Council leaders told to apologise for parish council survey

Dudley’s leaders faced demands to apologise for spending nearly £10,000 on a survey branded a Liberal Democrat vanity project.

A meeting of the borough’s full council on December 1 debated the outcome of a feasibility study on the idea of creating a parish council in Cradley.

The study was among measures demanded by Liberal Democrats in return for their votes to support the Conservative Party’s last council budget.
The Tories agreed to set aside up to £75,000 for the study which eventually cost £8,000 and delivered an overwhelming rejection of the idea.

Labour’s Cllr Keiran Casey said: “Residents in Cradley have rightly given this the punishment it deserves.

“Despite everything we have heard the one thing we haven’t heard is an apology – no apology from the controlling group for allowing this ridiculous idea to be put in their budget and potentially wasting £75,000.

“No apology from the Liberal Democrats for suggesting this when they could have put anything into the budget, it is completely disgraceful.”

Labour’s finance spokesperson, Cllr Shaukat Ali added: “There was no appetite for this study, more than 82 percent said no, that is near unanimous.”

Reform UK’s Cllr Shaun Keasey was scathing: he described the study as an enormous waste of money and added: “It was a vanity project dreamed up by the Lib Dems and propped up by their Conservative chums – a partnership in poor judgement.”

Dudley’s Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Ryan Priest, conceded the idea of a parish council was a ‘big ask’ but insisted councils across the country were being starved of cash by Westminster and forced to make decisions every year on cutting services.

Cllr Priest said: “The idea of a town council was a way to insulate communities against that managed decline.

“I hear the call for apologies but an investigation into a way to better manage our services and protect them is not a waste. There are bigger wastes that have been made and I have not heard any apologies.”

Cllr Priest found support from the council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Patrick Harley who claimed Labour should apologise for Rachel Reeves’ latest budget which he dismissed as a ‘farce’.

Cllr Harley added: “The Liberal Democrats did the right thing in last year’s budget, the parish council was one of their priorities but also they asked for a lot of tarmac to be laid in Cradley and it has been.

“They were grown up, mature, got round the table and said ‘these are our priorities – we will help you deliver a legal budget’ and that is what we did.

“In a position of no overall control, that is what you have to do.”