It is particularly galling to read on today's paper Tories jumping over themselves to distance from the £14m Stoke Crossing 'Bridge too far' which is due to open in less then a week, if the press is to be believed.
A bridge which Tory portfolio holders have been happy to support and propose and which, up until now, has received little to no comment from local Tory-dominated local Parishes, despite the £1.2m overspend
We all hope the opening ceremony will bode better then that of its similarly over-budget bus station in Chatham, which was incomplete and 'unsafe' according to one leading Conservative Cabinet member.
What this blog particularly notes is the way Tories will play to the readership; of course it was the Medway Tory Group who led the political leadership behind this project and presumably kept an ever 'unwatchful' eye on the financial control from Gun Wharf. It was a £14m project which also happened to be built in a ward with a Tory Portfolio holder responsible for roads at a time we can see, or at least I believe, gerrymandering of funding into Conservative wards for residential roads is ongoing.
The opposition needs to be a lot more aggressive about highlighting these types of programmes outside of the inner wards of Medway; irrespective of location this £14m could have funded almost half of all new road-resurfacing in residential Medway, if we are to believe the figures from John Woodcock MP, who challenged our Council last year on this documented incompetence. In short; it’s a damn lot of money not to have an opinion on; and a very loud opinion at that.
The fact we also have it £1.2m over budget on a spend of £14m, is in itself, an egregious waste of public money, and is simply not justifiable at a time of austerity when residents expect tax-payers money to be spent efficiently.
Voters in the South respond to strong leadership and economic credibility; neither and you loose. Highlighting poor project management goes to the heart of leadership and credibility to those in the private-sector who left Labour in droves in 2010, but are not certain that Cameron has the grounded ability to lead from the centre. Tories locally are exposed, and will continue to be exposed, because they simply haven’t grasped that it is a lack of financial control and resource in the finance office that is the problem.
The opposition has no levers to make decisions, no executive powers nor any responsibilities of office. We have the power of words and the pulpit of public opinion, and more importantly the perception of public opinion which added together paints a narrative. The maintenance of narrative is more important then the sum of its contained parts; highlighting Tory incompetence on spending is a narrative because its true, but also because Labour Councillor’s have had the leadership to stand up and speak up; loudly and often. Chatham bus station, Care Homes, Schools etc etc…
The article on Stoke highlighted a blue-on-blue story; with one Tory taking the local credit for a short attack on what was a decision made by colleagues in Gun Wharf; making a very salient point that spending of £14m on an infrequently used crossing may or could not have been the best use of public resource. Of course this may come back to bite in years hence, but by that stage the public awareness of this issue will be so reduced to nullify an article. It will matter zilch to the average voter.
Sometimes making a stand and putting your head above the parapet is the right thing to do; clearly a number of Tories made a call to do so; and as it is we get a blue-on-blue story with local Tories benefiting from attacking their own Council colleagues. A net zero sum game for a poor news item which if you look at the letter columns has, as is to be expected, generated public interest.
A party of opposition needs to oppose on important issues; locally Labour is stepping up to the mark and we have seen the fruits of this work; compare and contrast with the Lib Dems and Greens over the last 12 months. Lib Dems have led on possibly one issue; the opposition to City Status, and even that has been poorly managed. No one can now position Labour as nothing but the only realistic and credible opposition in Medway, but much much more is to be done. The project to improve has a long way to go.
Tories are very happy to play both sides of the debate; Labour needs to ensure its voice is in every and all debates for our community. It is clear that whilst so much has been achieved there is more to be done and as an opposition Councillor I will be playing my part with colleagues and future Council candidates to ensure it does.
Labour is the only voice of opposition to the incompetent Tories. We can never drop this ball.
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