It is sometimes said in politics that when you are the Opposition, you can say more of what you like because you will not be implementing your policies anyway. The Labour Party has been the Opposition on Crawley Council since May 2006 and they have made suggestions which you have to wonder if they would actually carry through if in power.
At the last Full Council on 27th February, we had a Labour Notice of Motion regarding payment to staff and contractors of the living wage rather than the minimum wage. Reference was made to a possible need to review existing contracts and there has to be a question about how far down the supply chain you go for new contracts. Is it the primary contractor or their sub-contractors as well? And you could go further than that.
The point is that while such proposals sound laudable, they do need analysis and investigation. This means looking at the idea from a legal perspective as well as a financial one. The financial impact does have to be considered. If a blanket commitment to the living wage could impact our ability to provide services, we need to think again about how to implement it and when. Regrettably the Notice of Motion contained no such commitment to impact analysis which is why the Conservative Council referred the matter to a policy development forum for this purpose.
This is the difference between the accountability and responsibility of running a council as compared to the lack of those factors applying to an Opposition. A similar situation occurred with a Labour Notice of Motion on proposals for change at K2 Crawley to accommodate additional gymnastics provision.
The Council’s consultation showed a two-thirds majority in favour of change but additional concerns were raised so Councillor Duncan Crow, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Cultural Services, gave a commitment to put change on hold and look again at all options. In contrast the Labour position was more dogmatic and ruled out certain options altogether, which is not an objective way of looking at policy. This is why it was defeated.
Incredibly the Labour Party also voted against the Council’s budget. This budget protected front-line services and added spending on financial inclusion, addressing noise and anti-social behaviour, as well as assistance for Council tenants who wished to downsize their accommodation. The Council Tax was frozen for the third consecutive year. A sum of £4.6 million was added to the 2015/16 capital programme, giving a total investment of nearly £80 million into Crawley over the period 2012-16. This is one of the largest spending programmes of any district council in the country.
Labour still voted against. Well you can when you are in Opposition.
by Cllr Bob Lanzer
Leader of Crawley Borough Council