Lest we forget: Tories launch local attack on Labour

Councillor Harry Phibbs, Dolmio man lookalike, has launched a well researched and bitter attack on the Labour record in our Borough . hard to imagine sometimes but Labour used to run our council with quite a majority, and Andy Slaughter is really the only remaining vestige of Labour power in our backyard.

Amid the protests and widespread criticism of the cuts our Tory masters have been engaging in recently Cllr Phibbs, who is known as something of an attack dog, has clearly been given the brief to launch a fightback. And my word he's taking it seriously.

Delving back to the early 1990s he says this:

Hammersmith and Fulham Council is a Conservative flagship with a large majority of Conservative councillors. But from 1986 to 2006 it was a Labour Council.


What was it like?

A couple of speeches from Matthew Carrington, when he was Conservative MP for Fulham give a flavour. Here is one from 1990.

We often hear claims of gerrymandering, and are told that Wandsworth council was given extra grants to enable the Conservatives to retain control, when the Labour council of Hammersmith and Fulham received the same £361 amount. The difference was that the Labour council wanted to impose a community charge of £424 while Wandsworth has a community charge of £148.

He finishes with this:

Finally, by way of balance, here is a comment Shaun Woodward, a Labour MP and until the last election a cabinet minister. This was what he had to say about the Labour council back in 1999 when he was a Conservative MP.

In Hammersmith and Fulham, the council tax has increased by 50 per cent. since 1993. Five old people's homes have been closed and there is no provision to replace them; 70 home helps have been sacked; only 34 per cent. of council house repair appointments are kept; burial costs have gone up by 60 per cent. and cremation costs by 50 per cent.; and libraries have been closed.

By that stage Andrew Slaughter had been the Council leader for three years.

Ouch.