Labour councillor for Newport East, Geoff Lumley, shares this latest news. Ed
After 16 years of Executive governance at County Hall, Labour is proposing a reversion to the previous Committee system from May 2018.
A motion will be proposed by Cllr Geoff Lumley to next week’s Full Council that seeks to put Committees in place from the Annual Meeting in 2018; time needs to be allowed for the new scheme to be drawn up and published.
Five year commitment
If the motion is successful it will bind the IW Council to a Committee system for five years, unless a referendum were to subsequently overturn it.
Cllr Lumley said,
“In the light of experience, it is clear that the Executive model was not designed for a ‘no overall control’ Council like we have had over the last four years. A group with just 40% of seats had 100% control of the Council for two and a half years and we now have a cobbled-together coalition of three even smaller groups with a majority of just one also holding 100% control.”
“Twenty of the 40 member Council were elected in 2013 on a promise to return to a Committee system, but it was not delivered. Labour had its doubts then, but nearly three years of minority control has convinced us that the Executive model does not work fairly.”
“We are now offering all those 20 councillors a chance to redeem themselves. If they stand by their promises this time then this will be approved and democracy will be returned to County Hall with every councillor having an equal say.”
