Anti-Tesco campaigner elected to Brixham Town Council

“I was pleased to go and look at the new plan for Tesco what a fantastic new plan, lets hope now we can get going with this new store just what Brixham need. I felt intimdated by BRATS when I went to look they were not interested in my opion only theres. We need a large supermarket with good prices.”

“I was under the impression that BRATS had already published an alternative suggestion in this very paper, and it is there for all to see if you search for it. Personally, I am not against a superstore per se, provided that they select one with care (my personal favourite would be something like Aldi, which would still have gaps in its product ranges for other vendors to exploit, but that is by the by.) In my view Tesco is at the very bottom of the list, as they are the most aggressive and self-serving of all the supermarket chains. The man from Brixham 21 said something like "We'd all prefer a Waitrose, but Tesco is the only one that has come forward, so we should embrace them." That's a bit like marrying an abusive drunk simply because they were the first person to propose to you. True, I would prefer a Waitrose to a Tesco - not because I like Waitrose (I don't), but because the are slightly less murderous than Tesco.

By the way - Tesco are now talking of making staff redundant (see previous articles) - how many would be redeployed to Brixham, reducing the number of jobs "created"?”

“The new design is fantastic! Tesco will be brilliant for Brixham. The sooner the build starts the better!
I was incensed by BRATS on Saturday because they made me feel intimidated with their table right next to the comments table. Is this allowed? Did they have official permission to be there in such close proximity? When I plucked up courage to speak to one of them they had no good or satsfactory reasons for their objections - neither did they have any positive suggestions for additional jobs or car parking. It's easy to be a professional critic - much harder to be constructive!”

“Are you looking forward to getting off this dump?”

“BRATS' said they would get everyone of their supporters in the Ward out to vote and it looks like they've done by leafleting every house (with the old Tesco plans by the way!) telephoning their supporters and using social media whereas Andrew Baldrey did absolutely nothing and still got to within 1% of them . Quite amazing given Lib Dems standing at the moment.
Yes, BRATS got all of their supporters out but it still wouldn't be enough in a turnout of anything in excess of 30% as their vote is at its limit I imagine.
A referendum would have attract at least 30% and more like 35%. On a 35% referendum turnout – about 4750 out of Brixham's approx 13600 voters - BRATS would probably lose by about 2000 votes as their vote is at its maximum and is probably falling if their petition numbers are anything to go by, so the argument is still very strong that there are more people for the development than against. Quite a few more I fancy.
D Smith”

“Bleach: the Lib Dems are pro EU, pro immigration, pro light sentencing and all national opinion polls (not mine!!!) currently put their support, nationally, at around 10-12%. Seems pretty obvious to me what the majority view is and it ain't in support of the LibDems policies!!!”

“@tonytee:

When you say "the majority view", you really mean your view, don't you. I mean, you haven't actually done any opinion polls, or any proper research or anything. You're just saying that, aren't you.”

“Actually, BrixhamTom, I doubt it. Brixham Council has elevated uselessness and procrastination into an art form. They have very little actual power, and the minor decisions that they do get to make are turned into 12 part sagas with a cast of thousands - just look at the BATS/BOADS debacle. They seem to have difficulty even deciding if a blue plaque should be fixed to a building. Half of them are on Torbay Council anyway, so you could say "Brixham Council - What's the point?"”

“A clear victory for local democracy. However, will the voice of the people be ignored by Torbay Council much as Westminster ignores the majority view on issues such as the EU, immigration, criminal sentencing etc etc...we shall see!!!”

“She'll be in for a shock when she realises Brixham Council is about more than complaining about Tesco!”