Defending Lambeth

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

Greed is Goodwin: shred his knighthood, not just his pension

I doubt there is anybody in this country at the moment who does not find the greed of Sir Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin, the man who presided over RBS banking losses of £24 billion, a matter for disgust.

This is a man who, despite notorious failures as a responsible banker, wants to cling on to his £16 million pension pot and the £650,000 it would yield every year.

My view is that not only should Goodwin be made to give up his his current pension 'entitlements' but he should also be stripped of his knighthood. He deserves the benefit of neither.

Since the knighthood was awarded for services to banking, and the only service to banking he has ultimately performed is to throw it into chaos, Goodwin should do the decent thing and hand back the cash and the gong.