Lib Dems tell Windsor Conservatives "Lay Off Local People"

11.27.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 18th Jul 2009

The Conservatives got cross when members of the public criticised their pocket lining rise in Councillor's pay.

Local Liberal Democrats have called on Windsor Conservatives to stop launching unpleasant attacks in the press on ordinary members of the public who dare to disagree with them and to start listening to local people instead.

In a press release issued last week Windsor Lib Dems called on Windsor Conservatives to start listening to people in Windsor:

"Whenever an ordinary member of the public dares to speak out against the Conservative Party in Windsor they are roundly abused by an organised campaign of abusive letters in the local press.

Top target for Conservative correspondents has been local independent community activist Peter Hooper, who the Conservatives threw out of a council meeting for daring to speak out against Conservative attempts to curtail democratic debate in the council chamber under their "Zero Debate Initiative".

Other Windsor residents have been roundly attacked for:

· Supporting the M4 Park & Ride scheme, cancelled by the Conservatives, even though they did not have the honesty to put its cancellation in their manifesto

· Criticising Conservative Councillors for voting themselves a 91% pay rise

· Opposing Conservatives at Berkshire Fire Authority for closing Windsor Fire Station at night and voting themselves a 337% pay rise.

· Standing up plans to withdraw free Garden Waste collections

· Opposing a plethora of stealth taxes from elderly home care, to car parking and children's swimming.

· Fighting plans for an expensive multi-storey car park at Alexandra Gardens

Over the past year Conservative correspondents to the local press have thrown a torrent of abuse at their Lib Dem opponents as well, resulting eventually in a standards board referral against one Conservative councillor, who was required to attend training on the councillor's code of conduct as a result. "

We advise anyone who feels they've been abused by a member of the council to download the Councillor's Code of Conduct from this link [http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/members_conduct.htm] and see if the rules have been broken, in particular whether the individual concerned has been abusive, bullying or acted in a way that brings the council into disrepute. Sadly these rules offer no protection to members of the public attacked by people who are not members of the council.

It was, of course, one of the Borough's MPs, who christened the Conservatives "The Nasty Party" as they recognised the need for the Conservatives to change their ways, however it seems that in Windsor old habits die hard for the Tories.