But not only this, this little example shows you how much they don't care about the residents unless it's going to get them votes.
I received a call from a resident in Bridge Ward Ipswich - not my ward but as leader of the Conservative group he decided to start with me.
He told me that roadworks in Maidenhall Area along the approach into Prince of Wales Drive meant that there appeared to be no buses. Nor had any of the residents received notification to say one way or another so he took it upon himself to call Suffolk County Council, who told him that they had been given assurances that Ipswich Buses would be going through.
He then called Ipswich Buses who told him that this was incorrect and no buses would be going through these roads between 9am and 4pm but that this was SCC responsibility to tell residents.
No says SCC - it's Ipswich Buses route and they should - which is actually the obvious correct answer as they made the decision not to let the buses drive through between those hours.
My source was making these conversations within earshot of a Bridge ward labour councillor in a community shop and asked the councillor, who will remain nameless but it wasn't Smart, Rudkin, or Gardiner, and all he could do was shrug his shoulders and confirmed there wasn't a lot he would do.
My source then got onto Bryony Rudkin because old people would be waiting at bus stops for a bus that wouldn't be coming and she duly replied that the matter had been passed to someone else.
You're about to see a notice, put together in haste, according to my source, by councillor John Cook, who will never miss an opportunity to let the truth get in the way of a good political story that might get some votes.
This was their action, with intention to put them up at the bus stops only to find that Ipswich Buses got there first with a more professional notification.
The next thing my resident knows is that this is showing in the shop window of the community shop, which is supposed to remain totally neutral and of course, has since taken it down.
The message is actually totally inaccurate on more than one count and the following is quoted from a final e-mail sent by my source to the labour group, in reply to theirs, which, unsurprisingly has not received a reply:
1) One of your councillors was indeed aware early yesterday afternoon that this was an issue but when I asked for his help he declined. He could have raised this at a much earlier stage.
2) Indeed it would've been necessary to identify who had placed the notices - however the tone of the notice was blatantly partisan and sought to blame Suffolk county Council because they are Conservative run, even though the fault appeared to lie with Ipswich Buses
3) I am surprised that you are glad that the MRA displayed this sign since I would've thought that you would be aware that local community groups have to be apolitical as per their constitutions
4) If you believe the notice will not make any difference to voting intentions why was it worded in such a blatantly partisan way
5) it seems to me that more care should be taken in future when wording notices intended for public display for the benefit of the community.
so that's how you do it - blame Suffolk county council for everything you possibly can and don#t worry about how accurate, ethical or frustrating it is for our residents.
I'd rather lose an election than behave in this way - but I'll leave it up to you to decide what you think.
As the resident said - he did all the hard work on behalf of his neighbourhood and was left furious.
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