Councillors clash over two-hour time limit for Telford & Wrekin full council meetings
A two-hour time limit is set to be imposed on full Telford & Wrekin Council meetings - but only after councillors clashed on the idea.
One Conservative councillor accused Telford & Wrekin Council’s ruling Labour group of “suppressing democracy”.
Meanwhile a member of the Labour group’s cabinet said it was the “right thing to do” for councillors who have to go to work during the day.
Members of the governance committee met on Wednesday (January 14) to discuss amendments to the council’s constitution.
Cabinet member councillor Ollie Vickers (Lab, Donnington), supported the move to impose a two-hour time limit on full council meetings. It can be extended by 30 minutes after a vote.
“It is right to have a two-hour time limit,” said Councillor Vickers.
He said many members of the council also work full time and have children.
“Members have had to leave the chamber early to be able to see their children,” he said.
Many borough representatives also sit on parish councils and carry out ward work in their areas, the meeting heard.
But Councillor Rachael Tyrrell (Conservative, Priorslee) did not believe it was about allowing members to go home to see their children.
“The sole objective is to silence opposition,” she said.
Councillor Tyrrell said the full council only meets four times a year, after discounting the ceremonial annual meeting.
She added that councillors receive a £12,500 allowance for their work as representatives and had time to make provisions for childcare.
“It’s an attack on democracy,” she added. “We are here to represent our residents.”
Council official Richard Phillips said time limits, sometimes referred to as ‘a guillotine’, were not uncommon in local government, including at parish council level in Telford. Other councils have two- or three-hour limits, he said.
Councillor Vickers said that the council operates a “very democratic process”, where opposition members can scrutinise and their leaders can speak at cabinet meetings.
He accused Councillor Tyrrell of “an attack to score political points”.
But Councillor Tyrrell responded: “I am disappointed that you think I want to score cheap political points.
“Full council is the arena to discuss issues.
“It is an erosion of the democratic process, it’s chipping away at it.”
No members of the Lib Dems or independent group were present but Councillor Tyrrell wanted to speak on their behalf.
The committee voted to approve the move and recommend the change be implemented at the next meeting of the full council on January 22.
