A bitter political dispute has erupted in Dudley after Conservative councillors accused Labour MP Sonia Kumar of misleading Parliament over claims the council wanted to close a local health centre.
Minister's Comments Spark Fury
The controversy began when Health Minister Stephen Kinnock congratulated Ms Kumar in the House of Commons for 'saving' the Ladies Walk Health Centre in Sedgley, stating Conservatives were 'trying to shut' the facility. This statement triggered an immediate backlash from Dudley's Conservative leadership.
Council leader Patrick Harley and Tory campaigner Bill Etheridge launched scathing attacks, describing the minister's comments as inaccurate and accusing the local MP of making 'amateurish' attempts to claim credit where none was due.
Labour MP's Defence
Ms Kumar hit back forcefully against what she termed 'savage criticism', defending her position by pointing to documented evidence about the handling of the building's lease. The MP revealed that her office had obtained lease contract documents through an FOI request that showed the Conservative-led council could have begun renegotiations as early as 2020.
"Had the council begun renegotiations when the lease permitted in 2020, the situation would never have escalated to the point where NHS services and the library were put at serious risk of closure," Ms Kumar stated. "The eleventh-hour crisis we faced did not appear out of nowhere."
Conservatives Demand Retraction
Council leader Patrick Harley was unequivocal in his denial of any closure plans. "At no point was my administration remotely interested in closing Ladies Walk," he asserted. "The MP should withdraw those remarks as there was never any notion of closing the building."
Adding to the pressure, Conservative candidate Bill Etheridge, who will contest Sedgley in next year's council elections, described the situation as "extremely serious" and reiterated that "Parliament has been misled".
The dispute centres around negotiations for a new lease on the building that houses both health and library services, with campaigners having grown concerned about the facility's future during these discussions.
