LIB Dem leader Bob Barr accused the controlling Labour group on Warrington Borough Council of making the role of Mayor political during the mayor-making at full council on Monday.
It follows on from a political row last month when Warrington South MP Andy Carter accused council leader, Cllr Russ Bowden, of reaching a “new low” after he and his deputy, Cllr Cathy Mitchell, chose Labour’s Graham Friend, over former Tory leader Kath Buckley, for the role of Deputy Mayor.
As a result, members of the Lib Dem and Tory groups abstained from voting when Cllr Friend was put forward to be Deputy Mayor, to this year’s new Mayor, Cllr Jean Flaherty, who was unanimously selected.
Cllr Barr said: “It is with regret that I must inform the Council that the Liberal Democrat group will not be able to support the election of the Deputy Mayor.
“This is entirely unrelated to the individual being proposed for the post. It is our protest at the way in which the Leader and Deputy Leader broke with precedent and ignored officer advice on proportionality and recent appointments. They pushed through on a casting vote the allocation of the post to a member of the Labour Group, when it was quite clear that it was not Labour’s turn for a Deputy Mayor.
“To the best of my knowledge, the Mayoral Selection Committee has not had a split decision before. Let alone one decided on a casting vote by the Leader, who was elected, according to convention, to chair the committee.
“Usually there is a two-step process. The committee meets to decide which Group the next mayoral appointment should be offered to. That group then nominates a candidate who Is approved by the committee, in my experience unanimously.
“Instead, on this occasion, the Leader and Deputy Leader arrived having pre-determined their decision to offer the post to The Labour Group. They chose to override the officers’ report which demonstrated that based on proportionality and the length of time since the Conservatives last provided a mayor, it was the Conservatives turn. This led to a split vote of the committee which was decided by the Leader in the chair.
“This is a politicization of the role of mayor, which is quite unacceptable. It is typical of the Leader’s autocratic style of leadership, a belief that rules do not apply to him, and if he wants something he just pushes it through whether it follows the rules or not.
“The Liberal Democrat Group cannot condone the behaviour of the Leader and Deputy Leader. I repeat, this is no reflection whatsoever of the regard in which we hold Graham Friend, and if he is elected as Deputy and subsequently Mayor, we will support him.
“The honour shouldn’t have been for the Leader to give to a member of his own group, but he chose to give it anyway.”
Members of the Conservative opposition group also abstained from the selection of the deputy mayor, also saying it was nothing personal against Cllr Friend.
In response a Labour spokesperson said: “The members of Warrington’s Mayoral Selection Committee were selected last year, and the committee met in March to reach a resolution on the Mayoral Order through to 2024/25.
“In that meeting, attended by representatives of all parties on the Council, it was decided that Cllr Graham Friend would serve as Deputy Mayor for 2022-23, then Mayor in 2023-24. In 2023, a Conservative Deputy Mayor will be appointed, who will take over the Mayoralty for 2024-25
“The COVID-19 pandemic froze the mayoral selection and succession process for one year and delayed the local elections also. This has resulted in a commensurate one-year delay to the Conservative group assuming the Mayoralty.
“Labour won a resounding two-thirds of the seats on the Council last year and thus expects to be able to appoint at least one Mayor for this Council term — i.e. before 2024.
“As far as we are concerned, the only procedural irregularity in this matter was when the Conservative Group Leader seconded and voted for a motion to award the Mayoralty to herself, along with its £15,000 annual allowance.
Political row breaks out over mayoral selection as MP accuses council leader of “new low”
2 Comments
I am no friend of the Conservative Group on the Council, but I cannot allow the Leader’s, posing as a Warrington Borough spokesman, disingenuous comments.
Labour lost 10 seats in the May elections and the Conservatives went up from 1 to 11, Liberal Democrats lost three seats Independents went up to 3.
Hardly an overwhelming vote of confidence in Russ Bowden’s administration. The Conservatives have not been in a position to nominate a Mayor for over a decade.
Russ’s arithmetic is lacking! He no longer commands a two thirds majority of the Council, which is constitutionally important.
This intentionally misleading response to our legitimate protest is, sadly, typical,of the Leader of the Council.
As Cllr Barr says another disingenuous and misleading comment from Cllr Bowden. Who seems to be ubiquitous in his zeal to bring about the outcomes he wants.