At Thursday’s annual budget meeting I was pleased to second the motion approving the Housing Revenue Account for the coming year. My three‑minute contribution is at 1 hour 9 minutes in the recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY0ulkhVJy8. The motion passed — and then we witnessed something extraordinary for all the wrong reasons.
Not a single opposition group put forward an alternative budget. Not one amendment. Nothing. They criticised the administration’s proposals at length, but when it came to doing the work that scrutiny requires, they simply opted out. That is not opposition. It is political theatre without substance.
The Greens didn’t even bother to explain their silence. The so‑called independents — better known locally as the Bosses Party — claimed they “did not have enough time” to draft amendments. That excuse is laughable. Years ago, I worked with my Labour colleague Cllr John Whitworth to produce a full, lawful alternative budget. It took effort, of course, but it was entirely achievable. It was voted down, but at least residents saw a real debate and real choices.
What happened on Thursday was the opposite: a vacuum where scrutiny should be. Opposition parties are paid to challenge, to test assumptions, and to offer alternatives. If they believe services should be cut or expanded, they should have the courage to say so — and to explain who would pay the price. Instead, they hid behind criticism without responsibility.
At best, this is laziness and incompetence. At worst, it is cowardice. The truth is simple: they avoided amendments because they didn’t want to defend a budget of their own. They preferred to snipe from the sidelines rather than do the hard work of governing. Residents deserve better than that.
(I will publish my acutal speech on a separate blogger page https://www.blogger.com/blog/page/edit/7733583/7174233470400372938)
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