I've just sent this letter to the Plymouth Herald, following slurs against Lambeth by a Conservative councillor in Plymouth. The letter is self explanatory. I have no idea if the Plymouth Herald will do the decent thing and allow Lambeth a right of reply, but here it is.
Dear Editor,
As a senior member of Lambeth council I must set the record straight after your report of Plymouth’s recent council meeting, and in particular the prejudiced attacks on Lambeth Council by Cllr Joan Watkins, one of Plymouth’s Conservative councillors.
You correctly reported that Labour Lambeth set a council tax freeze of 0.0% with no cuts to frontline services, in marked contrast to Conservative–controlled Plymouth rise of 4.8% with devastating cuts.
The ill-informed Conservative Cllr Watkins claimed to have visited Lambeth, which she described as ‘appalling’ and said the roads are terrible here. She implied that the tax freeze was achieved at the expense of road repair. All three charges are UNTRUE.
Lambeth is currently rated by the independent Audit Commission at three stars out of four and is the best improving council in the country. Plymouth is rated at two stars. So Lambeth is hardly appalling, unless Cllr Watkins knows something I don’t, which I doubt.
Labour Lambeth has in fact committed extra millions to fix roads and pavements in our budget, whilst freezing the council tax. Even Lambeth’s Tory councillors – who voted to raise council tax by 40% - that's forty per cent - when they ran the council, have advocated a freeze.
In Lambeth we recognise that people may be struggling because of the global economic situation and because of the failures of bankers. I mention bankers because we should not forget that around a third of donations to the Conservative Party have come from bankers.
On behalf of Lambeth’s Labour Council I would be happy to share our best practice with the cabinet of Plymouth’s Conservative Council. Perhaps after some tutoring they should then stop above-inflation tax hikes for hardworking Plymouth residents whilst they cut their services.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr Mark Bennett
Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities, Lambeth Council
Labour councillor for Streatham South
4 comments:
I am not sure why a Plymouth Tory needs to discuss Lambeth... but if she did she might want to discuss how a diverse borough actually works rather then trump up misleading stories for her constituents who might not actually ever come to Lambeth to see the truth for themselves...
Well done Mark.. yet another example of you standing up for Lambeth
Notorious are the Plymouth tories- attempts to rid the UK's pavements of chewing gum were stymied by the local tory MP, mindful of the Wrigley's factory in his constituency...
And for a Plymouth Cllr to call Lambeth appalling- well that's a pot, at night in a black hole, calling a white kettle black!
Good points on tax policy Mr. Councillor. I have qualms about lawmakers who find blanket solutions to all problems, in this case Conservatives raising taxes under all circumstances. Each such decision must be judged in relation to many other variables, including explanation of plans to redistribute the revenues to the community. Conservatives seem ... Read Moreto think that a policy moves from A to B linearly, when in fact the process filters through so many other variables. Thus, just because they extract more taxes, does not mean they will spend the money efficiently and wisely. Meanwhile, some communities can perform well and deliver goods and services with tax cuts (or freezes) but wise allocation of resources.
Good points on tax policy Mr. Councillor. I have qualms about lawmakers who find blanket solutions to all problems, in this case Conservatives raising taxes under all circumstances. Each such decision must be judged in relation to many other variables, including explanation of plans to redistribute the revenues to the community. Conservatives seem ... Read Moreto think that a policy moves from A to B linearly, when in fact the process filters through so many other variables. Thus, just because they extract more taxes, does not mean they will spend the money efficiently and wisely. Meanwhile, some communities can perform well and deliver goods and services with tax cuts (or freezes) but wise allocation of resources.
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