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15.4.03
Haringey's ruling Labour party last night forced a constitutional crisis
upon the Borough when they forced through proposals to dramatically change
the Borough's constitution without any consultation with the Liberal
Democrat Opposition. The move came at last night's Constitutional Advisory
Committee, an all-party body looking at changes to the way the Council
should be run.
The unexpected move, breaking a previous agreement between the two parties,
forced Lib Dem leader Cllr Ross Laird and Whip Cllr Stephen Gilbert to
withdraw from the meeting, leaving the future of Haringey's constitution in
disarray. The Lib Dems are now demanding urgent discussions between officers
and party leaders to resolve the crisis.
The Lib Dems have voiced concerns about many of the changes, which include
restricting the number of questions opposition councillors can table at the
monthly council meetings - often the only way of forcing Haringey Council to
answer key questions, say the Lib Dems.
Cllr Ross Laird, Leader of the Opposition comments:
"Labour is behaving
outrageously, completely abusing their power. Constitutions are meant to be
non-partisan, yet Haringey Labour has decided that they will call all the
shots, not consulting with Opposition Councillors, despite what they had
agreed.
"Liberal Democrats will not stand idly by and watch the Borough's
constitution being trashed by the Labour Group and we will do our utmost to
ensure that our right to ask questions, and local people's rights to
petition the Council are upheld. The opposition has its rightful role to
hold the Labour Executive to account."
Comments?
If you have any comments on this story, please let me know in the space below, or you can email me at lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org
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I have great admiration for what Lynne Featherstone and the Lib Dems are doing in Haringey.
