Special Council Meeting report
As anticipated, our call for a referendum on the new joint Chief Executive was defeated with all the Conservatives and Labour voting against us.
As anticipated, our call for a referendum on the new joint Chief Executive was defeated with all the Conservatives and Labour voting against us.
Brentwood and Essex councils have agreed to form an unprecedented partnership.
So Brentwood borough is now set to lose its identity in a virtual amalgamation with a county council which has a hundred times its budget and a hundred times more clout! This marriage of inconvenience involving the appointment of the Essex county chief executive also as chief executive of Brentwood council might bring into play conflicts of interest in which the larger partner would likely prevail. This experiment could go badly wrong.
The Conservative masters of spin are hard at work as they do their best to convince us of their latest cunning plan. One minute they are telling us what a great job Brentwood Borough Council is doing providing local services. Next minute they are announcing that the Borough Council is going into a joint partnership with Essex County Council to provide a one stop shop for local services. They follow this up with the news that we are going to have one Chief Executive running both authorities, who just happens to be the County's Chief Executive.
Cllr David Kendall, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Brentwood Borough council, has asked for the following motion to be put forward at the special council meeting on 11th September 2007:
Cllr David Kendall, Leader of the Lib Dem group on Brentwood Borough Council, has reacted angrily to the shock news that Brentwood is going to merge with Essex County Council and be run jointly by the County's Chief Executive Joanna Killion.
Carers are not just support for their loved onesβthey are the glue holding our fragile social care system together. They deserve more than token acknowledgements or empty promises.
Liberal Democrats believe that everyone has the right to enjoy clean, safe water and unpolluted rivers, lakes, and coastlines. We are committed to ending the national sewage scandal and holding water companies accountable for their environmental impact.
Liberal Democrats have passed new policy to stand up for bereaved families and kinship carers, so more young people can grow up in a loving, stable home.