17 March - Labour commands the high ground
In the past I have found Labour’s Larry Ferguson (Thamesmead East) a pretty
decent performer at meetings and he began by reminding
Howard Jackson that
producing a balanced budget is nothing very special. The alternative is
bankruptcy. Not too wide of the mark, he said that the financial problems Bexley faces
were caused by the Tory Government. George Osborne has a lot to answer for. “To
put it mildly we are in a pretty tight spot” and according to Councillor
Ferguson the USA is now making the same mistakes.
The Labour Government has however done good things and is tackling the
“destruction and devastation”.
“Nearly a million pounds for Bexley’s potholes”; but not yet he admitted. “A
billion for SEND, which won’t fix everything and strikes are ended.”
Nearer to home, he asked what Thamesmead East is getting for their [CT] money.
“Every year another 5%. Where is the CCTV? We have nothing but fancy announcements.”
(It has always been the case that Bexley installs CCTV in the safest areas.
Bexley Village was first on their expansion list 14 years ago.)
Larry is right isn’t he?
Councillor Anna Day (Slade Green) had a slightly different message. It was another year
gone by with no affordable housing but instead money has been poured into “the Burstead Woods site [BexleyCo} which is not going ahead any time soon”. Section
106 money collected in Slade Green is not going into the local community.
“Underspend in housing is propping up overspends in other areas. Incredible in the middle of a housing crisis
with residents being shipped off to the North of England.” Residents both young and old in mouldy housing
have phoned the Councillor crying.
It is not right that statutory services can only be accessed through
on-line processes. It is in direct conflict with the Council’s stated policies.
The big increases in the amounts due under the Council Tax Reduction Scheme
perfectly illustrate that this is “a pay more and get less budget”.
“We have lost nine months rent on
The StoryTeller in Sidcup which had run into
well documented difficulties in other London boroughs.” Disappointingly
Councillor Day did not move into the area of more direct taxpayer subsidies.
The Government has given Bexley £327,000 to help veterans, the homeless and
domestic abuse victims through the Winter and it is more than what has been given to neighbouring boroughs.
The Renters’ Reform Bill will end no fault evictions and will penalise bad
landlords. She then predicted a Labour win in Bexley in May 2026.