STATEMENT ABOUT THE TORY CALDERDALE COUNCIL COUP Last week the fourth leadership change within Calderdale Council occurred. The previous ones being (in reverse order) Labour kicking the Liberal Democrats out of the Cabinet to rule as a minority administration, Labour becoming the largest party within the Liberal-Labour Cabinet and before that a Liberal Democrat led coup against the ruling Conservative Party. Within two months of Labour’s landslide victory over the Liberal Democrats, they fell short of the necessary number of seats needed to take control and the Conservatives have (with the help of the six Liberal Democrats and the one Independent) taken control of the Council again. The reason given by the new ruling Group Leader Coun. Stephen Baines (Con, Northowram) for ousing Coun. Tim Swift’s (Lab, Town) team was the ongoing debate over car-parking charges, plus a controversial plan to develop the Hipperholme Crossing outside of Halifax. Labour hit back denouncing the move as political opportunism and anti-democratic. The vote was 24-22. The Hipperholme Independent Coun. Colin Raistrick (Ind, Hipperholme) has been given a place in the Cabinet. Independent Candidate for Todmorden Town Council & Calderdale Council in 2015 David Jones said “Labour are being hypocritical in complaining about being ousted while the largest party, because they did the exact same thing to the Conservatives back in 2010, so I have no sympathy aside for Labour here. That said, hearing the Conservatives citing the unpopularity of the Hipperholme crossing project as a major reason gives me a chuckle since the Tories had no problem ramming through such projects as the Rose Street demolition here in Todmorden.” “As for the parking charges, it is of course good to see a party take power committed to abolishing them but it’s a pyrrhic victory. While parking charges may go we have to recognise that there are bigger issues at stake such as cuts to our local health services, and the matter I have raised concerning provision to the Citizen’s Bureau”. “Of course all these parties are as bad as each other, all controlled by the same people, but bad in different ways. At a time when people are queuing up for free bread and local services are facing the axe the last people we want running the Council are peddlars of austerity politics, and their Lib Dem tag-alongs”.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 15:17:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015