Lancashire’s Reform-led council proudly boasted that they just released an app in a “bold move to cut red tape and empower residents“.
The app comes from a partnership with Love Clean Streets and allows residents to efficiently report environmental issues such as fly-tipping, potholes and broken signs so the council can arrange to deal with them.
What’s not to love? Well, conceptually it’s all good. The only issue with Reform’s proud boast is that the app was already being used by the people of Lancashire since 2022. It was brought in by the previous council, which was Conservative led. Reform had nothing to do with its introduction, despite now trying to take all the credit for it.
Councillor Barnes highlights their falsehood:
They have really shot themselves in the foot, and it is their first big announcement, and it is a big lie.
…
It is completely disingenuous.
She also claimed that even if they had released it it wasn’t necessarily something to be quite so proud of, alleging that the app is pretty mediocre.
They are really shouting out and promoting a tool that really isn’t that good, and if you speak to any councillors who used it for the last few years, and it is not that great.
You can report all sorts of stuff, and often they will close it before the work has been done. It is an okay tool, but it is not this all-singing, all-dancing thing that they are saying it is