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: ***

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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.

EGM PCC 16 04 13

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.