Forum Fiasco

Late in 2006 a new topic was raised on the HTH Forum on the subject of where Cllr Allison lived. This followed questions being asked by members of the public at a meeting of the full Council. The suggestion was that Cllr Allison's address as it appeared on the H.B.C. website was misleading in that he no longer lived at the address. We were suspicious of the motives behind the whole subject as it appeared to have been raised by supporters of the Councillor who had lost his seat to Cllr Allison and had a whiff of sour grapes about it. In addition, the keenness of the ruling labour group to make the most of the situation was sickening. Nevertheless, HTH picked up on the topic and ran a poll asking visors whether they thought it mattered where a Councillor lived. The general view seemed to be that while it was desirable they didn't consider it to be essential. Meanwhile, the thread on the forum continued and reached a point were we decided we would e-mail Cllr Allison ourselves and ask what is was all about. He replied giving personal reasons which explained to us how the confusion may have come about. To us, it appeared to be a personal matter and we decided to take no further interest as far as the content on HTH was concerned. The thread on the forum, however, continued despite the fact that the Chief Solicitor had looked into the matter and found nothing untoward. As the temperature on the forum increased, we decided to try and calm the situation by letting people on the forum know that we had also looked into the matter and, given the reasons supplied by Cllr Allison, had concluded that it was none of our business. This only served to increase the temperature more as we didn't feel it appropriate to publish the precise reasons given to us by Cllr Allison. We found ourselves defending Cllr Allison's right to a private life while the Cllr himself stayed stony silent. Eventually the subject came to dominate the whole forum with increasingly personal comments being posted. HTH was then threatened with legal action by the Allison family for allowing the postings to continue and so we referred the matter to our own solicitors. Having been reassured that there were no valid grounds for action we allowed the thread to continue but decided to monitor it closely. The last straw came when a single user spammed every topic with references to Cllr Allison. We decided then to pull the whole topic and contact Cllr Allison ourselves with a commitment to publish the full correspondence. The results of that correspondence appear in the right-hand column of this page.  

 

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Where Do You Live?

 

The following is an unedited transcript of the series of e-mails sent to Cllr Allison

 

HTH: There appears to be some confusion as to whether you are currently living in Beaconsfield Square , Wingate, Murton or Hurworth Burn. Could you just confirm that your address of 7, Beaconsfield Square as it appears on the Borough Council's Web site, remains your present address?

 

Cllr Allison: If you wish to contact me regarding council business then I can be reached at 7 Beaconsfield Square, by e-mail at steve.allison@hartlepool.gov.uk or by telephone on 07900803052

 

HTH: Could you confirm that this is where you live?

 

Cllr Allison: I have no intention of getting into this discussion which has been raked over many times.

 

HTH: While it may have been raked over many times it does not appear to have been answered once. Do you not agree that your ward constituents are entitled to at least know where you live and that the address given on your profile on the Council web site should be accurate? Our understanding is that, as your business is registered in Beaconsfield Street, this alone entitles you to stand as the Councillor for St Hilda ward. So a simple answer to a simple question appears to be the easiest way to put this issue to bed once and for all.

 

Cllr Allison: I repeat, I have no intention of getting into this again. I was forced last time to seek legal advice to stop this harassment. If you wish to continue this correspondence please do so through my Solicitors at Smith and Graham, Church Street, Hartlepool.

 

HTH: As you are an elected Councillor for Hartlepool, it is not unreasonable and it is perfectly legitimate for you to be asked by any resident to confirm that your home address, as it appears on the Hartlepool Borough Council web site, is accurate. We would also take issue with the suggestion that basic requests of this nature should be addressed to you, an elected Councillor, through a solicitor. To regard such a simple request as 'harassment' is ridiculous and will only add weight to anyone suggesting that your address as published on the H.B.C. web site is misleading.

 

We have given you an opportunity to clear up this matter once and for all. Clearly, you have chosen to decline that opportunity.

 

Cllr Allison: I have "cleared this matter up once and for all" on several occasions. I have no intention of doing so over and over again as the answer does not suit some people and they keep raking it up and demanding another response.

 

The address quoted for all Councillors on the H.B.C Website is "postal address" and so I will confirm "once and for all" that this is indeed my correct address and any correspondence's relating to me as a Councillor can be safely sent to this address.

 

HTH: Your emphasis on your address as it appears on the H.B.C. web site being a 'postal address' would suggest that your actual primary place of residence is elsewhere. There is nothing wrong in arranging your correspondence in this way and if your business is also registered at the same address there is a certain logic in doing so.

 

Would you say the following is therefore true?

 

You use 7, Beaconsfield Square as a correspondence address even though your primary place of residence is elsewhere. Your current, primary place of residence is: Murton Blue House Farm, Hurworth Burn, Co. Durham TS28 5NR which is outside of the current Hartlepool boundary.

 

Cllr Allison: My last e-mail cleared it up "once and for all" You are now on my SPAM Filter.

 

HTH: If that were true there would be no need to ask you to confirm the truth of the statement.

 

You are quite correct that the address quoted on the H.B.C. website for all Councillors is a postal address. However, you are wrong to believe that it is clever to hide behind this fact when it is clear that it is where you live that is the issue.

 

The Scottish UKIP site has quoted your address as being in Wingate. It is therefore quite legitimate for anyone to ask for clarification. You either believe that as a Councillor the public are entitled to know where you currently live or not. We believe that the public are entitled to know this; perhaps you don't. I remind you of your declared intention on your H.B.C. profile "to always act with integrity and honesty while serving as a back bench councillor". The question is a simple one: where do you live? I ask you to consider to what degree your refusal to provide a simple answer to such simple question conforms to that commitment.

 

His frustration over his inability to affect policy as an Independent councillor led him to seek new pastures where he found the open (and almost empty arms) of UKIP. His relative success as he became that party's Regional Organiser and its only North East Councillor has, for now, satisfied his hunger. It will be interesting to see if at some stage, his appetite makes him turn on his UKIP colleagues before he searches out another team.

 

When HTH allowed a discussion thread to continue that irritated him he threatened us with legal action.

 

When we questioned his appalling council attendance record he churlishly used his blog to accuse those Councillors with the best attendance record of being the people behind HTH challenging them to 'come out of the closet'. He then then stupidly declared that he 'avoids meetings as much as I can.'  

 

Political naivety allowed him to declare arrogantly to the Hartlepool Mail that "I didn't become Councillor for the money as I make plenty as a consultant". The pomposity of such a statement will not go unnoticed by the Hartlepool electorate, particularly as he has not been slow to condemn the council's own use of consultants.

 

He is an enigma in the truest sense of the word. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to contemplate what might have been had his undoubted talents and tenacity been matched with a little humility and self-discipline.

 

Profile

Was a Independent Councillor for Hartlepool St Hilda Ward from May 2002, while a serving councillor became aware of the UK Independence Party and joined in 2004. In September 2004 fought the Hartlepool by-election for UKIP. Achieved third place, ahead of the Conservatives. After this was NE Regional Organiser for UKIP and headed their efforts in the North East Says NO Campaign in which almost 80% of voters rejected an elected NE Regional Assembly. In 2005 stood as UKIP candidate for Mayor of Hartlepool and in 2006 regained the St Hilda seat on Hartlepool Council as a UKIP councillor. Pledged to work hard on behalf of the people of St Hilda's ward and the people of Hartlepool and to always act with integrity and honesty while serving as a back bench councillor. Married with 2 children. Attended Fens School, Hartlepool Grammar School and then London University. Worked as a DTI Advisor in over 200 public, private and voluntary sector organisations specialising in Quality Assurance and short notice contracts to cover crisis situations. In addition to professional qualifications hold a Masters Degree from Loughborough and a Cranfield University Management Fellowship.

 

Links:

Cllr Allison's Blog Northern Echo Forum
Cllr Allison's Friends Reunited Page

  

The Enigma Man:

enigma: noun a mysterious or puzzling person or thing.

 

He attracts more verbal vitriol from his political opponents than any other councillor yet many are are intellectual dwarfs by comparison. He knows that his Hartlepool business interests alone qualify him to stand as a Hartlepool Councillor yet he helps fuel an irrelevant debate about his home address by refusing to answer a simple question with a simple answer; thereby allowing his opponents to make political hay. Some would say that Cllr Stephen Allison is the Mayor that Hartlepool should have had while others point to how his stubbornness and his inability to be a team player would prevent him ever achieving such an office. He is one of the very few Councillors that both the dominant labour group and the administration actually fear. As a result, his questions at council meetings are rarely answered properly or with the respect they deserve. He is the apple that would upset the cart; the one prepared to break the camel's back provided it meant he could be the last straw.

 

On the face of it his professional background, his work rate and his willingness to think 'out-of-the-box' would make Cllr Allison the ideal Mayoral candidate. His election to the role would be a nightmare for the labour group who have dominated Hartlepool's local politics for so long they are now both racked with complacency and burdened with living-dead, Councillors whose only contribution is their vote. He would also shake a bloated and pampered administration into something resembling a value for money organisation. In short, he would give the electorate what they were hoping to see when they originally voted for Hartlepool to have a directly elected Mayor.

 

So why then is it unlikely ever to happen?

 

Cllr Stephen Allison is and probably always will be, his own worst enemy. He wears both his ambition and his frustration on his sleeve. Not content to play on the team; he wants to be Captain and if he can't be Captain, he is prepared to seek out another team and another, until he finds one that is prepared to recognise his talents.

 

Cllr Allison works hard at his obsession; namely politics. His research is impressive and puts others to shame. His questions highlight the complacency of the present regime and irritate those in public office who seek the quiet life. His output is prolific. Give him a platform and he will speak from it. Give him a letters page, internet forum or blog and he will write or post to it; but always provided he controls the subject. Challenge his views or his credentials, or that of his current party and he snaps like a Rotweiller.

 

He was instrumental in the creation of The Admin Group, a loose federation of Councillors from different factions created to more effectively oppose the dominant labour group. Yet his disappointment at not then being able to dominate that group has led to an on/off membership that is almost comical.  cont. >>

 

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