A Council Budget Of 'Toe Curling Overdrafts'

Councillor Gerald McGregor blogs this week

Wonderful news from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) and many thanks to Councillor Ranjit Gill and his team for the work that was done. LGBCE has recommended that Chiswick should be expanded to take up nearby parts of Brentford and provide a more coherent pattern of administration.

We have achieved a great victory for Chiswick, holding on to our nine council seats in the three wards in the face of huge pressure from the Labour administration who are so incompetent that they could not add up the numbers in their presentation to LGBCE properly. It makes you concerned about their ability to run an administration and set a budget.

A budget of toe-curling overdrafts

Talking about the budget, once again they claim great cuts in revenue but don’t have the political will to drive the savings required to keep the council in balance. Once again, we hear that Lampton 360, the Labour sponsored plc, is unable to deliver its budget and provide the revenues promised by the cabinet to the council over and over again. The overdrafts involved are toe-curling and unfunded investments are creating real problems for the council. They (Labour again) don’t want to discuss it and keep the finances off the agenda.

Their normal trick is to release their idea of a budget immediately before the February council budget-setting meeting and then, using their useless backbenchers (we never hear from most of them), to prevent discussion as in 2019 when they limited discussion of a £500m plus budget to a ludicrous five minutes per councillor and did not go through any item in detail. Really not fit for office and no desire to debate their public actions.

Virtue signalling

Not this time either as, with the Borough Council on 29th October, we did not have any real discussion about anything much and we had the pleasure of nearly two hours of community jollification, hearing from some very solid school and community groups getting well-deserved recognition, before we then turned to the business of the council. Again, all we got was virtue signalling from a bunch of smug people who want leave of absence if they have a baby in the household. Councillors are not full-timers. Many of us have real jobs. Our employers provide the statutory leave when required but Labour always wants more for less (pause for loud wailing and sobbing).

Honouring Ms Patricia Davies’ work during the WWII

Looking forward to the next council meeting in Chiswick on Tuesday, 12th November, this will be more worthwhile than the last as there will be a ceremony giving the Freedom of the Borough to an outstanding recipient in Chiswick. The venue is the Hogarth Room of Chiswick Town Hall at 7.30pm where members will be asked to confer the title of Honorary Freewoman of the Borough upon Ms Patricia Davies, as resident of Chiswick, in recognition of her important work during the Second World War. She has already been recognised for this service by the French Government which awarded her the Légion d'honneur, founded by Napoleon and the highest French order of merit for military and civilian services. The meeting is open to the public. Do join the Chiswick councillors there.

The general election campaign begins

Other local news of note is the adoption of a terrific Conservative candidate, Seena Shah, to take the seat of Brentford and Isleworth from her Labour opponent on 12th December (General Election day). The adoption was followed by a well-attended campaign launch meeting (standing room only) with vigorous messages about the forthcoming campaign and solid commitment from an accomplished, humorous and down-to-earth candidate who has already achieved great things (Seena is currently the National Chairman of Conservative Young Women, representing all women aged 30 and under within the Party). The campaign is off and Conservatives from Chiswick will be working across the borough to ensure that the Corbyn fanatics in the Labour party fail yet again.

Back to being a councillor

Meanwhile, as a councillor of 15 years’ standing, delivering solutions and providing support continues in casework of various types involving, as examples, pavements and setts, housing need, leaseholders and Hounslow Housing, parking issues and retailers needing relief just to stay in business. So, while Labour maladministers a borough – a picture repeated from the ill-managing London Mayor spiralling like CS9 downwards into the activities of dodgy local councils across London – promising a socialist ideology or claiming paternity leave for a part-time councillor rather than answering to the needs of local people – it’s more business as usual for me.

DATES FOR DIARIES

Borough Council for Honorary Freewoman of the Borough: Tuesday, 12th November at 7.30pm at Chiswick Town Hall

Chiswick Area Forum: Tuesday, 19th November at 7.00pm at Chiswick Town Hall

Borough council: Tuesday, 26th November at 7.30pm at Hounslow House

The future of policing in Chiswick public meeting: date to be announced soon

SURGERIES

Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library, upstairs in the private room.

Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Triangle Club, The Ridgeway, W3 8LN, usually a group discussion but privacy can be arranged. 


Councillor Gerald McGregor

Chiswick Homefields Ward

Email: gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk

Phone: 07866 784821

November 10, 2019