Cllr Steven Leigh is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Calderdale Council.
Many will be familiar with how Labour-run Councils work, with their vague political aspirations, ridiculous platitudes, blaming of central Government, rising taxes, and the lack of financial prudence.
Calderdale Council is no different and may even be worse than some Labour Councils. The Calderdale Conservative Group faces an uphill battle against the Labour, Lib Dems, and Green parties, who mainly work in unison. But there is much to be learned from our experiences and successes as the main opposition party, and most importantly, this affords a unique insight into what life would be like under a Labour Government.
The Council’s Budget is a major cause for concern, with the Labour Group constantly blaming the Conservative Government for implementing austerity and cutting budgets. But Calderdale Council has made little attempt to embrace austerity. Borrowing and taxes have increased, and general fund reserves have been run down to around the minimum level of £5 million. In the meantime, Labour Cabinet members refer to “reserves” of around £50 million, but these are balances held for specific or hypothecated purposes.
This year, the projected Budget overspend is £10.8 million, and the Council is facing a budget blackhole going into the following year. As a result, the Council has confirmed a review of non-staff spending and a hiring freeze.
I am concerned about the Council’s financial management and believe that sensible finances are necessary to ensure better public services. But I also completely acknowledge the difficulties that local government faces, particularly in respect of ever-increasing social care costs and uncertainty about long-term Government Budget allocations. However, the Labour Group in Calderdale has wasted money on numerous projects that have been overspent and continues to spend hundreds of thousands on consultants and agency staff.
One prime example of their mismanagement is the new Leisure Centre project in Halifax Town Centre. The Council received a Government grant of £12.2 million to refurbish the old Swimming Baths. Labour decided they would use the funding as a contribution towards building a new Leisure Centre which in addition would require borrowing over £20 million. The outcome of their mismanagement will be more debt – meanwhile, the residents of Halifax have been without leisure facilities for a number of years and must wait at least another three years as the project becomes ever more expensive.
Working with local residents has proven to be most successful for our Group. The Labour-run Cabinet voted to allow an incinerator to be built in a residential area. This has been identified as a risk to human health. We worked tirelessly with local residents and this issue went to a Judicial Review, which has stopped the incinerator being built.
It is worth noting that the Labour Council supported an Appeal against the Judicial Review for the incinerator and failed to properly communicate that an Appeal had been submitted. This provided Labour more time to refine their arguments, while Conservative Councillors and residents were denied the same opportunity.
Since then, the Council’s Planning Department’s unacceptable performance has also triggered a response from the Government, which threatened “Special Measures” if improvements were not made. But for over four weeks during the election period, the opposition groups were not informed of the letter from the Government.
This demonstrates a flagrant disregard for democratic processes, consultations, and constitutional norms, which are the guardrails of local democracy.
The Local Plan is another example of the power of local democracy and working with the community. Labour’s Local Plan is principally using the green belt to facilitate the building of approximately 15,000 houses. While the Conservative Group understands the need for more houses in Calderdale, this number is based on unrealistic predictions of population growth, and the Plan does not adequately invest in new highway infrastructure or other essential amenities. Despite the Labour Group voting it through in March this year, the Conservative Group has continued to support local residents, who have been successful in securing a Judicial Review of the Local Plan.
Overall, the Calderdale Conservative Group strategy is focused on sensible finances, better public services, and putting residents first.
This is why the Group does try to work with other parties to achieve what is best for communities, as demonstrated by our action to raise the concerns of residents, who want improved waste and recycling services. We are pleased to say that the Labour Council is now looking at options to improve those services, which demonstrates how bipartisanship can make life better for residents in Calderdale.
However, this cooperation didn’t last long because the Labour-led Council has recently made debate and discussion more difficult, with the opposition Councillors only able to submit one question if present at Cabinet Meetings, and the meeting time has changed from 6 pm to 3 pm, making it difficult for most members to attend due to work commitments.
From all this, people will realise that life in opposition is hard, but working with local residents can produce successes. Putting political differences aside can often lead to better outcomes for residents. But when that doesn’t work, providing robust vocal opposition can still pay dividends.