Bedford Borough Conservative Group Leader Cllr Stephen Moon has written to the Bedfordshire on Sunday tothank residents for their support at the election which saw the Conservatives gain 4 extra seats on the Borough Council.
Despite now being the largest party, the Conservatives will remain in opposition after being excluded from the Liberal Democrat Mayor’s cabinet.
Cllr Moon’s letter is reproduced below:
On behalf of Bedford Borough Council’s Conservative Group I would like to thank residents for their support at the election. We are now the largest political group on the Council with over twice as many votes as the Liberal Democrats but, despite that, deliberately excluded from the Liberal Democrat Mayor’s Executive.
The Mayor’s claiming of credit for Government funded initiatives such as freezing Council Tax, maintaining weekly bin collections or the replacement of temporary classrooms shows his preference for image over substance. The next 4 years will be more difficult as Government support lessens and the easy savings run out. An Executive which reflected the wishes of the electorate would have been better able to represent Bedford in these difficult times.
The Conservative Group will however play a full role on committees and in other areas by supporting good policies while challenging those that are against residents’ long-term interests.
In our manifesto we prioritised revitalising Bedford town centre and we will continue to promote support for businesses by providing, for example, 2 hours free parking every day of the week.
We will continue to challenge failures in housing policy which have left over 1000 people in need.
We will continue to challenge the Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition’s refusal to pay the Living Wage to Council care home staff from April last year. It is a breach of Council policy and a depressing reminder of the Labour Group’s abandonment of its principles.
On these and many other issues we will be a strong opposition.
Cllr Stephen Moon
Bedford Borough Conservative Group Leader