Council's Labour

group wants

action on town's

troubles ...

Boston Borough Council’s Labour group is stepping up the pressure on the Conservative leadership with a call for action to tackle the town’s ills.

They want a council “task and finish” group to be set up - to include representatives from the police, county council, housing organisations, health, voluntary sector and local businesses … and local people as well.
Labour says that such a wide ranging group could address issues like social tension, better integration, planning and provision of services, and help better to understand “the changing face of Boston.”
The call came in an e-mail to council leader Peter Bedford and Chief Executive Richard Harbord on 5th October – almost three weeks ago. It followed an earlier plea to the Chief Executive on 6th July - before the Broadfield Lane industrial estate explosion and the Peter Hitchens article in the Mail on Sunday about immigration in Boston.
The party is also urging council leader Peter Bedford to call a meeting between all council group leaders and the organisers of the Boston Protest March – so that the council can try to address their concerns.
“We hope he will take our request seriously, as we also believe it would enhance the reputation of Boston Borough Council as a listening council and give us some credibility that we are taking the issues that affect our town seriously,” said a Labour statement.
“The Home Office are considering offering some resources to Boston, but before this … we need to be clear from our local residents what kind of services and resources are required ...”
Boston Labour councillors say they’ve been involved in a year long “conversation” with local communities. “We believe this review of key services such as overcrowding, homelessness, antisocial behaviour, drinking on our streets, noisy neighbours, litter problems are just all endemic issues that Boston has been suffering from over the last few years and this proposed review could go a long way to addressing these issues.”
Interestingly, whilst Councillor Bedford is reticent about talking to Bostonians about this – adopting his local MP as role model, perhaps – he did tell a member of the public some weeks ago that: “On the migrant front we are in the process of setting up a task and finish group to involve all aspects of this type of problem, not just in Boston, but throughout Lincolnshire, as it is a big problem in all our areas. We feel that this can be a model for further investigations looking at the whole problem, but we will need county and government help to do this.”
So far, no other mention of this has emerged.
Councillor Bedford also decided to share the news with listeners to the Peter Levy Show that: “We are in talks with the Home Office and trying to get Boston classed as a special case because of the amount that have arrived. Hopefully, we will be able to make some announcement shortly, but that is with the Home Office at this moment in time.”
We have also heard that Lincolnshire’s Chief Constable met councillors last week – but again no information has been forthcoming.
Equally “hopefully” we trust that Councillor Bedford will soon shrug off his Secret Squirrel costume and share things with the people who elected him, and depend on him to get their town back on track.
After Labour’s request for talks with the protest marchers, their organiser, Dean Everitt, told the group’s Facebook page on Saturday morning : “Just had some really good news … This week we are going to be meeting with Peter Bedford and two other members of Boston Borough Council, to discuss what we feel are the main problems regarding immigration and all other relevant matters that are connected to this.”
We can only speculate who the other two councillors might be, but would expect one to be Councillor Mike Gilbert, who holds the borough portfolio for communities.
One thing is obvious – with only three attendees, the meeting cannot possibly include other group leaders - which is disappointing, as any approach to the march and the wider problems is clearly one for the council as a whole, and not just the Tory elite.
Another fear voiced by many is that any Home Office cash will be for a Lincolnshire-wide approach and be given to Lincolnshire County Council for disbursement.
In that case, Boston will almost certainly lose out, as – even though the borough has so often been short changed by the county - the current administration will bend the knee to its demands.
Meanwhile, Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens - whose special feature on Boston and immigration four weeks ago helped stoke an already smouldering bonfire of resentment - has called for next month's protest march to be cancelled.
See yesterday’s blog for more details.

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