And so it seems the same antagonism resides in the hearts and minds of Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative Leaders on Northampton Borough Council, but not with seats on trains, but seats on Council Committees.
With Cllrs Jean Hawkins, Malcolm Mildren and myself having formed a new Independent Group of three, the make up of the Council changed dramatically and the Lib Dem majority on the Council was reduced from 5 to just 1, and as a consequence the membership of all the Councils Committees needed to be rearranged to accommodate the new groups members.
A simple enough task you would think, but no such luck, I have witnessed in the past the Labour Group fighting over where I should sit in the Council Chamber as an Independent Councillor and also refusing to sit alongside me (and now I understand the Regional Party are asking NBC's Labour Cllrs to sign documents agreeing not to cooperate with me on the Council!)
So I should have known that getting agreement from all concerned as to our rights to sit on committees would always be fraught with difficulty, and so it seems it is.
We have been allocated 6 Committee places as is our right, but what committees we serve on is normally a matter of consultation between all party's. Not so on Britain's Most Undemocratic Council. Here the three leaders of the Lib Dem, Tory and Labour Party discussed and decided between themselves that they should keep hold of as much as they can and then allocated spare seats to the new group as they saw fit!
So no surprise then that instead of the Independents being represented on the 3 main Scrutiny Committees the three main parties tried to dictate that we sit on Committees such as "The Tree Panel" and "The Licencing Committee" Nothing wrong with the business of either of course, but in order to hold the Council fully to account Independents should be represented on all the main scrutiny committees the same as other party's on a proportional basis.
So what are they so scared of in denying us a voice? And what leads them to take a view that consultation through the "Usual Channels" is to be denied to those not in a Party? Ignorance? Indifference? Fear?
As a consequence my group has decided not to take up any committee places until their has been proper consultation. Instead we will attend all committees as we see fit and speak from the Public Gallery. We did so last Wednesday and opted to speak on every item on the Cabinet Agenda. No doubt we will do so again at the next and also find other ways of ensuring our voices are heard.
The three main party's must understand that by trying to play King Canute and holding back a swelling Independent tide that they are simply at risk of drowning a lot quicker.
Myself and my two fellow Independents on the Borough Council will not under any circumstances be party to dictatorial decision making, and old boy network tactics on Council.
Its high time though that the other party's grew up and accepted that we are here to stay.
With Cllrs Jean Hawkins, Malcolm Mildren and myself having formed a new Independent Group of three, the make up of the Council changed dramatically and the Lib Dem majority on the Council was reduced from 5 to just 1, and as a consequence the membership of all the Councils Committees needed to be rearranged to accommodate the new groups members.
A simple enough task you would think, but no such luck, I have witnessed in the past the Labour Group fighting over where I should sit in the Council Chamber as an Independent Councillor and also refusing to sit alongside me (and now I understand the Regional Party are asking NBC's Labour Cllrs to sign documents agreeing not to cooperate with me on the Council!)
So I should have known that getting agreement from all concerned as to our rights to sit on committees would always be fraught with difficulty, and so it seems it is.We have been allocated 6 Committee places as is our right, but what committees we serve on is normally a matter of consultation between all party's. Not so on Britain's Most Undemocratic Council. Here the three leaders of the Lib Dem, Tory and Labour Party discussed and decided between themselves that they should keep hold of as much as they can and then allocated spare seats to the new group as they saw fit!
So no surprise then that instead of the Independents being represented on the 3 main Scrutiny Committees the three main parties tried to dictate that we sit on Committees such as "The Tree Panel" and "The Licencing Committee" Nothing wrong with the business of either of course, but in order to hold the Council fully to account Independents should be represented on all the main scrutiny committees the same as other party's on a proportional basis.
So what are they so scared of in denying us a voice? And what leads them to take a view that consultation through the "Usual Channels" is to be denied to those not in a Party? Ignorance? Indifference? Fear?
As a consequence my group has decided not to take up any committee places until their has been proper consultation. Instead we will attend all committees as we see fit and speak from the Public Gallery. We did so last Wednesday and opted to speak on every item on the Cabinet Agenda. No doubt we will do so again at the next and also find other ways of ensuring our voices are heard.
The three main party's must understand that by trying to play King Canute and holding back a swelling Independent tide that they are simply at risk of drowning a lot quicker.
Myself and my two fellow Independents on the Borough Council will not under any circumstances be party to dictatorial decision making, and old boy network tactics on Council.
Its high time though that the other party's grew up and accepted that we are here to stay.
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