Hypocrisy of council is breathtaking

10:58am Wednesday 23rd April 2008

Comments (1)   Have your say »

SO THE privatisation zealots on Blackburn with Darwen Council have struck again.

This time it is care homes for the elderly they intend to sell to the "independent sector" (LT, April 16).

No elected representative is quoted as being in favour or opposed to the sell-off.

Not surprisingly as privatisation is the big unmentionable among the two MPs and councillors of every party in the borough.

But their record in transferring responsibilities from the council to the private sector has left the majority of councils throughout the UK trailing in their wake.

These include council housing, transport, 500 employees transferred to the private sector company Capita and so it goes on.

For anyone who takes the trouble to read one of the election leaflets before the local elections, they will be hard-pressed to find one councillor or candidate expressing a view on privatisation, the P word is out of bounds!

The hypocrisy of the council and councillors is breathtaking.

They see no connection in imposing a Job Evaluation scheme on their own employees, deducting many thousands of pounds from their pay, reducing their own workloads, responsibilities and accountability, but continuing with increased allowances for themselves and senior officers.

None of the political parties have ever published their intentions towards privatisation and clearly they do not seek a mandate. Their attitude on privatisation is that as there is an all-party consensus then the public can "like it or lump it" and as far as the elderly are concerned they can go to hell in a hand cart.

DON RISHTON, Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn.