On Wednesday I sat down for my regular online read of the Croydon Guardian but when I got to the story, “Council’s Heartfelt Plea to Prevent Even More Deaths” I truly believed my computer monitor was on the blink.
When asked about the rise of respiratory disease and lung cancer in Croydon Conservative cabinet member for Health Margaret Mead said, “cutting the number of smokers was key. The big one is smoking because we know smoking has a direct result on your health”.
Councillor Mead’s hypocrisy is monumental as she and her Conservative colleagues support and condone the council staff pension scheme being invested in the tobacco industry.
How can an elected official, charged with taking care of the borough's health support an administration that invests in tobacco firms?
Let’s also remember that Councillor Mead and her Tory friends actively support the planned incinerator that will belch fumes into our lungs for years to come. And welcome the pollution that will come from thousands of lorries trundling through Croydon, depositing waste from other London boroughs on our door-step.
So we have a health spokesperson that supports the tobacco industry. A Children Families and Learning spokesperson that sells of our culture & libraries and a Highways spokesperson that has given us filthy streets while presiding over a mountain of fly-tipping. All propped up by a gang of back-benchers who are too cowardly, too complacent and too out of touch to speak out for their constituents. May’s local elections can’t come soon enough.
Andrew Rendle, South Norwood
Send your letter to: letters@croydonguardian.co.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here