He seems to have a blank memory with regard to the period during which there was a Liberal run administration at Castle Morpeth from 1999 to 2003.

There was a series of damaging project failures at the Council over that time. Even though there were large increases in car parking charges in Morpeth, the Liberal administration managed the finances so badly that the Council ran into severe financial problems and it took the Council to the point of being effectively bankrupt. At the time Coun Woodard, from the Liberals, had the role of monitoring the Council's finances and preparing the budget as Deputy Leader. Unfortunately the situation got so bad that the national Government actually threatened to take over the running of the Council.

The direction of Castle Morpeth started to recover only when all of the councillors on the authority realised that it would be better for the Borough if they put petty Party bickering to one side and started to work together to give the Council the leadership that it needed. The positive results of this joint working are to be seen in the improvement to a whole range of services that the Council provides.

However, I would like to make clear that some months before the last Castle Morpeth elections, the rest of the Council was informed by the Liberal leadership that they no longer wished to work in a consensual way and that the Liberal group wished to bring back petty Party politics into the workings of the Council.

Now we have a similar story at the new Northumberland Council where the Liberals refuse to recognise the need for consensus and are creating an atmosphere of petty Party points scoring and failing to realise the scale of the challenge that faces all of the new councillors there. Our fear is that the residents of Northumberland will pay a heavy price indeed for a few Liberal councillors with very little, if any, experience of the wide range of responsibilities of the new Council.

At Castle Morpeth most councillors now recognise that they have a wider role and a responsibility to represent all residents across the Borough. We take our responsibilities very seriously and we will continue to work to constantly improve Council services, to keep the Council Tax down to the lowest possible level and to continue to strive for an authority that provides value for money for all.

Coun PETER JACKSON
Leader
Castle Morpeth Borough Council