ABeeC Campaign

[stedders]

Understandably most of the attention from last Monday's meeting concentrated on the fact that Brentford could soon be in a position of being owned by its supporters and the revealations about the bid for Loftus Road.

There was, however, also the announcement at the meeting that Brentford Supporters will be standing as candidates at the forthcoming local elections, under the banner of the ABeeC Campaign.

This started off last year by BIAS with the aim of putting pressure on Councillors in the hope that elected representatives of Hounslow Council would sit up and take notice of Brentford supporters who are, justifiably, concerned about the future of the club.

It's my belief that the Brentford Football Club is an important part of the heritage to the lives of many people living in the area: active Brentford fans, lapsed fans, football fans in general or just a large swathe of the population who just wish the club well.

There is a growing belief, however, that the powers that be at Lampton Road are indifferent (at best) towards the football club and its needs for the 21st Century. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the club's interest in the sites at Feltham or WIM there can be little doubt that there is a real lack of political willingness to work with the club for a solution about its stadium.

It was Cllr Ruth Cadbury speaking at Monday's meeting who probably put her finger on the problem when she described the geography of Hounslow Borough . . . basically it is a series of unconnected towns along a corridor from Chiswick out towards the airport at Cranford. There is a distinct abscence of civic pride that we see in other parts of the country and, by definition, that those areas have towards their football club.

BIAS and it's ABeeC Campaign see the elections on 2 May as an ideal opportunity for the fans of the club to wave the flag for the club in the community and to garner support for a community stadium, with its greatest cultural asset at its heart: Brentford FC.

We are a non-political body encompassing a wide group from varying backgrounds, but united in their determination to see a future for the football club in its community.

We will be fielding a MAXIMUM of one candidate per ward, in as many wards as possible at the elections.
There will be 20 Wards at the elections; each ward will have three elected representatives.
Our message to the voters will be quite simple: You will have three votes at this election, if you intend voting Labour, Tory, LibDem or Independent . . . fine go ahead, but just cast one of your votes for the future of the Brentford FC

As complete novices at this sort of thing we have a complete abscence of the normal election machinery possessed by the mainstream political parties.

WE WILL NEED HELP in all areas:

1. We need to identify our voters.
Simply we need to hear from as many Hounslow Borough residents as possible. If you are, or you know someone who is, could you contact us at the email address below. Obviously we will want you to vote for us, speak with your friends, neighbours and relatives locally and talk to them about our campaign.

2. We will need Candidates
Quite simple; you need to be a Hounslow Borough resident, but you will be able to stand in any ward in the Borough, irrespective of where you live. This is your opportunity to fly the flag for the club . . . soon to become YOUR CLUB, literally!

3. We need Ward Sponsors
We will need you to sponsor candidates standing in your ward. We will need TEN people for this.

4. Practical Help
We will need help in many other areas, wherever you live: stuffing leaflets through letterboxes, canvassing, contacting potential voters and so on. In so many ways EVERYONE can have a part to play.

5. Fund Raising
Obviously it is going to cost us money to produce leaflets, posters, car stickers and so on. So any fund-raising initiatives or donations would be gratefully received. Many thanks to everyone on Monday, we raised £320.

The one thing that is definite about this election, is that it has a definite "shelf life" there won't be another one a month or so later.

Contact the ABeeC Campaign:
[email protected]

or contact the BIAS hotline 0790 4375051

[This message has been edited by stedders (edited 31 January 2002).]

 

['Ayes B]

The news on the ABC campaign was probably the most significant of the night, after all local elections only happen evrry four years.

From a personal point of view I think the ABC campaign will be very succesful.

 

[Luton Bee]

It will be a great sucess IF we can get as many Bees fans involved as possible. I for one will be offering my services where I can. I implore all Brentford fans reading this to contact Stedders and offer to help in whatever way you can. Whatever your views on things Brentford. If you want to stay at GP, leave now, go to Luftus Road or whatever the one thing we can all agree on is that we need to put pressure on HBC to get help for our cause.

Get involved get behind AbeeC

 

[Plymouth Bee]

Time to be a minority of one!

I was sorry to read that you had already decided to stand candidates, without first taking up the idea of a small meeting with leading councillors first to see how things can be advanced.

Of course it's up to you locally, but from the wider Bees' perspective, I think your move may turn out to be a mistake.

We'll see on May 2.

(And, yes, before anyone points it out - as I have said elsewhere, I am a former Councillor - not Hounslow - and Labour at that. From my experience of local politics, I saw that one of the worst ways of trying to influence people you need to influence (eg leading Councillors) is to set up an independent party and stand against them at elections. I think Charlton may well prove to be the exception rather than the rule. In three months time, we'll find out.)

 

[Pauly Paul]

I don't think the ABeeC campaign can lose.

In my eyes, standing at the elections is the next step in raising public awareness of BFC's plight.

How can we influence a group of people who seem to ignore our pleas? It's not as if it hasn't been a big issue in the local press for the past 18 nmonths. Every councillor should know about BFCs problems but the message that comes across is that if the public don't know (and thus don't care) then they don't have to do anything about it.

[This message has been edited by Pauly Paul (edited 31 January 2002).]

 

[stedders]

The email I originally put on my message was incorrect, I have now amended it:

email: [email protected]

 

[feltham]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Plymouth Bee:
Time to be a minority of one!

</font>

Well a minority of two Plymouth! As an existing Hounslow Labour Councillor I think it will be certainly interesting to see how people 'do'. Especially in other than the Brentford area.



[This message has been edited by feltham (edited 31 January 2002).]

 

[Jimbee]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by feltham:
Well a minority of two Plymouth! As an existing Hounslow Labour Councillor I think it will be certainly interesting to see how people 'do'. Especially in other than the Brentford area.

[This message has been edited by feltham (edited 31 January 2002).]</font>

There would be no need for this course of action if your party were not so apathetic in their support for the future of OUR football club.

Why is it that a neighbouring borough can have an amicable relationship with 3 professional football clubs, assisting and encouraging them with future planning yet all we come up against is obstacle after obstacle?

What is in your manifesto for the coming election to encourage a Brentford supporter living in your ward to vote for you? Or doesn't it matter because you represent a different part of the borough.

The silence from the council on these matters has been deafening until now because, all of a sudden, you see a threat to your position on the council.

The issue of Brentford Football Club should be high on your list of priorites as a not insignificant number of the electorate are supporters of the club. They may not all currently be active but they can be encouraged to give 1 of their 3 votes to a candidate who is standing on a single issue far closer to their heart than much of the mundane day-to-day business that a local authority is required to address.

I suugest that rather than pooh-pooh the efforts of these dedicated fans, you get them on your party's side by committing yourselves to ensuring that Brentford Football Club and the community activities and values it promotes have a future within the boundaries of Hounslow.

 

[feltham]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jimbee:


much of the mundane day-to-day business that a local authority is required to address.

</font>

I wouldn't dream of poohooing any dedicated fans attempts to help their Club.

However I would suggest that looking after my kids education and the other services that we run in Hounslow on behalf of my community are whilst not as 'headline grabbing' are very important to me and mine!



[This message has been edited by feltham (edited 31 January 2002).]

 

[Plymouth Bee]

Jimbee - no-one has yet told me why BIAS has not had a small meeting with leading Councillors to discuss the way forward.

Gunboat diplomacy (otherwise known as sending questionnaires) doesn't work.

Stedders' post this evening (about the planning application) shows, in my view, that the Council is doing a lot to help.

What would be useful if if people could spell out exactly what they want to see from Hounslow Council (no generalisations please ie support the Club). What action do they, particularly the campaign leaders, want the Council to take?

 

[Edmundo]

With all due respect to Plymouth Bee and others who may not be fully informed on these matters, there have been numerous discussions, or attempts at discussions, with the powers that be on Hounslow Council. Do you really think that if there had been any encouragement from these, or that we hadn't learnt that they don't give a flying f***, that this wouldn't have been followed up?

Maybe the transfer of the shares to Bees United will change things, but if you really think that Cllr Connelly gives a sh*t about any team other than Glasgow Celtic, then I'm afraid you are living in cloud cuckoo land.

 

[Plymouth Bee]

Fair point, Edmundo, I don't know everything that has gone on locally but it does seem to an outsider that bridges have been burnt very early.

Your jibe about Cllr Connolly and Celtic isn't exactly helpful. If that is a typical attitude, well, no wonder nothing has happened.

It doesn't strike me that enough has been tried but let's just see how you all get on on May 2nd.

I'll be watching with interest.

[This message has been edited by Plymouth Bee (edited 31 January 2002).]

 

[Edmundo]

Plymouth Bee, it's about three years since I first met Cllr Connelly and I can honestly say that he has never in all that time expressed any sympathy towards our plight. He constantly refers to Celtic, but it's hard to think of a football club with less in common with BFC than Celtic and he really doesn't show any signs of appreciating that.

It's not unknown that I'm a Labour Party member, but the attitude of the Hounslow Labour leadership towards BFC leaves me in despair (I acknowledge that I have no knowledge of any other local political issues). I believe that there are other Labour Party members of some local importance who share my exasperation with the leadership. I'll leave it to others to decode who I mean.

Local elections come round only once every four years in London, and now is the time to put up or shut up.

 

[AndyV]

It appears to me as a resident of Hounslow since 1971, that it wasn't until Bees fans took to the streets that councillors took any notice of the situation BFC is now in. Any politician who thinks that they are the only source of power for the electorate to approach, to improve conditions or services in their area demonstrates why voters are so impressed by their performance that 30% turn out to vote at local government elections. The council have spoken to the fans on a number of occasions through individuals and as we still live in a democracy, we would now like to speak to the people of the Borough. What we feel we deserve is for the local authority to work in partnership with the football club and the fans and keep the club within its traditional home area. How that is achieved is open to a number of possible actions. A good start would be for the council to recognise what it means for the younger fans to see professional football in their own town, to belong to a community that wants them there and actively seeks to show them the positive benefits of practice, discipline and teamwork. True fans of football belong to a wider community than just their own team. The ABeeC fans have joined with other supporters facing problems at their clubs. Their experience is a lesson to us all. They have achieved greater success in keeping their clubs alive for future generations of supporters, when their local authorities got fully involved in their plans and helped to develop community owned facilities open to all residents not just the footballing fraternity. Charlton may have been an exception, but it's not gunboat diplomacy to ask politicians where they stand on an issue, I thought that was called lobbying. WE run a risk in being so fresh and different in a political landscape that has seen Hounslow run by the same administration for 70 years that it might catch on . We'll see on May 2nd.

 

[Phil Andrews]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Plymouth Bee:
I was sorry to read that you had already decided to stand candidates, without first taking up the idea of a small meeting with leading councillors first to see how things can be advanced.</font>

Personally I was pleased by the supporters' decision to field candidates in the local elections - and before anybody accuses me of bias (no pun intended) please do bear in mind that as a councillor and prospective independent candidate in Isleworth ward I do potentially stand to lose out as a result!

My enthusiasm was tempered however by the news that the campaign had opted to field one candidate in each of 20 wards.

I believe this is a big mistake. I don't know how many helpers you will have on board during the campaign but it will take some going to drop multiple leaflets through 90,000 doors, not to mention to canvass them or chase them up on polling day - or are you just relying on publicity through the local news media? I can only reiterate my own personal view that you should have gone for them with a full slate of candidates in one or maybe two "safe" Labour wards. That certainly would have made them sit up and listen.

The point about the purpose of the campaign being to throw the spotlight onto the club's predicament rather than to win council seats is understood, but by fielding candidates whilst at the same time pursuing this limp-wristed "our campaign isn't directed against anybody in particular" line I fear you are going to leave yourself with the worst of both worlds - you'll annoy the majority party (by standing) without actually bothering them (by targeting them specifically where they are at their most vulnerable).

Good luck with it anyway, although I'm now going to find myself in a position where I'll be trying to persuade voters in my own neck of the woods not to vote for a candidate whom I will be fundamentally in agreement with. Such is life.

[This message has been edited by Phil Andrews (edited 01 February 2002).]

 

[Pauly Paul]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by feltham:
I wouldn't dream of poohooing any dedicated fans attempts to help their Club.

However I would suggest that looking after my kids education and the other services that we run in Hounslow on behalf of my community are whilst not as 'headline grabbing' are very important to me and mine!

[This message has been edited by feltham (edited 31 January 2002).]</font>

While the points about education etc are very valid, the council need to realise that we have come to a point in time when the future of Brentford FC must be decided. This crossroads we are at will ultimately decide whether the club survives or dies.

We have looked to the local authority for support yet seem to have recieved none.

Action needs to be taken now, it can't wait any longer. Hounslow Council seem unable to realise this. Like stated above. Why can't they be as co-operative as H&FBC??

 

[DidntYouUsedToBee]

Originally posted by feltham:

However I would suggest that looking after my kids education and the other services that we run in Hounslow on behalf of my community are whilst not as 'headline grabbing' are very important to me and mine!

When will politicians understand that the general public don't believe they do anything unless somebody sets their arses on fire? How about a the council doing a survey with the question "do you think the council does anything they say they will?" wanna bet on the result?
that is why a core community issue like Brentford f.c. can come to the fore. Besides , do you think that things were so different in 1967 when the community rose up to protect its club. Even if it's not successful the issue is not one of our political nouse but that hounslow council should be ashamed at their disregard of our proud footballing tradition. Can you imagine if the government let Stonhenge be refurbished into luxury flats people would say "Oh it's not education so forget it!"

 

[rebus]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by feltham:
I wouldn't dream of poohooing any dedicated fans attempts to help their Club.

However I would suggest that looking after my kids education and the other services that we run in Hounslow on behalf of my community are whilst not as 'headline grabbing' are very important to me and mine!

[This message has been edited by feltham (edited 31 January 2002).]</font>

I don't doubt where you're coming from, education, etc come before Brentford FC and rightly so, but when the ruling Labour council have such a poor record in delivering it's a bitter pill to swallow.

I recently chucked out a 1994 copy of the Hounslow Chroncile which carried a headline about Key Stage One in Hounslow Town Centre, which it said "contracts are close to be signed and completion of the new development will be in 1997."

WE'RE STILL WAITING!!!!!

When was the last time Hounslow Town Centre had a cinema or Swimming Pool?

Answer: 1985...

It's nothing short of a disgrace. IMHO opinion, the ruling council are the most arrogant and ill acheiving.

Name me one big project Hounslow Council is proud of...

 

[Jimbee]

Education, health and transport are major issues for both government and local authority and of course I was not referring to these matters.

It is very interesting that in your reply, feltham, you made absolutely no attempt to answer my question or indicate how your party will help Brentford FC to move forward.

This is precisely why the fans are now having to made themselves heard in this manner.

 

[stedders]

I'm a little pressed for the time at the moment, I'll try and reply in more detail over the weekend.

Firstly: to Plymouth Bee's point about meetings with the Executive of the Council. BIAS has sought this on a number of occasions, the most recent was a meeting at Portcullis House in Westminster which was arranged by Ann and Alan Keen, MPs for the area.
BIAS was represented by myself, John McGlashan and Luke Kirton; the football club were represented by Martin Lange and Fred West (Project Manager for the stadium); plus two local councillors from the Feltham area.
No one was available from the Executive; a number of different dates were suggested but none were convenient. . . we took the hint!

We are not necessarily fielding candidates in ALL Wards, I really doubt that we would have the necessary organisation.
We will be fielding a MAXIMUM of one candidate per ward. Each ward will be a "three vote" ward. The intention has always been to concentrate on those wards where we would assess that we had the most support and to hopefully give as wide a spread across the borough.



[This message has been edited by stedders (edited 01 February 2002).]

 

[Chalfont Bees]

Its gotta be worth a try, but in the long run i can't see it having much impact on our situation.

Still good to see that people are coming up with decent ideas to help Brentford FC

Keep them coming-some might work, some might not, but at least it shows everyone that Bees fans really care about the future of their club

 

[feltham]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jimbee:

It is very interesting that in your reply, feltham, you made absolutely no attempt to answer my question or indicate how your party will help Brentford FC to move forward.

</font>

Well JimBee its partly because I am on the Sustainable Development Committee (Hounslow's Main Planning Committee) I have always been very carefully with my words. Unfortunately if I declare that I have decided one way or another on a development I then cannot take part in that planning decision, if it comes along. I have to show I have an open mind prior to the Planning meeting.

I don’t sit on the Executive so I am not able to speak on behalf of Hounslow's Labour Group. However Steaders has, I think, already posted the Groups 'helpfull' reply.

 

[DidntYouUsedToBee]

'helpful reply' sounds like another Blairism to me. Surely it's up to us wether the reply was helpful. some who gasped in frustration at it would beg to differ!

 

[Pauly Paul]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by sponshagga:
'helpful reply' sounds like another Blairism to me. Surely it's up to us wether the reply was helpful. some who gasped in frustration at it would beg to differ!</font>

I think Mr Feltham had his tongue-in-cheek, hence the quotemarks.

 

[stedders]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by sponshagga:
'helpful reply' sounds like another Blairism to me. Surely it's up to us wether the reply was helpful. some who gasped in frustration at it would beg to differ!</font>

I think he was being "ironic" ; )

 

[DidntYouUsedToBee]

Sorry about that. Just didn't occur to me a Hounslow Labour councillor employing self effacing humour! ...I'll get my coat

 

[stedders]

If I could just reply in detail to some of the points raised:

Firstly to restate an earlier point: Plymouth Bee was asking why we don't seek talks with leading Councillors to see how things can be moved forward. Quite simply we have on many occasions, but there has been a reluctance on the Executive's part to meet with us. I would refer the right honourable ladies and gentlemen to my earlier answer on this.

Also we do not intend to stand in all Wards, as has been generally reported. We do not have the organisation and the funds to support such a campaign. We are seeking out candidates at the moment and will announce which wards that we will be contesting in March.

The Charlton issue is significant because it does show that a single issue such as the future of a football club in its community can be used to connect with the local population. I have a great deal of first-hand knowledge of what happened at Charlton and I am aware that there are significant differences between our campaign and theirs, as they were campaigning about a specific issue (ie: the refusal to grant planning permission to redevelop The Valley) whilst ours is more about raising the issue locally on the future of THE BOROUGH'S local professional football club.

We sent out our questionnaires in December. I really did not know what sort of response we would get, but quite simply it was an exercise in democracy; Plymouth Bee refers to this as "Gunboat Diplomacy", he may very well read it that way but I fail to see the parallel and it certainly wasn't intended like that. I think it's fair to say that this was handled very badly by the Executive. We sent out questionnaires in December, we received five replies by Christmas, so we sent them out again in mid January. At each stage we sent SAEs; we don't have buckets of money and an army of volunteers, so this whole exercise cost us about £70 and a great deal of effort. It was only in mid January when a Labour "insider" leaked Councillor Connelly's (Leader of the Council) memo to the local press in which he "advised" his colleagues not to respond that we then received the "block reply" from 20 Labour Councillors and I received a personal letter explaining this. I would have thought that, at the very least, they could have had the courtesy of informing me earlier of this action before we went to the time and trouble of repeating the exercise in January.

We are not asking for anything specific from the Council: it is clear from talks we have had that there is a great deal of misinformation and misunderstanding about the club's proposals for a new stadium.
For instance, in correspondence with a member of the Council's Executive the reply was that they: "didn't see why Brentford needed a new stadium as they don't get crowds to fill Griffin Park!" Whilst I think it is fair to say that I am not the biggest fan of Ron Noades, and he obviously doesn't think much of me (but that's another story), I have a teenie bit of sympathy with him when he comes across such a gross misunderstanding of the issues.

Other comments from councillors, which show an astonishing lack of understanding:
"Brentford talk about their community invitiatives, well, fine but these are all subscribed for" (not true);
"Brentford have built all around their ground, and now they complain that they don't have enough space to develop their stadium" (a very small element of truth used to distort the bigger picture);
"Why should Council Tax payers subsidise rich football clubs" (well, Brentford aren't rich, and no one is asking for such subsidies);
. . . and others . . . "Ron Noades has built up a £4.5m overdraft and now he wants the Council to bail him out"; "They are a business like any other in the Borough"; "The Council has a duty to Council taxpayers of the borough, most of whom are not BFC supporters"

This last commment is key, in my opinion: we need to bear in mind that at the last election the Council made a pledge towards a 25,000 community stadium in the Borough; so we have:
a manifesto pledge;
an area crying out for vital health, leisure and recrational facilities;
a site in Feltham ideal for such a development;
a football club that needs a new stadium and, in the London Broncos, a likely willing partner.
Hopefully the answer is staring at you!

This does not need funding from the Council, the area is prime for Enabling Development, and combined with the sale of GP there need not be funding from the Council (which they haven't got anyway, so that's easily answered!). What is missing is someone in the Civic Centre with the spark of initiative to promote such a proposal, without the support of the Council none of this is going to happen.


So our campaign, pure and simple, is to take the issue of Brentford FC and its future in the community to the people of Hounslow to make sure that they do understand the issues and to make sure they understand that the club is in grave danger of dying; and to take it to the Councillors on the hustings, to make sure that they also understand the same issues and to convey to them the sincerity of our views.

I do have sympathy with Feltham's point about there being many other issues that the Council have to do with, such as education and other vital services. This country has a long and proud history of "single issue" groups, such as ours, campaigning vigorously: from the Chartists, Suffragettes, CND . . . at the last election there was the election of Dr Richard Taylor as MP for Wyre Valley, solely on the issue of the downgrading of Kidderminster A+E Department. Things may like this, or our campaign, may seem silly and trivial to a lot of people, but at the same time they are issues that many of us feel very strongly about. And I believe that campaigns like ours are much more relevant to local issues than party politics in Lampton Road.

This is particularly relevant in our case because there has been widespread apathy towards the football club and its supporters among all the parties in the area. I don't want to go banging on about our questionnaire too much, but it does help illustrate a number of points. We have had no responses from any Tory Councillors in the Borough; the LibDems are (true to form) a bit ambivalent with conflicting messages being sent out, but their behaviour at the Public Meeting in Feltham last Summer was disgraceful in mobilising local opinion against Brentford FC. Again if there hadn't been such cross-party apathy, there would not be the need to stand as candidates.

I thank you Ladies and Gentlemen, and am now happy to pass the soapbox back . . .


[This message has been edited by stedders (edited 03 February 2002).]

 

[stedders]

Sorry.

Was it something I said?

 

[Pauly Paul]

No! Extremely well said Paul.

Bumping this up!