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| Captain of Chaos Councillor Eamonn Keogh Photo: Southampton City Council |
In mid-February, founder of Southampton Independents and former Independent Councillor Andrew Pope called in a letter published by the Daily Echo for Councillor Eamonn Keogh to be sacked by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Lorna Fielker.
This call from outside the Council sparked calls from so-called "opposition" councillors to actually provide some opposition, and have called for Keogh to resign.
Incredibly, as a result of the pressure from outside the Council and inside it, Lorna Fielker has defended Eamonn Keogh and the disastrous Portswood Broadway changes, saying:
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| Councillor Lorna Fielker Leader of Southampton City Council Photo: Southampton City Council |
"We understand that change can be challenging, which is why the bus gate project is a trial.
The council is closely monitoring its impact by collecting data, actively listening to the community, and making adjustments to ease congestion and improve road safety where concerns arise.
"Throughout the trial, Councillor Keogh has been regularly visiting the area, holding formal meetings with residents and the local school to hear concerns firsthand, and he will continue to do this.
"These insights will help inform decisions as the trial progresses."
Andrew Pope responds:
"I am pleased that Conservative councillors have finally provided some opposition. When I too was in opposition on the Council as an Independent, their opposition was regularly supine. And even now, they regularly agree with Labour.
Labour or Tory, same old story, Southampton people say.
Whether sacked or resigned, it doesn't really matter how he goes, Councillor Keogh must go, for the good of our City, its residents and businesses.
Remember that Councillor Lorna Fielker as Leader of the Council decides who is in her Cabinet, and it is Labour Councillors who decided that she should be Leader, when Satvir Kaur resigned having brought the Council to its knees with her Labour councillors supporting her.
The public did not elect Keogh to his disastrous tenure, and what is in fact a dangerous tenure.
It's the Labour Party and Cllr Fielker that has put him as Cabinet Member for Transport, and which is keeping him there.
That is how undemocratic the Cabinet and Leader system is. It prioritises party over people. Other cities like Bristol and Sheffield have brought in a Modern Committee System, that priorities people over parties. Ward councillors have more of a say, instead of political parties. That is how democracy is supposed to work, but Labour don't want that. They didn't want it in Bristol or Sheffield, either.
Labour's Eamonn Keogh has caused chaos across the City, especially in Portswood. He has failed to listen to residents of Shirley and Freemantle over the 20mph signs, and to remove them.
Cllr Keogh has created chaos in the City Centre, and shown his incompetence at the basics, as reported by the Echo, Keogh couldn't even ensure spare parts were in stock to fix our roads, leading to even more delays.
So it is very worrying that Lorna Fielker lacks the authority as Leader to make a decision for the benefit of our City, to sack Eamonn Keogh from the Cabinet.
Surely she realises that she might salvage some credibility for the Council, which Labour has led to bankruptcy and a shameful reputation amongst local government officers in Hampshire.
Or perhaps it is too late for Labour and they are hanging on by their finger nails, losing by-election after by-election until their inevitable demise under a Labour Government.
There will be elections in May 2026, and the residents of Southampton might decide that it's time for Lorna Fielker, and her Labour failures, to go from the Council."
