22 February 2017

What does Greg Smith’s budget silence really mean?

Despite his £16,086 salary, Greg Smith, Hammersmith & Fulham council’s Conservative opposition leader, has missed more meetings than most councillors of the Policy and Accountability Committee on which he sits.

These are the committees which hold the administration to account.

So when Cllr Smith took the trouble to toddle along to the Finance Committee on 1 February, which was undertaking the important task of scrutinising the Labour administration's budget, expectations were high.

But we gather that Cllr Smith surprised everyone present by not asking a single question or raising any concerns about the budget. 

Not one. Apparently, he remained silent throughout.

We can only presume from this that Cllr Smith was content with all he saw, heard and read.

And that this evening at the annual Budget Council, when he hears from council leader Stephen Cowan that Labour H&F will be the only council in the country both to

  • freeze council tax for the second year running and 
  • put £3.4m extra a year into adult social care,

Cllr Smith will be offering his full support.

And then again….

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