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LABOUR & TORYCOUNCIL WASTE &INCOMPETENCEMAY 2014

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PICTURE CREDITS

All photographs used under Creative Commons licence

Peter Mandelson: BIS, Flickr http://bit.ly/1nqVMyNKensal Rise Library: Megan Trace, Flickr http://bit.ly/1f9u1Z0Farnham Castle: Helen Marie, Flickr http://bit.ly/QHqA0gGoldtap: Ann, Flickr http://bit.ly/1hnDmetRedcar vertical pier: Cass Castagnoli, Flickr http://bit.ly/1nIkcksSquash championship: flickr.Marcus Flickr http://bit.ly/1kkq9BXCannes yacht: Steve Wilde, Flickr http://bit.ly/1m90QZ0Churchtown Library: David, Flickr http://bit.ly/1ibPu37Manchester lights: Duncan Hull, Flickr http://bit.ly/1hb9AGgLlama: Dave Wild, Flickr http://bit.ly/QAvMmLBroken Pavement: SE5 Forum, Flickr http://bit.ly/1nI8KYZFlytipping: Dovecote Avenue, Flickr http://bit.ly/QHqTrQ

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CONTENTS

Foreword............................................................4

Lib Dem Achievements......................................6

Labour: Top Ten ...............................................10

Tory: Top Ten ...................................................12

Labour: Waste .................................................14

Tory: Waste ......................................................26

Labour: Incompetence ....................................36

Tory: Incompetence ........................................38

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FOREWORD

If you want to understand a political party’s values, look at one thing:when they are in power, how do they spend your money?

Across these pages you will find examples of Conservative and Labourrun councils wasting your taxes on gimmicks, vanity projects andelaborate expense claims. They range from the utterly ridiculous –£272 on a tap for Croydon’s Tories, £98,000 spent by Labour on aparty to celebrate the opening of the council’s new offices – to thedownright incompetent, like Labour spending thousands on maintainingempty library buildings across Brent, or the Somerset Conservatives’running a public consultation on how to save money – which cost localpeople over £40,000.

All this at a time of unprecedented pressure on council budgets, whendeep savings are having to be made and when families up and downthe country are having to watch every penny.

Where the Liberal Democrats are in power, it’s a different story. In allthe councils we currently run we are freezing council tax whileprotecting essential services from cuts.

In Stockport, for example, the council have used their borrowingpowers to invest in schools – both new and expanding ones – as wellas improving schools and roads in the most deprived communities.

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In national government we’ve shown the same discipline. On the onehand we’re cleaning up Labour’s mess and getting the public financesunder control, on the other we’ve reined in the Tories, finding themoney to invest in cutting your income tax by £800, creating recordnumbers of apprenticeships for our young people and providing extracash for the poorest children in our schools.

We are working day in day out to build a stronger economy and a fairersociety, enabling everyone in Britain to get on in life.

At the local elections, on May 22nd, I’m asking you to judge us by thatrecord. Give the Liberal Democrats your vote so that we can deliver theopportunities that your community deserves and so that we can investin the right things for you and your family. It’s your money and we won’ttake a penny of it for granted.

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LIBERAL DEMOCRATACHIEVEMENTS INLOCAL GOVERNMENTHere are just some examples of what Liberal Democrat Councils havebeen doing for their communities recently...

Bath and North East Somerset

� This Liberal Democrat council is working hard on environmen-tal issues – installing LED street lighting, extending and im-proving the cycle network, including a cycle hire scheme forcouncil staff.

� They have worked hard on the Green Deal and a communityenergy strategy that tackles fuel poverty. They have investedin local bus services when so many other councils are cuttingtheirs and are leading the way on re-opening two railwaystations.

� Less than a third of their waste now goes to landfill.

Eastleigh

The Liberal Democrat council’s investment in the Ageas Bowl(also known as the Rose Bowl) is creating 500 new jobs andwill bring £50 million to the local economy.

Oadby and Wigston

� Supporting local high street businesses by keeping town cen-tre car parks free.

� Attracted £2.4 million of European funding, some of which willbe used to attract new businesses and to renovate a derelictfactory in South Wigston to create small units for people whowant to start up their own business.

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Hinckley and Bosworth

� This council was one of the first Liberal Democrat councils to paythe living wage to its staff and are working on their suppliers too.

� They have one of the lowest levels of council tax in the UK.� They have worked hard on regeneration, bringing in over 5,000

new jobs to the area including town centre regeneration and overa billion pounds of investment. They are working with a motorindustry research firm and the International parcel firm DPD tocreate even more jobs.

Eastbourne

� Worked with Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Lloyd on the “100apprentices in 100 days” campaign, which was highly success-ful, smashing the target and reaching a total of 181 apprentices.

� By January 2014 over 3,000 new apprentices had started work inEastbourne since the General Election.

� Major regeneration is taking place in the town this year thanks to£100m outside investment brought in by the council.

� The council is also developing new income streams such as the“Solarborne” solar energy project (projected to bring in around£250k a year) and working with the private sector to invest in“Cloud Connect”; offering superfast high speed broadband tolocal businesses.

Bedford

� No libraries closing and no reduction in opening hours. Savedtaxpayers over £6 million on waste contracts.

� Continue to support a strong rural bus network when nearbyConservative administrations have cut theirs. Have recently in-troduced new Sunday and evening bus services.

� £8.8 million in the budget for a regeneration project for Bedfordbus station.

� Set up a Climate Change Fund, funding the installation of carbon-cutting technologies at community facilities including schoolsand community centres. They are even harnessing the waterpower of the River Great Ouse for a water turbine.

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Portsmouth

� Liberal Democrat-run Portsmouth has managed to treble thenumber of apprentices on offer throughout the city – a farbetter rate than the region as a whole.

� The council is also building 170 new council houses, with plansfor a further 400.

Sutton� Opportunity Sutton programme has brought £322 million of

investment into the borough and 1,700 jobs to the boroughsince it was launched in 2012.

� Rebuilt Westcroft Leisure Centre as a world-class facility.� Creating a Green Enterprise Partnership to boost the green

economy in Sutton.

South Lakeland

� A pioneering energy switching scheme organised by SouthLakeland District Council (SLDC) has helped more than 900households save £102,000 on their bills.

� Three ‘energy auctions’ have been held since September2012 to help South Lakeland residents get cheaper dealsthrough collective switching in the Power up Your Communi-ty scheme.

Watford

� ·The council has attracted over 30 companies to Watford,representing additional investment in excess of £20m, creat-ing or safeguarding over 500 jobs.

� Attracted investment in major longer term projects e.g. Char-ter Place shopping centre (will bring 1125 jobs), Health Cam-pus (will bring 1600 jobs), Croxley Rail Link, Watford BusinessPark, Ascot Road (350+ jobs)

� New waste collection services has led to a £500 millionpound saving in costs, while improving the service:

� Significant increase in recycling rates;� Extra 867 tonnes of recycling collected;� Contract staff paid the living wage.

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Stockport� Used their borrowing powers to invest an additional £10m in schools

– both new and expanding ones – and town centre redevelopment intheir most deprived areas.

� They have a £100 million plan to renew all the roads and footpaths intheir borough over eight years.

� Recycling rate of 64%, the top metropolitan borough.� Buys 60% of all goods and services locally – a £71m reinvestment in

the local economy.

Three Rivers� Frozen council tax for the fifth year in a row – now lower than in 2006

whilst protecting service through efficiencies and sharing services.� Worked with local police (they are now based in the council building)

to make Three Rivers one the safest areas in the country.� One of the highest recycling rates in the country.

Colchester� Agreed a multi-million pound scheme to develop the Vineyard Gate

shopping centre, which will bring 750 new jobs to the town centre.� New enterprise hub led to 773 new companies in Colchester in first

6 months of 2013.

Kingston� Kingston Council has invested over £44 million in refurbishing coun-

cil housing to the Better Homes standard.� Kingston Liberal Democrats have invested over £50m to expand a

number of existing primary schools and build a new school.� Pioneering the ‘Kingston at Home’ project – working with health pro-

viders to help elderly residents to get the support they need withouthaving to leave their homes.

Southwark Liberal Democrat Group

� The Liberal Democrats on this council have shown thatcurrently being in opposition is no bar to getting things done.They have persuaded the council to ballot staff for an ethicalpensions policy which could involve investing in local housinginstead of tobacco firms. They have fought for communityfacilities including better library services and a cinema.

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LABOUR: TOP 10

1. Council spend a giddying £8.5k kitting out a room forPeter Mandelson - Yorkshire Post, http://bit.ly/1eDH9oV

2. Council staff waste £355 calling speakingclock, in what is both a waste of the public's time and money -Metro, http://bit.ly/1tesAMI

3. Council spends £250,000 of taxpayers' money onkeeping libraries closed - Get West London, http://bit.ly/1eDHBn3

4. £5,000spend on teaching council staffhow to walk despite having toslash their budget and services- TaxPayers Alliance,http://bit.ly/1hYDU6a

5. Roadsremain unfixed as councilspend £65 million on agencyconsultants - HaringeyIndependent,http://bit.ly/1kE3jre

6.Council wasted high street fundby buying a £1,500 Santa Claus- Evening Standard,http://bit.ly/1ndYGXj

Peter Mandelson, on whom Hulllspent £8,500 kitting out a room

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7. £5.5 million spent on council credit cards in oneyear to fund trips to KFC and McDonalds - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1qP81UT

8. Public pay for £12k a year clothing allowance tochief executive - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1tesaGf

9. Just under £1,000,000 spent on an "executive fireescape" and first-floor alterations whilst budget cuts are made - LiverpoolEcho, http://bit.ly/1j7xmVc

10. £1.6 million spent on“vertical pier” causing outcry amongst residents - Northern Echo,http://bit.ly/1muFfak

A protest outside Brent’s Barham library, which it wants to close

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TORY: TOP 10

1. Running a class that teacheswelfare for hamsters - Northampton Chronicle and Echo,http://bit.ly/1kDvpTm

2. Council spend £19,000 buying glorifiedpooper scooper, which then costs £10,000 a year to run beingused only two days a week - Kent Online, http://bit.ly/1terKPW

3. £19k spent on motivational magician - DailyMail, http://dailym.ai/1eDhigL

4. Councillors vote to give themselves a pay-riseafter making 252 staff redundant - TaxPayers Alliance,http://bit.ly/1isNSBi

Farnham castle, hired by Surrey Council for a bonding session

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5. Giving nearly£500k as a leavingpackage for council chiefexec who only spent 16months in post - Telegraph,http://bit.ly/Rrorqt

6.Selling a car park to privatedeveloper and then rentingit back at the potential costof over £370 million - TheArgus, http://bit.ly/1h6LaNk

7. £4,000 ofpublic money spent socouncillors can bond incastle - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1gLoaro

8. Irony abounds as £40k spent on consultationsabout how to save money - Chard and Ilminster News,http://bit.ly/1eWpfs8

9. £4,000 wasted on hiring famous actor to providevoice-over for bus audio guide while trying to make £7 million cuts -Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1ndQ2s6

10. The decadence of Tory councillors: £272spent on a tap in brand new £140million HQ - Inside Croydon,http://bit.ly/1gDnSzd

Croydon investing in expensive taps (thisis not an actual tap purchased!)

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LABOUR: WASTE

£1.6 million spent on “vertical pier”causing outcry amongst residents - Northern Echo, http://bit.ly/1muFfak

Grant from council used to buy Manchester United season ticketshows lack of competence when using public money - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1ndYFmt

Council wasted high street fund by buying a £1,500Santa Claus - London Evening Standard, http://bit.ly/1ndYGXj

£5.5 million spent on council credit cards in one year to fundtrips to KFC and McDonalds - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1qP81UT

Council spend a giddying £8.5k kitting out a room for PeterMandelson - Yorkshire Post, http://bit.ly/1eDH9oV

Mayor admits that his job is to “wine and dine” councillors - at thepublic's expense, of course - TaxPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/QrvQVF

Council staff waste £355 calling speaking clock, in whatis both a waste of the public's time and money - Metro,http://bit.ly/1tesAMI

£5000 spend on teaching council staff how to walk despitehaving to slash their budget and services - TaxpPayers Alliance,http://bit.ly/1hYDU6a

Public pay for £12k a year clothing allowance to chief exec -Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1tesaGf

£60k spent on a Bristol marketing company in order to tellresidents of Hull how to use their wheely bins - Hull Daily Mail,http://bit.ly/1pdom8E

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Councilspends £250,000 oftaxpayers' money onkeeping librariesclosed - Get WestLondon,http://bit.ly/1eDHBn3

Windlestone Hall soldfor £241k after it wasvalued at over£2million - Express,http://dexpr.es/1eDHCHL

£1.1million on rentingaccommodation whileSouthport town hallremains effectivelyempty - BirkdaleFocus,http://bit.ly/1tetbOr

Spent money to pick conkers from a tree as theywere deemed a health and safety risk - BBC, http://bbc.in/1r2xRTx

Council reported to have spent £72 million on whiteelephant building; Labour council leader admits it was a mistake -Birmingham Mail, http://bit.ly/1r2yegR

£98,000 spent on a party to celebrate the opening of council'snew offices - Brent and Kilburn Times, http://bit.ly/1gDG0ck

Council wasted £6,000 on hiring celebrities to appear atcouncil events - Leicester Mercury, http://bit.ly/1bzrNN4

Redcar’s vertical pier

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£425,000 on private pop concert for councillors,footballers and VIPs - Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1tetA3f

Roads remain unfixed as council spend £65million onagency consultants - Haringey Independent, http://bit.ly/1kE3jre

Even as council workers jobs are cut, £40million has beenspent on agency staff since 2010 - Islington Tribune, http://bit.ly/1h75a2c

£26,000 spent by cash-strapped council on spy plane withheat sensitive cameras to find illegal immigrants - Huffington Post,http://huff.to/1j7tUKv

Spends £1.8million on new website - Guardian,http://bit.ly/1gLNq0A

£360,000 taken out of capital programmes budget in order topay for the Tour de France - TaxpPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1jNvfIi

Council to spend £16 million on regenerationprojects despite having to find £17 million worth of savings - South WalesEvening Post, http://bit.ly/1fqzMwz

Locals furious after £900K spent on a newcricket scoreboard - Worksop Guardian, http://bit.ly/1hOxkUK

Despite cutting £83 million from their budget, councilallots over £1million to repair a wall - Stapleford Community Group,http://bit.ly/1eX1iB9

£900k on Christmas lights - Manchester Evening News,http://bit.ly/1eDIE6v

Failing to follow up library fines; nearly quarter of a millionin unpaid fines - Derby Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1eNLQwS

Council wastes money on inaccurate signswarning mourners their flowers are a health and safety risk - Barking &Dagenham Post, http://bit.ly/P8yeQ3

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£3.2 million refurbishment of Southport indoor market; to payfor this rents were hiked up which put traders out of business. Market isnow nearly empty and making a loss. - Southport Visiter,http://bit.ly/1h75BJR

Huge overspend on park redevelopment funded by the public- Chronicle, http://bit.ly/1teurRJ

Council spends £75,000 on sports memorabilia - The BoltonNews, http://bit.ly/1nstIIt

£500,000 wasted on failed art project - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1pdpPMa

Council patronise residents by using their money to publisha leaflet telling them how to put their bins out - Mirror,http://bit.ly/1pdqYU0

Labour: Waste

£900,000 for Christmas lights (to replace these)

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Council waste £63,000 of taxpayers' money on canopylabelled eyesore - The Advertiser Group, http://bit.ly/1tev11J

While local government budgets are cut, Islington fritteraway £133k on tea and biscuits over 3 years - Daily mail,http://dailym.ai/1jNwfvV

Council spend £11,000 on plastic cups despitepocketing £36million in funds that could be used for public servcies -Minutes of Southwark Council, http://bit.ly/1jNwibc

£610,000 spent on making councillors morecomfortable in town hall refurbishments - Woodford Guardian,http://bit.ly/1lbSHhL

Public's money ensures comfort for council employees ascontract for office furniture is worth between £50k - £200k - PublicProcurement Insider, http://bit.ly/QrwTEZ

£8k of taxpayer money squandered on display cabinets - HullDaily Mail, http://bit.ly/1ma7DAI

Pedestrian access to council buildingbranded “walk of shame” after costing £36,000 to build - EveningGazette, http://bit.ly/1ma7DAI

Huge costs relating to refurbishment of council buildings;including £17k on chairs - Forge Today, http://bit.ly/1hPKO3A

£6k on new carpet for council chief, paid for by the taxpayer -Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1hYGFEy

Council spend £3.5 million on refurbishing the town hall in theface of £35million budget cut - BBC, http://bbc.in/1eNGzoP

Council forced to replace unisex toilets in brand newcouncil building with separate bathrooms after complaints lodged -Independent, http://ind.pn/P8sciz

£25,000 wasted on re-carpeting the Town Hall - LiverpoolEcho, http://bit.ly/Qrx7My

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Just under£1,000,000 spent onan "executive fireescape" and first-flooralterations whilstbudget cuts are made- Liverpool Echo,http://bit.ly/1j7xmVc

Council wastes£100,000 spying on itsown employees -Wales Online,http://bit.ly/1qPclU0

£28,000spent on tea andbiscuits by cash-strapped council -Wales Online,http://bit.ly/1eDKnZp

Taxpayer-funded press campaign that depicted fictional baby deaths branded“sick” - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1gDHFP8

Councillor sees his salary rise by 24% despitecontinuing budget cuts - Woodford Guardian, http://bit.ly/RrVYkl

Deputy Chief Exec (regeneration) £348k, 2x£200k+,25x £100k+ - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Average union rep on Tameside council earns over £40,000a year; twice the amount of the average Tameside resident - TaxPayersAlliance, http://bit.ly/1ite6nt

Cash-strapped council give a 20% pay rise to theircoroner - Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1hRnYr5

£8,000 on new display cabinets in Hull

Labour: Waste

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Despite people struggling to make ends meet, councilsanctions £70,000 Christmas bonus bonanza - Chad, http://bit.ly/QrxiHw

Millions of taxpayers' money spent on LED street lightsthat residents say are too bright - BBC, http://bbc.in/1mh71qC

Labour council's lack of concern for the environmentshown as it is reported to be the least green council - This is LocalLondon, http://bit.ly/QrxF4V

£60k spent on resurfacing bike path after just 1 complaint - TheStar, http://bit.ly/1h77sOS

£10,000 spent in order to be official partner of national squashchampionship amidst library closures and job cuts - Hull Daily Mail,http://bit.ly/1r2B5qn

Council funded £1 million crane that has neverbeen used - BBC, http://bbc.in/Qry5Z5

Council rack up £450k of legal fees, at the taxpayers' expense,on row over tow path - Derbyshire Times, http://bit.ly/1kE8IhS

£42,000 on legal feels reopening disused footpath -Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1l88PVH

Spending a huge amount of taxpayers' money onlegal fees chasing down a blogger who criticised the council - TaxPayersAlliance, http://bit.ly/1kE8WFY

Wanting to keep its pay scale secret, thecouncil has wasted £200,000 of taxpayers' money on a failed legal case -Express, http://dexpr.es/1eNJ7DB

Needing to cut a further £20million from the budget, Brentcouncil spend over £10million in pay-off packages since 2010 - KilburnTimes, http://bit.ly/1hOCjES

Cash-strapped Brent spends £12,000 on a hologramreceptionist - Guardian, http://bit.ly/1rLfiFM

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While the council cuts jobs and services it spends£1.72million on suspended staff since 2009 - London Evening Standard,http://bit.ly/1hYJq93

Cash-strapped council spends £386,000 buying new offices atthe same time as consulting on a report which says it has 1,200 emptydesks at offices it owns - Hull Daily Mail, http://bit.ly/S79zhr

Council to spend £13.7 million on redundancies, £4million more than was spent on libraries - The Nottingham Post,http://bit.ly/Qh0TDH

£130,000 spent on silencing former employees, the highest ofwhich was over £18,000 - Bury Times, http://bit.ly/1kE9FXA

£500,000 spent on suspended staff between 2011 and2013 as budget takes sizeable cut - Manchester Evening News,http://bit.ly/1gLSJgq

Hulll invests £10k to bring the squash championship to the city

Labour: Waste

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As of July 2012, since 2007, the council had spent over£1 million in compensation claims. This includes £27k for people falling offchairs. - TaxPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1j7mwgF

Council spend over £1 million on gagging orders over aperiod of ten years - Wales Online, http://bit.ly/1j7mxS0

After claims of financial Armageddon,council spends an average of £126,000 on 5 top employees' leavingpackages - Wales Online, http://bit.ly/1r2BKYK

Council paid out the largest remunerationpackage in Scotland, 2011-2012, to outgoing chief exec to the tune of£543,000 - TaxPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1eDNIYG

Cash-strapped council blow £9million on a car park anda loan - Northern Echo, http://bit.ly/1kEaqjq

Council refuse to sell off lucrative property inorder to reduce debt of £200 million - Shropshire Star,http://bit.ly/1kEauzO

Council take a £3.3 million loss on development project inshow of financial mismanagement - Indy Media UK, http://bit.ly/1lbWOKD

Ignoring a proposal to save a local library that would cost£43,000 and then spending £70,000 to demolish it - Southport Visiter,http://bit.ly/1jAlfRa

Residents protest against council wasting money onInstalling road signs with irrelevant place names - Derby Telegraph,http://bit.ly/1pdu0Yd

Council wastes £500k replacing pavements inorder to encourage exercise - SWNS, http://bit.ly/QryLxA

£35k on resurfacing private road for councillors - Hull Daily Mail,http://bit.ly/1kEaXll

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Council fail to sell-off £1 million worth of unused laptops paidfor by public - Channel Web, http://bit.ly/1eDQsFo

£47k of public money spent on classical music concert - HullDaily Mail, http://bit.ly/1l8br6f

Over £5,000 of public money spent on partiestowards the end of 2013 - Shields Gazette, http://bit.ly/1ne1P9R

Council accused of gross financial waste as they pay£50,000 for performances by “Z-list” celebrities - Glasgow Herald,http://bit.ly/1kEbd3K

Despite claims of poverty, Haringey council doubledspending on consultants in the past year - Ham and High Broadway,http://bit.ly/1hOEto3

£19 million on consultants is a huge waste oftaxpayers' money - Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1hPPSEZ

The Churchtown library in Sefton, axed by the Labour council

Labour: Waste

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£4.7 million on consultants in 12 months amidst job cutsand budgetary pains - The Star, http://bit.ly/1gLUv1a

Bolton Council to spend £50,000 on consultants to help axejobs - The Bolton News, http://bit.ly/1gDKLCN

Used public money to hire private investigators to spy on theirown staff - Daily Express, http://dexpr.es/1r2Cyg9

Struggling council pay £27,000 for consultancy agency,who – in turn – recommend raising Chief Exec's salary by £40,000 -Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1itiiDw

An incredible £340k spent on iPhones for employees -Northern Echo, http://bit.ly/1maayJH

£437,000 spent on designing and maintaining councilwebsite amidst job cuts - OnRec, http://bit.ly/1j7pbZ5

£10k of public's money spent on motivational textsfor obese people - The Huffington Post, http://huff.to/1nswixW

£12,500 on iPads to 'save money' - The Star,http://bit.ly/1ne2eJe

Council manage to spend a staggering £1.2 millionspent on library website - Birmingham Mail, http://bit.ly/1j7pIcf

Cash-strapped council spend thousands on iPads andiPhones - Coventry Telegraph, http://bit.ly/Qrz8bB

Unsuccessful public information kiosk scheme quietlyscrapped after taxpayer picks up £600,000 bill - TaxPayers Alliance,http://bit.ly/1j7pRfR

Over £5,000 spend on an iPhone app that only 222 peoplehave downloaded - TaxPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1eXbB8m

Over £5,000 spent on a pointless instructional video - WirralGlobe, http://bit.ly/1ne2wQh

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Labour councillors take a taxpayer funded trip to the FrenchRiviera - North London Today, http://bit.ly/1maaNo9

Council plan to spend £3,000 of taxpayers' money on yachttrip; actually trebles to £9,000 - Ham and High Broadway,http://bit.ly/1rE7FBW

Seems hard to justify councillors' trip to Pakistanto discuss “best-governance practice” - Woodford Guardian,http://bit.ly/1l8cN0O

Despite council having to cut budget by tens of millions,employee enjoyed an £8,000 all-expenses-paid trip abroad - TaxPayersAlliance, http://bit.ly/1gLVqic

£10,000 spent on sending Lord on fact-finding mission toChina while council debates multi-million budget cuts - CoventryTelegraph, http://bit.ly/1mhaLIN

Spends £644,000 of council tax-payers' money onchauffeur-driven cars - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1h7ajHD

Sunderland council spend £210,000 of public's moneyon flights - Times, http://thetim.es/1hYLvlj

Labour: Waste

Yachts in Cannes, where Haringey officials attended a conference

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TORY: WASTE Running a class that teaches welfare for

hamsters - Northampton Chronicle and Echo, http://bit.ly/1kDvpTm

The decadence of Tory councillors: £272 spent per tap inbrand new £140million HQ - Inside Croydon, http://bit.ly/1gDnSzd

£34 million wasted on a new town hall as 1000 jobs cutfrom public services - Mancunian Matters, http://bit.ly/1j6Mp1x

£19k spent on motivational magician - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1eDhigL

Economic crisis leaves high earners untouched as £852kspent on bonuses - East Anglian Daily Times, http://bit.ly/1ndPS3W

Councillors vote to give themselves a pay-rise after making252 staff redundant - TaxpPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1isNSBi

Conservative-run Croydon show financial mismanagementby failing to collect £35million in unpaid council tax - London EveningStandard, http://bit.ly/1isNZgr

Council's judgement called into question as they spend£5.5million settling a dispute with a company hired to help save themmoney - The New Statesman, http://bit.ly/1ndPXo4

12 six-figure redundancy packages to councilemployees: one of which received £500k after only 20 months in the job -Telegraph, http://bit.ly/QgBlXw

Giving nearly £500k as a leaving package for council chief execwho only spent 16 months in post - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/Rrorqt

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£7million spent on protectingempty buildings rather thanputting them to good use -Herts and Essex Observer,http://bit.ly/1isOl6z

Judgement of councilquestionable after £40millioninvested in a business parkthat is largely empty - BBC,http://bbc.in/1gLnJgH

Selling acar park to private developerand then renting it back atthe potential cost of over£370 million - The Argus,http://bit.ly/1h6LaNk

£4,000 wastedon hiring famous actor toprovide voice-over for busaudio guide while trying to make £7 million cuts - Telegraph,http://bit.ly/1ndQ2s6

Irony abounds as £40k spent on consultations about howto save money - Chard and Ilminster News, http://bit.ly/1eWpfs8

£4000 of public money spent so councillors can bond incastle - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1gLoaro

Council chiefs sit on £400 million cash reserves whilefront-line services are cut - Daily Echo, http://bit.ly/1kDxj6F

£1150 spent on 2 llamas to graze on a field with sheep, aswell as £575 on fish for a pond - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/QgV35k

Horsham hires two llamas

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Council prove budgetary irresponsibility by committing extra £48kon improving communications, even though their budget is already£1.1million - TaxpPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/QgC233

Original budget of £150,000 for aerial adventure course inpublic park is hopelessly ignored as it, at least, doubles in price - GetSurrey, http://bit.ly/1hPlZVy

Council blows £220k on Olympic torch relay -Guardian, http://bit.ly/1isPICp

£100,000 plans to pay company to refurbish local ice rink -The Portsmouth News, http://bit.ly/1mgIT7s

Council spend the most of any in Surrey by ploughing£210,000 into a party for the arrival of the Olympic torch - BBC,http://bbc.in/1te8guO

Credit card spending; inc. over £7,000 on hotels -Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1isPUlb

Council manage to rack up £4.6million on credit cardsover 18 months - Somerset Gazette, http://bit.ly/1ndQxCh

Council spend £850 on a fire proof cabinet - StAlbans and Harpenden Review, http://bit.ly/1hO688B

Council believe it necessary to spend £6,500 to train highermanagement into becoming a more cohesive team - Ipswich Star,http://bit.ly/1pd4mTo

Public money used to quench council employees' thirstas £78k on refreshments - Crawley Observer, http://bit.ly/1lbwDnf

Mayoral office racks up astounding £110,000 worth ofexpenses in one year - TaxPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/RrpNkZ

£9million on new council offices in middle of residentialestate - Ripon Gazette, http://bit.ly/1ndQF4W

29

Councillors giving themselves a one-off payment despiteno bonus policy while cutting bus services - BBC, http://bbc.in/1eDkwku

28 council employees on over £100k per year, the most inBritain - The Portsmouth News, http://bit.ly/QgCYVb

While council face £4,000,000 overspend, theyadvertise a £500 a-day job for a temporary senior management position -Malvern Gazette, http://bit.ly/1pd4IcE

Council leader tries in vain to defend a 36.5% increase inher allowances - Gazette and Herald, http://bit.ly/1l7wuFY

Council recommend that £17,000 be spent on mayoralrobes - BBC, http://bbc.in/RrPL80

Council to spend £30,000 on former councilofficial in order to find out how to save money - New Listener,http://bit.ly/P8oGVe

Council have already spent £885k on office move, beforeapproval has been sough: if approved costs will rise to £10 million, if not£885k will become waste - Harrogate News, http://bit.ly/1eDGAeR

£410 spent on an umbrella wrapping machine - CroydonAdvertiser, http://bit.ly/QrvI8B

Council spend £19,000 buying glorified pooperscooper, which then costs £10,000 a year to run being used only twodays a week - Kent Online, http://bit.ly/1terKPW

Council planning to spend £4.4 million of taxpayers' moneyon developing Rochester Airport; opposed by nearly 80% of residentsquestioned - Kent Online, http://bit.ly/1l7xkm3

Planning appeals cost public £250,000 over the last twoyears - Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, http://bit.ly/1r2lZRr

£115,000 of public money squandered on leaving packagefor Chief Exec - Western Daily Press, http://bit.ly/1j6SlaF

Tory: Waste

30

Council buys in to compensation culture as £1.4million spenton compensation claims - East Anglian Daily Times, http://bit.ly/1eDlOfl

£5million spent on making people redundant - NorwichEvening News, http://bit.ly/1h6NaoJ

Council fritter away half a million securing a buildingwaiting to be demolished while cutting jobs and services - WatfordObserver, http://bit.ly/1h6Nm7n

£1.6million being spent on buying an ambulancestation on land the council already owns - St Albans and HarpendenReview, http://bit.ly/1nslq3b

£86k of public money used on Welcome toBournemouth Signs - BBC, http://bbc.in/1hPoFm5

Council spend £50,000 of public money on a bullsign as part of a re-branding exercise - TaxpPayers Alliance,http://bit.ly/1teaf2q

Council waste taxpayers' money on 23cm doubleyellow lines - BBC, http://bbc.in/1h6NrYU

Waste of public money painting “wonky” road lines - BBC,http://bbc.in/1h6NrYU

Council wasted taxpayers' money by painting white lines on theroad, then tarmacking over them - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1eDmHVe

Council play fast and loose with public's money as£40k spent on giant granite balls to protect council building from ram-raiders and terrorists - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1lbyLeS

Advertising for a tutor in “Ukrainian egg decoration” ontheir job website; teaching qualification needed - Spectator,http://bit.ly/1eNk6s9

31

Council spends £8.6million on consultants while it cannot stopthe rising number of pot holes - Echo, http://bit.ly/1gDrYYc

Council panics by spending £330k on specialists in orderto improve secondary school grades after Ofsted says council is belownational average - BBC, http://bbc.in/1m9UNT7

Council profligacy through the roof as they hire £1000 aday consultants - TaxpPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1r2mFX4

Councillors spend public money hiring aconsultant on a £100,000 salary in order to advise them how to cut costs- North Somerset Times, http://bit.ly/Qro9ii

Spending £100k on making "absurd" videos - DailyMail, http://dailym.ai/Qro7Hb

Rather than actually solving the problem, councilspends £1,000 on parody video about road damage - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1r2mIlU

Facing £90 million of cuts, the council spend£80,000 on iPads - Western Morning News, http://bit.ly/1h6O2cU

£360,000 spent on iPads in order to save £20,000 inpens and paper - Mirror, http://bit.ly/1gLst5Y

£200k thrown away on chauffeur services byirresponsible Conservative council - Independent, http://ind.pn/1eWwlgj

Jet setting councillors spend £3000 on a trip to Italy - EastGrinstead Courier, http://bit.ly/1qOKumY

Spending £250k on WW1 gun boat refurbishment whilecutting 1,700 jobs - Forces War Records, http://bit.ly/1m9VdZF

£400million in cash reserves but still cutting publicservices - Basingstoke Gazette, http://bit.ly/1l7AiHd

Tory: Waste

32

Council not making the most of their resources afterover £600,000 returned to developers as Section 106 money was notspent in time - The Comet, http://bit.ly/1l7ApCH

Despite claims of poverty, council has£1.1billion in cash reserves - Yorkshire Post, http://bit.ly/1eWx8Oz

Council has the largest amount of unallocated S106 moneyin the country; money that could be spent helping the local economy -BBC, http://bbc.in/1iORkY7

Council handed back £500k to developer after it failed tospend it in time - BBC, http://bbc.in/1qOLd7U

Council opposition concerned with Torycouncil's plan to use cash reserve to fund new budget - ScunthorpeTelegraph, http://bit.ly/1r2vGPP

£100,000 spent on council depot just as cuts to jobs wereannounced for the same location - Messenger, http://bit.ly/1h72emm

Conservative and Labour councillors take over five monthsof holiday while receiving publicly funded salaries due to break in councilmeetings until July - Inside Croydon, http://bit.ly/1h72f9U

£200k spent on street light consultation with noinput from locals - TaxPayers Alliance, http://bit.ly/1kDXRod

Council plans to spend £100,000 cleaning pond but facesopposition from local environment groups - The Portsmouth News,http://bit.ly/1kDY4HX

Spending public money on appealing HS2 in theHigh Court - Rail News, http://bit.ly/1lbNQwQ

Council commit £100k hiring specialist tooppose HS2 - BBC, http://bbc.in/P8mXzq

Part of 51M group of councils spending over 1millionon opposition to HS2 - Rail News, http://bit.ly/1h72MII

33

Council admits that “spy cars” and CCTV have beenused too freely, as over half of 330,000 appeals made against violationsreported CCTV cars are upheld - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1jNrZfN

£68,000 of public money paid out incompensation for accidents at school - The York Press,http://bit.ly/QgTmEV

£1 billion shopping centre facelift to take 3 years as well asevicting people out of their homes - Inside Croydon, http://bit.ly/1gLJL2Z

Sub-standard work on potholes means work has to be re-done, wasting public's money - Exeter Express and Echo,http://bit.ly/1jNsjLy

Claims for pot hole damage rise 250% even after £50millionspent on road repairs over last 2 years - East Anglian Daily Times,http://bit.ly/P8nAsB

£440k on one-way system that is strongly opposed by atraffic group - Beccles and Bungay Journal, http://bit.ly/RrNSYV

Tory: Waste

Tory councils wasting money on sub-standard pothole repairs

34

Compensation claims for potholes nearly doublesbecause of inadequate council services - West Sussex County Times,http://bit.ly/1lbOCdi

£110k on pot hole compensation due to poorroad servicing from council - BBC, http://bbc.in/1teqFb0

£1,000 spent on pot hole compensation due tocouncil incompetency - Wirral Globe, http://bit.ly/1kDZrGM

According to residents, more could be done by council to fixpot hole problem - Swindon Advertiser, http://bit.ly/1h73vcY

£5,000 spent on independent financial advisers in order tochallenge a ruling that councillors pay tax on travel expenses - KentOnline, http://bit.ly/1r2wEf4

Long term outsourcing contract to Capita costingroughly £1.7billion; termed “risky” - Computer World UK,http://bit.ly/1r2wK6w

£300,000 of public's money spent on consultancy companyin order to improve its customer service - The Portsmouth News,http://bit.ly/1it9v4B

Council manage to spend an unbelievable £200kredeveloping website - OnRec, http://bit.ly/1j7pbZ5

Spending public money on a trade delegation to China ratherthan focusing on local problems - Herts and Essex Observer,http://bit.ly/1pdmnkE

£20k on funding a new local grocery store so residentsdon't have to travel 3 miles - Salisbury Journal, http://bit.ly/1it9LAC

£15million spent on private taxis for children to getto school - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1hOu63z

35

1400 made redundant, £220,000 spent on streamingequipment to view council meetings on Youtube - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1j6Vjfx

Chief Exec paid an eye-watering £267,000 per year -Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Chief Exec pockets a jaw-dropping £400k,approximately, per year - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Chief Exec pockets £150k per year while othersstruggle - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Director of Environment, Culture andCommunities on £134,000 per year at the expense of the taxpayer -Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

10 members of staff on over £100k peryear, 1 on over £200k per year - Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Chief Exec on over £200k per year, 15 other staffmembers between £100k-£200k per year - Telegraph,http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Chief Exec on £235,000 per year,21 staff members on between £100k-£200k per year - Telegraph,http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

Director of Corporate Resourcesearning over £400k per year, Chief Exec £200k, 7 employees £100k+ -Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

19 council employees earn over £100k peryear, while one member of staff earns £327k - Telegraph,http://bit.ly/1mgMClt

£210k squandered building 2 ponds in order tocreate habitat for some newts - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1h728uT

Tory: Waste

36

LABOUR: INCOMPETENCE

Council wastes money and paper warningresidents about wasting paper - Daily Mail, http://dailym.ai/1gDFF9D

Council faces £1 million black hole in budget due tofinancial mismanagement - Plymouth Herald, http://bit.ly/1eDIhsK

Costs for hi-tech hub almost doubled from £8 to £14 million,funded entirely through public's money - Salford Star, http://bit.ly/Rs1sLT

Leader of council takes “a dim view” of the people sherepresents in dispute over council tax hike - Reading Chronicle,http://bit.ly/1eNHNk2

Council gave green light for couple to have £20,000 solarpanels on their house only to reverse their decision after they were putup. - Business Green, http://bit.ly/1kE7mDS

Strong opposition to council's priorities when it comes tocutting the budget: £20 charge for calling out the council if rats are foundin a resident's house - Caerphilly Observer, http://bit.ly/1gLQSZ5

Council fined £80,000 afterincompetence led them to lose a memory stick with sensitive informationabout children on - Local Gov, http://bit.ly/Qh0n8N

Council fined £60,000 for sending classified informationabout a child protection case to the wrong recipient - Information Age,http://bit.ly/1eX7xVI

Council refuse to release information regarding suspendedstaff despite outcry over waste of taxpayers' money - ManchesterEvening News, http://bit.ly/1gLSJgq

37

Council fails to provide necessary public service as thereare 300 complaints of broken pavements in 2 years - HaringeyIndependent, http://bit.ly/1hPPmqF

Libraries first to go rather than focusing onfinancial waste - Woodford Guardian, http://bit.ly/1h7aMJP

Cuts to services of £18 million deemed pointless as councilunder spends by almost exact same amount - Manchester EveningNews, http://bit.ly/1j7GLfF

Council blunders badly after it bid for £10million grant tohelp with bin services, and then turned it down once it was offered -Liverpool Echo, http://bit.ly/1eXd3aQ

Amidst huge budget cuts, council under-spends by £7.5million - Manchester Evening News, http://bit.ly/1l8e7AC

Haringey residents complain of broken pavements

38

TORY: INCOMPETENCE Man breaks ankle as a result of council trying to save money by

turning off street lights - Clacton and Frinton Gazette, http://bit.ly/1te6KJ9

Having received a sudden influx of asylum seekers, councilputs them up in a luxury hotel; costing £300,000 of public money -Express, http://dexpr.es/1r2l5Vd

Council spend £600,000 a yearkeeping local theatre open despite record ticket sales - Lynn News,http://bit.ly/1hPHQw0

Altering plans to a new school that will increase trafficsignificantly and have negative impacts on local residents - Essex CountyStandard, http://bit.ly/QgDhz2

Showing disregard for environment by chopping downmore trees than it plants - Croydon Guardian, http://bit.ly/1r2lN4L

Fixing lifts in council flats not a pressing enough issue forConservative council - Croydon Advertiser, http://bit.ly/1hO7yQu

Tory council fail to advertise a change in road rules in orderto issue fines to taxi drivers - Croydon Guardian, http://bit.ly/1mgKIkS

Spent nearly £90,000 on cleaning up fly-tipping but failed torecoup any money in fines - Solihull News, http://bit.ly/1qOKzao

Putting children’s safety at risk by getting rid of school crossingsto save money - Hertfordshire Mercury, http://bit.ly/1gLsSW0

Tory council show disregard for environment by choppingdown more trees than it plants - News Shopper, http://bit.ly/1mh0wnD

Money saving scheme by turning off street lights backfires asman is murdered in unlit area - Essex County Standard,http://bit.ly/1ma4roV

39

Council ignoring thehealth of children as schools failhygiene tests - Barnet Today,http://bit.ly/1kDYduZ

Council continuesto remove people from Band D ofhousing waiting list at the same timeas 500% increase in “roughsleepers” - Kilburn Times,http://bit.ly/1j93Obn

Failure todeliver credible results in scheme tohelp troubled families as fewer than100 people have found a job whilston it - The Northern Echo,http://bit.ly/1hYBHYw

Parking fine for personhelping someone with healthproblems - Dorset Echo, http://bit.ly/1lbOcUt

Raising £10.5m from parking fines & not ring fencingprofits leaves it open to misuse - Cheshire Today, http://bit.ly/QgTq7U

Residents accuse council of not being impartial, anddismissing their concerns when it comes to planning proposals - PutneySW15, http://bit.ly/1kDYVIN

Council has the worst roads in Britain according tocompensation claims - BBC, http://bbc.in/1teqFb0

Council plugs holes in budget by creating more problems:reduction in road maintenance budget means rise in compensation claims- Kent Online, http://bit.ly/1hYCo3T

Refused to clear up dog mess in a public playgroundbecause it posed a health and safety risk to council workers - Daily Mail,http://dailym.ai/1hOreE3

Solihull’s flytipping woes

40

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