Conservative Group News Release

1^st May, 2012

Call for Lib Dems to Retract Untrue Statements in Election Leaflets

Ken Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council, has called on Lib Dems to withdraw untrue statements about the County Council printed in Election Literature being circulated by Lib Dems in Eastleigh

He Says, “I have been handed copies of electioneering literature being widely circulated across Eastleigh Borough that wrongly accuses the Conservative run Hampshire County Council of a number of things including, trying ‘to build 6.000 more houses around Hedge End and Botley’, “axing youth services”, “threatening Children Centres” and “cutting bus passes”. This is all totally untrue. The literature also wrongly accuses the County Council of wanting to sell land, it does not own at Tan House Lane, Botley, for housing development.

These allegations are clearly being made in an attempt to mislead the electorate into voting for their candidates in the forthcoming Borough Elections and unless they immediately retract these statements and deliver these retractions to every household in the Borough that has received them before polling day, I shall have no alternative but to refer the matter to the Electoral Commission for their adjudication.”

Notes to Editors:

Faced with reduced Government funding, soaring inflation and increased demands for its services Hampshire County Council has taken £100 million out of its overhead expenditure by restructuring its corporate administration and merging departments, introducing home-working and disposing of 45 office buildings to preserve all essential services and increasing the budget for Adult care by £11 million over the past two years

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The 6,000 houses around Hedge End referred to ,were proposed by Eastleigh Borough Council supported by the Partnership for South Hampshire (PUSH) the local planning authority, adopted by the SEERA (South East England Regional Authority) and included in the Governments South East Plan for Eastleigh. Later after a storm of local protest Eastleigh Borough Council withdrew its support for its proposal for the 6,000 housing development at N/NE Hedge End.

The County Council’s Support for Youth Services in the Borough approaches £¼ million, with an increase of £18,000 this year with a cash commissioning budget of £182,000 plus £31,000 for a community development facilitator and £25,000 for a youth worker. The  Borough Council took a lead role with Hampshire County  Council in how the various youth projects in the Borough should be commissioned.

Rather than cutting bus passes the services previously withdrawn by the Borough Council have been reinstated by the County Council.

For more information please contact: Cllr Ken Thornber 01962 847750