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Political implications of 'unitary' decision?

Interesting comment by local political commentator 'Bunnco' recently, on the POLITICAL BETTING blog...:

'One of the areas in which the Greens might also do well [as well as in Brighton Pavillion] in is Norwich South , where Charles Clarke is defending a 3500-ish majority. A university seat, the Greens are just behind Labour on the city council and are widely expected to take control of the City Council on May 6th.

But stand-by for one of the most disgraceful gerrymanders since the Great Reform Act of 1832.

Bunnco has previously spoken about the possibility of Local Government Reorganisation [LGR] in Devon, Suffolk & Norfolk. After a tortuous four year process, an announcement is expected today or early next week. If the proposals are not laid before Parliament by Wednesday, they fall. The Conservatives have pledged to reverse such Partisan legislation pushed through in the dying days of the Government.

Labour knows this but the rumour mill is now suggesting that the Cabinet [meeting today in Exeter, also tipped for unitary status] will announce that Norwich City Council will become Unitary and, on the back of it, cancel this May’s council elections to give the local Labour party one more year in the face of certain defeat by the Greens.

The Tories will reverse the reorganisation, you can be sure, but by then it will be too late for the Greens to get their hands on the levers of power.

But if this proves to be the case you can be sure that the local backlash for the General will be such that a third ‘minor party’ seat will be nailed-on and OGH will lose his ‘two-independent’ wager.

Bunnco - Your Man On The Spot'

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