Will we notice a difference as Tories take control of county?
LANCASHIRE county council is back under Conservative control after four years being run by Labour – but will we notice the difference?
Tory leader at County Hall Geoff Driver insists we will – he’s already committed to re-opening the libraries closed by the council last year.
There’s no word yet on whether he plans to re-open Helmshore Textile Museum, also closed last year as part of cuts.
He was, however, a vocal opponent of the closure plans for the museum, and vowed to fight them.
And that, in a nutshell, is the challenge awaiting the Tories as they seek to make their mark on County Hall once again.
Over the past four years, the Tories have never missed an opportunity to criticise Labour spending plans.
Their rhetoric has been simple: You’re not spending money wisely.
Indeed, one Tory election leaflet I saw talked of Labour leaving a ‘hole’ in the finances of the county council to the tune of many millions of pounds.
There was no mention of the fact that hole has been caused by the slashing of tens of millions of pounds from Government grants to the council.
Now, it’s the Conservatives who need to grapple with those savings, and the very stark reality that, according to council officers, the authority will effectively be bust within three years unless something changes on the funding front.
While the political colours flying in Preston might have changed, the officers leading the council day in, day out will still be doing what they always do – offering their advice based on their knowledge and expertise. And that presumably means their advice on the funding situation at the council won’t change.
What are the things the Tories think the county council spent money on badly?
And more importantly, can they somehow recoup that cash if it is still being spent today? Is it possible that a Conservative-led council will get a better hearing from government than the previous Labour-led one did?
Someone, somewhere needs to make the government realise that council services are in severe risk because of the cuts being made.
If the government doesn’t listen, it won’t be a case of re-opening facilities such as libraries for the betterment of the community so much as having to axe something somewhere else to fund it.
The challenge for Rossendale’s Tory contingent of county councillors is simple: Make sure Rossendale gets listened to.
Regular readers of this column will know I feel Rossendale gets a raw deal from County Hall.
That’s not a political view – I don’t think the previous Tory administration prior to 2013 particularly looked out for Rossendale either.
It’s not just a case of getting our fair share of stuff either – but making sure the county council is prepared to fight for us.
For example, the government has paid scant regard to local concerns about fracking near Blackpool, something which is cause for concern for many here in Rossendale as this area could be a rich place for fracking in the future.
The Tories have made many promises about what they’d have done if they had been in charge over the past four years.
What happens next will be fascinating.
The Scribbler’s views do not necessarily represent those of the Free Press. Let us know your views by emailing freepressnews@ menmedia.co.uk.