Laughing stock of the country
I READ in Friday's edition of The Sentinel that Stoke-on-Trent City Council is facing another £50 million of budget cuts by the Government.
Labour and council leader Mohammed Pervez, pictured below, said: "It hurt last time but you can be sure that the pain is going to be worse this time around."
Yes, Mr Pervez the pain will be worse – but not for your lot of incompetent councillors, who follow one hare-brained scheme after another, led by you.
It will be more painful for the good people of this city, to whom, I am sure, the pain will be passed on under the disguise of more council tax next year. We are just being used like a cash dispensing machine.
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No matter what other city I visit in this country or abroad, nothing looks like as bad as Stoke-on-Trent.
We had a lot of bombing during the war when Hitler was trying to find the munitions factory at Swynnerton, or Shelton Iron and Steel. But all the Germans needed to have done was to employ our Labour council, who have done a much better job.
This was once a thriving city. Now we are the laughing stock of the country for putting up with you lot. We are moving backwards, not forwards.
I would like to bet that you will still carry on with your idea of moving to Hanley, putting all of us in even more debt of £40 million, plus interest.
This city is now in a disgraceful state. The Government ought to take over its running before we are totally bankrupt.
J A DEGG
Fenpark
Comments
by jontylikeskk
Saturday, November 10 2012, 6:34PM
“Stan, you are clearly either psychologically disturbed or just plain daft. This council's so-called vision will see the further destruction of Stoke town, taking well over 1000 people away from a town that is already in trouble through lack of footfall through the shops and businesses. How on earth a council can justify moving at such an extraordinary cost is beyond me, particularly when the city is so far in debt and in need of so many cuts to funding all over the place. What with the idiotic state of affairs with the wish to expand the potteries shopping centre being held back by the council that approved the expansion now stopping it by withholding sale of land. The sale of which could help pay off some of the deficit the city faces. This is just a way for the councillors to ensure that something will develop in the new Sentral area, with complete disregard for the impact on so many other things. So when Stoke town ends up with even more closed shops and city council offices that cannot be sold, along with the white elephnat of the huge Spode site that will probably stay empty for years, who will then stand up and admit that this is a completely unmitigated mess. The Stoke City Labour council has for years been regarded as stupid with their hare-brained schemes, leaving half a city looking like Beirut to name but one. I guess they must be stupid, otherwise the only other reason is that they must be fundamentally corrupt, there are no other explanations that come to any person with half a braincell in their heads.
As for blaming the Tories, wow, now there is an incredibly stupid statement....
Let's put all our eggs in one basket and have everything in Hanley, let's just kill off the rest of the towns and then watch the basket get smashed due to inadequate roadways, parking and not forgetting the crazy management this city is saddled with.”
by dougalcross
Saturday, November 03 2012, 10:14AM
“For the life of me I cannot see the sense in moving the Civic Offices to Hanley. Fenton or Longton would have been preferable. And it's ridiculous for a city the size of Stoke-on-Trent to have a single centre for shopping and commerce. Hanley is an unattractive bottleneck to be avoided whenever possible. Now what could we use that £40 million for.........?”
by Real_Stokie
Sunday, October 28 2012, 9:04AM
“Not sure it's the cuts that makes this city a laughing stock.
Might the waistlines? Might be the education standards? Might be the drunks wondering our streets? Might be the alcoholics filling our pubs on weekday afternoons? Might be the overt race hatred? Might be the hard resistance to change? Might be the 'hard man' attitude? Might be the drawl? Might be voting Labour like sheep? Might be voting BNP because you don't like the Labour government (strange how they went quiet since the Tories got back in)? Might be...
there's so many reasons but something happening in many towns and cities in the UK isn't likely to be one of them!!!”
by I_Norris
Friday, October 26 2012, 8:46PM
“redtone: mmm so who is proposing £5m cuts to pay the interest on a £59m loan ?
cameron or pervez?
Who has over spent in the past meaning year on year costs of £11m needing to be cut the last 2 years?
cameron or pervez?
Last year cameron imposed a reduction of £8m on Stoke Council, Pervez imposed cuts of £24m on residents.
Please explain who we should be blaming again, and why?”
by Redtone
Friday, October 26 2012, 8:02PM
“Stan_Byerman - about time someone stood up and told it like it is!
This unelected government are imposing cuts. Listen to half the dimwits on this site and you would think Pervez is our Prime Minister not Cameron.
Well, you can only fool all of the people some of the time. I want to know when this sad crew have to stop blaming Gordon Brown and stand on their own record? Because it ain't good.”
by I_Norris
Friday, October 26 2012, 6:54PM
“Did Nandos get aruna then? thats last place they were looking to set up I believe. Cause they cant move into Potteries Shopping Centre due to council refusal to sell the land.
So what is this mandate for change?
Taking a £59m loan then and blaming the £5m cuts needed to pay for the interest, on the tories?”
by warren-lloyd
Thursday, October 25 2012, 1:54PM
“Well said Stan, it will happen, see you in Nando's mate. These people know nothing about the mandate for change and are confused by it, because it means change. In every city there are a few vocal idiots like that.”
by Stan_Byerman
Thursday, October 25 2012, 12:03PM
“Another 'Numpty 'ead!
It is central government that are cutting funding to local authorities. You only have to look at the changes to the council tax benefit and early years provision. Both used to be payment direct from government to the individual but now the government id forcing local authorities to pay whilst removing a substantial amount of the funding leaving a massive shortfall for our councils to make up.
I blame the Tories, the coalition and in particular, David Cameron. You blame Mohammed Pervez because you haven't got the nous to see the true picture.
I applaud this council's vision for the future. I want to see the new bus station, city sentral, the central business district and eventually the Potteries Shopping Centre expansion. Why? Because they will provide jobs, growth in the local economy, business opportunities and an improvement to the lives of the residents who inhabit this wonderful city.
I can't wait to take my young kids to Nando's - I expect you will be frequenting the Goldfish Bowl for a chip supper as you have for the past 100 years..”