Apart from not agreeing with the budget or Council plan which was voted through by the Tories (which I kind of expected) I was a little disappointed with the Labour group who didn't appear to have much to say apart from call the Conservatives arrogant and not listening which I though was a bit harsh.
But the biggest disappointment was the Tories who went on to make a speeches about what the Lib Dems and Labour had said in there budget speeches, which hadn't said at all.
I was accused of wanting to recklessly spend all the Councils reserves, which I never had or would have said.
I just suggested adding to them right now is not a priority. I also said said I would invest reserves in green energy (again) and social housing (ourselves if necessary).,this is not spending reserves as both provide revenue in return. Certainly in the case of green energy I am sure the return would be far greater that the 1.5 -3% than we get from gilts and bonds.
Any way I thought the Tories made themselves look a bit silly. They seem to get offended when they're accused of not listening, on Thursday they went a long way to proving their critics right.
If you want to know what I actually said the text is below
Mr Mayor,
I like to start by celebrating the administrations successes, it wasn’t easy to find. But I can tell you this was a record breaking year. Never has a council plan commitment been so quickly broken.
The leader had only just sat down having introduced his Council plan about how they were going to listen, when one of his councillors, who I won’t name, tweeted,
“oh no my kindle is broken I will have to listen to opposition speeches, they are awful”
Fortunately our local Tories are tough on discipline and imposed the ultimate punishment on there tweeter......and made him their new group leader.
Another big change this year was the leader’s decision to step down. I didn’t agree with him on many things but respect his commitment to the role and the time he donated to promoting this borough.
He didn’t deserve to suffer a never ending barrage of bitter feuding, criticism, angry arguments, petty squabbles and back biting.
And he had to deal with the opposition groups as well.
We have a new leader, I looked up my notes about him.
He took on the County council about bus tokens and didn’t get what he wanted, he took on the County about children’s centres and didn’t get what he wanted. Now he has taken on his colleagues in a ‘who wants to be the new leader’ and I get the impression he didn’t get what he wanted again.
I will offer him some advice on being a good leader. Watch Ed Milliband – and do the opposite!
I will be nicer to his new deputy as a fellow class of 2008 councillor.
But will remind him, it was days before the general election he was walking round the streets of Eastrop delivering leaflets about how terrible a coalition would be. He couldn’t find a street so, ironically, stopped to ask a Lib Dem who didn’t offer much help. I apologise and assure him if he’d asked me, I would have told him where to go.
Mr Mayor,
Watching the Conservatives over the last year we’ve had
a suspension for doing the right thing, leadership for doing the wrong thing, a leader who doesn’t get what he wants and a deputy who doesn’t know where he’s going and a pair of resignations for doing nothing wrong. None of that was in last years plan!
So what is in the Council plan. A fairly dreary document. It hardly changes, even when the leader does!
But there is a warning in it. A glimpse of the future. It’s in the foreword and in bold.
“the council’s focus will continue to be on delivering ‘core’ services”
Sounds harmless, but what is a ‘core’ service? What is a throw away one.
On page 4 of the plan is a list of many of the services the council provide – I fear the Tories view this as a hit list, what exactly are they planning to drop; Public toilets, playing fields, public events? Already we have seen the balloons over Basingstoke replace by dark clouds. What else?
On page 6, under “What is important to you” – listening to people and ensuring they have the opportunities to influence decisions is essential.
At this point I have to mention site selection process, where even councillors didn’t get to influence site selection – just handed a report without options. Those 60 or so speakers who attended the PIanning and infrastructure OSCOM were listened to and ignored all in one go.
Under “How we work on page 7”, it says asset management – maximising the benefits from resources such as land property.
At this point I have to mention Manydown. A £5m investment in land for housing. Yet this administration apparently don’t have the talent and ability to make it available.
Perhaps I could offer alternative text.
“we’ll minimise the existence of our assets when it suits us to do so.”
And on page 10, its still there.
“A range of housing types and tenures, of the right number in the right place”
I couldn’t find the reality either “any homes crammed in any spaces that weren’t Manydown”
Now this issue of Manydown has sparked controversy both inside and outside the chamber.
Rather surprisingly the criticism has been aimed at the then chair of planning and infrastructure and portfolio holder and conservative group leader. I’m not sure this is fair.
They had made their position clear for many years, and stuck to it – should we criticise that?
They feel they are advocating the views of those they represent – is that wrong?
I will not criticise them tonight
We should reserve our criticism for those councillors who have done the opposite.
Those that lamely followed the leader rather than listening to their residents. Putting party, before people, and their own short term political careers ahead of the long term future of our borough.
They should be ashamed of themselves. As of right now, the residents of Bramley, Chineham and Basing have a serious lack of representation in this chamber because of the weakness of certain conservative members.
They can’t simply blame their leader, their group or a public consultation. It is their fault.
They are the reason that the Loddon Valley faces more new homes than it can cope with.
They promised to protect the Loddon Valley, then didn’t.
In my view rather than write silly letters to the press. They should write resignation letters to the chief executive.
Mr Mayor
The Council plan remains a lot of words and tells us little.
It is so vague, it would take some considerable negligence to stray from it, worryingly I beginning to believe this administration could manage it.
Mr Mayor,
The budget was…….. well very conservative.
What the administration call ‘efficiency’ is near exhausted as process. I believe efficiency is delivering the same quality and standards of service for less cost to the tax payer. Anything beyond that line is a cut. Even those who think we have not crossed the line, will recognise we’ve close.
The budget warns that cuts in service are coming. That the only way to fill the gap in our future budgets is to do less, I don’t buy that.
Every year the budget shows more and more being paid into more and more reserves. We have reserves to cover every eventuality. The only thing I couldn’t find was a legal reserve for judicial reviews.
At a time of great need we are putting money into the risk reserves in case things get worse.
We’ve had banks collapsing Europe on the brink, record low interest rates, a global meltdown and 13 years of Labour government – how can it get much worse?
This is how it looks
we’re going to cut services, so we can put money into reserves
And if things do get worse, we can drawer upon these reserves to protect services we no longer provide as we cut them to create the reserve in the first place!.
Let’s not forget we have already de-risked the budget by removing future new homes bonus payments as we are too scared to forecast how many homes we’ll build over the next few years having spent most of the last 18 months talking about little else.
And this year we have ended up with £1.7m more in the bank that we budgeted for. All this, from one of the wealthiest boroughs in the country.
There is a lack of energy, a lack of ideas and a lack of imagination. An overload of conservatism wedded to the view that Councils should aspire to spend and do less.
We’re following in the footsteps of the County Council. Their so busy trying to do less they’ve had to recruit an extra cabinet member to achieve it.
Mr Mayor we could do things differently
We would get more out of the LEP.
It is critical that our capital investments are completed on time and to budget. We’re not good at that. The Malls was delivered late and over budget, timescales for the South Ham surgery are slipping.
Although we can’t afford to recruit the specialists to achieve that, it would be in the interest of all the bodies that make up enterprise M3 to deliver best value. We would work with our partners so an LEP team of project specialists would be able to support both us and our LEP partners in delivering major capital programmes that benefit our community without it costing them too much.
Value is what our residents would want and we’re on there side.
We would have a meaningful consultation with residents over where the homes our children need would be built.
Not a series of meetings designed to limit debate.
It was ridiculous spectacle watching the administration trying to hide 820 acres of land for housing in the hopes no one would spot it. We would use the Councils assets to the benefit of the community. Yes the public own Manydown, we’d let them have a say on its future.
It is want our residents would want and we’re on there side
Where the socially useless financial investments have slumped in returns, we would invest in social housing. At least, if the returns are weak, we have provided homes for families that need them.
It is what those on the housing waiting list would want and we’re on their side
Where private homes are built on public land, we would look at lease arrangements. Developers would no longer face the cost burden of borrowing money to purchase the land and we would be in control of the pace of development.
To often developers get planning permission then sit on land waiting for the right time to extort as much profit as possible while a housing crisis surrounds us. That is not right or fair, we would stop it.
It is what our residents would want and we’re on their side
The Council almost missed an opportunity of a life time. The generous feed in tariffs and the falling cost of renewable installations could have more than filled the emerging black hole in the boroughs finances.
We would look at our own land and work with private landowners to most cost affectively deliver cleaner energy, safer energy more stability to fuel bills and a return that would help keep Council tax low.
It is what our residents would want – and we’re on their side.
The new homes bonus is set to give the Council several million pounds a year for the next 6 years. We would make sure that money is spent on schemes that benefit the communities most affected by new development, not just hide it in another reserve account. We would publish how much was available and spent by each ward, where the money has been spent and make communities at the heart of that decision making.
It is what our residents deserve, and we’re on their side.
Thankfully our natural environment could be getting some help. There was no shortage of pictures of local Tories standing by the river Loddon worried about the state of it. It took the Lib Dems to remind them that they run the Country, the County and the Council and perhaps they should actually do something.
It is what our residents would want and we’re on their side
This year also marked the end. The annual debate about reducing council tax discount to zero on empty homes is over.
Next year we’ll be able to go further and charge a levy on spare homes thanks to new powers from Westminster. I imagine we’ll see Labour and the Lib Dems working together to use the new powers the Conservatives are giving to local authorities, much to the horror and opposition of local conservatives.
Big families, living in small flats, while owners get a discount for leaving family homes empty. We must stop it.
Our residents don’t think that’s fair and we’re on their side.
We would throw open the doors of the Council Offices and give open access to all meetings and reports.
Confidential papers would be rare and only if it was agreed by all group leaders.
Scrutiny would return, chaired by opposition councillors, no portfolio holder would be able to avoid difficult questions.
Single issue panels and Members advisory panels would be advertised and the public encouraged to be involved, rather than banned.
Secret meetings in smoke filled rooms must be consigned to history. The smoke has gone, we’d get rid of the secrecy too.
Our residents want transparency – we’re on their side.
I will say to the leader, I’m not on his side. I can’t support your plan or budget – I don’t think it is good enough for the people of this borough. And I’m on their side
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