Quantum is undoubtedly an issue. £118k does seem a lot of public money to be spending on a knees-up when the same local authority is warning us of impending cuts. On the other hand it is reasonable in principle that resources should be committed to events which promote cohesion, inclusion and community. There have been much bigger sums blown on jollies for the few which don't even make the news, and this is by no means exclusive to Hounslow or to Labour councils. My concern, like Paul's, is how these funds are being distributed. Councillor Sampson, who is the Lead Member for Communities which holds the purse strings when it comes to community funding, is known to have fought tenaciously for the position when it was first awarded to her. I doubt I am the only local person who would like to know why VIP tickets to an LBH event seem to be being issued by a private business whose only connection with the local authority appears to be the fact that it served as the operational base for Labour's local election campaign in Isleworth in 2014.I do not discount the possibility that there may be an innocent explanation. Neither do I discount the possibility that VIP hospitality in this instance may not involve the free drinks, food and goodies that it does at many other events of this nature. But I would like somebody to reassure me, and others who are expressing similar concerns.If I many digress a little it is perhaps apposite that we are discussing these kind of issues on the very day when the national Labour Party, very decisively, turned its back on the old ways of spin and sleight-of-hand politics and embraced, in the most emphatic manner, a new way which seems to have at its root integrity, sincerity and openness. I for one am impatient to learn by what means and how long it is going to take for this new mindset to filter down to Hounslow and in particular to Isleworth. I would imagine the task would be akin to introducing a vegetarian diet to a piranha pool.
Phil Andrews ● 3617d