CONSERVATIVES SLAM "IRRESPONSIBLE" MP

Conservatives in County Hall have expressed dismay at the latest unhelpful and inaccurate pronouncements by the current Taunton MP, Jeremy Browne.

His most recent gaffe relates to a proposed reduction in the contribution that Somerset County Council make towards PCSOs across the County. Having embarrassed himself in front of the Police Minister at an all-but-empty late night House of Commons session last year, Mr Browne has now presented a poorly-signed and ill-informed petition to 10 Downing Street on the issue.

William Wallace, Cabinet Member for Community Safety at Somerset County Council, commented, "Yet again, Mr Browne has got his facts wrong. I really expected more from an MP with all the resources at his disposal. All this does is spread fear across Somerset, while the County Council has been working closely with our colleagues in the Police to reduce both the instances of crime and the fear of crime. The MP talks about 'massive cuts' and a 'slash' in the budget, but the likely outcome for the people of Somerset is that there will be one and a half fewer PCSOs in the whole County. In any event, this will have no material effect on community policing. I have been involved in in-depth discussions with Avon and Somerset Police and other key partners, and they understand our decision. If Mr Browne is still in a muddle about his figures, I am happy to meet him to give him the true picture. But the reality is that the County Council remains committed to working with its partners to make Somerset even safer.''

Stephen Martin-Scott, County Councillor for Taunton & Trull and Cabinet Member for Strategy & Communications, said, "It pains me to see my local MP being so irresponsible, and I have to question whether he is fit to hold such a responsible position. He should know better than to issue statements that spread fear throughout his constituency, and I am saddened, although not entirely surprised, by his latest actions.''

He added, "In some ways I am sorry for him, as he seems to be very confused. It was his own party Leader who promised "savage" cuts under a Lib Dem government, and if he thinks that Gordon Brown is the man to help, Mr Browne is obviously as detached from reality as the Prime Minister currently appears to be. It is clear that Jeremy Browne is running scared and fighting for his political life in Taunton, making ill-informed statements about any issue that he thinks might get him a few extra votes. Perhaps he is worried about having to pay for his own roof repairs next time, rather than making the tax-payers of Taunton fork out for them through the expenses system."

END

For more information, contact William Wallace, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, 07770638931 wwallace@somerset.gov.uk or Stephen Martin-Scott, CountyCouncillor for Taunton & Trull and Cabinet Member for Strategy & Communications, 07919540243 shmartin-scott@somerset.gov.uk

Notes to Editors:

Jeremy Browne's Taunton constituency is home to over 100,000 people. His 'Save our PCSO Petition' contained signatures from "hundreds of Taunton Deane residents", likely to be less than 1% of his electorate.

In an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons on November 3rd, 2009, Jeremy Browne raised the issue of PCSOs in Somerset. Although The Minister for Policing, Crime and Counter-Terrorism, David Hanson MP, welcomed the discussion, he felt it necessary to inform the MP for Taunton that the decision "...remains a matter for local discretion".

There are 166 PCSOs across Somerset, of which Somerset County Council currently funds 17. As part of its latest budget, this number is planned to be reduced by 4.5. However, due to other streams of funding being achieved, the net result will be a reduction of 1.5 PCSOs, which will not affect community policing.

In 2007/08, Jeremy Browne MP claimed £5,088 for roof repairs on his London flat.

Ahead of the 2009 Liberal Democrat Party Conference, the Party Leader, Nick Clegg, stated that Britain needs 'savage' cuts. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/18/nick-clegg-liberal-democrats-spending

Ref: 27Jan10