CHERTSEY

BOATS, BRIDGES, BOILERS ... IF IT'S GOT RIVETS, I'M RIVETTED
... feminist, atheist, autistic academic and historic narrowboater ...
Likes snooker, beer, tea, rivets and solitude, and is strangely fascinated by the cinema organ.
And there might be something about railways.
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Friday 16 December 2011

Vote vote vote!

So, returning to the subject of boaters' representatives on the C&RT Council, what would I, as a voter, be looking for in a potential representative?

Well, first off, they would need to be a boater - not just a boat owner or a licence holder, although those are the minimal conditions for standing - but a boater who gets out there and boats, over a wide and varied area, throughout the year, giving them a good overview of the practicalities of negotiating the system.

Second, ideally they would be doing this in a full length boat, and a reasonable deep drafted one too. Only then will they have a real understanding of the issues affecting the full range of boaters - moorings near bridgeholes, lack of dredging, falling water levels - for which full length, deep drafted boats (like what I have got) provide an early warning system for everyone.

Third, they should be canal boaters. I like rivers as much as the next person (well, as long as they're the Trent), but rivers, on the whole, look after themselves, or, where they do require intervention, it is generally obvious what form this should take. Canals and their infrastructure however are wholly man made and frequently require decisions to be made that have far reaching effects. My ideal representative will love canal boating because of its unique nature and will be committed to respecting and retaining its industrial history and heritage, rather than trying to turn it into a linear nature park.

Fourth - although really this is a sine qua non - they should be an effective political operator, with a good understanding of how organisations, funding bodies and government work, the skills to maximise their impact on behalf of boaters and the ability to punch above their weight.

Finally (for now) they should hold the view that the waterways of Britain are first and foremost there for navigation. In the case of canals, they exist first, second, third, fourth and ad infinitum, for navigation. Fishermen, walkers, dogs etc etc, are all welcome to piggy back on this, but never, ever at the cost of compromising that primary purpose to any degree. It falls to the boaters' representatives to defend this position, because no one else will.

So, what are you looking for in your reps? And don't forget to enter the 'guess the length of the ballot paper sweepstake'. I wouldn't mind some suggestions as to what a suitable prize might be either.




5 comments:

  1. Firstly let me again declare myself as a candidate!

    I think we should be very clear that there are just 4 electable positions on a council of 35, and these are "boater" positions first and foremost. People holding them should represent as wide a spread of "boater" interests as possible, but whatever their other canal interests, whether walking, cycling, angling, history and heritage, or whatever, that is not what they are being elected for, and only their "boater" credentials are really relevant here.

    It is inevitable that the IWA would field 4 preferred candidates, and try and use the might of their membership to secure all these elected positions, but I actually think this is a bad thing. I am not an active "knocker" of the IWA, but I know many think they are no longer the independent campaigning body that they once were. A lot of people would feel that 4 elected IWA "boater" reps would potentially have too much an IWA focussed agenda, and by no means be providing representation for all boaters.

    If anyone votes for me, as you know, I can't fulfil your "boating around in a full length boat criterion", (unless you want some crew!), but as you know they will be voting for someone owning both a working boat and a modern boat, and who travels very extensively in each.

    Whoever is elected, I want them to be independent, and very much an active "boater". They must avoid classing boaters into "groupings" and then using this as a way of determining one is more important than another.

    Alan Fincher

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  2. As I have allowed my IWA membership to lapse, I'm not aware of their position on this. Is that what they're going to do? It seems wrong to me as well; the IWA may de facto primarily be a boaters' organisation, but theoretically and constitutionally its remit is wider than that, so it should not attempt to annexe postitions which (rightly or wrongly) are allocated specifically to boaters qua boaters. And nor, indeed, should any other organisation.

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  3. Mmm a prize? How about a trip on Chertsey at the working boat festival at Braunston ....... :-)
    Kath (nb Herbie)

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  4. I can think of somebody who fits the bill perfectly - but who had maybe better not stand now after offering prizes to potential electors ;)

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