Labour Cracks the Whip, Paul Kelly Chief Whip,

Jan 12 2007
By Dave Black, The Journal
The Labour leadership of Northumberland County Council is in danger of losing a vote to endorse its plan to create a single unitary authority to run the county.
The ruling Labour group is proposing the creation of one `super council' after the Government called for a shake-up of the way the county is run.
Labour members have been threatened with suspension if they fail to support the bid in a vote at next week's crunch county council meeting.
But as the Tories and Lib Dems join forces to oppose the single council plan, Labour is looking at the real possibility of its proposals not being ratified by the council, on which it has a majority of two.
This would leave the bid in tatters, in the face of a rival plan from the six district councils who are backing the creation of two unitary councils split on rural and urban grounds.
In the Government's guidelines, councils were also told bids must carry "a broad cross section of support" to be successful.
Members of the ruling Labour group have been warned they face having the party whip withdrawn if they fail to toe the line at Monday's extraordinary meeting of the county council.
They have also been warned that any such disciplinary action could potentially bar them from standing as Labour candidates at the district council elections in May.
And the party's county councillors are being told they must support the single unitary option, even if they have voted in favour of two unitaries in their dual role as district councillors. The tough warning has been sounded in a letter to the 34 Labour councillors from group chief whip, Coun Paul Kelly, in a bid to head off any potential revolt which could scupper his party's bid for a single council for Northumberland.
It comes as opposition councillors have united in an attempt to inflict an embarrassing defeat on Labour at the meeting in County Hall, Morpeth.
A motion to be debated at the meeting - signed by Tory and Independent group leader Coun Alex Kerr and Lib Dem leader Coun Lesley Rickerby - urges the county council not to support a bid for a single unitary authority in Northumberland.
Coun Kelly's letter, which says the consequences of defeat in Monday's vote would be dire, makes it clear Labour councillors could face sanctions if they fail to support the single unitary option.
Yesterday one Labour district councillor, who asked not to be named, said: "Everyone I have spoken to is disgusted by the threats that are being made in this letter.
"The term blackmail has been used and no one can believe that councillors are being told they can vote one way at district level and a completely different way at the county."
Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell, who along with Northumberland's three other MPs supports two unitaries, said: "This sounds like heavy-handed stuff, but it is up to Labour county councillors to decide which way they vote."
Labour county councillor and Blyth Valley Borough Council leader Dave Stephens, who has publicly backed the two unitary option, said: "I don't want to make any comment on internal Labour Party matters, but I am sure all county councillors will be voting on Monday in the way they see fit."
Coun Kerr said: "I have submitted my motion to ensure that there is a vote on the issue on Monday.
"We are not in favour of a single unitary and Labour clearly realises the opposition groups are taking a strong line on this. From our point of view, there hasn't appeared to be any need to put a whip on."
Coun Rickerby said: "Most of our group are of a mind to oppose a single unitary."
Last night Labour county council leader, Coun Bill Brooks, said: "The Conservative group has a motion to council in direct opposition to the current council policy, so it is required that Labour councillors are subject to the party whip.
"The national office advocates that this is in line with Labour Party rules and members have been made aware of the application of that rule, in particular in respect of dual role councillors. Where district councillors are also county councillors, they are expected to act appropriately at county council meetings."

Leadership at Northumberland County Council

It’s coming to the end of a long and winding road for the leadership at Northumberland County Council.
The road over the last few years have been littered with cock-ups, poor management of their best resource – Labour councillors, and oh yes simple bad luck, but we make our own luck to large extent don’t we.

This blog has never attacked or criticised the hard working councillors as we have always considered them to be the lions led by the proverbial donkeys – although it has to be said the lions elected the donkeys into the position they now find themselves.

We have found that the average councillor at NCC has been kept in the dark an awful lot over the true meaning of a single unitary county.

Let’s forget for a moment all the discussion over the practicalities of changing to two unitaries, even your own officers are saying they are more than viable.

Let’s forget the leadership for a while.

A bid for a single council is now doomed – it does not have broad support.
A bid for two unitary councils has the support of the people of Northumberland and all four MPs – it’s a rarity to get a consensus from two MPs let alone four from all different parties.
Even your reluctant ‘support’ from the likes of the NECC and the Police are shrouded in so many caveats as to be useless, we even here that two of the ‘supporters’ are withdrawing their names
I believe the Director of the NECC from Durham said it all when he said he is ‘minded to support Mark Henderson’s plans.’

Where does that lead you all?

The district councillors amongst you have had several opportunities to affect their bid and support it, and they have supported it in droves. It has messages of support from all quarters coming in daily.

The only common ground, if any, is that your leader cannot work with other councils – he has said so to the papers.

Two tier government does not work in Northumberland. The national Government says it is going.
The leaders at County Hall are still at this late stage trying to push their bid through to stay exactly the same – a continuing authority.

He has used the County to promulgate his own personal views whilst denying you the rights to a full consultation.
Where have we heard that before, how many times have the public been complaining of lack of consultation – now it hits home does it not.
When did the County party discuss this or even meet???

The single bid will go nowhere, if it did, as your own councillors have said, in the papers, it will be a hung council.
With the Tories and Liberals in charge that would leave a Labour wasteland from the River Tyne to Scotland – is that the legacy you want to leave?

THERE IS ANOTHER OPTION – YOU ALL HAVE A CHOICE

Whilst everyone recognises for some it would mean a loss of substantial allowances, this can be mitigated by working with the party in South East Northumberland.

By withdrawing support for the single unitary YOU can ensure a smooth transition and not the fight that your officers are predicting with the county trying to battle their way through a High Court case.

So far you have been denied a chance to debate, even at this time Cllrs Brooks and Hillman have tried to put this through without a vote – the Liberals and Tories have stopped them dead in their tracks, that’s even after the dynamic duo tried to negotiate with the other parties – you weren’t told about that were you?

There will be no massive support at County Hall on Monday that is another reason for the single option not going anywhere.

AND NOW we come to a certain whips letter, telling you that you cannot have a conscience, dire consequences, you cannot stand for district!!!!

Do you really want to part of a council that rules by fear, where hypocrites are preferred to councillors with integrity?
The electorate will never accept people who vote both ways at once, neither will the press.

After all the furore you have a choice – support the single option and step into oblivion, or vote with your head and heart.
The choice is yours.

We have it folks a copy of the E-Mail sent to all Labour Councillors by the Paul Kelly Chief Whip

Photo of the Chief Whip
Paul Kelly



Please see content of letter below , the wording of which is agreed by a National Labour Party official. This will be followed up by a hardcopy sent direct to your home.
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL
LABOUR GROUP
To all Labour Group members Tuesday January 9th.

Dear colleagueMay I wish you a happy and healthy 2007..At the Labour Group meeting Officers Wednesday January 3’, it was resolved that I, as Chief Whip, should write to every member of the group in order to make it absolutely clear his/her obligation to attend and supportthe Labour administration stance on Unitary Local Government at the Extraordinary County Councilmeeting on January 15th•

The position of dual role councillors in particular has been a cause for debate. Can a district councillor votefor two unitary councils for Northumberland in the district chamber and appear to contradict him/herself byvoting for one in the county council chamber?

In order to clarify the situation on loyalty to different stances in labour groups, we sought advice fromRegional and National Labour Party officers. Ann Reeder and Fiona Twycross addressed a meeting ofCounty Council and District Council group officers in the Chairman’s dining room on December 4th. Theywere categorical in their ruling that Labour group members must support the stance adopted by their groupin both councils or be in breach of the Labour Group rules and subject to the sanctions of the Group Whip.

The recent death of Alan Cutter has consequences for our ability to carry the day in a vote in the council chamber. Opposition Leaders have intimated that they will be seizing this opportunity to exploit ourweakened position by putting forward a notice of motion in direct opposition to that of the Labour Group & probably operating a three line whip on their members in the hope of carrying a majority on the 15thJanuary.

The consequences would be dire.
I cannot stress enough the importance of attendance at this meeting. Exemption on conscience grounds will not be accepted.
I have to make it clear that this is a very serious matter and if I feel that sanctions are justified, the groupwhip may be withdrawn. Members who are in breach would need to be called for interview by the RegionalBoard to explain their position, particularly if they intend to stand for re election to the district as he/shecannot be eligible if subject to withdrawal of the whip.

Yours fraternallyPaul KellyChief Whip
Chairman’s SecretaryChief Executive’s DirectorateNorthumberland County Council

The Leadership Team at Northumberland County Council

The latest sniping from the leader of the County Council has really gone beyond the pale.

After he publicly humiliated his council by pleading with a reporter for no more attacks on his plans for a single council he now blatantly lies about the two unitary option – it’s no wonder the public are turned off by him and his deputy.

Where are we now.
Well, in 2004, amongst those heady days of referenda, the two options were accepted after a year long investigation by the Boundary Committee.

BOTH options were stated to be viable and BOTH saved money – the only discussions were how much but as the Commission said of the Counties figures ‘savings such as these are rarely, if ever achieved’.

The Boundary Committee then passed it through the Commission and to the Government – all three agreed both options were viable.

Viable as opposed to acceptable. At the press conference in the Copthorne the Chair of the committee again expressed her concern over the lack of transparency and democracy in the single council option.

The chair provided us with the results of a 2004 MORI poll that clearly stated the public wanted the two unitary options.
This exercise was repeated again in the referendum and again the public by 15,000 majorities decided to go with the two unitary options.

The latest ICM poll again restates that position by 67% wanting the two unitaries compared with only a quarter for the single.

The counties attempt to muddy the waters with an ambiguous poll designed to show support backfired on them. The poll showed that the public was sick and tired of two tiered government and wanted to have only one.

Now the six districts have consulted widely and their members have had several opportunities to discuss their submission and indeed alter it!
The County Councillors have still not had the chance to debate it – the situation is intolerable.

After getting the wind up, the leadership have pinned their hopes on a brand new council that works on the same borders, from the same place, with the same councillors and the same leadership. You couldn’t make it up could you?

The districts are unanimous in their support for the two unitary options – across the political divide with all four MPs support.