Thursday, December 07, 2006

Further dark deeds in Sunderland

Misuse of public funds.

Back in Novenber I reported on the resignation from the Labour group of Sunderland's former Labour Leader Bryn Sidaway, I am grateful to Rossinisbird for passing me this piece from the latest edition of Private Eye:

Labour's "voluntary" fundraising levy on
councillors' allowances. The Sunderland Labour
party has shot itself in the foot again.

The row about the levy came to light after
Labour councillor Bryn Sidaway refused to pay
three percent of his 7,000 pound allowance to party
coffers, on the grounds that it was a misuse
of public funds and broke party rules. He was
summoned to a special meeting of the city's
Labour group to be bollocked - but resigned from
the party and joined the council's Independent
group instead.
Now the Independents in Sunderland have
complained to the Standards Board for England
over a further misuse of public funds by Labour.
The letter from chief whip Anne Hall, summoning
the 58 Labour councillors to Sidaway's show
trial was typed by council leader Bob Symonds'
secretary, Sue dark, a council employee, in
council time, copied on a council photocopier on
to council paper, put into council envelopes and.
delivered to the councillors' homes by council
couriers,
Sunderland council's standards code prohibits
the use of resources, including staff, stationery,
PCs, printers and photocopiers, for party political
purposes. On Wearside, however, such abuse of
public funds is apparently routine.


I am pleased to note that when the Corner Shop questioned Paul Waggot, the Labour Leader of South Tyneside Council, about the fund raising racket forced upon local councils by Blair's H.Q., he was pleased to tell me that they will have nothing to do with it in these parts. Furthermore, judging by the spelling, I am quite sure that Cllr. Waggott typed the reply on his own PC and by his own hand!

# posted by Curly : 11:34 pm