Did they not see this coming?

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that in 2011 the vote would be close with the Lib Dems and Tories under pressure due to the national situation of massive cuts in services. After the 2010 elections we worked out that we would have to win four seats of Church, Redlands, Katesgrove and against the Greens in Park Ward. We targeted these seats from the outset and worked hard to get our message across to the voters. It was common knowledge in Reading politics that 2011 could see the casting vote of the Mayor become crucial. The Tories were certainly talking about it. So why the shock horror when this became apparent, we are in the sphere of politics and of trying to gain a majority through the deomocratic, constitutional process of the mayoralty.

I believe Cumpsty must take responsibility for this debacle and deep down he knows he was outmaneuvered and that is why he is upset. When the Lib Dems and Tories formed a coalition last year despite their longstanding hatred of each other the coalition sought to move every opposition politician from every position, including the Police Authority, despite the tradition of Cllr Page being elected to hold the position for two more years. Cumpsty was asked about Gull Khan and the mayoralty and he chose not to oppose, not out of benevolence but out of arrogance, believing the elections would not be close for them this year. He must take responsibility for this and his colleagues must reflect on the number of blunders, mistakes they made in this council year that cost them power.Any party that relies on tradition to maintain power is a party lacking ideas, strategy or mandate from the voters.

Firstly, did they really believe that they stood a chance in Park Ward where Wasir, although a very nice person was not effective against the advance of the Greens and the tough campaign we fought which led to the biggest Labour vote in Park since
1995. Secondly why did all the leading Tories, such as Cllr Willis and Cllr Ralph sit on gates in Battle Ward during election day thinking they were going to win Battle Ward, the seat that has most to lose under the Tory cuts. It would have been more politically expedient to have put their resources in Church Ward that should have been closer, apart from picking a candidate that sometimes drives through the ward to get to work, probably as a rat run from the Shinfield Road lights.

What a mistake to think that because a load of posters were up on the Oxford Road that the Tories were popular. The Tory candidate and his family, probably owns a lot of those houses on the Oxford Road and he was always going to put posters up, as he did when he supported Labour in 2001, that is his democratic right, but it didn't mean the rest of West Reading would follow suit. If Alok Sharma, (remember him, the missing MP) had done some surgeries he would have picked this up. See you in 2015 Alok when you resurface again to try and get elected because you are sure not visible on the streets helping the people of West Reading at the moment, stand up for Reading and not your political career. Vince Cable highlighted the true face of the Tories after being stitched up by them in the AV campaign when he said they were "ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal. Well the Tories are certainly tribal, but they lack the strategic overview of politics in Reading

The Lib Dems are doing strange things. They get hit by the electorate big time for being plastic Tories, losing all their seats, including the Lib Dem historic stronghold of Tilehurst to their Tory best mates and then they still act as if nothing happened by nominating every Tory candidate for every position. I would have thought that they would have seen the writing on the wall for the coalition, withdrawn to reflect on their results and come back as an independent opposition, trying to regain their radical position on the council. I believe the only headlines the Lib Dems will make this year will be through the odd behaviour of Cllr Swaine, the "comedy terrorist". My advice for him is to resign his position on the council and get up to the Edinburgh festival where his comedy will be loved by the audiences, his antics might be suited to the Edinburgh Festival circuit but his stunts are certainly not conducive to local politics, where his behaviour and attitude towards the Greens and Cllr Gul Khan was bordering on intimidation, incitement and slander.

I think it is hard not to feel sympathy towards Cllr Rinn, who worked hard as the Deputy Mayor and I would hope this situation will be rectified when the mayoralty will not be crucial to the political process. However, what politicians have to understand is that personalities are not the issue, Cllr Gul Khan is a lovely man who did not want this to happen, but he is a Labour Cllr who represents his party and wants Labour to take control through the democratic constitutional process. Please show me any politician who would have done differently