This week Lord Mayor Colin Hall decided that a motion, put forward by a fellow Labour councillor, was so urgent that it simply had to be added on to the agenda.

Adding an urgent item incurs the extra expense of printing and distributing details of that item. Last-minute additions also put opposition councillors at a disadvantage as they have less time to prepare a response.

This motion was about the budget – a serious issue which will affect the people of Leicester. But it wasn’t a motion to change council policy, or help the authority prepare for tough Tory cuts. Instead it was nothing but a bit of political posturing from newbie Virginia Cleaver, to rally the Labour troops. One eye on the local elections, which are just 11 months away, perhaps?

It read:

“Leicester condemns this coalition budget, for millions of families this is a budget from hell. The combination of a sharp and unfair rise in VAT, the callous freezing of child benefit and the deepest cuts on our public services will be a hammer blow to lower and middle income families.

“This budget is totally unnecessary by cutting the deficit further and further this budget flies in the face of all economic logic and will lead to slower growth and higher unemployment. Freezing child benefit has all the hallmarks of the same Tories of the 80’s and 90’s”

Questions must be asked as to why Coun Hall, a politician who is supposed to be apolitical for his year of office, felt that it was so urgent and vital to council business.

He also voted for it. Bear in mind that Lord Mayors often decline to cast their vote on overtly political matters due to their position of impartiality.

Let’s hope this isn’t a sign of things to come…