A small clue as to why Richmond council in particular has been so docile in their dealings with the RFU over the Rugby World Cup appeared in 'Private Eye' today.
"Lord True, the high minded leader of Richmond council, took a dim view of other London councillors accepting Olympic tickets in 2012 - "while ordinary families in the borough have to apply in the queue". He turned down the "flashy freebies", insisting councillors were not entitled to special treatment. But with the arrival of the 2015 Rugby World Cup on his doorstep he has changed his tune. Rugby chiefs have now given the council five complimentary tickets for each of the 10 matches to be played in the borough, including England V Australia and the final, which will be attended by Lord & Lady True. The rest have been claimed by 10 cabinet members, eight of their partners, the mayor, deputy mayor and senior officers. Tournament organisers have also given a separate donation of 500 tickets for schools and community groups - but those are all for France v Italy. Meanwhile the Lib Dem opposition councillors were barred from volunteering at the tournament, warned by officers that involvement would be inappropriate. "Clearly the council would prefer councillors to limit their activity to freeloading corporate hospitality" complained Cllr. Alex Ehmann' |