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"Conservatives should face their responsibility over £136m budget black hole" - Cllr Glynane
November 29, 2010 12:00 AM
Originally published by Northamptonshire County Council Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Northamptonshire County Council Liberal Democrats
Cllr Brendan Glynane, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Northamptonshire County Council has attacked the Conservative administration for refusing to take responsibility for their financial mess at County Hall. In a letter to the local press, Cllr Glynane said:
"The news that Northamptonshire County Council needs to find savings of £136 million over the next four years should surprise no-one. The truth is that Northamptonshire's Conservatives have been wasting taxpayers money for years and while in times of plenty they could get away with it, now the money has run out. The total mess they made trying to sell off school sites, the £22m on consultants in 2009/10 alone, the £32m Carillion contract blunder, and the £629m debt from borrowing have made the cuts far more savage than necessary.
For years the Conservatives ducked the big decisions and refused to reform expensive services while there was the cash to do it - and now the County Council is in a massive hole. The Conservative administration hasn't even got the guts to take responsibility - hiding behind council officers instead of standing up themselves and apologising for the mess they created. This has become a bad habit of Northamptonshire Conservatives.
If the Conservatives had listened to the Liberal Democrats in Northamptonshire fewer frontline services would be at risk now. Local Conservatives need to face up to their responsibility and start fixing the mess they ignored for so long. On Northampton's Borough Council, they left the finances in a similar mess. When the people of the town said 'enough', the Liberal Democrats were left to sort it out. Needless to say, that council is in a far stronger position to weather the spending crisis.
Where is the Conservative County Council Leader in all this? Nowhere to be seen, as usual. It's about time we saw some leadership and accountability from the Conservatives at County Hall."
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