Opinion: SBC: S for Silence ...

For those of us who used to think the term ‘right honourable member’ for such and such constituency was a fair description, well I doubt many think that is a fair 
description of politicians these days.

And our local politicians it would now seem are mired in a potentially huge scandal of which I suspect we are only seeing the tip of.

Most of us in Scarborough have become very disgruntled about many problems in our borough, many of which have been highlighted in this very newspaper, problems that a simple response from the council could often alleviate by replying to criticism and explaining what is being done.

Whatever criticism is levelled we are always met by a deafening silence, treated with contempt even. The increasingly insistent problem of gull attacks and the associated mess made by the growing numbers is one example where our local councillors seem oblivious to the public demand for a response; it’s not a problem that is going to go away of its own accord.

And now we hear allegedly that corruption in the form of work or services at favourable rates might or might not have been carried out at taxpayers’ expense, and yet the initial whistle blower was sacked.

All credit then to Ben Marriott, the whistle blower who took his case to tribunal and won it, the tribunal judge being highly critical of the council’s supposed investigation into this. Indeed the judge described it as a ‘whitewash’.

The local public already have much information about this from previous reports in The Scarborough News.

However, I watch this with bated breath as do other local citizens.

I fully expect the possibility of criminal proceedings.