COUNCILS DEPUTY LEADER ON INDEPENDENT AND PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE SPLIT
The Editor
Shields Gazette
South Shields
Dear Sir:
The decision by the Progressive Association to remove themselves from the so-called "Alliance" brings to an end a rather peculiar coalition of individuals.
An Alliance between the centre right-wing Progressives and a bunch of hard-left disgruntled former Labour Party members was in reality doomed to failure from the start.
But make no mistake, the Progressives went into this Alliance fully appreciating that they would be supporting a bunch of political misfits whose agenda includes preventing a new swimming pool being built at the Sea front; putting in jeopardy over £167m of investment from the Government in the Councils Housing stock; who want the council taxpayer to fund a £30,000 legal case by a defeated council candidate and of course, both the Progressives and Independents voted to have a Council Tax increase of 5% in the 2008/09 financial year (soundly rejected by the Labour Council).
Despite Cllr Capsticks protests of innocence, members of his group signed a notice of no confidence in the Council leader. This necessitated the calling of meeting of the Full Council – at great public expense – and then didn’t have the courage to attend the meeting. Despite Cllr Capstick insisting that the Progressives do not engage in verbally “bashing officers” who cannot answer back – his colleagues consistently voted with the hard-left Independents as they sought to barrack Council officers and disrupted the January meeting of Full Council and helped through their actions, undermine the position of the Mayor at this meeting.
Further, Cllr Capstick, in a leaflet circulated in the Harton ward only in January, sought to undermine the Legal officer of the Council – the very same public servant who cannot answer back.
No one in the so-called Alliance comes out of this mess with any dignity. As Cllr Capstick himself is quoted as saying “The whole group seems to have turned into dog-eat-dog, it’s a recipe for disaster”.
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Yours Sincerely,
Councillor Iain Malcolm
Deputy Leader of the Council