WHO RUNS STC?

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10 minutes read

You can pretend that a man can become a woman, but reality is different. You can pretend that the Sun is blue with pink dots, but reality is different. You can pretend that Shirebrook Town Council is apolitical and “working together” for our town, but reality is different. There is deep division in STC.

This division does not run along party membership lines. It runs between those who do nothing and those who work overtime. It also shows between those who are scared to openly admit their political affiliation and those who have no problem doing so transparently and honestly. If we want to live in a better town, we need to choose better people for our council. Not lazy cowards, but people who work hard and are transparent about their views and goals.

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SAFE EVENT!
When I started working on this article, I thought it would be quick, easy work. My question to councillors was super-simple: “Councillor, what is your political affiliation?” You can’t ask an easier question. OK. Maybe I could ask how much is 2+2. But that’s it.

I thought I would send one email, copy the replies into my text editor and write a short comment at the end of those replies. Then I will prompt my AI assistant to create some graphic charts to illustrate what I had learned. I’d add a comic strip to spice it up, drop it on my blog and — tadaaa — job done. A cool, simple article explaining to my readers something they want to know. Easy, right?

THEN IT’S STARTED
So I sent the emails. When I started receiving replies… it turned into the most ridiculous interaction I’ve had with STC councillors in months. And when I started writing, the text grew so quickly that I had to split it into two parts. Today, I will show you why, how, and some graphs. In part two, I will show you the most jaw-dropping answers from members of Shirebrook’s political aristocracy.

As usual, let me start with a short introduction and then get into the details. If you want to skip the introduction and see pure data and charts, scroll down to the chapter titled FIRST LIST — BASED ON MEDIA ENQUIRY REPLIES. If you want to read about my adventures in compiling that data, start from TRANSPARENCY GROUP. For those who like to read my articles in their entirety — let’s go.

STC WAS, IS AND WILL BE A POLITICAL ENTITY
STC is elected through a political contest called ELECTIONS. It has existed for over 120 years. At the moment, STC has 16 councillors. If you know anything about human group dynamics, in groups of more than five people, there is always a social dynamic that promotes certain ideas over others. One leader over pretenders.

It is in our nature for groups of humans to create some form of hierarchy and to choose or follow a leader. You can observe it everywhere — in families, in volunteer groups, in business, and in politics. Humans are pre-programmed to be led by the strongest, smartest, most experienced, and best-supported members of the group. As long as everyone plays fair, that creates positive outcomes.

As soon as the majority think socialism is the recipe for a win, it ends with violence, bloodshed, poverty and hunger.

I’M STILL FLABBERGASTED
That’s why it baffled me when SOS/Shirebrook Together and Reform councillors voted for a Labour candidate for the new Chair of STC. Labour took this town to its knees, and there was no one in that chamber brave enough to stand up and say: “I’m sick and tired of Labour incompetence. We need someone new — and if Labour is really serious about this whole ‘let’s work together’ narrative, they should support that new person, shouldn’t they?”

I’m not naïve. Labour’s talk of “working together” is just the posturing of a dying oligarchy. If any candidate outside the Labour circle decided to run, that Labour circle would attack them. I have zero doubts about that. Why? Because I’ve seen it before. I witnessed Labour Party doing that first-hand. Don’t believe me? It happened when the council was run by the Kane/[name withheld] duo. You can hear and read about it in the chapter RIGGED ELECTION FOR CHAIR of this article: https://shirebrook247.com/2022/05/30/2022-stc-annual-general-meeting-it-was-bananas/

NO ONE STOOD UP TO CORRUPTION? REALLY?
It’s a shame that no one was brave enough to stand up and challenge Labour. Maybe that’s why no one is talking about the audit of net-zero contracts either. Are they all scared of the reaction from those who benefit from the status quo?

Regardless of what happened after STC fell apart and the co-option process played out, many people assumed that Reform had taken over STC. I knew that wasn’t true. Not even close. That’s why I kept hearing the same question: what is the actual political composition of STC?

WHO IS WHO?
I was first asked about the composition of STC after the first round of co-options, back in December 2025. Since then, I have lost count of how many times I’ve been asked who holds the majority on STC. Is it Labour? SOS? How many Reform councillors slipped through Labour’s defences? Is there a Lib-Dem or Green on STC?

Who are these new people? Where did they come from? What are their views? Why are they hiding their affiliation? Why did Labour co-opt someone from OUTSIDE Shirebrook and reject someone who has lived here for more than a decade? Are they really so desperate that they voted for a carpetbagger over a local candidate? So many questions, and no one to answer them. That’s where S247 comes in. We asked.

TRANSPARENCY GROUP
Of the 16 STC councillors, six sent back straightforward answers: Cllr Shelley Arapi, Cllr David Downes, Cllr Oliver Kershaw-Dickson, Cllr Andrew Stevens, Cllr Mark Dodds, and Cllr Steve Singleton. No problems, no issues. It probably took them less than a minute to reply — full transparency, kind, polite, and open. All of them. I will present their answers in full in part two of this article.

For now, here is what matters: not a single Labour councillor replied with a straight answer. Let that sink in. NOT A SINGLE LABOUR COUNCILLOR ANSWERED DIRECTLY. What does that tell you?

Of those who replied transparently, three declared themselves Independent, and three declared a Reform affiliation.

POLITICAL GAMES GROUP
Another group sent emails back — but all of them decided to play political games with the simplest possible question. This is the most jaw-dropping part of the article. Buckle up, folks.

TEMU KANE
Cllr Michael Yates — also known as Temu Kane — started interrogating me and demanded answers before he would answer. I think he is confused about how journalism works in a non-communist environment. I also think this man is ashamed of his political affiliation and prefers to hide it (pedo- scandals, STC scandals, his wife scandals, Rotherham scandal, pro-crime, pro-immigration, pro-EU, economy going down, u-turn behaviour- do I have to list more? I could go on for a looooong time).

I asked Temu Kane the simplest, most straightforward question — one I already knew the answer to. I asked it out of courtesy and in line with the basic journalistic principle of giving a subject the opportunity to respond.

He decided to play political games and behave like some kind of aristocrat. He DEMANDED answers from me — a journalist/blogger. Cllr Yates, we do not live under communism. In a democracy, it is the journalist who asks the questions, not the politician. In the end, I counted 5 emails from him, and not one of them replied to the simplest question. FIVE! That’s how desperate Temu Kane was to get an answer to… his question.

THEN IT WENT WILD
And just when I thought Yates’s behaviour would be the centrepiece of this article, something even wilder happened. I received an email from Cllr Martin Barber. He sent me an email addressed to… Cllr Luke Shorthose. Yes. You read that right. He accidentally exposed himself to a journalist in the most lame, amateurish way. Ouch!

But that rookie mistake was not even the biggest issue with his email. Not by a long way. Buckle up tighter — helmet on, bulletproof vest recommended. Here it is: in that email, Cllr Barber told Cllr Luke Shorthose NOT TO ANSWER my question. He literally advised a fellow councillor to conceal his political affiliation from residents. Transparency much, Cllr Barber?

I think this was yet another serious mistake from that councillor. He may still be finding his feet, and allowances can be made for that — but at some point, we have to start asking serious questions about his understanding of the basic rules of public life. Breaking Standing Orders, calling meetings on his own, sending emails to the wrong address, advising fellow councillors to withhold information that the public has every right to know. Something about all of this sits deeply wrong with me. I can’t put it into a single word — it is more of a feeling, a discomfort that builds the more I look at his record. Whatever it is, I don’t like it.

CLLR LUKE SHORTHOSE
You have to give him a chance. He is new, barely weeks in office. It is natural to seek advice from more experienced councillors. I did it too, and I got burned on occasion as well. But (and this is a big BUT) I sought advice from outside STC, from impartial people, through a dedicated Facebook group for new councillors. Luke went to someone with a vested interest in manipulating him. That was bad judgment. Luke was played, and now people know it. I hope he has learned a new lesson about politics. The lesson is: [……………………………………………]
Of course, I used that misdirected email to put further pressure on Cllr Luke Shorthose. I won’t bore you with the details, but I was successful. Ultimately, he answered in a proper and open manner. In fact, my intervention convinced both Cllr Barber and Cllr Shorthose to answer. I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry that I had to twist their arms to get there. My readers want to know who is who on STC, and I am here to deliver.

NEW COUNCILLORS
Two more councillors replied — those co-opted in the third round. In all fairness, I did not expect them to respond. They had roughly 48 hours between receiving my question and the moment I sat down to write this article. Yet they delivered. For comparison: not a single Labour councillor replied with a straight answer, and they had weeks to do so. What does that tell you? Seriously — how terrified are they of speaking to me? I know I look like an unshaven monkey after a rough night, but come on — I only asked a simple question.

Anyway, a good start for the new councillors. Kudos to Cllr Dodds and Cllr Singleton. Quick, transparent answers. Their affiliations are recorded in both versions of the charts I have prepared for readers, even though they had a fraction of the time available to the rest of STC to respond. Labour? Shame on you. Once again you have shown exactly what you think of your constituents: you ignore them. SHAME.

TWO LISTS
I decided to compile two versions of the political affiliation list. Here is why: the first list is based solely on the answers I received, nothing else. What it tells us is this: Labour members of STC are either too scared or too ashamed to publicly confirm their political affiliation. They prefer to hide and pretend rather than openly state who they are and who their friends are (Mandelson?).

To sum up: list one is incomplete. The majority of STC councillors ignored a straightforward media enquiry. They are either so disorganised that they do not check their email, or — and this is worse — they are afraid to admit their political affiliation. If you are that scared of politics, why did you get into it? What were you thinking?

Below you can see the list and chart. Yellow indicates those who failed to respond — whether through incompetence or fear. Light blue indicates Reform. Dark grey indicates Independent.

FIRST LIST – BASED ON MEDIA ENQUIRY REPLIES

Shelley Arapi (Ind- confirmed)
Martin Barber (Ind- confirmed)
Neil Bradbury (unconfirmed)
Shaun Cheeseman (unconfirmed)
Mark Dodds (Reform-confirm)
David Downes (Ind- confirmed)
Fred Gobey (unconfirmed)
Ricky Holland (unconfirmed)
Oliver Kershaw-Dickson (unconfirmed)
Kerry Kirk (unconfirmed)
Brian Murray-Carr (unconfirmed)
Luke Shorthose (Ind- confirmed)
Steve Singleton (Ind- confirmed)
Dale Smith (unconfirmed)
Andrew Stevens (Reform- confirmed)
Michael Yates (unconfirmed)

SECOND LIST
The second list is a “vibe” list, compiled from electoral records from previous elections, co-option speeches, and background research. I accept that some of those who stood on a Labour ticket may have resigned their membership since, perhaps, when they learned the truth about Shirebrook Labour. But the lack of response from so many councillors forces me to speculate about their true allegiances.

Read the second list and chart with a pinch of salt: it is highly speculative. It would be so much easier if councillors simply admitted their affiliation openly and transparently. But this is Shirebrook — where political games are apparently more important than the common good.

Shelley Arapi (Ind)
Martin Barber (Ind)
Neil Bradbury (unconfirmed)
Shaun Cheeseman (Labour)
Mark Dodds (Reform)
David Downes (Ind)
Fred Gobey (Labour)
Ricky Holland (Labour)
Oliver Kershaw-Dickson (Reform)
Kerry Kirk (unconfirmed)
Brian Murray-Carr (Labour)
Luke Shorthose (Ind)
Steve Singleton (Ind)
Dale Smith (Labour)
Andrew Stevens (Reform)
Michael Yates (Labour)

EPILOGUE
That’s it. Labour is hanging on by a thread. They keep hiding scandals, they keep raising our taxes, and they keep riding that deficit for the second year in a row. Nothing has changed. But 2027 is coming — and with your help, we can change Shirebrook for the better.

All we have to do is be brave. Those of us who have time to spare and love this town need to join the race. Those who want change but cannot commit to becoming a councillor need to vote — and drag every last member of their family to the polling station with them.

Vote. For anyone but Labour. They had their chance. They blew it — and we are all paying the price for that.

Sylwester Zwierzynski

Lead picture: made with Midjourney
Comic book at the end: made with Chat GPT Image 2.0 (keep scrolling down)

TEXT OF EMAIL SENT TO ALL 16 COUNCILLORS OF STC:
Dear Councillor,
My name is Sylwester Zwierzynski. I am the author and editor of Shirebrook247, an independent local news blog covering governance, transparency and public accountability at Shirebrook Town Council.

I am writing to ask one straightforward question:
Who do you represent, and what is your current political affiliation?

Residents of Shirebrook have a democratic right to know the political alignment of those who represent them on the Town Council. This information is fundamental to informed democratic participation and public accountability.

I would be grateful if you could confirm:
1. Your current political party membership, if any.
2. Whether you are standing as an Independent, and if so, whether you are aligned with or supported by any political organisation.
3. Whether you are a member of any local political group or organisation active in Shirebrook.

Please be aware that this email will be published in full on Shirebrook247 as an open letter, along with any response you choose to provide. If I do not receive a response within 14 days, I will note that no reply was received.

I thank you for your time and look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely
Sylwester Zwierzynski