Hounslow Tories show their true colours by voting against free school meals, arts and culture and tough action on fly-tippers.
At Tuesday’s Borough Council Meeting, the Hounslow Labour Group proposed three positive motions that should have garnered cross-party support.
The Conservatives opposed all three.
Tories oppose support for Free School Meals extension
Last month the Government announced that they would be extending free school meal eligibility to any child in a family receiving Universal Credit.
On Tuesday, Hounslow Labour Group introduced a motion resolving to increase uptake among newly eligible children.
The Labour Group called for a named vote on the motion, with every one of the five Conservatives who turned up to the meeting voting ‘against’.
Labour Councillor Ranjit Gill, who defected from the Tories last month, proposed the motion, in which he talked about how he had benefited from receiving free school meals.
Hounslow Labour Leader, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, commented on the Tories’ decision to vote against the motion:
“I was disappointed but unsurprised to see the Hounslow Conservatives vote against this motion. It is this kind of petty gesture politics that drove Councillor Gill’s decision to cross the floor.
How can you vote against putting food in the mouths of hungry children? How can you vote against trying to save the poorest families up to £500 a year? How can you be so callous as to put political point scoring over supporting struggling students?
This motion resolved to increase awareness and uptake among those who will now become eligible. By opposing it, the Tories have shown their true colours.”
Tories vote against tough action on waste criminals
The Hounslow Labour Group also introduced a motion that resolved to publicise successful investigations and the issuing of fixed penalty notices to fly-tippers.
Hounslow Labour have already taken tough action on fly-tippers:
· Raising fines to the legal maximum of £1000.
· Introducing the Special Waste Service. The SWS visit fly-tipping hotspots, look for evidence among the rubbish, and issue fines to those responsible.
Commenting on the Tories’ decision to oppose it, Cllr Shivraj Grewal said:
“I welcome this motion from Cllr Tony Louki, who has been helping to lead the charge against fly-tippers in our borough.
We need to get that message across loud and clear: If you fly-tip in Hounslow, you risk picking up a £1000 fine. It costs nothing to respect the places we call home.
This is about restoring our civic pride. It’s about showing a united front against those who disrespect our streets and communities. Quite why the Tories, would oppose it is beyond me.
They’d vote against motherhood and apple pie if it were a Labour Group Motion.”
The Culture Club and the Crazy Gang – Tories vote against major cultural investment
Finally, Hounslow Labour introduced a motion celebrating the success of the Council’s Summer of Culture and resolving to submit a bid to become London Borough of Culture.
Recent ‘London Borough of Culture’ winners will receive around £1.35 million, with £200k given in the form of ‘Cultural Impact Awards’ to other boroughs who submitted bids.
Commenting on the Tories’ decision to vote against the motion, Cllr Salman Shaheen, said:
“We wanted to celebrate our Borough’s brilliant grassroots cultural organisations. They are testament to the creativity, richness and diversity of our borough as a cultural destination.
It would have been nice to have seen the Tories join us in that celebration – to show us they’re not a bunch of killjoys and spoilsports. It would have been nice to have seen them backing our borough to attract even greater cultural investment.
Our motion was an invitation to the Tories – a chance for them to show they care about arts and culture. Clearly, they do not.
We know the Tories have never placed much value in supporting the arts, but this seems like opposition for opposition’s sake.”