CITY OF PRESTON LABOUR PARTY

In 2007 the Tories took over the running of Preston City Council, assisted by the Lib Dems in a new coalition. One of their first actions was to break up Council responsibility for community issues.

Under Labour, there was a specific Cabinet post for Community issues, but the Tories have not given them the same priority as Labour did.

Local Labour Councillors Jack Davenport and Bhikhu Patel recently raised concerns about Community Cohesion and the risk the Council takes in not taking seriously issues of equality and diversity.

That pressure appears to have paid off a little as the Tories drastically reversed their policy and reinstated the community portfolio just 6 months after removing it in the first place.

Speaking on this, Labour Councillor Jack Davenport said 'This is just the norm for the current Tory administration; they frequently take a stance on an issue, only to suddenly reverse it when they realise just what a mistake they have made. This leads to waste of officer time and taxpayer money as the Council has to re-adjust for the changes.'

'However, having a Community post only works if it is used properly - so far after 12 months, examples of work by the Tories on Community issues are startlingly difficult to come by. A major report, entitled Our Shared Future, was recently produced by the government about community relationships. The Tory response? Nothing. We have here an administration whose actions on key issues are woefully inadequate. It really does display the contempt the Tories have for community issues and cohesion.'