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Originally Posted by park381
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George ran the council for a good few years well before my time. I only ever went to the General Meetings back then and he occasionally turned up. I never agreed with George or understood his thinking. By then he was still being selected at District level but losing. The last time was 2002 I think. He's only 66 but he has given his life to politics and suffered for it.
He had a leg amputation a year or so back but has battled on. He turned up occasionally at General Meetings. The Labour Party however has moved on a long way and George's type just didn't seem to fit in. I gave him several lifts home and he said so. Talking George it was easy to see that we lived in two different Labour worlds. Reality and fantasy.
Goerge ran a political elite back in the 90's. He would consult with only 1 or two people on every decision whilst having at times 40 Labour Councillors doinmg very little. Many packed up because of George. Factions developed and from what I can gather it wasnt a good party to be in back then under George. George used wander off into long monologues about the deepest and most irrelavant aspects of Socialism and only his voice was ever heard. A throwback to the days when 90% of the electrorate voted and people had never had it so good.Sadly every year George was Leader of the Council Labour lost seats yet listening now to those who supported George, he was a fantastic leader who won every argument against Peter Britciffe and transformed the Council against all odds including rate capping. What they did was in fact sell off gernerations of assets gathered by and for the people of Hyndburn.
By contrast everyone acknowedges how open and friendly it is now under Councillor Battle and the contrast makes it unfamilar & unhappy territory for old the Labour guard with exception of County Councillors who probably didnt have to engage under Georges leadership at District Council level.
In the end George was kicking up at County where he still held the seat but whe he came for reselection he was deselected by the party. Geoege always announced himself as a firm socialist, attacking the Lib Dems and Conservatives mercilessly. One would have thought he would have accepted the the deselction decision however painfuil standing by the decades of scocialist principles that he used to speak about so passionatly.
In the end he decided thaqt he was not going to lose his seat and if he was not reselected he would simply join 'the enemy'. He knows full well it will damage the Labour Party and make winning Gt Harwood much more difficult. He also carefully planned his decision to go on the day of the Rishton by-election to put off Labour voters from voting for young Claire Hamilton as one final swipe for being deselected which was dispicable as Claire doesn't even know George.
In the end George showed his true colours IMHO. That it was always about George and not the Borough or the Labour Party. I know if I had been a councillor back then I would have been a critical opponent of most of what George did and stood for. I can't stand big egos and political elites.