Tories Slam Labour Budget “Fiasco”.

Conservative Leader Garry Hague has slammed Thurrock Labour on their approach to implementing £4m of cuts to the Council’s budget.

The Tory comments have heightened speculation that the Tories will vote against the Labour budget next wednesday plunging Thurrock Council into further chaos, confusion and crisis.

Garry said: “The previous Conservative Council set a balanced budget in February of this year and this was preceded by a thorough cross party scrutiny process by elected members which finally identified around £9 million in savings and the continuation of a low level of council tax.

“The process which the Labour Council is now undertaking to find an additional £4 million of savings is turning into a fiasco with no proper mechanism being put in place to allow members of all parties to scrutinise the savings proposals – many of which will have deep impacts on our residents and communities.

“Whilst we recognise the pace required to ensure that early action is taken to identity additional savings to the budget this year, there appears to be no proper and sound provision to allow the democratic scrutiny process to take place. At the scrutiny chairs meeting last Tuesday scrutiny representatives were led to believe that scrutiny arrangements would be put in place for this week ahead of Cabinet and Council. No such provision has been arranged which means that significant budget cuts that will impact on our residents are not getting the proper scrutiny by democratically elected council members.

“Setting this budget is Labour’s biggest challenge so far, and so far their performance is worrying, to say the least. They know the potential significant impacts of these proposals on our communities and yet they appear to want to ride roughshod over the residents of Thurrock and the Council’s Constitution. I have written to the Leader of the Labour Council advising him that elected members must be given the opportunity to properly scrutinise these budget proposals on behalf of our residents.”