LABOUR ANGER AT CABINET FAILURES

Labour had hoped the leader of the council, Councillor Neil Stock, would bow to growing public pressure and announce a reduction in the size of his cabinet which presently includes four Tory councillors who are overseeing departments that no longer exist.  Not only did he fail to do so but three of his cabinet then produced shambolic performances under questioning which suggested that they are not fit to be in the cabinet anyway.

Deputy leader of the Labour Group Councillor Ivan Henderson, says

“Councillor Stock’s ‘State of Tendring’ speech was weak, indecisive and lacked any detail.  The one area he could have immediately acted with some decisiveness was over the size of his own Tory cabinet but he said nothing.  There are still four Tory councillors being paid £42,000 a year between them to oversee departments that no longer exist.”

To add to the Tory embarrassment, three members of his cabinet then failed miserably to answer questions put to them on issues they should have been aware of.

Councillor Stephen Mayzes could not provide a decisive answer on whether or not TDC was providing any funding for a project in Jaywick, Councillor Sarah Candy suggested that she would need ideas from the opposition before she could begin to address rising youth unemployment and Councillor Pam Sambridge, when asked for details on the council’s flood defence plans for Holland on Sea could only say, “There’s lots going on”.

“Neil Stock has paid four of his Tory colleagues over £23,000 of council tax payers money since September 6th to oversee departments that no longer exist,” continued Ivan Henderson.  “If that wasn’t bad enough we were treated last night to a pathetic display from members of his cabinet which suggests they are not up to it anyway.  Action is long overdue.”