CANDIDATES standing in the Staffordshire County Council elections say unitary authority plans are a “betrayal” of Lichfield and Burntwood.
A group of local Reform UK representatives have used a joint statement to criticise Government proposals which could see two-tier authority areas axed.
It would mean Lichfield District Council and Staffordshire County Council replaced by a new unitary body.
Two potential plans have been drawn up – one for a Staffordshire-wide body and another which would see Lichfield and Burntwood enter into a mid and south Staffordshire authority.
Reform UK candidates Andrew Clissett, Robin Hall, Janet Higgins, John Madden, Martyn Baylay, Matthew Wallens and Sarah Beech said they would “oppose and frustrate devolution plans at every opportunity” if elected.
They said:
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms Labour’s plans to split Staffordshire in two, placing the ancient and proud city of Lichfield, Burntwood and its surrounding villages and rural communities into a mammoth unitary authority that will be dominated by the chaotically Labour-dominated city of Birmingham.
“These so-called local government devolution plans are anything but local or devolved. They take local control away from the electors of rurally based Lichfield and hand it over to remote metropolitan interests which the rural communities will end up paying for.”
Lichfield District Council has backed the option for a mid and southern Staffordshire unitary authority, despite leader Doug Pullen accusing Local Government Minister Jim McMahon of using “coercion” to force support for reorganisation.
Cllr Pullen said:
“Let’s be really honest about this, the Minister has made it crystal clear that if councils don’t submit plans for reorganisation, he’ll impose them.
“That’s not consensus, it’s coercion from central government.”
But the Reform UK candidates said any support for the unitary authority proposals showed why change was needed.
“We condemn Tory-led Lichfield District Council for supporting these plans, which means they are wilfully abandoning the interests of those who elected them.
“This is nothing more than yet another example of the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats uniparty coalition destroying all that the people of Lichfield hold dear.
“If elected, we pledge to the voters of Lichfield that we will oppose and frustrate these plans at every opportunity.
“We are the voice of the silenced and forgotten majority.”
Cllr Pullen said Reform’s approach of ignoring the issue of local government changes would not work.
He said:
“A simple Google search would have shown Reform that the local Conservatives are deeply and vocally opposed to these proposed changes, that a merger with Birmingham City Council is not, and will never be, an option, and that we are demonstrating serious leadership by trying to make the best of this horrific diktat by Labour ministers and are engaging in the process by suggesting the least-worst options.
“Ignoring it is not a solution – and this proposed approach by Reform not only demonstrates their unsuitability for public office, but would only give further power to Whitehall, with Staffordshire residents losing their voice entirely.”
A full list of local candidates standing in the Staffordshire County Council elections on 1st May click here.
I think there’s a good case for reporting them to the Advertising Standards Authority.
They are arguing against reforming local government in the rest of the country – 71% of people already live in a unitary or similar authority. Do they want to go back to a Lichfield Rural District before the 1974 reorganisation? Or maybe to the 1894 reform that created Rural Districts?
Birmingham will not be part of a new Unitary Council for this area, and I don’t want Burntwood controlled by a remote County Council based in Stafford anymore.
Labour is the Change Party and reform of councils and devolution will transform the delivery of services to local residents, ease workforce pressures, simplify accountability to voters through clearer electoral structures and strengthen councils financially by saving money.
Reform are being very disingenuous and not understanding that this is not in our hands. For me, I’m deeply opposed to the reg organisation, whilst voting for both the Staffordshire County Council and Lichfield District Council proposals at this stage.
Why? Because it’s an irrelevant issue when the government has made it clear, County and District will be abolished, only this Labour government can change the situation. Is this likely, probably not.
So in conclusion, the Conservatives have not betrayed the electorate but dealing with the reality of an imposed system.
So, perhaps some honest campaigning would be welcome when it comes to local government reorganisation.
This is a really odd view to take! I think reform are confusing the possibility of Southern Staffordshire being in the West Midlands authority which is an option as Doug himself outlined , with the realties of unitary authority options themselves. The Mayor of the West Midlands has already ruled this option out for Warwickshire so I think we can safely say he won’t want Staffordshire in either.
As any unitary authority connection with Birmingham exists only in Reform campaign literature we can ask this of they.
Did you make this up, in which case you are being dishonest or did you genuinely misunderstand the proposals?
If the latter is the case, what conclusions should voters reach?
I don’t see how a split authority would work. Much of the income from rates and government goes to Stafford to provide most of the expensive services, schools, roads etcetera. In spite of our Local District Council they still hold the purse strings.
How would the finances be split? Where would the administration be centred? Having two, possibly competing, administrations in one county surely means doubling staff and resources.
Sad to say it needs a change. Times are moving on and our local council have not been able to protect the city and area from over development. We need to view the future with different aspirations.
This does rather confirm that Reform haven’t actually got the faintest idea about local government issues at all. Everything I’ve seen from them is either about national policy or just plain incorrect.
Reform care about the local community and this country. Do you see that the other parties standing up for the British people?
I’ll be voting reform and I’ll keep voting for them until this country is back on track.
@Gurt – You are deluded. Reform UK care about nothing other than enriching Nigel Farage and his cronies. Farage is nothing more than a poundshop version of Trump – all hot air and bluster and no comprehension of the impact ill-thought out plans can have. Look at the US and see the impact that sort of person has – trillions wiped off the 401k (pension) plans of normal working people, inflation will run rife making the cost of living worse and jobs will be lost in the millions. Truss tried similar in the UK and look what happened. Reform UK is nothing more than a bunch of misfits who prey on genuine worries without having any solutions other than jumping up and down and screaming about immigrants.