Labour Councillor sacked for speaking out on Salvation Army

Labour Councillor Danny Myers appears to have been sacked from his role as Chair of the Council’s Housing, Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee after speaking out against the horrendous way in which the Labour Executive decided to end the Salvation Army contract.

In November 2023, Councillor Danny Myers said:

“(But) we were told that they (the Salvation Army) were given the contract to sign with just five minutes to go before close of play on the Friday,

“They could not get it signed with such short notice.

“That was for a one-month extension of the contract. I understand that they could have been given another month beyond that as well, in which case they would still have been running.”

Councillor Myers is to be replaced by Councillor Jane Burton who spoke in favour of Labour’s budget that cut the Salvation Army contract saying that extending it would be “foolhardy at best, reckless at worst”.

Councillor Christian Vassie, the committee Vice-Chair, speaking on this change said:

“We want to thank Councillor Myers for the great job he has done in leading the scrutiny of the Labour Council’s reprehensible decision to scrap the Salvation Army contract.

“Cllr Myers took the brave decision to submitting a petition backing a ceasefire in the Gaza region. His principals and enthusiasm in the role will be sorely missed.”

“Councillors on all sides are dismayed at the way in which the Salvation Army contract was terminated and the continuing failure of senior officers or the Administration to provide any meaningful analysis of how it happened. I continue to believe that a full independent inquiry is required.”

“The Health and Housing Scrutiny has been waiting for nine months while the Salvation Army report has been delayed over and over again. Meanwhile the city’s homelessness crisis continues; it is a fiasco. Residents deserves answers as to what happened and how the Council can assure them that this won’t happen again.”