IF THERE was one sentence that was repeated time and time and time again at the meeting of the ruling Labour cabinet at Thurrock Council, it was "It is the Tory cuts".
If there was ever a meeting that a council wanted to give the impression that it was slowly coming apart at the seams then this was one.
The portfolio holder for the environment, cllr Gerard Rice, is not a councillor for holding back.
He said: "We saw the draconian cuts in the nineties but these are even worse. Cameron is worse than Thatcher.
"We are going to have to ask people to go out of their front doors and pick up their own litter."
Thurrock Labour’s stance contrasts sharply with the rest of the county which, this week, is holding an Environment Week, where a whole host of initiatives and organisations are involved in trying to make Essex a cleaner place.
