Council Support

Council support

There was an article in the Hull Daily Mail about a fortnight ago. In it Hull General Cemetery was touched upon. The article was the result, I suppose, of an interview with the sitting councillors of the ward. It could well have been a press release by them. I don’t really know. Here’s the link.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/life-avenues-hull-area-proud-4973918

The link was placed on FaceBook but soon had to be taken down. It prompted angry outbursts amidst claims that it was just electioneering.

Once again, I don’t know if it was electioneering. It was in February which is surely a little early for the May elections but no matter. What is beyond doubt is the simple facts as stated in the interview / press release. The councillors who spoke to the Hull Daily Mail were telling the truth. At least in terms of the part about Hull General Cemetery where Council support has been integral to the improvements on the site.

No, hold on. Don’t shoot the messenger. Yes, I know the old joke about how can you tell when a politician’s lying? When their lips move. And ordinarily I go along with that. But here was that rare example of the opposite of that.

Now, I can’t judge a councillor’s performance on other issues. Nor do I want to, until May comes around that is. But I can judge a councillor’s net worth to Hull General Cemetery so here goes.

In my time on the FOHGC I have had dealings with a number of councillors. None of them were bad although it was plainly obvious that to a couple of them, the condition of a derelict cemetery was pretty low on their to do list. That’s the way it goes, and I would be lying if, on some days, Hull General Cemetery doesn’t always make my top ten topics.

However, on the whole I feel the councillors have given a fair share of their time to this subject. Yes, I can’t complain about the level of council support.

Name names

But, and here’s where I suppose I should put my tin hat on, two councillors have stood out in their efforts on behalf of the FOHGC and, by default, the Hull General Cemetery.

The first is Cllr. Marjorie Brabazon. When the condition of the cemetery was first  brought up, even before the FOHGC was formed, Cllr. Brabazon took an active interest. She was one of the original attendees at the first meeting that set up the FOHGC. A regular attender at the meetings since then, she always offers support and guidance. She was also one of the people who took on the role of liaising with the local schools to form active links with them.

As the chair of the Libraries Committee, she enabled the books that were written about the cemetery by Bill and myself to be bought and put on the shelves of all the local libraries. To be read for free and make more people aware of the site. We reciprocated by selling them at cost price so that everyone won on that deal.

All of this whilst in the middle of a serious health crisis within her family.

The second is Cllr. Abi Bell. She wasn’t a councillor, at least in the Avenues Ward, when the FOHGC was set up. However once in post in this ward, she took on an active part in the work of the FOHGC. She was often the point of contact within the council that we used the most.

When the open meetings were taking place in 2019, she arranged for the leaflet printing and attended at least one of the meetings. She also attended other informal meetings outside the FOHGC formal setting when an issue arose that could not be dealt with on the monthly schedule.

On a personal note, her support and enthusiasm for the project often kept me going during some acrimonious times, never mind the other way around.

Both of these councillors have shown, at least to me, that when the subject of Hull General Cemetery comes up, politics doesn’t enter into it. They do what needs to be done.

Electioneering?

So, electioneering? Maybe, maybe not. Quite frankly I don’t care.

In fact, on this subject, I am apolitical. It’s not the political party that interests me, it’s what they bring to the party that is the Hull General Cemetery. Yes, I know that’s pretty shallow. Yes, I’m following my own self interests. What happened to being principled and not being selfish?

Well, come on, hand on heart, isn’t that the way many people have been voting in every democracy for the last few years? And I have to live with those petty selfish decisions which are and will be much more harmful to me and my family for generations.

So, cut me some slack here. And while you’re at it, try cutting the councillors some slack. At least in terms of Hull General Cemetery they’ve delivered.

Yep, that gets my vote.

P.S. The image at the front of this post is the monument to John Wilde in HGC. This man ‘used’ the electoral process so well during the 1850s in Hull that a Parliamentary Commission was called into being. It ruled that the Parliamentary election of 1853 was null and void. He was implicated in bribing the voters above and beyond what was seen to be acceptable in those days. As a result Hull did not have any representation in parliament for two years.

The practice during this election was over and above the level of corruption usually found in elections during this period. Take a moment here, and spare a thought for Thomas Perronet Thompson. He had been a Member for Hull in the past and was approached in 1854, as to whether he would stand in the 1855 election. He replied, and this speaks volumes for the heady level of corruption in the town at that time, that ‘he would as soon think of selling his daughter for a concubine in New Orleans.’ So, that’s a no then, Thomas?

Meanwhile back at Thomas Wilde.

As you can see, in the inscription on his tomb, this ‘issue’ did not merit a mention. In the long run politics is a very forgiving industry. Isn’t it?