Councils face revolt over cancelled elections
Government accused of ‘running scared of voters’ as councillors step down in protest over delays
Councillors have launched a revolt after Labour cancelled local elections for 4.6 million people.
Norfolk county council – one of Britain’s biggest – has been hit by resignations in protest over the election delays, which have been described as a “democratic outrage”.
Meanwhile, the leader of Welwyn Hatfield council stood down after a backlash over postponed voting drove its ruling coalition to the brink of collapse.
Essex – another major council that was thought to have been considering delaying its May elections – announced on Thursday that it would hold a vote after all.
The Telegraph understands that a string of councillors across Britain are also considering whether to stand down, potentially forcing local authorities to hold dozens of by-elections.
Earlier this month, Labour announced plans to deny millions of people the vote, leaving some having no say over who controls their local services and council tax for up to seven years.
Elections have been cancelled at 30 councils over claims that a looming reorganisation of local government makes holding ballots expensive, complicated and unnecessary.
The Telegraph has launched a Campaign for Democracy, calling for ministers to be stripped of their legal powers to cancel local elections without a full vote in Parliament.
Critics said the latest council resignations showed Labour’s plans were “descending into farce”. This week, four councillors in Tory-run Norfolk resigned in protest.
Edward Connolly, a Conservative councillor, Emma Corlett and Maxine Webb, Independent Progressive Group councillors, and independent councillor Simon Ring announced they would step down to give residents their right to vote.
Councillors are hoping to exploit a loophole by resigning and forcing a by-election to take place on May 7 – the same day on which the cancelled elections had been due to take place.
While Labour has the power to postpone local elections thanks to an obscure clause in the Local Government Act 2000, it has no power to stop by-elections from taking place.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, said: “Labour are denying democracy and running scared of voters because they know they face a ballot box battering.
“The process of election cancellations started as a democratic outrage and is now descending into a farce, with chaos on the ground and councillors forced into the position of calling by-elections to give voters a voice. It is absurd and disgraceful for Labour to pressure councils to ask for cancellations and then try to blame them when they do.
“Throughout their top-down reorganisation process, Labour have held a gun to local leaders’ heads, showing disdain for the communities they represent. The Conservatives are clear that these elections should be going ahead. We are the only party that will ensure a fair deal for residents.”
Ministers have justified the delays by saying they are needed to allow local authorities to merge as part of an efficiency drive, but critics have claimed that councils are cancelling ballots to avoid losing seats.
Labour is widely expected to perform poorly at this May’s elections, given its dire national poll ratings, and faces losing seats to Reform on the Right and the Greens on its Left.
The Telegraph: continue reading
Featured image: The Telegraph
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.
Leave a Reply