News / Politics
Public toilets likely to remain closed despite Labour budget amendment
One of the Labour Party’s amendments to the first budget by Bristol’s Green-led council is to allocate £1m to reopen the city’s public toilets that were closed by the Labour administration.
They say both reopening and building new loos could be funded by reducing “extra councillor pay”.
Reopening public toilets is the first pledge in Labour’s ‘alternative budget’ to be debated in a full council meeting on Tuesday, and also something the Greens promise they remain “committed” to achieving.
Labour have said that their decision to close Bristol’s public toilets in 2018 “was one of the toughest we had to make”.
But the Greens have slammed Labour’s suggestion of reducing councillors’ allowances in order to fund the reopening of the loos, which they say “will worsen the barrier for people from underprivileged backgrounds to enter politics”.
Green councillor for Easton, Jenny Bartle, said: “Bristol Greens are committed to finding a way for the council to reopen the public toilets that were shut by Labour in 2018.
“However, we have serious reservations about the way that this is proposed here.
“As well as being a total mess, this amendment looks to lower the basic councillor allowance, which is currently £16,681, not a living wage.
“This will worsen the barrier for people from underprivileged backgrounds to enter politics – something we are fundamentally against and are surprised that Labour would suggest.
“We believe in inclusivity and encouraging diversity.
“Unsurprisingly, councillor allowances are also not set by councillors, and this is something for an independent panel to decide, not full council.
“As a group, the Greens are committed to looking at how we can reopen public toilets and look at bringing this forward to a policy committee.
“However, these ramshackle amendments are not the way to go about it.”
In the Facebook comments underneath an opinion piece in Bristol24/7 by Green councillor Rob Bryher on the need for more government funding for local authorities, Bristol’s Labour group leader Tom Renhard went into bat against Bryher’s claims.
Renhard wrote: “As well as having successfully campaigned against several of the terrible suggestions in the Green Party cuts budget, we have tabled several alternatives to try and improve it, demonstrating our role as a constructive opposition.
“As they have been accepted as amendments by finance, that means they are all possible and it is now down to yourselves and other parties to decide if you’re going to support them.
“Tuesday is an opportunity for your party to demonstrate it is able to take on board our constructive suggestions in the interests of the city.”
Main photo: Google
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