A PETITION has been launched by outraged city councillors calling for the May elections to go ahead as scheduled after the leaders of Worcestershire County Council applied to have them postponed.
County Council leader Coun Simon Geraghty wrote to the government to seek postponement of the elections as part of his bid to form a Worcestershire Unitary Authority.
This would see the two-tier local government system abolished and a single unitary authority set up in its place under the Labour government’s devolution plans.
Opponents including the Liberal Democrats sitting on the city council, which would be among those city and district councils facing the chop, claim the bid has gone ahead without consulting the rest of the council, or the public.
They believe it is an attempt by the Conservative-led council to avoid another election in order to keep hold of power for longer after the party was wiped out across the country during the last general and local elections.
Coun Mel Allcott, as group leader of the City Council’s Unity Group was forced into writing a letter to the Government underlining that the proposal was not supported by the rest of the council.
This was further backed by a letter from the group leaders on Worcester City Council, including Lib Dem leader Karen Holmes, saying the elections should go ahead as planned.
The groundswell of opposition was further bolstered when the Conservatives sole representative on the City Council, Coun Alan Amos, threw his support behind keeping the elections, calling the attempts at postponement an ‘act of vandalism’.
Despite this, the governments Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon MP released a letter announcing the counties under consideration for delayed elections – with Worcestershire included on the 18-strong list.
Coun Allcott said: “The Conservative-led council have proceeded in a truly blinkered and undemocratic manner. They have totally ignored the city and district councils who have objected to the delay of the elections and are proceeding as if the matter is done and dusted when the reality is far from it.
“It’s utterly unbelievable that they feel they can make decisions without consultation or mandate from the public. It’s not a surprise that they wish to run from the ballot box having being embarrassed hugely in 2024, but this will not stand here.
” We have therefore started this petition to give the people in Worcestershire a chance to be heard. We call on all of those who wish to have their voices heard to please sign and share this petition all across the county. This is not a case of party politics. This is about ensuring that the democratic rights of every person in Worcestershire, as well as the rest of the country, is upheld and protected.
“No council should be able to make huge decisions that affect people’s rights in such a manner. It’s time that those who think they can undermine these principles learn that they work for their constituents and not the other way around.”
Coun Simon Geraghty, leader of the County Council, said: “The Government have very recently signalled the end of two-tier governance and therefore our district and county councils will be abolished.
“It is essential to emphasise this is not optional – the Government could not be clearer that, whether we like it or not, this is happening.”
He added: “It is for the Government to decide if elections are postponed to enable us to fully focus on engaging with residents, as well as working with partners and stakeholders to work up proposals and seek to implement this on an ambitious timescale.”
The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/WorcestershireDemocracy
