Councillor numbers should be cut in half, poll shows
CUTS need to be made to the number of civic leaders in Cheltenham, an online poll by the Echo has revealed.
The vast majority of residents believe the number of councillors in the town should be slashed in half.
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suggestion: Barbara Driver
Reducing the number of representatives who sit on the borough council by 50 per cent was backed by 85 per cent of respondents to the survey.
The idea of slimming the authority down so that there would be 20 councillors representing 20 wards – rather than the existing 40 councillors – was floated by Councillor Barbara Driver (Lansdown, C).
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Supporters of the cut believe doing so would save the cash-strapped authority thousands of pounds every year.
The money that the council would save could then be spent on protecting services or even slashing council tax.
They also point to the notion that councillors have fewer responsibilities than they used to and as such fewer people could do the work.
But while some members believe a reduction should be examined, others have rejected the idea.
Councillor Roger Whyborn (Up Hatherley, LD), cabinet member for sustainability, said: "This is something that is being looked at but the suggestion that we should halve the number of councillors is not practical or workable.
"If that was the case we wouldn't be able to staff committees and we would not have a working cabinet, but certainly we can look at reducing the number of councillors and the cost of democracy to some degree.
"We recognise there is a debate. I cannot say that there are any proposals on the table but that is not to say that there won't be."
Councillor Diggory Seacome (Lansdown, C) said halving the number of councillors would have huge ramifications.
He also highlighted the fact that even a smaller reduction would cause problems, with the possibility that ward boundaries would have to be redrawn.
He said: "There is no simple answer really unless you cut it by half and I am not sure if cutting it in half would be beneficial to residents."
There have been also calls from councillors in the past to look at shifting elections from being held in the borough every two years, as is currently the case, to one every four years to save money.
Councillor Rob Garnham (Park, C), Conservative group leader, said: "It is good to hear what the public say about politicians and the first thing we need to do at the borough council is to move to four yearly elections and then look at the number of councillors.
"At some point in the future we should look at whether or not we need 40 councillors in Cheltenham."
Comments
by elgoog
Monday, January 21 2013, 9:39AM
“http://tinyurl.com/awbs56n”
by CheltTPA
Monday, January 07 2013, 11:23PM
“Officers need more supervision not less. Whatever might be saved via Councillor expenses would be dwarfed by officer profligacy given their extra freedom.
Councillors expenses should not be viewed in isolation, let's have the whole picture & ensure balanced decisions are made.
Late in the day too many Councillors are confronted with sheaves of documents on crucial matters without a reasonable opportunity to do anything other than be guided by officers!!!
Cost the Councillors expenses & then weigh that against alternative central savings that might be made - no doubt this would not generate too much extra reading?”
by Michael_AH
Sunday, January 06 2013, 2:50PM
“reducing the number of councillors is a decision that the Electoral Commission need to make, not unfortunately, the local council”
by TheNub
Sunday, January 06 2013, 12:44PM
“less councillors means less expenses ?”
by TheNub
Sunday, January 06 2013, 12:41PM
“is that a picture of Dame Edna or Mary Whitehouse .”
by Hubert1841
Saturday, January 05 2013, 7:09PM
“Mrs. Driver, you have sat too long on this council for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”
by verysceptical
Saturday, January 05 2013, 2:00PM
“Get rid of the Mayor too, unless someone can rationally explain the purpose of this position.”
by Scorpio2010
Saturday, January 05 2013, 12:53PM
“@elgood - Fair enough, but that would not account for the current situation where three wards namely Benhall and the Reddings, Leckhampton and Warden Hill have one councillor each from the LibDems and the Conservatives. Two councillors per ward gives an opportunity to vote for an individual rather than a political party. Elections every two years can also be used for the electorate to exercise its right to keep under-performing councillors in check and to protest against any of their actions that they (the electorate) don't agree with. This is, to my mind, much more democratic than being stuck for four years with somebody you either don't want or somebody who is doing the bidding of a particular political party rather than representing the views of the electorate. With 25 LibDem, 11 Conservative and 4 PAB Councillors constituting the current Council perhaps the Tories see this as their only chance of wresting power of the Council back into their hands.”
by Areaman
Saturday, January 05 2013, 12:52PM
“The County Council is reducing the number of councillors by 10 at the next election. I understand the Lib Dems opposed that too...”
by elgoog
Saturday, January 05 2013, 11:51AM
“The boundaries would not change. Each would have a single Councillor instead of two.”