A LEADING Thurrock councillor has jumped on a planning decision last night (Thursday, 2 December) to blast the rival Labour group.

While the ruling Conservative group have frequently said they don't like 'dog whistle politics and name-calling ' housing portfolio holder Luke Spillman wasted little time last night in jumping on his soap box to beret Labour after a Conservative majority on the council's planning committee back a plan to demolish a large house which has special disabled facilities to build four smaller homes in its place – despite a local campaign to maintain the building and refurbish it because it is one of just a handful of large homes on the council's books.

A report on the debate can be found here.

Within minutes of the decision local Tories had issued a propaganda release slamming Labour.

It reads: "Tonight, at Thurrock Council's planning committee, Chadwell Labour Cllr Muldowney argued against building four new council houses. "Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Luke Spillman said: 'It doesn't surprise me to see yet another Labour councillor oppose yet another plan for council housing. They're an 'anti-everything' party without a single constructive or progressive idea for Thurrock. 'It can't be any surprise that Thurrock voters consigned them to the dustbin in May. 'Until Thurrock Labour rise above the looney left student politics of Jeremy Corbyn residents will continue to regard them as entirely unfit for office. 'Unfortunately, at the moment Thurrock Labour continue to show that they couldn't run a whelk stand'." Given the speed of the announcement, it did appear after the event the planning decision may have been co-ordinated by the Conservative group along party lines – something that is expressly forbidden by council convention. During the meeting leading Conservative Sue Little had spoken against the planned new homes scheme, saying: "I don't think it is in keeping with the street and so I will be against this. It needs a radical look at how they have designed this." But when it came to the vote she supported approval of the council's scheme. A subject view on the whole affair came from independent councillor Gary Byrne, who voted against the plan after saying: "By knocking this down, are we stopping a disabled person having a better quality of life? "We should at least include provision for the disabled within this development."