Tories Pay Only Lip Service to Social Inclusion

5.24.21pm GMT Tue 9th Jan 2007

At today's County Council meeting, the Conservative majority voted against a motion proposed by Cllr Zoé Patrick, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, to support social and cultural events that encourage social inclusion and community cohesion.

Zoé pointed out that the Council had a social inclusion strategy which aims to improve the quality of life for Oxfordshire residents. But she queried whether this was just paying lip service and asked for support for community events to put the policy into action.

She said, "There are many opportunities around the county to ensure that people from all walks of life can mix and enjoy themselves together. This promotes better understanding of each other, and of different cultures and backgrounds - and assists in reducing tensions within communities. Although Conservative Councillors have apparently been happy to attend events, they have not been proactively helping to fund them. This seems to go against their manifesto promise to make Oxfordshire 'welcoming and friendly to all' and their stated aims to safeguard communities and provide community leadership."

Cllr Altaf-Khan, seconding the motion, said, "I was very sad to hear some of the comments made criticising multi culturalism. These events are important and promote good relationships in the whole community."