Southend Labour’s ‘Plan B’ is to help sell the Southend Campus of the University of Essex

I recently announced the duplicitous position Southend Labour have taken in regard to saving the Southend campus of the University of Essex.

The reaction from a few of the party faithful was to glibly state that “it must be election time”.

What an insult to all those whose studies will suffer or end, whose livelihoods will disappear, and to the wider local community.

“It must be election time” - yes, and it is the duty of all parties to state why they should be in power and why the others shouldn’t.  Every party is working hard to make their arguments as would be expected.

For example, Southend Confelicity have opposed Southend Labour on the following:

• They want to build 10,000 (minimum) unaffordable houses on green belt land by Bournes Green Chase.

• They want to demolish Southchurch Library with the excuse that it is “beyond repair” even though an FOI I ran through Southend Council confirmed this to be untrue. How many other libraries will succumb to their “moving service provision” line?

• They want to demolish Southend Hospital with the excuse that it is “at the end of its life”, even though an FOI I put into the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation confirms this to be untrue. They say they want to build a new hospital on Bournes Green green belt that is the billions of pounds make believe carrot to win our favour.

• They have filled in the Queensway underpass because they were forced to put a spade in the ground for the Better Queensway development, otherwise they would have had to pay back a £15m grant that they had already spent (on consultants).

• They bought the loss making Victoria Shopping centre for £10m and had to spend another £4m on repairs. They then gave Boom Battle Bar £600K only to have them close without notice.

• They introduced fortnightly bin collections and enforced the plastic bins on properties that they are clearly unsuitable for.

• They wanted to keep the money raised for the Poppies on the Pier event, stating they needed it for pier maintenance. They then changed their position after Lee Clark started his campaign to make sure the RBL recieved what the public thought they were going to get in the first place.

• Spent £1 million on four parks without little change or improvement.

• Claimed credit for “saving the Kursaal” when it is a business deal between two businesses!

• Allowed the Chief Operations Officer of the University of Essex to flog the four Southend Campus buildings at their very own “Southend Investment Summit”.

And let’s talk further on this last point

Whether an election approaches or not, the news of Southend Labour inviting the Chief Operations Officer of the University of Essex to sell the four Southend campus buildings to the highest bidder is quite treacherous.

Some have called me “populist” for using language such as this. They have also said I write like I am telling people what to believe. But what else can anyone believe when the most influential and powerful people in our town are on the megaphone screaming “buy the Southend Campus”? I don’t know any other way to put it, and I question the motivations for of anyone who defends their position.

Plan ‘B’

Sure, a “plan B”, as Bayo states in his response to my previous blog (see later in this blog), is a sensible position to take, but that depends on what that plan B is.

Southend Labour’s Plan B’ centres around promoting the sale of the four Southend Campus assets! Is that sensible? Or is that disloyalty? Of all the Plan Bs, is that really the best they could come up with? Remind me not to ask them to have my corner if ever I encounter any problems!

In fact, let’s play this out…

I happen to be part of a family business that owns a bunch of assets. Say, hypothetically, there was a spot of bother financially and the MPs and leader of the council said to me that they will do everything in their power to help the situation. They’ll talk to everyone they can and do everything possible. You’d walk away thinking what a great team, thank goodness there are such determined people in the world so willing to use their power for good. They wrote letters and organised meetings and made public all of their goods deeds to help us out.

All the while they meticulously organise a first ever “Southend Investment Summit” that would bring together a hundred of the most prominent and wealthy business people in the area, and give them first dibs to buy all of our assets!

Would I be delighted or dismayed?

Would I be eternally appreciative or full of unfettered anger?

Would I feel like they were on my side or would I feel betrayed?

Would I believe they have my back or that they were acting treacherously?

Well, I for one would have no doubt they were the very worst of supporter! Friends as disloyal as these are, by their actions, enemies - make no mistake.

Politicians and Personalities

The best politicians are those who are able to win trust in spite of the truth. Personality traits such as friendliness, humility, kindness and compassion can blind the senses to the point that their actions are camouflaged. Even as Labour supporters read this I am sure they think I’m lying about what they’ve done.

Please do read my previous blog that provides the slides of the presentation that reveal the betrayal:

https://www.southendconfelicityparty.co.uk/post/betrayal-sale-of-the-university-of-essex-s-southend-campus-showcased-at-labour-s-very-own-southend

Southend Labour have acted treacherously because they are acting against the interests of all who have a stake in the Southend Campus of the University of Essex.

It is reported that £100 million will be taken out of the local economy, but most importantly, the futures of our young people in our city are now in jeopardy.

Southend Labour leaders have conveyed, earnestly, their defiance against the Vice Chancellor, yet in reality they want to give the sale of the Southend Campus the best possible chance by showcasing them at their very own event.

What I can’t make sense of, is that the Vice Chancellor will know Southend Labour invited her COO to Labour’s Southend Investment Summit. Why is she allowing them to beat her up publicly - which they are doing - when she knows what they did?

Southend Labour’s Response

I have met Bayo - he is actually a really nice guy.  I’ve never heard a bad word said about him and I’m not surprised. He is, in person, enthusiastic, friendly and humble. Actually, my position was never to attack him personally nor would I intend to do so in the future.  However, politics is sometimes about policies and I take a very aggressive stance against what he, Cllr Cowans and his Southend Labour colleagues, are doing.

Bayo’s response on a social media feed to my previous blog is here:

“Let me be absolutely clear – there has no been no betrayal.

“I, alongside David Burton Sampson and Cllr Daniel Cowan, have been fighting hard to keep higher education in Southend, and we will continue to do so.

“Countless meetings, debates, and conversations have taken place. There is no lever we are not pulling.

“We have heard from students and staff, and in our own experiences with dealing with the university, their communication is minimal and the future remains unclear. It is not good enough.

“Our top priority is to stop the University senior leaderships closure of Southend campus. We also have a responsibilty to prepare for worst case scenarios. We are working tirelessly to urge the University of Essex to work with us, share the business case and treat staff and students with the respect they deserve.

“We also must prepare a Plan B to try and ensure continuity of courses, protect staff, and secure future job opportunities here in the city.

“We are backing the unions, standing with staff, and supporting students: not just in their education, but in their wellbeing during what is an incredibly difficult time.

“We have nothing to hide. Work is on-going, though some discussions are sensitive, as is entirely normal in situations like this.

“This is not the moment for political point-scoring. It is a moment for honesty, collective effort, and a dedication to fight for what Southend deserves. As candidates for Southend City Council, these are the qualities that should be embodied as prospective candidates.”

There is no denial or, at least an explanation, of the specific reason why I have characterised their actions as betrayal.

With the Labour Party in power both nationally and locally, they actually hold all the political cards, power and taxpayer money. With a Labour led council, two labour MPs, a Labour MP in Colchester and a Labour government surely they could have come up with something to save Southend Campus.

In regard to honesty, I would ask them all to publicly declare that they did allow the UoE to sell the Southend Campus at their event and explain in full why they allowed that to happen. Only then will I stand down on this subject - perhaps there is a perfectly acceptable explanation?

According to information I have been given from UoE:

• The Campus was funded by European Union money and a clause stipulated the buildings could not be sold for 20 years. It just so happens the 20 years is up in 2027.

  
  

• By coincidence, the University of Essex had invested heavily in a commercial property via a bank loan. The building was not utilised and the income was far from expectation or necessity. As a result, the bank demanded they hold a minimum amount in the bank, which is why the Southend Campus is in the firing line.

• The excuse about student numbers is said to be false, where it was said the enrolment was lower ten years ago than it is now.

• The Southend Campus is profitable. Why are they allowing Southend to pay the price for Colchester’s financial incompetence?

If this is true, as the source(s) would contend, then this is a revelation.

Southend Labour were lightning out of the blocks in claiming they had no idea this was happening. I have requested an FOI from the council to ascertain all conversations with the council and the university becasue I find this hard to believe. The university receives vast sums of public funds and the council owns the freehold to the Forum, therefore there has to have been exchanges between them.

Why is this important? Because it seems the people students, lecturers and other key stakeholders are leaning on to help appear to be the very same people helping the other side.

The Southend Investment Summit is proof conversations had to have taken place, but how far back this goes is currently unknown until the FOI comes out.

I am told there is nothing that can be done to save the uni, but what we can do is deny them our vote on May 7th for the betrayal of Southend’s future.