April 2009
Another reason we need a Unitary Exeter Council
by Ben Bradshaw MP
When parents who use the excellent ‘Splash’ children's play scheme emailed me to say that the Liberal Democrat run City Council was pulling the plug on funding, I knew that the problem could only be solved by working with Labour councillors.
Cllr
Saxon Spence and I put pressure on the County Council and the City
Council to make sure that this important scheme was not lost. Working
parents need to have somewhere affordable where their
children can safely play during holidays.Many of the problems around ‘Splash’ were caused because of mismanagement and confusion between our two councils - City and County. This is true of many issues in Exeter, from education to social services. This is why Exeter wants the power to run its own services.
Liberal Democrat and Conservative county councillors want to stop Exeter taking any decisions over its own affairs. They support the abolition of Exeter City Council and the creation of a massive Devon council dominated by the rural areas from where most of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors come. This would be a disaster for our city, ending 800 years of proud civic history.
The only county councillors who have fought consistently for Exeter are the four Labour members. They don't take orders from the Liberal Democrat county council leader who lives in Barnstaple or from Conservative HQ in London. They always fight for what's best for Exeter. That is why it is so important they are re-elected in June. To ensure Exeter still has a voice at County Hall.