Liberal Democrat Budget Motion defeated by only two votes at Council Meeting

In a charged Council session sitting until 10.30pm, Dacorum debated the 2022/23 budget, Luton Airport expansion and some revealing questions and answers with the Cabinet.

At a meeting which started out with 45 Councillors, by the budget debate two hours in, attendance had dropped to 35, because 10 Conservatives had left early which resulted in the ruling party coming perilously close to losing a vote on its budget.

Cllr Adrian England said:

"It's remarkable that we came so close, and it shows that the Lib Dems are now pushing strongly as the opposition. I'm disappointed that our proposals to target more money at climate change was not accepted by the Conservatives. We should be highlighting climate change and the looming problems which are set to cost our residents serious money in the next several years, especially those who are reliant upon social housing."

He added:

"In both cases the transformative effects would have been long-lasting, making good use of a one-off windfall. It would have encouraged residents to invest in improvements to reduce their energy consumption if they could see that the Council is doing it, and helping reduce heating bills too!"

A 100 days after the COP-26 Conference on Climate Change, Liberal Democrats recognise this is a crucial year for making progress if we are to meet our targets in relation to 2030.

The proposals were in relation to a Specific Reserve to kick-start initiatives for carbon reduction in Council domestic properties. and a Specific Reserve to progress the purchase of Electric vehicles in and by the Council and the means of propulsion.

Liberal Democrats believe Dacorum needs to raise its ambition; the climate emergency is the biggest change-factor facing us and it is costing residents money, meanwhile DBC had an opportunity to gain maximum value from a sum which, with inflation now at 7.8%, will become devalued quickly if left in reserves!