Coun Liz Braithwaite

Central Macclesfield

I WRITE in response to the recent letter from Coun Janet Clowes, the leader of the opposition Conservative group in Cheshire in which she chose to blame her party’s loss of control in the May 2019 elections on anything other than their own behaviour.

When the electorate removed them from office the Conservatives left behind police investigations, over £1m spent on staff suspensions and a financial black hole of £11m for 2020/21.

As part of the budget setting process that aims to resolve this financial shortfall we have encouraged all councillors to contribute to the budget setting process through cross-party consultation.

We are adopting a collaborative, rather than confrontational, style to running the council for the benefit of Cheshire East residents.

Our environmental strategy will be completed soon. We will publish the CEC carbon reduction plan later this year, with a target of the council being carbon-neutral by 2025.

The council will assist all Cheshire East residents, businesses and organisations to reduce their net carbon emissions.

The administration is also mindful of the amount paid to councillors for additional responsibilities.

Although the new cabinet at 10 members is slightly larger than the previous cabinet, it is expected the total cost will be lower than under the previous administration.

Under the previous administration nearly all the extra allowances went to Conservatives, whereas under the new administration Conservative opposition councillors chair all scrutiny committees and so are paid extra allowances.

We are currently working on the implementation of a committee system of governance in Cheshire East, something the Conservatives refused to consider and voted against when they were in power.

A transparent, accountable system is what people want.