Saturday, December 17, 2005
Walkout
Alliance grabs headlines!
South Tyneside's new Alliance opposition group grabbed the headlines this week when they walked out of the Council chamber after being refused permission to move an amendment calling for the resignation of the Council Leader Paul Waggott.
Having seen the Council overspend it's budgets by nearly GBP 11 million over the last three years, Cllr. Jane Branley wished to propose that Waggott ought to resign, however the ruling Labour group refused to even hear or debate the amendment, sparking the mass walkout by the newly formed Alliance coalition.
Meanwhile Labour's ranks were bolstered by the decision of Independent John McCabe to join the party he fought against two and a half years ago. The Hebburn South Councillor decided to look after his own skin by attempting to ensure he has Labour's support behind him at the next election, rather than facing a fight against an official Labour Party candidate. Conservative and Lib-Dem members remained in their seats during the remainder of the debates.
Although the action of the Alliance grabbed the headlines in the local newspaper, I was left wondering how the decision was arrived at to stage this demonstration, and what they hoped to achieve by it. Certainly Labour was able to push through it's plans for the budgetry reconstruction for next year, which would have happened in any case, however the meeting was able to proceed with the minimum of scrutiny and questioning. An opportunity to give Lead Members an uncomfortable ride had been missed, and just as importantly the opposition group lost an opportunity to put forward alternative policies which we would all like to know about. The proposal to amend a committee report or decision will spark a debate which will inevitably be lost because of Labour's superior numbers, but the asking of questions can be far more effective at times. Question's can be nicely "strung out" to include ideas and statements of your own policy, and if clever and incisive enough will cause great embarrasment to Lead Members and will generate a tense atmosphere for them, as well as creating the opportunity for good press copy.
The innocuous question asking how plans are proceeding for next year's budget could be followed by the more barbed supplementary asking when a Lead Member or Council Leader was planning to step down in favour of someone more likely to achieve the aim of a zero tax increase next year. This type of approach would prove more acceptable than throwing the toys out of the pram and walking out. It is difficult to accuse Labour of being more spin than substance if you are happy to play the same game!
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