THURROCK Council has narrowly voted to request a postponement of May’s local elections, sparking anger from the Reform Group leader who branded the process a “farce.” reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
On Tuesday, the council’s cabinet agreed to write to the Government asking for the elections to be deferred, arguing that holding them would disrupt work on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). Council leader Lynn Worrall said the reorganisation process must take priority but vowed to listen to councillor views.
But at an extraordinary full council meeting on Wednesday, a motion from the Reform Group urging the council not to seek a delay was defeated by a single vote — 20 against and 19 in favour.
Ahead of the vote, Reform Group leader Alex Anderson criticised the move, warning against tying democratic processes to an uncertain timetable for LGR.
He said: “A couple of years ago, councillor Worrall said elections cannot be contingent on an event ‘down the never never.’ That was about a boundary review completed in a year. How can we now make elections contingent on a process whose timetable has already been ripped up twice?”
The Government has indicated it is “minded to approve” requests to postpone elections until 2027 if they hinder LGR, which will see Thurrock and 14 other councils merged into up to five new unitary authorities which are yet to be decided. If approved, this would mark the second consecutive year Thurrock has cancelled elections.
Independent councillor for Stanford-le-Hope West, Neil Speight, proposed an amendment to hold elections for one-third of councillors rather than all 49, but council officers said this was not possible due to boundary changes. Mr Speight suggested members due for election could resign to trigger by-elections, preserving democratic accountability.
Roy Jones, Independent councillor for Stanford East and Corringham Town, said: “I can’t support the motion because it’s not the right time. Reform would probably win, but this council is winding down. In two years it will be no more.”
After the meeting, Mr Anderson questioned why Jacqui Maney, Conservative Councillor for Aveley and Uplands, had left the council chamber before the vote.
He also accused the council of miscounting votes, claiming his motion could have passed if he’d had Ms Maney’s vote. “Counting 19 votes despite 20 councillors voting for my motion is a farce,” he said, adding: “I’m sure they have votes like that in Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea. I didn’t think we had votes like that in Thurrock Council.”
He added: “Where on earth the missing Tory went when it came to vote is anybody’s guess. The least residents deserve is that their councillors stay in place, vote and represent their voters to the best of their ability.”
Thurrock Council and Ms Maney have been asked for comment.
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Elections
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Thurrock Council
