10 November - Councillor’s questions
Following
their introduction of the most stringent Public Questions rules in London,
Bexley Councillors allocated themselves an extra 15 minutes to questions from
themselves.
The Reform Leader asked an interesting one. “How long can the Council proceed
with day-to-day spending without borrowing more money?” The Council Leader said
there was no need to borrow. Councillor Brackstone said that if the Council was
in as good a position as claimed, can the Leader confirm there will be no need
to raise Council Tax by the maximum possible.
The Leader could do no such thing and launched another of his tirades against
any opposition party and let’s not beat about the bush, he was unnecessarily rude
about Reform. Their Councillors are economically illiterate and their party is racist and misogynistic.
Councillor Oscar Harrison (Conservative, Longlands) asked for an update on the
Highways program. £30 million to spend and 27 schemes completed with more to
come. Main Road Sidcup is due to be resurfaced in December.
Councillor Chris Ball, (Labour, Erith) asked how much Bexley had bid for housing from the
£3·3 billion made available for London as a whole. The Council Leader said that
bidding was open for fewer than two months in early 2026 but the conditions
imposed did not allow Bexley to bid, however the housing associations did. The
results are known but they have been embargoed by the Mayor. It is assumed he is
planning a grand media event. Councillor Ball said he already knew all of that
and regretted that Bexley’s position on housing does not permit them to bid.
Councillor Leaf could not resist another of his unwarranted jibes towards Reform UK.
Councillor Sean Brackstone (Reform, Northumberland Heath) asked the Leader if he
could confirm that no houses would be built on the Metropolitan Open Land at the
Oakwood Sports Ground. In the last remaining minute of Question Time the
Council Leader managed to deliver two more criticisms of Reform UK both locally
and at the GLA but he did confirm that there would be no houses at the Oakwood site.
Note: Graphic by Dimitri Shvorob.