How the Tories have failed Essex residents

Four years of Tory scandal and financial mismanagement

Over the last four years Conservative run Essex County Council has been hit by a series of financial and other scandals

• The former Leader, Lord Hanningfield, was forced to resign over his House of Lords expenses for which he was imprisoned
• Lord Hanningfield's ECC expenses were exposed which showed £287,000 had been spent over the five years 2005-10, the previous five years records having been destroyed
• Further revelations showed his office staff claimed £70,000 over three years and ECC paid his £4,600 bar bill at the House of Lords
• The Conservatives, with Labour support, refused a Liberal Democrat call for an Inquiry to establish who authorised those payments and why
• The use of 'P' cards (payment cards) by officers was exposed which revealed £1.7m had been spent on luxury hotels, trips abroad and shopping sprees
• Five cases of personal identity data were leaked or mislaid
• The revelation that ECC had £14.5m of art treasures hidden away from public view
• Developer contributions (Section 106 monies) were lost through inaction

Now is the time to sweep away the secrecy and open up the County Council to public scrutiny.

Read our full manifesto here and see our candidates here.