Letter: Why Was Cllr McShee Removed – Are We in a Dictatorship?

Published on: 3 Oct, 2014
Updated on: 3 Oct, 2014

Sandra Morgan outside her Fairlands home.

From Sandra Morgan

Worplesdon is very much under threat with the Local Plan so I was very surprised to learn that Cllr Bob McShee [Con, Worplesdon] had been removed from the Local Committee. Bob is a very hard working councillor and having lived here for 57 years I can vouch for the effort he puts in to serve Worplesdon.

This now leaves Worplesdon, Normandy and Pirbright, a large section of the borough, with no borough councillor on this committee while Ash has two. So I decided to ask as a member of the public at the last Local Committee meeting why Bob McShee had been removed since he had indicated he wished to continue and there had been no other changes.

The chairman gave a standard reply and passed the question to Stephen Mansbridge, Ash South and Tongham and the leader of the council. He replied that it was his right to do this and that was an end of the matter! So I ask again why was Bob McShee removed, are we in a democracy or a dictatorship?

Responses to Letter: Why Was Cllr McShee Removed – Are We in a Dictatorship?

Martin Elliott Reply

October 3, 2014 at 5:48 pm

Its certainly not a democracy; nominations being in ‘the gift’ of the council leader prove that. As does the choice of another Executive member to sit on the Local Committee. The committee is, in theory, meant to give a bit of ‘grass roots’ representation at county level without reverting to a full council meeting.

Is it a dictatorship? I hope not. Despite his personality and ignoring etiquette in berating council employees, and interfering in local by elections. Cllr Mansbridge does seem to allow other Executive members to make decisions.

So maybe it is, as the newly elected councillor for Lovelace calls it, a “cabal”? I don’t think so because there is no obvious long or short term goal of secret plotting. Even the Local Plan is so chaotic there is no real end point, just confused thinking.

No, I believe its just power for power’s sake – an oligarchy – always a risk when power is concentrated into an Executive slimmed down to make efficient decisions, but with no qualifications or experience.
Susan Parker Reply

October 4, 2014 at 9:21 am

Well done to Mrs Morgan for drawing our attention to this and for raising this issue, which otherwise we would have missed. I’d like to join with all the others who have thanked her.

Mrs Morgan is speaking up for democracy, and for proper representation, which is our basic right. And I agree with her absolutely – democracy seems to be badly threatened in Guildford.

I think everyone throughout the borough respects Bob McShee’s integrity, decency and his concern for those he represents. It isn’t clear why he was removed. Surely, as Mrs Morgan points out, there are other candidates?

It seems as though the real reason is that he challenged the authority of the leadership.