Cllr. Marcella Head welcomed to the Liberal Democrats

10.05.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 8th Dec 2006

Commenting on the decision of Broadfield South Ward Councillor Marcella Head to join the Liberal Democrats Councillor Gordon Seekings, Liberal Democrat group leader on Crawley Borough Council, said "It has been obvious to me for some time that Marcella was not a conservative but a liberal democrat. Her stance on the Iraq conflict and on other issues since she was first elected has made that clear. I welcome Marcella's decision to join us in the Liberal Democrats."

Continuing Gordon said "The final straw for Marcella was the Conservative group decision on Crawley Borough Council to consider cuts and more cuts to council services for council tenants. If Crawley's council tenants do vote to remain with the Borough Council then savings will have to be made - but these should be considered carefully and the services for the old, the needy and the most vulnerable must be protected."

"It was obvious to the Liberal Democrat group and Marcella that the Conservative group were not doing this and they seem to be following a policy of cut everything. Labour's policy of opposing everything for the sake of it is also untenable. They have not said publicly what alternatives they would offer in the case of Crawley's tenants opting to stay with the Council. That is a major failing for an opposition party that so recently ran Crawley Borough Council and for so many years."

Concluding Gordon said "I welcome Marcella's decision to join the Liberal Democrats and I know that other Councillors - both Labour and Conservative - will be looking toward Marcella and the rest of the Liberal Democrats to take a lead in putting forward constructive solutions to the situation that the Borough Council now finds itself in."