Labour councillor Geoff Lumley shares his view on the proceedings at last night’s Annual Council Meeting. Ed
After the Conservative leader’s new alliance of IW Councillors (including UKIP, former members of the ruling Independent group, a former Tory and an existing LibDem) declined his nomination as Leader at Annual Council last night, Labour Group leader Cllr Geoff Lumley has branded them as spineless.
He said,
“This new alliance of the pro-austerity Right now has a clear majority on the Council and given their constant criticisms of the administration’s attempts to recover from the last dreadful Tory legacy, their supporters on the Island would surely have expected them to take over the leadership.
“However, they made no attempt to take the leadership so I tried it for them. I was of course absolutely certain that Cllr Stewart would decline as he hasn’t a clue how to get the Council out of its financial predicament.
“He did decline and when it came to a vote to confirm the current Leader Cllr Bacon, Cllr Stewart actually voted for him. Effectively a vote of confidence from the leader of the opposition.
“Given they will claim they can better run the Council at next year’s elections, it is surely spineless not to offer that to Islanders now.
“Why are they making Islanders wait? Is it that they are, in the word of one of their past party leaders, frit?”
