So the red robed, tricorn hatted, medieval muppets who call themselves the Margate Charter Trustees thought it would be a good idea to make renowned and wealthy international artist Tracey Emin a freewoman of the town.
According to a statement made on behalf of this disreputable gang of washed up political has-beens and lightweights, the Mayor and Trustees of stupidity agreed unanimously to spend £2,084 of taxpayer’s money on this meaningless, ridiculously expensive award because Ms Emin “has made an important contribution to the town in her support of the artistic community”.
I don’t doubt this, but there is a time and place for honouring such things and it most certainly isn’t right here and right now. And surely honours should be all about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and just not for well off celebrities who are simplying doing their jobs
I made a freedom of information request to the Charter Trustees to find out how much it cost the taxpayers of Margate to kit out Ms Emin for the award ceremony. Here is the reply:-
Gown £ 1162.50
Badge £ 486.75
Gloves £ 9.99
Famed scroll £ 424. 95
(photo cedit Margate Charter Trustees)
Margate is one of the most deprived areas in the UK with many people already living in poverty. With the cost of living crisis now beginning to bite hard thousands more Margate residents will soon be struggling to make ends meet.
To spend hard pressed tax-payers money on a fancy civic junket at a time like this sends out all the wrong messages, and shows the Trustees, and sadly Tracey Emin too, to be totally out touch with the grim realities of life for many people in Margate.
Responding to the inevitable outcry against their shameful, irresponsible, and costly, decision to honour Emin during a major cost of living crisis, the Mayor and Trustees demonstrate their dishonesty and duplicity by claiming that they “are very conscious of their responsibilities in spending public money, especially in these difficult times”.
Surely this piss-taking cabal of insentive dressed up court jesters cannot be serious. We need to know what drugs they might have been taking when exercising their responsibilities in spending public money
One thing which amazes me about this shameful affair is that the Mayor and most of the Charter Trustees are also Labour TDC councillors. This is party which is, quite rightly, trying to protect the poorest and the most vulnerable in society from the potentially life threatening consequences of the cost of living crisis.
But here in Thanet the Labour Mayor and Labour Charter Trustees have abandoned the plight of the poor and vulnerable they ae supposed to be representing in favour of grovelling at the feet of wealthy celebrities and showering them with trinkets and titles at the public expense.
Despite the clear insensitivity, dishonesty, and political hypocrisy of the Mayor and Charter Trustees it is clear to most people that this taxpayer funded event should never have taken place at the current time.
The Mayor, Charter Trustees, and Emin should now make a public apology for the insensitive timing of the ceremony, and Ms Emin should cover the £2084 cost from her own pocket.
In these difficult times every spare penny the Trustees have should be directed towards helping those suffering the consequences of growing poverty and hardships, not glitzy fancy dress honour ceremonies for the wealthy, which can keep to another, and hopefully, better time.
Kommentarer