Lib Dems Push Positive Approach To Council

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 1st Jul 2003

Headley: Borough needs whole council to work together.

In response to a motion which criticised the elected Mayor, at last Wednesday's Council meeting, Lib Dems tabled an amendment calling for greater cooperation among councillors as well as laying down a set of proposals aimed at moving the borough forward in a positive direction.

The amendment called for councillors to abandon personal criticism and instead seek greater cooperation in bringing about significant improvement within the borough. Specific proposals included making the Council more open and accountable through the removal of secret meetings, and the safeguarding of public question time to allow local people to have their say. Other proposals included measures to increase the importance of road maintenance and repair. Despite the failure of a majority of councillors to support the plans, Lib Dems are continuing to push for a constructive way forward.

Speaking on the amendment Michael Headley Lib Dem Group Leader said:

"We put forward this amendment in order to give the people of the Borough the future they deserve. There has been a lot of talk about the council not moving forward. What the Borough needs is a positive steer to get it going and cooperation from all members of the council. We proposed a list of achievable policies which would take Bedford forward and we asked the whole of the council to work together to achieve them. We want to see policies replace petty personal criticism. We will continue to call for a positive approach to cooperation, positive consideration of these proposals and positive improvement for the whole of the Borough."