Despite our success, there still remains, albeit smaller, a Labour majority often supported by some of the opposition national parties locally, who thwart at every opportunity attempts by Independent councillors to properly scrutinise the administration and mismanagement of the ruling Labour Group. Often and unfortunately this results in the Council meetings descending into farce and worse, a form of uncivilised verbal brawling which is entirely undignified and which often results in gratuitous verbal abuse. The Council meeting of Thursday the 25th June 2009 being a suitable example whereby the meeting of the Council was suspended with at least one female Independent Councillor allegedly being assaulted by a male Labour Councillor and another subjected to racial abuse. | myself over a number of years have attempted many different approaches in order to be allowed to have a public debate regarding significant issues affecting the people of South ‘Tyneside in the Council chamber, I have found my inability to properly scrutinise the Council in the Council chamber increasingly frustrating. To be truthful it really is unpleasant to suffer personal abuse meeting after meeting where as an elected member for Westoe my job is to scrutinise the ruling Labour Group and not just to simply deal with residents enquiries on a one to one basis, no matter how satisfying that is. The easy thing to do of course would be to simply walk away. It is after all a voluntary job. | must tell you that | have considered this and I have thought long and hard about my actions which will result in a by-election. | have however been unable, along with some of my colleagues, to raise some key issues relating to Councillors allegedly fiddling their expenses together with the refusal of ‘the Council to hold an Independent inquiry relating to the theft of 18 ballot boxes during a previous election and about some serious irregularities relating to financial mismanagement at the most senior levels of the Council and Cabinet. Many of these issues have also not been properly reported or indeed have been ignored by the local newspaper, The Shields Gazette and since much of our opposition needs to occur in the Council chamber it means that large numbers of the public are unaware of the issues which we are trying to debate. By forcing a by-election | am hoping that neither the local press nor the ruling Labour Group will be able to ignore the three principal issues in which | intend to conduct my campaign and that you are given a further opportunity of commenting upon the undignified way in which the ruling Labour Group conducts it's business in the Council chamber on behalf of all of us in South Tyneside. | am not sure personally whether this is the right approach but | do hope that you will support me in the forthcoming by-election. More importantly | do hope that you will contribute to the debate on the issues raised because | am sure that the ruling Labour Group do need to be reminded that they cannot run this Council like a private members club and conduct Council meetings in such an undignified and uncivilised way. | have outlined my campaign statement which you will recieve next week and | do hope that you will take the opportunity to contact me with your views. This time we are going to be fighting just one seat and we will certainly be fighting against the whole of the Labour Party machine. Should you agree with me, | hope you will make that statement of support on voting day by supporting me again as your Independent candidate. Please contact me at home or work should you want me to come along and discuss these issues with you in more depth on a one to one basis. Yours gratefully ALLEN BRANLEY Independent Westoe Ward Printed by CON Pit, Mawel Stee, Sou Shi, Tyne & a, NESS AF. Pabloed by Jane Bare, Th White Howse, Wee Vilage, South Shes, NENG GE,