Saturday, May 02, 2009

Expenses: How weak can the LibDems be?

A reader directs me to the latest example of the weak LibDems in City failing to stand up to Labour. This story, still on ther website, claims in bold letters that the "LibDems vote to reject allowances proposals."

Only when it came to the vote, they did no such thing. They voted - along with Labour and the Greens - to defer the motion until July, when they hope the expenses storm will have died out and the economic situation may have improved enough to vote through massive allowances hikes without getting into trouble.

I wanted to take the vote in March there and then to send a clear message that we would reject allowances hikes. The weak LibDems are quite happy, though, to leave a story on their website that says what people want to hear, whilst voting in a totally different way in the council chamber.

4 comments:

mum in the east said...

Yet another case of LDs abuse of the expenses system ... saying one thing to their voter and another to the council chamber. Did you know that many LD Councillors are obliged to donate part of their expenses to the party? They therefore uses expenses to fund political campaigns and are hence keen to bid up expenses. We have seen this elsewhere.

Malbrook Man said...

This doesn't surprise me either. When the LibDems canvassed me it was like holding a mirror up to my views. What I thought, they thought. If I were them I'd stick to hundreds of leaflets with bland slogans on them.

Anonymous said...

Malbrook Man..totally agree. Other than leaftets (overdid it), perhaps Libdems should dispense with the parachuted candidates as well as the smears and mirrors.

Anonymous said...

"They therefore uses expenses to fund political campaigns and are hence keen to bid up expenses. We have seen this elsewhere."

This is not true. I would also like to know what expences you are talking about? Cllrs don't get many.

I can only think you mean ther members allowance. This is a wage for the work councillors do not an expence. Also I'm a civil servent and I pay my membership to the Lib Dems. Do you think I shouldn't do this? My pay comes from the tax payer so what is the difference?