Labour man brushes off jibes

NEW borough councillor Chris Vobe has brushed aside jibes from political opponents about a motion in which he urged the council to commend Warrington North Labour MP Helen Jones – his mother.
Cllr Vobe (pictured) used his maiden speech in the council chamber to propose a motion deploring the government’s decision to cut the amount available for Council Tax support by at least 10 per cent.
He claimed the decision would take £1.3 million out of Warrington’s economy and hit the disabled, carers and those on low wages.
But the motion – seconded by another new Labour councillor, Billy Lines Rowlands – also called on the council to commend the efforts of Ms Jones and colleagues to call attention to the impact of the policy
The motion was forced through by the controlling Labour group, with Liberal Democrats abstaining and the Conservatives voting against.
Cllr Vobe accused the Liberal Democrats of sitting on the fence.
After the meeting, Cllr Vobe said: “What is acutely evident is that the Coalition here in Warrington are simply at sixes and sevens.
“Not a single contribution by a Conservative or Lib Dem councillor at the full council actually addressed the issue at hand.
“It’s clear that both parties are out of arguments, and unable to defend what their Government is doing.
“Warrington’s four remaining Tory councillors cemented their places as apologists for a Government which is failing people in this town. By opposing this motion, they gave no thought to carers or the disabled who are set to lose out.
“It’s also high time the Liberal Democrats got off the fence. Unwilling to stand up to their Whitehall colleagues, but seemingly unable to support what they are doing, they chose to abstain from voting at all.”
He said that the principle behind his motion was simply one of fairness – the overriding principle which, beyond any other, had brought him into politics.
He claimed that the Government’s plans would set “the poor against the poor” and transfer a huge financial risk to the council.
“What remains clearer than ever from the debate is that Labour are the only party ready and willing to stand up for the most vulnerable in this town.”
Cllr Paul Kennedy, leader of the Conservative Group, said the “localism” of Council Tax deserved serious consideration but he disagreed with the way the motion had been put.
He said: “It is a Labour controlled council. The leader could have written to the Government, expressing his concerns, without a council debate which was, frankly, a waste of council time.
“The cuts proposed amount to less than a quarter of one per cent of council spending – about 25p in every £100.
“There are better things we could do – for instance tackling absenteeism which averages 11 days per employee compared with six in the private sector. Those five extra days cost the council £4 million.”
Later, Cllr Vobe dismissed claims that the Warrington North MP had not played any significant part in Labour’s opposition to Council Tax localisation.
As the Shadow Minister for Local Government, she had led Labour’s response to the measures and a check of Hansard showed that her contributions to the debate amounted to 64 pages.