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News and Comment July 2023

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24 July (Part 2) - What the Leader said

The first thing Councillor Oְ’Neill said when last addressing the Council (19th July) was to “thank Councillor Craske for his service over the years”. That’s it. That’s all he got for God knows how many years of reputational damage to Bexley Council. 15 at least if no deduction is made for the time he spent under the watchful eye of the law. Whatever did happen to the £4 million he handed over to the consultants Parsons Brinkerhoff who allowed its offices to be used to send me abusive emails? (Checked from the server logs and the recorded IP address.)

From one sort of law breaking the Leader immediately transferred her attention to another, the High Court challenge to Sadiq Khan’s dubious ULEZ consultation practices. She hoped for a resolution by 28th July. She was “humbled” by the number of her supporters and the stories of the dramatic impact on people’s lives. Council staff too.

Thanks to Teresa I too have been lauded during my weekly session in a North London pub, although as yet it has not translated into free beer.

There is particular concern for the impact of the £12·50 a day tax on care workers and “the Mayor does not get Outer London”. There was initially no intention to run the Superloop into the North of the borough and definitely no DLR extension to Belvedere. The Mayor is failing to pass on Government LIP funding grants to the boroughs. “He top slices it.” (Local Implementation Plans.)

In contrast Bexley Council has secured the Welling Banking Hub.

Councilor Borella thanked the Deputy Leader David Leaf for his attendance at the Erith Pride event where he very obviously “immensely enjoyed the refreshments and food”. He went on to ask the Leader “to apologise for soaring interest rates” and for Boris Johnson who damaged transport infrastructure in the borough by cancelling the bridge (which would have opened nine years ago) and has as his legacy the shared space scheme in Bexleyheath. “Where is the criticism for the loss of the loop line rail services or the support for the Elizabeth line introduced by a Labour Mayor?”

The Leader acknowledged her Deputy’s liking for food and thanked Councillor Hinkley for her litter picking skills. She confirmed that it was Councilor Cameron Smith who championed the cause of Abbey Wood to get a Superloop service.

She (correctly) said that it was Mayor Khan who was the latest Mayor to scrap a river crossing but totally wrong to imply that Boris Johnson had not done the same. “Please do not change history there because there is plenty there that I will put right”. They simply cannot stop lying can they? Johnson cancelled Ken Livingstone’s bridge because Teresa O’Neill told him to. She bragged loud and long about it at the time. Am I the only one to remember the posters she plastered all over her ward?

She said it was Boris who kick started the Elizabeth line which is certainly a bit of history rewriting. It might never have come to Abbey Wood if it was not for the efforts of our Labour MP. There was no support from Bexley Council at the time as it was still in its isolationist phase which eventually lead to its flirtation with bankruptcy. The Leader admitted to never having ridden the Elizabeth line.

Deputy Leader David Leaf said that interest rates had soared to much the same level as Labour thought was normal whilst in office.

A Labour Councillor, for the second time in the same meeting, adopted a sarcastic tone and this time earned a a suitable retort from the new Mayor. It was totally unnecessary and marred an otherwise perfectly valid, indeed welcome comment.

Note: The Crossrail bill dates from 22 February 2005 and received Royal Assent two months after Boris Johnson was elected. Ergo, it is Teresa O’Neill who is rewriting history.

 

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