Following a series of Freedom of Information requests, Rushcliffe Independents have uncovered that the Rushcliffe Conservatives wasted £9,597 of taxpayer money attending the MJ Achievement Awards in London in June 2023.
The plush ceremony, which included champagne, a three course meal and Hew Edwards as guest host, included the following spending:
- First class train travel to London and back.
- £318 on former Conservative leader, Simon Robinson, staying in a 5 star hotel for one night.
- £636 on two borough council civil servants staying in the 5 star hotel for one night.
- £7,500 on the evening ceremony
The ceremony was attended by all six members of the Conservative cabinet as well as former leader of the Rushcliffe Conservatives, Simon Robinson, who attended as an “invited guest” despite holding no elected office at the time.
Leader of Rushcliffe Independents, Cllr Ted Birch, said “This is a disgraceful misuse of taxpayer money. As a former Conservative member, I am appalled at their behaviour. When I raised this issue in September 2023, Cllr Clarke shamelessly defended the spending. I am shocked that not one of the Conservative councillors has spoken out about it. Where are their principles? Where is their respect for taxpayer money?”
Cllr neil Clarke defends the indefensible
At the September 2023 Full Borough Council meeting, Cllr Birch asked council leader Neil Clarke:
“Rushcliffe Borough Council has spent an estimated £9,597 of taxpayer money applying for, and attending, the MJ Achievement Awards in London. Do you consider this to be an appropriate use of taxpayer money during a cost of living crisis?”
Cllr Clarke replied, “the short answer is yes I do” before going on to say, “there is a cost to entering and attending such events, but the benefits to workforce morale and recruitment are pretty much immeasurable.”
Cllr Clarke went on to repeat that attending the awards would “help recruitment.”
Cllr Birch used his supplementary question to ask:
“How do you justify to taxpayers spending £954 on hotels for three people during the application, which is £318 per person?”
Cllr Clarke, seemingly shocked by the question, struggled to answer:
“Errr, thank you Madam Mayor. Those, err, err, expenses would have been, errr, in the… meaning that it it would be the best way of attending… in order to make the presentation, errr, and… in order to they could present in the best possible way, so, those costs involved are a perfectly, err, a perfectly beneficial cost”.
Cllr Birch raised a point of information, stating that there was a much cheaper £60 a night Premier Inn and a Travelodge within 300 metres of the hotel they chose to stay in. Cllr Clarke continued:
“That is the cost involved in making sure the presenters can make the case in the best possible way… I think it was a good and beneficial exercise”
The exchange can be found here at 24 minutes 38 seconds: https://youtu.be/5_f-gsxLWXE?t=1477
“A knees-up for the Conservaives, all paid for by hardworking residents”
Under the rules of the meeting, Cllr Birch did not have a right of reply to his supplementary question. He has since said:
“What utter nonsense Cllr Clarke’s reply was. There is not one shred of evidence that being nominated for awards such as this increased morale or recruitment. I have formally asked council officers if they could produce any evidence of this and they weren’t able to. Cllr Clarke’s comments are utter nonsense and don’t hold up to scrutiny. Let’s call this what it is- an abuse of taxpayer money.
This awards ceremony had no benefit to the residents of Rushcliffe whatsoever. It was nothing more than a knees-up for the Conservatives, all paid for by hardworking residents.
To add insult to injury, the Conservatives voted to raise our taxes in March 2024, citing budget pressures. Does their hypocrisy know no bounds?”
Cllr Birch has called on the Conservative leadership to apologise to the residents of Rushcliffe for such an egregious waste of taxpayer money.
“Cllr Clarke and the Conservatives should issue an apology to the residents of Rushcliffe and pledge to never waste taxpayer money like this ever again.”
