The Motion which was not properly discussed at last night’s Extraordinary General Meeting in Peterborough was this:
The full text reads as follows:
”
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EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL |
AGENDA ITEM No. 3 |
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13 APRIL 2016 |
PUBLIC REPORT |
MOTIONS ON NOTICE
The following notice of motion has been received in accordance with the Council’s Standing Order 13.1:
1. Motion from Councillor Ferris, Councillor Fower, Councillor Johnson, Councillor Knowles, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Sandford and Councillor Shaheed
Council notes the announcement by the Chancellor of a devolution deal for the East in his Budget on 16 March; but regrets that the deal, in its current form, is not acceptable to this Council.
Council requests that the Chief Executive write to the Secretary of State for Local Government to bring this resolution to his attention.
The proposed East Anglia Devolution Agreement can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508115/The _East_Anglia_Devolution_Agreement_FINAL_with_signatures_and_logos.pdf
A hard copy of the document will be available in each Group Room.”
But this was not debated. Instead:
The wishy washy “Holdich Amendment” was passed.
You wouldn’t pick up what happened if you just watched the BBC News at 10pm (which I did and which Cambridge City Council members may have done). And if you looked for what follows on the council’s website, you wouldn’t find it (as I write).
The council did publish it on its Twitter profile: ***
Cllr Holdich is now proposing an amendment to the original motion pic.twitter.com/K75VrhvGvd
— Peterborough Council (@PeterboroughCC) April 13, 2016
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The ruling Conservative Party’s Holdich Amendment was discussed and voted FOR. It thus becoming the substantive motion and the only item which could be voted on. This removed any opportunity to discuss the original motion. It also positioned the council as unhappy, but wishing to remain in the conversation. At least one councillor believes that the city would have been excluded from discussions on the “proposed East Anglia Devolution Agreement” #ToryDevolution #EasternPowerhouse or what I think it is: #PseudoDevolution had it voted FOR the Ferris Motion.
The council published this, but only on Twitter at 7.15pm last night (the meeting began at 7pm). The council has not published this, which is the Order Paper and which shows how the Amendment took precedence over the Motion. I believe it was highly discourteous to Cllr Ferris, the author of the motion to reveal it to him only at c 9.30 on the same day, especially since most people know he holds down a full time job as well as his councillor role.
Cllr Chris York and (I think) Cllr Yasmeen Maqbool did not make the meeting and didn’t send their apologies. The other absent councillors are listed below on my annotated Order Paper.
Nobody asked for the vote to be recorded, so electors cannot identify (nor could I) who voted for what on the second vote.
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A very similar episode took place on 29th February at South Kesteven. I proposed a motion with the aim of discussing public services and privatisation. The Conservative Leader of the Council produced an ‘amended motion’ which was “delete all text and replace with…” changing the theme beyond all recognition. There followed a lot of filibustering including accusations that it was my intention to discredit Council Officers before the whole thing was thrown out in confusion.
It is one thing to lose a debate based on reasoned, grown up, arguments. It is quite another to be denied the opportunity to debate Council policy in the Council chamber. http://moderngov.southkesteven.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=18176
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I feel sure that these councillors are trained in these miserably sad techniques. It is bad enough to be offered a #PseudoDevo but the council doesn’t seem to understand that central government is bullying it. And that the local administration is behaving just as badly. I found it infantile: most six year olds are more mature.
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