The Guardian reports that Conservative shadow Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has threatened to expose Conservative councillors who get involved in variable charging schemes as ‘collaborators’.
I’m not quite sure what conclusions I draw from this. Obviously domestic rubbish collection and recycling is seen as an area where the Opposition can garner significant public support; the persistent trickle of ‘bugs in bins’ stories in the press seems determined to keep this at the top of the political agenda. But the tactic of threatening your own party members with a vote-losing public ‘outing’ seems rather odd. Does Eric Pickles not have confidence in his colleagues in local government to represent the people who elect them and to make local decisions?
What I would really like to see is a clear statement from the Conservative party on what they would do in power to tackle this country’s dependence on landfill and incineration. If there is an as-yet undisclosed ‘third way’ in which we can stop filling the ground with rubbish and the air with methane without having to put chips in bins and expensive equipment on the back of every bin truck then I’m sure it would be a great vote winner.
Mr Pickles – feel free to click Comment below and fill in the details….