UPDATE Borough Councillor

Tel: 01530 231377 • Email: andy.furlong@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk

LAST MONTH I attended my last-but-one full council meeting in Hinckley. The main business of the night was a vote on the 2023-24 budget. This particularly interests Herald readers since it determines how much council tax you will pay this year.

The cost-of-living crisis affects just about everybody. Local authorities are no exception. Inflation is still in double figures following last year’s disastrous mini-budget. This has a direct impact on things like wages and the cost of the fuel in the lorries that collect our bins. Consequently, Markfield and Stanton’s typical council tax bill will rise by £101.37. That’s about 5%, taking the annual charge for a band D property to £2090.22.

Follow the money

Readers need to know who is getting what, so here’s a breakdown: and decarbonisation technology. The world is already heading in this direction. Global investment in clean energy technology exceeded a trillion dollars in 2022. Spending on low-carbon energy technology is on the brink of overtaking fossil fuels. I want to keep pushing things in the right direction.

The motion asks Leicestershire County Council to bring forward a transparent plan to adopt responsible investment policies and get out of fossil fuels by 2030. I’m delighted to report that the motion was carried by 16 votes to nil. Sadly, my Conservative colleagues abstained after arguing that things are best left to the free market. I disagreed; it was the free market that got us into a climate emergency in the first place.

How the fund managers will react to this instruction remains to be seen. Nonetheless, I’m an optimist and will work with borough councillors elsewhere in Leicestershire to keep up the pressure. Future generations will not thank us if we keep dragging our feet.

And finally ...

As you will see, even though your bill has the borough council’s name at the top, we get to keep barely any of the cash. The lion’s share goes to Leicestershire County Council, which has been struggling with its finances and cutting services for many years. Apparently, by some mysterious political trickery, this is Sir Peter Soulsby’s fault - even though he has nothing to do with the finances at County Hall - but let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good story, eh folks?

Moment in the sun

WITH CLLR MATTHEW LAY enjoying a well-earned holiday in Scotland, my moment in the sun finally arrived. Not only was I required to respond to the budget, but I also had an opportunity to present a motion to the council for the first – and probably last – time.

It is said that all politics is local, and whilst I broadly agree, it’s also the case that lives in Markfield, Stanton and Field Head are heavily shaped by global events. Regular readers will recall that I have written about climate change before, so you won’t be surprised that this was the subject I focused on for my penultimate appearance in the chamber. I studied global warming as an undergraduate chemistry student in the 80s. The evidence was utterly compelling 40 years ago, and the fact that humanity has never really gotten to grips with man-made climate change has always baffled me.

Climate emergency

FOUR YEARS AGO, many local authorities, including ours, woke up to the scale of the problem and formally recognised the climate emergency. Matthew asked me to join a cross-party working group tasked with drawing up Hinckley’s response to the challenge. We broke the problem down into three parts. First, we identified measures to reduce the council’s direct carbon footprint. Second, we examined the climate impacts created by the goods and services the council buys. But it’s in a third area where I believe we can really make a difference – where does the council invest its money, and what happens to it?

Before readers get excited about a hidden stash of cash that could be spent to keep your council tax down, I’m talking about the funds tied up in our staff pension scheme. Hinckley doesn’t run its own pension scheme. Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund holds the HBBC staff pension pot. The total investment exceeds more than £4 billion; however, of this, perhaps around £150 million is invested in fossil fuels. Investments of this kind fail to pass the test of environmental and social responsibility; it’s time for a rethink.

Focus on renewables

My motion called on the pension fund managers to end investment in energy companies that actively exploit new fossil fuel reserves and shift the focus to equities and bonds in funds supporting and developing renewable energy

FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES prompted me to step down as your councillor after one term of office. Eleven months after moving to South Wales, I don’t regret the decision. The news that Matthew is also ‘retiring’ has surprised many in the community. I know how hard he’s worked over the years, and I reckon a break is well-deserved. Still, we both take comfort that two excellent candidates are waiting in the wings.

Chris Lambert is well-known in Markfield. He spent 35 years working in local government and knows how to get things done. His running mate, Robert Martin, works in the NHS. He also campaigns for a fair deal for disabled children in Leicestershire; he’s a strong performer who makes a real impact. Robert and Chris have the full backing of both Matthew and myself. If you give them a chance, they won’t let you down.

Andy Furlong

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