Opposition slams the Great Democratic Swindle

Labour councillors have slammed the leadership of Broxbourne Council for attempting to slash the number of independent-minded councillors and wrestle power to its centre.

The Conservative leadership are seeking to reduce the number of backbench councillors by cutting the overall number of councillors from 38 to 30 whilst offering no plans for a reduction in executive members.

At the same time, councillors are being asked to approve a move to a cabinet system, which in practice will see a massive shift of power to the centre of the council, with the leader of the council having executive powers for the first time in the borough's history.

These changes are being rushed through with little consultation with the residents of the borough, even though they opted to have a more democratic committee system on the last occasion the council reviewed its constitution.

Councillors have not yet even had the opportunity to review the proposed timetable for the consultation. The council is not legally allowed to start drawing up its plans for a new constitution until after the consultation has finished, and the plans have to be voted on by December 31.

Speaking about the proposed changes, opposition leader Councillor Michael Watson (Labour, Waltham Cross) said:

"What we are seeing is a power grab unprecedented in the history of Broxbourne. By slashing the number of independent backbenchers and setting up a cabinet system, the ruling group are ensuring that in future a small group of people will take decisions, with no internal scrutiny.

"People need to respond to the council's online consultation and make it clear to the council that Broxbourne wants to remain a borough in which decisions are taken democratically."

The consultation has just begun and members of the public are encouraged to make their views known via the council's website.

Report filed 31/10/2010

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