What is the local Tory candidate up to? According to some of his recent publicity it looks like the carpetbagger Tory hopeful Greg Stafford has discovered that there is considerable anger over the proposed closure of the Bordon tip.

The Farnham and Bordon Labour team (FabLabour) have been out knocking on the doors of many local residents in Liphook and Bordon and have discovered exactly the same thing. And we’ve also found that there is not much love for the Tories.

A quote from one Whitehill voter was that she couldn’t believe “the brass neck of the man”. As Mr Stafford isn’t local, he is perhaps not aware that the council in charge of the recycling centre in Bordon is Tory controlled Hampshire County Council. 

Hampshire, like councils all across the county, is struggling with the consequences of 14 years of austerity cuts in funding from central government – starting with the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition and continuing since under the Conservatives.

Fly tipping is, of course, a dangerous and anti-social activity that should be condemned. But experience from across the county shows that when a county council closes tips to save money, the local district council, in this case East Hampshire District Council, ends up forking out more council tax payers’ money because it is that council’s duty to clear from public land the extra fly tipping that occurs. 

And if a hard-pressed farmer gets fly tipping in their fields, they have to cover the costs of the clear up that needs to happen for environmental and animal safety reasons.

So, to summarise the Tory Mr Stafford’s stance, he’s campaigning against cuts by a Tory council which has itself suffered from 14 years of cuts in support from a Tory government. He is campaigning against his own party! 

Come on Mr Stafford, stop treating the voters like fools.

Andy Forbes

Liphook and Bordon Labour