Labour Government announces plans to ban the committee system and override local democracy
In 2022, Bristolians voted to replace the controversial directly elected mayor in Bristol with an open and collaborative committee system in a democratic referendum. The committee system has only been in practice for a year, having come into effect after the 2024 local elections.
Now, the Labour Government has announced that they intend to remove the ability for councils to run committee system, and will require councils currently running the committee system to transition to a leader and cabinet model.
Cllr Caroline Gooch, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze, said:
“This sudden announcement from the Government is a shameful move to override the democratically selected choice of local people and yet another attempt to centralise power in our public institutions.
“The people of Bristol chose the committee system to be the model to replace the dysfunctional mayor. Why does the Labour Government think they know better than Bristolians how their council should be run?
“There has been a huge cross-party effort to get the committee system up and running in Bristol, and this announcement means all of that is going to be thrown in the bin – all to huge cost to the taxpayer. With the council’s finances already stretched, being forced to waste precious time and resource on changing the governance structure is the last thing we need.
“Instead, a government voted for by less than one-third of voters is moving to scrap democratic governance in Bristol – after it replaced their discredited and wasteful mayoral system, which they now admit was a failure”.
Cllr Stephen Williams, Chair of the Council’s Public Health and Communities Committee, said:
“The committee system has improved the transparency of decision-making in the council, and has allowed all councillors and parties the opportunity to shape the council’s work and input into discussions and decisions early on.
“Unfortunately, not all parties have approached the committee system in good faith. Bristol Labour, instead of coming together with the other parties to do what is best for Bristolians, have chosen not to take up the positions of responsibility that were available to them. Rather, they have been set on playing political games, preferring to be an ‘opposition’ – despite being equally involved in decision-making.
“The Labour Government’s overriding of local democracy is a shocking move. What we need is not another costly change to the decision-making process, but for Bristol Labour to step up and play their part in the council.
“If the Government truly cared about improving local government, they would ensure that hard-working councils are funded properly and that a fair voting system was implemented, once and for all.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Cllr Caroline Gooch worked on the committee system referendum campaign, and in 2021 stood as the Liberal Democrat ‘scrap the mayor’ mayoral candidate: 'It’s time to scrap the mayor, and we have a chance to do it'
- Cllr Stephen Williams is a current Policy Chair in the committee system and former Minister for Communities and Local Government.
- The Liberal Democrats passed a motion calling for the introduction of proportional representation for fair votes: Liberal Democrats Lead Bristol City Council to Call for Making Votes Fairer - Bristol Liberal Democrats