16. Sep. 2010. @ 11:42:27 by TheJusticeofthePeace
Consultation on the great court closures document ended yesterday just as I returned to a damp cool sodden English airport where exiting the car park was enabled by a friendly wave from a local taxi driver who having deposited his passengers seemed to be in no hurry to return to his cab office. When the majority of us use the roads in the full knowledge that with all the obstacles in the way of a speedy journey letting another vehicle into the traffic stream isn`t going to slow us by more than a micro second there is still much to be proud of being British whatever sub divisions the bureaucrats would divide us into.
I commented not so long ago that individual J.P.s should resist the urge to give interviews to the media on their opinions of the proposed court closures. Of course such advice was ignored. From the so called elected officers of the Magistrates` Association to various busybodies around the country we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, rhetoric was being heard from north to south and east to west. One result of all this is the self serving sight of so many M.P.s using this controversy to further their own column inches of self serving toadiness to ingratiate themselves with their constituents. After all how many local people would take umbrage against such outspokenness?
However in Wales there is a glimmer of honesty in this debate. Labour politicians against closures, and most of them are, are eagerly pointing fingers at Coalition M.P.s who are of the same opinion. It seems to me that there are very few M.P.s if any who have come out openly in favour of closing courts in their own constituency.
The M.A.`s response has been to use a shotgun when a sniper rifle was the weapon required. My own local M.A. representative who is well aware of the democratic shortcomings of the Association sent the M.A. response by e-mail to all members. This commendable action was not universal. There is a link on the M.A. forum for members to judge for themselves. At a suitable time I will publish it here.
I commented not so long ago that individual J.P.s should resist the urge to give interviews to the media on their opinions of the proposed court closures. Of course such advice was ignored. From the so called elected officers of the Magistrates` Association to various busybodies around the country we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, rhetoric was being heard from north to south and east to west. One result of all this is the self serving sight of so many M.P.s using this controversy to further their own column inches of self serving toadiness to ingratiate themselves with their constituents. After all how many local people would take umbrage against such outspokenness?
However in Wales there is a glimmer of honesty in this debate. Labour politicians against closures, and most of them are, are eagerly pointing fingers at Coalition M.P.s who are of the same opinion. It seems to me that there are very few M.P.s if any who have come out openly in favour of closing courts in their own constituency.
The M.A.`s response has been to use a shotgun when a sniper rifle was the weapon required. My own local M.A. representative who is well aware of the democratic shortcomings of the Association sent the M.A. response by e-mail to all members. This commendable action was not universal. There is a link on the M.A. forum for members to judge for themselves. At a suitable time I will publish it here.