Banner
any day today rss X

News and Comment July 2024

Index: 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024

22 July - The Leader’s report

Councillor O'NeillI 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.


New binCouncillor 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.”

 

Return to the top of this page
Bonkers is a cookie free zone. Not a single one