Sense and incensed-ability

There was a very interesting letter in yesterday's Daily Post from the Labour leader of Liverpool City Council. It is about the cuts he is having to make, and shows maturity and a sense of responsibility. I have reproduced it below, and it is worth reading in its entirety.

What a contrast then to the dangerous antics of Sefton's Labour group.

They refused to take part in setting the council's budget, which involved the painful process of reducing jobs and services to the tune of £44 million - even though they are claiming £1000s in extra allowances for being on Sefton's ruling cabinet. They even voted against a 25% cut in senior and middle management. This has incensed many people on the doorstep.

They have played to the gallery at every turn, made promises they cannot keep and emotionally manipulated young people and the disabled for their political goals. Labour leader Peter Dowd took great delight in publicly likening himself to Derek Hatton.

Sefton's Labour leader has compared
 himself to Derek Hatton

Hatton was the Deputy Leader of Liverpool Council, and a member of the Militant Tendency - a  Trotskyist organisation within the Labour Party. He helped set an illegal budget which committed the council to spend £30 million in excess of its Government grant. This brought Liverpool to it's knees, and Hatton and his cronies sent out redundancy notices by taxi cab to council workers.

The only way Sefton Labour could keep to it's promise of 'no cuts' would be to raise council tax by an average of £427.

Heaven help us then if Sefton Labour Party ever gain control of the Council.

Liverpool Council Labour Leader Joe Anderson's letter:

'PEOPLE have written letters recently asking me not to implement the
Government’s cuts and calling me a Tory. Let me enlighten those that
make those points and criticise.

There is no such thing as not implementing the government cuts.
Government gives the city 80% of its funding through different types of
grant. They have chosen to give Liverpool a 22% or £91m reduction. They
simply have not given us the money.

If someone’s household income is reduced by 22%, then they can’t just
ignore this, or they’d go bankrupt. If the city ignored its cut from
the Government, then quite simply we would run out of money by November
of this year, with no money to run social services or pay wages. That
chaos will not happen under my leadership.

Readers will see that those who call my leadership weak have no
solutions or alternatives other than demand I lead a revolution.
Our city more than ever needs sound, pragmatic leadership, with the
honesty to say we haven’t got all the answers but we have got the
passion and vision in equal measures to lead our city through these
difficult times.

Our determination is to create growth through having a cruise liner
turn-around facility, building a new exhibition centre at Kings Dock,
developing Edge Lane retail park, pushing ahead with Liverpool Waters,
getting on with the Stonebridge cross development in Croxteth and Mere
Park in the city centre, developments in Speke, developing north
Liverpool, growing the knowledge economy, the visitor economy and much
more.

This is about this city council leading and developing our city – not
leaving its people without leadership at a time when it faces the worst
government cuts since the war.'