“Having just Googled Roger Whitfield, it appears he stood as a Labour candidate in the last local elections against Councillor Pasley who now seems keen to close the pool (based on Conservative party plans) in the very ward the Pool is situated. I am still trying to discover if any member of any party showed concern for the Pools future in their election manifesto's because that would add more weight to their involvement now.”

“There appears to be no connection, lets hope there is as then we might stand a chance of the pool being saved. That is all that matters!”

“what is the Labour Party connection and if there is one why is it such a problem?”

“I'm more confused as to why Councillors Pasley/Knight/Jolley etc appear to support the pool at local level but are very silent at District level where they appear to favour its closure? Is it no wonder that the Local Labour Party including Mr Whitfield use the Pool campaign for political motives? I assume it only really matters if there is no substance in their intentions regarding the Pool and whther these campaigners have any idea or expertise in running a trust effciently and profitably, or if they have actually had the time since forming the STOP campaign to analyse all the necessary facts and figures to ensure keeping the Pool open is viable and that they are capable of acheiving such.”

“Does it matter whose name and face are in the paper so long as they are having the desired effect? Does it matter if they are indeed politically motivated? As it happens I can see no evidence to suggest that Mr Whitfield is indeed politically motivated. LK should read the post by D again. D's post doesn;'t confirm in any way that Mr Whitfield is politically motivated, it suggests rather that the closure of public services and facilities is itself a political issue. As to where have the STOP campaign members been, many of those who signed the petition, attended at the pool etc have been part of the Friends, they have been vocal and active. If Mr Whitfield, or indeed anyone else eg Annette Hennessy, should indeed stand for election on the back of their support for the Pool then challenge them then, if Mr Whitfield is getting noticed, putting forward solutions, then perhaps we should all get behind the aim of STOP, that is to stop the pool closing. Friends of Portishead Open Air Pool is not, by it's coordinators own admission, a campaigning organisation, it is a group for those of us who use and support the pool. I see no contradiction between the Friends hopes and Stop's aims, well done to Tonia and to Roger for, in their own ways, bringing this issue up the agenda. Lets stop the back stabbing now and concentrate on what matters.”

“The closure of the pool was about politics but the dangerous line is to use the same type of party line politics to keep the pool open. The whole point of democracy is that it should put people above politics, that is no longer the case in this country and specifically in this location. It needs a concerted effort by people with a common cause and a single goal to defeat the type of politics that has not only bought us to this point but is now becoming entangled into a campaign that has been built by people unconnected to political parties but who seek to retain a valuable asset that an unfeeling and uncaring local authority is intent on destroying. The Friends of Portishead Pool have incorporated many voices from many spheres and have spoken through many voices from many viewpoints but with one objective. The STOP campaign now seems to have one spokesperson and several behind the scenes all with the same political allegiance and very politically active locally who give me the impression they, like the council have other agendas and are simply using the Pool campaign as a springboard with one eye set on the next local elections. This is also how Councillor Jolley gained local support at the last election, an election that ended the whole process of democracy and silenced peoples voices in North Somerset. This campaign should get the message through that not only are local people going to demand that the Pool remains open but that they are strong on a wide front and will expect a different way forward because the Pool is only part of the overall agenda, the eventuality is that Portishead will become a dormitory town with a few centralised amenities and its only purpose will be as a cash cow to fund the regeneration of Weston Super Mare. We are geographically too far away from Weston, we have the weakest and most party obedient Councillors in the history of the town and an 8 strong committee of 'executive' councillors are playing us all like a board game and are winning hands down and know it. They need the infighting and friction being caused by alternative political parties and will use it to their advantage and the only people who cannot see that are those blinded by their own political direction and believe that they can get a seat on the council on a single issue like every Conservative in Portishead did at the last election.”

“To think that the closure of the pool is not about politics, I feel is very dangerous. All you have to do is read our local Conservative councillor D. Camerons letter in the Mercury this week to understand what his party continues to stands for today . Services are being called uneconomical, perhaps we should as Tax Payers turn our attention to all that we pay for that is uneconomic. Starting with day care centre's for the elderly, the police and how about schools, not much money being made there. The pool's survival is crucial but it is also about politics and the importance that we as individuals place on the survival of services that all can access, based on need not ability to pay. I hope everyone will attend the public meeting on Monday, like I hope we all did the hands linking around the pool, public meetings and letter writing to MP and councillors.”

“I hardly think Thatcherism is the reason for the pools closure. It is the people who are responsible for only ever voting for party's instead of people. The Conservatives who now run this area were voted in by party faithful who would have cast their vote for anyone wearing a blue ribbon whatever their opinions on local aspects may have been. Coupled with the abysmal way that Labour have nationally betrayed and destroyed this country and the apathy of those who can't be bothered to vote North Somerset Council now merely mimics the Government in having a majority that abuses its position by dictating rather than debating.
None of this helps the cause to save the swimming pool and neither does another injection of the type of political mindgames that have already caused more problems than they are solving.
Portishead needs to address far wider issues with its political representatives to not only save the pool but to put a stop to the constant Weston power based decisions that are ruining the towns amenities. For the time being the Pool campaign needs more attention paid to it than the political infighting that the Council is hoping for and knew would happen the minute it became the target of opposing political factions.
Where have all these Pool supporters been as the pool has deteriorated over the past 20 years? Why have they been so silent? And more importantly, when they knew of the concerns raised by the Friends of The Pool over a year ago why were they not instantly offering their support then? Why have they waited until after the season ended and the concerns were becoming a reality?
Whatever the answers to those questions are, the campaign needs all the support it can get to succeed and if politically motivated people are getting involved for whatever reason they should at least have the decency to state their purpose not turn around at the next election and use the 'I tried to help save the pool, vote for me!' becaue that is the tactic that elected every Conservative in Portishead at the last election when they used the traffic light situation to prey on the worries of local people in order to now get such a strong hold in local government.
Pool before politics needs to be the motto and if and when the Pool gets saved, then will be the time to sort out the warped political system, but will anybody bother? I don't think so.”

“Of course its a fight what else would it be? The people in power are telling the tax payer the pool needs to close! I train regularly and used to work at the open air pool and it is clear to me that the way our pool has been looked after by a private company in recent times, clearly shows that the powers in Weston have had its closure on there minds for a long time, much longer than a year. If saving it means getting as many people involved then lets do it. Where are the local Labour activists and potential Labour candidates? 39 years of living in Portishead and I can see they are a very rare breed ?! If we had some, or a fighting alternative, then perhaps we would not be facing this strong hold that Conservatism has on our town? The main point is, we are against a majority council, it is them who are going to close the pool, no one else. Keeping our pool open is going to be a struggle, one we need to face with as many united alternatives as possible .”

“Thank you for confirming that Mr Whitfields objective is to secure a seat on the council at the next election and has nothing to do with saving a well loved local amenity, that just happens to be a dispensable necessity along the way. He knows full well that the pool will be close because a man like Cllr Rees who shrugged off a petiton with 25,000 signatures against the Tropicana development is simply laughing at the infighting Mr Whitfield and other potential Labour candidates, who have suddenly developed an interest in saving the pool, even though they were nowhere to be seen a year or more ago when Annette Hennessey warned us of the plans for its closure, have created. If political gain is the intended end result of Mr Whitfield or anyone else who has emerged from the political wilderness then the future of the pool is already determined. Well done local Labour party activists you have ensured that Portishead will not have a pool in the future. At least Ms Henneseys intentions are open, honest and intended to benefit the majority rather than the individual.”