Plans to ban the use of the committee system and force Councils to use cabinets will undermine local democracy, say Greens
Last week the government proposed legislation that will abolish the committee system of local government, leaving only cabinet models as the form of governance for councils. The plans were laid out by Labour Local Government Minister, Jim McMahon, as part of the ongoing scheme for devolution of councils, and are being made without any consultation with local councils.
Brighton & Hove City Council operated a committee system for over a decade, where decision-making was in the hands of cross-party groups of councillors, chaired by members of the administration. This changed in 2024, when the Labour administration switched to a cabinet model. Critics of the cabinet system have said that it provides fewer opportunities for public engagement and shuts the voices of opposition councillors out of decision-making.
Following Sheffield City Council’s recent condemnation of the Government decision to disallow the use of committee systems in local government, Brighton & Hove Green Party convener, Cllr Steve Davis, today also criticised the plans.
Cllr Davis said:
“At present, local councils have been able to define how they undertake the business of running the council using one of three governance models: cabinet arrangements with a directly elected council mayor, leader and cabinet, or the committee system. Key to this is the option of choice. In breaking down that democratic choice, the Labour Government is removing the voice of local people to properly interact with the process of local government. This is not democracy.
“Previously in Brighton & Hove, parties of differing political persuasion have been able to vote to choose which system they wanted to use, employing at different times and with varying success one of the three optional governance arrangements. The current Labour administration introduced the cabinet system last year. All committees except non-political ones were replaced with a single cabinet lead councillor to make all policy decisions, without recourse to oppositional opinion or with the ability of residents to make their views known before cabinet approval.”
Having been elected in 2023 and spending a year under each system, Green Cllr Kerry Pickett, also criticised the decision.
In a statement Cllr Pickett said:
“There are many benefits of the committee system, the main one being collaboration across political groups and better decision making. The cabinet system is autocratic and can only lead to further political disenfranchisement as residents feel unheard and unempowered. We need a system that instead allows for the inclusion of opposition councillors who represent the people who voted for them. Otherwise, the system doesn’t work.
“The Labour Government are pushing this proposal through in anticipation that once the undergoing local government reorganisation is complete it will make it easier for the anticipated establishment of new regional strategic authority mayors and for them to make decisions without the inclusion of oppositional voices. Essentially, strategic regional mayors will be empowered to have the final and deciding vote on decisions made by the cabinet leader and one other representative for each of the unitary authorities.”
