Opinion: Political Posturing Marred Planning Debate
I’ve just returned from the Amber Valley Borough Council meeting, and came away with the distinct feeling that most of the council members are more interested in party politics than in council business and representing the people who voted for them.
The following motion was proposed by Labour Councillor C Emmas-Williams: “This Council has no confidence in the Leader of the Council (Alan Cox, Conservative) and demands he resigns, in accordance with section 7.3(a) of the Council’s Constitution, following the failure of his Leadership to deliver a robust and acceptable ‘Core Strategy’ and thus exposing Amber Valley to aggressive housing developers”.
There followed a period of disrespectful political posturing on both sides of the council chamber – which was very distasteful and unpleasant to witness. There seems to be more emphasis on conflict and tactics to ensure re-election than in actually serving the people of Amber Valley.
Given the delicate Labour/Conservative balance (24 Conservative, 20 Labour, and 1 Independent), just a few Green Party councillors could make a real difference – people with integrity who are ready to serve, who do not operate a ‘whip’ system so can vote according to the wishes of the people who voted for them, and who could hold both parties to account by holding the balance of power with just a few seats.
Goodness knows we are ready for the change!
Sue MacFarlane Amber Valley Greens
Not that the Green party would dream of trying to make political capital out of the situation!
Hi Karen. You’re right the Green Party are likely to make political capital out of this situation, I guess it’s what politics is all about. However, if anything, the Greens aren’t political enough. We are a political party with high integrity and we attract high integrity people. On the political intensity spectrum we are definitely at the low end with the current government being at the high end and Labour lying somewhere in between. We offer balance and fair and effective representation.
A very partial and partisan account, which leaves the reader ignorant of the writer’s views on the Core Strategy and why the no confidence vote was tabled in the first place by Labour. We have a second abject failure by the Conservative run Council to get a plan past the Inspector. We have a very incompetent Conservative group which has no housing strategy; wasted £1.6 million on a car park for a mythical leisure centre in Belper; huffed and puffed about the appalling neglect of our World Heritage Mills but done nothing and neglected the Tea Rooms for many years. Sue’s solution – vote Green in the hope getting ‘a few ‘ Green Councillors in May 2016 is a pipe dream given the mostly derisory level of support last May, when Greens had the massive publicity general election boost, which will not happen for at least another four years. To help boot out the Tories vote Labour in Belper Central and North Wards