A Conservative councillor questioned whether a statement by a Liberal Democrat councillor in an election leaflet about a legal agreement with a supermarket was true – only to find the administration trying to block her.
When the Liberal Democrat Executive Member finally did give an answer, he refused to back the comments by his party colleague.
At Wokingham Borough’s Full Council meeting on 20th July, Conservative Councillor Rebecca Margetts raised a statement made by Liberal Democrat Ian Pittock that a legal agreement was in place with Sainsbury’s to run the supermarket at Arborfield Village Green Centre.
However, Cllr Lindsay Ferris, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Planning, stated that discussions were still ongoing, contrary to the statements given to residents by then-candidate Cllr Pittock during this May’s local elections.
Cllr Margetts asked how residents could trust the Council given that the Barkham Liberal Democrat councillor’s comments were misleading.
But the Liberal Democrats intervened in an attempt to get the Mayor and officers to rule the question out of order.
When Cllr Margetts was eventually allowed to ask her question, Cllr Ferris did not say whether or not his colleague’s statement had been misleading, and simply refused to answer the question by saying he was not responsible for the accuracy of what was in the Lib Dem election literature.
Following the meeting, Cllr Margetts said:
“Cllr Lindsay Ferris’ silence speaks for itself – given the opportunity to defend Cllr Pittock and say if his comments in a leaflet were accurate, he just dodged the question.
“And the shameful attempts by Lib Dem councillors to stop me asking my question just reinforces the point that they know Cllr Pittock is in the wrong.
“This all goes to prove that the statements and promises in election leaflets from the Lib Dem administration aren’t worth the glossy paper they’re written on. Why should resident’s trust anything the Lib Dems say.”
