"Don't vote Tory on 2nd May" says Daily Mail writer as we pay Hanningfield's £4,600 drinks bill

Residents in Brentwood are angry to find that they have been buying Lord Hanningfield's tipples over the last few years after news emerged that his £4,600 Bar Bill in the House of Lords was funded by the Essex taxpayer.

Astonishingly, from the Tory-supporting Daily Mail, comes this advice not to vote Tory on Thursday 2nd May in Essex, due to shady dealings over the last few years. Columnist Simon Heffer said, on 22nd March:

"Revenge on a Tory crook

Tory-controlled Essex County Council let its former leader Lord Hanningfield off the hook by failing to pursue him over a £286,000 credit card bill he racked up while flying around the world with cronies and dining in style.

That was outrageous enough, considering he was jailed for fiddling his Lords expenses. It turns out the council also paid this crook's £4,600 Westminster bar bills, and its Audit Committee has learned his staff claimed £70,000 for trips abroad, hotels, restaurants and hiring clothes to attend Ascot.

I'm an Essex ratepayer and want to know who sanctioned this wicked waste of money and what steps will be taken to reclaim it.

Meanwhile, no one in Essex should vote Conservative in the council elections on May 2."