I’ve been reading more F Scott Fitzgerald recently as I’ve just discovered a collection of his short stories published by Hesperus. “The Popular Girl” collects together 5 short stories, each a gem, each of which, with dazzling brilliance and sparkling wit, disects Fitzgerald’s favourite topic: the American society-life. This came to mind this morning while I was digging in my visitor statistics for stats that stood out. The number one incomming search term (the query entered at a search engine that led someone to read this website) is Hayley Matthews. Popular Girl indeed.

Very little information about any of our Councillors on the internet, unless they happened to have been the Mayor or an MP. The Brent Council website lists limited contact information for each elected Council member, and the Brent Brain ‘blogging Councillors’ project had a limited pilot that does not appear to be running at this time. I recently worked with Neil Nerva to support him and the other Labour Councillors in Queen’s Park in the adoption and use on some internet tools: then he wasn’t re-elected so that internet based communications project has ground to a halt.

Hayley is a Brent Lib Dem, so why no information on her, or any of the other Brent Lib Dem councillors on the BELD website? The BELD site emphasises Sarah Teather over other elected members in Brent. With the Lib Dems now with the greatest number of seats in the Council, will we see an overhaul of the BELD website to communicate more from our Local Councillors and less from Sarah Teather? They’ve got www.sarahteather.org.uk for all the news from our MP after all!

I can see people reading this blog. There have been 216 of you this last week and 48 readers so far today! Are you voting, Brent people? Who are you voting for? Why? Why vote at all? Got any comments? After all, it’s Your Council for Your Street and Your Services – Are you having your say?

Me? Of course I’ve voted! I’ve supported Team Yellow in my ward, Mapesbury (Look for the Bird!). When I got to my polling station I spoke to the Team Red vote recorder who was sitting outside – I was the first ‘young person’ through the doors that day… and it’s not like I’m an early riser! Where are the Brent Youth – have the biggest unsigned group in the UK not got their act together? Voting too difficult – i know, i know, making an x in a box…too taxing…..? Anyway – 18-24? Do you care?

Hit the comment button…….

what do I think? I think the Green’s have won it really. I expect them to gain two seats, well, at least one in Queen’s Park. Also, I think that Cameron may have spoken to a lot of people at a local level and Team Blue will make a few gains. Team Yellow (Look for the Bird!) will also make gains, probably bringing them level with the Blues… These gains will be to someones loss: Team Read.

The result is, I hope, consensus driven local politics. And it looks a little like this….

well tomorrow is the day when Brent will select its councillors. I’ve heard many a rumour (and started a few) and seen many a bun thrown. Could I call Mapesbury, Queen’s Park or Brondesbury now? And the others in Brent East? Could I tell you have the council will look by Friday?

If you are into political betting then you’ll have seen the odds offered by one bookmaker. Here’s the Lib Dems story, bouyed as odds on them winning the council are slashed.

I do have a few thoughts – but its probably just subliminal psychic channelling; my prayers.

Want to see what I can do with a spreadsheet program? Coming right up…..

One sure-fire way of demonstrating that you have some skill with a computer is to generate a barchart from some data in a spreadsheet program like Calc (in openoffice) or a program from Microsoft. Both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives have got someone on their team that would pass a European Computer Driving License test no problem.

Both parties have proved that you can prove anything with stats.

Brent last elected its Councillors in 2002: long before the Iraq war, two (three?) Tory leaders ago, pre-Brown/Blue=Green, before Sarah Teather was elected to Brent East in 2003, before she was returned again in 2005 with an increased majority, before a Conservative and a Labour Councillor defected to the Liberal Democrats….
Brent Conservatives point out that in 2002 the Lib Dems came third. They do this as they believe that Team Orange are essentially a vote splitting party and that a Lib Dem vote lets in Labour by the back door. While Labour havn’t got any spreadsheet skills are not publishing pretty graphs (yet), their position is the same: Vote Orange, Get Blue.

yet 2003 and 2005 have shown the people of Brent East that they can Vote Orange and Get Orange. Will Mapesbury, Queen’s Park, Brondesbury and the other wards of Brent do the same on May the 4th?