REDDITCH Borough council have agreed to ask the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to postpone the May election.
At an extraordinary meeting tonight (Tuesday, January 13) councillors met at Oakenshaw Community Centre to discuss the proposal.
Council members voted six to four to postpone the election, with nine councillors unable to attend due to being up for election in May.
The proposal to cancel comes in light of the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).
A decision is due to take place this summer that would see all district councils and the county council abolished with a vote to establish the new authority is scheduled to be held in May 2027.
Were that to be the case, the newly-elected councillors would only serve a term of 18 months before the borough and district councils were abolished.
But some argue that not to hold the vote would be undemocratic.
Emma Marshall, former borough and county councillor organised a protest outside the community centre.
Members of the public started protesting at 6pm, chanting ‘let us vote’.
There was some colourful language, and tensions were high.
Speaking to the Standard at the protest, Mrs Marshall said: “This is about democracy.
“Redditch residents deserve the chance to vote. Once we start setting precedent to cancelling elections we are on a very slippery slope.”
In their report, officers point out Redditch is the only council in Worcestershire to have elections next year, before the LGR takes shape. The cost of holding the election to the taxpayer would be at least £192,000.
When asked Mrs Marshall would say in response to the financial impact, she said cost has nothing to do with it.
“We’re told this is about saving money, yet an Extraordinary Council meeting still carries costs – room hire, officer time, paperwork, and staff overtime.
“This decision appears to have already been made, yet the public is shut out while costs are still incurred.
“Elections do cost money, but democracy is not optional. It’s a fundamental right.”
The meeting start at 7.45pm after an already scheduled executive council meeting.
Council leader Sharon Harvey addressed the room and presented the report to councillors.
She said: “This is about capacity to deliver Redditch Borough Council safely into the unitary – in the best possible shape financially, and with appropriate measures agreed to safeguard our assets for the future.
“This is a journey we have worked through as a whole council, a position we have backed unanimously and which we are all invested in.
“Remember our proposal is about transforming local government in Worcestershire – making a joined up approach so we don’t have the confusion of borough does this, county does that.
“Residents just want good reliable public services whether that’s housing, highways, buses, bins, parks, planning, libraries, learning.
“Let’s get that all under one roof because it will be more cost effective for the taxpayer and better for the people of Redditch.”
The meeting was raucous, with members of the public gallery often heckling whilst councillors were speaking.
At one point the meeting had to be adjourned after an incident occurred after Coun Ian Goodall called a member of the public gallery a Nazi.
Coun Harvey said in response: “Emotions were heated across the room, including in the public gallery.”
Coun David Taylor, who represents Reform UK on Worcestershire County Council, said the councillor had to resign.
“This incident occurred during a meeting where Labour were preparing to take decisions that many residents feel undermine local democratic processes.
“Emotions may have been high, but we should still expect far better standards of conduct from those elected to represent us.”
After the vote, members of the public gallery were disappointed, and Mrs Marshall took to social media to say sorry to supporters.
“We tried our best but it was voted in favour of cancelling elections.”
She also pointed out that more people turned up to watch the meeting than voted on the proposal.
The council will now write to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government by January 15 to ask them to postpone the election.
Visit https://redditchstandard.co.uk/news/watch-redditch-borough-council-extraordinary-meeting-on-whether-to-cancel-election/ to watch the full meeting.
