Of those valid signatures, 93% are from Canvey residents and only 7% from Benfleet, Thundersley, and Hadleigh. It was therefore found to contain insufficient signatures of electors covering the whole of the Borough. In addition, the petition was also found to fail a further legal requirement in that it does not accurately describe the constitutional change being sought: namely an Elected Mayor with a Cabinet.
After setting their hopes on a successful Lutfur-type bid to undermine the Borough’s democracy, the Canvey Island Independent Party leader, Dave Blackwell, and our previous MP Bob Spink find their plan for lucrative local political positions defeated at the first hurdle - and concerned Castle Point residents can afford to breathe a sigh of relief.
Lechford’s misinformation and Tom Jea’s attempts at running interference to perpetuate political lies has all been in vain. Local Democracy has withstood a concerted attack by devious individuals to gain political power by whatever means – and all those involved in promoting Letchford’s campaign have shown themselves to be fundamentally dishonest.
The only point that Letchford’s petition has successfully proved is that there are 547 island residents easily convinced into believing that the current political structure is undemocratic and that 41 mainland residents are similarly convinced. And, if Letchford’s claims of knocking on residents’ doors to obtain his signatures are true, that some 3,689 of those he interviewed failed to provide all necessary details as a simple means of being rid of him. Either that, or there is another reason for 83% of his petition’s signatures being unverifiable…
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