Bosses accused of running 'communist council' in Lancashire
Town hall bosses have been accused of running a "communist council" in Lancashire - after changing debating rules under the noses of their political opponents.
The allegation comes from Hyndburn Council's Conservative leader Zak Khan who has written to chief executive David Welsby complaining about the "undemocratic changes" which make it harder for smaller parties to submit motions for debate. But the authority's deputy leader Noordad Aziz has hit back claiming that the opposition voted in favour of the changes - suggesting they either supported them or were not paying attention.
The Conservative group letter to Mr Welsby calls for a motion to be tabled at the next Full Council meeting reversing alterations to its procedures. It says: "At the Annual General Meeting in May 2024, the Labour Group changed the rules to require five members to sign and submit a motion. This was mistakenly missed by us, otherwise it would have been voted against."
It adds: "Nonetheless, it doesn’t make it right that it continues. The Labour group’s changes have made us most undemocratic. This hits the minority groups - Greens and Independents - the most.
"The above changes are in addition to delays to scrutiny items, most recently having seen reports to Special Scrutiny Committee delayed until the New Year as well as the actions of the Mayor at previous council meetings, preventing our group leader and others from speaking because comments were deemed to be political.
"Our objections were strongly raised in a meeting afterwards by our group leader, Cllr Zak Khan, with Mayor Cllr Mike Booth, attended by leader Cllr Munsif Dad and Green Cllr Shabir Fazal. We want to formally register our concerns with you directly.
"The actions of the controlling group are turning this council into one that is deliberately avoiding democratic scrutiny. As an initial step, we request this motion be proposed at Full Council: 'A change to council procedure rules that revert back to allowing motions and notices to be signed by at least two members'."
Cllr Khan said: "The changes to procedural rules, delays to scrutiny items, and actions of the Mayor at previous council meetings preventing me and others from speaking because comments were deemed to be 'political' are worrying. The way that the new Labour administration is stifling our ability to discuss key issues important to residents, and is commensurate to a communist council."
Cllr Aziz said: "The council’s constitution, including the rule requiring five members to sign and submit a motion, was adopted collectively by all members, including Conservatives, Greens, and Independents at the AGM without any complaints. If some now claim they were unaware of what they voted for, it raises serious concerns about their attentiveness and responsibility as elected officials. Voting without understanding suggests a lack of diligence, and this calls into question their ability to effectively represent their constituents."