New amendments in Lambeth, which are set to be forced through by Labour without consultation, are an act to further centralise power and control and to remove accountability under the guise of giving local residents more of a say says Green Councillor Scott Ainslie.
Lambeth Town Hall where the Lambeth City Council meet. Photograph courtesy of Steve Cadman.
Labour is planning to amend Lambeth Council’s constitution, effectively silencing the voice of the one in six Lambeth residents who voted Green in May.
The constitutional changes will be presented at Lambeth’s full Council meeting tomorrow (23rd July).
The Green Party received the second largest vote share in Lambeth at the recent Council elections, ahead of the Conservatives and Lib Dems. But under Labour’s constitutional changes the Green Party won’t be allowed to speak as part of a new, regular, one-hour, showcase ‘themed’ debate. Councillors from other parties will have the automatic right to speak.
The Green Party will also be limited to asking just one question and proposing one motion at each full council meeting. Neither of these can be debated under the new arrangements.
Green Party councillor Scott Ainslie said “Almost half the votes in the recent council elections went to opposition parties. But opposition groups will have no chance to initiate debates on any subject under Labour’s changes. Instead of giving local residents a voice, Labour is further centralising power and control, and removing accountability.
“What is worse is this is being done under the guise of giving local residents more of a say. But Labour will force through these constitutional changes without any consultation. Labour will control who attends, Labour will control who speaks and Labour will control the subjects being debated. The Council faces the bizarre prospect of debates on the environment without a Green voice!”
The Greens have tabled an amendment to a motion at full council, proposing that time in full council meetings and subjects for debate, be apportioned fairly according to the share of the vote obtained in the recent council elections.
The Greens have also proposed that more time is given to deputations from local residents, which will be be limited to two under the new constitutional arrangements, lasting just three minutes each.
The Greens are also calling for more wide-ranging involvement of local residents in council business, including places on Overview and Scrutiny Committees, and the opportunity to decide on the subject of council debates, with independent, rather than party-political selection of which local residents get to speak in council debates.