Wells Independents Responds To Attack By The Leveller

Wells Independents Declared It
"Wells Independence Day"

We have now had a response from Wells Independents to the attack by the Editor of The Leveller, Andrew Lee.

Wells Councillor Denise Denis told us that she does:

"not wish to make a comment other than to say the article makes some interesting points."

Well, we can't be any fairer. We did offer a chance for them to respond. It definitely is not a comprehensive response like Independents for Frome gave.

We do not know whether Wells Independents have responded to The Leveller. But then The Leveller did not make it clear that it had offered them any right of reply.

Who Are Somerset Independents?

We are Somerset's own dedicated campaign group that stands up for residents and helps residents to stand up for themselves against the Westminster political parties. 

Join Somerset's own campaign group and official political party to celebrate Somerset's past, protect Somerset's present and prepare Somerset for the future.

We can be contacted at the link here and via Twitter @SomerInds, via Facebook at the Somerset Independents page and via email at somerinds [at] gmail.com.

In Full: Independents for Frome Responds To Attack From The Leveller

IFF Political Party Emblem Registered
with Electoral Commission

We reported on The Leveller Editor Andrew Lee's bizarre attack on Independents for Frome (IFF).

Scott Ward who ran the campaign for IFF has responded. He told us:

"I'm no longer an ifF Councillor but was involved in running the ifF Campaign. [In the letter to the Leveller], I am speaking for myself rather than the current group of ifF Councillors."

And below is his response to Andrew Lee of The Leveller, in full:

"Hi Andrew,

I'm no longer a Frome Town Councillor myself but I am still involved with the wider group.

With regards to the article and specifically the situation that the ifF candidates found themselves in during the election with no opponents standing in the majority of wards, I can tell you that the ifF candidates were all as disappointed as residents were at the lack of choice many people found themselves facing on polling day. The candidates put themselves forward with the understanding that they would get to share their message of why they were standing and what they wanted to achieve but the lack of appetite by any of the Westminster parties meant that they were denied that opportunity and it took several days for them to digest that disappointment and move on from the feeling of a hollow victory.

Primarily, I have to say that ifF is not responsible for other parties standing candidates and any disappointment felt by voters should be directed towards the Lib Dems, Labour, Conservative and The Green party. We didn't have any deals in place with any parties for them to stand aside and a 'long standing agreement' that has been hinted at by The local Green Party is something that may have happened during the first iteration of ifF by I can say with confidence that no agreement was ever reached with the generation of ifF that I was involved with.

However, it is important that ifF evolves over time and meets the needs of the people of Frome and to do that we need to learn from things that have happened, in this case the lack of choice for voters. At the moment, the new council is finding it's feet but in due course there will be conversations around how ifF provides a greater choice will sticking to the principles of the the ifF ways of working. One idea put forward has been to allow any prospective candidate that meets the requirements to stand, regardless of the number of seats available but then there is a real possibility that we end up splitting the vote between candidates, allowing political parties to take those seats with a smaller share of the votes collectively. There is no simple answer but the work will be done in an open and inclusive way which has always been the ifF way.

One other thing of note regarding your article is the mention of Eve Berry standing as an independent candidate. It's well known in Frome that Eve is a member of the conservative party and like others have tried in the past, stood as an independent to hide her political loyalties.

I hope that answers any potential questions you might have had and feel free to contact me directly (email address redacted).

Hopefully that gives you an idea of our thoughts when we found out that nobody but Eve was standing against ifF in Frome. The candidates just had to play the hand that they were dealt and I think they did so fantastically. They could have sat on their laurels but after processing the disappointment they felt, they re-focused their energy on communicating with residents to be better informed about the issues the town faces and in supporting myself and Steve in our campaigns to stand for Somerset Council.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask."

We have still not received any response from The Leveller.

Who Are Somerset Independents?

We are Somerset's only dedicated campaign group that covers the whole of the traditional boundaries of Somerset.

Join Somerset's own campaigning group and political party to celebrate Somerset's past, protect Somerset's present and prepare Somerset for the future. 

We help people to stand up for themselves.

We can be contacted at the link here and via Twitter @SomerInds, via Facebook at the Somerset Independents page and via email at somerinds [at] gmail.com.

Dairy Crest - Formerly of Chard - Fined £1.5 MILLION and Named in Guardian River Pollution Article

The Dairy Crest Logo
By Dairy Crest - 2018 Annual Report, Public Domain,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26020209

 

Somerset Independents praises businesses when Somerset can be proud of them. But we also publish evidence of wrongdoing, including any pollution of Somerset and the effects on our wildlife and countryside.

As readers will be aware, the dairy industry is big in Somerset. The Guardian has published details of a prosecution of Dairy Crest in Cornwall. Dairy Crest were formerly of Chard in Somerset until 2015, when they shut their creamery. They still have other sites in Somerset, including Frome and Weston-super-Mare.

In the article, Dairy Crest - rebranded by owner Saputo since 2019 as reported by Farmers Weekly - was found to have polluted the River Inny and nearby land at its Davidstow plant in Camelford, Cornwall and was fined £1.5 million.

The Davidstow plant makes Cathedral City, Clover and Country Life. Saputo own those brands.

In 2019, owner Saputo told Farmers Weekly of:

"plans to increase cheese output from 50,000t each year at its Davidstow factory to 77,000t in the next few years."

and Saputo boss Tom Atherton said that, and we quote:

"I’m really proud of our relationship with Dairy Crest Direct – it’s going deepen and carry on".

In 2019, while the Dairy Crest brand was renamed to Saputo, the producers part would continue to be called Dairy Crest Direct.

In the prosecution, Dairy Crest was found to have repeatedly breached its environmental permit at its Davidstow creamery.

The Guardian reported that at the prosecution (note 2016, the year after closing the Chard creamery - this was the business decision to close Chard and move):

"The court heard how in 2016 Dairy Crest began to install cutting-edge equipment to process whey that could then be sold to baby formula manufacturers and as a probiotic food additive.

However, the equipment did not work as it was meant to. Over several years the company dumped liquid waste, suspended solids and “biological sludge” into the River Inny, raising its nutrient levels and killing trout and salmon" 

The Environment Agency said Dairy Crest had:

"pleaded guilty to 21 of 27 charges brought by the Environment Agency. For committing this catalogue of offences, the firm was fined £1.52 million at the crown court on 23 June 2022. It had already agreed to pay costs of £272,747."

It will be interesting now to see what changes at Saputo / Dairy Crest. They claimed in 2018 to be boosting environmental credentials at the Davidstow plant. But the Guardian article says that:

"The Environment Agency says it “remains deeply concerned” about the site’s environmental performance and its impact on the environment and is continuing to monitor it."

It also begs the question - what did Dairy Crest do when they still had a creamery that was still based in Chard (report from Chard and Ilminster News that mentions - warning it mentions jailed Lib Dem and former South Somerset Council Leader R** P****ster)? 

And what of their other sites in Somerset, including at Frome and Weston-super-Mare?

Are you aware of any pollution by firms in Somerset? We have reported on Wyke Farms and Lye Cross and continue our investigations into other firms.

Get in touch if you have any information to help us to protect Somerset's wildlife and environment.

Who Are Somerset Independents?

We were formed by residents to stand up for residents and protect Somerset's beautiful wildlife and countryside. 

Join Somerset's own campaign group and political party to celebrate Somerset's past, protect Somerset's present and prepare Somerset for the future.

We can be contacted at the link here and via Twitter @SomerInds, via Facebook at the Somerset Independents page and via email at somerinds [at] gmail.com.