I’ve said before, the English have an interesting way of putting things. Their political system is just as quirky to me as their language, and when you put the two together you get a government made up of Whips and Tories, councillors and rebels.
In the Rochford District in Essex, England, a second Tory councillor has left his party because of a decision to charge for parking on Saturdays. According to the article on Echo.com:
“Dave Sperring, councillor for Trinity ward, in Rayleigh, will no longer be voting with the Conservative group on the council and says he will stand in May as an independent Conservative.”
It’s not that he was so mad about the parking charges, it’s that he was mad his party required him to vote for the parking charges:
“The controversial measure was passed by a full council meeting in January after Tories were ordered to back it and support group leader Terry Cutmore.”
Sperring didn’t like the way the vote was handled and isn’t going to be put in the same position again. So he left his party and is the second Tory to do so this week.
His decision means the council is now made up of 29 Conservatives, four Lib Dem, two independent Conservatives, two Greens and two Rochford District Resident representatives.
I don’t know what any of that means, but I like Mr. Sperring’s spunk. And I’m fascinated by the way a 1-pound per hour parking charge has reshaped a municipal government.
