Two of the smaller groups on Kirklees Council are pushing for a return to the committee system as a fairer way to run the hung council.

Council leader Cathy Scott faces a vote of ‘no confidence’ on Wednesday (July 17) which could force her out of office after less than 12 months.

Kirklees currently operates a Cabinet system, where a so-called ‘strong leader’ is elected to run the council. The council leader then choses a Cabinet made up of around eight or nine members.

This ‘one party system’ has now come under fire as Labour’s control of the council has collapsed.

Since January 2024 11 Labour councillors have quit – mainly over the national party’s stance on Gaza – while disastrous local election results in May saw several experienced Labour councillors lose their seats.

After losing overall control of the council, the Labour group elected a new leader in Clr Carole Pattison but it’s previous leader, Cathy Scott, refused to resign as council leader.

Instead she set up a new group, Community Alliance, with five other former Labour councillors. She formed a new Cabinet and invited councillors of all parties to join her in a new ‘independent’ Cabinet. However, there appears to have been no takers.

The Labour group has called a vote of no confidence at the full council meeting on Wednesday saying Clr Scott has “no mandate” to continue.

Now, in a joint statement, the Green group – which has four members – and the Kirklees Community Independents, which has six – also wants Clr Scott to resign and says that Labour has no legitimate mandate either.

 

 

Green leader Clr Andrew Cooper (above) said Clr Scott was clinging onto power via a “technicality” and she wanted to form a Cabinet of all parties on the assumption she would remain leader.

“Labour is right to say Clr Scott should go but there are serious questions over their claim to run Kirklees,” said Clr Cooper. “They don’t have a majority on the council. They lost six seats in the local elections.

“Defections and election losses have seen Labour’s numbers drop dramatically to 24 councillors now. In the local elections their vote dropped from 38% to 31%, with less than a third of electors backing them.

“Despite these facts Labour are asking for 100% of the power with a Labour leader and Labour Cabinet.

“This sorry state of affairs demonstrates the undemocratic nature of the Strong Leader and Cabinet system which does not reflect the votes of the people of Kirklees and has not served them well for many years. It has to go.

“That is why we are calling for the Cabinet system to be scrapped and to be replaced with a modern committee system where all councillors have a vote on decisions affecting the people of Kirklees.

“Many other councils have scrapped their Cabinet systems and replaced them with a committee system, why not Kirklees?”

 

Clr Jo Lawson with fellow Netherton & Crosland Moor councillor Clr Imran Safdar, who both quit the Labour Party

Clr Jo Lawson, leader of the Kirklees Community Independents and one of the Labour councillors who quit the party, said Labour was a “shadow of its former self” and there were rumours more Labour councillors could resign.

She added: “The electorate in parts of North Kirklees have comprehensively declared Labour is not a party they trust to represent them – with five independent councillors elected in May and a triumphant win for the independent candidate Iqbal Mohamed – a local lad against the unknown Labour candidate in the recent General Election for Dewsbury and Batley.

“In Huddersfield Labour lost a council seat to the Greens and narrowly avoided defeat in Greenhead ward, which was once a safe Labour seat.

“This widespread rejection of Labour across Kirklees is indicative of the electorate dissatisfaction with the party’s handling of local affairs.

“The present leader and Cabinet system concentrates decision making into the hands of a few councillors chosen by the leader of the council on a grace and favour basis.

“It has been widely criticised and has contributed in part to the systematic failures within Kirklees.

“Whilst acknowledging the austerity cuts of the last Tory government, Kirklees Labour Group cannot lay the blame solely at the last government’s door and need to reflect on their management of Kirklees.

 

 

“The committee system would see all councillors having input into decisions, fostering a culture of cross group collaboration and ensuring better financial control and management in Kirklees.”

The Conservatives are the second biggest group on the council with 15 seats and Tory leader Clr David Hall said: “This is not a serious proposition by the Greens and Independents. It would take months of work to formalise a committee system, and we haven’t the time to waste.

“We debated a possible return to the committee system recently and most councillors saw no advantage in it. It would lead to massive bureaucracy at huge cost at a time when budgets are stretched.”

If Clr Scott is removed as leader, any replacement candidate would need 35 votes – a majority of the 69 councillors. If a new leader can’t be agreed upon then the council’s chief executive Steve Mawson will step in temporarily.