Wednesday, February 04, 2009

LibDem Councillor Blocks Way of 999 Ambulance!

As a nice diversion from racist accusations, have you read about the LibDem councillor who blocked the path of an Ambulance on a 999 call because it was "breaking a local bye-law"? I kid you not. The Telegraph has the details HERE. One for LibDem Voice, perhaps? Or perhaps not :)

43 comments:

Hacked Off said...

Same loony Lib Dem Council want to stop nursery school children from playing under a tree for fear of poaching the ground. As though 4 year olds weigh as much as cattle. Tossers.

The Penguin

MikeyP said...

The ambulance driver should have just driven straight over the self-righteous idiot and his pesky bike!

WV "coven"

Dave H said...

My local rag covered this.

'Cllr Rosenstiel admitted he was "agitated" and "generally angry", but insisted he did not see the ambulance's flashing lights.'

Given this was during a festival, I wonder if that's the same as tired and emotional.

Mr Mr said...

How odd, a liberal Councilor made an instant decision without any dithering about, albeit the wrong one.

Wallenstein said...

This isn't the first time the esteemed Cllr Rosenstiel has made an appearance in the news (or indeed your blog!).

http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2007/08/it-shouldnt-happen-to-libdem-no-94.html

Chris Howell said...

There is a full report of Cllr Rosenstiel's behaviour here and it makes pretty damning reading. The fact is as a senior member of the ruling administration, he should be capable of solving problems like the one he was trying to address without resorting to such ill-judged 'cycle rage' in this way. He makes a habit of this type of behaviour - remember this? - Its time for him to go.

Its not as if the shambles that is the Lib Dems running Cambridge don't have plenty of other things to worry about

Anonymous said...

I am sure Brown said "Depression" today at PMQ's after starting out saying "recession".

Philipa said...

What a complete and utter arse.

Time for him to join NuLab.

davidc said...

truly it has been said 'scratch a liberal (democrat) and find a (self righteous) dictator underneath'

Man in a Shed said...

People have died because selfish individuals have blocked Ambulances.

I don't think this is a Lib Dem thing - its just a complete failure of judgement. Oh hold on a minute ....

Mark Senior said...

The fact is that the Audit Commission continues to give excellent ratings to the LibDem run Cambridge City Council which is one of the best run councils in England . For a badly run council you only have to look at next door where the Conservative run South Cambs DC is assessed as fair and poor by the Audit Commission in recent reports .

Martin Wellbourne said...

Rosenstiel says:-
Cllr Rosenstiel, who has sat on the council since 1992, said: "Both parties in Parliament have attempted to abolish the Standards Board for England.

"It tends to make mountains of molehills, although I am not directly referring to my case."

So - full of remorse then, and wholly aware of the utter stupidity of his behaviour. Well, perhaps not.

Anonymous said...

The Liberal Democrats are doomed - DOOMED at the next election! They will do anything to shunt the blaime elsewhere - the LD's are 5th rate and could well end up behind the SNP at the next election in numbers of H of C seats.

LD LD LD - Out Out Out!

Martin Wellbourne said...

You'd think the Dim Lemons might have got Rosenstiel in a wheelbarrow, pushing him as far away from their flagship local council as possible.

But it's all a bit cosy round that way - uni for a few years computer science, something nice in software development, a place on the council with people who just...understand.

Martin Wellbourne said...

Let's just remind ourselves that this is a council which parted from one of it's most respected members after he was accused of "hetro-sexism" and declined to attend an inquisition by the council "Lesbian-gay-transgender" group.

His crime? Suggesting that it might be a good idea to plan some houses which were big enough for couples with childre. Offensive, apparently.

A good piece about it here:-
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/rowan-pelling-bring-on-those-white-ageing-males-450532.html

Guthrum said...

Ann Keen MP being fined £15 K for being idle is my story of the day !

Anonymous said...

The guardian had an interesting piece about a Tory MP who exposed the LD party duplicity and double standards at the despatch box the other day: Anyone got a Link - I feel Nick Clegg = Neil Kinnock needs to expose the LD's lies and duplicity in terms of their election manual.

Mark Senior said...

True Martin let's expose the duplicity and lies of candidates and start with the aptly named Mr Bean Conservative candidate in Didsbury West last week who issued a leaflet with a fake made up by himself opinion poll and 2 horse race bar graph .
Result LibDem vote up Do Nothing Party vote down .

David Boothroyd said...

I don't see how the Standards Committee will justify taking action given that he wasn't in his capacity as councillor at the time.

Disclaimer: I knew Colin Rosenstiel when I was at Cambridge and occasionally correspond with him, although I did my best to prevent his election in 1992 and to support the excellent former Labour councillor Rick Leggatt.

Martin Wellbourne said...

That's rich, Boothroyd - mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if they DO try that one on. So he was just an enraged member of the general public who, for no good reason and ABSOLUTELY NOT because he's a local councillor, was phoned by some of his constituents - no doubt acting in their capacity as "just good friends" - and hoofed his way down to the common to get busy.

It's funny how the only people supporting him either here, in the comments sections of various newspapers which have reported the case and on the local newsgroup - cam.misc - are either people who know him or wholly partisan Dim Lemons. Everyone else seems to think he's an ignorant, arrogant, berk.

Still, they're only voters.

Martin Wellbourne said...

Of course, this bit should cause concern:-
It
is a criminal offence to block the path of an emergency vehicle, but a spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Police, said no charges were brought against the councillor.
She said: "We were called by the paramedic and words of advice were given to the councillor - he was told to open the gate."

I reckon it's worth a trip to the nick for a chat and a D.N.A. swab at the very least.

Iain Dale said...

Mark Senior, a good deflecting tactic, but the story is not about the brilliance of Cambridge City Council or otherwise. It id about the crass actions of a District Councillor. Can you not, just this once, bring yourself to admit that this individual has behaved like a prize idiot?

Promise I won't hold it against you.

Martin Wellbourne said...

Don't stop him Iain! It's hilarious seeing the bicycling beer boffins trying to defend him, standing shoulder to shoulder with a man who seems to be regarded with contempt and derision by the world and his aunty.

Just keep flagging it up as "acceptable behaviour as defined by the LDs".

Dick the Prick said...

But i'm the Bishop of Southwark don't you know?

M said...

Cllr Rosenstiel is clearly unfit to hold public office (in fact, he's clearly unfit to hold open the door to a public office!).

I have noted an interesting element to his quote in the Telegraph...
"Cllr Rosenstiel, who has sat on the council since 1992, said: "Both parties in Parliament have attempted to abolish the Standards Board for England..."

Is that finally an admission from the LibDems that only the Tories and Labour actually exist? In which case, can people please stop even mentioning the LibDems as I have far more important things to remember!

Mark Senior said...

Iain , If it makes you feel any happier, then I would agree that on the facts presented this councillor has acted as a prat . It is quite easy to dig out and post similar embarassing stories concerning Conservative councillors and as there are more Conservative councillors at present than those of other parties there will be more of them .
It was other posters who then went on to criticise the LibDem council which as I pointed out has an excellent record compared to South Cambs DC next door run by the Conservatives .

Martin Wellbourne said...

That would be the facts which have been considered in the twenty-two months which have passed since the incident and which have been meticulously presented in 137 page document, as mentioned by Chris Howell, above.

The Councillor seems to have, or have had, a real problem acknowledging that the ambulance driver had represented the situation accurately. His supporters seem to echo this.

Disrupting paramedics in the course of their duty is a particularly disreputable way to behave and sadly for the Lame Ducks most people see it that way, not as "making a mountain out of a molehill". Not that the Councillor was referring to his own case when making that comment. Mais non!).

I appreciate that the Laughable Dimlows are keen to present themselves as creatures of such lofty ideals that this sort of personal knockabout is just waaaay beneath them but really, out beyond the political theories, it matters when prats interfere with the emergency services. It really pisses off the normal citizen.

As I say - they're only voters!

Hacked Off said...

"meticulously presented in 137 page document"??????????? FFS!!!!!!!

How much has this bollocks cost the tax-payer?

Still, I suppose it's British Investigations By British Workers.

The Penguin.

Bob S said...

Oh, the delicious irony of it:


The Welsh Liberal Democrat "Shadow Health Minister" has put out a press release today criticsing delays ambulance response times.

He said:

"My concern is that the best efforts of a hard-working and dedicated staff are being foiled by factors outside their control...."

http://southwaleslibdems.org.uk/news/000647/urgent_action_needed_to_address_p

DespairingLiberal said...

Happy to admit (and I'm sure I speak for many LibDems) Iain that this remarkable fellow is clearly a total prat of the banker variety.

Between us, I always had my doubts about cyclists as a species, although I used to be one in my youth, so I shouldn't really.

Daily Referendum said...

I can just see him now. Peddling away with his sock an sandaled feet, wearing glasses that weren't even fashionable when he bought them in the eighties, sporting an haircut only his mother could have given him.

I'm surprised the paramedic and the copper didn't do the public a real service and drop the weirdo.

What a tw*t.

an ex-apprentice said...

Dear Mr DespicableLiberal,

I was astonished to find you referring to your youth in the past tense.
From your random jottings hereabouts I had assessed your age, with a high degree of confidence, at about 13.
So far as speaking for many LibDumbs is concerned, after the next election it will be much easier; with the number of MP's you'll have, they'll be able to meet in a phone box!

JuliaM said...

"I reckon it's worth a trip to the nick for a chat and a D.N.A. swab at the very least."

It would be for anyone else. I expect the 'words of advice' would be quite a lot harsher too...

John M Ward said...

Ah, Colin! He appears regularly on the UK politics Usenet newsgroups, but I didn't know about this. I shall bear it in mind in future dealings on those Groups…

John M Ward said...

To Mark Senior, about fake/made-up bar graphs:

These are LibDem specialities, and they do it every time when they feel they can get an advantage, for example in a by-election in my neck-of-the-woods last year.

If you want to be recognised only as a first-class hypocrite, just carry on posting such stuff as you have done here…

Martin Wellbourne said...

I do heartily recommend that anyone who feels that life is a little short for the whole 137 page report should at least try to read pages 6 to 14 inclusive and then re-consider Councillor Rosenstiel's defensive comments about making mountains out of molehills.

Martin Wellbourne said...

At 1.06 today one David Boothroyd typed this:-
"I don't see how the Standards Committee will justify taking action given that he wasn't in his capacity as councillor at the time."

I refer him to section 4.27 on page 9 of the report (to be found here:-
http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/public/
councillors/agenda/2009/0211stds/3_0.pdf)

This is under the general heading "Councillor Rosenstiel's evidence". Point 4.27- which details a call made to Councillor Rosenstiel by a Mr. Cooper, complaining about vehicles in a restricted area - reads as follows:-

"The phone call was from Mr John Cooper, a resident of Park Parade, which is adjacent to Jesus Green.

Mr Cooper contacted Councillor Rosenstiel IN HIS CAPACITY AS WARD COUNCILLOR for the area covering the green."

(My capitals).

I'd call that reasonably unambiguous.

Martin Wellbourne said...

Well it's up on LittlebitDopey Voice now - amazingly most ofthem STILL don't get it. Sulk...sulk...he should have had his lights and sirens on...sulk...whine.

Listen dummos - it was grossly unacceptable behaviour - the longer you fumble and mumble or, even worse, actually support the silly chappie the worse it looks for you as a party.

One renegade prat - that's the way it goes. A total failure to understand that He Has Done Something Bad and to run away from him as fast as your little legs can carry you - a coven of clueless twits doomed to be bleating away on the fringes for ever...and ever...and ever...

Martin S said...

The report shows quite clearly that the councillor suffers from:-

Selective memory loss. But only in his favour.

The ability to lie and hope that nobody finds him out.

A ridiculously over-inflated sense of his own importance.

He should not be a councillor.

Martin S said...

Yes, Mark Senior, and all of the Conservative councillors on South Cambridge council regularly stop ambulances from tending the sick.

Oh. They don't? From the point you made I assumed that they did. Unless you were making a point that was less relevant than it might have been?

Just because a council scores well in box ticking exercises does not mean it runs genuinely popular or useful services.

Nich Starling said...

Your reference to LDV is all Pots and kettles Iain. After all the number of stories you print that are critical of Tories can be counted on one hand.

Did you print the Simon Burns Story about the Tory MP convicted of dangerous driving breaking the neck in two places of a British solider ?

As for the comments from Martin Day, wishing for something will not make it happen no matter how many times you repeat the lie. Any wise political commentator will tell you that your analysis is rubbish.

Nich Starling said...

JOhn Ward also, get over yourself.

In 2001 the Tories delivered a fak Labour leaflet in North Norfolk claiming the lib Dems were set to come third. The result ? Lib Dems gained the parliamentary seat.

To deny that the Tories do dodgy bar graphs is like pretending Cameron is a man of the people.

Mark Senior said...

We should also not forget the Conservative run Cambs CC who believe it is acceptable to spend taxpayers money in using anti terrorist legislation to spy on paperboys .