Tories fixated with keeping taxes low

A series of issues reported last week indicate the extent to which the city council has become deluded.

It’s not just that the council is incapable of controlling its principal contractor, Serco, or can’t write a proper specification for something as simple as a car park. What really astonishes people is that councillors have prioritised the spending of £9.1 million on that car park over increasing the supply of affordable homes.

Cllr Joe Howes says that the eight new council homes planned will be “the start of hopefully a big programme” of house building. What world is he living in? With a backlog of 2,500 housing cases, how can anyone seriously believe that such a puny, tentative step is a serious commitment to solving the district’s housing crisis?

The Tory ruling group have their priorities wrong, and successive funding cuts by them have resulted in this council lacking adequate experienced staff to manage procurement and performance.

In both instances, the root cause of the problem is a dogmatic fixation with maintaining low taxes, regardless of the evident need for properly funded public services. It’s about time these councillors were held to account for their appalling performance. As last year’s general election showed, there is a viable alternative political option in the district, and hopefully at the next city election voters will decide to show that the time for incompetence is over. Dave Wilson Stodmarsh Road, Canterbury