Leicester Mercury Political correspondent
Posts tagged Andy Connelly
Sarah’s got a blog
Jul 26th
City cabinet member Sarah Russell has started a blog.
In her first post she says that trying to fit blogging into her hectic day might prove tough, as a mother of two who juggles work and politics. I struggle to update this blog every day and all I do after work is eat Cherry Garcia ice-cream in bed while watching 30 Rock.
As a journalist I can say that of all the cabinet members I speak to on a regular basis, she’s got the best grasp of her portfolio, so her promise to explain issues to readers will be useful.
But as she’s a cabinet member she’s got to stick to the party line, so don’t expect too many juicy snippets from the inside.
If only she could encourage her rambunctious partner Andy to start blogging on local politics.
Now that would be a must-read…
Sketch: Willmott in cruise control
Jun 17th
Casual Wednesday at Leicester City Council.
Finance select committee. Ross Willmott bounds in. No tie, light pink shirt, casual trousers. Jovial lines peppered with his own giggles. It was a council scrutiny meeting, but he could have been embarking on a package cruise.
He took his seat in front of me and was soon joined by Andy Connelly, positively pink thanks to the beaming summer sunshine, and Patrick Kitterick.
The line-up looked like the back seat of a school bus – packed with the class rabble-rousers.
They were in good spirits for a trio so recently sheared of their cabinet responsibilities. Why? Because they now sit on one of the most powerful committees.
They look after the money. How on earth did the Labour whips let this one slip through the net?
Did any members want a briefing about how council finances work – an officer asked. You’d hope not, or they’re on the wrong committee.
But it was an opportunity for a Willmott boast: “The chief finance officer tells me everything he tells the cabinet anyway.” [See comments]
Hooray! They’re still in the loop. Or are they?
“You’ve got to read the Mercury to find out what’s happening at the council these days,” grumbled Kitterick. Perhaps not.
Five minutes in and the first trap had been set. Kitterick requested that Vi Dempster, cabinet member for children and schools, turn up next time around to explain some missed targets. “I second that,” said Willmott.
“It’s an ambush,” Ross Grant Tweeted.
Later on the presence of leader Veejay Patel was requested. Directors and documents were also necessary for the next meeting, they said. Chief executive Sheila Lock ended up sitting at the table to explain items. Officers were grilled. Just one item went through on the nod. No quarter was given here.
When the poor council scribe taking notes was asked to read back the committee’s shopping list of demands she mentioned that the two cabinet members would address the committee.
“I don’t want to be addressed,” said Willmott, “I want to question them.”
Will they be added to the agenda for the next meeting on July 7? No-one could say.
Chair Coley said, half-joking, that if they couldn’t then they’d have to arrange an emergency session.
“Perfect,” said Willmott, “I’ve got a lot of time on my hands these days.”
Whodunnit?
Jun 9th
Whenever you do a city story based on leaked information, the local political scene goes into overdrive speculating on who went to the press.
And when it’s clear that the information came from within their own group, things become even more feverish.
So when we published a story on page three of today’s Mercury, about an ongoing investigation into allegations against Andy Connelly, my mobile phone struggled to deal with the incoming calls.
“This could only have come from someone in the Labour party,” one irate member said, breathlessly.
“I know, it says that in the story,” I replied.
“Then who was it?”
“I’m sorry but I’m a journalist and I don’t reveal my sources. You’ve got a real-life episode of Cluedo on your hands now…”
Willmott, Kitterick and Connelly return to the backbenches
Mar 25th
When you’re ousted from one of the biggest jobs in city politics, where do you choose to sit on your return the back-benches?
Right in front of the press seats, of course!
Cllrs Ross Willmott, Patrick Kitterick and Andy Connelly have settled in to the three seats at the back – the furthest they can physically be from the new cabinet, and the closest seats to the media.
To the online observer, the meeting would have looked run of the mill, but the atmosphere was charged.
Andy and Ross took up the role of Statler and Waldorf, bouncing barbs about other councillors off each other throughout the meeting. Patrick, meanwhile, filled in a Guardian crossword puzzle and a Sudoku.
The boisterous behaviour at the back eventually led Labour chief whip Barbara Potter to stride over, telling them to be quiet.
“Go away,” replied Ross dismissively, as he scrolled through his Blackberry emails, making Potter even more annoyed.
The next 12 months at city council will be intriguing.
Power shift
Mar 19th
The significance of a Labour councillor sticking the boot into a senior member of his own party was lost on some of our website commenters.
But John Blackmore’s Twitter digs at cabinet member Andy Connelly over the closure of some council-run bars and creches were about more than just an online spat.
What they show is how power may be shifting under Veejay Patel’s party leadership.
Connelly, who along with Rory Palmer, Sarah Russell and Patrick Kitterick, is seen as part of Team Willmott in the cabinet, could be shuffled out of his top job come Tuesday.
Had his position been completely secure, it’s doubtful that a fellow Labour councillor would thumb his nose at one of the ten most powerful councillors in the city. At least not in public...
11am UPDATE: John hasn’t Tweeted a thing for more than 24 hours. Hope he hasn’t been silenced by party big cheeses.
2.30PM UPDATE: He’s Tweeting again.
