Last week, Plymouth Tories lost a councillor who defected to UKIP saying the Conservative Party "did not listen" to local people. (here)
This week has seen another Conservative councillor, Cllr Stark, break ranks with party colleagues, attacking the council for a "vague" budget and arguing that members were being asked to "take on trust" the success of the business development function of the authority.
Leadership on the issue came from Labour, with Councillor Tudor Evans arguing that the council had made too little provision for job-creating projects in the city:
"When you have a catastrophic level of unemployment and a retail crisis, things are perhaps not as good as they might be." (More on this story here)
We have already looked at how Conservative-run Torbay and Plymouth lag behind Exeter in economic regeneration. (here)
The message is simple. With a Labour MP and a Labour-led city council, Exeter is prospering, despite the appalling economic and social policies of the Tory County Council and the coalition government.
It is essential that Exeter does not let the Tories back in in Exeter this May.
The Tories, of course, would rather you didn't compare Exeter with their shocking record in Torbay and Plymouth. One local Conservative activist tweeted me to say it was a "shame" I was looking so closely at neighbouring cities rather than focusing on Exeter.
It is precisely because I want the communities of Exeter to be protected and prospering that I think it is so important that we see the mess the Conservatives have made of our neighbours.
It is perhaps little surprise that many commentators are tipping Labour to take control of Plymouth City Council this May. I shall continue to watch with interest...
No comments:
Post a Comment