This breaking ranks with Pooter Cockell could cost Nick dearly. But, of course, he is right. There is a groundswell of mounting resentment against this council. They think they have sorted one leak and then another appears.
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| Pooter Cockell trying to stop leaks |
Cllr Paget-Brown, Deputy Leader of K&C, has confided to friends that he is deeply disturbed by recent press coverage of Borough affairs and the extent to which Town Hall initiatives have become out of step with the times and current political climate.
Spending on capital projects is a particular concern, especially those that have high profile visibility.
Cllr Paget-Brown has said that he wants these projects to have less focus in council deliberations and where possible, expenditure needs to be curtailed. As an example, he is working towards a complete stop of the £6 million pavement renewal programme which is what K&C tax payers are funding every year
The stories that have appeared in the Press so far are just the tip of a very large and very dirty iceberg.
ReplyDeleteIt is very unusual for Conservative councillors to break ranks - and unheard of for this to happen in Cllr Cockell's cabinet.
ReplyDeleteA brave move Nick - someone needs to tell the Emperor that he has no clothes.
And if the insect sacks you, it will me you a strong contender for the Leadership. Your timing is first class
We need to watch Cllr Paget-Brown. An interesting move
ReplyDeleteWhat does NPB mean by having 'less focus in council deliberations' does he mean, sweeping their spending on ridiculous projects further under their carpets? So that residents have even less knowledge than they already have of whats happening to 'our' money.
ReplyDeleteIf they stop their 'laying' merry go round of £6 million, what will they spend their ripped off parking money on, as according to them its ring fenced to repair roads?
And whilst it sits in the bank vulnerable people will suffer as they slash frontline budgets, by stealth.
I am impressed that Cllr Paget- Brown is taking an independent line. The first one. And also the most needy in terms of his SRA
ReplyDeleteHe deserves support. None of the others (Ahern, Coleridge, Lightfoot) have been prepared to rock the boat evem though they tell residents in loose moments (eg at ward parties)that what is going on is not to their liking
Maybe, just maybe NPB and Cllr Gardiner are the glimmer of hope, the lights in the bottom of the cesspit, the start of something good?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they realise that when the tri borough train gets moving some of them will not have a ticket.
The jury is out until more of them listen to, stand up for and work in the interest of residents of this Boroughs...not their own.
Well done Dame, we residents are convinced this possible shift is happening because of the Divine Hornets Nest!
A 2012 Committee of Conservative Backbenchers would give the Nick Paget-Browns of this world courage and authority
ReplyDeleteI hope that Conservative councillors in K&C will think about their residents for a moment and stop thinking about themselves
P-B has no means of support other than his SRA. He will do nothing to endanger it.
ReplyDeleteHow the hell can you trust councillors who have have sat in silence for years while the most vulnerable suffered. This is more about their own position as the tide of public opinion turns against this rotten borough. These are people who stood by and did nothing while pooter triumphed. They need to do more to earn the respect and trust of residents.
ReplyDeleteGet real people, Brown has signed off all the most extravagant projects over the past few years, the very ones that drive residents to distraction over the mismatch of need and spend.
ReplyDeleteOpera Holland Park, Leighton House, buying paintings for £240k, Yorkstone paving AND Exhibition Road. Remember the cobblestones of Portobello Road, that cost £1m and countless twisted ankles? It was so dangerous and unpopular they had to tarmac it, leaving the cobbles in place. Sound familiar?
A bit late for a Road to Damascus awakening I think.
And the car park fund CAN be spent on other areas, they just refuse to do so.
It is right to sound a note of caution. Earlier posts on this subject have disappeared; so once again, Cllr Paget-Brown was responsible for paying RBKC street traders over £700,000 of residents' funds in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to suppress public awareness of a huge waste management racket in RBKC and some other London boroughs.
ReplyDeleteSince 1990 RBKC residents have been charged twice the going rate for waste services. This matter is obscure; but has also been very costly and is deeply illegal.
The problem is the contract. The current one still has 10 years to run. The matter went to the Audit Commission, which failed to act. RBKC received another 4 star report. The Leader received his knighthood and the new Government closed the Audit Commission. Our local MP and the Mayor of London were both uninterested.