Labour to ban Sutton Coldfield and Yardley Constituencies holding their meetings locally

Labour to ban Sutton Coldfield and Yardley Constituencies holding their meetings locally

The iron fist of Councillor Sir Albert Bore will be pressed down on the rebellious Sutton Coldfield and Yardley District (or Constituency, as was) Committee on Monday 31st July. On that day, both of these Committees will be banned from holding any further meetings in their constituencies. They have held their meeting locally the case since 2003.

The decision will be made at Cabinet on Monday in the paper entitled “Council Committee Meeting Arrangements”

Anyone who has attended Constituency meetings will know that they have always held in a community hall somewhere in the Constituency, always in the evening – this was so as to enable members of the public to attend. How the Committee was run was entirely up to the committee itself – this being in the true spirit of devolution.

The new Labour administration in change of Birmingham decided in May, without any consultation or any explanation, that District (formerly known as Constituency) committee would be run as the Labour Leadership wanted them to be run. From now on they would be:

· Held during the daytime – thus making it difficult for members of the public to attend
· Held in the Council House – making it even more difficult for members of the public to attend
· Members of the public would not be allowed to speak at the District meeting, unless granted permission by the Chair – or as the recent the case of Hall Green District Committee showed, members of the public will be ignored by the Chair.

Conservative-run Sutton Coldfield District Committee and Liberal Democrat-run Yardley District rebelled against the orders from Councillor sir Albert Bore and decided to run their Committees as per previously – ie locally and in the evening.

It is to end this uprising that this ban will come into forced on Monday.