Knowsley Council has stonewalled questions as to why it is paying for an exhibition stall at this autumn’s Labour Party conference despite not appearing at any other party conferences. Knowsley Council leader Ron Round has even hinted that it may continue to pay for stalls at future Labour Party conferences.
This year’s autumn Labour conference will be the thirteenth at which Knowsley Council has paid to appear, taking the total amount it has paid to Labour for these appearances to over £250,000. The thirteenth is also the most controversial because the payments are taking place despite Labour no longer being in government and without Knowsley Council paying to appear at either the Conservative or Liberal Democrat conferences.
The Labour-run council has so far declined to respond to my request for a comment on why the council is going ahead with its appearance at Labour conference and not appearing elsewhere.
Knowsley Council has also ruled out of order a question submitted by Lib Dem Dave Smithson asking why the council’s decision to pay for Labour conference “was not cancelled or left until after the election”.
The question was rejected on the grounds that council’s conference policy was raised in questions at council meeting on 30 June. However, the answers given then by Labour Council Leader Ron Round do not give a clear response on this point and even hinted that the council may continue to appear at future Labour conferences as it is committed, in the words of the minutes, to, “continue with the strong relationships it had developed over the last decade” and moreover to “lobby even harder with allies”.
Cllr Ron Round declined to take the opportunity to commit to pulling out of Labour conference and said that the council would only appear at conferences from other parties if, in his view, he “thought the new Government would listen”. Given that elsewhere in the meeting he strongly and repeatedly criticised the government, it is extremely unlikely that he will come to that view.
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The cost to council taxpayers will be far in excess of the £250,000 paid to the Labour Party, because of travel, accomodation, entertainment and staff costs.
Typical Labour tribalism. I wouldn’t expect anything less than narrow-minded bigotry and prejudice. It is sad but there in no understanding of mature dialogue from many in the Labour camp and this is indicative of that.
How big is this stall, Iam in the Exhibition business and if you take out space hire , you could have a large double decker at any event in the UK for that amount….!!!!
It should further be noted that Knowsley Council also breached the Freedom of Information Act by failing to provide the latest information within 20 working days.
As others have said in the previous thread, it’s bizarre that they can do this without falling foul of the law.
There are so many restrictions on councils, so many constraints of the misuse of public funds, but apparently they have the freedom to spend over a quarter of a million effectively subsidising their own party.
Damn! Not going to Labour conference this year (usually go to all three for work). I would have taken a pic. Can another Lib Dem public affairs bod take one and tweet it?
I think every ratepayer in Knowsley should be sent a letter stating that “£250,000 has been deducted from the rates to donate to the Labour party coffers, you have 28 days to make good this shortfall in the councils funds. You may pay by cash, by cheque or bankers card. Please send (£250,000/ number of ratepayers) to Knowsley Borough Council”. (Motto; Labore est Desperandum)
It was spent over several years. The per-conference cost was a “mere” £40k-£50k or so.