A Personal Message from the Labour Group Leader, Cllr Ricky Rogers
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Wiltshire Residents Deserve Better
When I was first elected to the former Wiltshire County Council in 1989 the Council delivered many good, directly managed, essential public services, that have since been privatised, sold off or lost.
After Local Government re-organisation in 1997 the controlling Lib-Dems and Conservatives began the push for more privatisation.
The aim was clear. to move the Council from being a “Provider” to becoming a “Commissioner” of public services regardless of the impact on the quality of the service, or the pay and conditions of the people providing the service.
The Lib-Dems already had a track record of selling off Council Housing stock and they continued on that path with Adult Social care, selling off Council Residential Care Homes and breaking-up the Council Home Care Service. The Conservatives took this political dogma relentlessly forward privatising Grounds Maintenance Services, Catering Services, Cleaning Services, Highway Management & Maintenance Services and more recently Refuse Collection Services and parts of Adult and Children’s Services.
By every available measure, the quality of those privatised public services has declined under that policy. Labour will end this political dogmatic agenda and assess each contract at the point of renewal to examine where the best value lies for Wiltshire residents and determine if the service – would be better brought back in-house.
Shamefully, last year Conservative-led Wiltshire Council was found GUILTY in court of Breaking the Law by sending threatening and intimidating emails to staff and have spent over a year delaying justice and gagging debate with a lame appeal that was never going to be heard. Finally, in February 2025, the appeal was dropped and over £100,000 was paid out in compensation and legal costs.
The scandal has seen no Conservative apology for this shameful waste of public money. Wiltshire Residents do Deserve Better.
Cllr Ricky Rogers
Wiltshire Council Labour Group Leader