THE leader of Thurrock Council has vowed to keep on fighting for a public inquiry into catastrophic financial failures that left the authority virtually bankrupt reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Labour’s John Kent said the council’s original £1billion debt, accrued through disastrous investments under the watch of former chief executive Lyn Carpenter, finance director Sean Clark and Conservative council leader Rob Gledhill, now stands at £867million and is costing the council £64million on interest each year.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting where the £2025/26 budget was discussed, Mr Kent said the council’s latest call for a public inquiry in order that those involved could be called to account had been refused and he had called for a meeting with the minister within the next month to “discuss options”.
He said: “For me, the bottom line is that any inquiry needs to be an inquiry that’s on a statutory footing so that we can compel people to come and give evidence. It’s one of the arguments against a local inquiry. You have to be able to compel people like Sean Clark, Lyn Carpenter and Rob Gledhill to come and give evidence. It’s the only way we are going to get to the truth and the only way we’re going to get the justice we deserve so we are going to carry on fighting for that public inquiry.”
“There is no amount of work, innovation, good leadership that will lessen the impact of the council’s crippling debts and the structural problems that we still have. Balancing the budget, reducing the debt and making the council financially sustainable is a duty for each and every one us.”
Mr Kent added: “It’s clear the toxic Tory debt that we inherited continues to cripple the council. Our debt level is now £867million and that will increase as we continue to rely on exceptional financial support just to balance the books year in, year out.
“We have to acknowledge that next year we will spend £64million on servicing that debt. That’s not paying it down. It’s not making a dent in it. That’s merely servicing it and that is utterly unsustainable.”
The previous Tory administration at Thurrock Council along with the then Conservative Government refused to back a call for the disastrous investments made with money borrowed from other council’s across the country.
Government appointed commissioners brought in to clear up the financial mess also declined to call for a public inquiry.
Councillors have since backed an official inquiry and a call was recently made for the cash-strapped council to fund an inquiry itself. However, Mr Kent said the council’s debt prevented it from funding it.
