Meanwhile - good to see this warning included for the first time in the budget papers. Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act makes it a criminal offence to vote in a budget meeting if harbouring 2 months' worth of council tax debts or more. Wonder what prompted this reminder?

Pure madness - Poole and Bournemouth "shadow town councils" (consisting of all current BCP councillors, co-opted against their will), scheduled to meet MINUTES before the vital budget meeting of the 24th. Cllrs Gillett, Rampton & Logan are on both town councils so have to be in 2 meetings at once.

I note that the former #Conservative Councillor who was at the time a major player in the special measures, scandals & barely legal #Tory Mellor & Broadhead Administration has a very selective memory when it comes giving budgetary history lessons.

Just caught up with the #BCP #Council Cabinet meeting held this afternoon & there was a very interesting question from resident @alexmckinstry.bsky.social & equally interesting response(s) from Cllr @mikefcox.bsky.social. Press Leaks & deliberate misinterpretations ?? www.youtube.com/live/83VGlBk...

So glad The National have published this - A1 journalism. Mandelson blatantly misusing the Editors' Code here. IPSO caving in to protect a prima facie criminal and a traitor. This passes the public interest test in Clause 3 faster than the speed of light. www.thenational.scot/news/2583451...

Both BCP Reform councillors breached the Code of Conduct, then failed to comply with sanctions prescribed for them by the Standards Committee. EIGHT complaints upheld against Cllr Cameron Adams, including five complaints of bullying. Council to "note" their misconduct on 10 February.

Lord Mandelson, this morning: "I wish I was being investigated by BCP Council's Audit and Governance Committee."

Just noticed that #Reform have a new recruitment ad. Apologies to #Methodists

Looks like Cllr Mark Howell's quit the Poole People Party and is going it alone, rather than joining Bartlett and Rampton's "Independents" group. Counting him as a class of his own, there are now ELEVEN political groupings on BCP Council. democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/mgMemberInde...

Can’t be long before Christopher “object” Chope follows his mate Robert Jenrick and defects to Reform

“We’re gonna need a bigger bus”

The spitting image of Robin Best, one-half of Best & Warren, who ran the Cranleigh Road fish and chip shop (@ Southbourne / Tuckton) in the 1960s. Chip shop counter struck by lightning in 1965.

Wondering how much Bournemouth Christmas Events Ltd made out of this unlawful structure - and why BCP Council allowed it to trade, when it had already been recommended for planning refusal. FOI in gestation. This seriously stinks. www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/2574745...

Sorry to hear BCP Council's chief finance officer, Mr Adam Richens, is leaving - he kept the authority as far as possible from a Section 114 notice, despite paltry government finance settlements and some absolutely loopy decisions by local politicians. A sad loss.

Shocking bullying by security guard in Bournemouth Library this afternoon - accusing a dyslexic guy of being asleep (he had his eyes shut while listening to a talking book) then threatening to chuck him out. Same guard who tries to sling me out 15 minutes early most evenings. 2 complaints going in

“Never trust a Tory” Reform say as they welcome the least moral and least intelligent ex-Conservative politicians into their party in literal droves

I'm glad Echo readers are seeing straight through the Lib Dems' attempts to close down the FuturePlaces inquiry, just so they can protect their pet officer, ex-CEO Graham Farrant. Very difficult rewatching it last night, especially Tarling's line "There's no smoking gun" which is blatantly untrue.

Notorious BCP councillor John Beesley grins at officers, as Cllrs Michael Tarling and Clare Weight undermine and guillotine the investigation into FuturePlaces, the Council company that spent £7.2m with little to show for it except five draft business cases. Audit and Governance Committee, 3/12/25.

A mate who watched the full BCP Council last night says "I think the key thing from now on is for councillors to spend as little time as possible in the same room together."

Tories with their snouts in the trough Appalling corruption by Bournemouth Tories who left BCP on the brink of bankruptcy www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@andyjolley.bsky.social Hey Andy - forgot to send you the FuturePlaces report! This is Part 1 & gets debated by BCP Council's Audit & Governance Committee tonight. (Part 2 debated on 16 October.) Section 3.1 is where it seriously starts hotting up. democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/g6...

Not a word has come from this government, for a month, about Racist attacks in Britain: graffiti & intimidation The sewer of racism online These racist attacks on government ministers The world's richest man promoting fascists who want to eradicate minorities from the UK

If you want to know what went wrong with BCP FuturePlaces - BCP Council's multi-million-pound urban regeneration company - this thread from the other place is the best guide to date. Even here I've left stuff out e.g. work added "on the nod", governance documents not finalised. x.com/AlexMcKinstr...

The public comments on this Bournemouth Echo piece are in every sense on the money - overwhelmingly calling for an investigation (even "a criminal inquiry") into BCP FuturePlaces Ltd. Worth noting if members of tomorrow night's Audit & Governance Committee try arguing "The public have moved on"

Saw this on the other place - it's the building where Thomas Hardy trained as an architect in 1856-62. William Barnes lived next door at 40 South Street (now Fox & Sons). www.bbc.com/news/article...

From the other place⬇️⬇️ - overture to tonight's BCP Council Audit and Governance Committee meeting. Will we find out which CORRUPT councillor leaked the Wessex Fields sale documents to the Bournemouth Echo - & LIED about it being sold at a £4 MILLION UNDERVALUE? x.com/AlexMcKinstr...

There are so many questions to be asked about this. Greens asked for the meeting to be webcast as there is significant public interest in understanding whether this is incompetence, cronyism or corruption - but we were told no. I worry about the impact it is having on trust in local politicians.

Great to see you on here @leigh-hatts.bsky.social and many thanks for coming to my talk on The History of Bournemouth's Fish and Chip Shops at the Friends' Meeting House - that was my finest hour and yours were the most searching & erudite questions!

Latest of many public statements to be disallowed by Bristol City Council - against Nolan Principles, Article 10 of the ECHR, and the Heesom judgment. Plus which, the "member complaint" described by Mr Ackroyd (& the feeble outcome) is already publicly known. Some dire anti-scrutiny going on at BCC!

Do you know anyone sleeping rough within Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole? SWEP has been activated from today 👇🏼