Its a Learning Process

“The elected members of Trinity Ward have never received any
Representations from members of the public regarding this issue and I strongly disagree….”


Nobody does pompous like your Sutton Coldfield Councillor. And Councillor Parkin threatens to rewrite the genre.

He needed but one opportunity to forge ahead of an impressive field, ahead of better known contemporaries – experienced players such as Councillor Howard and the frighteningly consistent Councillor Roy. He is now going to be difficult indeed to dislodge from pole position.

Pomposity does not grow on trees. The condition needs to be nurtured, to be tended carefully in the darkest reaches of the soul. So the impact, when your Councillor reaches for the levers, puts the pompous bone into gear and lets rip, is likely to be impressive indeed.

We have, however, a tiny caveat; a small thing really. It’s to do with the target. Pompous needs to find exactly the right combination of victim and cause. It is essential that pompous at very least aspires to come in on the brighter side of moral rectitude. And the victim is really really important. Very necessary to identify weaker prey prior to majoring on overbearing windy rhetoric.

Councillor Parkin’s performance has exhibited some weaknesses here. His chosen ground was a formal application to change some of the voting arrangements in Trinity Ward. This is, of course, an apolitical process necessary to tidy up anomalies in representation.

So when Parky chooses this subject to unload all those years of ‘little guy angst’ his aim was true.

It was just the wrong target.

I think we would have to award him an 8 for delivery. But subject matter? Oh Dear!. If Parky is to maintain his early promise, someone needs quickly to take him aside and explain (slowly) the workings of the ward boundaries unit.

And when the receptor of windy rhetoric is seen visibly not to have crumbled, has not in fact burst into tears, gives no impression of pressing the panic button, another advisory session looms. Parky has come a long way in a short time but he needs a refresher on Phase Two.

Parky needs urgently to know how to retract. With our without leaving dignity intact. To know how gracefully to manoeuvre the U turn without, as it were, breaking stride.

Andrew Mitchell could help him here.


Nightwatchman