Slough opposition parties react to possible cancelled election

Last week, councillors voted unanimously to swap current election arrangements to ‘all-out’ every four years with changes to internal ward boundaries following views from a cross-party working group and a public consultation.

Currently, a third of councillors are elected each year, with members serving four-year terms. This costs the Slough Borough Council £187,000 whereas the price for an all-out election would cost £210,000 every four years.

Swapping to ‘all-out’ could see the 2022 election cancelled. The decision is down to Secretary of State Michael Gove who will have the final say whether or not this year should go ahead.

But the move was not welcomed by the opposing Conservatives, who voted against the recommendation to cancel this year’s election and accused the ruling Labour group of “running away” from the electorate after the council’s major financial pressures emerged just after May’s election.

READ MORE: Slough Council 2022 election set to be cancelled

Labour councillors denied they were “afraid” of facing the electorate nor “depriving” residents’ their say. They also said it was “illogical” to waste £187,000 to hold a “redundant” election this year where all members will stand a year later.

Tory leader Dexter Smith (Image: Slough Conservatives)

Conservative leader Dexter Smith (Colnbrook with Poyle) said: “Labour said an election this year under the old system of thirds is a “redundant election”, but it has a job to do to tell Labour their time is up.

“Their leadership hasn’t got the message yet. Labour is running away from elections in Slough – as ever the residents of Slough are expected to pay the price. Democracy is not something you can pick and choose when to partake in.”

Lib Dem chairman Matthew Taylor

Meanwhile, Matthew Taylor, chair of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Altering the democratic process purely for cost-saving reasons is the wrong motivation for doing so. The proposals to postpone the elections by a year lets Labour escape what was likely to be a bad election for them, with people’s memories of their financial incompetence still fresh.

“We should also remember that part of the reason that we ended up in this situation was insufficient scrutiny by the opposition [Slough Tories] whose own budget proposals at the last local elections in 2021 would have pushed the town into an even worse financial situation than it is currently in.”

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The extraordinary full council meeting was held at the Herschel Grammar School due to social distancing. Mr Taylor criticised the council for not recording the important meeting and making it as “inaccessible to the public as possible”.

Cllr Madhuri Bedi (Image: ,)

Independent Cllr Madhuri Bedi (Foxborough) said this was putting a “gagging order” on residents who will not have a chance to have a say this year on who represents while suffering a council tax rise and cuts to services.