Sheffield Lib Dems made a great song and dance about alternate week bin collections upon their introduction, which is unsurprising since they haven’t got much else to talk about (unless you count their remorseless attacks on public services as part of the Coalition – wonder why they’d want to avoid that subject?). According to Lib Dem Councillor Anders Hanson, fortnightly bin collections were something to be fought tooth and nail: indeed, he promised to ‘mercilessly attack’ the Council for moving to fortnightly collections
But not only are Sheffield Lib Dems now dropping their opposition to alternate week collections… they’re doing it on the quiet! Last week, without publicity they submitted a motion to December’s Full Council meeting saying: “it would now be extremely difficult to revert back to weekly black bin collections”. In other words, Sheffield Lib Dems’ thundering opposition to fortnightly collections has ended with a whimper; they won’t include funding for weekly collections in their proposed budget for next year.
But this flip-flopping isn’t new. Earlier this year the hapless Mr. Hanson let the cat out of the bag with his comments in some obscure publication called Lib Dem Voice: “I think it has now become almost impossible politically to introduce new fortnightly bin collections as both the opposition and the press will mercilessly attack anyone who does it. … However most people are happy with fortnightly collections when they get used to it.”
So it’s clear that Sheffield Lib Dems have been publically campaigning against fortnightly collections while admitting in their barely read in-house magazine that that the public have no problem with them! The only conclusion to draw from this is that their opposition was nothing more than cynical political opportunism, intended to distract Sheffielders from the damage their Tory and Lib Dem colleagues in Westminster are doing to our city.
An exasperated Councillor Jack Scott, cabinet member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene said:
“The Lib Dems are the only party to break their promises even when they’re in opposition. It now looks like they have finally accepted that we had no other option but to move to alternate week collection due to the massive cuts Nick Clegg and the Tory Government are imposing on the council.
“Their campaign against alternate week collections has been merciless and politically motivated, people can see through that. The Lib Dems should apologise to the people of Sheffield for making false promises yet again, they have a lot of questions to answer
“With further cuts coming from their Autumn Statement it’s about time the Lib Dems started campaigning against the cuts that will affect the people of Sheffield. It is wrong that they continue stand up for their government’s decisions instead of standing up for Sheffield.”
I would like to initially wish all Birley members and elected officials a very merry christmas and a happy new year.Its been a very trying year as it was always going to be while “Clegg,Osbourne and Coleman are pulling the strings.I would like to sympathise with the councillors of having to introduce the 2 weekly refuse collection,which no-one with any brains would want but circunstances dictate serious changes,never the less l am and always will be 100%against it.l started employment with the City Council in 1950 as a lad and worked on the old plant when everything was recycled by the council in that plant,not out on the streets,which l see as cheap labour.Obviously times and financial situations change and l can only pray that an incoming labour government will hopefully right the wrongs of the savage things that this shower are and will continue heaping on the poorest in society and at the same time filling the coffers of the parasites who pour millions into the Tory coffers,knowing they will be collecting that back with interest.Now back to the real world,being as this is the first Christmas with the new 2 weekly refuse collection service,l beg the councillors to give all tenants as much help as they possibly can and to keep Sheffield as clean as it should be.Tenants will have mountains of extra waste which is normally very ably removed by the refuse collectors,l ask the council to use a bit of common sense this year and take into account the length of time between collections.This in it,s self added to the inflated amounts of extra rubbish will probably mean rounds not being completed on a daily basis and you may get rounds slipping,this could cause knock on problems as householders will not get a collection as advertised,which in itself creates a problem.As l requested please think thing out before you the council or Veolia start cracking the proverbial whip.Brian
l wish to apologise to all people with the mame of Coleman which i unfortunately lumped with the duo of Clegg and Osborne who are the architects of Demolition GB,date 17 Dec 2012 at 8:50 pm,l should have said Cameron,for this mistake l will be eternally chastised by my friend Ken.Karen if you read this don,t you dare mention this to Ken, my life won’t be worth living,Brian.
To any of the 3 Birley councillors,precisely where in Birley will the new “Firestation” be built,and when will this work begin.Also l saw in tonights star that the refuse collection for Christmas day will be on this saturday,great news for the councillors and veolia but what about the poor old tenants,how are they to know and please no smart answers like buy a star.I would have thought that with this being the first christmas of the new 2 weekly collection all this information should have been out weeks ago,and if it was then l unreservedly apologise as l live in sheltered and the collection times and dates are irrelavant.Brian
Thanks Karen for the update that “Boxing Day” refuse collections will be carried out on the normal collection day of Wednesday 26th December.Many thanks,Bri.
Having looked at the mess that the Lib-dems have talked there way into,my personal view is that All party’s SHOULD be united and hammering this Tory government for PROPER funding for a WEEKLY refuse collection service.Anyone in there right minds who welcomes a fortnightly refuse collection to a weekly refuse collection should volunteer to walk across Niagara Falls in the pitch black.Obviously the reduction in cash from the Tories is crippling nearly all local authority services but please get your heads on straight,celebrating that Lib-Dems are in turmoil is fine,but please don’t celebrate a service that could take us back into the dark ages.l am 77 and never known any other than a weekly refuse collection in Sheffield.l started work in cleansing in 1950 so if anyone still breathing knows of anything other than a weekly refuse collection service you are in order to contact me.Brian
To all Birley Councillors and Jack Scott,l had a few words with an informer taday on my trip to town and was upset as to what he told me,so l venture to ask any of the councillors to clear up this information which is,recently you got rid of quite a lot of lengthy serving driver and labourers and paid them quite a hefty payoff,l will not put this amount on line but will repeat what l was told if and when l speak to any one of you face to face.You can then say yes or no,the reason l bring this up is because the implimentation of the 2 weekly service was to save money and also the triple rates for getting the refuse collectors to work on boxing day,unless you pay out more of ratepayers money in overtime payments,you will have already worked out that when the crews go to pick up those days,Christmas day and New years day they will have an extra 2 days,16 days refuse instead of 14 refuse to collect. I was also informed that some of these ex employees have been replaced by temporary employees and around Sheffield rubbish is being dumped and quite a lot is going into litter bins.Would be interested in your comments,but my information comes from employees actually doing the job,mot from managers sitting behind desks
As a matter of interest could l ask the councillors what has someone got to do to break a tenancy agreement if setting fire to a refuse bin by throwing an item he had set fire too down the refuse chute to purposely set fire to that bin,it also caused smoke to come into the top landing.The fire brigade came out in case anyone is interested.The reason why this fire was started on a purpose was that this person set fife to this item in his flat and could easily have put it in the sink turned on the tap and it would have been put out.
l read the news headline in the Sheffield Star about the £50 million cuts.Its about time the morons forcing these savage cuts on local authorities stop shielding there millionaire cronies and spend a few minutes to think about the lives of the hundreds of thousands of families being smashed apart,families getting divided,couples getting divourced and yes people taking there own lives because they couldn’t see any way out of the turmoil this excuse for a government are putting the working class through.Peole are being brainwashed by the millionaire exponents in the government,getting sensible people to believe the propaganda they are purveying so they can decimate jobs,benefits and all the things that benefitted the working class and had been fought for over many years.Yet they do nothing to hit the rich and ultra rich,they spout a lot for the benefit those who happen to be listening but do absolutely nothing,but what do you expect from a load of toffee nosed individuals who wouldn’t know what the truth was if it hit them between the eyes.Billions of pounds of unpaid tax is being un collected bcause this government refuses to create laws that would enable them to do so or make mickey mouse arrangements with companies and individuals to make it appear they are acting tough when in fact they are only getting a pittance.The only ones who can afford to off shore banking are the super rich,the governments know this as every government does but you always get the pathetic excuses,what can we do.Well you can clobbers the working class families,bankrupt local authorities,savage benefits to the ones who can least afford it.My final thought is that even with world war 2 going on we were far and away better off than we are now at least there were not filthy rich people putting there hands into ones pocket when you weren’t looking.Brian
I would like to be a fly on the wall with Veolia or the council flying about trying to find another way to pay the refuse collectors for recovering time lost through the snow falling.Wonder if they will be a good owner and remove all extra refuse generated or will the decision be left to the refuse collectors themselves.managers should manage,easy and hard decisions are all the same,MANAGERS should MANAGE and not cop out.Brian.