3rd April 2008

The Labour group on North Lincolnshire Council has today urged Tory leader Cllr Liz Redfern to condemn her Conservative colleagues on East Riding Council who have approved plans to shut Kirton Lindsey fire station.

Conservative members of East Riding Council voted on Wednesday to back modernisation plans by Humberside Fire Authority which will result in the closure of four fire stations – including one in Kirton Lindsey. The Labour group in East Riding put forward an amendment in an attempt to block the move and although this gained support from several Tories and a number of independent members, the Tory motion to support the closure of the fire stations was approved.

North Lincolnshire Council, led by a Labour motion, has already condemned the actions of the fire service and is strongly opposed to any cuts. This motion was backed by Conservative members in North Lincolnshire who were also opposed to the cuts – a polar opposite to the Tories in East Riding.

Cllr Steve Swift, Labour group secretary, today deplored the actions of the Conservative members on the north bank. And he urged local Tory leader Cllr Liz Redfern to condemn her group’s actions. He said: “The actions of the Tories can only be described as a disgrace and show no regard to the thoughts of local people. They have protested and expressed their concerns and this vote shows the Tories have simply ignored what the people have told them. As a Labour group we have grave concerns about the proposed changes and we feel we cannot support them. It would appear our local Tories do not agree.

“Cllr Redfern must come out and deplore the actions of her Tory colleagues who have shown a blatant disregard for the thoughts and concerns of local people. After all, her colleagues unanimously supported the Labour motion against the closures. Her members stood up in front of the Fire Brigade Union and said how much they support their cause. But do they really support the cause or were they just trying to play politics with people’s lives? I would hope the Conservative leader will clarify the situation immediately.”