Town in Crisis - Fall Outs - Financial Mismangement or Reckless Bravado!iasco

Just as the town faces mass unemployment with the two biggest employers JCB and Fox's threatening hundreds, possibly thousands of job losses, the Tories are playing a very strange game. They are falling out with each other in an increasingly messy spat over incompetence, recklessness and financial mismangement.Never a happy bunch, it's getting increasingly dirty. The Burton Mail yesterday reports that Kathy Graham - former Mayor and Town Ward Councillor  has quit the ruling Tory group and will now represent as an independent. She has quit over the actions of Geoff Morrison, Howard Grigg, David Brookes and Malcolm Barrett. Councillor Graham says that this 'Gang of Four' had behaved 'disgracefully' "by failing to keep others informed of alternatives to a proposed £115,000 deal with a developer." The Gang have been accused of being less than open over the sale of the Town Hall.

The Town Hall is subject to an 'unofficial agreement' of sale to Taylor Wimpey.
But critiscisms have been levelled that the sale is grossly underpriced and that all is not what it seems with the sale. 

 

Councillor Graham feels she has been bullied and cajoled to support the Taylor Wimpey deal. Her colleagues have resorted to less than gentlemanly comments. 

As Ali Choudry writes in his blog the council appear to be either reckless or incompetent "This is a serious and systematic case of financial mismanagement." he writes

"A quarter of the town councillors - councillors Barrett, Geoff Morrison and David Brookes - are also borough councillors holding important portfolios, as they are part of the Tory controlling group. We are nervous, suspicious and uneasy that the Tories' shambolic and inept financial management at Uttoxeter Town Council might lead to a similar financial calamity at the borough council.

What is going on?