Letter - Concerns are critical

Coun Tulley’s challenge to the Labour Group’s budget described in last week’s Express shows how unyielding the controlling group are and how they will do what they wish in their determination to tax and spend regardless of viable alternatives that would have balanced the budget, triggered the Government’s freeze grant that many other councils have accepted and allowed a Council Tax freeze for 2014/15.

The controlling Labour group used their block votes to increase council tax to the maximum that they could without triggering a referendum which would have allowed the people of the district to have their say.

Instead the new council tax bills are being issued and the council dips into people’s pockets once more when they claim the numbers do not add up.

Now Coun Tulley finds himself suspended from the Labour Party for dissent. We are told it is an internal Labour Party matter when actually, their dogmatic approach sends a message to the people of the district that the party’s decisions are none of our business.

This is pretty much the message we are receiving in respect of proposals to close swimming pools, spend £2m to refurbish Wakefield Town Hall, demolish the five year old indoor market in Wakefield, push through a 321% increase for a Labour Council colleague, vote to make taxpayers spend £227,000 a year to fund six Trade Union convenors and acknowledge a £68m failure to invest and maintain roads across the district.

Their decisions do not take account of the concerns of the people of the district who they were elected to represent.

There is a ground swell that wants to call time on the 40 years of Labour control in Wakefield and across the district.

Use your opportunity to vote on local issues on May 22.

Coun Geoff Walsh

Leader

Wakefield Conservative Group