Six Months Of Non-Delivery

Despite the Conservative Party securing the largest number of Councillors in May 2007, the Liberal Democrats took control of Maidstone Borough Council by forming a coalition with Labour and the Independents.

Hell bent on taking control rather than acting in the best interests of our Borough, this coalition of mismatched ideas, priorities and people has led to virtual paralysis in the delivery of services to the people of Maidstone. The LibDems point to their decision to introduce a new recycling service as their single major achievement but at what cost and what about other important council services?

Since May, major frontline services have been cut, others are threatened and they have been unable to guarantee that our Council Tax will not rise significantly next year to pay for their mismanagement of council services.

The Conservative Group has reviewed progress of the Lib Dem coalition since May and believes it is right for our Borough to be made aware of their failures:

Park and Ride GONE
PCSO’s funding threatened by LibDems
NO grip on planning
Lack of clarity and ambiguity over concessionary fares as Labour propose to centralise the process
NO PLAN for 07/08 municipal year
Ruling group CANCELS Council meetings claiming that there is no business to be transacted!
BIN SNOOPERS to monitor your waste

Maidstone Conservative Group’s conclusion is that:

Pensioners will suffer from the closure of the Park and Ride in South Ward and the South of Maidstone; they will be hardest hit from a cut in concessionary fares and we will see an increased fear of crime because of the potential threat to PCSOs.
For a group desperate to cling to power in a coalition which brought together a group of people whose only interest was power, the result has been inertia. The people of Maidstone are suffering from their lack of leadership, lack of direction, lack of vision and lack of budgetary control.