"We will not turn our backs on Broxbourne" - Labour duoBroxbourne's two Labour councillors respond to a Conservative invitation to leave the borough. We wonder if Cllr Moyra O'Neill's letter signals a radical new housing policy from Broxbourne Conservatives ("Try to look on the bright side", Mercury 28 February). Cllr O'Neill wants critics of the John Warner Sports Centre to move out of the borough. What an extraordinary statement for an elected representative to make! As Labour councillors, we have voiced the views of the many people who have contacted us about the sports centre scandal. If Cllr O'Neill wants all residents who are unhappy about the centre to move out, we would suggest that Broxbourne's dire housing shortage would be resolved overnight! Whatever the quality of services at the ailing sports centre, no one can honestly deny that it is indeed a financial black hole. The original budget was £500,000. Does Cllr O'Neill truly believe that a £2 million overspend can be dismissed as "just political nonsense"? The deficit predicted for this year is more than Broxbourne's entire 9 per cent council tax increase. The Conservatives are afraid to face up to the mess over which they have presided. Their project opened a year late. Money has been taken from other services to spend on the new centre. The creche was unusable. Forecasts show losses for several years to come - the centre might never break even. Desperate to stem the losses, Broxbourne Tories increased charges by up to 30 per cent within months of the centre opening. Cllr O'Neill moans about the "doom and gloom brigade". But the reality is that every single council taxpayer in Broxbourne will have to pay a 9 per cent hike this year to subsidise the sports centre, even though the vast majority will never use it. Just a small portion of that money could have enabled disabled residents to have free bus passes. Sadly for Cllr O'Neill, we cannot accept her invitation. Neither of us intend to go into exile and make her political life easier. Between us, we have lived in this borough for over half a century. We care a great deal about this place and the people who live in it. The citizens of Waltham Cross have elected us to represent them. It is our right and our duty to speak out for them. We will always listen to the voice of the people who put us here. The Tories might rather we quietly walked away. But we will not be silenced. For as long as the Conservatives continue undermining the interests of local people, we will fight loudly and unflinchingly for what is right. Cllr Alan McCole Cllr Malcolm Aitken (Labour, Waltham Cross)
Labour gain an extra councillor as Tories and BNP fail |
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