What links Ledbury's Voice of Ledbury to the US Presidential election?
In the old days, the simmering jealousies and neighbourhood hatreds of small town life were played out in tea-rooms and in the pub, down at the jam factory or in the post office queue. There were at least rules of the game. You didn't actually insult and abuse people to their faces, unless you wanted a clout in return. Instead you gossiped and whispered, smiled to their face and ran them down behind their back. Happy days.
 
It's all different now. Ledbury's gossip machine stills purrs away in the background spinning stories of illicit liaisons and broken promises. But the go-to place for verbal fisticuffs has to be Facebook, and its evil orphan, the wildly inappropriately titled 'Voice of Ledbury'. Here, two thousand seven hundred people look on in appalled fascination at the antics of a handful of social media headbangers. Such is VoL's noteriety that when there's a good ding-dong, folk claim to settle down at the screen for the evening with wine and nibbles.
 
As I write this, reports are coming in of 'killer clowns' stalking the Deer Park housing estate. Halloween is drawing near. Someone is visiting family and is shocked at the poor state of the town's roads: "my goodness the road through town is in the most awful condition, dips, and lumps and bumps and patches. Is there a plan to re surface?" she asks innocently. Please! Don't get us started on potholes. There's a dog on the loose and dog shit on the cricket field, a lady is advertising her charity fundraiser, there are 'lots of police on the Full Pitcher roundabout and in the Rugby Club, heaven knows what's going on!!', somebody wants a good hairdresser. All the usual surreal random banalities of town life.
 
But Voice of Ledbury isn't really about such endearing topics as these. At its dark, cruel heart, it has an ulterior goal, a political agenda. It claims to speak for the "silent majority" and offer a place 'to give them a voice in the future of Ledbury.' It was set up by a small group of right wing activists, including the current town mayor Debbie Baker. (She jumped ship from UKIP and stood for the Conservatives at the last election, clever. The Tories were delighted to have a foothold in Ledbury's social media universe and a champion of the working class to front them up.)
 
Those few energetic, prolific posters, the founding members of VoL have a distinct and extreme outlook. They are angry, frustrated and aggrieved. They hate Herefordshire Council, the EU, political correctness and being 'belittled' and condescended to, favourite words. They have no faith in the police or mainstream politicians. They are chippy, emotionally sensitive and sense a put-down at a country mile. They hurl abuse and lambast their political enemies with gusto, but shout bully! at the slightest retort. Like rats in a sack, they might serially hate each other, but they hate outsiders more. There aren't many of them, but enough to make a lot of noise.
 
'We know from experience', says VoL's little manifesto, 'that there are a large number of people who, for what ever reasons, will not put forward their concerns and ideas concerning Ledbury. This groups [sic] aims are to engage those people in conversation and find out how we can represent them to the relevant bodies.'

The Silent Majority

Who are these silent majority, and who uses that phrase? Our crooked friend, Richard Nixon famously reached over the heads of the swirling anti-Vietnam movement, the civil rights activists and the druggy counterculture in 1969 to address the great white homeland of the US: 'And so tonight - to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans - I ask for your support.' They gave it him. He gave them Watergate.
 
When conservative voices face protest and insurgency, when they sense that things are running out of their control, they often seek to exploit the fears and frustrations of the silent majority.  Cameron did it in the Scottish referendum. 'We’ve heard the noise of the nationalist few, but now it is time for the voices of the silent majority to be heard', he said. Wrong again, he was hoping that same silent majority would vote to stay in the EU.
 
And so to Trump. Rousing the crowd of white, disaffected working class voters in Phoenix Arizona he said: 'The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take our country back'.  Build a wall. Ban Moslems from entering. Put Hillary in jail. Make it ok to "grab pussy".
 
No surprises that UKIP's Nigel Farage has jumped on the Trump bandwagon. At the launch of the referendum he declared, 'for the next three months our national campaign is about being the voice of the people, the silent majority. This is our big chance to deliver a blow to the political class from which they will never recover.'
 
There is a thread that runs through all of these appeals to the silent majority. It is right wing populism. In this skewed world, paranoia is weaponised. They're out to get us. The liberals and the academics, the social workers and the thought police, lefties, the Eurocrats, the Germans and French, the Moslems and Jews, the gay mafia, climate change scientists, traitors, all of them. Let's take back our independence.
 
It's as old as organised politics, the gambit by powerful politicians of mobilising a disaffected, misinformed, reactionary populace against a shadowy elite. Social liberalism is presented as a clever ruse to rip off the long suffering masses. Socrates was condemned by the anti-democrats in ancient Greece for spreading dangerous ideas of freedom among the young. Julius Caesar dismantled the Roman Senate by appealing to the mob and crowned himself Emperor. The Nazis and Italian Fascists did the same brilliantly, of course. Mao unleashed his brutal Cultural Revolution to consolidate his grip and destroy his rivals. Welcome Donald Trump: is he the world's next populist dictator?
 
Even democracy is not exempt from their bile. Three weeks out from the poll, Mr Trump explains that if he loses the Presidential election it will be because Clinton's cronies have rigged it.
 
In a sense of course, the resentments and fears which these demagogues attach themselves to and exploit, have some justification. It's true, people have had enough. The tragic hero of the movie Network, Howard Beale said it a hundred times: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore". Watch this clip.

Plutocracy

The world is and has been ruled for millennia by shadowy elites who respect no national borders, and no conventional moralities: the druids, the family dynasties, the nobility, the church, the generals, the mafia, the bankers, hedge fund managers and transnational companies, the oligarchs and the super-rich (like Donald Trump). They're in it for themselves.
 
Ledbury has also been controlled for a long time by its own elite, the old 'squirearchy' who have not just run all the farms hereabouts, but also are the beating heart of the old county political establishment. They still go hunting, supply the MPs and Lord Lieutenants, own the lands, run the County Councils, and make the money. Meanwhile, Herefordshire has desperately low levels of income, very little social housing, pitiful levels of inward investment and very few new well-paid jobs. Energy poverty and social deprivation are facts of life here. Educational achievement is below average. Young people, especially the bright and ambitious, are moving out, leaving an unsustainable aging population.
 
On first glance, our quality of life might look good. But the unspoilt scenery and touristy towns and villages conceal an underclass of poverty, low aspiration and thwarted hopes.
 
When you keep people down, exploit and degrade them, they get angry, they look for scapegoats, they become putty in a demagogue's sweaty palm.
 
Racist, nationalist, xenophobic, suspicious of education and evidence, Trump's supporters might be bigoted and crude but you have to feel sorry for many of them, as you do some of Nigel Farage's. They have been sold a false prospectus. Trump and Farage are liars and imposters. They are the embodiment of the cynical elite which they continually denounce. But their message is credibly attractive for people who feel angry and left behind.

Nihilism

Ledbury's alt-right attack dogs on VoL, fired up by populist right-wing rhetoric, willingly go along with the conspiracy agenda. They believe their traditional way of life is being snatched away from them by incomers, their jobs by immigrants and their town council by a bunch of egotistical outsiders, selfish meddlers who have no right to express an opinion on the future of the town or to participate in the democratic process. Bizarrely, they would rather the Council be left in its parlous, feeble state, achieving very little for the town, than have it challenged by anyone who isn't of their clan. The Council might be crap. But it's our crap Council.  The boy racers are a menace on our streets, but don't you dare criticise them. They are our boy racers.
 
One of the recently departed town councillors unwittingly summed up the political nihilism that pervades Ledbury's own left-behind communities.  In his resignation letter, Phill Bettington bemoaned the 'unnecessary grief' suffered by town council staff from 'certain' councillors and individuals, but conceded that that 'in their own minds [these councillors] believe they have the town at heart with their own agendas wanting everything done their way under the banners of "Democratic" "Openness".'  You say that like it's a bad thing Phill.
 
Is Mr Bettington really implying that it is better to be done with democracy and transparency in the interests of a happy staff team, a harmonious but ineffectual council, a peaceful little town which comfortably eschews foreigners or outsiders while trumpeting a virulent patriotism? I am reminded of TS Eliot's potent phrase: 'these fragments I have shored against my ruins'.
 
Far from representing the silent majority, the loudest, most rabid elements on Voice of Ledbury are out of step with the modern town. In successive elections, UKIP has been trounced and the increasingly hardline Conservative establishment carpeted, as they will be again in 2019. To the chagrin of Ledbury's old right wing, the town shines a beacon for humanitarian regard towards refugees, comes out against racism and xenophobia, champions sustainable energy, has risen up to hold on to its independent shops and vibrant town centre and is a hotbed of community cooperation. None of these progressive forces have sprung from the Town Council, but rather have flourished despite its sullen, tradition-bound habits and sour attitudes.  
 
The rage of VoL's hard-core and its Town Council accomplices is a cry of desperation for a disappearing world of old fashioned political deference, cultural uniformity, and tribal cohesion. The town is changing beneath their feet.
 
Meanwhile, on Facebook more than two and half thousand reasonable, informed, hard-working people look on with a mixture of amusement and horror at the poisonous discourse which passes for political debate in this town. Perhaps they are the real silent majority?
 

At Ledbury Town Council's Planning Committee meeting on 5 October 2016, I spoke about traffic problems which are not being taken seriously by the Council, despite nearly two years ago having undertaken to give the issue its highest priority.

Most of the councillors sat mute and looking glum; it hasn't been a good few weeks for them. Ever perky Deputy Mayor Elaine Fieldhouse said it wasn't the town council's responsibility to deal with speeding traffic and that the Police were taking this 'very seriously'. She also implied that there wasn't such a problem with speeding as people make out. Chair Andy Manns said he was offended by being blamed for dangerous driving. Watch the video or read the transcript to see what i actually said.

The problem with many of Ledbury's town councillors is that they don't listen. They hear a few words and phrases they don't much like and then leap off into their own prejudiced world of skewed logic, preconceived ideas and distorted perceptions. Blah, blah, I think..., me, me, I, I.

Once more with feeling. Nobody is blaming LTC for speeding traffic. Police enforcement is inadequate. Herefordshire Council don't pay enough attention to Ledbury's traffic issues. AND Ledbury Town Council has a responsibility to plan responses to those facts. Endless whinging won't move things forward. Do something.

Here is the text of my address:

The Council professes to take seriously the concerns of local residents that there is a major problem with speeding traffic, inappropriate parking, congestion, pedestrian safety and disabled access along pavements and across roads. Since I raised this issue in January 2015, nearly two years ago, nothing of any substance appears to have been achieved. There have been sporadic discussions in committee and at PACT meetings, but as usual in Ledbury, no concrete action.
 
LTC has the competence to take hold of its traffic management and do something for the good of residents in the town. Other towns and parishes have this issue at the top of their agenda because they understand that the safety and well-being of residents is their primary responsibility. 
 
We know Ledbury people are hugely bothered by this. It came out at the top of the survey which led to the Town Plan. There are regular letters in the paper. Someone has even written to the Council offering their own money to pay for a traffic survey. In June, there was a horrendous crash on the Southend, where miraculously nobody was seriously hurt. Old and disabled people and parents with kids dodge over the Hereford and Gloucester Roads taking their lives in their hands. The lives of residents of Lower Road are blighted by reckless driving. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the town centre is like a race track as the boy racers rev up for an adrenalin fuelled night tearing in and out of town.
 
So what are you doing? I wrote to the Mayor on 1 June asking for her personally to kick this into touch. What happened? Nothing. No response. No action. She was presumably too busy attending to more important matters like organising parades and opening shops. 
 
And where have you been all this time? Basking in your own importance, spending hours in your talking shops and arguing amongst yourselves while ordinary people out on the street take their chances. 
 
I’m not going to mince my words. This committee and this council cost a great deal of money to keep going - but they are mostly worthless and pitifully ineffectual. How much longer do we have to wait before you manage to do anything useful for this town? If you’re not able or not willing to do something worthwhile, then my advice is this. Please go. And leave it to someone else who is.

The miserable, sour heart of Ledbury Town Council was again on show at its meeting last week (29 September 2016). It was debating a motion decrying racism and hatred, encouraging tolerance and welcome to all sections of the community. Along with many hundreds of councils throughout the country, the initiative was proposed as a gesture of solidarity with minority communities who have been suffering hatred following Brexit. In Hereford, Leominster, Kington and Malvern, with Herefordshire Council, an identically worded motion had been passed unanimously. Not in Ledbury.
 
Dozens of local residents sat bemused or horrified as councillor after councillor took the opportunity to disparage the blameless sentiments by accusing the proposer Cllr Liz Harvey of 'rank hypocrisy'. Bob Barnes went further (at 8'18") and said the whole thing was a political stunt. He said he would not vote for it because the proposer had conducted a 'relentless campaign of intimidation, bullying and hatred towards this council, its councillors and, most significantly, our office staff, it is hardly an example of tolerance.' During the tirade, despite calls from councillors that his words were clearly out of order and irrelevant to the motion, he was allowed to finish unhindered. Thus encouraged, Martin Eager, Noel and Jayne Roberts lined up to stick the boot in also.
 
Was this motion about Liz Harvey? No. It was about East Europeans and others being shouted at and abused on the streets of Ledbury. Four statements from members of the public confirmed that this had been happening. Even so, Cllr Martin Eager and county councillor Emma Holton agreed with proud UKIP supporter Yvonne White that 'there is NO racism in Ledbury. It is a figment of people's imagination... This motion is a load of rubbish and a waste of time.' (The loud applause at the end of Mrs White's speech in the video clip, 14'45",  is Cllr Holton's.)
 
With characteristic clarity, Annette Crowe said (16'58"): 'this has caused me some concern... I have not a got a racist bone in my body. I think the principle is really good. I have not witnessed anyone being racially abused... I don't think it sends a good message about Ledbury if we put out statements like this, people will assume that there is a major problem in Ledbury, which there isn't... I support the sentiment... So I will be abstaining.'
 
Wrapping up the debate, Cllr Andrew Warmington challenged Deputy Mayor Elaine Fieldhouse's contention that 'I cannot speak on behalf of other people. It's not my job to speak on behalf of other people.'
 
'Yes we can', he said. 'We are elected to the town council, we are meant to show leadership. It is for us to put out a positive message to the people of Ledbury and to those who have been affected [by racism].'
 
Possibly the best - and briefest - comment of the night was from Cllr Nick Morris: 'If there isn't a unanimous vote for this motion, it will bring this council into disrepute'. Tittering uncontrollably, Elaine Fieldhouse, evidently found this as amusing as Tony Bradford was outraged. (See 20'18")
 
Andrew Warmington summed up exactly what was wrong with this discussion in an interesting Facebook discussion thread on the 'Town Talk Ledbury Politics' page. '[The motion] was not, as others [have stated], about the council and whether or not any of its members are racist, but about the council taking a lead on behalf of the town. Unfortunately for some, the whole thing is so personalised they took it as an insinuation they were racist and/or felt they had to be against it because Liz [Harvey] proposed it. This is not a way for a council to run itself.
 
Is it really possible to state categorically that there is no racism or xenophobia in Ledbury? The evidence from the street appears to show otherwise. Can Annette Crowe really say that she hasn't got a racist bone in her [white, British] body? To do so, not only sounds horribly complacent, but is to confound decades of social research which has understood racism, not just as an individual state of mind, but an organised social framework in which prejudice and discrimination are systematically embedded in the fabric of society.
 
To take a small example, there are no East Europeans (nor Gypsies/Travellers) on Ledbury Town Council, (nor Herefordshire Council). It will be claimed that the reason for this, is that they don't come forward to stand as candidates. This is true, but it ignores the fact that not only does the Town Council make zero effort to connect with these communities, but people from such backgrounds would justifiably fear that they would be made unwelcome, even the object of prejudice.
 
The Stephen Lawrence report by Lord MacPherson described the idea of 'institutional racism' as 'the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.'
 
I am willing to accept the assurances from Ledbury Town Councillors that they are not individually, consciously racist in their outlook.  I cringe however when I hear privileged white men and women smugly deny the very idea of racism or xenophobia existing in our town, in our council or in ourselves. Such thinking is delusional. What was it Jesus said about the Pharisees? 'Woe unto you, hypocrites! for you are like unto whitewashed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.'
 
The councillors say they haven't witnessed prejudice in Ledbury. Perhaps they weren't looking. Or perhaps they were looking the other way.