Kirklees Budget 2019 - No Tory Amendment

A bloke in a pub

One of the key purposes of being an opposition party on Kirklees Council is to provide an alternative view on issues facing the Council. That doesn't mean you have to be oppositional for the sake of it but give a perspective on the budget that reflects the values of your Party. So for what I think is the third or maybe the fourth time in the nearly 20 years, that I've been a Councillor, the Conservative Group have failed to submit an amendment to the Council's budget.

I'm always interested in the reasons why political parties make the decisions, or non decisions, they do. These often split into two categories. The reasons they give and then there are the real reasons . So what reasons can the Conservatives give for failing to produce on of the  expectations of a functioning political group on the Council. The last time they didn't produce an amendment they said it was because the Labour budget was "unamendable". They went on to say that if the Labour Party had taken account of their previous amendments then it would have been amendable but as they hadn't it isn't. This is clearly nonsense. Other groups can find funding for priorities, projects and schemes as the Green Party Group and the Liberal Democrats have but the Conservatives are not presenting the Council with any priorities, projects or schemes.

The real reason I believe they aren't submitting an amendment is because it would mean having to admit that their own Government has given them very little room to manouvre from a Conservative perspective. To attempt to maintain maintain services requires that you raise Council Tax to the maximum limit that their own Government will allow given the  reduction in funding the Council receives from central Government. Their Government. There is no dodgy Council Tax freeze grant from the Government any more and efficiencies are harder and harder to find.

Will this mean that the Conservatives will be exhibiting an uncritical dignified silence in the Council's Budget meeting next Wednesday to reflect their non statement on the Councils finances. I doubt it. They will of course be getting up and saying how terrible things are and how this and that needs sorting but they will have all the relevance of some bloke mouthing off in the pub.