PRESS RELEASE: Swindon’s Labour and Co-Operative Group condemns Conservative-Reform “stitch-up” over committee chair appointments
Swindon Borough Council Labour and Co-operative Group has expressed its deep disappointment after all three of its nominees to chair the newly-formed Overview and Scrutiny Committees were rejected.
The new Conservative administration in Swindon has scrapped the three committees established by the previous Labour Administration – Build a Better Swindon; Build a Fairer Swindon; Build a Greener Swindon – and replaced them with three new Overview and Scrutiny Committees – Communities and Place; Finance and Heritage; Culture and Leisure.
The Labour and Co-Operative Group had nominated three experienced councillors to chair each of these new committees. Councillor Chris Watts for the Kingshill ward had been put forward for Chair of the Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee, having served as Cabinet member for Environment and Transport; Councillor Kevin Small for the Rodbourne, Ferndale and Western ward and formerly Leader of the Council was nominated as Chair of the Finance Overview and Scrutiny Committee having been the Cabinet member for Finance; and Councillor Marina Strinkovsky for Queen’s Park ward was suggested as Chair of the Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee, and who likewise was responsible for this area in her Cabinet role.
However, where it might be reasonable to assume that one or two of the members above were elected as Chairs, they have all been overlooked by the Conservative Administration in favour of Reform members, despite their quality and experience.
The Leader of the Labour and Co-Operative Group, Councillor Jim Robbins, said:
“Having experienced members as Chairs of Committees means you are more likely to get more thorough and focused scrutiny of Council policy, which in turn leads to better policy-making and better outcomes for residents.
“Instead, running scared of any actual scrutiny, the Conservative Administration, after pledging in the election that they would not do a deal with the Reform UK group, have broken that promise before the ink is dry. First, they did a deal with Reform to elect Cllr Gary Sumner as Leader of the Council, followed now by another stitch up.
“Were the Conservatives and Reform in an official coalition together, there would be restrictions on who could hold the role of Chair on each of these committees. By relying on backdoor deals instead, the Conservative Administration are taking advantage of the new and inexperienced Reform members by placing them in Chair roles in exchange for an easier time.
“All three of our candidates have substantial experience leading these policy areas, having previously served as Cabinet Members responsible for the very portfolios they were nominated to scrutinise. Their expertise would have ensured that scrutiny was rigorous.
“We will continue to hold the administration to account, whether they like it or not. Residents deserve councillors who actually put in an effort for them and not those who want to take the easy way out.”