24 June (Part 2) - A storm in a talking shop
One of my Reform UK contacts gave me a fright a week ago
by saying that he and four of his colleagues had attended a Cabinet meeting. How
did I come to overlook that? But it turned out to be a Cabinet Committee
meeting which is not one I usually attend.
The meeting was wholly about the money pit which is BexleyCo. At the last
meeting, the Chairman, about whom I have an unenviable collection of emails from
work colleagues, accepted that things were progressing too slowly and there
would be no dividend for Council Taxpayers until 2028/29. Without a webcast I have no idea if things
have got worse since then, however what was clear from X (Twitter) etc. is that
the Reform crew were not impressed.
They claimed that about 10% of Bexley Council’s budget was trickling down the
BexleyCo drain which was instantly disputed by Daniel Francis MP. I don’t know
why he thought BexleyCo should be defended because he used to say it was
a bit of a disaster. “We are lending money to be pee’d up the wall” he said. But not any more.
In
an X exchange with @ReformBexley and their supporters he said that their arithmetic was all wrong and that
nothing like 10% of the budget went on supporting BexleyCo. More like 5%
was touted. If Bexley Council has pumped £64·7 million
into BexleyCo, how does that compare with the total expenditure?
@tonyofsidcup provided some evidence. (See associated Table.)
Reform’s 10% claim may be the roughest of estimates but the MP’s lesser figure
is beyond me. @tony whose financial qualifications are infinitely greater than
mine suggests it is something to do with net and gross revenues but goes on to
say;
“Under £600 million on services and £80 million on capital makes around 10%”.
Where can a lesser figure come from? And why would a Labour MP push one?
Who really cares? £64 million is a lot of your money with nothing much to show
for it, but the MP is still arguing that Reform has committed a major faux pas.
Wisely, Reform, or at least their most vociferous supporter, seems to have dropped out of this argument undefeated. Not for
them the condescending tone of a Labour MP defending the dubious financial
decisions of a Conservative Council. Quit while you are ahead! And Reform most likely are in Bexleyheath.
I have no real idea why the MP decided he should support an outfit that built
zero affordable homes last year. Neither have I any idea
why @tonyofsidcup has spent so much time on X defending the local Reform branch when his only
reward is that they blocked him. Similarly I am not sure why I defend Reform
either when prominent Reformers send me solicitor’s letters, four I think it is
now but I am losing count, demanding that I sign a gagging order so that I
cannot ever reveal what I have in a big fat file.
Stuff that!
BexleyCo Index.