Lib Dems' Victory for Local Democracy After Tory U-Turn (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems' Victory for Local Democracy After Tory U-Turn

July 26, 2010 7:51 PM

Ian Allen, District Councillor for Haddenham

Cllr Ian Allen welcomes the climbdown on Cabinet Government at East Cambs District Council

Liberal Democrats are celebrating a victory for local democracy after a massive U-turn by the Tories on East Cambridgeshire District Council over changing the way the authority is governed.

Council leader, Fred Brown, announced a move towards cabinet-style government has been scrapped.

His decision comes despite the fact that the results of a consultation on the changes have not been made public.

The decision is a victory for Lib Dems who had fought to stop the cabinet system being introduced claiming decisions would be made by around eight Tory members with little voice for the opposition.

A cabinet system would have meant increased allowances for members putting increased burden on the taxpayer at a time when the district council is struggling to balance its books.

Lib Dem leader, Ian Allen said: "I am delighted with this outcome. The Tories have admitted that this idea has been scrapped to avoid wasting any more money.

"They were pressing ahead with a policy laid down by the Labour government which their own party does not support. It is highly likely that cabinet-style government will be changed by the new coalition.

"We knew that the coalition did not support this policy but it has taken a while for the message to sink in for the Tories. They have wasted money and officer time on a policy which was never going to be supported by the new government."

He praised residents who lobbied the press to express their concerns about the changes.

"The public were instrumental in getting this climb down. Many of them felt they were unable to answer the questions on the consultation paper because of the way they were loaded in favour of getting the Tories' desired result," he added.

"Having seen the consultation forms I would like to thank all those who took part in what was a more than 4-1 majority for the status quo."