BetterMiddlesbrough

[Spanish-Inquisition]

Barry Coppinger: Councillor, Political Advisor, Police Commissioner Candidate?
July 9, 2012 by rocklifferover

In tonights Gazette letters page, we are treated to the thoughts of one Barry Coppinger. Barry usually signs his letters as cllr Barry Coppinger, or Barry Coppinger, Labour Councillor for Pallister Ward.

Tonight, Barry drops his ‘councillor’ title, preferring instead to promote himself as the ‘Labour Party Candidate for Elected Police and Crime Commissioner. Could he have dropped the ‘councillor’ title, because he shouldn’t still be a councillor, nor should he be a employed as a ‘Political Advisor’ to Redcar and Cleveland Council, now that he is officially a candidate for the Police Commissioner job? But, hey-ho, rules mean nothing to not-a-councillor Coppinger. In fact, for a man who wants to be Police Commissioner, he has scant regard for the Law!

Let’s rewind to the Good Olde Days, when Barry was part of Cleveland Police Authority. It was customary for the location of meetings of the authority to rotate between the four unitary authorities of Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool.

While attending one such meeting in Hartlepool, Barry Coppinger had problems parking. In fact, he earned himself a parking ticket. Instead of humbly accepting his fate and coughing up for the ticket, Barry Coppinger had something of a hissy fit, vehemently stating that he would not pay the ticket. Further, he accused the police in Hartlepool, the Police Authority and Hartlepool Council of not allowing him to park in either the town or the police car park for an authority meeting, demanding that the authority pay the fine for him!

Having then been sent to The National Standards Board for breaching four major codes of conduct and being found guilty of doing so, he was let off, three weeks after his assertions not to pay, because he apologised! (Let’s not forget that, such an apology constitutes an admittance of guilt).

Barry Coppinger was a long-standing member of Cleveland Police Authority. He was a member of the CPA when Operation Sacristy, a major criminal investigation into members of Cleveland Police and Cleveland Police Authority, started. He was vocal in calling for Operation Sacristy to be curtailed. Sacristy is a full police investigation into serious fraud. The man who wants to be in charge of our police force publicly called for this investigation to be cut short. This investigation is potentially into himself, Mayor Ray Mallon and a number of other councillors from across the Cleveland Police area and Barry Coppinger was still a member of the CPA when he went public to ask for the investigation to be cut short. His ‘opinion’ was at odds to the official statement from the CPA, which reads “The investigation must be an independent, thorough and complete inquiry into these matters – both those involved and the public of Cleveland deserve nothing less.

He stood down shortly afterwards, claiming that he had health issues. Whether he was actually advised to go, following his outburst, or whether this was a measured move, knowing full well that he couldn’t stand for Commissioner as a member of the CPA, is open to debate. Either way, the pressing health issue which was so severe that he could not continue in his role within the CPA has miraculously vanished.

If we need to question Barrys judgement further, the Mayor of Middlesbrough, that man Mallon, had Coppinger removed from his post as Executive member for Environment (which includes a Crime and Disorder brief) after he interfered with a civil contract involving taxis, causing a huge problem for all taxi companies and souring their relationship with MBC.

And the final straw? Rumour has it that Mallon actually stood aside, opting not to chase the commissioners job, leaving Coppinger to be the assumed ‘favourite’, at least in Middlesbrough. Hopefully, voters in Middlesbrough and elsewhere in the Cleveland Police area won’t be so blinkered. After all, Mallon is backing Barry for a reason. That reason is that Mallon sees a mutually beneficial relationship between himself and his old executive member, CPA lackey and fellow accused under the Sacristy microscope. Word on the ether is that Mallon wants to control Coppinger from the sidelines.

The biggest worry is that, if Coppinger is elected to the role of Police Commissioner, he will be in a position to end Operation Sacristy before it’s full investigative conclusion. This will protect the guilty, whoever they may be. It will also leave the stench of corruption over the force, as allegations will neither be proved nor disproved. Coppinger will claim that the curtailment is the best decision, in view of the financial implications but in reality, if he and others supporting him had nothing to hide, then they would be adamant that Sacristy should continue until its bitter conclusion.

http://bettermiddlesbrough.wordpress.co ... candidate/

[Spanish-Inquisition]

Coppoutinger the video http://cpa.freemiddlesbrough.com/video/Coppoutinger.wmv

Coppingers new ‘Police Commissioner’ campaign video.
August 3, 2012 by rocklifferover

You will note that he’s stood in front of a tree. Not a Town Hall, not a Police Station, a policeman or a police car, possibly not even in public. This has to be the single most boring campaign video ever created.

Have a dig about on his campaign website, there are some interesting photos.

Like Barry Coppinger with his red rosette on, campaigning at the MELA, with John McPartland. Middlesbrough MELA is a publicly-funded event and is not supposed to be used for political campaigning.

Like Barry Coppinger holding a sign which reads “Overtaxed Police Axed By The Tories”, a clear indicator that Coppinger isn’t in this for the people, he’s in it for the Labour Party. It is in his interest for Cleveland Police to fail under his stewardship, so that Labour can simply blame the coalition government, as they do for everything else.

Like the one of him posing with ousted Redcar MP Vera Baird, who now fancies a crack at the Northumbria Police Commissioners job.

http://bettermiddlesbrough.wordpress.co ... ign-video/

[MESCARED]

Email copies received this evening.

It appears that one of the political obsessives has been disconnected from contacting councillors.

This political obsessive now has his own special officer to whom all e mails will be directed to, this officer will be able to decide what and to whom information is sent to. Democracy Middlesbrough Council Style. Stalin would have been proud.

Excuse......The main problem is that it is overloading the e mail system in MBC, maybe a bandwidth problem due to the cuts, who knows.

No one knows who made the decision, but it has been made. How many others are on the sine die list.

I am given to understand the individual made waves, a long running dirty issue with recycling.

Had the temerity to criticise our potential Labour supported candidate for the newly created Police Commissioner position, this is the person who had to pack in his CPA duties due to overwork and health problems. Maybe it was the same reason why he was unable to solve the issues raised by the political obsessive.

One Thorntree ward councillor Purvis (ably I gather supported by his wife another Thorntree ward councillor), of a wonderful and exquisite non problem area of Thorntree fame (combined allowance collection of 18,925 quid), even went as far as implying that this political obsessive was LYING, Clr Purvis over viewed the problem from a passing bus and declared the area as pristine... and then went on to state that the 'political obsessives' comments were a "Disgraceful Missive".

The two ward councillors (Coppinger and Dryden) declared via e mail that there would be no further correspondence on this matter! More MBC style democracy.

Purvis, well let me think.....a married couple of pensionable age.....175 pound, Purvis Peter and Geraldine as pensioners 175 plus 363 perweek, they have more than twice the rate a pensionable married couple have to live on paid from the ratepayers, PLUS the basic pension, plus any other income they may have, well then at least 583 quid a week, not bad eh.

I have been informed that there were 7 council workmen tasked with cleaning up a pristine area as described by Councillor Purvis, 3 vehicles and a road sweeping vehicle. Since then there have been at least two clearing visits per day, but the fly tipping still persists.

Additional information via e mail, a flyer is doing the rounds in that area,





Funny what the people of this town don't know about, residents under the cuts cosh, councillors in the 'LOLLY'.

So people..... Democracy Middlesbrough Style..... Be Afraid...........Be Very Afraid.