Dear Sir,
Well it’s election time again and all those non Labour candidates claiming they are working for you and are the voice of the people, are, in effect, working as a political group against the controlling group. Whilst I accept that there are a couple of Independent councillors who make valuable contributions and have worked closely with Labour on the Town Council, actually in the past four years I struggle to recall any other ‘Independent’ councillor speaking out against Labour, raise questions or put forward proposals on behalf of their residents to improve our town.
In truth, it was your Labour councillors that proposed freezing council tax, it was Labour councillors that listened to the public and continued to provide the Fireworks display and Santa tours, it is your Labour councillors that have managed to improve and maintain the good level of service that this town enjoys, it is your Labour councillors, supported by its officers, who have effectively managed council finances as confirmed by independent professional auditors.
We also have Lib Dems’ claiming to be the towns saviour and ‘money saving expert’, they added in an earlier edition of Newton News, that ‘every week’ they see ways to save money and to reduce council tax bills. It is now over 14 months since the Lib Dems’ were elected, in this time there has been two council tax setting processes, four rounds of council meetings, which has given them a clear opportunity to propose savings however, like the Independent councillors, they have failed to live up to their election promises and failed the electorate, when in fact your Labour councillors made the savings and froze your council tax.
And the Lib Dems’ latest attack on local democracy, claiming we have too many councillors, failed because they did not consult as required and used incorrect information at Full Council. Newton News readers were also misinformed, as no wards in the town suffer ‘electoral inequality’ or ‘favour Labour’.
So, do not be fooled by the Emperors’ new clothes, otherwise you may be left with a chill.
Vote for your Labour Party candidates on the 6th May.
Cllr Eddy Adam, Aycliffe West
