Thursday, June 22, 2006
Labour scramble for credibility
Labour are also in trouble in Blaenau Gwent where their tactic of campaigning as if they were in opposition has started to backfire on them.Their Assembly candidate, John Hopkins, has said that he wants a police motorbike unit to crack down on yobs. The police say the council will have to pay for it. The cash-strapped council says it has no plans for it. And yet Mr. Hopkins is the leader of the council.
His Welsh Liberal Democrat opponent, Steve Bard, has a good line on this small inconsistency:
He said, "Labour have again been rumbled for their 'sham-opposition' tactics in Blaenau Gwent.
"Having already been too ashamed to back many of Tony Blair's policies, John Hopkins now finds himself stranded from his council and the local police.
"He puts great store by his record in Blaenau Gwent, but the truth is that the only record worse than his is the latest single from the Crazy Frog.
"As with their campaign to double the number of community support officers in the area, John Hopkins won't put his money where his mouth is.
"They run the Assembly and the Council, they could double the number of Community Safety Officers now if they were serious.
"This is simply cheap, shameless, opportunism - that's what CSO means to Labour in Blaenau Gwent."
It seems that Labour's tough line on anti-social behaviour is just that - it is all talk. When it comes to the crunch they do not use the power they already exercise to make a difference.
