Yesterday at County Hall when the vote was taken on the Council Tax it was like a mantra ringing out – for, for, for… With only one lone voice of Strangeway calling out against.

County Hall Opposition

Of the 67 Councillors  I was amazed that 14 never even bothered to turn up. Are all 14 Councillors in bad health or have work commitments that it prevents them attending the most important vote of the year. I think not – there are other reasons.

For example if a Councillor has Council Tax arrears of more than two months they must declare the arrears and cannot vote. The easy solution is not to attend.

• Conservative – there is no surprise that they voted for a Council Tax increase because their party introduced austerity, they campaigned for it and it has failed. Their party has failed to deliver Brexit. Thus their only answer is to tax East Riding residents more.
• Labour – don’t just blame the Conservatives. Every Labour Councillor voted for the increase. They did not mention the failure of Conservative austerity, failure of the Conservatives to deliver Brexit or the waste at County Hall. They are the official opposition but are nothing of the sort. They may as well cross the floor.
• Independent – it was noticable this year (after my departure) that they spoke more in favour of the budget than in the previous two years.
• Liberal Democrat – they actual spoke out to a minor degree but still all voted in favour of the increase.
• UKIP – they never even turned up.
• Strangeway – raised a point of order and vote against.

Yesterday confirmed that there is only one opposition Councillor in County Hall out of the 67.

Call To Get Up Stand Up

All is not lost. Moving forward there is an election on May 2nd and briefings have been organised.

“Briefings have been arranged to assist people considering standing as candidates in the 2019 local and parish council elections.

The briefings will give details of the nomination process and guidance on the correct completion of nomination forms as well as information about the nomination and election process as it applies in our area.

The briefings will take place on Tuesday 19 February and Wednesday 20 February and both will take place at County Hall, Cross Street, Beverley, HU17 9BA and both start at 5.15pm.

Anyone wishing to attend the events should register their interest with East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s electoral services by emailing electoral.services@eastriding.gov.uk or by telephoning (01482) 393300.”