Community workers call for Lincoln councillor's resignation
Furious volunteers say they feel like they have been "slapped in the face" by their Lincolnshire County Councillor.
Community workers are angry Sara Cliff failed to spend any of her £2,000 community budget last year – despite representing one of the country's most deprived areas.
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Anger: Members of the Tower Estate Action Group, among them Eve Wind, front, have criticised their county councillor Sara Cliff for failing to spend any of her £2,000 community budget in their ward last year Picture: John Jenkins
Now people in the Lincoln East ward are calling for her to stand down.
The call comes as the Echo reveals how Ms Cliff has also claimed £23,000 in allowances while attending just 19 meetings over three years.
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Eve Wind is chairman of Tower Action Group – a voluntary service that organises events for the local community in east Lincoln.
She said: "We're paying her to do a job – so where is she? I believe she is doing the job for prestige and that only. It's not fair. She should quit and do it now."
Mrs Wind added: "This part of Lincoln is one of the most deprived areas in the country.
"We're all struggling to survive and keep morale high with activities for the local community. And there she is sitting on £2,000. It is disgraceful.
"We're screaming out for a bit of money. I am so annoyed by it all. That money is our money.
"If you take community groups like us for example, 90 per cent of the people are volunteers.
"I feel like she has slapped every volunteer in the face thanks to her lack of action.
"We have invited her to a number of meetings. She hasn't even replied," she claimed.
Ms Cliff won her seat in 2009 before moving 119 miles away to Soham, Cambridgeshire, to become a methodist minister in July last year.
Since then her attendance has dropped. She sat in on just one committee meeting last year.
Sarah Whitworth, who lives on the Tower estate in Lincoln, said: "It's unreal. I think it's scandalous, to be honest.
"Nobody I know has seen her in this area – it's an absolute joke."
The leader of the opposition at Lincolnshire County Council, Marianne Overton, said: "I believe it is this kind of example that undermines democracy.
"Perhaps Sara Cliff should donate the substantial sum of allowances she has claimed in the last three years to the community of Lincoln East? It certainly needs the money.
"I believe she is ruining the reputation of county councillors and must step down immediately."
Robert Oxley, campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Ultimately it's up to local residents to judge their councillors' record.
"If politicians aren't up to scratch residents should be given the opportunity to say so via the ballot box."
Comments
by ThornyRay
Saturday, June 16 2012, 9:49PM
“Did this group apply for any money? As far as I am aware the Councillor funds are available to groups who apply for it, I doubt any of the Councillors regardless of party just turn up at a groups door and hands them a brown envelope. As I have said before, she is not the only one that does no work and still claims the money, but lets not have every group who didn't get anything start jumping on the band wagon so they can get pictures in the paper.”
by rrogers
Saturday, June 16 2012, 9:07PM
“This has nothing to do with which party she represents, her representation should be for her constituents. Clearly, her poor attendance record precludes her from properly serving them. If she cannot live in the area and cannot attend more frequently then she should resign her position and let someone who can better represent the constituents.
Such behaviour dilutes our democcracy and ill serves us all”
by XNY556
Saturday, June 16 2012, 7:30PM
“I wonder why nobody has mentioned that this Minister is a Conservative? There is nothing to hide is there?
I tried to contact two local Conservative councillors in my area recently - the first one wasn't in and the female who answered the phone then told me she didn't work for the Council and hung up the phone on me. The next was an LCC Councillor and she didn't bother to return my call either. It's good money for doing nothing?? I would soon be out of a job if I operated like that.”
by rick29
Saturday, June 16 2012, 4:36PM
“she wont quit she likes getting £1210 for every meeting she decides to attend.
this is why expenses need scrapping, or only refunded with a valid ticket and if a person can find it cheaper then the person claiming the expenses only gets refunded the lower ticket amount.”