Dear Sir,
I attended the meeting hosted by Great Aycliffe Residents Association to discuss the DCC proposal to remove the majority of the street lights, and poles, on the A167 past the New Town.  In the absence of the DCC responsible Cabinet member, the relevant Chief Officer (all without apology) Councillor J.D. Clare explained on behalf of the Council Labour Group that the decision was based on the need for the Council to balance the budget in the face of a reduced (but fairer) distribution of Government funding.
That is, as ever, all blame should be placed on the Coalition Government.  Councillor Clare is a historian but he appears only to be aware of the history of the current Coalition Government.  Everything before 2010, is of no consequence and the fact that New Labour bankrupted the public finances has, in his mind, no current effect.Back to the G.A.R.A meeting.  I was bemused that all the local Labour Councillors in attendance were urging the public to complain about the DCC Cabinet decision. It then transpired that consultations had, perhaps, taken place (J.D. Clare was aware and had noted it on his website). However the other Labour Councillors appeared to be unsure on this point.
Later, I read in the D&S Times of Friday 20th March 2015 that the DCC’s Corporate Director for Children and Adult Services had to apologise for only briefing Labour Councillors about an important decision before it was made public. I then realised that the problem almost certainly lies in the New Labour decision that Durham County Council should be governed by a Cabinet elected by Councillors (in Durham’s case, a Politburo elected by the local Labour Parties) and that most of the rest of the Councillors do not get to vote on major proposals at Council level.  That is, the majority of the elected Councillors and therefore the majority of the electorate have been disenfranchised by New Labour’s ‘Soviet’ system of local democracy.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the Cabinet and the Council Officers are unable/ unwilling to properly consult or brief other interested parties (the Public and Independent Councillors).  There again why bother, the Politburo has voted and they do not need to heed any contrary opinions!
The question now arises, what can be done to stop the A167 lights being switched off and the light poles being PERMANENTLY removed?  May I suggest that, if I were a Labour Councillor I would resign, if not over this matter but also over the fact that DCC closed its Care Homes while a Councillor admitted that the Private Sector could provide the care places cheaper and STILL MAKE A PROFIT.
The Council should have been opening Care Homes, running them as efficiently and profitably as the Private Sector, and using the money saved to subsidise our services/cut our Council Tax, not closing them.
Unfortunately, as I see it, the only option for the general public is to threaten the future of the New Labour Politburo.  A large protest vote for, say, UKIP at the General Election would soon make them realise that they have to heed local Councillors.
It would also make our current MP sit up and take notice of the opinions and wishes of the electorate in Newton Aycliffe and its surroundings and attend meetings on matters which are important enough for his Labour Councillors to attend to try and rally support against its own Cabinet. Sadly, Democracy is not thriving in New Labour’s County Durham.
A.P.G. Welsh