EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNCIL

That this House condemns the decision by nine Conservative councillors in Northumberland to call an extraordinary meeting of the Council at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of £45,000 to seek to overturn a democratic decision taken by a Labour council which has to make savings of £130 million over the next four years because of Government cuts; notes that the decision to call the meeting was taken against the advice of senior officers at the Council and may leave the Council open to legal challenge at a further cost to the public purse; further notes that cuts in Northumberland so far have meant 1,500 job losses and cuts in services to the value of £259 per family; and calls on Northumberland Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to explain why they consider £45,000 spent on a meeting which has been described by senior officers at the Council as 'an exercise in Punch and Judy politics' is a good use of scarce public funds.