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Mayor’s ‘temper tantrum’ over Tories
Borough Hall
THE Mayor of Bedford, Dave Hodgson has been accused of having a ‘temper tantrum’ after kicking the Tories out of his cabinet.
Mr Hodgson’s cabinet previously represented all parties on the council following his re-election in May last year, in a bid to work together during difficult financial times.
And this week Councillor Tom Wootton defended his party’s abstention from a key vote on the borough’s budget, a move which led to the party’s exclusion.
He said: “How can I support something cuts money for rural skips and how can I support something that scraps Roxton school bus?
“We didn’t vote for it but we didn’t vote against it. The mayor has made a real error and I think it is really, really silly what he has done.
“What this is to do with is that he didn’t get his pet scheme of parishing through.”
He added: “Mr Rigby has been the one who has been really hurt because he put so much time and effort into getting that job right.
“The mayor got his budget passed by a massive majority and we abstained, nobody voted against it. What’s the worry?
“It’s a little temper tantrum.”
Despite the abstention the council’s 2012/13 budget was approved at the meeting. The council is required to save £36million in governemnt imposed cuts over four years.
The mayor has now excluded Conservative councillor Roger Rigby from his role as portfolio holder for adult services. A responsibilty which wil now be taken on by Labour councillor Colleen Atkins.
Mr Hodgson will take on Ms Atkins’ existing responsibilities other than health reforms, which she retains.
He said: “Despite broken promises in the past from the Conservatives, I was pleased to bring them into the cabinet last year in order to have all parties working together to meet the unprecedented challenge presented by the current financial situation.
“However, sadly the Conservatives have proved unwilling to work together in the interests of our communities, and have turned their backs on the task we face at the crucial moment.
“They have been involved in this process throughout the year, at every stage. Now they have sadly let residents down by failing to even cast a vote when it matters, breaking an agreement to support our communities despite their involvement throughout the process on this joint budget.”
He added: “Their actions in refusing to take responsibility on the most important decision of the year after all the work that has taken place with them contrasts sharply with those of local residents. Residents got involved in budget process, responding in their thousands to give their views on the proposals and shape the budget to ensure we get the best for our borough in these extremely tough times.’
“I want to thank Councillor Rigby for his work on the executive. The multi-party cabinet we have is an extremely strong team, which is well placed to continue to deliver for local residents across Bedford Borough.”
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Weather for Bedford
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
