Advertisement
The guns are out!
Posted By: Wera Hobhouse
Date Posted: 25/02/2011
Should I feel flattered that the Leader of the Council took it upon himself to write a long essay not even 24 hours after my diary entry yesterday!
I must have hit a nerve!
The Liberal Democrat group did put forward amendments and suggestions how to rebalance the Link4Life budget since last October. Where were you Colin? It is simply dishonest to say that we did not come forward with an alternative.
The first step would be to admit that there is an imbalance of how the budget cuts are made within the Link4Life budget. The Council leader hasn’t even made that first step and he disguises his own ignorance by screaming at everybody, but it would be helpful if he could actually be bothered to get into the detail.
If it came to a competition who was lazier, I am sure Colin would win!
The big issue is that by sticking to the budget cuts put forward by Link4Life this Council has destroyed Arts and Heritage in the Borough.
On funding for political activity, Liberal Democrats do not benefit from big donations from business or Unions. This is why we have to pay for political activities out of our own pocket and we all make a private contribution from our income.
If you, Colin, buy your wife roses on mother’s day is that council tax payers’ money? If you call the contribution that we make to our party tax payers money, then every meal you eat or indeed every penny you spend is council money. In fact you then have to call everything that any publicly paid employee like a nurse, doctor or teacher spends as tax payers’ money.
Saying that I am using the council’s money, not my own personal money for political activity is a libel and I ask you to withdraw this accusation by deleting it from your diary.
And last: The Leader of the Council made a public promise at the Cabinet meeting on the 10th February to the St Edmund’s Charity to look at a rescue plan for the organisation. When I visited St Edmund’s charity a few days later I was told that Colin Lambert had visited them and that he gave private assurances that he would support a rescue plan. I made it clear during my visit that the support of the leadership of the Council was the most important thing for the charity because as a back bencher in opposition I now have very little influence over any budget decisions.
As the several hundred page long budget-book is impenetrable even for councillors with more financial expertise than me and as our group was unable to obtain any direct answers of how the Labour leadership was actually going to balance the budget before the Budget Council, I had to rely on the word of the Leader that he was going to rescue St Edmund’s charity.
How badly deceived we all were!
More Entries By Wera Hobhouse
- Some Things Never Change Date posted: 01/04/2011
- A Good Kicking Date posted: 04/03/2011
- A Borough of Philistines Date posted: 24/02/2011
- Norden Old Library new venue for my surgery this Saturday Date posted: 11/02/2011
- Seven Years of Political Change Date posted: 14/12/2010
- Extra Millions for Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton Schools Date posted: 13/12/2010
- Seven councillors resign from Liberal Democrats Date posted: 05/12/2010
- Hospital Scandal Date posted: 08/11/2010
- Quangos Date posted: 14/10/2010
- Child Benefit, Sir Philip Green, Tuition Fees and all that Date posted: 14/10/2010
- Conservative Party Conference 2010 Date posted: 05/10/2010
- 'The war on motorists is over'? Date posted: 02/10/2010
- Is Ed red? Date posted: 28/09/2010
- Back from Conference Date posted: 22/09/2010
- Sir Cyril Smith Date posted: 06/09/2010
- Save our Maternity Services Date posted: 25/07/2010
- Lenny Barn Playing Fields Date posted: 23/07/2010
- The mess Labour left us in Date posted: 17/07/2010
- Building Schools for the Future Date posted: 13/07/2010
- The Estate We're In Date posted: 07/07/2010
- Alternative Voting System Date posted: 05/07/2010
- Earth Cafe Date posted: 30/06/2010
- Who should pay? Date posted: 09/04/2010
- Hustings Date posted: 30/03/2010
- Breaching Parliamentary Rules. Date posted: 23/03/2010
- Common Sense Date posted: 22/03/2010
- It’s a choice between Labour and the Liberal Democrats here. Date posted: 28/02/2010
- Save our Public Services Date posted: 15/02/2010
- Should we change our voting system? Date posted: 09/02/2010
