Rather than the traditional end of term report, here is a scary look forward.
Anyone in any doubt about what a Tory government under David Cameron would do should take a look at what has happened in H&F under the Tory council since 2006.
Take five examples of the nasty party in action:
1) huge cuts in spending and local services - £61 million already cut from the council's budget with more to come, hitting services for older and disabled people and schools and childcare; all the council's staff served with redundancy notices to cut their terms and conditions
2) a Tory tax con - cuts in council tax (amounting to less than 50p a week) are more than made up for by the huge hikes in fees and charges for local services, all part of a secret budget only revealed after the Tories were elected
3) gerrymandering - secret plans to knock down social housing and sell large estates for redevelopment with local people moved out and priced out of the borough
4) dirtier streets - H&F streets are filthy as flytipping increases following the cuts in street cleaning and refuse services plus new charges for collection of bulk items
5) public assets sold off - valuable community buildings housing local voluntary organisations and facilities for young and old people have been sold off, never to be used again by the local community
H&F council is hailed as an exemplar by David Cameron. Be careful what you wish for.
No comments:
Post a Comment