THE Slough Labour group have been accused of “running away” from residents after voting in favour to request government to cancel this year’s election.
Due to Covid-19, the council decided to host an extraordinary full council meeting at the Herschel Grammar School on Tuesday, January 18, to maintain social distancing.
At the meeting, councillors voted in favour to swap current election arrangements in favour of ‘all-out’ elections every four years from 2023 with changes to internal ward boundaries.
Currently, a third of councillors are elected each year, with members serving four-year terms. This costs the council £187,000 whereas the price for an all-out election would cost £210,000 every four years.
The swap was one of the many recommendations in Jim Taylor’s damning report into the council’s governance after it effectively declared bankruptcy in July.
This does not mean this year’s election is automatically cancelled. The council has to request this to the Secretary of State Michael Gove where he will have a final say.
If Mr Gove approves, then an all-out election will take place in May 2023 with new ward boundaries. The make-up of the council will remain as 42 councillors.
The move was unanimously welcomed by councillors. However, the Slough Conservatives were not keen on cancelling this year’s election and accused their Labour opponents of “running away” from the electorate after the council’s major financial pressures emerged last year, just after the 2021 election.
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Tory leader Dexter Smith (Colnbrook with Poyle) said: “To my mind, this is about whether or not members are willing to stand up and defend what has gone in this council in front of the electorate or allow others to come forward and campaign on what has happened in this financial crisis that has engulfed us.
“I do not support running away from elections and that is what part D of this report is about. I think the people of Slough deserve the opportunity to be able to vote.”
But Labour councillors denied they were “afraid” of facing the electorate nor “depriving” residents’ their say. They also said it was “illogical” to waste £187,000 to hold a “redundant” election this year where all members will stand a year later.
Council leader James Swindlehurst (Lab: Cippenham Green) said: “The idea that we need another election in the meantime when the council cannot physically change hands.
“Labour has 36 seats in this council, we don’t hold all 14, but there is no way we can be turfed out, so it is an irrelevant election and therefore it is better that we move to the efficiency of having the all-out [election].”
Cllr Swindlehurst added all the council issues via Tory propaganda were raised before last year’s election where it “didn’t lead to a transforming election,” bar one seat defeat in Langley Kedermister.
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It was also heard cancelling this year’s election will relieve pressure off the council’s electoral team who will be drafting the internal boundary changes of new wards.
Councillors unanimously voted in favour to move to all-out elections. However, the three Conservatives present voted against the recommendation to cancel this year’s election.
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