In what could have been seen by many as an opportunity to work together, last nights full council meeting was hijacked by the Conservatives inability to cooperate with anyone else but themselves!
Along with the Green Party and other oppositions groups, we had put forward a motion [full details here] to the full council which said…
Motion to commit to action to achieve Carbon Neutrality
This motion has to follow a set of rules which is laid down in the Councils constitution. Cllr Michael Hoy, had submitted the motion following these rules and had it agreed by the Managing Director of Rochford District Council.
The Constitution is divided into 16 articles that set out the basic rules governing the Council’s business.
https://www.rochford.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/constitution-council
So what’s the fuss about?
Cllr Michael Hoy had asked the Conservatives prior to the meeting if they would support the motion and offered to amend it if they were unhappy with it, after all, this is probably one of the biggest challenges we will face in our lifetimes. The response he received was that they wouldn’t support it. So on the night what happened? The motion got voted down, the proposed amendment to meet the reasons why it got voted down, was also voted down also. Then from nowhere, the Conservatives proposed a motion. They had not followed the rules, there was no submission to Council prior to the meeting, to add insult to injury, their proposal was…. the same as ours with the amendment!
We can not give you the motion details as the Conservative group decided to add insult to injury and voted to not give us a written version of their motion! We are not sure why this is and it seems most irregular just like the proceedings. Needless to say, many opposition Councillors & groups have raised formal complaints against the Conservatives over their, quite frankly, shocking level of abuse of the constitution. If this is how they can operate we might as well tear it up and follow their masters when it comes to any perceived democracy and the public needs to know that the rot from Westminister Conservatives has reached the dizzy heights of Rochford District.