Letter to the Accrington Observer - 15th January 2018

I read with interest Cllr Tony Dobson's column last week (Accrington Observer, 11/01/18) in which I came under fire for criticising the Conservative proposals for Accrington Town Centre. When and where wasn't specified but since I regularly ridicule the pie-in-the-sky ideas they come up with it could be on any number of occasions.

My main problem is always the same: how much will it cost and how will you pay for it? Those are the two questions any resident needs to ask of any proposal and if you can't get a clear response then something isn't right. The Hyndburn Conservatives have suffered from the same malaise for as long as I've been in politics insofar as they promise the Earth but couldn't deliver pizza.

It also makes it very hard to get away from the stigma that 'all politicians lie' when you've got certain Councillors making somewhat unrealistic statements in the run up to elections, such as the (so far unfulfilled) provision of a new road sweeping machine or the implied death of a spouse. Offering non-existent money to residents who shop in Accrington is just another fantasy idea dreamt up in the Tory bunker. I imagine it was either that or free kittens.

HBC is a serious multi-million pound business and Councillors are entrusted to make sure the books balance - you can't play at it. When the Hyndburn Conservatives can give proper costings for their promises I may be less scathing of their financial abilities but since we haven't seen a budget proposal since 2011 they're not a group I would trust with my Council tax.

Cllr Ken Moss
Rishton