The voters wanted change. They voted for change.

At the Folkestone and Hythe District Council Meeting of Wednesday 29th January 2025, I opposed the motion seeking to refer the decision to move a a committee system to the Government Minister.

Sadly, the motion was passed with all Green and Conservative Councillors (and the single Green Councillor) backing the motion. Labour, the Lib Dems and Independent Councillor Paul Thomas voted against.

I said:

"This motion is asking our officers to write to a Labour minister to allow us to overturn a decision in the teeth of opposition from the local Labour Party.

"I wonder what the Labour Minister say.

"We then suspend work on moving to a committee system, until we get a response back from that Labour minister.

"This motion doesn’t stop the move to a committee system. It can’t. It even says so.

"It delays getting on with it until we get a letter from Government. I for one am sick of waiting for letters from Government. And if, as seems likely, we get told to get on with it, we then really will have a rushed process that will put pressure on the whole organisation.

"That’s not the way to run a sensible, stable Council. It’s dangerous.

"I’d like to avoid that risk. We should be in control of our own destiny, based on our previous decisions.

"And we should continue to implement the committee system because we said we would. We’re honourable people that do what we say. This might be our last significant chance to prove it.

"This will offend some people, but the huge majority of people in this chamber were elected for a key reason: they were not the Conservative candidate. The voters wanted change. They voted for change. 

"They did not vote for us to support a Conservative motion attempting to stop change, no matter how much we argue the landscape has changed.

"We came into this to make change.

• Democratise our system.
• Share power.
• Involve residents.

"We’ve written a constitution that is ready to go that does those things. Its good. It also tackles a number of weaknesses in our current constitution. We should use it.

"Now is not the time to say that's too hard because we might not be here soon. It's the best time to do it. 

"We should do it to prove we can.

"We should do it to prove it’s the right model for our successor bodies too. If not now, when?

"And that’s a case we should then be putting in the formation of a new Unitary. 

"The political geography of an East Kent Unitary could end up with a cabinet without a single Folkestone and Hythe member on it for example. Committees would help tackle geographic as well as political exclusion. We should push for it across East Kent. The best way to do that is to show it working here.

"Don’t get me wrong: I don’t support this rush to local government reorganisation.

"However, we’re here to shape the future representation of the residents of our district and protect their interests.

“And one key way is to reinforce our Town and Parish Councils and other local organisations and increase their say, their assets and their capabilities.”

….and what I would have concluded by saying, if I had not been timed out:

"Many of us here know their current capabilities as we sit on them.

"We need that experience from Acrise, Folkestone, Hythe, Hawkinge, Ivychurch, New Romney, Newington, Lydd, St Mary in the Marsh and most crucially Sandgate in all our decision making so we do what is right for each of them.

"We can do better than simply passing all services and assets to a Unitary that is too big to be reasonably called local government.

"The committee system gets more eyes on these decisions. It will help us make better, more informed decisions.

"And of course it's simpler for staff and officers not to make a change in our system of Governance now. It always was.

"However, with this change our staff will have something others will not: actual experience working under two different systems. That’s good for them. It’s good for their potential in a successor organisation. They’ll be ahead of the curve. 

"Susan has confirmed that offers and staff CAN deliver a committee system. It's down to the Council if we want it.

"I want it. You should want it. 

"You made a promise to your electorate, your colleagues, this Council, and yourself.

“Vote this motion down. Be the Councillors you were elected to be. Change makers.”