As transparent as a dense ‘pea-souper’?

CAST your minds back to 2012 when Post reporter Delia Monk informed us that the Government had instructed all councils to publish expenditures over £500, which was aimed at making local government transparent.

Recent Post reports revealed Nottingham’s residents have not experienced that revolution within the council.

Transparency within Nottingham under Labour’s leadership remains denser than a “peasouper”.

The 2012 report said that Nottingham City Council was the country’s only local authority that refused to publish such spending.

The council’s then-deputy leader, Councillor Graham Chapman, was alleged to be making a stand because the council would also have to remove confidential or sensitive information. The excuseladen response was that mistakes would happen. The report said that the council would have to spend an extra £86,000 a year, which was a cheaper option than hiring an outside source to clear up Labour’s present-day financial blunders.

Because Nottingham has become the country’s laughing stock, one would have hoped that the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would have expelled every present and past Labour councillor from the Labour Party. Does he fear another political party would expose more financial carelessness and inefficiency? While he wants a general election, we continue to be mismanaged by the ruling party’s councillors.

Misconduct in public office relates to an offence confined to those who are public office holders and is committed when the office holder acts (or fails to act) in a way that constitutes a breach of the duties of that office.

A public officer who wilfully neglects to perform their duties to such a degree to amount of abuse of the public’s trust without reasonable excuse or justification.

Councillor Mellen and others aligned to him – Nottingham’s residents are all eyes and ears waiting to hear from you via the Post and local television news programmes. Trevor Rose

Bulwell