Sheffield’s Liberal Democrat councillors have announced their withdrawal from a cross-party waste review until public concerns have been addressed.
The cross-party review was launched by the new Labour administration and was initially supported by Lib Dem councillors. However, ongoing concerns from local residents about the public consultation, which is part of the review, has led Lib Dem councillors to withdraw.
The public consultation has come under heavy criticism for its loaded questions and leading nature, which has been highlighted by the local media. Concerns have also been raised about the ongoing focus groups and the difficulty of some residents to access the survey.
Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, wrote privately to Julie Dore on the 1st of September, yet so far the Labour administration has refused to tackle the issues that have been raised.
Lib Dem councillors believe the consultation is simply a smokescreen for the new administration to introduce fortnightly bin collections and charge for green waste collections. Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed has now announced that the Liberal Democrats will withdraw from the review until the outstanding issues have been addressed.
In an e-mail today to Leader of the Council, Julie Dore, Cllr Mohammed states:
“I believe it is vital the Council gets customer feedback that is genuine and in no way influenced by weighted or loaded questions.
There is no point in Liberal Democrats participating in an exercise that is clearly designed to serve a pre-conceived agenda of halving black bin collections and charging for green waste.”
Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Sheffield City Council, said:
“What Sheffield needs is genuine debate and discussion about the way forward for our waste service. Labour councillors have gone back to their old way of consulting – were they decide your answer before they ask the question.
“We entered this review in good faith but it’s becoming clearer every day that this process is simply a smokescreen for Labour councillors to introduce fortnightly bin collections and charge for green waste.
“I wrote to Julie Dore last week but she has refused to tackle the legitimate fears local people have raised. There is no point in Liberal Democrats participating in this process if Labour councillors have already made up their mind. That’s why we have withdrawn from the review until the public’s concerns are addressed.”
No comments yet.