‘Let’s all stop the mudslinging now’

I MUST write to correct some of the remarks from the former leader of SMDC in the two page spread you published in the Post & Times of May 11.

Councillor Ralphs stated she was unaware of the reasons for her replacement as leader.

This is blatantly untrue, I and many others had been attempting to discuss matters pertaining to Leek, Trestle Market, Scooterfest, Car Parking strategy, all to no avail, such was her intransigence.

Inevitably she was forced to have a rethink on the car park strategy after she became aware of a possibility she would lose the vote on the budget.

Councillor Ralphs made a request prior to the Full Council, in which she asked those who were opposing her to be allowed to stay for one more year as leader.

A matter she alluded to in her statement to your paper.

Even to the extent, she was phoning SMDC councillors in an attempt to persuade them to support her as leader for a ‘final’ year, before she retires, if this was the case, surely retiring when requested would have been a far nicer event, with flowers, speeches etc. wishing her well in her retirement, as we do anyway.

Instead she preferred to turn it into the farcical event it became, with Councillor Lawson making probably the most ludicrous of amendments to the proposal, by nominating Cllr Ralphs in the vote for leader.

Councillor Ralphs, sadly, refused to accept the situation in Leek was unacceptable to some of us, who are Tory Town Councillors. Many decisions being made without the inclusion of Town Councillors, who after all are representing the people of Leek.

Part of this problem has now already been resolved with the new leader, Councillor Paul Roberts, who has hit the ground running and overturned some of the decisions made by the former leader.

We will now be working hard to keep this momentum going, with proper consultation and representation by councillors.

To this end I make a plea to people to stop the mudslinging. If you want a debate, that’s fine, but not everyone will agree with everything, we need to respect the views of others, to discuss is healthy. Councillor Roy Molson

Leekbrook Ward