"The council made Sheffield a national laughing stock"

The decision of Julie Dore to stand down from the council in May is to be welcomed by all who are concerned about the future of our city.

Her period in office has been marked by a signature institutional indifference to the local environment and welfare of the city’s citizens. At a time when there has been a virtual total political consensus about the importance of retaining and planting urban trees Julie Dore and her cronies embarked on a reckless course of arborial destruction. In doing this the council made Sheffield a national laughing stock and even drew derision from the international community.

The vehicle chosen for this crusade of environmental destruction was a much discredited local authority finance mechanism called the Private Finance Initiative and its associated Streets Ahead Programme. This vehicle is so financially toxic that even Tories have disassociated themselves from it. Julie Dore has been one of its most staunch and consistent defenders.

Following its drubbing at the polls the national Labour Party is now involved in a period of reflection and self examination. It is to be hoped that the Labour Group on Sheffield Council will join in with this process.

The current model of arrogant ‘we know best’ Labourism is unlikely to be sustainable given the social and environmental challenges that we will face in the coming months and years.

Julie Dore’s departure opens up the opportunity and prospect of significant change in the governance of the city. In May we will be voting for new councillors and also in a referendum on the reintroduction of a committee system to the city council. Opposition parties, the It’s Our City group and others will face a major challenge in order for the governance of the city to improve.

Let’s hope they’re up to it.