Reading Council and Labour party shenanigans

What is happening in Reading at the moment.

It appears that Reading Council Tax payers have under previously Labour control council were paying for local Trades Union officials. Over the last 8 years this has cost Reading around £1.4m. The new Conservative/Lib Dem coalition of course now want to stop these payments. Details can be found on Conservative councillor Richard Willis blog 'Reading Labour Party Corruption Exposed – Part 2' This was riased in Prime Ministers Questions yesterday, so expect to hear more.

Labour councillor John Ennis defends Labours position on this in his blog 'Willis’s obsessions have now reached such heights of fantasy that nobody can take him seriously on anything!'


Now partly because of this Reading Labour party councillors have responed in a facile meeting after one councillor was not allowed to ask supplementary question unless the Labour Mayor allowed it. More details on Jane Griffiths (Former Labour MP) blog see here it comes...;

waswasere also has full details of the meeting see What a shambles


'There's nothing against the rules that says the Mayor has to be apolitical during a council meeting as the ceremonial and political functions are clearly split in the constitution. However, there have been long standing conventions that appear to be proving inconvenient at the moment to the Reading Labour party.


It was clear from the first full Council meeting when Glenn Goodall was passed over in asking a supplemental question in favour of allowing the previous lead councillor for the Environment that we were not playing by the previous rules anymore and indeed the one sided admonishment of councillors during meetings has to be congratulated as a well targeted political move.'

Labour Councillor Richel Eden's has her view on what happened here.

It would appear councillors from different parties may not be working together as closely as the public would hope. Labour need to improve in Reading for their own sake, as well as for the people they represent.

Other details can be found on Lib Dem Cllr Daisy's Benson's blog Coalition Commitment contrasts with Labour opportunism on Council Housing.

I have never seen so many blogs from one council meeting, What a night!