I served for four years as a Redbridge Councillor until standing down in 2006. Despite being active in politics, I found the budget process a real eye opener, firstly in the procedural sense, and secondly in how you can be so right, make the best speech of your life and still see a Tory majority council vote for cuts that hurt the most vulnerable people in our communities without a flicker of shame.

I have attached below a speech by my former colleague Cllr Filly Maravala, opposing Social Services cuts in the current Redbridge Council budget round.

You might find it interesting to see how a budget speech is conducted or you might like to read it as an example of the depths of evil embraced by David Cameron's Conservative Party.