YOU would think that after sweeping to a victory that was against all the odds the Conservatives might have leapt at the chance to fill vacancies on the Cabinet.

Not so.

Rodney Chambers, the Council Leader, is having problems reorganising his lesser heavyweights.

There is at least one vacancy. Janice Bamber was stripped of her council seat when the Tory hierarchy in Peninsula Ward deselected her during the winter.

She hung on until election night (though she was nowhere to be seen).

It should have been a relatively simple task to decide the cabinet - after all, the Leader had had months to decide who he would have (if he held onto the leadership).

The Conservatives say they are planning to unveil their front row next Wednesday when the annual meeting takes place.

What is so secret?

Cllr Chambers is a tightrope walker above Niagara Falls in the middle of a raging storm.

Some of the portfolios are certainly being rejigged.

Could it be that the 10-strong team of Cabinet members is at long last going to be pruned?

Perhaps Mrs Bamber's work is being shared out among the others.

It would help to reduce the number of Yes men (and women) who until now have met every three weeks to nod through every report, idea and proposal set out in the Cabinet papers with barely a flicker of originality.

On the other hand, he may have complicated matters by trying to find a niche for a former Cabinet member.

Wendy Purdy swept back to power in Watling Ward after years in the wilderness. She was reminiscent of a jungle cat cat starved of food until presented with an unlimited supply of rich cream after her victory, and suitably cautious about her ambitions to be reappointed among Rodney's decision-makers.

One thing is certain. There will be no change in the Chancellorship - Alan Jarrett is already at work deciding where further economies can be effected.

They may start by reducing the Cabinet's special payments... then again the porcine airforce would take off.

I have been attending counts at elections since 1964.

Normally candidates get to bed just as the sun's rays are bursting over the eastern horizon, lulled by the dawn chorus. Not this time.

At 9am, the last result was finally declared after two recounts, after 11 hours of most local government counters twiddling their thumbs. 

The count was held up until 6am by some civil servant wanting to validate the AV referendum figures for the region. Every polling station was supposed to sit still and wait - and wait - and ......

It was the most ridiculous delay of the democratic process I have ever experienced.

What was even more ridicidulous was that the ward counts had taken place (otherwise we would probably still have been in Medway Park tonight!). Eventually Neil Davies, the Returning Officer and Chief executive of Medway Council, announced he had been given permission to tell the candidates the results - but not the people who had counted... and not the media (representing the general public, the voters if you prefer, 3waiting there to pass on the news to the world at large).

Ofcourse immediately he had given out the "confidential informal announcement" those sworn to secrecy told the rest of us.

Ridiculous? You bet.

***

Politicians are gathering in their private hideholes this weekend, trying to fathom out what happened to their campaigns in Medway.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had expected a kicking from the electorate. Instead, there was the shock of increased personal votes and an increase in members among the Tories - and virtual annihilation for the LibDems.

Labour, by comparison, finally got Adam Price back in the chamber after years in isolation.

Rodney Chambers, leader of the Conservative Group and currently Leader of the Council, became increasingly cock-a-hoop during the night.

By comparison, Geoff Juby's bright yellow jacket and tie covered in playing card images began to look sicker and sicker as he walked from table to table.

One or two people were vitriolic. No more so than in Watling Ward where Tory and LibDem ladies will be side by side.for the next four years.

The comment that "I want to work with her…" never sounded less truthful.

***

It was a damned close run thing in Allhallows where the old brigade narrowly lost out to those seeking a more open parish council.

The results were declared with three of the Old Brigade (led by the current chairman, Yvonne Forrest) and five of the "Change Brigade".

One of those to lose hisplace was Peter Apostel, the quiet voice of reason on the council, who had tried to bring sense and sensibility to the often ludicrous behaviour in the village hall. Dibley? - eat your heart out.

It meant the likely end of Cross Park Association influence. Three of the association's committee left the council.

It also promises to be an interesting few months for the clerk, for the borough council's legal officers and for the new chairman.

For example, how will the chairman unite the council?

Is there a fly with a video camera who could oversee the discussions with the clerk?

And will the promised training to be given by the borough council actually result in all in the parish council to attend?

That has been the biggest problem at Allhallows: a failure to know what the rules are under which the parish council, its members and paid officers, operate.

***

Anyone staying up for the election count this week will need plenty of caffeine and high energy food. This looks like being a record breaker for the time it takes the counters to sort out who won what and when.

The doors shut at 10pm (by which time some of the polling station staff will be approaching 18 hours non-stop on the job).

Certainly by the time they hand over all the paperwork, the boxes and their secret contents, they will be ready for bed.

Meanwhile, the late shift will be getting settled for a very long night.

I am forecasting a 7am finish by the time the counting of the borough votes will have been completed. That may be optimistic.

This is because the Electoral Commission is insisting that officers have to verify how many people voted in the referendum by 2am. Only once they have accepted that has been done can the voting begin.

Voters will have at least two forms: the grey one will record our views on the referendum while a fetching lilac colour has been chosen for recording borough votes.

They will all be shoved into the same box.

Those places on the peninsula where there is a village ballot for parish councils will have a long wait - and white papers on which to record the council candidates they support. The delay is because counting the handful of votes will not begin before 4pm on Friday evening.

That's also the time when the way the 189,843 residents of Medway vote on whether to keep First Past the Post - or go for alternative votes.

Imagine if all 190,000 people voted (well, that minues 157).

Fortunately for those waiting up, swigging Red Cow, Coffee or whatever other fluid is available to keep their eyes open, more than 100,000 of them are liable to stay away from the 118 polling stations and 445 volunteers waiting to greet them in school rooms, pubs, caravans and assorted other electoral registration points.

From about 5.30am on Friday we plan to have early results up on the web, and to keep updating as they become available.

Then as the counters crawl away for bed (or we reporters head for the news room keyboards, video editing and soundtrack edit machinery) we at least can smirk - and the counters cannot. This is because they will have to start counting the referendum votes at 4pm - and also find time to declare the results in the parish council elections.

Me? I shall be in the Land of Nod, probably croaking a hoarse lament to the early swifts and swallows over Medway.

***

The Liberal Democrats are beginning to panic.

They appealed for help in Gillingham North from supporters as far away as London last weekend.

It never made sense that the councillor who consistently topped the polls with the electors should be ousted by her own party's voters,  but Jane Chitty was removed from the Conservatives' May electoral list by a form of proportional representation - the transferable vote.

It was a curious process from the beginning. It also cost Ken and Janice Bamber their positions, and led to Les Wicks being moved from one ward to another.

Well, Cllr Wicks - the education portfolio holder - apparently said up with that I shall not put, and recently resigned.

He's keeping his cards close to his chest but it would appear that we haven't seen the last of the debonair oldstager and former Cliffe/Cliffe Woods parish councillor.

Meanwhile, his departure created a fresh vacancy in Strood North.

Cllr Chitty - another of Council Leader Rodney Chambers' inner coterie - swept aside her opponents in the new round of voting, and last weekend was selected to stand in the ward she has represented for many years. On the way she apparently topped the poll at each stage of the transferable voting.

Meanwhile the Bambers have been waging their own form of warfare.

Janice is another of Cllr Chambers' cabinet, and has been unwell in recent times. I understand she is waiting for surgery so her days as a councillor may really be limited.

Ken, however, has secured a vacancy as one of the three Conservative Strood South candidates on the voting forms in May.

He's one of the tough guys in the administration. He has wielded the whip with considerable aplomb over the past decade and kept the rank and file under control. It's been so effective that whenever councillors are asked if they have been subjected to whipping they stay silent.

If he gets elected, if the Conservatives hold the majority, and if Cllr Chambers is re-elected as Leader (a position which for the first time will be for a four year appointment) it will be fascinating to see what happens thereafter.

With the Liberals in disarray thanks to ex-member Andy Stamp (incidentally a rerun of many issues that led Cllr Ian Burt and the late Doris Weller to resign from the party many years ago), will we see the Labour group make a resounding bid for power?

I am doubtful, yet it is curious that there are so many rifts among those who have regained national power just a few months ago.

***

It promises to be a boisterous, noisy and possibly unpleasant evening of blood letting on the peninsula tonight.

Allhallows parish council is meeting with plans to discuss the future of the youth club - and in particular where it meets - behind closed doors.

Villagers are up in arms about the plan by the completely unelected, self-perpetuating, oligarchical parish councillors who have re-appointed themselves every four years since the early Nineties.

It promises to be a fun evening!

***

A clearer picture of how Medway Council will close the £23.5 million gap in its budget plans will become clearer this week.

Make sure you get the Medway Messenger on Friday for headlines.

It was Trafalgar Day yesterday, the 205^th anniversary of how the small English navy destroyed the French, but lost their Admiral, Lord Horatio Nelson, in the process.

Last night, out of the jaws of victory, the Conservatives successfully snatched defeat at the latest River Ward by-election.

The Labour candidate, John Jones got his message across the streets of River ward, and into the letterboxes around Chatham.

He did it to such an extent that thoughts of weariness over the third election since May were completely rejected by the local residents.

They turned out in greater numbers than anyone expected (including this pundit) after the mess that occurred after the Conservatives won the seat for 13 days in August.

That may have had something to do with having an election on Budget Day.

It could have had something to do with Ed Miliband pounding the streets with Cllr Jones in the summer.

It could be that the vitriolic attacks on the Chief Constable after the last winner, David Craggs, stood down to continue as a Special Constable in Gravesend, had something to do with it.

Small wonder the Labour group was delighted to win back a seat that once was theirs.

Two leadership issues are now worth considering.

One is the lack of wild enthusiasm that is evident elsewhere in the photo issued from Labour's wake for the Conservatives displayed by the oft-times taciturn Paul Godwin.

The other is the challenge to the Leader of the Council and Tory group leader, Cllr Rodney Chambers, that is quietly mounting on the Hoo peninsula.

The Rochester and Strood Conservatives (who now include River Ward among their ranks) are hoping to see Craig Mackinlay successfully carry out his second challenge for the leadership of the Tory group.

Whoever wins that race next May will become Leader of the Council.

On this showing Mr Mackinlay must first cling on to his seat to have any chance of bidding to be group leader.

There are those in the council wearing red, yellow, white - and blue - who would be delighted if the second River seat returned to Labour next year.

The council has begun the process of employing someone to replace the ageing cremators at Blue Bell Hill crematorium.

They plan to spend around £1.7 million replacing the four ovens with three new ones.

They also plan to enlarge the two chapels, though only one can be afforded at the moment.

And the car park is to be enlarged.

It is in the interests of better air quality.

The current process of cremating bodies with mercury-based tooth fillings means mercury is escaping into the atmosphere.

The majority of the 2,700 cremations each year since then would have had mercury fillings and the anti-pollution installation has become increasingly ineffective.

So - praise for the council for finally committing some of the cash.

Maidstone council, meanwhile, has itself got on with the job. Last week the mayor, Cllr Eric Hotson, formally opened the revitalised, improved, anti-polluting Vinters Park crem.

***

A Value for Money project is under way at Medway Council.

Neil Davies, the chief executive, has written to his colleagues confirming a council-wide investigation to find ways to cut costs and improve the service.

In a turn of phrase I am assured he used, Mr Davies says it should show ways"we can work smarter through simplifying, standardising and sharing common processes to eliminate waste".

It is, he says, part of Medway's response to the nation's current economic problems

The key seems to be how much they are putting into common activities such as enquiry handling, processing applications, assessments, general administration and paying bills.

Most of this was is work supposed to be done by the multi-million pound Customer First team. But often isn't.

In September the project is intended to reach its climax with a blueprint of how the new, improved, cheaper, (better?) council will look.

Mr Davies told colleagues: "This way we can make sure that we can concentrate on reviewing and developing those areas which will bring about the greatest benefits for our customers by designing services that are both high quality and low cost.

"If you have any comments or questions about this project can you please contact your manager in the first instance. In addition you can contact the Hotline on ******."

***

The Razz, Tazz and assorted other fun and games that from last weekend will mark the Mayor's annual Civic Service got off in fine sunshine.

It's the new-look service that combines the former service with the bun feast from the increasingly political, annual meeting.

Will this be one of the money-spendings which Mr Davies might want to reduce?

He'd be a brave man. This was the idea of Rodney Chambers, the leader of the council.

And most councillors aspire to being the centre of attention in the cathedral at least once a year.