Joe Anderson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, has invited the citys leading Lib Dem, Richard Kemp, to attend select committee meetings in Liverpool discussing the council's proposals around libraries - after it emerged that none of the Lib Dems had actually submitted any proposals to the library consultation.
Earlier this week, Liverpool City Council announced proposals to save 18 libraries in the city and to make savings through shorter opening hours. The council will only stop running three libraries in the city which between them need over £3million of investment to bring them into complainace with disability legislation.
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The City Council is currently trying to set a balanced budget, despite massive Lib Dem-Tory government cuts of £141million.
However, following the council's announcement, Lib Dem Kemp said he thought that 'more imagination' could have been used - despite the Lib Dems not actually submitting any proposals to the consultation, and despite the Lib Dems refusing to take part in the budget setting process, despite invitations from the Labour Party to work together.
In a bad tempered blog, Kemp admitted that 'I'm not an expert in this field', but called on Joe to look at some of his ideas.
Writing in response, Joe Anderson said: "I thought I’d missed something when I saw you calling for ‘more imagination’ with the issue of the libraries, because it’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say anything about it. So I asked to see your submissions as part of the library consultation, which has been running for several months now and which has been taking in a lot of good ideas from residents across the city (in many cases, ideas we’ve acted on, for example with shorter opening times). I wanted to see what you’d put forwards, and to see if there were any areas where common ground could be established."
"So imagine my surprise to discover that, in fact, you haven’t made any submissions whatsoever to this consultation, and neither has any of your Lib Dem colleagues!"
"Since the library consultation currently lacks your ideas, I very much look forward to your contributions to the forthcoming select committees on this issue. As you know, we have massive cuts to make, and I think we have shown plenty of imagination in saving 18 libraries, and only have to stop running those that need massive investment to bring them up to standard. But, if you’ve got some better ideas, then bring them to the select committee, and we’ll go through them."
The full text of Joe's response is as follows:
Dear Cllr Kemp,
For once, on one point, we completely agree! I mean the bit in your letter where you say ‘I am not an expert in this field’. Well done, finally we see eye to eye on something!
Thanks as well for asking me to use my influence with the Labour leader, which I’m always happy to do. But on this occasion, in our new spirit of co-operation, I’ll do you a deal: I’ll use my influence with Ed on the points you’ve raised, if you use your own considerable and undoubted influence, as Liverpool’s leading Liberal Democrat, to convince your own party leader Nick Clegg – the Deputy Prime Minister – to:
- Reverse the massive, punitive, unfair cuts that his government have targeted at Liverpool, that forced us to cut £91million from our budget last year; will force us to cut a further £50million this year; and will see us have to cut well over £200million from our budget by 2017.
- To stop yours and his Governments shameful reorganisation of the National Health Service, and to reverse the cuts that are already causing waiting lists to rise, and which threaten to let private patients into half of NHS beds, forcing those who can’t afford private health care to the back of the queue.
- To stop your disgraceful war on pensioners, and to stop attacking free bus passes, free TV licenses, the winter fuel allowance and pensions.
- And to stop your disgraceful attacks on young people – cutting the EMA, slashing the Future Jobs Fund, trebling tuition fees, slashing school building programmes, and forcing councils around the country to close Children’s Centres.
I know you fully agree with most of what your government are doing. You’ve written before about how you like so much of what David Cameron does, how proud you are to be a ‘Cleggista’, how much you agree with the policy of cutting so far, so fast. But perhaps for once this time you’ll be able to stand up for Liverpool, a city which has been singled out by the Government for the biggest cuts, because it is the most deprived in the country.
With regards to the libraries issue. I thought I’d missed something when I saw you calling for ‘more imagination’ with the issue of the libraries, because it’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say anything about it. So I asked to see your submissions as part of the library consultation, which has been running for several months now and which has been taking in a lot of good ideas from residents across the city (in many cases, ideas we’ve acted on, for example with shorter opening times). I wanted to see what you’d put forwards, and to see if there were any areas where common ground could be established.
So imagine my surprise to discover that, in fact, you haven’t made any submissions whatsoever to this consultation, and neither has any of your Lib Dem colleagues!
Since the library consultation currently lacks your ideas, I very much look forward to your contributions to the forthcoming select committees on this issue. As you know, we have massive cuts to make, and I think we have shown plenty of imagination in saving 18 libraries, and only have to stop running those that need massive investment to bring them up to standard. But, if you’ve got some better ideas, then bring them to the select committee, and we’ll go through them.
Let me know how you get on with Nick Clegg.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Joe Anderson
Leader, Liverpool City Council