Protest as cuts get green light at crisis council
A CRISIS-hit council yesterday gave the green light to swingeing cuts to jobs and services, following an opposition walkout at a stormy meeting in the chamber.
After a near three-hour meeting plagued by angry interruptions, Northamptonshire County Council approved an action plan designed to deal with a budget shortfall of up to £70 million. The meeting paved the way for the council to make ‘radical’ cuts to children’s services, road maintenance and waste management.
Nineteen councillors – including 15 ruling Tories – failed to attend. Around 20 protesters gathered outside the County Hall in Northampton with anti-austerity placards. Bianca Todd, a member of the public, blasted those who had failed to turn up, adding: ‘When people die this winter, blood will be on your hands.’
The council had been expected to debate amendments to a list of core services which went before the chamber at full council meeting last week. But chairman Steve Osborne moved straight to a vote, prompting a walk-out from Labour members.
The National Audit Office has warned as many as one in ten larger local authorities in England with responsibility for social care will have exhausted reserves in three years unless something changes.
The cutbacks in Northamptonshire will now be decided at a future meeting. FROM PREVIOUS PAGE more of a minefield when it comes to the minor royals, particularly for Kate and Meghan who are not of royal blood and hold no senior position — yet.
If Kate and Meghan are accompanied by their husbands, William or Harry, then royals such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie or even the older Countess of Wessex would have to curtsey to them. But if they’re unaccompanied, they would have to curtsey to Beatrice and Eugenie because they are of royal blood. When Kate becomes Queen, everyone will have to curtsey to her.
‘It’s been tricky for both Kate and Meghan and I’ve been fascinated to watch them both learning about who they should — and should not — curtsey to,’ says Jean.
As for the public, it’s up to the individual as to whether you curtsey to any royal. ‘The Queen herself has said she does not expect people to curtsey, and Buckingham Palace reflects this in its protocol advice,’ says Adam.
CAN’T DO IT?
CLEARLy, something Fergie should be thinking about if her knees are playing her up. If you’re in a wheelchair or simply too old, then a nice alternative is to lower your head in a small bob without making eye contact. ‘Once you raise your head and the member of the Royal Family is looking at you, you can reciprocate, says Adam Partridge.
OTHER ROYALS
THEy should curtsey to the Queen, certainly as a mark of respect. Even members of foreign royal families normally curtsey and bow to our Queen — she has been on the throne for 65 years, surely placing her higher in rank than most other royals in the world. Of course, it’s open to interpretation but one would hope that, say, the Queen of Spain would curtsey to our Queen.
AND FOREIGNERS
THE rules are the same. It is up to the individual as to whether they curtsey or not. Actress Susan Sarandon broke every royal protocol on meeting the Queen at the Royal Windsor Cup Polo in June, when she marched up to our bemused monarch and shook her hand. Royal protocol states that guests should wait to be introduced to the Queen before speaking to her — and should never touch her uninvited.
‘I got it all wrong,’ Sarandon said afterwards. ‘I guess being among film makers makes you more confident.’
When former First Lady Michelle Obama met the Queen, she gave a small curtsey. Not so Melania Trump, however, during her visit last month.