When is a decision not a decision? When the Liberal Democrats make it, apparently.
Last week, at a Full Council meeting, we saw yet more evidence of the Liberal Democrats’ detachment from reality and residents.
I proposed a motion to scrap the Liberal Democrats’ cuts to public litter bins. The Liberal Democrats, backed by Labour, voted it down, while ludicrously claiming – despite the evidence – that no decision had ever been made to remove bins.
Holed up in the half-empty offices of Shute End, it seems they have convinced themselves of an alternative narrative to this summer’s events. Any reader of this paper, or anyone with a sense of smell who was in the Borough in July, knows that public litter bins were taped off, others seemed to have been removed or not emptied as frequently and within very little time bins were overflowing, causing a great stinking mess.
Certainly, no proper key decision making process was followed – we all agree on that much - but decisions were taken. Otherwise this wouldn’t have happened. Now the Liberal Democrat leadership is trying to weasel out of their mistakes, shift the blame, and as ever dodge responsibility.
Deputy Leader of the Council Prue Bray was emphatic: “We have made no decision”. She went on to describe the text of the motion based on the petition signed by about 2000 residents as “annoying”.
She said that she wouldn’t vote for the motion because the petition called for the reduction in bins to be reversed, and she argued: “there are no reductions in litter bins to reverse.” This is despite people all over the Borough reporting missing bins and bins covered in black bags, do they take residents for fools?
She wasn’t the only one – Leader of the Council Stephen Conway also said there was no decision.
So, what exactly do they think happened?
On 6th July, the Council tweeted about savings with a link to a press release setting out cuts to public litter bins, weed spraying, grass cutting and street cleaning. This included a quote for the Liberal Democrat Executive Member, Cllr Ian Shenton.
In the following weeks, this reduction in service was implemented. Only after Conservative councillors complained that the correct decision-making process had not been followed, did the Council pause the cuts and start emptying the bins again.
If any Liberal Democrats need reminding of this, I’d be happy to share with them pictures of bins sent to me by appalled residents.
The Liberal Democrat leadership must have been aware of what was going on for a press release to be issued with a quote from one of their Executive Members.
All of these actions required some level of decision making. To claim otherwise is disingenuous and an insult to residents.
Cllr Bray’s denials would have been hilarious in a 1980s comedy about Whitehall farces. But this isn’t a joke. It’s resident’s services, and almost 18 months into their leadership they should take responsibility for their mistakes and mismanagement.
Tonight, at a meeting of the Council’s Executive they have another opportunity to scrap these reductions in public litter bins and apologise that it was ever able to happen in the first place. I hope they do the right thing.
