The Big Question

[steveL]

If you watch Andrew Marr on a Sunday morning and can't get up quick enough from your bacon sandwich to turn it off when it ends, you might have caught the follow up programme entitled The Big Questions - issues of the day looked at from a moral and semi-religious perspective.

So here's one of my own to consider.

Should a Chief Executive of a local authority who professes Christian credentials and who likes to think that she considers the moral aspects before making her decisions embroil herself in deals with dodgy 'businessmen'

For the sake of the argument, we'll call our Chief Executive Gill Axminster and our example dodgy businessman might be someone who had previously been the owner of a string of lap-dancing clubs whose business had gone belly up leaving £3m of debt and with him being banned from managing, controlling or being a director of any company until 2022.

I should point out here that I am not describing Kevin Cranney. Well actually I am, come to think of it, though I am not aware of the councillor ever owning any lap-dancing clubs. Admittedly, Cranney was also banned from being a Director and yes, he did carry on trading with Mutual Securities long after he knew that it was insolvent. Also, both Directors have had more companies that Marjorie James has had Slimfasts but any other similarities are pure coincidence. (helpful hint: you don't lose weight faster the more Slimfasts you drink)

Anyway, I digress.

The Devil's temptation in this case is a floundering Vision that is struggling to attract financial backing from anyone who isn't a drug pushing cigarette smuggler, tax evader or wife beating gambling addict - in other words, criminals. (though for some reason in Hartlepool they are known as entrepreneurs.) In such circumstances, a banned former Lap-Dance Club owner with a taste for Swiss Chocolate might not seem so bad.

So here's the deal.

The Chief Executive has to decide if its a good idea to forget about morality for a while (and why not, her council has) and sell a football ground, together with the surrounding land, at first glance, to the football club, but surreptitiously, by proxy, to the banned financial backer. Property Development is the name of the game; 130 houses initially and a stick of retail units. In return, Ms Axminster gets enough money to build a new Sports Complex on land at Middleton Grange currently used as a Car Park and occasional outdoor market.

It leaves the fans of the football club without any guarantee of their club's long term future other than the word of a couple of individuals already with dubious form but it gives a leg-up to an already fading  Vision.

Morality or Vision: Today's Big Question.

Discuss.

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/business-ban-lap-dancing-club-owner-4987964

http://matt-haycox.com/proud-working-hartlepool-football-club-secure-future/