Tories gag opposition in revenge campaign

In a blatant act of revenge Lord Hanningfield (Leader of Essex County Council) and the Conservatives who run the county council have today (5 August) voted to remove the Liberal Democrats' one full-time support officer in a bid to gag the only opposition group. The Conservatives will continue to employ 13 full time staff to support their councillors. They will also continue to accept Special Responsibility Allowances totalling around £600,000 on top of their normal councillor allowances, all at the taxpayers' expense.

Speaking about the decision, Lib Dem group leader Cllr Tom Smith-Hughes said: "Only recently, Lord Hanningfield was complaining to the national press that a 'vindictive campaign' had been launched against him by a Liberal Democrat MP. This was in response to the news that Scotland Yard had decided to investigate Lord Hanningfield's House of Lords expenses. It can hardly be a coincidence that a short time later the Lib Dem group has been thrown off the council's Waste Advisory Board and is now having its only full-time staff member made redundant.

"Given the already outrageous number of full time employees dedicated to working for the Conservatives, it is clear that the Conservatives' main preoccupation is with occupying power and then cutting down the opportunities for anyone to question them."

Janet Whitehouse, recently elected Liberal Democrat councillor for Epping and Theydon Bois said: "This loss of our one researcher is designed to make it more difficult for the Liberal Democrats to provide an effective opposition to the Conservatives and to carry out the scrutiny role that is expected of an opposition."