Shirebrook in crisis- debt, financial, crime, leadership and identity
I just came back from my first STC meeting (19th of May) where I was a councillor and not a spectator. I knew we are in trouble but dear God- we are way deeper than I thought and Labour Party leadership seems to be more focused on car shows and brass instrument concerts than things that matter for people of this town- for example, crime. There is a lot to unpack in this article so without further ado…
DEBT CRISIS
At the end of the financial year, 2019/2020 Town reported £456 189 debt. At the end of the financial year, 2020/2021 Town reported £457 099 debt. The debt has grown by another £910. Not a single penny was paid back. BDC “bridge” loan just sitting on Town accounts generating cost.
At this moment 50-year long PWLB loans are rated around 2.8%. STC has been trying to obtain a PWLB loan for a long time to pay off the BDC bridge loan. Today we have the lowest base interest rates in history. They could go only one way: UP. In a couple of years, we can wake up with the main interest rate at 5% or even 10% (in 2008 it was 6%, in 1980 17%). What today looks like £8000 yearly repayment could be as much as £12 000 in few years. Instead of paying it back as soon as possible- Labour Party sits on this debt waiting for higher interest rates or Conservatives to win the election in Shirebrook and fix their mistakes…
Here is the scary fact: this loan already cost taxpayers in Shirebrook £7 099 and we didn’t even pay off one instalment.
FINANCIAL CRISIS
At the end of the financial year 2019/2020 there was £164 817 pounds on a town bank account and the auditor warns Town officials that this amount was too low for a town this size. At the end of the financial year 2020/2021 there was £136 904 on a town bank account. In 12 months cash reserves of town melted by £27 913. At this pace, the town will go bankrupt in four/five years.
In reality, the situation is even worst- STC still didn’t pay a penny of debt taken to build a new Town Hall. If and when they start to pay it back- it will add (my estimate) £8 000 (plus interest) to expenses each year (for next 50 years). That is not all.
Vice-Chair of STC promoted hiring new “Park keeper”. I opposed strongly that idea pointing out that STC simply doesn’t have enough money to do it. New full-time employee will add another cost of £20 000 per year. Probably more.
If STC forces those changes and finally starts to pay PWLB loan- we will add about £30 000 in costs per year. That means one thing: more tax increases. Why? Simply- this year deficit was almost £28k. Add another £30k and Shirebrook will go bankrupt in two/three years- probably just before or after the next Local Elections. Someone will have to cover that bill. And this someone is… we.
CRIME CRISIS
The crime rate in Shirebrook is on the rise since I start to note it. New Police Station slowed the dynamic of growth but didn’t stop it. That’s why I proposed the creation of a new Crime Prevention Committee (as far as I understand it will be discussed at the next STC meeting). In my perfect world- STC would suspend or dissolve Leisure Committee for two years and divert resources and manpower to solve the main problem in this town- crime. In reality, I just hope that I will find among Labour councillors enough decent people to support and introduce my idea. I don’t need funding from STC- I’m more than sure I can find it outside the town budget.
Some Labour councillors are invested in turning things around but I didn’t feel much enthusiasm for my idea. To be fair- crime talk took some part of the Annual Meeting but from where I stand: it seems like Labour Party leadership give a damn about this problem. It seems that most councillors are satisfied with the town’s “development” at present.
I’m not. Are you?
LEADERSHIP CRISIS
The town is running out of money, deep in debt, crime rising year on year and yet- leaders stay the same. It’s like we vote Tony Blair after the financial meltdown, failure of open-door immigration policy and the debacle of an illegal war in Iraq, thinking- “he is the best: we need more of that!”.
Shirebrook needs new leadership and sadly- me alone is not enough to turn things around. This town needs more local patriots who weren’t involved in local politics. Stop moaning, cease sighing- join Conservative Party and join me on the mission to turn this town around.
It’s not a coincidence that more and more people around the UK vote for Conservatives: it’s a pattern. People try Tories once, Tories deliver what THEY PROMISED, people want more of that. Simply as that. What choice do you have- more Labour policies? More tax rises? More crime? More debt?
IDENTITY CRISIS
An identity crisis is a developmental event that involves a person (or organisation) questioning their sense of self or place in the world. Labour Party nationally is in a deep crisis of identity. On one hand, they want to appeal to woke, ultra-liberal young generation in big cities. On other hand, they need the working class from Labour strongholds (they need just your votes- not you: just look at current and previous leadership of Labour Party: only people from big cities allowed).
Problem is that woke crowd HATE working-class people from more rural areas of the country. For them- we are bigots, racist, nationalists, transphobes and all that is wrong with this world. The best example of this weird split was the approach to Brexit: Labour Party decided to sit on fence in the most explosive political issue of modern times. In big cities- they were pro-UE. In rural areas like Shirebrook- they were pro Brexit.
The same identity crisis occurs in Shirebrook and it was clear at STC annual meeting. “Old guard” created this crisis trifecta: budget crisis, debt crisis and crime crisis and yet- they still hold on to power. If you think a new generation of Labour councillors could bring change- don’t hold your breath. The newly-elected Labour councillor didn’t say a single word throughout the whole meeting. It’s like he is there just to provide a vote for the same, old Labour.
Old Labour trying to tie this town to the mining past. Thing is- it’s past, it won’t come back and you cant build a better future by going back in time. Coal is dead and it will stay dead forever, but the future of the Labour Party in Shirebrook is closely tied to the sentiment of miners era- without it, they have nothing to show for. They are not working-class anymore (identity crisis), they can’t tell they have good economic policies (debt crisis and financial crisis), they cant brag about low crime rate (crime crisis)- literally, they have nothing but “miners sentiment”. So they need to base their power on the sons and daughters of miners. Without them- Shirebrook is lost for them. Problem is- current Shirebrook Labour needs just their votes- not them. No fresh leaders are coming to Labour simply because the people of Shirebrook don’t believe in Labour ability to change anything other than taxes (and change is always one way-up).
I hope that sons and daughters of miners will vote for what is better for them. One after another they will stop voting for Labour local elites just because their fathers and mothers voted Labour. Today Labour is not 2000 or 1990 Labour. They lost their way and it is obvious all over the country. This change is slowly trickling into Shirebrook too. More and more people see Labour for what it is- high crime, high taxes and complete inability to evolve and change.
Shirebrook is in crisis and there is little chance that this will change if the people who read this article remain indifferent.
Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com
Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels
