'Pull your finger out of your derrieres'

Devon councillor's blue-on-blue attack

The government needs to “pull their fingers out of their derrieres” according to a Conservative county councillor.

Dermot McGeough, who represents Northam in North Devon, made the comment during a speech criticising his own party’s government and the county’s MPs at a full county council meeting on Thursday [16 February].

The ruling Conservative group’s budget for 2023/24 was approved at the meeting, but Cllr McGeough voted against it, saying responsibility for adult social care and children’s services should be given back to Westminster.

“Central government are failing us,” he said. “I’m a Conservative through and through. Never walked the floor, no intention to ever walk the floor. You cut me in half and I’m blue all the way through, which is a lot more than can be said for some people.

“We’re really, really struggling. It needs to be given back. Financially we cannot cope in Devon. Why should our residents suffer with such a huge burden on their taxes?

“Central government need to pull their fingers out of their derrieres and get it sorted for us,” Cllr McGeough added. “It’s not right. It’s not fair.”

He said the county’s children’s services, rated as inadequate by Ofsted but receiving an 18.4 per cent funding boost from April, is being “neglected” by central government.

“I want to see the best for the children of Devon. I’ve got a small child growing up. I want to see the best….I’m a Conservative. Is central government giving their best? No, they’re not giving their best.

“The MPs that are in Devon, I put this to you: ‘You wake up. Look at us. We need your help. Bloody help us.’”

He also criticised the county council’s highways department, one of a number of councillors at the meeting to lament the state of Devon’s roads.

“Highways needs a very good shake-up in my opinion,” Cllr McGeough said. “It’s not right that you leave roads in such disrepair … We’re being reactive. We’re not being proactive in anything.

“In the long run it’s going to cost this county tens and tens of millions of pounds to put right what we’re neglecting at the moment.”

In response, a spokesperson for Devon County Council, said: “Cllr McGeough’s comments were a part of a good and healthy debate on the budget at the full council meeting in which many members acknowledged the real challenges facing Devon and more widely across local government at this time.”

A government spokesperson from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Councils have access to more than £7 billion in the next financial year to provide social care.

“We always listen closely to what they require to deliver great services, which is why this year we have set out a two-year funding guarantee so they can plan for the long term with greater confidence and certainty.”