Have your say on how your council operates

4.56.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th Aug 2008

Brentwood Borough Council have today released the consultation document on the Cabinet system the Conservatives want to introduce to run Brentwood Borough Council. This is a major change in how your council will operate and we would urge you to take part in the consultation.

Your Liberal Democrat councillors DO NOT support the proposal for a Leader and Cabinet model.

The Liberal Democrats support Option Three - the current Committee system. We believe that in the interests of local democracy it is vital that all members of the Council continue to have an opportunity to openly debate and vote on the many issues facing our community.

The Conservatives want Option One which is for a Leader and a Cabinet. Under this system, even more decision making powers will be put into the hands of a small clique of councillors and there will be no cross party debate or discussion on many key decisions affecting Brentwood residents.

There is no legal requirement for Brentwood to change the way it currently operates it's system of local government and we believe the current Committee system is the best model for a community of our size, allowing all your elected councillors to speak up for you in a public forum.

Lib Dem leader, Cllr David Kendall, has called for a special public meeting to discuss these issues. Cllr Mike Le Surf, Labour Group Leader, agrees with this course of action however, the Conservative Leader of the Council, Cllr Brandon Lewis does not appear keen on such an event.

See the links below for the consultation documents.

Related Links:

Our view - in full.

Our call for a public debate.

The Consultation Paper.

Have your say.