The Judge RANTS!
Date: 08/05/05
This Time, A Plague On Our Own Houses
Another group of idiots are at it again, too.
I reported
last year on Wrexham County Borough Council's attempts to solve the
problems created by its own serious mismanagement of council housing
down the years by trying to persuade us tenants to vote to transfer
ownership and control of our homes to a private company (or 'Registered
Social Landlord', to use the Orwellian).
We rejected the proposal by a surprisingly large majority on a
turnout far higher than that seen in local (or, indeed, parliamentary)
elections.
There was some interesting fallout from this result. A few weeks
later, the then-leader of the Council (who claimed to be personally
against the policy, but who nonetheless endorsed it every chance she
got) came within a handful of votes of losing her supposedly safe ward.
Shortly afterwards, she resigned the leadership. Her replacement lasted
but a few months before the ruling Labour group imploded in an
acrimonious fashion which was a joy to behold for those of us who have
long suffered their arrogance and stupidity, and left control of the
council in the hands of an amorphous coalition made up primarily of the
Liberal Democrats.
As the Lib Dems were as hell-for-leather for privatisation as the
Dim Labs last time around, guess what they've just announced?
Yes, once again they will be 'consulting' tenants on stock
transfer. It's not clear at this stage quite what form the
'consultation' will take, but it is clear that what will be on offer
will be all-but identical to what we turned down last time. Except that
this time, or so I'm informed by a very reliable source, the Council
will be allowed to spend money putting the case against as well
as in favour. Yes, I can just see that happening, can't you?
Also, it seems they won't be spending upwards of £200 000 of our
money on hiring a firm of private consultants to parrot the Council's
favourite line.
But the dangers will be the same, the threats will be the same and
the promises of a golden future will be unchanged. Just see Defend
Council Housing's website for a taste of it.
We must be vigilant again. Watch this space...
