We have a bright future but no room for complacency
Column by Councillor Lee Steptoe, Labour member of South Kesteven District Council
As spring blooms in a typically British way, with extremes of weather, we can at last see a light flickering increasingly brightly at the end of the Covid tunnel.
I cannot wait to enjoy a beer in a pub garden (weather permitting) and eat again in my favourite Indian restaurants in our town. As I wrote in my last column, I have had the first jab due to my age and underlying heart disease and feel so much more positive for it. I want to thank our amazing NHS and its legions of workers once again; you truly are loved across our nation.
Tories are for turning, it seems
Column by Councillor Lee Steptoe, deputy Labour Group leader on South Kesteven District Council
After getting my jab recently I want to say a huge thank you to the NHS who have done a superb job in rolling it out so quickly so that the most vulnerable are protected.
It is the jewel in the nationâs crown and really has put some of the outsourcing to government cronies to shame.
Councillor Lee Steptoe, Labour (24894592)
Weâre not out of the woods yet, but two Tory budgets this week have been disappointing in shaping the post-Covid recovery; SKDCâs on Monday and Chancellor Rishi Sunakâs on Wednesday.
Budget cuts will fall on the most disadvantaged says Grantham councillor
| Updated: 12:55, 02 March 2021
The deputy Labour leader for South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) has criticised budget cuts for âfalling on the most disadvantaged.â
Councillor Lee Steptoe made his comments following SKDCâS meeting of the full council yesterday (Monday) to discuss the budget proposals for 2021/22.
He said: âTimes are tough as we all know but Labour opposes the SK budget cuts as they fall on the most disadvantaged.
Councillor Lee Steptoe, Labour (24894592)
âCouncillor ward allowances that do excellent work helping a range of community groups from foodbanks to local hubs are being cut from £1,000 a year to £500.
Last modified on Tue 2 Mar 2021 12.47 EST
Plans to use £100,000 of taxpayersâ money to underwrite an unveiling ceremony for a statue of Margaret Thatcher in her home town have been scrapped.
Councillors in Grantham, Lincolnshire were heavily criticised when they voted in December to set aside £100,000 to cover the costs of an event to reveal the statue, hoping donations would recoup the money.
The decision reignited divisions in the town over the statue and Thatcherâs legacy, and when the matter was put before a scrutiny committee on Monday it was decided delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic would provide enough time to raise the money through private donations.