Community Group At Odds With Coalition Partners
Stating they “do not accept ownership” of Tory budget proposals
Community Group Leader Councillor Phil Andrews told a Borough Council meeting on Tuesday that the group would not take ownership of the budget proposals presented by the Conservatives, with whom they are in coalition.
In his speech Councillor Andrews informed the meeting that he and his colleagues had had no input into the budget making process this year, and that they would consider all of the proposals on their own merits and without obligation.
In a press statement The Community Group said it was particularly incensed that the local authority’s Communications team had been instructed by Chief Officers to announce on the council website the administration’s absolute commitment to a Council Tax freeze, when the policy of the Community Group is to deliver as low tax as possible without cuts to frontline services.
Councillor Andrews commented, “On at least four occasions recently Conservative policy has been publicly announced to be the policy of the coalition administration, and this has included material published by officers of the council. Under the circumstances we had no option but to also speak out in public in order to set the record straight.”
He told Borough Council that this had not been the first example in recent months of the corporate council promoting the interests of one coalition partner over another. A recent issue of HM Magazine featured an article defending the decision to permit the expansion of Mogden Sewage Works – which the ICG (Independent Community Group) passionately opposes – and even attempted to associate the ICG with the decision by including a quote from Community Group Lead Member Councillor Jon Hardy.
Referring to the Mogden decision, Councillor Andrews told the meeting, “Our experience during the Mogden debate taught us that coalition parties at this authority are not considered obligated to support their partners, nor even give prior notice of their intention not to support them if they truly believe they should not, and obviously we will be taking that knowledge into the debate in March.”
However, in anticipation of any speculation about a break-up of the coalition he was quick to put the budget differences into perspective. “I just think that with the natural life of the current administration drawing to an end and the imminence of both the general and local elections they are getting a bit excited and sometimes tend to forget that they are in coalition. Council Tax savings form a very major part of their agenda. But the attitude at the Civic Centre itself is more worrying for us and the obstruction we have faced in some of our work has been completely unacceptable. We are hoping this will be resolved before the main budget meeting in March.”
November 26, 2009
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