I was delighted to hear this evening from the borough solicitor that Thorpe councillor Alex Kaye's decision to join the Conservative Group on Southend Council has been finalised.
Since Alex was elected in 2010 there has been no doubt that she has worked tirelessly for her residents and has been an exemplary chairman of the Community Services and Culture scrutiny committee. This comes as no surprise to me from the years that I have known Alex as Chairman of Milton Conservatives before she was elected in Thorpe.
Although Alex was an 'Independent' this is still a defection for me as the Independents on Southend are a party in all but name. We all know that they have a leader who draws a Group Leaders salary, hold Group meetings, have identical political literature, have a group whip on certain decisions as confirmed by their leader Cllr Terry during the budget discussions, vet candidates, as exposed by Cllr Ware-Lane this evening and go berserk when a true Independent or single issue candidate stands against one of their charges.
Alex gave the reason for leaving the Independent Party was complete disillusionment with the them. This is not the first councillor to leave their party this year as Dr Vel quit calling them a party in all but name in a parting shot. I said back in December that 2012 may go down in history as the beginning of the end for the Independent Party in Southend.
Alex and Dr Vel have seen the danger of Independent Party and have decided that they can better serve their residents elsewhere. I just hope that the voters have heard Alex and Dr Vel's message too.
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