Council Scrutiny collapses as Labour Chairman loses confidence of committee

The Conservative-led administration's pick to scrutinise their work has failed in gaining the trust of a key council committee, leading to the Council failing to be able to scrutinise key decisions.

The decision came after years of inaction within the committee.

Independent councillor Alan Bailes expressed the frustrations of many on the committee that over the past year the board has not fulfilled its role as effectively as it should and areas where concerns were raised early ultimately have not been sufficiently scrutinised if at all.

He added that “A number of serious issues have gone unchallenged and they are exactly what this committee should be scrutinising — and in many of these areas, we as a committee have fallen short.”

At the meeting, Cllr McDonald (Labour) and Cllr Hotham (Independent) were proposed to chair the committee.

After multiple attempts the vote remained tied at 5 – 5, with Labour and Conservative councillors voting for Cllr McDonald, and Independent and Lib Dem Councillors backing Cllr Hotham.

Liberal Democrat Cllr James Clarke said, ‘As the newest member of this Council, I have been left in despair at how this key committee is being run. We have failed to properly scrutinise key decisions, which is not how we get the best for local residents.’

The meeting was adjourned after multiple attempts to break the deadlock.

James concluded, ‘“The Lib Dems will always ensure we are trying to get the best outcomes for residents and so we were delighted to back the nomination of a well-respected previous chair from the Independents.”

The committee will now meet again next month, where election of chair will be the first item on the agenda."