I had seen him a couple of times during the election campaign, we swapped "hellos" when I visited his ancestral pile during an Open Gardens events and we've exchanged emails on car parking charges in Richmond Park (I'm in favour, he's against) but this was the first opportunity to see him in action, so to speak.
Zac is a Conservative (no surprises there then!) and I've never voted Conservative (and never will) but was happy to give him the chance to impress. He fluffed it.
Beforehand I had the impression that Zac was well-meaning but not up to the mark and this was reinforced by the meeting.The main topic of conversation was the new school in North Kingston which I thought Zac handled badly. Obviously as a mere MP there is not a lot he can do on the matter but he seemed to delight in his ineffectualness and was happy to let the local Tory councillors to do most of the talking.
I wanted Zac to move on to a topic where he had something to contribute but he was happy to sit on the sidelines and let the discussion around him.
Perhaps the reason for doing this was because when we did move on to national issues Zac was amazingly clueless.
He had bought the media hype about the tax system being too complex being the reason why so many people are being sent revised tax notices whereas the truth is it is people's lives that have got more complex, not taxation.
And the final comment on Trident was simply unbelievable. Zac said he supported an independent nuclear deterrent and cited the example of Iraq where we were able to invade safe in the knowledge that they did not have WMD!
I'm sure Zac will be a popular MP and he has a very good chance of being re-elected (particularly as the Lib. Dems. have decided to self-destruct) but I don't think it is going to be worth my while investing any more time with him.
Sir - if you don't mind me saying, that's probably a rather obtuse and unreasonable critique of Zac. How many public meetings have you been to where he has spoken? The ones I've been to Zac is extremely well received and is generally regarded as not just a decent local campaigner but someone who is insightful and interesting.
ReplyDeleteHe's right. The tax system has become more complicated. People in both business and politics recognise this and Zac is correct to use this as a legitimate argument. He's spoken extensively on the new school in North Kingston and was a driving force (along with the parents of course) in making sure the council and DfCSF took notice and provided the necessary funds for the project to go ahead. Yes councillors should speak at his meetings and Zac is right to give councillors and opportunity to explain things to the public in micro-detail and to fill in any gaps of knowledge.
I'm not sure what you're expecting from him but I, and many more of his constituents, hopes he remains our MP for a long time.
Kind Regards,
Robert-j Tasker (Cllr, Coombe Vale ward - Kingston).
I wholeheartedly agree. Quite frankly, the man has the depth of a puddle! Cmon libdems, give us some options again!
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