Conservative Group Leader, Councillor Nathan Evans, has formally written to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Ross, to complain about the abhorrent remarks made by Cllr Thomas in the full Council meeting on Wednesday the 16th of October. Councillor Simon Thomas, a Labour Councillor for Flixton, stated in reference to Hale Barns & Bowdon residents in regard to Winter Fuel Allowance payments:
“those in the ivory towers and let’s be honest the people that most of the Tories represent at the moment in Bowdon, Hale Barns, that don’t need £300” – Councillor Simon Thomas.
This is particularly ironic given that both the wards of Hale Barns & Timperley South, and Bowdon currently house the highest number of elderly residents of all Trafford Wards. According to the 2022 Office of National Statistics (ONS) data: 24.8% of residents in Bowdon are aged 65 and over, and 24.8% of residents in Hale Barns & Timperley South are aged 65 and over.
According to the same data, Hale Barns & Timperley South and Bowdon also house the highest number of residents over the age of 80 of all the wards in Trafford. 8.4% of residents in Bowdon are over the age of 80, and 9% of residents in Hale Barns & Timperley South are over the age of 80 (this is approximately 1 in every 11 residents).
It is these areas of Trafford, with the highest number of elderly residents (who most benefit from Winter Fuel Allowance), that Councillor Thomas insists do not have any need for Winter Fuel Allowance. But it is not just the inaccuracy of the statement made by Councillor Thomas, it is the general attitude towards the south of Trafford borough that is highly concerning as well as deeply offensive.
This is part of a particularly pernicious pattern when it comes to the Trafford Labour Group. One of the prime other examples of this attitude to the south of the borough, include the Health Scrutiny Committee discussions around the closure of the Altrincham Minor Injuries Unit, during which Councillor Sophie Taylor stated:
‘we have possibly a very niche service for a very small sector of the population who are probably the least deprived, and I’m just glad to hear that this wider review is going to be undertaken really, because it almost sort of suggests or begs the question: is this service actually needed?’
See here: Trafford Labour flip-flops on Altrincham MIU as unit set to close | Trafford Conservatives
Then there have been the responses to ongoing issues with traffic near Oldfield Brow Primary School, in the south of the borough, and the dangers this presents for primary school aged children. Multiple very successful ‘School Streets’ programmes have been launched, all in the north of the borough- in response to the car accident on Taylor Road near Oldfield Brow Primary School, the response is simply that this is not an urgent enough issue to be dealt with. Surely, it cannot be the case that the safety of school children in the south of the borough is less of a concern than the safety of school children in the north of the borough, and yet the differences in responses can be seen quite starkly.
See here: Questions for Trafford Council | Trafford Conservatives
These pervasive and unacceptable attitudes towards residents are part of a larger pattern of dismissiveness towards issues faced by those in the South of Trafford Borough. Councillor Simon Thomas’ comments were just a particularly ‘full mask-off’ nasty expression of these attitudes. Nonetheless, Group leader Councillor Nathan Evans has written to the Council Leader asking for action on these appalling comments expressed in Council on Wednesday the 16th. Please see this letter attached.
