The unusual site banners are to bring attention to the fact that Labour activists in Bexley are manipulating Facebook Groups with fictional posters. They deny it, threaten police action for ‘harassing’ a fictitious character and then demonstrate their willingness to impersonate by creating a false Administrator account in my name. The banner on display is chosen randomly from a selection of three, with a fourth bearing the familiar Bexley Council is Bonkers logo.
22 April (Part 1) - Fine by me
Life can be difficult for the disabled and I don’t just mean for the obvious
reasons. It can be both frustrating and expensive. I once spent the whole of a
Bristol to Paddington train journey with my daughter (MS) with her on the phone trying to
find a taxi company who would honour the London Councils discount scheme and take her to Barbican.
Somewhere around Slough she gave up and paid the full price. You or I would probably have taken the Circle Line.
Parking is a nuisance despite the Blue Badge scheme. The rules on Blue Badge
charging exemptions vary from one borough to another and few think to make them prominent on their websites.
Bexley is more generous to the disabled than Bromley for
example where a Blue Badge is not valid in a residents’ parking bay.
You can’t always be sure that someone using a Badge is disabled or not.
They don’t all have one leg and a crutch, so challenging suspected potential
offenders requires a sensitive touch. Not something for which CEOs are renowned.
Even so, Bexley Council is going to try.
Their latest Press Release
says they are going to prosecute Badge abusers. It’s probably prompted by the fact that fewer Blue Badges mean more parking revenue but it is also something
that needs to be done.