Have your say on local government reorganisation

In early January we drew attention to plans by the Labour government to re-organise local government by doing away with District Councils and the County Council and replacing them with single unitary councils overseen by a single mayor who would cover all of Norfolk and Suffolk. Lots of detail was missing ( would Suffolk have one two or even three unitary councils, how do you keep local representation by councillors of potentially larger wards etc etc.)You can see  our comments at Democracy Denied? - Babergh Liberal Democrats.

Despite objections from District Councils ( all elected in 2023) the County Council ( elected in 2021) view that we should cancel this years elections to the County Council to allow focus to be put on re-organisation has been accepted by the Government.

When the County Council was last elected it was immediately after the end of covid restrictions and it lead to a huge Tory majority. In subsequent  District elections the Conservatives lost control of all District Councils in Suffolk.

And yet a council that has regularly been criticised for its management of educational performance is to be left in place to lead negotiations on the new model. By the time this process is finished they will have been power 6 or 7 years

This is clearly un-democratic. We need to have elections to give councillors a mandate to undertake the negotiations and planning required in the months ahead

This is not a party political issue

Four Conservative councillors in mid-Suffolk recently resigned from the  party saying "We are both appalled and dismayed that our Conservative county colleagues have so swiftly embraced this change imposed by the Labour Government and agreed to extend their likely term in office from four years to possibly seven years, serving unelected beyond their period of mandate and without any prior consultation with residents.”

The Greens and Reform have also criticised the move to delay elections

How we are governed locally is a big issue. It affects us all. We deserve a voice in what is decided and we need to have confidence in those who will have the job of negotiating the future shape and structure of the way we are governed.

Cancelling elections has the smell of a stich-up. It is maybe not surprising in light of the current unpopularity of both Labour and Conservatives that both are keen to avoid elections this spring when they are likely to take big losses. It's hard not to be cynical about the way this is being rushed through.

If you agree with us that any local government change should be negotiated by people with an elected mandate  not left to people in elected 4 years ago when reorganisation was in no-ones plans please sign our petition  Defend local democracy! - East of England Liberal Democrats

We need to make it clear that the current approach is unacceptable