9th. August 2010.

Response to Tommy Davidson comment

Sir,

I would like to respond to the disgraceful comments from Tommy Davidson, who, like many of his Labour chums, appears to be in complete denial about why this county finds itself in the financial crisis it does.

As the insincere soundbites flow from their tongues, they seek to divert attention from the past indiscretions of their UK Government. They claim that the “cuts” facing the public sector are as a result of the 3 month old Conservative/Lib Dem coalition in Westminster, or alternatively, the SNP Government in Holyrood. They have alluded to the country returning to the bad old days of Thatcherism, and the horrors that period of history visited on the communities and traditional industries in West Lothian.

But nowhere in their disingenuous rants have they found time to mention the 13 years between 1997 and 2010 where there was a Labour administration in control at Westminster. It is no secret that the consequence of their leadership-or lack of it-has been financial meltdown, but they act as if it didn’t happen. Well it did, but why did it?

Could it be the quango culture they created, where-not for-profit public sector organisations were semi-privatised to create unaccountable bodies, who then went on to pay themselves seven-figure salaries, acquiring highland estates, such as the former boss of Network Rail? Or was it the toothless regulators they appointed on lesser six figure salaries, but whose relationships with those they were supposed to regulate caused their position to be questioned, such as the former Comptroller General whose expenses account would have put any MP to shame? And what of the PFI system of financing public sector spending, aka Enron-style accounting; this discredited scheme has kept our true public borrowing figures concealed, whilst mortgaging future generations of this country to the hilt, at the expense of front line services and staff.

And let’s not forget our MPs whose greed was only overshadowed by a Labour Speaker of the House who spent tens of thousands on legal advice from Messrs. Carter Ruck to prevent publication of the details of the scandal!

And then came the banks. Overpaid, unsupervised and out of control, and even as we were travelling full speed toward the abyss, Labour politicians were advocating further “light touch regulation”. Just ask Councillor Fitzpatrick who could regularly be heard in the Council Chamber advocating the virtues of less regulation. One could have been forgiven at moments like that for believing we were indeed back in the bad old days of Thatcherism!

This Council is facing the most challenging decisions in its history, and all we have from the Labour Party are spurious “guarantees” on publicly sensitive issues. Tommy’s Dad Alex bellowed at last week’s Development and Transport PDSP that the decisions would have to be taken by the current administration. I thought all 32 Councillors had a responsibility to engage in making sure that the best decisions were reached on behalf of our staff and population.

Then again, maybe not, which explains why not a single alternative proposal to the Officer led suggestions in Tough Choices has been made by the Labour group on this Council. Given what little else they do in the Civic Centre, isn’t it time they gave some serious thought to the proposals, instead of slagging off hard working and dedicated Councillors?

Perish the thought they should have to take things seriously after 13 years of kidding the West Lothian public!

Gordon Beurskens

Action to Save St. John’s Hospital Party