Dirtier than mud wrestling?

1:11pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

Comments (7)   Have your say »

LYNDON B JOHNSON was one of my favourite politicians. He didn't pull any punches. He was tough and uncompromising. LBJ didn't do "nice".

He was once asked why he kept J. Edgar Hoover in charge of the FBI. The reply was classic Johnson which I must paraphrase for fear of offending but was along the lines of it's better to have him working with you than against you.

I was reminded of the US president's none-too-subtle retort as I sniffed around the local political scene. I had planned to comment last week on the Darwen elections but I held on for the real fun to begin.

LBJ could have been talking about Tony Melia, shrewd leader of the For Darwen Party. Supporters look on him as the Second Coming; it seems no-one else can stand him.

A few days ago I'd drafted a column forecasting that the FDP would end up with nothing when all the wheeling and dealing had been sorted out before Thursday's council meeting. No executive-member posts and not even a lead-member dogsbody job.

Labour, I reasoned, were very wary of their rise and would probably never forgive them for booting out Moira Barrett and Dave Smith.

The Tories, with an eye to capturing the Darwen and Rossendale parliamentary seat in less than two years, see them as a nuisance-value threat to a probable small majority. And the Lib Dems obviously don't trust em an inch.

Harold Wilson said a week was a long time in politics. The Darwen picture is changing by the day. Everybody has been talking to everybody else but no-one has been saying much.

Labour, desperate for power again, have been chatting to the FDP. The Lib Dems, who would love to kick the FDP into touch, voted grudgingly to keep em sweet and the Tories seem prepared to do anything to keep Labour out for the next two years - there are no municipal elections next year.

So it's likely to be another tail-wagging-dog scenario with the "coalition" staggering along. Until the first bust-up.

Meanwhile, Colin Rigby has had to fend off a leadership challenge from a determined Michael Lee who is seen as a safe pair of hands. Trevor Maxfield to challenge Tony Melia? Unlikely, but Max seems popular with everyone.

Finally, I have to say how sorry I was to see Dave Smith lose his seat after 22 years of graft for his Sunnyhurst ward and the town. What now? "I'll be spending some time doing things I want to do for a change. I might even get Sky Sports," he told me.

Cage mud wrestling from Vegas? Nearly as dirty as local politics.