Dear Editor,

Last week in your letter’s page Cllr Gordon Wood forgets to mention that due to the Tories cutting the number of Council and Cabinet meetings there are now fewer opportunities for other councillors and the residents of Bath and North East Somerset to hold this Conservative administration to account. Therefore when Liberal Democrats decide to call decisions we do so in the best interest of councillors and residents who get too few opportunities now to voice their concerns. 

This month marks the first anniversary of the Tories taking control of B&NES so I thought it would be handy for readers to receive a short review of the year. Just how well have the Tories done?

• 1)     Conservatives close Oddown and Midsomer Norton youth centres
• 2)     Conservatives increase home-care charges for elderly and the disabled from an average of £8.40 per hour to £14 per hour
• 3)     Conservatives withdraw from the Forest of Avon Partnership, alienating the Council from working with others in protecting the Forest and our natural environment
• 4)     Conservatives reduce number of Cabinet meeting from 12 to 6, giving the public less opportunities to engage with their Council.
• 5)     Conservatives increase residents parking permit charges by 60%, the average cost going from £55 last year to £88 this year for just one permit.
• 6)     Conservatives, despite cuts to services, spend over £1,000 on a new Council logo.
• 7)     Conservatives cut the Council’s support to the Bath Fringe Festival by 65% from £20,000 to £7,000 in one year.

I’d also like to correct Cllr Wood in his assertion that the Lib Dems ran the Council before May 2007 as a single party. Bath and North East Somerset was run by three parties between 2003-2007, the Lib Dems, Tories and Independents. The Lib Dems have never had a monopoly on the Council because we have never had a majority since the Council was formed in 1996. The Tories should stop shying away from their power sharing role during that period and stop pretending they have not been involved in the decisions that have been made.

Yours truly,

Nathan

Cllr Nathan Hartley

Liberal Democrat, Peasedown St John