Whitewash and hogwash 3

We can do no better than reproduce extracts from the recollections of Councillor Claire Wright about last night’s EDBF TAFF meeting, with colourful SIN observations and highlights:

‘Despite a major influence on planning issues being the catalyst for establishing last night’s East Devon District Council (EDDC) scrutiny committee to investigate East Devon Business Forum, the subject has been vetoed on the advice of officers.

The meeting – possibly one of the most controversial ever staged at East Devon District Council – was quite bizarrely almost completely devoid of conservative councillors, save the three serving on the committee and a further three who were observing proceedings.   Interestingly, we caught a glimpse of several Cabinet members just before the start of the TAFF, including EDDC Chairman Peter Halse, presumably giving their members the party line and the party whip.

Around 50 members of the public attended but the absence of EDBF and almost all the 43 members of the ruling group, including the chairman, leader, deputy leader, and most of the cabinet, gave the distinct impression of a mass boycott. ‘

Public speaking was of a uniformly high standard