Councillor misleads Council Tenants

9.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 1st Aug 2008

The Liberal Democrat Group Leader on South Cambridgeshire District Council has today called on Cllr Simon Edwards - in charge of the Housing Futures project - to resign as he has now misled tenants about the project. Cllr Sebastian Kindersley was speaking after the Conservative Cabinet Member wrote a letter to all tenants informing them about changes they could expect if they voted to stay with the Council.

Cllr Kindersley commented:

"Cllr Edwards wrote to all Council tenants on July 31st . In his letter he states:

"I have taken the step of writing to all tenants to make sure that you hear about this report first directly from the Council - not via the local media or other sources"

However, Cllr Edwards had spent a great deal of time and effort briefing media sources the previous day to the date of the letter to tenants - July 30th - even to the extent detailed by the Council's Press Officer as below:

"- Cllr Edwards was joined by Steve Hampson and Steven Hills for a media briefing today on the implications of retention, attended by Cambridge News and BBC Look East. He pre-recorded interviews with BBC Look East and with radio station, Star FM for use in bulletins tomorrow and will be interviewed live on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire at around 8 am tomorrow."

So in fact Cllr Edwards had no intention of informing Council tenants first but signed his name to a letter which contained a sentence he knew to be untrue.

How are tenants and indeed the general Public supposed to believe what Cllr Edwards now says on the issue of Housing Transfers? It is clear he has no compunction about misleading Tenants about his actions in regard to this comparatively small issue.

For that reason we call on him to stand down now as his position towards this Council's tenants is now tainted and fatally compromised.

Notes for Editors

For further contact please call

Cllr Sebastian Kindersley Group Leader - 07710 467258 - 01767 651982