Last night (9th December) Tories on South Glos forced through support for big business in a council debate on food waste. The Labour group suggested backing a bill on reducing supermarket waste and getting edible food to poor people. The Liberal Democrats backed this, but the Tories, led by Hanham Councillor Heather Goddard, ripped out the guts, and just congratulated themselves on recycling and talking to MPs.

Councillor Claire Young (Westerleigh) said: “The Conservatives have completely missed the point, putting the focus back on residents and ignoring the role of the retail sector. While schemes like “Feed me and win” have value, anyone who watched the recent TV programmes will be well aware of the horrifying levels of waste before food even gets to our local residents. The Conservatives may be happy to throw the blame back on local people, rather than their friends in big business, but I am not.

Cllr Pat Hockey (Frampton Cotterell) added: “If Heather Goddard was on Just a Minute, everyone would have been shouting ‘Deviation!’. Why were so many things crossed out? Oblige supermarkets to donate surplus food as in Belgium and France – does she feel everyone there is about to come down with food poisoning? Requiring large supermarkets to track and report their food waste, why does she not want that to be published, so we have the facts? Setting ambitious targets for reducing waste, how can she oppose that? Perhaps she wants more waste to sell for anaerobic digestion?”

Eventually, the Tories amended motion was passed despite refusing to explain any of their views, with Liberal Democrat and Labour voting against them.