Croydon Labour: | Paul Scott attacks Tory Cuts, Waste and Incompetence that is failing South Norwood and Woodside

Paul Scott attacks Tory Cuts, Waste and Incompetence that is failing South Norwood and Woodside

Council Tax debate – Cllr Paul Scott’s speech to Croydon Council on 1st March 2010 (3 minutes)

TORY CUTS, WASTE AND INCOMPETENCE, AND CROYDON’S HIGHEST EVER COUNCIL TAX, ARE FAILING WOODSIDE AND SOUTH NORWOOD

This is a budget that sums up the failure and deceit of this Conservative administration, and heralds their defeat on 6th May. Despite all the Tory protesting about council tax levels all they have done is kept on increasing it. We took the difficult decisions a few years ago but they’ve just kept pushing it up. Even in this difficult year for many, they have failed to follow the lead of Labour Councils across London who have frozen their Tax.

They crow about the smallest ever increase but the fact is that they have set the HIGHEST Council tax this borough has ever seen!

And what are Croydon tax payers getting for their money?
* Cuts,
* waste and
* incompetence

Cuts that particularly target the vulnerable, young and old alike. And yet worse is to come. “Interim payments” are being used as a smoke screen to hide the Tories plans to slash funding to Voluntary Groups after the election. Secret plans that will bring greater hardship to many of the most vulnerable and new Tory Stealth Taxes will massively increase the cost of Shop-mobility and meals for the elderly, pilling on the misery

The scale of cuts to the Capital Programme are also hidden until after the election. Tory failure to invest in our borough is already blighting people’s lives, for example, cancelling making our streets safer with brighter lighting will have delighted criminals and kept Mayday busy.

At a time when a Labour Government is pouring investment into our schools the Tories are even cutting library opening hours.

Millions continue to be WASTED on fat cat consultant’s, yet what advice do we get? – Mortgage Croydon’s tax payers up to their eyeballs paying for a luxury new office that virtually nobody wants. And what for? To house all the consultants I suppose!

But what about building new facilities for our communities?

No regeneration plans are now in place and yet key roles in transportation planning and economic strategy are to be cut.

No waste strategy is in place either, with the Council avoiding making any decisions before the election, probably because Councillor Perry will only promise that an ‘old style incinerator’ will not be built in Croydon.

Whilst your failed INCOMPETANT Economic Development Company squanders £165,000 to hobnob at Mipim, they have squandered millions of pounds creating little more than a few jobs for their cronies. What, for example has happened to South Norwood’s new business innovation centre?

No wonder Croydon Council is rated by tax payers as one of the worst in London for providing value for money (5th lowest) and is one the worst (8th lowest) at keeping public land clear of rubbish. Things have got so bad that Cllr Barwell’s even trying to persuade people that, having paid their ‘highest ever’ council tax, they should volunteer to clear up their local parks themselves.

But is it surprising that Croydon is in such a mess? We have a part time Council leadership that are only here a couple of days a week. Even their own backbenchers don’t know whether to be pleased when they turn up, or angry at the mess they make of things when they do.

But we do not have to accept this Budget. Instead we need a budget that
* Freezes Council Tax this year
* Protects the vulnerable through rebates for pensioners
* Provides for the future through free school meals
* Protects our environment through weekly recycling
and
* Invests in Future fair for all
A Labour Budget