A couple of weeks ago, we put up this post about what many people are now acknowledging is an emerging crisis: Thurrock Council sliding into the mire. Well, it looks as though a veritable clusterf**k of events, a fair few of their own making, are catching up with the council: Thurrock Council announces plans to cut services and become ‘a smaller council’ as cash crisis begins to bite. Inevitably, there’s the bickering, posturing and what some see as political point scoring: Angry words on either side as leading councillors clash over cash situation.

Straight out, the bickering and point scoring between Tory ruling group councillors and the opposition may make for entertaining political theatre and will provide lots for local journalists to cover and comment upon, but it’s nothing more than a distraction. It’s a distraction from the real pain that the more vulnerable residents of Thurrock will feel as the services they rely upon are cut. It’s a distraction from the diminishing quality of the public sphere the rest of us will notice as services such as refuse collection, parks, etc. are cut. We’re not interested in who said what to who and whether they were telling the truth or lying. However, we are very ‘interested’ in how the inevitable cuts will to a greater or lesser degree, screw over all of us residents of Thurrock.

It’s at this point, the botched, delayed and money gobbling infrastructure projects such as the ‘rebuilding’ of Stanford-le-Hope railway station and the A13 widening to name just two really start to grate. Self inflicted wounds as a result of piss poor supervision by ruling group councillors of overpaid senior officers promoted beyond their capabilities. Then there’s the strategy of borrowing to invest…that’s one for a future post when the shite really starts to hit the fan. What really sticks in the throat? Take a look at the picture at the top of this post of the vanity project that’s the extension to Thurrock Council’s civic offices in New Road, Grays.

These f**kers, ruling group councillors and senior officers alike, will have plush new offices to administer the austerity us mere residents of Thurrock are going to be hit with for years to come. These f**kers need a sharp lesson to the effect that they’re supposed to be the servants of the residents of Thurrock, not the hubristic, remote, unaccountable, incompetent, arrogant s***show that they are. We’re p***ed off as are a growing number of folk we know in the area. It won’t take much more for something to give and our anger to erupt – trust us, it won’t be pretty!