Having had a Labour council for nearly all of the last 50 years and a Labour government for the last 9 years some of us had forgotten just how easy being in opposition can be. Certainly now that we have a Tory-controlled council in Crawley it is a lot easier to campaign for the Labour party and next year’s elections could be more enjoyable as a result.

For a change we have nothing to lose and, given the particular seats up for election in 2007 there is little chance of gaining much either.

Campaigning in Three Bridges ought to be especially effective.

At the moment the new Tory administration is busily raising the rents on local shopping parades by 100%. Not only that, but they are doing it with an exceptional lack of tact. Three Bridges parade is badly affected, as are other parades, with shopkeepers being quoted in the local newspapers saying things like:

I am so sick and tired of the council. They are being ruthless with us to solve their money problems and in doing so people are losing their livelihoods.

and

The council have bullied people into paying.

In reply, the leader of the council says

…if they cannot afford to stay open then they will have to close

This is the reality of the new caring, sharing Cameron Conservative party. Next April and May we should run some Labour party street stalls at the Three Bridges parade. By then it could be that a street stall will be the only activity there.

I wonder what they want all the extra rent money for?

I have heard rumours that the new administration are looking into the possibility of redesigning the council’s logo. I think it upsets them that the current one is red so they want something with more of a blue-ish colour scheme. Has nobody told them that the Tory party is now appropriating green for their party logo? Anyway, such corporate re-brandings do not come cheap when you factor in the costs of the design agencies, replacing stationary, signage, re-printing brochures and ordering new clothing and badges for front-line staff, all of which is obviously considered more important than the availability of distinctive local shops.

One of the Tory promises at this year’s elections was “defending and enhancing our environment“. How will that be achieved by a row of boarded up shops? However they also promised “a fresh new council” but did not specify that what that really meant was to spend a fortune changing the council’s logo so it doesn’t have any red in it.