Councillors criticise restrictions in Wigan Council meetings

Following a council meeting on Wednesday, September 25, restrictions have been placed on speaking time and the number of questions asked in order to improve efficiency.

The changes to council meetings have been made after a "rising" number of questions has led to "council business not running smoothly".

Opposition councillors, most of whom are Independent, have accused the ruling party of shutting down democracy and being afraid of scrutiny.

However, leading Labour councillors have conversely accused the complaining councillors of wanting to use their questions in council meetings to ‘grandstand in front of the public’.

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Cllr Steve Jones was one of the opposition councillors who criticised the decision (Image: Wigan Council) Following a motion put forward at the latest council meeting, councillors’ right to speak for five minutes when putting a question to one of the authority’s portfolio holders was removed.

Individual councillors are now not allowed to submit more than one comment or question at any one council meeting, while the maximum number of comments which may be submitted to any one council meeting is now restricted to five.

Councillors must not ask a question which relates to a function or decision of the council’s officers, and individual councillors are not allowed to ask questions themselves. Submitted questions will now be presented to the relevant councillor or official by the Mayor.

Independent Network Coun James Watson accused the controlling Labour group of setting the council ‘on a pathway to tyranny’.

“If this council is afraid of public scrutiny and difficult questions, maybe they shouldn’t be making those decisions to begin with.”

Another Independent Steve Jones blasted: “Well you don’t like scrutiny do you? First of all, you stopped councillors going upstairs [in the town hall]. You even took the phone out of the members’ room. 

“The whole point of asking questions is to have debate. 

“You already have the power. Today was the day that the many were frightened of the few.

“You’re that scared of a handful of Independent councillors that you’re changing the constitution. I look around at this big powerful Labour Party and I know that whatever we’re doing is rocking the boat. 

“You may take away motions, take away questions, you may stop me going upstairs, but we will always find a way to scrutinise you in these meetings.”

Chairman of the Wigan Borough Conservatives, Michael Winstanley said that the Wigan Labour group have a "total and utter contempt for democracy."

Mr Winstanley, who has served as a Tory councillor for Orrell and ran as the party's General Election candidate in Leigh and Atherton, added: “They think that by somehow stopping democratically elected councillors questioning them they will somehow avoid scrutiny. They are behaving like an elected dictatorship". 

Cllr Cunliffe said that opposition councillors have been 'grandstanding' (Image: Wigan Council) Responding, the deputy leader of the council Keith Cunliffe argued that Coun Watson had been at the constitutional working group meeting when the move to restrict the questions was discussed.

Addressing the Independents opposite the chamber, he said: “This council has all of you on scrutiny committees. Every one [of the scrutiny committees] has representation from the opposition. 

“There is no limit to the number of questions you can ask in scrutiny committees. At the health and social care scrutiny committee, Cllr Watson frequently asks questions and they’re answered. 

“The reason you want questions here is to grandstand. That was evident at the last council meeting.

“If you want to ask a question, ask it and get an answer, not speak for five minutes and bring up all sorts of other things that you haven’t notified were going to be asked. It [restricting questions] is not damaging the democratic processes of the council.”