Simon Faulkner: Are priorities going to pot?

POTHOLES or the bedroom tax – which is more important?

Put that question to a North East Lincolnshire councillor and you are likely to get a very definite response.

However, judging by the debate at a recent full council meeting, the answer would depend very much on the political colour of the person you ask.

Because while the Conservatives were accused of moral bankruptcy for voting against a motion condemning the Government's so-called bedroom tax, Labour were criticised for showing complacency over the state of the borough's roads by rejecting a proposed invest-to-save scheme to speed up pothole repairs.

Conservative councillor Philip Jackson, the proponent of the invest-to-save scheme, declared that "North East Lincolnshire's roads are going to pot."

He added that potholes were a danger for motor vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, contributed to accidents and added significantly to vehicle owner and business running costs.

His Conservative colleague Keith Brookes claimed that potholes were among the issues raised most often by residents in his ward.

But their Labour opponents begged to differ.

Ros James said that at a time of unprecedented cuts, the council had more "pressing priorities" to worry about – such as supporting the vulnerable and protecting jobs.

"Where do your priorities lie – children's centres or potholes?", asked Ian Lindley, leaving no doubt where his lie.

Peter Wheatley was even more emphatic – reeling off an extensive list of the nation's woes, from benefit cuts, inflation, the IMF's dim view of Chancellor George Osborne's austerity measures, the threat hanging over the children's heart surgery unit at Leeds, and even Tesco's disappointing 2013 financial results, before turning to the Tories and saying: "And tonight, you are talking about potholes. We have got our priorities right. They have got theirs wrong."

Is he right? If so then the Grimsby Telegraph is probably just as culpable – we have, for example, done far more stories on potholes recently than we have on the bedroom tax.

Speaking of which, this was a motion which showed Labour and the Tories just as deeply divided.

Pernicious, evil, demeaning, obscene, calamitous, heinous, iniquitous, shoddy and vile – just some of the adjectives used by Labour councillors to describe the policy.

The Tories said it was merely addressing an imbalance between the private rented and social housing sectors.

So just in case the Conservatives still hadn't got the message that they were woefully out of touch, council leader Chris Shaw decided to ask his colleague Ray Sutton if the issue of potholes had been raised at the policy, performance and resources scrutiny panel which he had chaired on March 14.

To which Councillor Sutton replied: "I don't recall anything about potholes on that occasion because we had far more important matters to discuss."

'Almost speechless ... but not quite'