Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Moss
Andrew, we have a ludicrous system at the moment where protocol and consistution rules are flouted and bent to the will of one man who represents the best interests of both himself and his own ward. Hyndburn, whatever mystical land that might be, does not really exist outside the boundary of Oswaldtwistle.
There are set rules about full council meetings which have not been fully adhered to and which have passed through the legal and executive system with rather suspicious ease.
If the Leader of the Council truly believed in a democratic society then every vote would be by secret ballot and all full council meetings would be at a convenient time. 7.00pm is convenient for everyone, so why hold it in the afternoon unless you're desperate to get a vote to go your way and re-elect yourself as Leader of the Council?
Secret ballots can be requested if one third of the council want one, but this can be overturned by a mere six councillors who want a named ballot - the majority overturned by the minority.
As it stands, Cllr Britcliffe is not 100% guaranteed to be voted Leader of the Council next week as you seem to be forgetting the Independent councillors also have voting rights and are not over-enamoured of him.
By moving the full council meeting to 1.30pm it makes it quite difficult for all Labour councillors to make it to the meeting, therefore enabling Cllr Britcliffe a clear definite majority of at least one vote. It is jerrymandering and not in Hyndburn's best interests for any Leader to behave this way.
Just keep an eye on those purse strings if he gets re-elected. There is no money in the pot for any ward this year (in fact the Area Council in Rishton have been given a whopping £12k to spend for the year and we're quite well off with that compared to others) but just wait and see how many Oswaldtwistle projects get the green light.
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I can't agree with you that a secret ballot is more democratic. Councillors should be held accountable for how they vote. The people of Hyndburn can't hold them accountable if they don't know which way they've voted.