When Gordon Didn't Meet Reh
I always enjoy the letters section of our local papers. In today's Medway Messenger there is a letter from Teresa Murray concerning Reh Chishti’s previous correspondence about a lack of an invitation to a recent event with Gordon Brown.
As I recall the Chancellor was visiting Gillingham to discuss regeneration. He met with a range of people including representatives from the University of Kent, housing associations and the council. There were also people who had helped to improve their local area.
And what better venue can there be than the revitalised dockyard area? Back in the 80s when the Tories shut the dockyard the heart was ripped out of the Medway Towns. 7000 jobs lost in one day and an estimated further 13,000 losses followed* as other companies who relied on the dockyard began to close.
So why no Reh?
It may have something to do with the Tory record on regeneration. Labour’s John Shaw and Bill Davis saw the benefits of regenerating the area after the Dockyard’s closure. They met with David Curry, the then Tory Minister of State in the Department of the Environment with responsibility for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration , who wholeheartedly agreed with their ideas. “However,” he said. “You need to the find the money from somewhere. You won’t be getting a penny off us.”
It’s a bit different with a Labour Government. Investment of over £120 million has seen this brownfield site transformed with new businesses, universities and housing. This week sees a cinema opening as part of the Dickens World complex.
I think a chat about regeneration with someone like Cllr Bill Davis would be far more interesting to Gordon than a chance to meet our Reh.
* Note to David Cameron. 7000 + 13,000 = 20,000. See how math works Dave?
As I recall the Chancellor was visiting Gillingham to discuss regeneration. He met with a range of people including representatives from the University of Kent, housing associations and the council. There were also people who had helped to improve their local area.
And what better venue can there be than the revitalised dockyard area? Back in the 80s when the Tories shut the dockyard the heart was ripped out of the Medway Towns. 7000 jobs lost in one day and an estimated further 13,000 losses followed* as other companies who relied on the dockyard began to close.
So why no Reh?
It may have something to do with the Tory record on regeneration. Labour’s John Shaw and Bill Davis saw the benefits of regenerating the area after the Dockyard’s closure. They met with David Curry, the then Tory Minister of State in the Department of the Environment with responsibility for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration , who wholeheartedly agreed with their ideas. “However,” he said. “You need to the find the money from somewhere. You won’t be getting a penny off us.”
It’s a bit different with a Labour Government. Investment of over £120 million has seen this brownfield site transformed with new businesses, universities and housing. This week sees a cinema opening as part of the Dickens World complex.
I think a chat about regeneration with someone like Cllr Bill Davis would be far more interesting to Gordon than a chance to meet our Reh.
* Note to David Cameron. 7000 + 13,000 = 20,000. See how math works Dave?
posted by Tory Watcher at 10:54 pm
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