EARLY ONE MORNING.........................
Cllr Alan Dean
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Stansted North on Uttlesford District Council and former Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Learn more
A DISHONEST COUNCIL IN DECLINE, A CHINK OF COMPASSION TINGED WITH AUTHORITARIAN RULE (PART I OF III)
AIRPORT PLANNING DEBACLE CONTINUED - WITH £££££ STILL TO PAY
EARLY ONE MORNING.........................
A DISHONEST COUNCIL IN DECLINE, A CHINK OF COMPASSION TINGED WITH AUTHORITARIAN RULE (PART I OF III)
AIRPORT PLANNING DEBACLE CONTINUED - WITH £££££ STILL TO PAY
Transparency lost behind smoke and mirrors
by Alan Dean on 26 September, 2014
Once again last night the claim by the new council leader that Uttlesford believes in transparency was shown up for being hollow. In fact, it wasn’t the cabinet that was hiding the facts from people, it was the council’s own audit committee which claims to be a robust challenger of the cabinet. It is the cabinet’s poodle!
Last year’s accounts were on the table at the performanceand audit committee. These show that at March 31st this
year the council had in its reserves (bank account) some
£17.6 million of usable reserves (and rising steeply as this
year progresses); that is, money which can be spent.
To put that into context, the total council tax income last year
was £4.6 million.
A large piece of the reserves is spoken for; say about half. This leaves about £8 million whose purpose is questionable. They are described by words like “slippage”, “emergency”, “set aside”, special one-off (unknown) projects”, “budgeted demand”, “fluctuations”, “possible liabilities”, “monies that may be made available”, “unforeseen costs”. It’s all about uncertainty.
The big question is: Do they know when this money will be needed, how much and for what? I believe the answer in many cases is “No”.
So last night I asked for a report which explained the likelihood of each of these 20 or so pots of your and my money being needed and when. The cabinet member for finance said it was all needed for a rainy day. That’s all he ever says apart from making party political points. He hardly ever deals in hard facts. He’s a Tory. The chairman of the audit committee, another Tory who is supposed to “robustly challenge” cabinet members, said he agreed with the cabinet member. So that was that.
Transparency at Uttlesford is non-existent. The Tories deal in smoke and mirrors to mislead the opposition and the public.
Meanwhile, at neighbouring East Herts Council – a council larger than Uttlesford – alarm bells were ringing when their reserves exceeded £6.7 million and had hit £8 million. There a Conservative councillor is quoted saying “That money does not belong to us, it belongs to our residents”. Good for him! I don’t think there are many more rainy days in East Hertfordshire compared with Uttlesford. It seem Uttlesford Tories simply love to hoard and count our money year by year but haven’t much of a clue what to do with it.
28 Comments
I suppose the obvious question would be how much we should trust the guidance of the cabinet member with responsibility for finance once one considers that he was found to have fudged his travel claims.
Given that said fudge netted the individual rather a significant sum of money one might question whether this ought to be seen as carelessness or theft. Essex Police authority chose to blur their response, I prefer to identify wrong-doing and wonder why it went unpunished.
UDC has a cabinet that contains members who have stolen from constituents, lied to full council and simply betrayed residents. It is difficult to support or believe in a group of such constituency and I do not.
Roll on next May when the residents of Uttlesford will have the opportunity to rid themselves of the current bunch of incompetents.
I think we should begin by having a whip-round to buy Robert Chambers a new mac ,and possibly a golfing umbrella too. Mr Chambers is obviously planning a council-tax holiday in the hope that this will convince the local electorate to re-elect the Tories. No chance!
At the very least the facts that Alan reports should find their way into the local press very soon.
It would be interesting to learn the views of UDC’s chief financial officer regarding the matter of prudential reserves, Alan. Is it possible to get a quote from him?
Apparently my posts offend Andrew Ketteridge.
Well, how does one respond other than with laughter?
Andrew, your father has led the council down a a cul-de-sac, fixated on housing numbers purely for the NHB money attached to said numbers. This will have consequences, not to the advantage of the district.
Fortunately, it appears that a new administration, as will be the case in May 2015, will be able to repair much of the damage wrought by Ketteridge and his drones.
Andrew, may May 2015 arrive in a rush, the sooner we are rid of you the better.
I have requested a series of meetings with the director of finance with a view to assessing if and when the various pots of money called reserves might be needed and for what purposes. If those responsible won’t willingly tell the public why the council is holding into their money, I will try to work it out myself.
I have invited Cllr Andrew Ketteridge to post his views in these comments columns if his opinions differ from those of Cllr Keith Mackman. I have told Cllr Ketteridge that this blog practices free speech principles and that I am averse to practising censorship.
It should not go unremarked that until June the council had a very competent and dedicated finance officer in the shape of Stephen Joyce.
Currently the finance officer position is held by Adrian Webb but I believe he has other responsibilities as well which calls into question whether the council is fulfilling its financial obligations properly. It is not good practice to have a finance officer not wholly engaged with the council finances. This is not meant as criticism of Adrian who I know is well qualified for the finance officer role but I would question the decision to give him a plural role.
The council has been ill-led, the new leader is no better than the man he replaces and the local plan is a shambles. The new administration that takes over next May will have a great deal of work to do to repair the ravages but on the bright side, they won’t have to work hard to look so much better than the current dysfunctional bunch.
Alan, your use of the word ‘hoarding’ with regard to the council’s finances brings to mind that famous episode from ‘Dad’s Army’, ‘The Miser’s Gold’, with Private Fraser
counting his gold sovereign’s by the light of the single candle in his back-room by. Robert Chambers would prove a fair copy of Pte. Fraser, apart from the glasses.
My message to Mr. Chambers: I’m much better at looking after and investing my money than you are; I don’t invest in dodgy Icelandic banks! And I want back the money you’ve taken from me under false pretences. And I hope you will be able to give a satisfactory account of yourself when the good people of Uttlesford hear about your gross mismanagement. It’s just as wrong to hold too much money as not enough!
They will use it to engineer a council tax cut in 2015/16, coinciding with the local elections. Public money is going to be used to secure an election win for the Tories, who will portray themselves as the masters of financial probity (in spite of the Icelandic banking saga). But I think most councillors will be judged by the electorate on the basis of their position on the Local Plan.
I don’t think we need concern ourselves too much about a Tory win at local level next May. I don’t know how the national result will be (given that Cameron has a gift for underachievement…couldn’t manage a victory against Gordon Brown FFS) but at district level I predict that the Conservatives will struggle to get 10 members re-elected.
Given that 20 is the number required to control the council, it is clear that Rolfe and his fellow incompetents will not be pulling the levers of power next year (indeed it is by no means sure that Rolfe will be elected)
The new administration will almost certainly be a coalition, benefitting from new councillors and a core of experienced council members from the existing cadre. A coalition of new R4U members, Lib Dems and even certain Conservatives would be able to demonstrate commitment to localism, something that the current politburo have no interest in whatsoever.
I would like to thank Cllr Rolfe for making the task of beating him so much easier. If the council were well led and had a sensible agenda it would be very difficult to unseat them next year. As it is, the draft local plan alone makes the Conservative group virtually unelectable.
Next May will demonstrate whether I am right or wrong.
Ah! Financial probity! Probity? What is that? Does Uttlesford’s cabinet comprehend the sense of the word? Its meaning is somewhat elusive; it is more than mere honesty – it also carries the senses of uprightness, decency, honour and integrity. I wonder which of these attributions might be applied to the several members of UDC’s cabinet? We could perhaps make a ‘probity game’ and award points on scale of 1 to 10 to each cabinet member for each of the above ‘qualities’. We might even include the council’s officers.
‘Financial’ conjures up the many features – both good and bad – of the world of big banks and shady deals, and those little Swiss men, the Gnomes of Zurich. But we have the Gnomes of Duddenhoe End! I’m told that Mr Chambers has a number of these in his garden. Is he starting to look like them, I wonder? We could perhaps have another ‘whip round’ and buy Robert two or three more garden gnomes to bring joy in his retirement when he fails to get re-elected next May.
And I’m quite sure, as Daniel says, and as I stated in my message above Cllr. Chambers is already plotting to use (part of) the council’s financial surplus to bribe us to vote Tory next May – and with OUR money! How low will they stoop?
I don’t think they will lose more than 15 seats, including those lost through boundary changes. There has always been substantial support within the villages and there is no district-wide electoral challenge. This would put them on at least 18. A couple of loyal independents should secure them control in the event of the worst-case scenario, but the power of the executive will be diminished.
A slim majority would require the greater involvement of independent-minded Tories and a more consensual approach to contentious issues such as the Local Plan, should it need redrafting. I do think a wipe-out in Saffron Walden is possible with Cllrs Rolfe and Ketteridge possibly losing their seats if they are defending them. They will have to pull something drastic out of the hat … such as a tempting council tax cut! They will also try to suggest that “quality of life” surveys are related to district policy and not the gentrification of the area through planning and housing policies that go against the interests of poorer (non-Tory voting) socio-economic groups.
Maybe I’m being too cynical, but I can’t help but feel public money is being stored up for the sake of Tory electoral strategy. That’s the nature of electoral politics and not unique to the Tories. But, as someone who was in the Conservative group, you’d probably have a better idea as to the reasons for taxing us in order to save money instead of spending it on local services.
Until Tories communicate, we can only assume the worse. Will one deign to answer questions on this blog? Or would public debate be a disciplinary offence?
Dan
It’s ‘open season’ on this issue from point. There will inevitably be ‘died-in-the-wool’ voters in every party, folk who’ve always tied their colours to the TV aerial, ‘just like my grandpa’. If voters do not have the measure of the current administration by now they very soon will have when the public gets to hear about the obvious financial mismanagement. UDC Tory administrations have always been characterised by massive budget underspends and squirrelling council taxpayers away under the mattress. Robert Chambers will know a lot about it as he started this trend 25 years ago. This issue is in some ways more serious and potentially more damaging to the current administration than the Local Plan. They can no longer ‘bleat’ about the ‘rash budgeting’ of the previous
LD administration that happened to coincide with the world crisis, though the LibDems didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory; at least they endeavoured to behave in an honourable fashion even if there were mis-judgements. (See my reference above to probity.)
Your surmise about a potential ‘election budget’ is a dead cert. There is more than enough material here to keep the letters pages of the local press running hot till well into the New Year.
Some amusing typos here! Please have a laugh at my expense. A wonderful example of what can happen when your brain runs away with your typing finger, especially
the bit about council tax-payers stuffed under the mattress!
I thought the crisis in 2007 was a bit over-blown, particularly as it was not the result of political error but a stupid accounting error by an officer who is paid to know better. However, is there any proof of financial mismanagement at UDC or simply that they are consistently under-spending and storing up massive reserves? Mismanagement is not quite the same, I think.
As for voting patterns, the Lib Dems have carried the Tories through an unpopular austerity programme that has persecuted the poor and disabled, overseen a three-fold increase in university fees despite pledging to abolish them, supported de facto NHS privatisation and has now committed the UK to another unending, senseless and costly war in the Middle East. There is no money for the masses, but plenty for the rich and a seeming bottomless pit when it comes to killing Arabs. The level of disillusionment, particularly with the Lib Dems, will have an impact on the local vote. The protest vote that prompted the 2003 Lib Dem victory in Uttlesford is simply non-existent now and there isn’t a lot of choice beyond ConDem. I won’t be voting in the next election and I am sure some others may feel the same.
Dan
There are alternatives: I think we are moving into a period where a majority have no time for politicians in the big 2 + 1 parties (God save us from UKIP!). In our near locality we have the example of the Residents Association in Epping Forest, which has established a deserved reputation over a number of years, and in Uttlesford we have a number of well-qualified current and former professionals who show themselves to be quite capable of coming together to form a council administration. I have said and written on a number of occasions over recent months that party politics over the last 25 years has done the electorate of our district no favours whatsoever. There have been many occasions in the recent past when party allegiance could, and should, have been put aside in favour of seeking local solutions for the benefit of the whole community, taking advice and example from other local authorities. Regrettably, too many of those elected have been ready to dance to the party drum, rather than applying common sense to the situation in hand in order to reach consensus; the result is a non-District Plan that has taken 7 years to put together and which will now almost certainly fail, all because of the diktats of party politics, with party hacks who are mere voting fodder, leaving their brains on the pavement outside the council offices. We need consensus politics based on thoroughgoing debate before decisions are reached. There is tremendous leadership potential among out local communities, and we should provide every opportunity to allow it to flourish.
Local politics is all about who is best at managing a body with very limited power and range of choices, as set down by Westminster. I lived in Epping Forest and the Tory administration there was capably led, fairly inclusive and didn’t have so much of the dross you see ending up getting elected purely on a party ticket, but it really didn’t have much power to assert itself in any ideological direction. The LRA is similarly capable, calm and collected in how it approaches local issues, but isn’t an opposition for the whole district since it is Loughton-based; the same is likely to be true if the Walden-based “We Are Residents” became the opposition in Uttlesford. In Epping Forest, the leader stood up against the MP Eleanor Laing over her expenses scandal and was forced out of office after Laing won the confidence of her constituency association (in contrast to Uttlesford, where the leader was appointed after he tried to get the MP deselected). I don’t know what the Epping Forest administration is like now, although a range of party political choices there seems to indicate broader engagement.
The quality of local politics isn’t good in Uttlesford, even though there are a few good Tory councillors (the good ones such as Tina Knight seem to be confined to the back benches or remain in the parishes such as Peter Jones). All we can hope for is some better judgement, but beyond that councils are so tied up with statutory rules and central government control that they are pretty much remote and irrelevant. And then the executive control of the council means normal councillors are sidelined. Also, is it right that the Planning Inspectorate and not the people decide on the Local Plan?
Last month I was in Basel where they were having a referendum on the city’s development programme and debate seemed to be rife. The Scottish referendum also demonstrated that the people, when given the responsibility and the control, can have a sensible, inclusive and responsible debate. When we’re forced out of the political arena, there no longer seems to be any point. But then, the politicians don’t feel in control, which is the sole reason for wanting political power in this country.
The funniest thing in Epping Forest was seeing the BNP defeated by its own ineptitude and stupidity. Riding high on disillusionment with Labour, they got a number of councillors elected on the basis that they were going to stop a government programme called “Africans for Essex”, in which council tenants would be forced from their homes and replaced by African asylum seekers from Tower Hamlets. They decided the road I was living on was the target for this programme. After doing some research, I found that there were no council-owned properties on the street and the only ones that were empty were being renovated or between private leases. And anyway, the council didn’t have the power to stop anyone from moving into the area on the basis of their colour or religion. As they made error after error, the electorate voted against them and saw what a bunch of creeps they were and the absurdity of their promises. The BNP candidates lost their seats to the LRA.
Hi Dan
I think it would be a shame if you don’t vote next May. Expressing a political view is important. I would rather lose in a turnout of 85% than win in a turnout of 35%. Given that the local election falls on the same day as the general election I think we can anticipate a turnout of around 70%.
I hope to have convinced enough voters in Dunmow of my intentions to get enough votes to continue. I have no wish to run a negative campaign, as far as I’m concerned all my plans are positive. I will point up the fact that certain candidates have signally failed to look after the interests of residents in their ward but beyond that I see negativity as counterproductive.
No, I won’t vote. Where’s the transparency and accountability in any layer of government?
Alan Haselhurst’s recent column about the need to be involved in yet another Iraq War, claiming it was even more compelling than fighting the Nazis, sealed it for me: http://www.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk/Uttlesford-s-MP-Sir-Alan-Haselhurst-says-Islamic/story-23005632-detail/story.html
I am incensed by his arrogance and stupidity. When I wrote to him before the last Iraq War urging him not to support it, he insultingly compared me and the two million others who marched against this war to Nazi appeasers. And it turned out we were right and the war was based on a pack of lies. No apologies from him for his ignorance and arrogance and the blood of a million Iraqi citizens on his hands, though.
Haselhurst is typical of the entire political establishment, from the top to the bottom, from Westminster to Uttlesford. They won’t listen, they don’t care and they’ve made up their minds. Voting is a spectator sport. I’m not playing the game.
I think it’s a cop out not to cast a vote, and if you’re dissatisfied to that extent, why not stand for election yourself?
There is the option of spoiling the ballot paper. It’s a way of registering dissatisfaction. It amazes me there aren’t more spoiled papers. Mrs Drums has been known to cross out all the candidates’ names, write in “my dog” and vote for that instead. If nothing else it amuses the counting clerk.
While accepting what you write about the ever more centralising tendencies of central government, I endorse what Keith and Steve have just said, Dan. You’re a good example of the ‘new breed’ we need to see in the council chamber. One doesn’t need to be ‘political’ to be a good councillor. Why not stand as a genuine Independent
candidate? The district needs people like you. Of course,
there have been many examples of UDC Independent councillors in the recent past who are nothing of the kind – I am reminded of a certain lady from Thaxted – but are simply closet Tories or worse, who dare not let their true colours show. We need genuine Independents who have the energy and dedication to represent their ward and people across the wider community to the very best of their ability, and who can think and act independently. Once elected one can surprise oneself as well as others.
Much better than promising us a ‘no-show’ or a spoiled ballot-paper.
My brief foray into local politics wasn’t a great experience – it turned me off local politics altogether. All I can say is that I fully sympathise with what Keith has gone through and I genuinely admire his tenacity and courage.
I learned that being a good councillor was not about what party someone belonged to since I saw good and bad in all political tribes, even if I didn’t always agree with them. I hope that when people come to vote, they will consider candidates on their personal merits, commitment and ideas and not the colour of their rosette.
Councillors are generally disempowered, but in Uttlesford the concentration of power in a secretive ruling clique makes the entire chamber – and even committees, such as planning, which is now over-ruled for the sake of some stitch up on behalf of big business – a waste of time. So why vote at all?
I remember the Tory district councillor’s monthly report, which was usually “I’ve nothing to report” because he pointed out that little gets discussed in the chamber. I’m not going to waste my time being involved in some talking shop and spending a term feeling frustrated at unanswered questions, bureaucratic mendacity and the arrogance of authority.
I am excited by this week’s success of the Focus E15 group in Stratford over Newham Council – a small victory secured by young single mothers who took direct action to defend their community from “regeneration” (a by-word for social cleansing) and raise the issue of the impact of the spiralling cost of living on the most vulnerable. Such people are the butt of sneering talk shows and Daily Mail hate, but I met them last week and found them to be more eloquent and intelligent that any member of the Oxbridge elite that rules the country and dominates all three parties. Direct action is now the only power we have against the powerful and privileged. As the events this week in Hong Kong have proved, civil disobedience can change history.
In terms of politics on a national and international level, I am a great fan of Uruguay’s President José Mujica. His address to the UN last year summed up everything I believe: http://en.mercopress.com/2013/09/25/mujica-blasted-consumerism-and-called-for-political-heads-to-rule-the-globalized-world He said: “Politics, which should rule human relations, has succumbed to economics and become a mere administrator of what the financial system does not control.” Whatever your ideology, please meditate on this.
British politics has no space for this kind of incisive thought. It ignores the daily injustices and humiliations people face and rarely challenge, the devastation of our natural environment, blindly commits troops to sordid open-ended wars and seeks to demonise certain voiceless social groups as to blame.
I watched BBC Question Time last night and it was like watching a bunch of corporate board members arguing about details of the accounts and spouting marketing jargon. It is devoid of values, sincerity, ideas and passion. I can’t relate to any of it. This woman was the only one who spoke for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfXAt3j3gzI
Sorry for ranting on this blog, but what opportunities are there to engage in local politics? I just hope that Howard Rolfe et al are reading this, because none of them bother to respond otherwise. I hope they are capable of personal reflection that transcends Machiavellian machinations of party politics.
Much debate here. Can’t respond to all of it. I will be making a new post this weekend with a written account of UDC’s financial state and its reserves. I hope to start a public debate about what the public wants to see the money used (or saved) for.
Dan
Thank you for those kind words, much appreciated. To be honest, what I have experienced from my group has not been particularly stressful or unexpected. Little people tend to behave in a predictable manner and Uttlesford Conservatives are little people.
I would urge you to vote next May because voting is important, seriously. As I explained to one lady on the doorstep, if you can’t support any of the candidates then a spoilt ballot is a valid vote.
As I said previously, I would rather lose in an 85% turnout than win in a 35% poll. Needless to say, I intend to win regardless of turnout.
One massively positive feature of the Scottish referendum was the high turnout. Next May’s elections may not amount to quite so momentous an occasion, but they could be more of a ground-shifting event than for 12 years.
Watch out for news of an important event in Stansted on November 1st.
“Watch out for news of an important event in Stansted on November 1st.”
That suggests that Clegg or Cable are coming to visit.
Nothing so glamorous.