Dear Sir,
Mr Welsh’s letter last week was so full of misinformation that I am forced to point out:
(1) Momentum is not affiliated to the Labour Party, so it is ignorant to write “Labour/Momentum” at every mention of the Labour Party; they are separate organisations.
(2) Police investigations into Dominic Cummings were NOT undertaken “at the behest of Labour DCC Councillors”.
(3) Policing priorities are NOT set by Councillors.
(4) The current “Police and Crimes Commissioner” (sic – Mr Welsh got the name wrong) was NOT elected – he took over from the late and wonderful Ron Hogg.
(5) Last year I was indeed appointed ‘Climate Champion’ by Durham County Council; it is a huge honour and responsibility … and one wonders what Mr Welsh expects of me in that role other than “championing the climate”.
(6) I reject the implication that I do this at the expense of my role as a local councillor. FoI requests by Sedgefield CLP (as reported in the Newton News, so Mr Welsh knows this full well) have revealed that, May 2017 to June 2020, I presented 549 service requests to DCC for jobs in my ward (compared over the same period to my ward colleagues’ 4: Cllr Durham and 16: Cllr Howell – who, yes, is still a county councillor).
Nobody is criticising Cllrs Durham or Howell, but the figures show that the implication that I am neglecting my ward is a lie.
Yours
Cllr John D Clare
