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| Threatened countryside at Woodhouse Lane |
Back in April Hedge End Blogger pointed out (here) that Lib Dem Borough Councillors (who get a generous taxpayer funded allowance on the expectation that they will actually turn up and represent the people who voted for them) seemed to have stopped attending council meetings.
At the time I thought it was because they were following party orders to deliver more and more of their repetitive campaign leaflets (which seem to have been full of promises they knew they were not going to keep) in their desperate battle to buck the national trend and keep control of Eastleigh.
But the trend continues after the election. Of the three Lib Dems elected in Hedge End this year, not one, not a single one, was at the council meeting on Thursday when the decision was made to designate the countryside opposite Hilliers Garden Centre in Woodhouse Lane a “preferred location” for large scale development, and rubber-stamping a document which states up to 2320 houses could be built there.
In fact out of seven Borough Councillors, only three Hedge End members were there.
Cllrs Jenny Ann Hughes, Cllr Derek Pretty, Cllr Mick Wheatley, and Cllr Jane Welsh were all absent.
Cllr Keith House proposed the motion, spoke twice in favour and voted for. Cllr Louise Bloom spoke in favour and voted for. Cllr Peter Hughes did not speak and voted for.
I think the Eastleigh News comments below should now be brought into force..
ReplyDeleteYes, that is disappointing.Looking at members allowances - then members attendances is fascinating.
Most people, if they are too sick or otherwise unable to attend their place of work, do not get paid.
I don't see why councillors who only attend 60% of their meetings should still get 100% of their pay.
I am thinking of invoicing absentees on behalf of Eastleigh tax payers.
The Lib Dems are in a poor state - nationally and locally. You can comfort yourself that this party will soon fade away.
ReplyDelete@TGR Worzel - It was strange to me that there were five councillors absent at Thursday's meeting and four of them were from Hedge End. So just about every other ward in the borough was fully represented.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that Michael Wheatley works evenings until 9pm so how can he attend meetings? He has missed most of them so far yet is claiming the full allowance. Mr and Mrs Hughes of the same address have young children that have to be babysat and they can't both attend on the same evening and don't. Pretty and Welsh will claim they were at other meetings but neither of which was as important as this Borough Council meeting. We constituents are being taken for ride both in representation and taxation as it's taxpayers money that pays the £6000 allowance these people get for attending about a dozen meetings a year - and they can't be bothered to attend those. We are all being had by the lazy Fib Dems.
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