Blaming government is not showing leadership

PEOPLE across our city were left upset as the lockdown in Leicester was extended for a further two weeks last Thursday.

During what seems like his daily media rounds, Peter Soulsby once again decided to cry foul at the government for its decision, rather than show leadership and resolve or even promising to work with all communities to fix the problems we quite clearly have.

Throughout the Covid period, all public organisations have understood that mistakes have been made, all organisations have understood lessons have been learnt.

Most organisations have fully admitted that is the case. That is, apart from Leicester City Council.

The mayor’s total refusal to accept any failure in his response to the pandemic and the council’s ignoring of many warnings from myself and my colleagues sends alarm bells.

If the council isn’t learning from its inadequacy, there is no wonder Leicester is in the state that it is in.

This is not a party-political football; this is a matter of life and death.

My colleagues and I have spent much of the lockdown working with small businesses and residents across the city, people whose already difficult lockdown has been made worse by many parts of Leicester City Council.

People who were finding it extremely difficult to navigate and be accepted for the government grant that they were entitled to.

People who woke up and saw great big orange cones outside their property without any prior knowledge or consultation.

People who work in the abhorrent factories and received no support from the council. And people who cannot speak English so could not understand the council leaflet explaining coronavirus.

These are problems that did not need to occur but unfortunately did and, rather than take any responsibility, the mayor has chosen to blame the government at every opportunity.

I recently had sight of a Labour council briefing document which stated that councillors must deflect blame on to the government and the Conservatives.

This has been shown with every TV and radio interview, or newspaper article Labour councillors from the city have been involved with.

People are quite rightly getting very frustrated. It was quite telling after the mayor’s rambling on BBC Radio Leicester on Thursday was summed up by a taxi driver who rang in to the program and said: “You only have to go into areas where the larger numbers of cases are recorded positive.

“The council has failed to monitor social distancing measures or have street volunteers engaging with the public like in Blackburn.”

The Health Secretary made it clear in the Commons that the mayor refused to provide geographical areas where he felt lockdown could be loosened.

Throughout the lockdown, the mayor and his councillors have failed many communities within our once great city and when people have complained they have been received with either a condescending reply or complete silence.

Leicester citizens and businesses have contacted me and my colleagues, worried about the impact on their jobs and the fear of accidents and injury, this because they could not get through to their council representative.

I will continue to fight on behalf of the local people while this council treats the people of the city where I live with contempt, while the people don’t get the answers they deserve, while the majority of businesses receive no assistance at all and whil4 the city mayor would rather play the blame game than look after the health and wellbeing of the very people that elected him.

Baroness (Sandip) Verma, Leicester