Sally Allen: Why polling day dawns for me under a cloud of doom and gloom

Well, the minutes are now ticking, and time is nearly up. A new dawn is coming which is, sadly, likely to end up as a nightmare. What makes it even worse is that it is not just in the UK that the nightmare looms, but also over the USA. This means that most of the world will be affected in one way or another.

I don’t ever remember such doom and gloom over an election, but in truth it is not surprising when none of the candidates in the UK are inspiring and across the pond major decisions loom regarding the likelihood of dumping one of the current candidates in favour of someone who is younger and who can still debate.

It was interesting to watch the last head-to-head, and to see that even bully boy Trump backed off going for the jugular in the last debate, showing that even he had compassion for the ever-diminishing Biden.

All I can add to this debacle is that in my view, if Jill Biden really loved and treasured her husband, how on earth can she support him each day to endure further public humiliation. It surely can’t be that great being First Lady!

Closer to home we have our own problems, and I don’t mean nationally, I will come back to that, I mean locally. Our town has now hit the national headlines due to one of our local residents, Philip Stafford, facing the very real possibility of jail for reportedly protecting himself against violent criminals. From what I understand, this is after the police advised him to reinstate a security gate and to put up fencing to secure his property after a violent break-in.

Since then, apparently, the council have served him with an enforcement notice and warned him he faces having the gates forcibly removed by bailiffs; having a charge placed on the property preventing him from selling; even being sent to prison because the house is in a conservation area, and he didn’t have permission to re-install a gate. You couldn’t make it up. Have the Council actually thought this through? Surely common sense must prevail. Are we now not even allowed to protect our own properties, even after a recommendation from the police? 

David Thomas asked me at a meeting the other day, why I didn’t write anything nice and positive about him and his administration. I replied that I would be delighted to do so, if he could give me some good news. So blank page on that at the moment, but I live in hope. I say this because I was horrified to see that the Fragrance Group have lodged a ‘variation of condition’ to their planning application for the Palace Hotel site. If you go online and check out Planning Application P/2024/0336 you will find the details and also numerous comments from local residents shocked and extremely angry about the back door tactics now being used by the Fragrance Group to manipulate the planning office. To make matters worse the important role of chairman of the planning committee changes hands virtually every month. The last change, just weeks ago, was due to a power grab reshuffle by the Tories, after their miniscule win in Wellswood, to ensure that control is firmly in their hands. All this concerns me because I am not sure that anyone even has any background or qualifications for this, or any other role in the first place.  But please prove me wrong and all act like adults and try to work together for the benefit of our once glorious Bay. 

As far as the Fragrance Group goes, David Thomas did give me his word that, as far he was concerned, the planning permission would never ever change for the main Palace Hotel site. It is to be a 5-star hotel or nothing. Having been given your word David, I am obviously confident that I have nothing to worry about at least on that issue.

Then there is the old chestnut of the Pavilion, which is still leaking and still not covered in spite of many assurances from the current administration – and as I write this, even though a photograph was taken of Chris Lewis and David Thomas standing outside the building announcing that the deal to get the lease back from MDL had been done. Not so as I write. So, I ask again, what is going on there?

I was asked if I could help regarding the serious anti-social-behaviour along Ilsham Road and in Meadfoot carpark. The only solution that I think is viable is to erect speed cameras at each end of the road. That way all the offending cars would have their registration details on record, and they could be prosecuted and fined appropriately. It would also be a money earner for the Council. So, I would have thought it would be a win win, However I will probably be told that there is a good reason not to do it, but I can’t think of one.

Going back nationally, I went along to hear Farage speak at Trago Mills. The gates opened at 6pm with proceedings due to begin at 7pm. It was £5 a ticket, and the event was only announced two days prior to taking place. The organisers allocated 1,000 tickets and then due to demand increased it to 1,500. When I got there at 5.45pm people were already having massive problems parking and the queues to get into the outdoor arena where it was held were huge.

After a warm-up from the Newton Abbot Reform candidate, the main attraction, Farage, came on stage.

At this point, the now over 2,000 crowd took to their feet and cheered. He spoke for 40 minutes without notes with much cheering after every point he made from the crowd.

Love him or hate him, he certainly has more charisma in his little toe than Starmer. I predict that there will be some seats in the election going to Reform.

I think it is essential that every politician has the ability to hold a crowd and frankly it is amazing to me that our next, most likely Prime Minister, is totally bereft of personality.

Also, it took Sunak hearing truly offensive remarks to get him riled-up and I just wish he had shown his obvious passion before.

I do hope that Farage gets into Parliament on his eighth time of trying, because someone has to ask the tough questions of what I believe will become an ever-increasing turn to the left.

I think it is unlikely that Ed Davey can do that, but Sunak just might make a good fist of it now he has got his dander up.

It is important to remember that all members of Parliament and our Councils are meant to represent us, the people.

They are elected to do our bidding and not follow their own agendas. So, until we get to vote again in Torbay for our local councillors, please keep that in mind Mr Thomas.