South Tyneside’s opposition

New leader for the Progressives?

Word has just been passed over the counter that the veteran South Tyneside councillor Jimmy Capstick (pictured) may no longer be leading the minority opposition party (The South Tyneside Progressive Association) on South Tyneside Council as of next week.

Once in a position of strength, once in a position of power in South Shields, the Progressives on South Tyneside Council saw their numbers gradually dwindle away after they lost a large contingent of conservative right minded thinkers after the abolition of the old Tyne Wear County Council, sadly the decline was allowed to continue resulting in the huge majorities that the local Labour Party have enjoyed in recent times. Failure to renew and rebuild during the 1990s has seen the Progressive’s share of the popular vote shrink alarmingly as ‘hard left’ Independents have filled the political void in the borough’s opposition to Labour.

Perhaps under a new leadership the Progressive Association may try to come out of their shell, rebuild it’s membership and offer constructive criticism and attractive alternative policies.

Curly opines that it is perhaps too late for them to repair the damage.

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