It seems they are never out of the news for some misdemeanour or other.
The latest embarrassment to hit Wigan Council is that it has been claimed that 2 Labour Councillors have stopped living in the Borough sometime ago, yet continue to claim thousands of pounds in allowances.
It's claimed that Cllr Joy Birch has even left the country and has been living in Ireland but she continued to receive thousands in council payments.
Cllr Kelly Ready is believed to be in Blackpool. Although she attends town hall meetings, residents say she hasn't been seen in the Orrell ward for sometime (a fellow Labour Councillor makes no reference to her attending any surgeries in the Ward). Out and about in Orrell, her ward residents have complained to UKIP that calls to Cllr Ready go unanswered with issues they raise not being dealt with.
Lord Smith makes no comment..
We put to Lord Smith of Leigh, leader of the Labour run Council to confirm if the locations of his Councillors were true, he made no comment. Readers can draw their own conclusions but one Councillor has now resigned according to another Wigan Councillors blog www.garethfairhurst.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/labour-cllr-lives-in-ireland.html
If this information is correct, (although not illegal) it is yet another example of the poor standards we are seeing from the Council and the Labour party in particular. If Councillors are unable to complete their functions, then the should not be making money for the jobs they are suppose to do.
This isn't the first time this has happened believe it or not, the Lib Dems had two Wigan Councillors move to Australia, see the story here http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local/aussie-based-councillors-paid-allowances-1-172109
Lord Smith couldn't have said it better, when speaking at the time he said;
"This is a disgrace and Councillors should not be paid if they are not doing their important council work"
"In addition to the financial scandal, these Councillors are not representing the interests of the public who elect them."
"The public should ask their candidates for council seats, will they attend regularly to act on behalf of their constituents."
We also remind Lord Smith that he opposed with other Labour Councillors UKIP's policy of cutting back on Councillors to save money. Labour Councillors claimed that the work they have to do requires three Councillors for each ward.
Clearly that's not true.
Cllr Ready's phone goes to an answering machine, whilst Cllr Birch's phone is already disconnected. So we ask Lord Smith;
Why didn't Cllr Birch stand down when she left the country.
Who knew in the Labour party she had moved away, was she told by the Labour party not to stand down?
Where exactly is Cllr Ready now? Has she also been told to attend council meetings to prevent a by election?
Which of his other Labour Councillors live outside the borough?
No comments:
Post a Comment