Yesterday we learned that
Neil Carmichael, former Conservative MP for Stroud 2010-2017, will not contest the seat again.
We had a bit of fun thinking up our favourite Neil C memories - here are our top ten (you can
read a full thread on twitter):
5. We'll miss Neil's impressive ability to sit on a fence - a classic example was over the Gloucestershire Incinerator, as the SNJ reported: "
Neil Carmichael has refused to say if he would vote for or against the proposed Javelin Park incinerator if he was sitting on the planning committee tasked with deciding the controversial £500 million application later this month.
Contrary to reports suggesting he had taken a stand against the facility, Mr Carmichael told the SNJ that his position had not changed and he would await the planning committee's verdict on March 21 before deciding whether or not to side with opponents of the scheme.
4. We'll also miss Neil's weathervane impression, remembering how he helped "
fight plans to erect wind turbines in the Berkeley Vale while simultaneously vying to install even bigger structures on his own land in Northumberland", and how he
claimed to oppose fracking in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, before
voting for drilling under AONB's and National Parks too. Not for nothing did
Carmichael gain the description "treachorous scumbag" after U-turning on a promise to vote to protect pubs - it was far from the only time he said one thing and did another.
3. Neil's total failure to understand, let alone challenge, the impact of his government's cuts has to be mentioned - back in 2011 he was claiming "
public spending cuts are not as bad as Labour make out" - even as it was announced that
Stroud District Council would have a 28.6% cut in it's central government grant (later developed into a 100% cut) - leading to the current situation surrounding the Sub Rooms and dozens of job losses. Meanwhile, cuts at the County level being discussed at the time saw youth centres closed and libraries handed to volunteers. In March 2016 Carmichael came to the Parliament Children's Centre to say "
this centre will not close - I can't make it any clearer than that". The centre has closed, and dozens of people working in children's services around the county lost their jobs.
2. Perhaps our all time favourite Neil C moment came with this hilarious
Stroud News story on the Keep Gloucestershire's NHS Public campaign pledge:
"On Friday, March 16, Caroline Molloy of SATC emailed the Tory MP to request that he supports efforts to retain hospitals and health services within the public sector.
In the email, she asked him to sign a pledge supporting ‘the right of NHS users and staff to have the choice for Gloucestershire’s community hospitals and health services to remain fully in the NHS, publicly owned and accountable’.
When the SNJ contacted Mr Carmichael the following Monday he said he needed more time to look at the pledge before deciding whether to sign.
The SNJ has since spoken to Mr Carmichael on several occasions about the issue, most recently on Monday this week, when he said he still had not had time to read the pledge, which is roughly a paragraph in length.
Caroline Molloy of SATC said: "He has had more than enough time to look at the pledge.
"I emailed it to him again a second time and read it out to him on the phone the next day.
"I think we would expect more from our local MP on a matter of great concern to large numbers of his constituents."
Despite not having read the pledge, Mr Carmichael told the SNJ that he suspected he would be unable to sign it because it would mean committing to a position that is ‘not deliverable’."
1. What other moment could be number one than the dramatic voting pattern that saw the
Tory MP defeated last May - by 29,994 votes to 29,307. At the time, Mr Carmichael said: "
“I’m not entirely certain this was a good time to hold an election, and standing here today, I’m even less certain," adding “You haven’t heard the last of me. I’m a fighter and I don’t give up. I intend to fight on and next time I intend to win.” He was a liar till the end, then?
