STC meeting- threats, shouting and a brazen “Shut up!”

Threats, shouting, and baseless accusations- that’s what happened to me at the 16th June 2021 Shirebrook Town Council meeting, all garnished with a brazen “shut up!” from the mouth of none other than Cllr Steve Fritchley. Of course, Cllr Fritchley did not tell the person who threatened me to “shut up”. Oh no! Cllr Fritchley addressed me in this crude manner when I tried to explain that everything I published on my blog in the article “Shirebrook in crisis” was just pure numbers and facts.

The Labour Party doesn’t want you to know figures and facts- that’s why you won’t find anything about the debt, deficit and STC payroll spending in the Labour Party propaganda paper “The Post”. They want you to live in the dark. They want you to continue to vote for them and live in ignorance while they run up the debt+deficit and spend your tax money on God knows what.

I do not want to combine the article about this disgusting incident with the text about the meeting itself, so this text will only be about the threats against my person and the councillor from whose mouth these unworthy words came. In a few days, I will publish a separate article, which will deal only with what was discussed at the open part of the meeting.

I would be happy to attach video or audio evidence, but the STC has forbidden recording meetings without permission (just like in Soviet Russia – the government hides in the shadows and does whatever it likes, and you have to sit back, pay taxes, and pretend that everything is fine. Or else.). In connection with this incident, I will apply to the STC for permission to audio-record all meetings in which I will participate – for my safety, and also so that town residents know what is going on at council meetings. STC must be transparent and residents have a right to know what is going on at meetings- this ban is in my opinion proof that the Labour Party have authoritarian tendencies and is simply scared of public scrutiny.

SO WHAT WAS IT ABOUT AND HOW DID IT PLAY OUT?

About an hour after the meeting started, one of the councilmen started talking about my blog. He didn’t like that I was describing the town’s situation as a crisis. He didn’t like it even more that I pointed out that at the first meeting the new Labour Part councillor didn’t speak once. This councillor stated that these claims should be dealt with by the “relevant authorities” (whatever that means) completely ignoring the fact that all the figures I quoted are transcribed directly from the audit findings. Numbers do not lie. The numbers cannot be manipulated. No other council is in such a dire situation. That is a fact and Labour trying to hide it.

After a while, Steve Fritchley, in his typical style, started talking about.. something (sometimes it’s hard to follow his speeches) but arranging his words as if he did not know who was the author of the blog he was talking about. At one point I interrupted his speech and said out loud that I am the author of these words and I stand by it.

I tried to explain-there is such a thing as freedom of speech and I have the right to write what I think as I think it. At this point, I was shouted down. Labour doesn’t like freedom of speech? After a while the chairman restored order and I was able to continue. I explained that the town was half a million in debt, spending half a million on wages and running a huge budget deficit. For me, this is a disaster and I warned the councillors that if they don’t change their approach to finances, then in a year/two the tax increase will be bigger than two years ago (9.5%). Once again I was shouted down.

Everyone spoke through themselves and I can’t say much about that part of the meeting other than that I got the great feeling that Labour would really prefer not to have an opposition in STC who will drag out the facts about how the town works into daylight. My view is that I got so many votes in byelection because some residents are fed up with the Labour Party’s mismanagement, cover-ups and spin. Residents want someone to look at their hands and I intend to fulfil that task.

When the situation calmed down, the Labour Party councillor mentioned above (I can’t remember his name) spoke up again and said that I had no right to post councillors’ names on my blog or Facebook. I don’t know why another councilman spoke for the councilman I blogged about. Maybe he is his advocate? I don’t know. At the end of the day, however, it came to pass that the councilman I mentioned in the article in question- spoke up. His first words will go down in the infamous history of STC.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember his whole speech – I tried to explain that I saw him for the first time (because at the first meeting he was sitting on the other side of the room and was invisible to me, but as soon as I started to explain I was shouted down- do you see tactics here?) but the fact remains- he didn’t speak a word at first meeting. He shouted at me, interrupted my explanation and continued his speech. At the end of his speech, he said something like: “I will ask you kindly not to do that again” (not to publish his name I assumed). So here it is: it was Carl Talbot, a new addition to Labour Party STC.

I told him that of course, I would describe the situation on the blog- it’s my duty. Then Carl Talbot acted like a typical bully, a brute. He stood up and said in a very, very creepy voice: “I live (he told his address, I don’t remember it) Shirebrook. You live 64 Bracken road yeah?” At this point again Labour councillors erupted- the more experienced ones realised that Carl Talbot had overstepped his bounds and was probably trying to stop him from saying something he would regret. Unfortunately- it was too late. I ask him “Is that a threat?” and the room EXPLODED. It’s hard to tell what the councillors on the other side of the room were shouting, but I haven’t seen anyone trying to stop threats.

Cllr Chris Kane came into the game shouting something unintelligible to me. I was a little surprised that the Chairman didn’t take notice of Carl Talbot’s threat to me – after all, it was Carl Talbot behaviour that was unbecoming of a Councillor, not mine! However, now that I think about it, it seems to me that it was to their advantage to sacrifice the reputation of rookie Carl Talbot to send me a message that I would either shut up or…. well, what?

Are they going to come to my house and set it on fire? Break my windows? Cut the tires on my car? Will they attack someone in my family? What did Carl Talbot have in mind when he shouted out my address, which is publicized on the town’s website anyway? He didn’t discover America, but he did send a clear signal.

Let me be clear how I received his words: I perceived what Carl Talbot said as a direct threat. His attitude, his voice, his body language suggested that he was saying it for one purpose: to intimidate me. If STC declassifies the recording of the meeting no one will have any doubt about that.

CLLR CARL TALBOT- COUNCILLOR WHO DOESN’T KNOW HE IS A PUBLIC FIGURE

Listen to me, Carl Talbot. Newsflash for you: you ran for a seat at the council. You won. You are a public figure now. Let me emphasize that again: you are a PUBLIC FIGURE- like it or not. I’m surprised nobody told you this before. Anyway: you are a councillor. Therefore: I have the right to publish my opinion on the town’s situation. I have the right to publish my opinion about you. I have the right to publish your image even without your permission. Why? Because you are PUBLIC FIGURE now.

These are the facts: if you don’t believe me ask a lawyer, but trust me- I know what I’m talking about. This is not my first rodeo with people who didn’t want me to write about them…

Cllr Carl Talbot – you now have a choice: either accept the fact that you will be under constant scrutiny from people and the media or resign from your post (and I will never write your name again- exactly as I don’t mention names of Labour councillors that I kicked out from STC to switch byelection in which you won your seat! You wouldn’t be a councillor without me so you kinda owe me).

If I’m honest, at first I wanted to report this incident to the police: it’s been a long time since anyone threatened me, and whenever someone threatened me in the past it meant one thing: I am the one who is right, and the other side has no factual arguments, so they resort to the argument of force. For me that means one thing: I won. All I have to do is protect myself legally in case of… an accident. In this case: any attack on my person is certainly not going to bring in support for the Labour Party. People don’t like bullies.

Now I’ve cooled down a bit. The Shirebrook police have enough to do, so there’s no need to bother them with this incident. There are other ways to calm the situation and I’m generally a conciliatory guy…

It’s my duty as an opposition councillor to inform residents of the facts without looking at threats. At the moment Im only opposition councillor in STC so I am an easy target, but I very much hope that the good people who live in Shirebrook will join me and in 2023 I will not be sitting in the council chamber alone. So if you ever thought about making this town better- join Conservatives and run for a council seat- don’t be scared by Labour bullies- stand up to them! I don’t mind taking all fire on me now so in future you can work in peace.

At one point Cllr Brian Murray-Carr interjected (to be honest: a few of Labour councillors made a positive impression on me but he stands out: always factual, balanced in judgements, approaches discussions without emotion and only speaks up when he has something concrete to say- I want to be like that when I grow up) who said that new councillors should receive training on rights and responsibilities. It seems to me that such training should be right after the election, but I would go for such training even now, a month and a half after election day. I admit- I learned a lot but I’m still green as a cucumber. 

Cllr Carl Talbot: we both became councillors at the same time and we both received no training explaining our rights and responsibilities: this is not our fault, just a shortcoming in procedures beyond our control. TOGETHER we can ensure that new councillors in the future are not in the same situation. Let’s turn this nasty situation into something positive. I’m reaching out to you: we can work together to come up with some sort of guide for a new STC councillor. From my point of view- a few dozen sentences of explanation the day after the election would make the new councillor’s job much easier. Add to it jargon explanation and new councillors are good to go on the first day.

Of course, as soon as Brian Murray-Carr finished the other councillors started talking again. I tried to explain that nothing I wrote was a lie. Then something happened that I didn’t expect. Steve Fritchley yelled at me: “Shut up!”. It shocked me, to be honest. Labour councillors shouted through each other and at me and neither Chair nor Vice responded with such aggression. As soon as I tried to emphasize that I had done nothing wrong- Steve lost his cool and acted in a way I would never have expected on his part.

It would be nice to see it on film – someone who considers himself a great politician loses his cool in the first confrontation with the real opposition… Well, Steve – you have an interesting two years ahead of you because today’s meeting is only the beginning of my adventure with STC. I can assure you Steve – I will not shut up.

I tried to intervene with the Chair because that kind of language on the part of Vice is uncalled for especially when the whole room is screaming, shouting, and no one has any control over it. Of course, Chris Kane is biased so he didn’t do anything about it. I expected that.

After a meeting, I notice in my notes that someone shouted to me: “ I will wipe that smirk out of your face” but I don’t remember who told me that. In the name of transparency, it seems to me that the recording of this event should be made public so after the meeting, I asked if I could get a copy of the CCTV footage to back up my article with evidence. Of course, Chris Kane refused. Without giving a reason. Suspicious?

WHAT NOW?

This article is already super long so… let me finish here. Let’s see if the STC will release the video. Let’s see how the Monitoring Officer responds. I will inform my readers about this unfolding situation in due course.

Last words to Cllr Carl Talbot: I hope you understand why I wrote this article in this unusual way: you wanted to intimidate me, censor me, force me to do something against my will and instead it blew up in your face. My advice: next time talk to me. Write me an e-mail. Call me. My details are on the town website. I know Chris Kane is scared of me- he is avoiding any contact with me for months now. But I encourage all councillors to contact me if there is any problem. You’d be surprised how easy it is to convince me with good, honest conversation instead of threats.

As you can see Cllr Carl Talbot- I do not respond well to threats.

Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com

Lead picture Kat Jayne at pexels.com

PS As proof that I am trying to solve the problem in a civilized way: here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Cllt Carl Talbot in the hope of finding an amicable solution to the problem described in the article.

Dear Councillor!
My name is Sylwester Zwierzynski and as you probably remember we had a heated exchange at the last STC meeting. I’ll be honest- I feel that you threatened me and as such I feel an obligation to respond, explain and try to remedy this issue before it turns really nasty. As such, I also have to point out that I won’t be intimidated and I was forced by your words to publish an article about your blowout at the STC meeting.

I hope you will read it and understand that I had no choice: I have to be hard. If I step back- you will feel that I can be intimidated. That won’t happen. I contacted my lawyer. I contacted Monitoring Officer at BDC. I asked STC for a copy of the CCTV recording. I didn’t call the police but if I feel that situation getting worse- I will. I’m preparing to fight this issue right up to the point that you will admit that I’m not one to be intimidated. I think at this point that should be clear to you.

I’d like to point out that I reserve the right to publish anything that you will write in response so please mind your words. If you don’t like my proposal below: don’t try to be offensive. Just reply: “no” or something like that or don’t reply at all. Most of the Labour Party councillors are so scared of me at this point that they never respond to my e-mails but you don’t look like an easily scared guy. So take a deep breath, read my proposal and hopefully- we can overcome this issue.

I’m extending my hand with an olive branch. Let me quote one paragraph from my latest article:

Quote:
“Cllr Carl Talbot: we both became councillors at the same time and we both received no training explaining our rights and responsibilities: this is not our fault, just a shortcoming in procedures beyond our control. TOGETHER we can ensure that new councillors in the future are not in the same situation. Let’s turn this nasty situation into something positive. I’m reaching out to you: we can work together to come up with some sort of guide for a new STC councillor. From my point of view- a few dozen sentences of explanation the day after the election would make the new councillor’s job much easier. Add to it jargon explanation and new councillors are good to go on the first day.”

This is my offer: let’s shake hands, forget about this issue and sit together to write down everything that could be useful for the new councillor. We have a unique, fresh look. For you it would be probably information that as a councillor you are a public figure and as such- everybody can publish your name, your picture and opinions about you anywhere they like without your consent.

For me? Well- there are many things. Exemption, committees work, permits etc. Never mind that now. What is important is that we should try to overcome this problem. The last STC meeting was abysmal. It should not happen again and it would be to all benefit if we could stand up together at the next meeting and tell everybody that we shake hands and there is no problem between us.

It is of paramount importance to try to do this new councillor guide now: soon our first impressions will fade away and our knowledge will increase so this opportunity disappear fast.

That is my offer. Make peace, not war.

I eagerly await your response.

Cllr Sylwester Zwierzynski