The history of English local authorities has not always been as dismal and failure-ridden as we have become accustomed to observe. There have been some notable good deeds, admittedly some going back to the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
But in the case of Lambeth London Borough Council, capital of metropolitan London's cultural Marxists, it's a sorry tale of failure with it having lurched from one disaster to another since the 1980s.
In this latest revelation, councillors and their well-paid senior staff, spent nearly £2 million of public money "in less than five years on confidentiality agreements designed to stop leaseholders sharing certain information with each other." [My London, 18 October 2023]
It appears that these leaseholders "won thousands of pounds back from the council for building work they were overcharged for on their properties [and] were told to sign agreements that stopped them telling their neighbours about the discounts they received. The four figure reductions were for major works carried out to their properties in the borough between 2017 and 2018."
The sorry tale gets worse. When "Maria Kay, the Labour-run council’s cabinet member for housing" was asked for "the legal costs the council faced because of the agreements" she said that "the council didn’t hold information about the legal costs it had sustained due to the agreements".
Lambeth councillors decided to pay themselves £1.15million in 2022-2023. In
2021 the chief executive's salary was reported as £185,000.
Local residents of councils across Britain pay not only these salaries but also for a bevy of consultants, who include lawyers, 'equality and diversity experts', and others. In councils, housing associations (especially the mega ones favoured by the social housing "regulator"), the NHS and Government departments these jobs have proliferated. The costs to British
taxpayers are staggering.
Local residents of councils across Britain pay not only these salaries but also for a bevy of consultants, who include lawyers, 'equality and diversity experts', and other
s. In councils, housing associations (especially the mega ones favoured by the social housing "regulator"), the NHS and Government departments these jobs have proliferated. The costs to British taxpayers are staggering.
So, for a senior councillor to state that her organisation "didn't hold information" about their legal costs is a serious admission of negligence and maladministration.
The people of Lambeth may justifiably feel unhappy about their council. The problem is that, with more councils falling into or nearing bankruptcy, the alarm bells are ringing for Britain.
The perilous state of British local government is indication of failures of governance in councils, the Government and Parliament.
It is time for Renewal and it is for The People of our Nation to call for and produce this.
See the My London article here:
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