I have always found the Leader’s report
to be interesting, the written report is comprehensive - 26 pages this time
around - and Councillor O’Neill does not overstay her welcome when summarizing it for Full Council.
Last week she covered the General Election and congratulated the three successful former
Councillors along with the team that organised the count. She had already begun to
lobby them for a better deal for Bexley. Even the London Mayor has had a
congratulatory message from Bexley Council. “We need him to provide borough based
policing, better transport including the restoration of the Loop Line
infrastructure, the DLR to Belvedere or even further.”
We have a new Assembly Member in Thomas Turrell and with him The Leader had met the Deputy
Mayor to discuss transport issues - but almost certainly they will reject
the
Mayor’s offer to improve Knee Hill while expecting his co-operation with Bexley’s ambitions.
She confirmed the appointment of Jim Beale as the new Deputy Director for Adult Social Care who has already made a
good start at the Scrutiny Committee meeting.
Labour Leader Borella preceded his first question by emphasizing how
disappointed he was that Councillor Ogundayo’s Motion had been
side-lined. It wouldn’t be a Borella speech if it did
not contain a number of political barbs. 14 years of chaos, Trussonomics, Covid
parties, food banks, no new funding formula, the Capitalisation Order. “Labour
has one hell of a mess to clear up. Imagine if we had a Labour Council in 2026
with a Labour Government and a Labour Mayor to deal with the housing crisis.”
Someone called out “Dream on” to which Stefano said “you should be worried and it is
no secret that there will be a by-election this year. We should have a
by-election in Crayford (Independent Felix di Netimah) and Falconwood
(Independent Nigel Betts) too”.
If Councillor Borella intended to ask a question, he must have forgotten it.
Leader O’Neill said she too was disappointed that the two parties
didn’t
co-operate over the Motion having forgotten that the
Conservative Group didn’t even give advance notice of their Amendment let alone
co-operate with the Labour Group. She
claimed the restoration of the Loop line to Abbey Wood was the result of Conservative pressure.
Councillor David Leaf who can always be relied upon to have gone through all the small
print said that the King’s Speech didn’t have a single word about Social or
Council housing so he expected disappointment ahead.
Councillor O’Hare asked what was being done to minimise littering
and fly tipping. Cabinet Member Diment said he took “a zero tolerance” approach
and all the fines have been raised to the legally permissible maximum and new
Artificial Intelligence CCTV has been strategically placed along with 450 new litter bins.
Councillor Andrew Curtois criticised the London Mayor who had predictably sided with
Greenwich Council’s plan to force their alleged parking problem in Eltham into
the residential streets of Falconwood. Greenwich residents now park just across
the border in Bexley. Cabinet Member Diment said he was angry and frustrated
because Greenwich’s rearrangements did not impact their own residents at all
because there is no housing in the affected streets but Falconwood residents
will bear all the consequences. “It is typical of the disregard that Mayor Khan
has for residents in this borough which is exactly what they have come to
expect from him. It will cause significant problems and it may be necessary to
extend the Falconwood CPZ. Residents should remember that this is yet another
problem inflicted on them by Sadiq Khan.”