Shock and Horror as Tories threaten to cancel cinema

2.21.47pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 9th Aug 2007

"I have seldom been so angry", said David Rendel, Newbury constituency's Parliamentary Spokesperson today, following the announcement disclosed in the Newbury Weekly News this morning that Council Leader Graham Jones is "prepared to abort advanced plans for a cinema".

"Out of the blue the Conservatives are suddenly threatening to cancel the project themselves and go right back to square one. To start all over again now would mean a huge delay lasting several years.

"This is madness. Instead of putting the screws on the developers, the Conservatives have let them escape their responsibilities. Now if the developers have any doubts about the project, they can blame a cancellation on the Council. The Conservatives have thrown away their negotiating position.

"We know, of course, that our new Conservative MP described the plan as 'A massive misuse of public money' when it was first agreed. So is he behind the decision to consider aborting the plan? Not surprisingly, given what he thought of the plan, he appears to have done nothing to put pressure on his Councillors to make sure it happened.

"Under the Liberal Democrats the cinema was on the point of being built. Now under the Tories, it is on the point of being cancelled."