Response to Horsham Lib Dems

David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour party, responds to a letter in this week's County Times in this open letter to Derek Deedman.

Councillors escape Con-Dem mixture?

Derek Deedman’s letter in last week’s County Times 'Coalition is mixture' only serves to reinforce Horsham Labour party's view that the Lib Dems locally and nationally are acting as a 'fan club' to their more senior partners within the Con- Dem coalition government and for that matter on Horsham District Council.

To define the coalition as a mixture of policies misses the point. So desperate are the Lib Dems to gain access to a very narrow corridor of power, rather than 'mix' policies they are prepared to scrap their much trumpeted policy of opposition to raising VAT, ending tuition fees, and to move away from the argument that cuts in public expenditure should not risk the fragile growth of the economy.

The Lib Dems before the election made great play of the status of their economic guru the Rt Hon. Vince Cable MP, and yet now seem quite content to rewrite history, just a few short weeks later, and say the self same guru was wrong to support Labour's plan for economic recovery.

Please note the latest unemployment and growth figures, not to mention the crime statistics Mr Deedman. Added to this, the Lib Dems have just last week agreed to support another Conservative manifesto commitment to scrap the Agricultural Wages Board, something that many workers within the low-paid rural economy in particular, rely on for both limited wage protection and affordable housing.

Horsham Labour party's view of the Lib Dems is also based on the performance of this party locally, which has seen them support this year's budget set by the Tories on Horsham district council. This has led to the scrapping of the council-run holiday play schemes and to the continued failure of the council to meet its own very low affordable housing targets to name but two examples.

It would appear that some Liberals have found 'a mixture' involving the Tories less palatable than Mr Deedman seems to, where the only option for some serving Lib Dem Councillors is to escape to Greece or Hastings.

David Hide
Chair Horsham Labour Party