Lib-Dem Teignmouth town and district

councillor ALISON EDEN,

writes:

Conservative County Councillor

John Clatworthy alerted Teignmouth

Town Council’s Tuesday finance and

general purposes committee meeting

to a set of deep cuts and inconsistencies

in funding at county level.

Conservative town councillors

round the table sighed with regret as

he did so, but I say these are crocodile

tears.

It is Theresa May’s Conservative

Government that is responsible for

handing down these swingeing cuts.

And it is her Government that

Conservative town, district and

county councillors are supporting as

they axe local and essential services

affecting ordinary working people as

well as the most vulnerable.

It is time that we start calling out

local politicians who say one thing

to gain favour with voters, and then

support the regime that axes so

many essential services.

Councillors who are cabinet members

in Conservative-controlled

county council like Cllr Clatworthy

are paid £16,500 (see http://www.

devon.gov.uk/part-7members.pdf) as

an allowance on top of the basic

annual allowance of £10,970.

Being a Conservative politician

can be quite lucrative these days.

On a day when the USA was celebrating

independence, I say it’s a

shame that our local Conservative

politicians can’t show some consistency,

and if they really do dislike

the cuts their party is handing down

as much as they claim to, they

should ‘cross the floor’ and stop taking

the Tory shilling.

Conservative councillors Sylvia

Russell and June Green at the same

meeting lamented the lack of Government

commitment to our railways,

and the shocking absence of

disabled access at Teignmouth station,

while supporting the very

regime that is responsible.

How comforting will the comment

made by Cllr Russell that our MP,

Anne Marie Morris, has ‘had a

word’ with Chris Grayling, the Secretary

of State for Transport, be to

anybody reliant on public transport

who is in a wheelchair?

We need investment not words.

For the town council to resolve to

send letters and ask for a better deal

as an action is not enough.

Conservative councillors who are

as distressed as I am about underfunding

and cuts that affect disabled

people should show some moral

muscle and challenge their party

meaningfully.

You cannot support the Conservative

agenda in Parliament and pretend

you haven’t done exactly that

when you are at Bitton House.