Labour councils ‘wasting time by spending hours discussing Gaza’

Labour councils have been accused of “wasting time” by spending hours debating the war in Gaza instead of sorting out their finances.

Since November, Bradford council and Stoke-on-Trent City council, which have received emergency financial aid from the Government, have spent a total of 260 minutes discussing the conflict.

In February, Bradford and Stoke were granted exceptional financial support from the Government, worth a combined £260 million over two years, saving them from the brink of bankruptcy.

The two councils have also made sweeping cuts and increased council tax by 4.99 per cent each – the maximum allowed without a referendum – to help them stay afloat.

The Conservatives argued that the debates were an “unforgivable waste of time” and said the councils should be focusing on balancing their books.

It comes ahead of crunch local elections for Rishi Sunak on Thursday, with the Tories predicted to lose swathes of seats.

A better than anticipated showing could bolster Mr Sunak ahead of the general election, but a bad night for the Conservatives is likely to feed speculation of another Tory leadership challenge.

A third of council seats are up for election in Bradford, where Labour has a large majority. Residents will also elect their metro mayor, with Labour’s Tracy Brabin expected to retain her seat.

There are no elections for Stoke City council this time round, but there will be the opportunity to vote for a new police, fire and crime commissioner for Staffordshire. To date, that position has always been held by the Tories.

Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford’s Labour leader, tabled two motions on Gaza, in December and March, taking just over two hours and one and a half hours respectively.

The first demanded an “immediate and lasting ceasefire”, debated with a motion to stop the “genocide in Gaza” from independent councillor Taj Salam, while the second called for an “end to violence, making way for peace”.

The latter also endorsed the principles of a motion put forward by a group of Left-wing Labour MPs in Parliament, which noted a ruling by the International Court of Justice that it was “plausible” that Israel’s attacks on Gaza were in breach of the Genocide Convention. Both of Ms Hinchclife’s motions passed.

The sessions were so emotionally charged that Rebecca Poulsen, the leader of the council’s Tory group, claimed she had to be escorted to her car by colleagues because of fear for her safety, having been heckled in the chamber.

She tabled her own amendments at both meetings, questioning why the council was spending time debating the conflict, as she argued that it had “no remit” to intervene.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Poulsen said: “It is outrageous that, after Bradford council has gone cap in hand to the Government for exceptional financial support, as it cannot balance its budget, we had not one but two debates on this.

“They were not only an utter waste of council time, but also divisive and highly charged and have had no influence in the current conflict. Labour-run Bradford council should be focused on delivering value for money services for residents, not international relations.”

At Stoke, councillors united to call for an immediate ceasefire after 45 minutes of debate on a motion presented by Jane Ashworth, the Labour leader, in December.

It stated that the council “unequivocally” condemned the Hamas terror attacks on Oct 7, but that Israel’s “killing of innocent civilians” in Gaza was “counter-productive to peace, wrong and must stop”.

It also called on the International Criminal Court to “investigate the conduct of all parties in this conflict”.

The Israel-Gaza war has proved a divisive issue for Labour, with Sir Keir Starmer suffering a heavy rebellion late last year from a wave of frontbenchers who wished to take a tougher stance on the conflict.

Mr Salam, the independent Bradford councillor who proposed a motion in December condemning the “genocide in Gaza”, had quit Labour in October over its response to the crisis.

Sir Keir has since called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and an “immediate stop to the fighting”.

Jonathan Gullis, the deputy Tory Party chairman, said: “When these Labour-run councils have their begging bowls out for taxpayers’ money, it is impossible to justify this unforgivable waste of time.

“The situation in Israel and Gaza is appalling, but these Labour councillors shouldn’t be wasting their time on something they cannot affect.”

The conflict in Gaza was also debated at Birmingham City council in November. However, in this case, the motion was brought by a Lib Dem councillor as opposed to the leading Labour group.

Elsewhere, the issue was raised during public questions at Labour-led Plymouth City council and Medway council. Both queries had a local angle, with one calling for clarity on whether parts built in the area could have been used to make weapons deployed in Gaza.

It is up to members of the public to decide on which topics to quiz their councillors. However, councils have the power to reject questions if they are not relevant to the area or do not fall within the authority’s remit.

A Birmingham Labour spokesman said: “The motion in question was tabled by the Liberal Democrats and Labour councillors used the opportunity to condemn those who were using the events in the Middle East to whip up hatred and commit to making it easier for our [citizens] to report and challenge incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”

Bradford and Stoke City Councils have been approached for comment.