REDDITCH Labour group leader Councillor Bill Hartnett has been hailed as ‘the most impressive and radical leader in the West Midlands’.
The praise was heaped on him by West Midlands MEP Sion Simon who was out campaigning with Coun Hartnett in his Church Hill constituency ward recently.
“I cover a huge area of the West Midlands and lots of local authorities and what Coun Hartnett is doing here in Redditch is pushing the boundaries of local government, effectively re-inventing it for the modern era,” he said.
“It’s not just doing the same old stuff it’s about thinking ‘how can we do what’s best for the people of Redditch’ and then doing it. It’s not glamorous but with things like the council’s involvement with co-operative housing, the mortgage buy back scheme, free swimming for under 16s and over 60s, bus passes and more they are making a real difference to people’s lives, and all this against a backdrop of continuing cuts from central Government.”