WARRINGTON South MP David Mowat has been accused of attempting to grab headlines with a “disgraceful distortion of the truth” over what was said at Monday’s meeting of the borough council.
The accusation comes from Labour group leader Terry O’Neill, in an open letter to Mr Mowat, council leader Ian Marks and deputy leader Keith Bland.
Cllr O’Neill (right) attacks the Conservative MP for criticising Labour’s plan to find £2.5 million for frontline services at a time when the Lib Dem/Tory alliance is considering a £10 million plan for a solar farm.
He said: “If he thinks a £10 million solar farm is more important then £2.5 million of front line service enhancements, he should have integrity to publicly say so; if nothing else it will prove just how out of touch he is with the needs of the people of Warrington.”
Cllr O’Neill’s attack follow comments made by Mr Mowat – reported by warrington-worldwide on Wednesday – in which he accused Labour of “plotting” to put up Council Tax.
An angry Cllr O’Neill, pointing out that Mr Mowat was not at the council meeting – said: “As explicitly declared on Monday night, Labour is committed to keep within the agreed revenue budget total spend as put forward by the ConDem coalition and therefore we too are committed to a freeze in Council Tax levels. The £160,000 funding for the much needed 20 apprenticeships will come out of the existing revenue budget of £150 million.
“After all, if the coalition can waste hundreds of thousands of pounds on iPads and over-priced consultants and still be confident of finding £50 million of savings then I am sure the Labour Group can find £160,000 to support our young people.
“Warrington Labour has consulted widely with the public and has also held policy workshops. It is from these events we know that the people of Warrington want to see more investment in:
* cleaner and safer neighbourhoods
* Walton Hall being brought back up to its former glory
* the pot-hole ridden streets being repaired and better winter gritting
* support for the Credit Unions to tackle the scourge of loan sharks
“The £2.5 million worth of capital investments we have put forward will be funded by reviewing and deferring some of the £175 million worth of schemes put forward by the coalition and which they are planning to fund through the council’s prudential borrowing – that is, debt!
“When so much needs to be done to help improve the life chances of local people and the infrastructure of Warrington, is this really the time for the Lib Dem-Tory run council to take the risk of borrowing £10 million to plough into a solar farm?
“But let me be absolutely clear on this issue, it is Mr Mowat’s own ConDem government that has thrown policy on solar power into chaos by bringing forward a review of feed-in tariffs.
“Warrington Labour is fully committed to exploring positive options for generating renewable energy in the borough but this secret solar farm is not the right option for the town at this moment.
“These investments will not result in an increase in Council Tax bills. After all, how can deferring a £10 milion solar farm and replacing it with a £2.5 million package of investment possibly cost the tax payer more?
“It is clear that Mr Mowatt cannot be bothered to read the detail of our proposals and evaluate them objectively.”
2 Comments
“It is clear that Mr Mowatt cannot be bothered to read the detail of our proposals and evaluate them objectively”………………..probably because they are a load of cobblers!
“The £2.5 million worth of capital investments we have put forward will be funded by reviewing and deferring some of the £175 million worth of schemes put forward by the coalition”
So what he is saying is:
” the £2.5million that we promised for this year will actually come out of the £175million capital budget, which is spread over three years so this spending won’t actually all materialise this year unless every single capital project undertaken this year runs on time and under its budget by nearly 3%.
“How dare the Council attempt to spend £10million, that is such a poor use of money that we are going to……also build a solar farm, just further down the line when building costs will be higher and the project will cost more”