How does everyone think Andy Preston has done?

I have everything to lose in making this statement - friends, work with the council etc - but in all my time of living and working in Middlesbrough in which I have been a constant positive advocate this is the lowest ebb.
It really is like a return to the dark days of the early 1980s and if it wasn't for the football team it would be devastating. As it is I walk around in near despair at the results of what to me is completely failed or totally the wrong policy. I just do not think that Andy Preston's vision of Middlesbrough has anything to offer the ordinary residents or workers living and working here. I see the Town Hall closed most of the week, the Town Hall! I see our icon, the Transporter, stranded, the gondola has now been cut down from the bridge. M and S closed, without a whimper or realisation of quite what might follow as other brands start to head for the hills and Teesside Park. Sadly I could go on and on and on but as I walk around I see a ghost town with the lights turned off at night and hope being dimmed during the day. And yet the people here have industry, creativity and ideas but they are being starved of opportunity or driven out and driven down by a council that is leading us into financial meltdown and selling off everything left of the family silver for what? Filling a few potholes more to appease twittering likes.
I hope we see a big change of direction tomorrow - we desperately need regime change for a bit of vision and a bit of social care for a very sick town. We need a mayor and a party that put the people first.
 
fmttmadmin said:
I have everything to lose in making this statement - friends, work with the council etc - but in all my time of living and working in Middlesbrough in which I have been a constant positive advocate this is the lowest ebb.
It really is like a return to the dark days of the early 1980s and if it wasn't for the football team it would be devastating. As it is I walk around in near despair at the results of what to me is completely failed or totally the wrong policy. I just do not think that Andy Preston's vision of Middlesbrough has anything to offer the ordinary residents or workers living and working here. I see the Town Hall closed most of the week, the Town Hall! I see our icon, the Transporter, stranded, the gondola has now been cut down from the bridge. M and S closed, without a whimper or realisation of quite what might follow as other brands start to head for the hills and Teesside Park. Sadly I could go on and on and on but as I walk around I see a ghost town with the lights turned off at night and hope being dimmed during the day. And yet the people here have industry, creativity and ideas but they are being starved of opportunity or driven out and driven down by a council that is leading us into financial meltdown and selling off everything left of the family silver for what? Filling a few potholes more to appease twittering likes.
I hope we see a big change of direction tomorrow - we desperately need regime change for a bit of vision and a bit of social care for a very sick town. We need a mayor and a party that put the people first.
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Well said Rob. Change is badly needed - and huge government investment. The irony is that if people took to the streets, rioted etc there'd likely be big alarm bells raised and funding would likely follow. Such a sad, sad state of affairs. I met a lovely lady from Middlesbrough on the train yesterday, asked her about the town and she immediately began apologising for it, her home town.
 
fmttmadmin said:
I have everything to lose in making this statement - friends, work with the council etc - but in all my time of living and working in Middlesbrough in which I have been a constant positive advocate this is the lowest ebb.
It really is like a return to the dark days of the early 1980s and if it wasn't for the football team it would be devastating. As it is I walk around in near despair at the results of what to me is completely failed or totally the wrong policy. I just do not think that Andy Preston's vision of Middlesbrough has anything to offer the ordinary residents or workers living and working here. I see the Town Hall closed most of the week, the Town Hall! I see our icon, the Transporter, stranded, the gondola has now been cut down from the bridge. M and S closed, without a whimper or realisation of quite what might follow as other brands start to head for the hills and Teesside Park. Sadly I could go on and on and on but as I walk around I see a ghost town with the lights turned off at night and hope being dimmed during the day. And yet the people here have industry, creativity and ideas but they are being starved of opportunity or driven out and driven down by a council that is leading us into financial meltdown and selling off everything left of the family silver for what? Filling a few potholes more to appease twittering likes.
I hope we see a big change of direction tomorrow - we desperately need regime change for a bit of vision and a bit of social care for a very sick town. We need a mayor and a party that put the people first.
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There'll be people along in a minute to tell you that everything is rosy. They are lying of course.

Tragically I think Preston will be voted back in and will continue to decimate the town for another term.
 
fmttmadmin said:
I have everything to lose in making this statement - friends, work with the council etc - but in all my time of living and working in Middlesbrough in which I have been a constant positive advocate this is the lowest ebb.
It really is like a return to the dark days of the early 1980s and if it wasn't for the football team it would be devastating. As it is I walk around in near despair at the results of what to me is completely failed or totally the wrong policy. I just do not think that Andy Preston's vision of Middlesbrough has anything to offer the ordinary residents or workers living and working here. I see the Town Hall closed most of the week, the Town Hall! I see our icon, the Transporter, stranded, the gondola has now been cut down from the bridge. M and S closed, without a whimper or realisation of quite what might follow as other brands start to head for the hills and Teesside Park. Sadly I could go on and on and on but as I walk around I see a ghost town with the lights turned off at night and hope being dimmed during the day. And yet the people here have industry, creativity and ideas but they are being starved of opportunity or driven out and driven down by a council that is leading us into financial meltdown and selling off everything left of the family silver for what? Filling a few potholes more to appease twittering likes.
I hope we see a big change of direction tomorrow - we desperately need regime change for a bit of vision and a bit of social care for a very sick town. We need a mayor and a party that put the people first.
Click to expand...
Well said Rob.
 
It was always obvious what Preston was up to - it's surprising so many people fell for it. People were manipulated into thinking the former Labour Council were terrible, when in fact they were doing very well. What you had were a handful of people/groups/businesses on the sidelines with grudges and agendas. Andy Preston was one of these and it was clear as day.

I don't think anyone could have imagined how he bad he's been. He's useless as a politician. Just imagine the amount of hours he wastes each week. The propaganda he's put out on his Facebook page for around decade is also worrying. It's very manipulative - it's like the Preston brand is running the town.

With regards to the result, it looks like being a lot closer than last time. If a general election was taking place as well, the Labour candidate would win it. Let's see what happens.
 
fmttmadmin said:
I have everything to lose in making this statement - friends, work with the council etc - but in all my time of living and working in Middlesbrough in which I have been a constant positive advocate this is the lowest ebb.
It really is like a return to the dark days of the early 1980s and if it wasn't for the football team it would be devastating. As it is I walk around in near despair at the results of what to me is completely failed or totally the wrong policy. I just do not think that Andy Preston's vision of Middlesbrough has anything to offer the ordinary residents or workers living and working here. I see the Town Hall closed most of the week, the Town Hall! I see our icon, the Transporter, stranded, the gondola has now been cut down from the bridge. M and S closed, without a whimper or realisation of quite what might follow as other brands start to head for the hills and Teesside Park. Sadly I could go on and on and on but as I walk around I see a ghost town with the lights turned off at night and hope being dimmed during the day. And yet the people here have industry, creativity and ideas but they are being starved of opportunity or driven out and driven down by a council that is leading us into financial meltdown and selling off everything left of the family silver for what? Filling a few potholes more to appease twittering likes.
I hope we see a big change of direction tomorrow - we desperately need regime change for a bit of vision and a bit of social care for a very sick town. We need a mayor and a party that put the people first.
Click to expand...

Hats off to you for this. Takes a lot of guts given the potential stakes for you. Which is very telling of where we are I think.
 
It is a sad state Middlesbrough nowadays - from a lad who loved knocking about the place with his mates as a young lad. Always summit to do hassle-free.

I often do collaborative work with Middlesbrough Council and the desperation is very real in some areas.
 
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