SLOUGH Borough Council’s actions that resulted in a colossal financial mess has been slammed as an “unparalleled record of failure” by opposition councillors.
Two damning reports were released on Monday, October 25, heavily criticising the council’s governance, finances, and capital ventures that have ended in money woes and quadrupling its borrowing to £760m.
The leader of the Labour-run council Cllr James Swindlehurst, who has been leader since 2017, said he ‘accepts’ the findings and the recommendations to rectify its issues.
The independent reports were conducted by the Charted Institute of Public Finance and Accountability and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.
READ MORE: What do the two damning reports say about Slough Council?
Reacting to the news, the five Slough Conservative councillors, Wayne Strutton, Paul Kelly, Dexter Smith, Anna Wright, and Chandra Muvvala, have released a statement.
In it, they welcomed the reports’ findings, saying it showcased Labour’s and the council’s “unparalleled record of failure”.
They stated: “The leader of the council has already tried to distance himself from the findings of this report. Are the people of Slough really to believe that the leader and his cabinet had no idea of the magnitude of the mismanagement taking place under this leadership?
READ MORE: Slough Council accepts findings in damning reports
“This mismanagement can only be either wilful ignorance or woeful incompetence. In the words of the Minister [Kemi Badenoch] earlier this week, Slough Borough Council really is “a rare case of failure”. It was the responsibility of officers and Lead Members alike to uphold our Best Value Duty and to protect the interests and residents of Slough.
“It is clear that our residents have been let down by those elected to serve them.”
The Tories also welcomed the help from independent commissioners, who will oversee the council to see if it is fixing its issues, and hope they will fix the council’s scrutiny system by making changwa and allowing opposition councillors to chair the key overview and scrutiny committee.
Cllr Wayne Strutton
Cllr Strutton (Haymill & Lynch Hill), leader of the Slough Tories, said: “These two reports actually point out the difficulties that any opposition, or dissenting voices in Slough, has had because for me, it underlines the smoke and mirrors-type regime that’s operated in Slough.
“I believe that is not just officers, it has been with the knowledge and cooperation to a degree of the senior political leadership of the council.”
Cllr Madhuri Bedi
Independent Cllr Madhuri Bedi (Foxborough) said: “It’s really sad that even to this point we are at, nobody is holding their hands saying, ‘We got it wrong and we’re really sorry and give us the opportunity to make it right’. Where does it say that?
“Out there, there are residents who can really help us. Let’s work together to make this right because we owe them, they don’t owe us.
“If you had any company and something this catastrophic had happened, those leaders would not be there, so why is that in the case here?”
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