Council leader: 'I will not stand down'
THE leader of North East Lincolnshire Council said he has no plans to quit – despite opposition calls for him to resign.
As reported, Labour leader Coun Chris Shaw called for a motion of no confidence in Coun Andrew De Freitas on Monday night, during a meeting to discuss the council's £7-million investment in collapsed Icelandic banks.
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North East Lincolnshire Council leader Andrew De Freitas.
Conservatives, led by Coun Keith Brookes, said if Coun De Freitas did not leave his role within 48 hours, they too would back the motion.
However, the embattled leader has dismissed the calls as political opportunism.
He said he believed the position of the Conservatives had changed since the Liberal Democrats took overall control of the authority following the break-up of their coalition.
"Up until six weeks ago the leader of the opposition, Coun Brookes, was deputy leader of the council," he said.
"When the first news came about the potential loss of money in the Icelandic banks, the chief executive made it quite clear he felt it was his responsibility to deal with.
"Both myself and Coun Brookes agreed."
Coun De Freitas said this meant the chief executive, rather than the councillors, was taking responsibility on behalf of the council.
"It's a little bit dishonest to see the Conservatives cuddling up to the Labour group, saying it is my responsibility and I should resign.
"If Coun Brookes agreed all along it was a matter for the chief executive to handle, why has he changed his view in the last six weeks?
"The only difference is the Conservatives are no longer in the Cabinet.
"I think that's the problem with politics today, we have a lot of opportunists – and as a result, people lose faith in us.
"The local Labour Party really need to make their minds up – would they rather see a Conservative administration?"
He added neither he, or any of his colleagues, had signed an approval to invest in Icelandic banks, but had approved rules which officers in North East Lincolnshire Council had to follow.
Asked if he would resign over the row, he said: "At the moment, no.
"The reason I say 'at the moment' is because I have spent many, many years of my life working for the community in which I have lived most of my life, going back to 1963.
"If I was seen to be a quitter I would let an awful lot of people down, and I am conscious of that fact.
"I am not a quitter, and never have been."
Mr Hunter was unavailable for comment.
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by Matthew Jason Brown, Poplar Road, Cleethorpes
Monday, July 13 2009, 2:47PM
“I would like to pass on my sincere apology to Cllr Dave Boylan with regards my comment about his Father-in-Law Frank Rice. I was misinformed with regards his passing, so I got my information was WRONG and for that I pass on my apologies. I was then informed recently that I was misinformed. All I can say in that regard is sorry to Dave.
Never the less my overall point still stands as what I was getting at was that Cllr Boylan has no Labour Party background despite his clams; any background in the Labour Party is his In-laws and not his. He should focus on the wrong doings in his own party instead of passing comment on what The Labour Party is doing locally.”
by JO, Grimsby
Monday, July 13 2009, 6:12AM
“Chris wrote: "Is there not - a group of decent capable people who could stand at the next council elections. People who are not affiliated to any party and who want to serve the people of North East Lincolnshire NOT their pathetic incestuous party interests.
"
It wouldn't matter who's in charge - These days councillors have little power to change anything - this is what people don't seem to understand. Even if Councillor Shaw *had* been leader, the same thing would have happened.
Gradually, over the years, 'power' has been removed from your elected councillors (and our MP's in Westminster, for that matter) and placed in the hands of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats - making all of us more or less disenfranchised. Our so called 'Representative Democracy' is just a sham.
This is the REAL scandal.”
by george, Gy
Friday, July 10 2009, 4:41PM
“Let me just jump in here and say, The way our council is run ( Special executive ) means that the ward councilors dont have the controll that you might think. When the miniuts to that meeting come out, or if you read the auditors report ( sections 11 to 14.) Executive unelected officers have controll of our council since 2004. The auditor identified at the meeting what the problem was, poor executive management.
The main problem with our ward councilors has been the agreement with lib dems and cons. It means that whatever we as voters choose as the political make up of our council. The cons and the Libs have ignored it since 2004.
Read the minuits of the meeting from monday, only labour acspeted some responcability and said sorry. ( please excuse the spelling )”
by Chris Shaw, Cleethorpes
Friday, July 10 2009, 3:30PM
“John Blanch,
Please read my previous posts.
The Local Labour group will not vote to put the Tories in Control of the Council, end off.”
by John Blanch, Grimsby
Friday, July 10 2009, 2:01PM
“Perhaps the next poster might organise a lynching of someone who has served the town for many years and whose only crime was trust other people to do their jobs as they were told.
I do not understand what the labour party is trying to achieve ¿ only six weeks ago they had the chance to change the leader of the council and they chose not to vote, so the libdems took the leadership as they are the largest party.
If you force the LibDems out who will lead the council ¿ the Conservative party under Keith Brookes (remember him ¿ he was the Deputy Leader when the money was invested ¿ the one who never said anything about the investment in the joint cabinet.)
The conservatives are involved in this investment just as much as the LibDems. They had four members on the cabinet who all said nothing at the time and then just blamed anyone else. So much for joint responsibility of the cabinet and the integrity of the Conservatives!
Just remember at the next election ¿ you voted for Labour Councillors and they put the conservatives into power. SHAME ON ALL OF THEM
If you wanted a Conservative Council you would have voted for one!
The voters will remember at election time and you will go down in history as the ones that destroyed the NE Lincs Labour party”