, commented:
“The Conservatives can’t even tell the same story on the front and the back of the same leaflet!
“George Beckett is the Pinocchio of Winchester politics. Every time he’s asked for a number it goes up. Why can’t he just tell the truth?
“All the numbers the Conservatives have published about their recycling levels are wrong.”
Do you think the Conservatives are feeling the heat in Winchester’s local elections?
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5 Comments
Sorry off topic!
I’m noticed on a recent Liberal Democrat election leaflet that you were quoted as saying, “There is every chance that the Liberal Democrats could cause an upset in Habberley and Blakebrook”. I would be interesting to know what else you said on this matter, and your whole political analysis of the Wyre Forest district election.
See: http://www.wyreforestlibdems.org.uk/resources/sites/217.160.173.25-40a388313750d8.97984434/FOCUS//Habberley+and+Blakebrook+Election+Focus+-+April+2008.pdf
The 85% figure is no doubt a reference to Hampshire recycling or reclaiming (read incinerating) 85% of all household waste
The composting rates are invariably estimates
and household waste is only one waste stream.
Tavis, I’m not official in anyway, but to me one of the main appeals about the Lib Dems is that they’re very decentralised and each local party runs its own local campaigns.
So it’s pretty much impossible for this site to answer, as it’s an independent site run by activists from all over the country and I don’t think any of the regular contributors are from Wyre Forest (I’m in Yorkshire). You’d be better off asking your local party or candidate, surely?
@ Mark. Maths ability from an election leaflet? You’ll be calling for accurate bar charts next 😉
@MatGB: Thank you for your response. I was just curious as it referenced ‘Dr. Mark Pack’, so I google it and arrived here. I was hoping for a blog about it thinking that the local Lib. Dem. candidate sourced the quote from a blog here, but a search of this site found nothing.
My question was directed to Mark Pack, since he was quoted as saying the statement.
Tavis: sorry for overlooking answering your question earlier. I think local politics overall are in an interesting staff of flux in the area and as time moves on from the inital explosion of support at Westminster and local level for hospital campaigners, it’s not clear what pattern local politics will settle in to – which is one reason why I think hard working candidates who really get stuck into a ward can and will pull off some striking results.