After months of ignoring public petitions and concerns from Conservative councillors, this week the Lib Dem/Labour administration finally conceded that their massive increases in parking charges might be too high.
By sheer coincidence it is just six weeks until the local elections.
The ruling Liberal Democrats put forward an amended version of the charges they had proposed to Executive on Tuesday evening.
The new report was published just hours before the meeting was set to go ahead, instead of the normal practice of being published a week in advance which would allow both councillors and members of the public to table questions.
As a result of the timing of the publication, there could be no questions at the meeting on this decision, its implications for residents and businesses or for the Council’s finances.
This is important because there is no other opportunity for opposition councillors to scrutinise these decisions – they are made totally by the Liberal Democrat ruling Executive.
However, most of the charges will still more than double, including charges for up to six hours which will increase from its current rate of £3 to £6.50 in Wokingham. Sunday and evening charges will still go ahead when currently parking at those times is free.
Their changes are little more than tinkering round the edges.
Despite this small concession to resident pressure these parking charges are still much too high, and will be deeply unpopular.
Since last year’s election campaign, the Liberal Democrats have perpetuated a myth that the previous Conservative administration had mismanaged the Council’s finances and left them in dire straits. But this is not true.
Just a few months ago the Council’s own Chief Financial Officer said that the Council’s Finances were in good shape under the previous Conservative administration.
In 2020, Wokingham Borough was rated in the top 20 for financial sustainability by the independent Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy. The Liberal Democrats have repeatedly said that the Council’s reserves were perilously low, yet the draft statement of accounts for 2021/22 – under the Conservatives – says “the Council had usable reserves of £186m”.
Despite their claims that the reserves are not enough the Lib Dems have used £2 million to fund their unpopular move to fortnightly bin collections.
Similarly, the Liberal Democrats claimed the Council had racked up too much debt, but again the Council’s accounts for that year show the Council’s debt as reducing.
The Liberal Democrats and their Labour Coalition partners have used this myth to try to deflect blame from all their flawed and unpopular decisions. They say they have no choice and pass the buck.
Having complained about supposed black holes in the Council’s finances, their pre-election tweak means that the expected additional revenue published in reports is changing week on week.
As the administration refuses to publish the business case, we have no way of knowing how these figures have been calculated, if they are deliverable or if they are even reliable.
This week two independent Councillors walked out of the ‘Borough Partnership’ with the Lib Dems. The Independents point to failures to share information, pressure to vote in line with the Liberal Democrats and attempts to encourage Independents to stand down at the election which “felt like bullying” (Wokingham Today, 21/03/23).
If the administration has ignored the councillors who they have depended on to keep them in power, what hope do residents have that they will be listened to by the Liberal Democrats?
Since taking office last May the Lib Dems have demonstrated time and again that they think nobody has the right to criticise them. They ignore and discredit resident petitions, stifle debate, and take decisions without consultation.
The Conservatives are clear we would not have put up these charges and we will scrap these increases if we are elected in May.
We would also listen to residents and local businesses, and hold meaningful consultations.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives, and ward member for Hillside
