Couch potato’ Labour has its chips not attending meetings

Dear Ed,

THE deputy leader of Tower Hamlets council last week attacked me in the Letters pages for daring to criticising the Labour Government’s plans to allow councillors to vote by text on important council decisions (East London Advertiser Letters, February 19, and website). Text voting would mean councillors could avoid turning up and facing the public.

His letter said Tower Hamlets has no intention of allowing remote’ voting.

Imagine my surprise, then, at last week’s constitution working party meeting seeing remote voting’ on the agenda for proposed constitution changes!

At January’s development committee, four out of five Labour members did not turn up—that’s 80 per cent!

At last week’s affordable housing’ review, a critical subject for Tower Hamlets, three of the five Labour councillors did not turn up—60 per cent!

At last week’s Strategic Development committee which considered four major planning applications, not a single Labour councillor out of the six on the committee deemed it important enough turning up to the site visits arranged by council planning staff.

The full contingent of Conservative councillors did turn up.

Labour’s Deputy Leader simply doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But then, what do you expect from someone paid �26,000 taxpayers’ money, then can’t even be bothered filing his timesheets for October and November? He’s four months out of date!

Tim Archer

Conservative Councillor for Blackwall & Cubitt Town

Conservative MP candidate for Poplar and Limehouse

Saundersness Road, Cubitt Town, Isle of Dogs

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Last week’s letter from Labour’s deputy leader:

Rest assured we’re not couch potato’ councillors—that’s Tim’s Tories!