Labour 'rubbished' - Lib Dems have 100% record! (Newcastle upon Tyne Liberal Democrats)

Newcastle upon Tyne Liberal Democrats <info@newcastle-libdems.org.uk>

Labour 'rubbished' - Lib Dems have 100% record!

October 8, 2007 12:00 AM

Stephen Psallidas stands in a spotless back lane, which is devoid of wheelie bins after a Lib Dem campaign to encourage residents to take them in

South Heaton Liberal Democrats have exposed the Labour Party's misleading claims about rubbish collection.

Labour's South Heaton branch has claimed on their website that it is all the Lib Dems' fault that excess bags of refuse or discarded items next to wheelie bins are not collected from back lanes, even "when the bin lorry has just been in your street!"

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman, Cllr Stephen Psallidas has embarrassed the Labour Party by revealing in a Question to Council (http://tinyurl.com/2odbey) that:

The Labour-run Council brought in wheeled bins in 1999, and the Labour-run Council agreed at that time that excess waste next to the bins would not be collected (for health and safety reasons).
The Lib-Dem run Council has done an excellent job in improving service standards for cleaning back lane mess and flytipping. Clearup rates in South Heaton within the agreed timescales have increased from 75% in 2004/5 to a staggering 100% so far in 2006/7!

South Heaton Lib Dem campaigner Henry Gallagher added: "While precise figures are not available, we know that many, many tons of dumped refuse and fly-tipping are in fact removed from the back lanes in South Heaton every year. On top of all this, local Lib Dem councillors have been running campaigns across Heaton and Jesmond to educate residents about leaving their wheelie bins out all week, and not dumping bin liners in the back lane. The local Police have told us that burglary using wheelie bins has dropped substantially in that time. Unlike Lazy Labour who are content just to snipe from the sidelines, the Lib Dems are taking real action to clear up our environment!"

Stephen said: "The truth is now out. South Heaton Labour Party either have appalling memories, are too inexperienced to understand the issues, or are trying to deliberately mislead residents about this important local issue. We leave it to readers to decide which."