24 February (Part 2) - “The Attention Seeking MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford”
The
Cabinet meeting live webcast was a bit of a technical disaster again
but I was able to listen to it early today without a problem - except that the
camera doesn’t always switch to the appropriate speaker.
On the most recent hearing it came across as interesting, entertaining even, and with luck that will be reflected here.
The overspend for the last quarter of 2025 fell to £1,762,000. The improvement from
the previous quarter is almost entirely due to the imposition of extra taxes on
residents in the shape of two new Controlled Parking Zones. This pretty much
guarantees that the 18 month experimental nature of those CPZs will be a sham.
Cabinet Member Richard Diment that some that extra income from “the success of
CPZs” has been spent on highway maintenance. £6·4 million of it which is half a
million more than had been budgeted. “Highways engineers keep a constant
look at the state of the roads but the message does not seem to be getting
across to the Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford.”
“He goaded the Secretary of State in Transport Questions into accusing us of
being disingenuous in claiming that
we had the 7th best roads in the country. All
I can suggest is that Mr. Francis looks at the statistics published by the
Department of Transport and reads the methodology on how the ststistics and he
will discover that only six local authorities have a higher score than Bexley.”
Leader David Leaf said that “the Attention Seeking Member of Parliament for
Bexleyheath and Crayford never ceases to amaze us in the ways he refuses to
champion our borough. I was particularly appalled when I saw him in Parliament,
He didn’t once thank our Officers and our operatives out in all weathers
checking potholes, checking the roads and carrying out fixes and repairs. I
think it is appalling and goes to show how he is more interested in playing
politics than sorting out potholes.” He invited Councillor Borella to “defend the indefencible”.
Labour Leader Borella said the statistics have been proven wrong “but I have been
knocking on a hell of a lot of doors and not one Bexley resident believes that
Bexley’s roads are 7th best and I believe them and not a skewed Press Release
proven in Parliament to be not true”.
Councillor Leaf reminded him that he had voted against extra money for roads
“and if Councillor [sic] Francis was not trying to exploit the gullibility of the
Prime Minister the Government would not have threatened to take money away from
Bexley. We get on with the job while Labour heckles from the sidelines”.
Richard Diment said the figures [which led to the 7th Best claim] are
published by the Department of Transport alongside their methodology and how to
evaluate the figures and I am totally confused as to how the Department’s own
Secretary of State is rubbishing the figures and the methodology that her own Department has put out.”
“The recent LG Futures report shows that Bexley is spending above the average of
all other Authorities in proportion to income on Highways. By comparison with the
rest of the country Bexley is in a relatively good position, with the emphasis on relative”.
Councillor Nicola Taylor (Labour, Erith) encouraged residents to claim the cost of
vehicle damage. “What provision has been made to meet those claims?” Council
Leader Leaf said tackling potholes promptly is the best insurance against claims
and reminded Councillor Taylor that she had specifically voted against the increased
budget for Highways and that the Attention Seeking Member for BH & C is
campaigning to reduce the money available to Bexley.
Councillor Taylor said the ASM for BH & C is fighting for residents and objected
to him being so described. Councillor Leaf said he was not going to take lectures from a Jeremy Corbyn fan.
The meeting moved on to the Medium Term Financial Strategy.
Note: The problem with this 7th best
or not story is that the Department for Transport
simplified its report for general consumption into Red, Amber and Green categories
and on that basis Bexley came at best 16th. When judging whether it is
Daniel Francis or Richard Diment who is most likely to deceive us, there may not
be a big contest but until we are shown the source data and the methodology,
Bexley Council’s claim is likely to be doubted.