WE TOOK A BEATING, BUT IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
It goes without saying that May 3rd 2012 is not a night to remember for the Conservatives! Labour picked up around 800 council seats nationally, whilst claiming to be 'winning back trust on the economy'.
As someone, like most in my party, who believes that any borrowings should be restricted to what you can afford to repay, I have major concerns that Labour hasn't learnt any lessons from its disastrous economic management of this country.
Live now, pay later, is embedded in its culture as it continues to promote a spend, spend, spend philosophy. Labour in Ipswich have picked up the mantra with a vengeance, with borrowings up by £100m and plans to demolish the 'golden legacy' bequeathed to them by the Conservative led administration in 2011.
This is dangerous stuff, since it is you and me - local council taxpayers - who will bear the brunt of such largesse.
In 2004, Ipswich Labour left a £25m backlog on building maintenance for the public estate, including theatres, museums, all leisure and sports facilities, parks, allotments and play areas, which had all suffered years of under-investment and were in a very poor state.
Through good financial management all these issues were addressed during the Conservative years, but I see little or no sign of sustained commitment to these services under the new administration.
The last six weeks of hard, and some misleading, campaigning have left us with a difficult pill to swallow, especially when Conservative councillors work tirelessly in their wards for local people - this is one message we need to communicate to residents much more strongly. And news will, in future, be included on the website.
In the end, however, it comes down to the economy and, in his BBC lecture on 2nd May, the Governor of the Bank of England accused Labour of losing 1 million jobs because of early inaction to the emerging financial crisis. (Not to mention the accrued overspend, which led to the huge deficit the Government is now addressing).
No.10 and No.11 are doing a lot to help business growth and job creation, in our region as well as nationally, but the future economic wellbeing of this country will stand or fall on their success as the Euro continues to cast a long shadow.
Next year we have the County Council elections, and, whereas Suffolk is one of the most efficient councils in the country, what happens nationally will inevitably have an impact on the outcome.
But, to ensure that voters have the full, and truthful, picture of how well they are served by the Conservative County Council, news will also appear on this website.