Tyson Fury is a big fella. 6ft9 and 19 and a bit stone. There's a list of reasons why you would not want to get into a boxing ring with him that is as long as his inside leg measurement Unfortunately for his opponents his biggest asset and the largest of those reasons isn't his clubbing right hook. It isn't that ramrod jab
nor indeed is it that for such a large gentleman he is deceptively quick and moves like a gazelle. In what is exceptionally bad news for his opponents ( as Deontay Wilder found out again on Saturday night) Tyson's biggest asset is his sheer determination. He has a built in indomitable will to win, a complete refusal to lose that means he gets up when others wouldn't , he gets that second and third wind, he does those extra miles. He is simply focussed on winning, nothing else even enters his head.
That spirit, that will to win is something we can all aspire to in what ever walk of life we choose to walk and even in the political world there are examples of that sort of drive and thought process. Love her or loathe her Mrs Thatcher probably encompassed it as much as any modern day politician ( I'm presuming the 1980s counts as modern , apologies if I'm old).
Like Tyson Fury Mrs T picked her opponents and went about doing a number on them. For both these examples however their opponent is always very clear. Fury had Wilder in the opposite corner, Thatcher had Kinnock and Labour.
For the political pugilists of the next two years, certainly at local level , I'm not so sure the match ups are so clear. I've seen recently ( and this was further emphasised for me at last nights council meeting) that the Conservatives are almost dismissing Labour as a worthy challenger. They are currently at least listening to where the Lib Dems are and are tolerating those of us who are Independents. No doubt that will change in due course
The Conservatives seem to be calling out the Greens. They are attacking them left right and centre throwing uppercuts and body blows opposing motions and criticising spending plans. The Greens in turn seem up for the fight, throwing straight rights at the Tories for what they see as failures on Climate emergency and social justice.
Of course these are only the initial sparring sessions but these two parties are without doubt at the beginning of election campaigns, It may well be that the next 12 months will see a reinvigorated Labour Party begin to demand a title shot and indeed Lib Dems too. Of course I'm hoping that the Independent swing that has happened in the last two elections will continue in the next one. For me personally its very hard to begin any sort of campaign when your leading the Council. I want everyone on board as we try to do the great things we are doing for the district so I stay well clear of the political exchanges of punches. Theres been many times I've felt like throwing the odd right hand but we have a job to do and that job must come first.
Of course there will come a time when we need to lace the gloves up once again and it will be interesting to see where we are ranked by the other fighters/parties. I quite like being the under dog.
I suspect locally at least that the Conservatives are right to see the Greens as a threat. Frankly The Greens have been on a run of kicking the Tories backsides in a number of key elections and they are confident, almost bullish. They are genuine contenders,
The Lib Dems and Labour have their backyards of strength and its my intention to make the Independent movement title worthy once more.
So grab a ringside seat, there's some interesting discussions being
held that means there may even be a bigger fight ahead at some point but the race to control the FODDC has started. Of that be in no doubt
Who holds the title in 2023 will go a long way to determining the future of the Council.
I really want the guy at the end announcing "and still!" when they call the result and using Mr Fury as inspiration, he just might be.
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