Accusations flew- and so did the fish

GRAHAM Forshaw, former West Sussex County Council leader, takes a look at the bumpy ride democracy was given as the authority neared its first polls in 1888.

WEST Sussex elections '“ bribery and corruption?

"There are many who lament the old order of things; who relish notions of bribery and corruption and envy those who waxed rich over election gains made in the past.

"The present elections are threadbare by comparison; controlled by a rigid economy which prevents candidates from spending any more on their elections than they would on a second-hand sofa.

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"Those who appreciated the old-style elections sigh for the days when every elector's wife had a new dress, every child's money box filled like magic; to say nothing of the crisp bank-notes left after visits by smiling, wheedling candidates."

This nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek view was written in 1888, just before the first elections to the newly-created West Sussex County Council.

For full feature and more pictures see West Sussex Gazette January 7